The Black King and Hydra’s Tacit Cooperation

What’s there to sign?

Sign this barrenness.

Once the Security Council gives an explanation, then we’ll talk about anything else.

Good heavens.

We agreed to non-aggression, so why are you interfering in the internal affairs of the blood race, making all sorts of reasonable doubts and speculations? Do you really think the blood race is afraid of the Security Council?

That’s it.

Coulson and Natasha had barely sat down before the blood race attendants politely escorted them out.

You all continue your investigation at your own pace. Once you’ve finished investigating, then we can talk about signing the non-aggression treaty.

Very soon.

Coulson and Natasha’s presence faded into the distance, carried away by the wailing of the train.

Emilia picked up the phone.

"How is it?"

"They’ve been sent away."

Emilia thought for a moment and then asked Lake, who was driving, "Was it necessary to do that?"

Lake smiled. "It wasn’t necessary, but I don’t like owing people favors."

The call between Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, and Natasha Romanoff was sent over by Hydra. On one hand, it was to inform Lake of the intelligence in a timely manner.

On the other hand…

They wanted to use Lake’s hand to expose this matter.

S.H.I.E.L.D. belonged to the Security Council, but it belonged even more to Hydra. Now, European S.H.I.E.L.D. had an internal mole, and it was a mole no less significant than Hydra, yet Hydra didn’t even know about it.

How could Hydra remain indifferent to this?

So.

Lake thought about it. Given the close cooperative relationship between him and Hydra, and in order to further their business dealings, he decided to go with the flow and do Hydra a favor.

Of course.

The most important point was that Lake and Hydra had the same goal this time.

Alexander Corvinus had gotten himself into trouble, and big trouble at that. Did he really think Lake wouldn’t know that he had sent people to New York under the guise of European S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Lake had already prepared for this.

At this very moment.

Lake was not only guarding against Alexander Corvinus going after the New York clone, but he was also driving towards William’s secret prison.

Attack is always the best defense.

Preemptive strike.

This move never gets old.

If Alexander Corvinus wanted revenge, then his first choice would be his remaining offspring, which was William, the progenitor werewolf, who was currently imprisoned.

Lake initially thought the prison key was with Lucian and had been dissolved along with the ultimate trump card.

But…

A satellite image, also captured by Hydra, was transmitted over. It was a thermal imaging satellite image. On the image, countless werewolves were rushing towards one location, while only one werewolf was running in the opposite direction.

This left room for Lake’s imagination.

Lake thought about it. His nature was to strike first. Since Alexander Corvinus knew the so-called truth, he might as well just strike him directly.

On the surface, with this audio handed over to the Security Council, Hydra would help Lake deal with the internal issues of European S.H.I.E.L.D.

As for the private matters?

Lake decided to come over himself.

Late at night.

Vroom!

Lake, smoking a cigarette, opened the car window and glanced at the night sky. He heard the sound of a passing helicopter and chuckled. He stepped on the accelerator, pushing the car to two hundred miles per hour, heading towards the destination – the prison disguised as a monastery where the progenitor werewolf William was held.

At the same time.

European S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.

In Nick Fury’s temporary office.

As soon as Coulson and Natasha pushed the door open, they were about to report to Nick Fury. However, upon seeing someone projected on the screen, they stopped. "Director Pierce."

Pierce, who was on a video call with Nick Fury, nodded at Coulson and Natasha as they entered, then continued speaking to Nick Fury, "Nick, the five councilors are very annoyed about the progress of this matter."

It should be said, extremely annoyed.

The audio was directly sent to Paris by the Prime Minister of the Immortal Blood Race, Catalan, who also left a message stating that the Immortal Blood Race was confident they could occupy Paris before the Parisian uprising.

After listening to the audio, Paris immediately convened an emergency Security Council meeting. Alexander Pierce was also summoned to the meeting and got chewed out.

Alexander Pierce said to Nick Fury, "When you came over, I told you to proceed with caution. We just needed to confirm that this matter wouldn’t affect our human society. How could it have come to this?"

It wasn’t as if Hydra’s labs hadn’t captured vampires for research.

They had captured and researched a great many vampires.

However, neither the Volturi Immortal Royal Family nor Emilia’s Immortal Royal Family cared about these matters. As long as their direct descendants didn’t go missing, it was fine. Hydra mostly captured wild vampires who had been bitten, mutated, and couldn’t find their clans. Furthermore, after years of research, they had basically given up on achieving immortality through studying vampires.

Phil Coulson said to Pierce, "Director, this is my fault, it’s not…"

Pierce interrupted him directly, "Why would the Immortal Royal Family have your conversation?"

Nick Fury, with his single eye, flashed, "We were invaded."

Pierce rubbed his temples, looking utterly exhausted. "Nick, you should know how much pressure I’ve endured for you over the years."

Nick Fury said solemnly, "I am very grateful for that."

Pierce waved his hand, sighed, glanced at Coulson and Natasha, and finally fixed his gaze on Nick Fury. "I will send new people to contact the Immortal Royal Family. You don’t need to worry about it."

Nick Fury frowned. "Director."

Coulson and Natasha also looked somewhat surprised.

Pierce said directly, "You have more important tasks."

He paused.

Pierce immediately produced the evidence he had prepared overnight. "I just had agents thoroughly investigate the European S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite data. All satellite data has been consumed. European S.H.I.E.L.D. has a problem, and it’s a big one. I’ve made a military pledge to the Security Council that I will absolutely not allow the leaked conversation to cause a crisis of conflict between the blood races and the human world. I will find a way to communicate with the Immortal Royal Family again, Nick!"

Nick Fury looked up at Pierce.

Pierce said sternly, "From now on, all European S.H.I.E.L.D. permissions are frozen. I am appointing you as the Special Prosecutor for this incident. Find out for me whether European S.H.I.E.L.D. is still our S.H.I.E.L.D. Investigate thoroughly, find out how this intelligence was leaked, and who was involved in this matter."

Nick Fury also nodded. "Understood, Director."

Pierce changed the subject, then let out a laugh and looked at Nick. "After this mission is completed, your return to headquarters will also be easier for me and the Security Council to explain. Do you understand?"

Nick Fury nodded, his tone carrying gratitude. "Thank you."

Pierce waved his hand.

With a whoosh.

Pierce’s projection immediately disappeared.

First, freeze all permissions for European S.H.I.E.L.D. That S.H.I.E.L.D. plane currently heading to New York, once it lands, the New York S.H.I.E.L.D. Operations Center will immediately pull them back, giving them no chance to harass the friends of Hydra’s friends.

You help me, I help you.

In this matter, Lake and Hydra’s cooperation was exceptionally tacit.

"Sir."

"…"

After the projection ended, Nick Fury snapped back to attention and looked at Coulson, who had spoken.

Coulson looked guilty. "I’m sorry, sir…"

Nick Fury waved his hand. "This is a good thing."

Coulson and Natasha exchanged glances.

A good thing?

How could this be a good thing? They had almost caused a major crisis of blood race versus human conflict due to their brainstorming session this time. How could that be considered good?

The Security Council was shocked by this matter.

How could this be a good thing?

Nick Fury sat back down. "Do you think the Security Council is enraged because of the content of our conversation?"

How could that be possible?

The content of this conversation would at most surprise the Security Council slightly; it wouldn’t enrage them. What enraged the Security Council was that the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. they had spent a fortune building over the years had been infiltrated. That was the main reason for the Security Council’s fury.

But for Nick Fury, this was a good thing.

Nick Fury was originally in the position of Deputy Director. He only needed to wait for his mentor, Alexander Pierce, who had taken good care of him, to retire before he could take over as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

But then?

Nick Fury had encountered a Waterloo, being demoted repeatedly. If his mentor, Alexander Pierce, hadn’t still believed in him, Nick Fury would have been completely removed from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s core decision-making layer by now.

But now, with Alexander Pierce about to retire, if Nick Fury didn’t hurry back, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. position would be out of his reach.

Therefore, Nick Fury was rushing to accumulate merit, and this incident had given him a massive opportunity to do so.

Immediately freeze all European S.H.I.E.L.D. permissions.

While Coulson and Natasha might not have understood the subtext of Alexander Pierce’s words, Nick Fury, as his old mentor and long-time friend, understood.

The internal problems within European S.H.I.E.L.D. were no longer a simple matter of leaked information.

The problem was huge.

Perhaps the problem was so big that even the head of European S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised. Only two people had access to clear satellite data permissions: the head of European S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Director and Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.

"Where is the action team?"

"At the safe house."

"We’ve already dealt with the Immortal Royal Family’s issue, so we don’t need to worry about it anymore. Let’s focus on the current situation. Have the action team’s agents move in here, secure the heads of all departments in European S.H.I.E.L.D., connect with headquarters, request reinforcements, and investigate this thoroughly."

"…Yes, sir!"

"…"