Wanda’s Intelligence

On the African continent, Wang Bert took Wanda to visit several more places related to the interstellar age, such as the Disease Elimination Center, the Extinct Species Cloning Center, the Intelligence Center, and the Space Elevator Research Center.

Some might wonder why all these places were in Africa. The reason was simple: there was less interference when conducting experiments in Africa. Besides, these were only branch bases. The headquarters was still in America.

As dawn approached, Wang Bert parked the motorcycle beside a grassland. While admiring the beautiful sunrise over the plains, he said to Wanda, "The interstellar age is not just about technology. It is also about spirit and purpose.

"The Sea of Stars is enough to make humanity work toward the same direction. Protecting the world, expanding new frontiers, leaving one’s name in history, venturing among the stars, roaming the universe… Isn’t that what people spend their lives pursuing?"

"You really are great."

Wanda said with a hint of admiration. In her eyes, Wang Bert practically seemed to be glowing.

Wang Bert smiled. "Great might be overstating it, but we are definitely not bad people, Wanda."

Wanda was a little dazed. Then something occurred to her, and she asked suspiciously, "Wait. If you’re so great, why do you have so much time to chase girls? Shouldn’t you be working every day like Tony Stark, that old ox?"

"Because I’m only responsible for setting the broad strategy and overseeing the big picture."

Wang Bert shrugged. "Tony, Steve, President Ellis, and the others handle the specific matters."

Wanda looked at him with utter contempt. "So you dump all the work on them, then spend every day enjoying yourself?"

"I’ve done plenty of things, all right? Half the alien technology on Earth was bought back by me, and the other half was beaten out of others by me."

Wang Bert said irritably, "Without me, Earth could never have entered the interstellar age. It would only keep tearing itself apart, fighting Civil Wars every day. I’m the most important person on Earth."

Wanda snorted. "You’re the best at slacking off on Earth."

Wang Bert shrugged. He walked up to Wanda, lowered his head to look at her, and asked, "Wanda, would you be willing to be my…"

Wanda froze. Then her heart began pounding violently. Was the Blood God about to confess? Should she agree, or act reserved for a moment before agreeing?

Just then, Wang Bert suddenly laughed. "Hey, you didn’t think I was about to confess, did you? Look at that lovestruck face. Were you planning to say yes?"

"Huh?"

Wanda was stunned. A moment later, she came to her senses. Embarrassed and furious, her entire face turned so red it looked ready to steam.

"You bastard, go die!"

Wanda snapped. Scarlet light shot into the sky, and even the qi inside her body was instantly destroyed by her rage.

Then Wanda controlled the scarlet energy, turning it into little spheres that wildly smashed toward Wang Bert. As he dodged, Wang Bert laughed. "Try to hit that motorcycle as much as possible. Then you can spend the rest of your life working for me to pay off the debt."

"Bastard."

Wanda gritted her teeth and controlled the scarlet energy to wrap around Wang Bert, then forcefully compressed it inward.

Wang Bert smiled. The qi around him suddenly trembled, directly shattering Wanda’s scarlet energy. Then he reached out through the air and forcibly pulled Wanda in front of him. "No rush. We should get to know each other a little longer. Things are moving too fast now. I’m a little embarrassed."

"Who said anything about moving too fast? Why are you making it sound like I’m chasing you?"

Wanda’s eyes nearly spat fire. She stomped hard on Wang Bert’s foot and cursed, "Scumbag."

"I’m a playboy, not a scumbag. Good thing I didn’t buy you high heels."

Wang Bert wiggled his toes. "All right, Wanda. I believe you now know which side is righteous. I hope you’ll protect this world together with us."

"Protect the world together?"

Wanda was stunned, then asked excitedly, "You mean you want me to become a Super Hero too?"

Wang Bert smiled. "If you’re willing, I can sign you on as a Super Hero."

"Who wants to work for you?"

Wanda snorted. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Blood God, I can tell you everything I know, but you must guarantee my brother Pietro’s safety."

Wang Bert said, "Don’t worry. As long as he hasn’t committed any serious mistakes, I won’t do anything to him."

"Pietro wouldn’t make any serious mistakes."

Wanda sighed in relief. She said, "Blood God, we’re actually with Hydra. Our leader is Baron Strucker…"

Wang Bert listened quietly, then asked, "Besides you two, does Baron Strucker have other superpowered people under his command?"

"A lot."

Wanda nodded. "I don’t know the exact number, but the researchers said new superpowered people are born every day."

Wanda only knew about superpowered people, not Inhumans. Baron Strucker had not told her much.

"New superpowered people every day? So the Inhumans Gordon sensed were created by Baron Strucker?"

Wang Bert narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Is the Mind Scepter in Baron Strucker’s hands?"

"Yes. Our powers are directly related to the Mind Scepter."

Wanda nodded. "Also, the Mind Scepter is usually kept in the treasure room. It is only taken out for research or use."

"Is that so?"

Wang Bert frowned slightly. Whoever could obscure his blood had to be a powerful expert, yet neither Baron Strucker nor his partner Dr. List was anything more than an ordinary person.

Looks like there’s a hidden expert behind them.

Wang Bert snorted inwardly. At that moment, Wanda said hesitantly, "Blood God, there’s something I don’t know is true or not, but I think I should tell you."

Wang Bert asked, "What is it?"

"Baron Strucker once said that even if he was defeated by the Blood God, it wouldn’t matter, because he had a way to destroy Earth. At that point, even the Blood God would have to obediently let him leave."

Wanda said, "Baron Strucker only said it once. I don’t know whether he was telling the truth or not."

"Destroy Earth?"

Wang Bert narrowed his eyes. Was it boasting, or was there really such a thing? If it was the latter, they had to be more careful.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Bert said to Wanda, "We’ve been out all day, so you must be tired. I’ll take you back to rest. At noon, we’ll go meet Tony and Steve."

Wang Bert added, "If you want to beat Tony up, I won’t stop you."

Wanda was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "Forget it. He’s been fighting for Earth all this time, and the missile incident wasn’t entirely his fault."

"Looks like you really have let it go."

Wang Bert smiled as he stroked Wanda’s hair. Wanda slapped his hand away in dissatisfaction. "I’m not a child."

Wang Bert smiled without saying anything else. He took Wanda onto the motorcycle and headed toward Manhattan.

Wanda held Wang Bert tightly, feeling incomparably safe. Gradually, she fell asleep.

At S.W.O.R.D., Wang Bert recalled the information Annie had sent back that morning and narrowed his eyes slightly. An army of over a thousand Inhumans, Rumlow, and General Ross—this was shaping up to be a grand gathering of villains.

The conservative forces are struggling on their last legs.

Wang Bert snorted inwardly. At that moment, Steve, Coulson wearing a wig, Tony, and Skye walked in.

When Tony saw Wang Bert, he sneered. "Isn’t this the Blood God’s senior brother? Right, what was your name again?"

"My name is…"

Wang Bert blinked and sent a telepathic message to Skye. Disciple, what was my name again?

Skye was speechless. She replied telepathically, Master, you can even forget the name you made up yourself? Your name is You Yazi.

"I am the Blood God’s senior brother. You may call me You Yazi."

Wang Bert said expressionlessly, "This is Wanda. After my persuasion, she has decided to abandon darkness and join the light. Now, she will introduce you to Hydra and Baron Strucker’s situation."

"It really is Hydra."

Steve was not surprised. He let out a breath and said, "We finally found them."

"Yes, we finally found that bastard Baron Strucker."

Coulson said as well, "After more than a year of hide-and-seek, this can finally end."

Wanda glanced at Wang Bert, stood up, and explained Hydra’s situation. Steve asked in surprise, "A large number of superpowered people—are they all as powerful as you?"

Wanda said confidently, "Probably not. Pietro and I are the strongest. Otherwise, Baron Strucker wouldn’t value us so much."

"That makes things a little better."

Steve nodded. "Since we know where Hydra is, we should deploy troops and deal with them as soon as possible, making Hydra history for good."

"Sokovia is in Eastern Europe. We can borrow troops from Doom and wipe them out in one sweep."

Tony brought up a holographic projection and searched for Sokovia’s information as he spoke. "Hydra and all that have long gone out of style."

"Wait."

Wang Bert suddenly said, "According to Wanda, Baron Strucker may possess the ability to destroy Earth. You should be more cautious."

"The ability to destroy Earth?"

Everyone was stunned and turned to look at Wanda. Wanda nodded, repeated Baron Strucker’s words, then said, "I don’t think he was bluffing."

Tony said doubtfully, "It certainly doesn’t sound like it. The problem is, destroying Earth isn’t easy. It’s much harder than destroying humanity."

Skye suggested, "We can investigate first. Ant-Man can be useful for this."

"Then we’ll send someone to scout it out first. We need time to mobilize troops anyway, and Hydra is much stronger than we imagined."

Steve said, "I will personally command this battle in Sokovia. Destroying Hydra is my mission."

Coulson said reverently, "Director, it is the mission of everyone in S.W.O.R.D."

Tony did not object. "I’ll get Ant-Man some new equipment so he won’t be discovered. Superpowered people have all kinds of special abilities."

"I can help."

Wanda said, "Baron Strucker values me greatly. He’ll definitely send someone to rescue me. When that happens, I can go back as an undercover agent."

The others became somewhat wary. Wang Bert said, "I trust her. She’s a good girl."

Wanda gave Wang Bert a grateful look, but Tony snorted. "Sorry, who are you? Why should we trust you?"

Wanda was speechless. Iron Man’s mouth really was as foul as the rumors said.

The Blood God is lazy and loves pleasure. Iron Man has a foul mouth and is mean. Neither of these two has anything to do with greatness.

Wanda thought inwardly, Director Steve is still better. He’s righteous through and through. You can tell at a glance that he’s a true hero.

Wang Bert looked at Tony and sneered. "Our sect excels at reading faces. Tony Stark, you’re about to have bad luck."

"Hopefully your reading is more accurate than Bert’s."

Tony sneered. "His predictions are never accurate."

Skye said to Steve, "Director, what Senior Uncle says is just as trustworthy as what my Master says."

"Just as trustworthy?"

Steve looked thoughtful. He said, "Wanda, I trust you. But wouldn’t it be too dangerous for you to return? Hydra is no kind organization."

Wanda said firmly, "This is my responsibility. Please give me a chance to make up for my mistakes."

"All right. I’ll have Ant-Man cooperate with you. Also, we have now mastered Pym Particles. You can learn how to use them. If anything truly happens, Pym Particles can help you escape Hydra’s base."

Steve said. Wanda replied gratefully, "Thank you, Captain Steve. No, Director."

Tony suddenly asked, "Little girl, what exactly is the grudge between us? If you don’t explain it clearly, I can’t feel at ease."

Wanda did not hide anything and explained the matter again. Tony’s expression immediately became complicated. After hesitating, he said, "Although it wasn’t my fault, you can apply to my foundation for compensation."

"I finally understand why everyone wants to beat you up."

Wanda complained. Everyone could not help laughing. Tony snorted unhappily. Last time, he had been beaten up for nothing. What annoyed him even more was that those bastards had come afterward to demand rewards, nearly infuriating him to death.

"Fortunately, Stark Industries’ weapons weren’t of very good quality. Otherwise, Miss Wanda would have been dead."

Wang Bert said flatly, "Does S.W.O.R.D. have any Stark Industries equipment? If it does, I suggest replacing it as soon as possible. I don’t want problems arising during the decisive battle."

Tony snorted. "Stark Industries products are always premium. That missile might have been a counterfeit made by Hammer Industries. Their stuff breaks down every day."

"Hammer Industries? Right. Because I changed Ivan’s fate, Hammer Industries never went bankrupt."

Wang Bert froze for a moment, then stood up. "Wanda, stay at S.W.O.R.D. Skye, give her some special training.

"During the decisive battle, I’ll follow behind you. If you can’t handle it, I’ll step in and help, just like last time."

"The next decisive battle will be modern warfare. Hopefully an antique like you won’t be scared silly."

Tony mocked. Then he seemed to remember something and asked curiously, "By the way, where exactly did you hide those speakers? Why is the effect so good? The sound is clear, has surround sound, and feels like you’re right there. A lot of people think my speakers are too loud, and they’re nowhere near as good as yours."

Everyone was speechless. Steve complained, "I really am outdated. I don’t even have my own background music."

Skye said, "Director, only the two oddballs in front of you have background music."

Wang Bert could not be bothered with them. He turned and left. Elektra had awakened, and he needed to go welcome her.

The following afternoon, Wang Bert, who was in the underground space, received a call from Lilith. She said, "Blood God, Betty wants to see you. She says it’s extremely urgent."

"I’ll be right there."

Wang Bert’s eyes flashed. His intuition told him that Betty’s visit had something to do with General Ross.