You Are Whitehall

Without a doubt, intelligence was difficult to put a price on. To one person, it might be worthless; to another, it could matter more than their wife and children.

Whitehall was one of Hydra’s heads, a colleague of Red Skull. The secrets he knew likely exceeded those of the other heads. If they could obtain the intelligence in his mind, they could turn the tables in their battle against Hydra.

Right now, S.H.I.E.L.D. was in the open while Hydra lurked in the shadows. Once they obtained that intelligence, the relationship between light and dark would instantly reverse. What would that mean to a crafty king of spies like Egghead?

It meant their chances of defeating the enemy would rise by at least seventy percent, reaching…

Eighty percent?

Of course, that was Old Wang’s estimate. Egghead did not know it.

In Egghead’s eyes, S.H.I.E.L.D. was still S.H.I.E.L.D. It had merely been infiltrated by a large number of Hydra spies, and they would be purged sooner or later.

Old Wang smiled without speaking. The room fell silent.

Egghead only wanted some peace and quiet right now.

He had no idea exactly what intelligence Whitehall possessed, making it difficult to name a fair price. But he had seen countless people, and from Master Wang’s conduct and attitude, he could roughly tell:

This intelligence had to be more important than he imagined.

Besides, Fitz, that young man incapable of lying, had been so agitated and nervous. It seemed the Hydra agents hidden within or outside S.H.I.E.L.D. truly held positions of considerable rank.

That confirmed it for him once again:

This time, he was really going to bleed heavily. One wrong move, and he would hemorrhage.

"What do you want?"

Egghead decided to turn passivity into initiative. He would imitate the old ladies at the market: you named an outrageous price, and he would bargain it down.

"Don’t worry, I don’t want money," Old Wang reassured him.

Egghead’s face darkened.

Even if you wanted money, I don’t have any! You’ve already swindled away all my liquid funds. All I have left is real estate!

"Ten Quinjets." Old Wang had come prepared and named his price immediately.

Black Widow glanced at Old Wang without betraying any emotion. Master Wang was ruthless. S.H.I.E.L.D. only had a few dozen Quinjets in total, yet he asked for ten right off the bat. Did he have room to park them? People to fly them? Could he afford to maintain them?

"Three. At most, three!" Egghead’s talent was extraordinary; his expression remained blank.

He did not know why Master Wang wanted Quinjets, but if he wanted them, then fine. A few older models were nearing retirement anyway. He could give those to him.

Quinjets were S.H.I.E.L.D.’s main combat aircraft. They were indispensable for aerial combat and transporting personnel and supplies. He could not spare too many.

The newest models definitely could not be leaked. There were only five older ones left, and this was his limit. If Master Wang dared ask for more, then…

They would negotiate again!

"Fine."

To Egghead’s surprise, Old Wang agreed without hesitation. Then he changed tack. "In addition, I want a batch of equipment, mainly server-grade computers. A supercomputer would be even better. I’ll give you the detailed list within three days."

"The total value cannot exceed one hundred million dollars." Egghead immediately sensed a trap and hurriedly set a limit.

Old Wang did not argue with Egghead and continued, "And materials of equivalent value."

Egghead frowned, unable to understand. "What materials could be that expensive?"

Old Wang smiled. "Adamantium or Vibranium."

"…Adamantium. The inferior grade." Egghead greatly disliked the feeling of being controlled by someone else.

Adamantium was worth about as much as Vibranium—ten thousand dollars per gram. Of course, if it were actually bought and sold, the price would certainly be far higher. Several times higher, even ten times higher, was possible. Demand far exceeded supply.

The difference was that Vibranium existed only in that mysterious country in Africa. It had still sold some decades ago, but now it was not sold at all. Though S.H.I.E.L.D. had some stockpiled, it was very limited.

Adamantium was artificially manufactured. It was extraordinarily difficult to produce and was a laboratory product. Only top laboratories in major countries could make it, and its production method was never disclosed.

Still, it was a "renewable resource." With his abilities and connections, he could definitely get some.

True Adamantium was too expensive and too difficult to produce. It would be hard to obtain in a short time.

Inferior-grade Adamantium was easier to make. Though it could not compare to Vibranium, it was already quite good.

"Adamantium can only be custom-made. Once it takes shape, it cannot be processed a second time," Egghead reminded him.

"Don’t worry. I’ll give you the blueprints in advance."

Old Wang was very satisfied with Egghead’s response and decided to make one more request. "Do one more thing for me."

Master Wang, you’re pushing it… Egghead cursed inwardly, but his face remained icy. "What is it?"

"I’ll tell you when I’ve thought of it." Old Wang had naturally already thought of it, but now was not the time.

Egghead: "…"

If that intelligence were not so crucial, I would never agree to your terms!

There was no helping it. It was a seller’s market, an absolute monopoly. Miss this opportunity, and there would be no other.

Hydra members were easy enough to catch, but catching someone as highly placed as Whitehall was far too difficult—almost impossible.

He had to obtain the intelligence in Whitehall’s mind. He could only strip naked, lie down on the chopping block, and let Old Wang carve him up.

"I agree to all your conditions, but I have one request too." Egghead would not accept a loss.

"Go ahead."

"When I need you, help me once." Egghead laid the groundwork in advance. Don’t forget that you are S.H.I.E.L.D.’s special consultant—one of my people!

Old Wang nodded. "It’s a deal."

Egghead finally breathed a sigh of relief. Staring into Old Wang’s eyes, he said, "I hope the intelligence you provide will be worth the price S.H.I.E.L.D. is paying."

Old Wang gave him a reassuring look and smiled faintly. "I only hope it doesn’t frighten you when the time comes."

Looking at Old Wang’s smile, Egghead suddenly had an ominous feeling.

With the matter settled, there was naturally no need to stay any longer.

Although Old Wang liked Egghead more the longer he looked at him, Egghead disliked Old Wang more the longer he looked at him. The key was that he still had to look at him—often. He felt utterly conflicted and twisted inside.

Old Wang tortures me a hundred times over, and I still have to put on a pleasant face for him. How am I supposed to live like this?

There was far too much intelligence in Whitehall’s mind. Old Wang had not even reviewed it himself yet, so naturally he could not simply hand it over to Egghead.

Opening a portal in front of Egghead and Black Widow, Old Wang brought Skye and Carl back to the laboratory.

The moment Fitz saw Old Wang, he rushed over and gestured wildly. "Boss, you’re definitely going to be shocked. There are so many Hydra spies in S.H.I.E.L.D.! Even many scientists in the technology division are among them! And there’s one thing you definitely won’t expect—the highest-ranking spy is actually…"

"Pierce." Old Wang’s voice was calm.

"Uh… Boss, how do you know everything?" Fitz could not help letting his imagination run wild.

Could the boss read minds and access other people’s thoughts?

I really can’t complain in my head anymore… Wait, does the boss know I like Simmons?

Should I find a chance to quietly ask the boss whether Simmons likes me too…

Old Wang truly could not read minds. Otherwise, he would definitely have told Fitz:

Do I even need mind-reading for that? Probably everyone in the laboratory except you two knows you like each other, right?

Skye had long known everything from Old Wang, so she was naturally not surprised.

Carl, however, was rather shocked. He had never expected that the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Secretary of National Security of the United States, and a member of the United Nations Security Council would be a Hydra agent.

If that was the case, then there was no such thing as S.H.I.E.L.D. at all. There was only Hydra!

"Back then, when Skye was taken away, the order came from S.H.I.E.L.D., but no one could say for certain whether Hydra was involved."

Old Wang had no interest in whitewashing S.H.I.E.L.D. This was the truth. That incident was most likely connected to Pierce and Whitehall.

Carl’s face darkened.

Hydra, Whitehall, Pierce… Heh.

They all deserved to die!

They soon came face-to-face with Whitehall.

Carl immediately tried to rush over, but Skye pulled him back. Revenge could wait. Whitehall was still useful and could not be killed for now.

Skye naturally wanted Whitehall dead, and Carl wanted it even more, but neither of them hated Whitehall the most.

That person was Skye’s mother, Jia Ying—the woman Whitehall had personally dismembered alive.

"Boss, as long as you put on this helmet, you can read Whitehall’s memories."

Fitz handed a helmet to Old Wang and said, "Human memories are four-dimensional: three dimensions of space and one dimension of time. They can’t be converted into images or videos. The best method is an immersive experience. Put on the helmet, and you become Whitehall."