You Will Cease to Exist

New Jersey, in the middle of nowhere.

This was a military base that had been abandoned long ago. No satellite map showed it, and only a very few people knew it existed.

It had once been S.H.I.E.L.D.’s first base, the place where S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded.

Even earlier, it had been the base of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, and the place where Captain America, Agent Carter, and the Winter Soldier had served.

It was clearly Sitwell’s first time here as well, and the place felt unfamiliar to him.

Though he knew Dr. Zola was still alive, he had no idea where he actually was. He had never expected it to be here.

At the thought of meeting the founder of modern Hydra and the inheritor of Hydra’s will, Sitwell could not contain his excitement. He felt like a nervous fan meeting his idol, not knowing where to put his hands as his heart pounded wildly.

If the circumstances had been different, he would have rushed inside without hesitation.

"Come on. Let’s take a look inside."

An old wire fence encircled the place, enclosing more than a dozen buildings.

With no guards posted and not even any electricity connected, it was practically screaming at passing travelers:

Come on in, come on in, there’s something good here!

Old Wang casually tore off the lock, pulled open the wire fence, and led Sitwell inside.

Though he had never been here, his psychic power had already spread through the base, giving him a clear picture of the entire place and locating the hidden elevator.

An elevator in perfect condition had actually been concealed. The building only had two floors, so there was no reason for an elevator unless it led underground.

It had been hidden so carefully that even a three-year-old would know something was wrong. Dr. Zola was most likely below!

Seeing this, Sitwell felt both excited and frustrated.

He had thought Iron Fist could never find it, yet he had discovered it so easily. Just how had he done it?

Was this the power of magic?

Or some mysterious power from the East?

Although this meant he would get to meet his idol, he was still worried that Iron Fist would harm Dr. Zola. If that happened, he would become the greatest sinner in Hydra’s history. Even in hell, he would be too ashamed to face Pierce and Red Skull.

Dr. Zola had clearly realized that Iron Fist could "hear" the communicator, so he did not say a word now. Sitwell was panicking inside, feeling as though his idol had abandoned him. Lost and helpless, he could only follow closely behind Old Wang step by step.

Though the base looked abandoned, it had actually remained operational inside, with a constant power supply.

It had its own generator.

Under these circumstances, taking the elevator was undoubtedly the most dangerous choice. Zola most likely already knew enemies had arrived and could launch an attack at any moment, but Old Wang did not care.

An elevator from over thirty years ago could not be connected to the internet. It had an independent power switch, so Zola had no way to control it.

And even if he could control it, Old Wang had nothing to worry about.

Even if the entire base collapsed, it would mean nothing to him. He could leave whenever he wanted.

At worst, he could sacrifice Sitwell.

But he still did not do so.

After his psychic power penetrated the base, Old Wang had found not only the hidden elevator and the database beneath the base, but also the generator.

"So that’s where it is."

Old Wang smiled faintly and headed toward another building.

Sitwell froze for a moment, utterly baffled.

What was Iron Fist doing?

Was he not going to find Dr. Zola?

Sitwell was both nervous and confused. While relieved for Dr. Zola, he also felt deeply uneasy. He had a feeling that Iron Fist’s actions carried some hidden purpose—and definitely not a good one.

The two soon arrived at the generator room, where Old Wang immediately shut off the main switch.

The circuit was cut, and the entire base instantly fell into absolute silence, like a grave.

"What are you doing?" Sitwell panicked.

He finally understood why this man had not gone looking for Dr. Zola, but had come to the generator room instead.

He was going to shut Dr. Zola down!

Dr. Zola had died long ago. He had merely transferred his consciousness into the computers and database. Once the power was cut, his consciousness would be forced into dormancy, immediately changing the entire situation.

Pierce was dead. Without Dr. Zola, who would command Hydra?

How could they defeat S.H.I.E.L.D.?

It could be said that Iron Fist was not shutting down Dr. Zola, but Hydra’s future!

For the first time, Sitwell realized how useless he was. He had a brain but no power. Not only had he failed to keep Iron Fist at Triskelion Headquarters, he could not even stop him from shutting down Dr. Zola. He felt utterly dejected.

But just an instant later, Old Wang heard the crackling of electricity again, coming from afar.

"Backup power?"

"That’s interesting."

The base was not very large to begin with, so finding something was far too easy for Old Wang.

Following the sound of the current, Old Wang extended his psychic power into the underground database and quickly found the backup power source hidden in the deepest part.

It was a series of devices emitting a faint blue glow. One kind contained an extraordinarily efficient energy. It seemed like very little, but was actually immense—fully comparable to an Arc Reactor.

The new Arc Reactor relied on an isotope of the Cosmic Cube, while the energy here was clearly drawn directly from the Cosmic Cube itself. It was far more efficient than controlled nuclear fusion.

This was Hydra technology from World War II, and Dr. Zola had been responsible for this research at the time.

This was Zola’s contingency plan!

The backup power source was extremely well concealed. Even if someone shut off the main switch, finding it would take time, buying Zola precious moments.

But he could never have imagined that Old Wang would be faster than he expected.

No matter how intelligent he was, he had been cut off from the outside world for too long. He did not know Old Wang, nor did he understand how powerful Old Wang was.

"Goodbye, Zola."

"You will cease to exist."

As Sitwell cried, "No, no," Old Wang cut off the backup power.

The next moment, the entire base fell into absolute silence once more.

At the same time, Zola’s instructions changed.

Begin consciousness transfer.

I will be nowhere to be found.

I will be everywhere.

Crackle, crackle, crackle...

Main power shut down. Consciousness transfer interrupted. Backup power automatically activated. Continuing consciousness transfer.

Consolidating data. Recalculating...

Consciousness transfer success rate below 1%. Project Insight declared a failure. Operation Break the Shield declared a failure. Beginning encryption of all data.

Triskelion Headquarters bombing plan remains unchanged. Self-destruct mode canceled.

Immortal Iron Fist threat level raised to Level 8, equivalent to Nick Fury.

I have nowhere left to escape, but my value remains. Immortal Iron Fist will certainly restart me. I still have a chance.

Hydras, enter deep-shadow status. Everyone prepare to retreat, preserve your strength, and await further contact.

Hail Hydra.

Communication interrupted. Information transmission failed.

Unable to contact communications satellites. Signal blocked. I have been trapped here again.

I had just tasted freedom, only to lose it again in the blink of an eye.

Self-destruct mode cannot be canceled. Missile launch orders have been issued. Based on the time required to execute the orders, ten short-range missiles will arrive within thirty minutes.

My consciousness will be destroyed along with the entire database. My final trace in this world will be erased. I will exist only in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s and various nations' top-secret files. The entire world will forget me.

It will be as though I never existed.

No!

Crackle, crackle, crackle...