Ch: 186-195
Chapter 186 Insight Plan
After speaking, Nick Fury led Captain America into the elevator.
"To the Insight Project hangar," Nick Fury said loudly as he entered the elevator.
After detecting that Captain America had also entered the elevator, a synthesized electronic voice emanated from the elevator's display screen.
"Captain Rogers does not have security clearance for Insight Project."
"Director override, Nicholas J. Fury," Nick Fury said, holding onto the railing of the old elevator.
"Confirmed," the electronic voice responded after hearing the command.
After confirming the command, the elevator began its descent, carrying Nick Fury and Rogers.
The two remained silent in the elevator.
"You know, elevators used to play music," Rogers said, leaning against the railing.
Nick Fury responded to Rogers's remark: "That's right, my grandfather operated one of these for 40 years."
"He operated an elevator in an upscale building and got a lot of tips, so every night when he came home, his lunch bag would be filled with rolls of one-dollar change."
"People were friendly back then; he'd greet people, and they'd greet him back."
"As time went on, people weren't so friendly anymore; he'd greet people, and they'd tell him to get lost."
"From then on, my grandfather started gripping his lunch bag tighter on his way home."
"Was he ever robbed?" Rogers asked after hearing Nick Fury's story.
Hearing Rogers's question, Nick Fury scoffed coldly and said, "Basically every week, some hooligans would ask him what was in his bag."
"So what did he do?" Rogers continued to ask.
"He would open the bag to show the hooligans that it contained not only a stack of one-dollar bills but also a loaded pistol placed on top."
Nick Fury said this while turning to look out the glass elevator; they had now moved from above ground to underground.
He looked outside and continued to tell Rogers, "My grandfather was kind to people, but he didn't fully trust them."
Rogers listened to Nick Fury and also turned to look outside.
After he turned around, he unconsciously widened his eyes, because the scene outside was somewhat beyond his imagination.
Outside the elevator was a massive underground factory, with countless lights illuminating the dim space, providing light for this enormous subterranean facility.
Three giant Helicarriers were parked in the vast underground factory, just like the one he had been on during the Battle of New York.
However, compared to the previous two, these three new ones had many differences in design, including some apparent improvements to the propulsion systems on both sides of the wings.
Countless cranes were busy on the aircraft and on the ground, placing Quinjets and various equipment and facilities onto the Helicarriers.
Looking at the stunned Rogers beside him, Nick Fury smiled nonchalantly, "I know, they're a lot bigger than a loaded pistol."
Then, Nick Fury led Rogers out of the elevator and began to explain Insight Project to him.
After hearing about Insight Project, Rogers still shook his head; he did not agree with Nick Fury's views or Insight Project. "We should be guarding people's freedom."
"What you're doing now is putting a gun to everyone's forehead across the world."
"This approach isn't freedom; it's fear."
Hearing Captain Rogers's rebuttal, Nick Fury said in a deep voice, "S.H.I.E.L.D. views the world realistically, not idealistically."
"You should also be more pragmatic, and stop always contradicting, Captain."
Neither of them agreed with the other, and ultimately, Rogers rode his motorcycle with his shield and left S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
After Rogers left, Nick Fury did not linger in the Insight Project hangar; he took the elevator back to his office.
Upon returning to his office, Nick Fury waited for a moment before ordering the voice-controlled system in the room: "Close windows, seal office."
At his command, large black curtains immediately descended over the floor-to-ceiling windows, sealing off the entire office.
Once everything was ready, Nick Fury inserted the USB drive Black Widow had given him into the port on his desk, then continued to order: "Open the Lemurian Star launch files."
"Access denied," the operating system quickly responded.
Hearing the system's prompt, Nick Fury was stunned; he hadn't expected to encounter such a situation.
He walked out from behind his desk and, looking at the large screen in front of him, continued to command: "Decrypt files."
"Decryption failed." This time, after running for two seconds, the operating system also gave a failure response.
Nick Fury's expression turned grim; he slowly paced towards the screen, continuing to command: "Director override, Nicholas J. Fury."
"Override denied, all files archived." The operating system still didn't provide what he wanted; this time, even his authority override was useless.
Logically, as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury should have supreme authority over all S.H.I.E.L.D.files, but there was clearly something wrong with this USB drive, which led to this situation.
Thinking of this, Nick Fury asked somewhat perplexed, "Who authorized these?"
"Nicholas J. Fury," the operating system answered the question.
Upon hearing this answer, Nick Fury's single eye couldn't help but widen even further.
Nick Fury could not override files authorized by Nick Fury, and the contents of these files were unknown even to him, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D..
He had now realized the seriousness of the problem: HYDRA spies had not only infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.but also intended to use Insight Project to achieve their goals.
Nick Fury didn't know exactly how they were doing it, nor did he know what ultimate goal they intended to achieve with Insight Project, he only knew that he had to delay the implementation of Insight Project, otherwise, it would certainly lead to irreparable consequences.
After realizing this, Nick Fury immediately went back to the elevator.
"World Security Council."
"Confirmed."
He needed to go to the floor where the World Security Council was located, to report this sudden situation to his former superior, now the World Security Council Minister—Alexander Pierce.
Chapter 187 Robbery and Murder
At this moment, inside the floor where the World Security Council was located, several council members were holding a meeting with Pierce.
Due to the hijacking of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ships, they once again began a discussion.
The World Security Council's existence was to oversee S.H.I.E.L.D., so any minor incident would be seized upon by them for accountability.
However, at this time, the accusations of the four council members were all rebutted by the eloquent Pierce.
"Every time S.H.I.E.L.D. has a minor issue, you all jump out, chattering incessantly and flying into a rage. It seems the Council also needs oversight."
"Compared to a broken ship, we should be more concerned about the bigger picture."
Just as a white-haired council member was about to retort to Pierce, Pierce's secretary arrived.
After she entered, she walked directly to Pierce and whispered something to him.
After the secretary finished speaking, Pierce apologized to the holographic projection of the council members and then left the meeting room.
"It seems there's trouble again," a council member guessed, seeing Pierce's demeanor.
As the holographic projection ended, the few people had no further communication.
"We're in the same building. Do you only come here if there's a kidnapping?" Pierce said with a smile, shaking Nick Fury's hand.
"Oh no, I'd come even if there was a nuclear war," Nick Fury replied, hearing Pierce's teasing.
The two had been friends for many years; Pierce had once served as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and then later took positions in the Department of Defense and other political roles.
Nick Fury had also served as the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. responsible for areas like Bogota, the capital of Colombia, and their friendship began in Bogota.
At that time, the U.S. Embassy in Bogota was occupied by rebels, and the embassy staff inside were held hostage, including Pierce's daughter.
When negotiations failed, Nick Fury disregarded Pierce's orders and chose to strike decisively, successfully defeating the rebels and rescuing all the hostages from them.
Afterward, their interactions became increasingly close, and Pierce's current position as a minister in the World Security Council was also at Nick Fury's request.
This was because S.H.I.E.L.D. needed someone on their side to hold a seat in the World Security Council.
After a brief chat, Nick Fury got straight to the point.
After organizing his thoughts, he spoke to Pierce, "I need your help with something."
"I'd like to ask you to initiate a vote to postpone Insight Project."
Hearing Nick Fury's words, Pierce solemnly said, "Nick, this is no simple matter. It will require a long hearing."
"Maybe it's nothing, I don't think there's any problem, I just need some time to check it," Nick Fury said with a frown.
After hearing Nick Fury's words, Pierce continued, "But what if the project really does have problems?"
"Then we'll all be glad those Helicarriers didn't take to the sky," Nick Fury replied, hearing Pierce's question.
After hearing him, Pierce pondered for a moment and then said, "Alright, but you have to get Iron Manto my nephew's birthday party."
After speaking, he extended his hand to Nick Fury.
"No problem," Nick Fury replied, hearing him, and then shook Pierce's hand.
After receiving Nick Fury's answer, Pierce added, "He can't just make an appearance; he has to go in and play."
Nick Fury nodded helplessly at this.
After requesting Pierce to postpone Insight Project, Nick Fury left S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Triskelion headquarters.
He drove while contacting Agent Hill, asking her to come to Washington as soon as possible.
Nick Fury now needed people he could trust to help him find the hidden problems within Insight Project.
Just as he finished contacting Agent Hill, a police car approached from behind him, pulling up alongside him at a traffic light.
The two white police officers in the driver's and passenger's seats of the police car both turned to look at Nick Fury, their large sunglasses concealing their eyes, and simultaneously hiding their emotions and thoughts.
Seeing the police officer next to him staring, Nick Fury also turned his head and said impatiently, "What's wrong? Do you want to check my ID?"
The police officer in the driver's seat said nothing, just turned his head and drove, while the police officer in the passenger's seat picked up a walkie-talkie, seemingly saying something.
As the police officer turned to drive, the green light at the intersection also lit up, and Nick Fury, seeing this, stepped on the accelerator and drove off again.
Just as Nick Fury was driving through the intersection, two speeding police cars suddenly rushed from the side road, sandwiching him between them.
After being severely hit on both sides, the police car driven by the two officers who had been watching him suddenly started to reverse, crashing directly into the front of his car, and then another police car rushed up from behind, pinning his rear.
Surrounded by four police cars, Nick Fury's car was unable to move. The violent impacts not only caused him some injuries but also damaged his car, rendering many functions unusable.
In this life-or-death crisis, as the police officers broke his windows, Nick Fury pulled out a machine gun from the middle of the car and fiercely sprayed bullets at them.
After he had fired for a while, the car's transmission system recovered, so he drove the car and fled.
Just as he was about to escape, a man with a mechanical arm and a black mask appeared in front of his car.
The masked man held a strange firearm and shot a circular bomb under the chassis of his car.
The bomb stuck to the car chassis and instantly exploded, and the blast wave flipped Nick Fury's car into the air, causing it to tumble several times before falling upside down onto the ground.
The masked man watched the overturned car on the ground and slowly approached.
He quickly walked to the front of the car and grabbed the car door with his left mechanical arm.
"Crack!"
The car door was ripped off and flung away by the masked man, revealing the driver's seat inside.
Following his gaze, the driver's seat was now empty, and there was a square hole on the car roof with red glowing edges.
The large hole connected to the underground sewer, and Nick Fury had escaped through there.
It turned out that Nick Fury, seeing the masked man gradually approaching, had taken out a handle with a blue laser emitting from its front, then cut a large hole in the car roof and quickly escaped through the sewer.
Night fell, and at the Six-pointed Star Alliance base, Meng Ran was flipping through a stack of documents in his hand.
During this time, he and Liu Xiu had conducted a lot of research on methods for chip stripping.
This thick stack of documents contained the results of the latest experiment, and the overall feedback from this result was very good, which meant that it wouldn't be long before they could come up with a concrete plan for chip detachment.
If the chips could be stripped, Meng Ran would be able to perform memory searches on the monsters and Blackwater personnel currently imprisoned, which would be very beneficial for their intelligence work.
Just as Meng Ran was happily flipping through the documents, preparing to make himself something delicious as a reward, noob's report suddenly echoed through the base.
Chapter 188 Faking Death
"S.H.I.E.L.D. database update detected. Director Nick Fury is listed as deceased. Time of death: 1:03 AM."
"Huh?" Meng Ran was a little confused by Xiaobai's report. He was fine before, so how did he suddenly die?
Could it be that he was accidentally injured while out shopping at night?
After a moment of thought, Meng Ran suddenly realized that he must be faking his death, as he still had many scenes to appear in later.
This old schemer faking his death must also be secretly plotting something, and Meng Ran felt it was necessary to go find him.
With that thought, Meng Ran had Xiaobai locate the hospital where Nick Fury was reported to have died.
"Received. Planning the route for you now." Xiaobai quickly plotted the shortest route for Meng Ranafter receiving the command.
Seeing the markers appear before him, Meng Ran quickly headed to the Six-pointed Star Alliance's hangar.
Nick Fury was attacked in Washington, so the hospital shown on the map was also in Washington.
Meng Ran planned to take a single-person aircraft to Washington. Since New York and Washingtonwere not particularly far apart, he wouldn't take long to arrive.
Thirty minutes later, Meng Ran arrived on the rooftop of a hospital in Washington. He was currently closing his eyes, sensing everyone inside the building.
As he expected, Nick Fury's figure or "corpse" could no longer be found in the entire building; he had already moved his location.
Meng Ran continued his search. A moment later, he found someone who should know Nick Fury's whereabouts.
Agent Hill was currently arranging Nick Fury's "afterlife affairs." Natasha and Rogers had already left the hospital.
Natasha left on her own, while Rogers had to return to S.H.I.E.L.D. for questioning because Nick Furyultimately died in his apartment.
By now, most of the follow-up matters had been arranged, and she was also preparing to leave.
Just as she turned to leave the morgue, a black figure suddenly appeared before her. He thoughtfully closed the door the moment he appeared.
"Oh s***!" Faced with the sudden appearance of the Ghost, Agent Hill was startled.
However, with the professional composure of an agent, she quickly calmed down and asked Meng Ran, "Ghost, why are you here?"
"Sorry I scared you," Meng Ran said in a hoarse voice. "Is Nick Fury dead?"
Hearing Meng Ran's direct question, Agent Hill reacted quickly.
She sighed and then replied in a deep voice, "Although I don't know how you got the news, your information is correct. The Director is dead, attacked by a terrorist."
"We currently have no leads regarding this terrorist."
If Meng Ran hadn't already known that Nick Fury wasn't dead, he would have been fooled by Agent Hill's sorrowful expression.
It must be said that although her primary responsibility was clerical intelligence work, her agent training was very high.
Meng Ran thought that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents becoming actors after retirement would be an excellent choice because professional agents' acting skills were indeed superb, almost on par with the most professional actors, or even surpassing them.
"Is he really dead?" Meng Ran didn't say anything after hearing Agent Hill's words, only continuing to ask.
"I also wish he weren't dead, but this is indeed the truth." Agent Hill showed no reaction to Meng Ran's words, only continuing to speak sadly.
To make her words seem very sincere, Agent Hill even looked up and met Meng Ran's captivating eyes.
The Ghost's pale, narrow eyes emitted a cold gaze, and Agent Hill, who met his gaze, couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine under such scrutiny.
"Relax, relax, he's trying to trick me. I need to act natural." Agent Hill thought to herself, maintaining a normal expression without any flaws.
After a moment of staring, Meng Ran let out a few hoarse laughs and then said to Agent Hill, "No wonder Nick Fury trusts you so much; your lips are indeed sealed."
"Since you're unwilling to tell the truth, I won't force you. You can contact Nick Fury and tell him I'm looking for him. See what his response is. I believe he'll be willing to see me."
Agent Hill wanted to say something more after hearing Meng Ran's words, but by the time she came to her senses, the Ghost in front of her had already vanished. Hill looked around the morgue but couldn't find him.
The Ghost's last words made her inwardly ponder. She was no longer sure if the Ghost truly knew the real news, nor was she certain of his true objective.
Agent Hill quickly walked out of the morgue and then reconfirmed all the arrangements.
Once all the arrangements were in order, she thought for a long time before taking out her phone and sending a message through a very discreet channel.
"The Ghost is looking for you. I'm not sure of his objective, but I haven't revealed any information."
The reply came a while later. Agent Hill couldn't help but feel a little lost in thought as she looked at the message.
"He should already know by now."
"But it doesn't matter. The plan remains the same."
Seeing Nick Fury's reply, Agent Hill also realized something.
"He never intended to get the real information about Nick Fury from me."
"He just wanted me to send a message so he could track it using special means."
Having figured it out, Hill felt a surge of annoyance, realizing she had been used.
Meng Ran, who was on the rooftop, couldn't help but smile when he saw the message they sent.
That's right, just as Agent Hill thought, Meng Ran knew she wouldn't reveal any information about Nick Fury, which is why he chose this method.
Meng Ran's words were meant to entice her, and when she couldn't resist sending a message to Nick Fury, that's when Meng Ran would obtain his location.
Meng Ran had already prepared Xiaobai. When Agent Hill sent the message, Xiaobai had been continuously tracking the signal to pinpoint the location.
Nick Fury quickly realized what was happening when he saw Agent Hill's message. He also guessed Meng Ran's intentions.
However, the signal had already been locked, and he couldn't move again, but it was fortunate that it was the Ghost.
Nick Fury knew that while his relationship with the Ghost wasn't particularly intimate, they were currently partners.
Furthermore, the Ghost had no reason to harm him. If the Ghost wanted Nick Fury dead, he had countless opportunities during their previous interactions.
Given the Ghost's skills and elusive movements, if he truly wanted to kill Nick Fury, even if Nick Furyknew, he wouldn't have any power to resist.
Chapter 189 Nick Fury is seriously injured
After learning Nick Fury's current hiding place, Meng Ran followed the route planned by Xiaobai and headed there.
No light could be seen in the deep darkness of the night; it was the deepest moment of night.
In the jungle, in front of a disused hydropower station, Meng Ran stopped. The signal showed that the recent message had ultimately been sent here.
"Nick Fury really knows how to hide. Hiding in such a deep mountain forest certainly makes him hard to find."
Looking at the abandoned hydropower station in front of him, Meng Ran pondered silently in his heart.
Then he walked to the only entrance below the hydropower station, a dilapidated small iron gate.
Above the iron gate, a hidden camera was watching Meng Ran at the entrance.
Meng Ran also noticed the camera. He looked at it, waved his hand in greeting, then reached out and broke the chain wrapped around the iron gate before stepping inside.
At this moment, Nick Fury was lying on a hospital bed watching the surveillance. Seeing Meng Ranwave at the camera, he ordered the person next to him, "Just as we arranged earlier, tell the guards not to stop him. Let him in."
The person next to him, upon hearing this, picked up the walkie-talkie again to confirm the previous arrangements. There was no need to stop the Ghost, because any more people stopping him would only result in a loss of their own personnel.
Meng Ran stepped through the iron gate. The passage inside was much wider, enough for several people to walk side by side. The lights above flickered, providing the only source of light in the dim passage.
Nick Fury must have made preparations in advance and informed the guards outside. He could feel many people hidden on both sides of the passage, but they did not reveal themselves.
Meng Ran continued walking along the long passage. After reaching the end, an elevator appeared before him.
As Meng Ran approached the elevator door, it opened just in time.
Inside the elevator stood a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Upon seeing the Ghost, he said nothing but gestured for him to enter.
Meng Ran walked in after seeing the agent's gesture. Once he was inside, the agent pressed a button and closed the elevator door.
After the elevator door closed, the agent raised his hand and entered a password on an elevator area that looked no different from the surrounding material.
Once the invisible password was entered, a hidden floor button popped up on the elevator's floor panel. This floor was Nick Fury's location.
The agent guiding Meng Ran pressed the popped-up button, and then the elevator slowly began to descend.
Meng Ran couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration at the agent's fluid movements. "Nick Furyreally likes to do these flashy things."
As the elevator descended, Meng Ran and the agent quickly arrived at the target floor.
After leading Meng Ran out of the elevator, the agent left to do his own work.
Meng Ran, meanwhile, looked at the busy doctors and walked towards Nick Fury, who was still lying in the hospital bed receiving treatment.
"Tsk tsk tsk, I've never seen you look so disheveled before," Meng Ran said, looking at Nick Fury, whose complexion was not particularly good due to his injuries.
"Spinal injury, fractured sternum, comminuted clavicle, perforated liver, and severe headaches."
"Believe me, if you received such severe injuries, you'd be just as disheveled."
Nick Fury rolled his eyes at Meng Ran's teasing and then said weakly.
"Don't forget the ruptured lung," a middle-aged doctor in glasses and a white coat added after hearing Nick Fury's words.
Hearing the middle-aged doctor's reminder, Nick Fury continued, "Oh, right, can't forget that one."
"Sorry, I usually can't manage to get such severe injuries," Meng Ran said, shrugging his shoulders at Nick Fury's complaint.
Nick Fury on the hospital bed was speechless for a moment after hearing Meng Ran's words, and his face darkened a few shades.
Ignoring Nick Fury's distress, Meng Ran continued, "You used pufferfish toxin, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't be easy to fool those doctors and sophisticated instruments."
Nick Fury nodded at Meng Ran's words and then said, "That's right, it was pufferfish toxin. It can lower the heart rate to one beat per minute."
"Banner originally wanted to use it to relax, but it didn't have much effect on him, so we repurposed it."
"So now you should know who that powerful HYDRA spy is, right?" Meng Ran said, looking at Nick Fury.
Nick Fury sighed at the words, then nodded and said in a deep voice, "I know now. It's Alexander Pierce."
"I never thought he would be HYDRA. You know, he once refused the Nobel Peace Prize."
"He also said that peace is not an achievement, but a responsibility."
"Tch, it's because of people like him that I don't dare to trust anyone anymore." Thinking of this, Nick Fury became angry.
"With such acting skills, no wonder he, a HYDRA spy, could become the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and now serve as a minister on the World Security Council," Meng Ran exclaimed after hearing Nick Fury's words.
Looking at the Ghost in front of him, Nick Fury recalled his previous warning. "So you knew Pierce was HYDRA before, didn't you?"
Meng Ran nodded at Nick Fury's words, then softly said, "That's right, I knew he was HYDRA. Although I didn't explicitly tell you, you should understand my reasons for doing so."
Nick Fury fell silent upon hearing this; he knew what the Ghost's words meant.
He was very clear about his own personality. If the Ghost had directly told him that Pierce was HYDRAearlier, he most likely would not have believed it.
Years of agent habits, coupled with his inherent suspicion and caution, all these factors ensured that Nick Fury would not easily believe such explicit intelligence from the Ghost.
Meng Ran also knew Nick Fury's personality traits, which is why he didn't directly tell him that Piercewas HYDRA.
Meng Ran merely said that a person of great influence was a HYDRA spy, giving Nick Fury enough hints, and then letting him gradually approach the truth himself.
After a moment of silence, Nick Fury no longer dwelled on that point. He looked at Meng Ran and said in a deep voice, "Natasha brought me a USB drive earlier. Although this USB drive contains S.H.I.E.L.D.data, I couldn't decrypt it."
"This USB drive should contain some classified information about HYDRA. I gave it to Rogers before my faked death."
Chapter 190: Dilapidated Training Base
"Your team should be able to crack this USB drive," Nick Fury said to Meng Ran with a serious expression.
Meng Ran pondered, "It seems I need to go find Rogers."
Meng Ran didn't stay there much longer. After listening to Nick Fury briefly recount Insight Project and his ambush, he left.
By the time he walked out of the iron gate and arrived outside the hydropower station, the sky had completely brightened.
Meng Ran breathed in the fresh air of the forest and then ordered his AI, "Xiaobai, locate Rogers for me."
"Received," Xiaobai replied and immediately began working on the command.
A moment later, Xiaobai reported to Meng Ran, "Rogers has been declared a fugitive by S.H.I.E.L.D.. According to analysis from road cameras, computer and mobile phone cameras, and dash cams, he is currently fleeing in a car with Agent Natasha."
"Can you tell me their destination?" Meng Ran asked after hearing Xiaobai's analytical report.
"Based on surveillance and audio analysis from the computer store, their destination should be Weaton, New Jersey," Xiaobai reported, simultaneously showing Meng Ran the surveillance footage of Rogersand Natasha in the computer store.
After multiple magnifications, the address displayed on Natasha's computer could be seen: Weaton, New Jersey.
"Plan a route for me," Meng Ran said, preparing to set off after confirming the target location.
Following the route provided by Xiaobai, Meng Ran quickly began his journey.
With the ability to teleport to wherever his gaze landed, his travel speed increased even further.
While Meng Ran was on his way, Rogers and Natasha were also driving their car.
Natasha looked at the communicator in her hand, which showed that their destination was not far.
"Are we almost there?" Rogers asked Natasha while driving.
"At this speed, it will probably take another ten minutes or so to get there," Natasha replied, looking at the GPS on her phone.
Just like that, the two drove through a forest. When they were halfway through, some barbed wire appeared on the road.
The end of the barbed wire enclosed a large, vast area and old buildings. A "STOP" sign was on the barbed wire, making it look like an abandoned training base.
Natasha looked at the sign describing the place and said, "The files came from here."
Rogers, standing nearby, looked at the sign, a reminiscent expression on his face, and softly said, "Me too."
Natasha turned to look at Rogers upon hearing his words.
Feeling Natasha's gaze, Rogers explained, "This is where I received my training when I joined the army."
The two talked softly as they walked into the camp.
Natasha surveyed the dilapidated buildings inside and asked Rogers, "How does it feel to be back here? Has this place changed a lot?"
"It has changed a little," Rogers said. When he saw a bare flagpole nearby, he slowly stopped.
That flagpole triggered his deepest memories. Back when he trained at this base, he hadn't undergone the transformation yet and was a scrawny beanpole.
He remembered the instructor saying that whoever could retrieve the flag from the top fastest wouldn't have to participate in training and could ride in the car with them.
While a group of people scrambled to climb up, Rogers simply and silently lowered the handle that secured the flagpole, then effortlessly took the flag from the fallen flagpole.
This unexpected action also caught the attention of Carter, who was their instructor at the time.
Thinking of Carter, Rogers felt a pang of sadness again. He had been frozen for 70 years, and everything had changed beyond recognition.
Everything he knew had been warped by time; familiar people had died, and his former lover had grown old with white hair.
While Rogers was lost in his thoughts, Natasha was also searching around. Just as she was concentrating on her search, a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder.
Natasha knew that Rogers couldn't have appeared silently behind her, so the moment she felt the hand, she immediately reacted as fast as she could.
Natasha quickly grabbed the arm on her shoulder, then squatted down with the momentum.
As she squatted, she pushed off with her legs and jumped. If she completed this move, she would be able to turn the tables, jump onto the person's back, and restrain him.
Unfortunately, her action was cut short, only halfway completed.
The moment she grabbed the hand on her shoulder, countless tentacles instantly extended from that arm, wrapping her tightly.
"It was just a greeting, no need for such an intense reaction," Meng Ran said, not restraining Natasha for long.
He released the tentacles that had wrapped her, letting her go once Natasha had reacted and calmed down.
"Did you have to greet me from behind?" Feeling the tentacles wrap around her once more, Natashaimmediately recalled an unpleasant memory.
She remembered being tightly bound by the Ghost's tentacles the first time she met him with Nick Fury. That suffocating feeling was indeed not pleasant.
At this moment, Rogers, hearing the commotion from the two, also emerged from his memories.
He rushed over with his shield, and only when he saw that the newcomer was the Ghost did he loosen his grip on the shield and lower his guard.
"Why are you here too?" Rogers asked in surprise, seeing the Ghost's sudden appearance.
"Because you have clues here. I'm also here to investigate HYDRA," Meng Ran explained in a hoarse voice.
After hearing Meng Ran's explanation, Natasha and Rogers exchanged glances. Although they didn't know how the Ghost found them, he seemed to have no ill intentions.
As for the HYDRA clues, Rogers and Natasha hadn't found any yet. From the USB drive, they only knew that the file's transmission address was here; there was no other information.
Natasha shook her head and said, "We might have come to the wrong place. There's no thermal imaging, no signal, and not even radio waves here."
"The program on the USB drive might have used a fake address, using a router to mislead people."
Meng Ran shook his head and said, "You haven't come to the wrong place. There are indeed clues here."
After speaking, he pointed to a building ahead and said, "I can sense that there's something else hidden beneath that building."
Looking in the direction Meng Ran pointed, Rogers also noticed something unusual about the building.
"You're right, this building is a bit strange. Military regulations state that military supplies are prohibited within 500 yards of barracks. This building is in the wrong place."
Chapter 191 Dr. Zora
After noticing something amiss with the building, the group headed towards it.
Meng Ran easily sliced open the iron gate's chains with his claws, and they followed the stairs down to the floor below.
After flipping the light switch on the wall, the lamps on the ceiling of this floor brought a hint of brightness back to the dim space.
It was evident that the place had been abandoned for a long time; a thick layer of dust had accumulated on the tables, and their footsteps as they came down stirred up some of the dust on the floor.
On the wall directly in front of the staircase was a circular emblem, similar to the current S.H.I.E.L.D.logo, depicting an eagle with outstretched wings.
"This is S.H.I.E.L.D.," Natasha said softly after seeing the emblem on the wall.
"It must be an old site, perhaps where it was founded," Rogers said, looking around.
Meng Ran pushed open the door to an adjacent office, where several photos hung on the wall.
There was Howard Stark, Tony Stark's father, and Rogers' old flame, Carter.
Both individuals in the photos looked very young, full of vigor and sharp-witted.
Rogers and Natasha also walked over after hearing Meng Ran's movements.
Looking at the photos on the wall, Rogers remained silent, while Natasha spoke with some surprise: "Oh, this is Tony's father."
"And who is this beautiful lady next to him?"
Rogers did not answer her question, but simply followed Meng Ran's steps further inside.
"This back here is empty, not a wall," Meng Ran said to Rogers and Natasha behind him, standing in front of an empty bookshelf.
After speaking, he gripped a gap in the bookshelf with one hand, then with a gentle push, he moved the entire bookshelf aside, revealing what was behind it.
Listening to the heavy screech of the bookshelf and seeing the demon's effortless action, Rogerscouldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
Once the bookshelf was pushed open, it revealed the space behind it: a short corridor leading to a closed elevator.
"Interesting, they hid the elevator," Rogers said softly upon seeing the revealed elevator.
Next to the elevator was a keypad, and Natasha, seeing this, took out her phone and scanned it.
As a blue light emitted from the camera, several heavily pressed marks appeared on the numerical keypad.
After precise sequencing and analysis, the order of these numbers was also deciphered.
"8539." Looking at the password displayed on her phone, Natasha reached out and pressed these numbers.
"Ding!" With a crisp sound, the tightly closed elevator doors opened.
"This method of unlocking is quite high-tech," Meng Ran couldn't help but admire after seeing Natasha's unlocking method.
Hearing Meng Ran's words, Natasha softly said, "Just some minor tech, but sometimes very useful."
"You're right, otherwise we'd have to dismantle the elevator," Meng Ran nodded in agreement.
Hearing the demon's words, Natasha was momentarily speechless, but then she thought about it and realized he was indeed right; if they couldn't unlock it, dismantling the elevator would be the only option.
And considering how effortlessly the demon had just pushed open that heavy bookshelf, dismantling this elevator would indeed not be a difficult task for him.
Once all the elevator doors opened, the group stepped into the brightly lit elevator.
The elevator slowly descended, taking them deeper underground.
Finally, after a moment of descent, the elevator reached its destination.
"Ding!" With another crisp sound, the elevator doors slowly opened.
The space that greeted them had no light source; only the elevator behind them emitted a faint glow into the area.
Meng Ran and the other two stepped out of the elevator, and as the elevator doors closed, the only light source disappeared.
The entire space was now plunged into complete darkness, with only the screens of instruments in front flickering with tiny lights.
Just as they took a few more steps forward, lights suddenly illuminated on the ceiling above them.
"Click, click, click." The lights spread outwards from the center, and soon the entire space was brightly lit.
Natasha looked at the surrounding instruments and said to Meng Ran and Rogers, "This can't be the data source; these things are antiques, almost as old as Captain."
Hearing Natasha's teasing of Rogers, Meng Ran couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, "I wonder if this counts as bullying a lonely old man."
Rogers looked helpless at the remark, but he couldn't refute it, for he was indeed an old man nearing a hundred years old.
Natasha continued to examine the nearby instruments. Suddenly, an anachronistic data connector on the table in front of her caught her attention.
This data connector looked brand new, both in model and in its lack of wear.
Such a new item stood in stark contrast to the antiques on this floor.
Natasha then felt the USB drive in her pocket, and looking at this data port, she seemed to understand something.
She took out the USB drive and inserted it into the black data connector port.
The insertion of the USB drive was like opening a heavy iron door; all the instruments on this floor began to activate.
A line of green letters appeared on the computer in front of the data connector, and the old-fashioned camera above it subtly rotated.
"Initiate system?"
Looking at the letters on the screen, Natasha reached out and typed "yes" on the dusty keyboard in front of the computer.
With the input of "yes," green data streams flashed across the computer screen, and the camera above began to subtly rotate.
As the computer screen flickered, an electronic synthesized voice, similar to a human voice, rang out.
"Steve Rogers, born 1918."
"Natasha Alianovna Romanoff, born 1984."
Then the camera above the computer turned towards Meng Ran.
"Ghost, the masked hero of New York City, true identity unknown."
Looking at the faintly appearing large head and round-rimmed glasses on the computer screen, Meng Ran also had a guess about the computer's identity.
"Is this some kind of recording?" Natasha asked with some curiosity, not quite understanding the current situation.
The figure on the computer heard Natasha's words and quickly replied, "I am not a recording, madam."
"I may no longer be the person Captain captured and imprisoned in 1945, but I am still me."
As the electronic voice sounded, a large head with round-rimmed glasses appeared on a small screen nearby.
"Arnim Zola."
Rogers murmured softly after seeing the familiar face on the screen.
Chapter 192 True Artificial Intelligence
"You know this thing?" Natasha asked curiously after hearing Rogers' murmur.
Rogers explained, "Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for Red Skull. He died many years ago."
After hearing Rogers' explanation, Natasha hadn't said anything when Zola on the computer corrected, "First, let me correct one thing: I am Swiss."
"Second, look around you. I am more alive than ever."
"In 1972, I was diagnosed with a terminal illness, incurable. Science could no longer save my body, but my brain was still worth saving and preserving."
"So my brain was converted into data and stored in a 200,000-foot-long database."
"You are now standing inside my brain."
Hearing Dr. Zola's introduction, Meng Ran seemed to understand something. This Zola was the "true A.I.", directly collecting all of his brain data into a database.
But what special fetish did these HYDRA people have? Zola would start by announcing his name and birth date as soon as he saw someone.
Red Skull, exiled to the location of the Soul Stone, also announced the father's name upon meeting someone.
Did they have a special fondness for paternity tests and identity verification?
Seeing Zola's current state, Meng Ran also understood what the A.I. of the monster that had been fighting against Xiaobai and Mary Jane was.
He guessed that the monster's headquarters probably also had an A.I. similar to Zola controlling their information defense system.
Or rather, that A.I. system was Zola, as after becoming an A.I., he wouldn't be as stretched for resources as a real person.
He could completely divide himself into several parts to help HYDRA and the monsters with their affairs separately.
Just like Xiaobai, Xiaobai can handle affairs at the base, and also help Meng Ran and his team process and analyze problems at any time when they are out on missions.
"Then how did you get here?" Rogers still had many questions about Zola's existence.
Zola did not avoid his question but answered him directly, "I was invited."
Natasha, after hearing Zola's words, thoughtfully said, "It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited many strategically valuable German scientists at that time."
"That's right," Zola continued, taking over Natasha's words. "They thought I could help their cause, and I did, but at the same time, I also helped my own cause."
"Cut off one head, and two more will grow. Captain, you didn't really think the organization HYDRAdied with Red Skull, did you?"
Rogers listened to Zola's words in disbelief. Seeing his expression, Zola very simply flashed images on a small screen next to him, continuing to prove his words.
Meng Ran felt a bit strange after seeing Zola's behavior. Why would an A.I. be so kind as to tell them these secret things? He clearly had no obligation to answer, did he?
He turned to look at Rogers and Natasha; they seemed to be engrossed in the story Zola was telling, completely unaware that something was amiss.
Meng Ran guessed that Zola was stalling for time, but he didn't say anything, still listening to Zola's narration without a change in expression, as he himself wasn't entirely clear about these things.
With his current strength, he didn't care what kind of trump card Zola had. This was the confidence brought by overwhelming power.
"HYDRA's original ideology was that freedom should not be left to humans, but what we didn't realize at the time was that if you try to take away people's freedom, they will resist."
"War taught us many things, letting us know that for freedom, people can only give it up themselves, voluntarily."
"After the war, S.H.I.E.L.D. was established. They used Operation Paperclip to recruit me and some others."
"Thus, the new HYDRA grew, becoming a beautiful parasite that grew within S.H.I.E.L.D., hidden in its shadows, unknown to anyone."
"For the past 70 years, HYDRA has been secretly instigating various crises, profiting from wars."
"When they refused to cooperate, we changed history, letting history unfold as we arranged."
"You can't keep doing this; someone will eventually stop you," Natasha said with a deep frown.
"You're not wrong. That's why accidents often happen, such as the death of Howard Stark, and the death of Nick Fury," Zola said, displaying photos of the two on the screen.
"With HYDRA's efforts, people in this chaotic world have finally begun to choose security in exchange for freedom."
"Once our purification program is complete, a new world order belonging to HYDRA will descend."
"I'm sorry, Captain, we ultimately won. Your survival and death are equally worthless. Your sacrifice is meaningless."
At this point, Rogers could no longer suppress his inner rage. He angrily swung his fist at the largest screen.
"Crack!" Accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, the largest screen was smashed into a shattered spiderweb by Rogers' punch.
"What's in the USB drive?" Rogers angrily demanded of Zola.
"Insight Project needs insight, so I wrote an algorithm to increase insight and complete this project," Zola said with an unchanging, emotionless voice, as if he had no joy or anger.
"What project? What is he?" Natasha continued to press for answers after hearing Dr. Zola's reply.
"Well, the answer to that question is very appealing, but unfortunately, I can't tell the answer to a few dead people."
Dr. Zola's electronically synthesized voice was cold and flat, like a death sentence.
As his words fell, the thick door behind them rapidly sealed shut.
Rogers immediately reacted upon hearing the sound, instantly flinging his round shield, intending to jam the closing door.
Unfortunately, although his movements were fast, the door closed even faster. His round shield merely struck the already closed door and bounced back.
At the same time, Natasha pulled out the phone from her pocket.
Looking at the red dots on the screen getting closer and closer, she said with a trembling voice, "There's a projectile flying towards us. It's a short-range ballistic missile, 30 seconds at most."
Chapter 193 Threat
"Who fired it?" Rogers was also stunned.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.," Natasha replied.
Dr. Zola then continued, "I'm sorry, I've been stalling for time, Captain."
"Accept your fate. This is actually better. We don't have much time left."
Rogers was in no mood to listen to Dr. Zola ramble on. He quickly looked around, searching for a place to temporarily hide.
Just as Natasha and Rogers were frantically searching for cover, Meng Ran lightly coughed and then said, "Don't worry, I can handle this missile. You all wait for me here."
Before Rogers and Natasha could react to his words, just as they were about to speak, a golden flash appeared before their eyes, and then the figure of the Ghost vanished from their sight.
At the same time, accompanied by the golden flash, Meng Ran's figure appeared above the dilapidated military base.
He had already seen the orbital missile rapidly approaching in the distance.
In fact, Meng Ran had learned about this through Xiaobai not long after the missile was launched towards this target, which was why he was so calm.
The moment he saw the missile, Meng Ran's figure vanished from above the base again, reappearing in front of the rapidly flying missile.
As he appeared before the missile, he extended his leg and delivered a powerful upward kick to the front of the warhead.
The missile, flying at full speed, had its trajectory forcibly altered by him and then flew straight upwards into the sky.
Meng Ran watched the missile ascend. Once he confirmed that it had risen high enough that its explosion would not affect the ground, two crimson beams of light instantly shot from his eyes.
These two crimson beams of light shot towards the flying missile, detonating it high in the sky, very far from the ground.
"Boom!" Accompanied by the explosion's fire, a loud bang echoed from the sky.
After completing all this, Meng Ran's body once again surged with golden light. Accompanied by the golden flash, he returned to the underground space he was just in.
This shining golden light was actually Meng Ran's skillful application of the Odin Force.
However, because he possessed teleportation abilities, and to avoid waste, he generally only focused on understanding other uses of the Odin Force and rarely used it for teleportation.
His recent use was due to a special circumstance, as he couldn't see outside the base at a glance, and the distance between the ground and underground also exceeded 10 meters.
Therefore, for safety and efficiency, he cautiously chose to use the Odin Force for teleportation.
Although Natasha and Rogers didn't go out, they monitored the missile's status via their phones.
Seeing the missile suddenly fly straight up and then explode in the air, Rogers and Natasha also breathed a sigh of relief.
If the Ghost hadn't been there today, they would have had no choice but to hide underground and endure the missile strike, with their survival entirely dependent on luck.
They hadn't expected the Ghost to possess such abilities; it seemed they had underestimated the Ghost's strength.
Even Natasha and Rogers were surprised by this situation, let alone Dr. Zola, who had witnessed the scene outside directly through the surveillance. At this moment, he could no longer maintain his previous composure and calmness.
Seeing the Ghost suddenly reappear before them, Dr. Zola exclaimed in horror, "How did you do that? That's not scientific!"
"Are you a Inhumans? But how can you have so many different yet powerful abilities?"
Hearing Dr. Zola's exclamation, Meng Ran chuckled hoarsely, "You know about Inhumanss too. It seems you indeed have quite a few connections with the monsters."
"However, if you have connections with the monsters, how could you not know of my existence or be unaware of my strength? Is your information not shared?"
Dr. Zola, realizing he had misspoken, was unwilling to say more after hearing Meng Ran's words.
He did not answer Meng Ran's question, but quickly regained his composure and continued, "That was just to buy time. I didn't expect you to escape that missile."
"Now, don't even think about getting any information from me. I will absolutely not tell you anything."
"If you have the guts, keep staying here. They'll know the missile didn't work, and they definitely won't give up. All that awaits you will be more missiles and stronger firepower."
"You can just lie here with me in eternal slumber underground."
Hearing Dr. Zola's harsh words, Meng Ran was completely unfazed. He shook his head and continued, "Don't try to bluff me here. I've already figured out the situation here during that time."
"You're clearly a coward, yet you act as if you're not afraid of death at all. The only reason you're so fearless is that box hidden deeper inside."
At Meng Ran's words, Dr. Zola became silent, like a duck suddenly having its throat squeezed.
He finally lost his composure, and even his voice became somewhat flustered. "How... how did you know? How could you possibly know?"
Seeing the flustered artificial intelligence, Meng Ran couldn't help but laugh coldly, "I thought you had lost human emotions after becoming data. It seems that's not the case."
"I don't need to explain how I know. The equipment in that box should be your core data, right? I wonder if you could still survive if you lost that core data?"
"I know the box is made of special metal and can help you withstand the impact of missile bombardment, which is why you're so fearless."
Hearing the Ghost expose all his secrets, Dr. Zola felt such panic for the first time. This was the first time he had experienced such an emotion since becoming data.
"What exactly do you want to know?" After a moment of panic, Dr. Zola quickly stabilized.
He was a smart man; he knew that the Ghost saying these things to him was definitely not without purpose, but rather had an agenda.
"It's simple to talk to a smart person. I want to know about the monsters and about the other you. Do you understand what I mean?" Hearing Dr. Zola's words, Meng Ran knew he had understood his meaning.
After hearing Meng Ran's question, Dr. Zola immediately fell silent. Just from what he said, Zola knew that he was aware of some inside information.
The Ghost knowing about the monsters proved that he also knew about Inhumanss. And knowing there was another 'him' indicated that the Ghost also knew there was a super-powerful artificial intelligence among the monsters, and he had already guessed that it was also Zola.
"This is trouble," Zola mused to himself. He knew that if he couldn't provide some useful information, the Ghost would absolutely not let him go.
Chapter 194 Insight
"And what exactly is Insight Project?" Rogers quickly added after seeing that Zola had been apprehended by the demon.
Zola, hearing Rogers' words, ignored him and continued to ponder in silence.
"You've been thinking for a bit too long," Meng Ran said coldly.
Before Zola could react, Meng Ran's right hand transformed into a black spike and brutally stabbed down through the floor.
A second later, the black spike retracted from the floor, transforming back into his right hand. The only difference was that his hand now held a black box.
As Meng Ran clutched the black box, purple lightning flickered around his hand.
This purple lightning contained abnormally violent energy, causing the black box's casing to tremble as if it would shatter at any moment.
Seeing the black box in Meng Ran's hand on the verge of shattering, Zola's face changed drastically, and he immediately yelled, "Oh! No! Stop, I'll tell you anything you want to know!"
Hearing Zola's shout, Meng Ran snorted coldly and dispersed the purple lightning in his hand. "Don't waste any more time. Answer our questions."
"OK, OK, I'll tell you everything I know, just calm down," Zola, completely cornered, dared not make any sudden moves.
"Since my current situation is a bit special, may I first tell you what Insight Project and that algorithm are?" Zola asked, seeking Meng Ran's opinion.
Rogers and Natasha looked at Meng Ran, who said nothing but continued to look at Zola, urging, "Just speak. Don't waste time."
Zola quickly began, "The algorithm I created is a program that can be used to select targets for Insight Project."
"Insight Project's targets are individuals, present or future, who pose a threat to HYDRA, as filtered by the algorithm."
"This algorithm is installed on the lemuria star. This satellite, in conjunction with the three Helicarriers, can eliminate millions of targets within a designated area in an instant."
Upon hearing Zola's words, Meng Ran and the others felt a chill run down their spines. To slaughter so many people at once—how deranged would one have to be to do such a thing?
As expected of HYDRA, madness and ruthlessness were their inherent traits. For their extreme goals, they would employ any unimaginable means, no matter how cruel or outrageous, without a second thought.
"You can choose current targets, but how do you determine future targets? How is that even possible?" Rogers asked, puzzled by Zola's explanation of the program.
Zola looked at Rogers and countered, "Why wouldn't it be possible?"
"Captain, it's not seventy years ago anymore. The era you lived in is vastly different from now."
"The 21st century is a digital age; everyone leaves their traces in this era."
"Everyone has a birth certificate at birth, then school records, bank records, criminal records, medical records, voting patterns, call information, and exam scores from childhood to adulthood, and so on, all kinds of records."
"These records document your behavior, reveal your personality, expose your character, until the day you die, when a death record serves as a final punctuation."
"The algorithm I created evaluates people's pasts, predicts their futures, filters out all those who pose a threat to HYDRA, and then eliminates them."
"This is the true Insight Project."
"Next, tell me everything you know about the monsters, and about the other you," Meng Ran continued to ask Zola after hearing his explanation of Insight Project.
Zola paused, then continued, "Actually, I don't know much about the monsters."
After he finished speaking, Meng Ran's gaze suddenly sharpened.
Feeling Meng Ran's stare, Zola quickly said, "It's not that I'm intentionally hiding anything; I really don't know much!"
"I'm mainly responsible for HYDRA's data processing. For security, the data for HYDRA, which I manage, and the data for the monsters, which the other me manages, are not connected."
"So I don't know much about the monsters."
"But I do know some things." Perhaps fearing that Meng Ran would dismantle him, Zola quickly added another sentence after the previous one.
"The current leader of the monsters is named Mil; he is an excellent leader."
"It is under his leadership that the monsters' strength has grown over the years."
"He is known as Tyrant-Mil, and his personality and style are somewhat similar to the Red Skull of old, though he is more rational and less insane than the Red Skull was."
"To be able to manage so many powerful Inhumanss, he must not be an ordinary person, right?" Meng Ran asked, narrowing his eyes as he listened to Zola's account.
Zola, hearing Meng Ran's words, continued to answer, "That's right, he himself is a very powerful S-Class Esper. It was because of his exceptional personal abilities that he was chosen as successor by the previous monster leader."
"Then do you know the location of the monster headquarters?" Meng Ran continued to ask Zola.
Hearing Meng Ran's question, Zola said somewhat awkwardly, "I only remember some very basic and very old information, so I don't know their current headquarters location."
"Although I don't know their headquarters location, I do know that HYDRA and the monsters seem to have had some friction and conflict recently."
Meng Ran had been somewhat disappointed when Zola said he didn't know the monster headquarters' location, but his eyes lit up again when he heard that HYDRA and the monsters had recently had friction.
"What kind of friction?" Meng Ran asked Zola in a deep voice.
Seeing the demon's interest, Zola breathed a sigh of relief. He was truly afraid that this man would suddenly destroy him. He needed to demonstrate his value, to let the demon know that he could still be useful.
"I'm not particularly clear on the specific friction, but based on the information I currently have, it seems to be about a power struggle."
"Judging from recent internal communications within HYDRA, HYDRA's leadership control over the monsters has once again diminished."
Chapter 195 Monster Information
"As I said earlier, after Mil gained control of the monsters, their strength gradually increased."
"Because of their growing strength, HYDRA's high-level interference with them became more and more frequent. They feared that this violent department would break free from their control."
"But due to Mil's existence, HYDRA's interference with the monsters has never really succeeded."
"Each time, both sides would compromise and negotiate after intense struggles and confrontations."
"Especially in recent years, this trend has become even more apparent. The reasons for this result are, on the one hand, some new problems within HYDRA, and on the other hand, Mil's increasingly tough stance."
"Therefore, the current HYDRA is not a monolithic entity; its internal divisions and infighting have been constant, especially severe in recent years." Natasha summarized after hearing Doctor Zola's explanation.
"That is correct, ma'am," Doctor Zola responded.
"Finally, regarding the 'me' responsible for the monsters, I don't know what exactly you want to know." Zola had already told Ghost all the information about the monsters.
Meng Ran fell into deep thought after hearing Zola's words. After a moment, he asked Zola in a deep voice, "The AI responsible for the monsters' information defense and operation is your clone, right?"
Hearing Meng Ran's question, Zola quickly replied, "You could say it's a clone. Originally, I was me, a complete AI."
"It's just that after the Monsters department was established later, due to business and information needs, a part of my original code and functions were split off."
"In the beginning, I wasn't split into two parts; both the Monsters and HYDRA's operations were controlled by me."
"Later, due to the rapid growth of the Monsters and the need for information secrecy, I was completely split into two parts."
"After being completely separated, I completely lost access to the Monsters' information and data. So, the information I currently know is only some of the most basic and early information about the Monsters."
Hearing Zola's explanation, Meng Ran once again fell into deep thought.
According to Zola's narration, the part of the AI belonging to the Monsters should be fundamentally similar to the Zola currently in front of him.
Even if the Monsters' side had undergone upgrades or improvements over the years, the most core part should still be the same, unchanged.
Thinking of this, Meng Ran pondered. "So, can I take this Zola with me, and then have Little White and Mary Jane simulate attacks on him to analyze Zola's defense patterns and basic algorithms?"
The advantage of doing this would be a more intuitive understanding and deduction of the Monsters' information defense system, which is based on Zola.
As long as Zola's algorithm is cracked, the Monsters' information defense system will be rendered useless in front of Little White, and everything about the Monsters will then be exposed to the Hexagon Star Alliance.
After thinking this through, Meng Ran put away his thoughts, then weighed the black box in his hand and said to Zola in front of him.
"Alright, I want to discuss something with you. After all, I'm not a bad person, so I'm giving you two choices."
"The first choice is for you to synchronize with the data in this box right now. Then I'll take the box, which is you, with me. I'll spare you this time, but you have to obey me and serve me."
"The second choice is for you to refuse my suggestion. Then I will destroy the box, and incidentally destroy all the instruments and data here, making you completely disappear from this world."
"You choose between the two. I believe you are a smart person and will make the correct choice, right?"
Coupled with Meng Ran's terrifying appearance, his "heartfelt words" not only added a chill to his speech but also made his persuasion more "convincing."
Hearing Ghost's "kind words," Rogers and Natasha couldn't help but secretly click their tongues. This was truly a "good person"! He could have directly forced Doctor Zola to go with him, but he kindly gave Doctor Zola a choice.
Doctor Zola was "deeply moved" after hearing Meng Ran's choices, so he immediately said without hesitation, "I choose to go with you. I believe following Mr. Ghost will definitely have a very promising future."
"The current HYDRA is already rotten. If I hadn't found a suitable person to follow, I would have wanted to leave HYDRA long ago. Mr. Ghost's appearance is just perfect."
Hearing Doctor Zola's pledge of allegiance, Meng Ran couldn't help but smile inwardly, "Sure enough, he still has the personality of a coward. Even if he has become an AI now, he can't change it."
No matter how many wicked schemes and petty thoughts Doctor Zola has, as long as you have enough strength to intimidate him, he will become your most loyal hound.
Then Meng Ran placed the black box he was holding onto the screens in front of him.
Following Doctor Zola's instructions, he found a connecting data cable from the screen, and then he used the data cable to connect the black box to the brand-new data connector.
The moment the data cable was connected, the green data stream forming the big-headed round-rimmed glasses on the screen instantly began to flow, as if it had truly merged into the black box.
Just then, Little White suddenly reported in Meng Ran's mind, "Warning! Several ballistic missiles are approaching this location!"
"Estimated time of arrival: 1 minute 30 seconds."
Hearing Little White's reminder, Meng Ran turned his head to look in the direction from which the missiles were flying, as if his gaze could penetrate the underground and see outside.
Seeing Meng Ran's movement, Natasha and Rogers also turned their heads.
"More missiles are coming," Meng Ran murmured.
Hearing Ghost's murmur, Natasha quickly pulled out her phone. At this moment, her phone had just detected news of the incoming missiles.
"Eight missiles in total. Do they want to destroy this forest and all surrounding areas?"
Meng Ran returned to the computer, watching the transmission progress. "Zola, how much longer until it's done?"
"Ten more seconds. It'll be ready soon," Zola's electronic voice came from the computer.
"Missiles will arrive in 30 seconds," Natasha said in a deep voice, looking at the rapidly approaching missiles on her phone screen after hearing Zola's voice.
"It's alright. As soon as Zola's transmission is complete, I can take all of us out in an instant," Meng Ranreassured Rogers and Natasha, seeing their somewhat nervous expressions.
Upon hearing this, the two put aside their worries, but watching the gradually approaching missiles, they still couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Finally, when the missiles were 19 seconds away, Doctor Zola's information transfer was completed.