"Jarvis, highlight the globe."
After a moment of thought, Iron Man began giving commands to Jarvis.
Once Jarvis highlighted the digital model of the globe as Iron Man requested, Iron Man continued to observe and ponder for a while, then issued one command after another to Jarvis.
"Remove the walkways, discard them all!"
"What are you trying to discover, sir?"
"I want to discover… or rather, I want to rediscover a new element!"
"Remove the landscape too, and the bushes, the trees!"
"The parking lot, the exits, the entrances!"
"Use the gazebo as a framework to construct protons and neutrons."
… As Jarvis performed the operations, the digital model in front of Iron Man constantly changed accordingly.
Finally, a model of an atom appeared before Iron Man's eyes.
Iron Man looked at the shimmering, three-dimensionally beautiful atomic cluster, truly surprised and delighted; the new element had been successfully synthesized!
"You've been dead for twenty years, and you're still lecturing me."
Thinking that this new element was discovered entirely based on the foundation left by his father, Howard, Iron Man couldn't help but sigh, "Thank you, Dad!"
"Congratulations, sir, the new element you synthesized should be able to replace palladium," Jarvis's voice chimed in, "However, it's unfortunate that it cannot be synthesized at the moment."
Of course not now; synthesizing elements requires a lot of specialized equipment, and those things are not yet available in Stark Tower.
"I'm preparing for a major renovation, guys, it's time to break a sweat!"
Iron Man clapped his hands, full of vigor.
Over the next few days, Iron Man once again became extremely busy. He purchased a lot of related equipment and transformed his room into a precise laboratory.
He began synthesizing the new element… Triskelion.
Director's Office.
Nick Fury stood ramrod straight in the hall, hands clasped behind his back, gazing ahead with his single eye.
If anyone else were there, they would surely find Nick Fury's actions very strange, because Nick Fury's gaze at that moment was fixed on a wall.
What was there to see on a wall?
However, Captain America, sitting in the office, didn't find it strange at all, because he knew that Nick Fury was using his All-Seeing Eye to check on Bucky.
A moment later, Nick Fury withdrew his gaze.
"Nick Fury, how is it?"
Captain America couldn't help but ask urgently.
"Captain, I found Bucky." Nick Fury nodded, which made Captain America let out a long sigh of relief.
"Where is he?" Captain America immediately pressed on.
"Captain, the situation is a bit complicated." Nick Fury slowly paced, then walked to his seat and sat down. "Bucky is currently in a military-grade base with very tight security."
"The location of that base is somewhat hidden, and my All-Seeing Eye has limited time, so, based on the information I've observed so far, I cannot effectively pinpoint the base's location."
"This will require continuous observation over the next few days."
"Nick Fury, is there anything you need me to do?" Captain America didn't stand on ceremony with Nick Fury but looked at him seriously and asked.
"As a matter of fact, there is."
Nick Fury was even less polite with Captain America.
"Investigate that bald commander?"
"Besides that, there's more." Saying this, Nick Fury took out a file and placed it in front of Captain America.
"Operation Paperclip?"
Captain America opened the file with a hint of doubt, then his face turned grim.
"SHIELD actually recruited Hydra scientists? That's absurd! No wonder Hydra hasn't been destroyed yet; it's you, SHIELD, who provided them with fertile ground to take root and grow!"
Captain America's voice was filled with unreserved criticism.
When Hydra was initially destroyed, SHIELD felt it would be a waste to let go of those Hydra scientists and some technical personnel, so they recruited all of them into SHIELD.
They made those people work for SHIELD.
Before problems arose, no one thought much of it, but now that Nick Fury knew Hydra still existed, the former Hydra personnel recruited through this plan naturally became the primary suspects.
"Captain, I don't know the extent to which Hydra has infiltrated SHIELD, and precisely because of this, I dare not easily use SHIELD's resources to investigate this matter."
"So, I'm entrusting this task to you."
Nick Fury said to Captain America with a serious expression.
"I can't do this alone." Captain America didn't decline, merely stating the current difficulties to Nick Fury.
"I will quickly recruit a team with clean backgrounds for you to command."
"Additionally, once Stark resolves the palladium poisoning issue, I will also seek some technical support from him."
Nick Fury clearly had a comprehensive plan already.
Upon hearing this, Captain America said no more, but began to read through the Paperclip Project file.
Over the next few days, Nick Fury kept his promise, using the All-Seeing Eye daily to observe the secret base where Bucky was located.
Gradually, he had a fairly good understanding of the base.
He had observed the general layout, including some of the garrison forces, internal structure, and surrounding environment.
However, it was regrettable that when the Winter Soldier was not on missions, he was in a state of dormant sleep. During this time, apart from some technical personnel checking on the Winter Soldier's status, no one else had come.
The plan to use the All-Seeing Eye to monitor the secret base and find the people behind the Winter Soldier was unfeasible.
After all, each use of the All-Seeing Eye was too short.
This matter still had to be handled the old-fashioned way.
"Natasha!"
Finally, Nick Fury called in his most loyal confidante, Black Widow, and assigned this important task to her.
In the future, Black Widow would fight against Hydra alongside Captain America, so she should be trustworthy.
"These are some clues I've compiled. I need you to find out the exact location of this base as quickly as possible."
Nick Fury handed over the intelligence he had gathered over the past few days to Black Widow. "Report any findings directly to me, or contact the Captain."
"Where is this place?" Black Widow glanced at the documents Nick Fury handed her and asked seriously.
Seeing Nick Fury's demeanor, Black Widow knew this place was certainly extraordinary.
"This is the base where the Winter Soldier is hiding." After a brief thought, Nick Fury chose to tell Black Widow the truth.
"Understood, sir!" Black Widow left in a hurry.