Daniel stepped out of Nick Fury's office with a long exhale.
After a lengthy back-and-forth—half convincing, half pleading—Fury finally accepted that Daniel had zero intention of leaving S.H.I.E.L.D.Daniel even took the chance to make a bold request:
From now on, unless it was a high-difficulty mission, he didn't want any of those low-value errands. He was too good for them.
And somehow… he actually got a one-day vacation out of it.
Apparently, S.H.I.E.L.D. had run out of high-level missions; all of them had already been claimed by other agents before Daniel even came knocking.
So Fury waved his hand and said, "Take a day off before my sales champion dies from overworking."
Daniel trudged through the corridor, grumbling.
"Great. Even the NPCs are speedrunning missions now… I can't play this game anymore."
Come to think of it, he had never actually explored the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Every time he entered, he went straight to Fury's office and left immediately afterward.His map wasn't even fully unlocked.
Well, now was the perfect time.
He opened his minimap and walked straight toward the unexplored dark areas.
The HQ was massive—absurdly massive.A full hour later, and he had still only revealed half the map.
Eventually, he arrived at a door leading to an entirely dark, unexplored room.
A private office.
Very few people had those in S.H.I.E.L.D.—only high-clearance individuals: Level 8 Agents or above.Definitely not someone a Level 5 Agent like Daniel should be barging in on.
Which, of course, meant Daniel pushed the door open without hesitation.
Inside, a fair-haired old man in a suit sat at a polished desk, while a bald man in glasses stood in front of him, mid-report.
Daniel's sudden intrusion jolted both men.
The bald one—Sitwell—was the first to react, eyes sharp and wary.
"Who are you? How did you get in? Why didn't the office security system trigger an alarm?"
So many questions.
Daniel suspected he had triggered some kind of hidden story flag.
"I'm Daniel," he replied calmly. "You don't need to know how I got in. And as for why the alarm didn't trigger—simple. I hacked the system."
Sitwell: "???"
How could he say that with such… self-righteous confidence?
"You—"
"Enough, Agent Sitwell," the old man interrupted. "I need to speak with Agent Daniel alone."
"But sir—"
"It's fine."
"… Understood."
Sitwell shot Daniel a long, complicated look before exiting.
"Please, have a seat," the old man said, smiling politely.
Daniel sat down without ceremony, twirling a wallet in his hand.
"This is…?" Pierce asked.
"Oh, this? My wallet," Daniel said cheerfully.
He emptied the cash straight into his pocket, then tossed the wallet into the trash beside him.
A driver's license slid out on the way down.
Sitwell's face stared up at them from the discarded card.
Pierce: "…"
A true master thief.And petty too—Sitwell barely glared at him and lost his wallet.
Pierce immediately revised his internal evaluation of Daniel and went straight to business.
"I know who you are, Agent Daniel."
"Oh? You've heard my glorious story too?" Daniel perked up.
"Of course. Advancing from a graduate to a Level 5 Agent in just two months is unprecedented in S.H.I.E.L.D."
"You flatter me," Daniel said, pleased. NPCs with taste were rare.
"But," Pierce continued, smiling meaningfully, "I know more than just that."
Daniel internally rolled his eyes.Riddlers were the worst.
Still, the man had been polite, so Daniel played along."Oh? And what else do you know?"
Pierce leaned forward, close to Daniel's ear, and whispered:
"Hail Hydra."
Daniel's eyes widened dramatically.
"You… you—"
Pierce nodded, satisfied."That's right, I am—"
"What are you talking about?"
Daniel finally finished the sentence.
Pierce: "…"
Could this man stop pausing like that!?
With his patience fraying, Pierce decided to lay it all out.
"You still don't understand? I am Hydra. And I am your superior."
Daniel froze for a second—then realization slammed into him.
He shot to his feet and bowed slightly.
"My apologies, Sir! I didn't recognize you!"
Of course.His chosen identity was a Hydra double agent!
The system stated he was a sleeper spy planted inside S.H.I.E.L.D., tasked with hiding his identity at all costs—especially from that one-eyed menace Nick Fury.
Pierce nodded approvingly.
"It's normal you didn't know. Unactivated Hydra members are kept separate for safety reasons. Until today, I wouldn't have approached you either."
Indeed, Daniel had basically barged into his boss's office by pure coincidence.
"Still," Pierce added, "your caution is commendable. Even if someone shouts 'Hail Hydra' at you, you must not admit it immediately. You handled that perfectly."
"Um… thank you, Sir."
Daniel scratched his head.
Should he admit the real reason?That he had been a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent for so long he nearly forgot the Hydra thing entirely?
No—this was elite-level undercover work.
If even he forgot his real identity, who could possibly uncover him?
Pierce's face grew serious.
"Since you're activated now, I have a mission for you. A perfect assignment, in fact."
Daniel's eyes lit up.
If he couldn't compete on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s leaderboard, then he'd dominate Hydra's instead!
"It's simple," Pierce said. "Keep a close watch on Nick Fury. Any special missions he gives you or suspicious movements he makes—report them to me immediately."
[NPC Alexander Pierce has issued you a new mission.][Mission: Hail Hydra][Objective: Report Nick Fury's activities to Pierce][Reward: Depends on intelligence value]
"I guarantee I'll complete the mission, Sir!" Daniel declared, standing at attention.
His new double life had officially begun.