Sokovia.
A small, landlocked Eastern European country, mountainous and barren, it has also been plagued by war for years.
Warlords are everywhere.
Let's put it this way: today's ruler might be this warlord, but by tomorrow—no, sometimes not even by tomorrow—this afternoon, the ruling warlord's head might be chopped off and hung on the flag of the presidential palace.
However…
This had nothing to do with Hawke, who had just arrived.
Boom!
As a sonic boom cloud burst forth over Sokovia, Hawke's figure appeared right after, his gaze fixed on a sprawling castle nestled in a cold forest, built on the mountainside.
The next second.
Hawke had already entered the castle.
But…
The castle was empty, deserted, and even a complete mess; several vehicles, seemingly left behind and burned on the spot, were parked near the castle's main entrance.
Hawke glanced around, his Sixth Sense fully activated, instantly enveloping the entire castle, then pinpointed a location, and his figure vanished from where he stood.
When he reappeared, he was already in a spacious room on the third floor of the castle.
This place was also empty, with countless discarded papers scattered on the floor, and signing pens and some connecting cables strewn across the desktop.
Hawke merely scanned the room, then his gaze fixed on the spot where the Mind Stone, one of the Infinity Stones, had once been.
He possessed the Reality Stone; without going too far, he could sense the aura fluctuations of other Infinity Stones when he was close enough.
And this place had once been where the Mind Stone resided.
But not anymore.
Hawke's thoughts spun, and he instantly understood why this place was empty.
Alexander Pierce must have tipped them off.
No.
It should be that he had informed Alexander Pierce.
Hawke recalled the phone call from the voice impersonating Anna, and how he had said he wanted to borrow the Mind Stone.
It was because of that statement that the Mind Stone, which should have been here, was no longer here.
"Pierce!"
"The HYDRA leader is indeed the HYDRA leader."
Hawke sneered.
The next second.
Alexander Pierce, who had been serving his sentence in the Third Hell of the Stone Grinding Purgatory, was directly cast into the Eighth Hell after a flash of black light.
The Icebound Purgatory!
Looking out, this place was infinitely vast, with ice, snow, and icy winds constantly raging; souls who came here had only one fate: to freeze to death.
To freeze to death, literally.
But like the Stone Grinding Purgatory, this death was not a one-time death, but an endless death.
The moment Alexander Pierce appeared in the Icebound Purgatory, he felt a bone-chilling cold, almost subconsciously hugging his arms, his teeth already chattering.
After throwing Pierce into the Eighth Hell, Hawke no longer paid attention.
He couldn't be bothered to ask Pierce where Strucker had fled with his Mind Stone.
No need.
Strucker better hide with the Mind Stone and never show his face if he has the guts.
Hawke thought to himself, then turned around, and just as he was about to leave this place and return to New York City, a sudden thought struck him; his figure flashed, and he appeared in a sealed room, his gaze directed at a circular object in the room that had just been activated.
Just then.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
The moment Hawke's figure stepped into this room, it was as if some mechanism had been activated; golden-glowing metal quickly closed in from all sides of the sealed room, including the ceiling, and in the blink of an eye, the entire room was surrounded.
Boom!
Hawke's eyes glowed crimson, and the Phoenix Ray, powerful enough to instantly vaporize an ordinary person with its terrifying high temperature, struck the metal wall but didn't even make a dent.
"Vibranium!"
"That's right."
Just as Hawke raised an eyebrow, stating the metal's origin, there was a hum, and the circular object that had just been activated shot out a projection.
As that voice sounded, a man's projection appeared in Hawke's line of sight.
Hawke looked at the man appearing before him as a projection, narrowing his eyes.
The man in the projection seemed very happy to see Hawke, a slight smile on his weathered face, his voice a raspy, metallic friction.
"Mr. Phoenix, hello, we finally meet."
"Wolfgang von Strucker!"
Hawke also spoke the name of the projected man, glancing at the room completely surrounded by Vibranium metal, and looked calmly at Strucker: "I was the one who helped you find the Vibranium. Do you think this thing can trap me?"
Strucker responded with a smile: "Of course not. I never thought I could trap you with this trick."
Hawke chuckled.
"Then what do you want to do?"
"Talk."
"Alright!"
Hawke's smile remained unchanged as he looked at the projected Strucker: "Give me an address, I'll come to you personally, and then we can have a good talk."
Strucker laughed heartily.
"Mr. Phoenix, I will absolutely not give you my current address. After all, I just moved here."
"Pierce informed you?"
"Yes."
Strucker admitted very frankly: "Although Alexander Pierce and I disagree on many things, we both have a common goal, which is to make HYDRA great again."
Yes.
Whether it was him or Alexander Pierce, their goal was to make HYDRA great again.
It was just that their methods were different.
It seemed now.
His method was slightly better.
Hawke, however, listened to Strucker's words and snorted with undisguised disdain: "Make HYDRA great again? Talk to me when I'm dead."
Strucker smiled.
"Mr. Phoenix, in this World, no one is immortal. You are no exception."
"Is that so?"
Hawke raised an eyebrow, looking at Strucker with a hint of playfulness: "So, you've already found a way to kill me?"
Strucker chuckled, not continuing on that topic.
After all, both his plan and Arnim Zola's remaining plan still needed time.
So—
"Let's make a deal, Mr. Phoenix."
"No."
"…"
Strucker's smile faltered slightly: "You haven't even heard what our conditions are, Mr. Phoenix."
Hawke's lips curled into a mocking smile as he looked at the projected Strucker: "Strucker, you'd better pray you can hide deeper and longer, and you'd better pray that whatever you're concocting turns out to be useful, otherwise, you'll be miserable, eternally and endlessly miserable."
After saying that.
Boom!
Hawke's eyes glowed crimson, striking directly at the projection device; with a bang, the projection of Strucker, whose expression was frozen in shock, vanished.
The next second.
Whoosh!
Hawke took a step, already appearing directly above the HYDRA castle; with a punch, the HYDRA castle, nestled on the mountainside, began to collapse at a visible rate amidst violent tremors.
In no time, the magnificent castle had turned into crumbling ruins.
Hawke then headed towards New York City without looking back.
A deal?
A deal my ass.
What right did he have?
He was invincible in the human World.
What right did HYDRA have?
An arrogant, self-proclaimed organization that couldn't even stage a rebellion, but in reality, was just an utterly foolish villainous group.
To negotiate with him, did they deserve it?
Mephisto had tried to threaten Hawke with his sister's soul, and Hawke hadn't compromised; now HYDRA thought that by having the Mind Stone, they were qualified to negotiate with Hawke?
What were they thinking?
Hawke had only said that he could use the Mind Stone to cheat and quickly comprehend the Seventh Sense, but he hadn't said that he absolutely needed the Mind Stone.
Without the Mind Stone to cheat, at most, the speed would just be slower.
Slow is slow, so what?
Hawke didn't care.
How long had it been since he awakened his Little Universe?
Just as he had told Strucker at the end, if Strucker had the guts, he should just hide with the Mind Stone forever and never come out.
So…
Negotiate?
Negotiate with your grandpa.
If you have the guts, hide well from now on and never show your face, otherwise, if he killed you, wouldn't the Mind Stone still be his?
Hawke thought to himself, then, upon returning to New York City, his figure flickered and he appeared in the backyard of 521A Palm Street.
The two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on guard in the backyard, seeing Hawke's sudden appearance, instinctively drew their guns, but quickly reacted.
"Mr. Phoenix."
Both of them were among the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents rescued by Hawke, so they recognized him and quickly greeted him.
Gwen, who was in the living room with Commander Victoria Hand, heard the commotion in the backyard and had already run out as the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents spoke; then, seeing Hawke return, her eyes lit up and she immediately hugged him.
"Hawke, you're back."
"Mm."
Hawke embraced his fiancée, his gaze going to Commander Victoria Hand, who had also emerged from the living room: "Thank you."
Commander Hand said: "We should be saying thank you, Hawke. If you hadn't intervened, who knows how this turmoil would have ended."
This was sincere.
If Hawke hadn't intervened this time, who knew how it would have ended.
Especially thinking of those three Insight Motherships equipped with the Insight algorithm.
However, because of Hawke, only one of the three Insight Motherships was scrapped, and one was lost, but fortunately, one was still intact.
That was the Insight Mothership controlled by Tony Stark.
Thor's Insight Mothership was severely damaged and needed major repairs.
The one Hawke had pierced through had no need for repairs at all; the cost of just retrieving it from the river was already more than S.H.I.E.L.D. could bear.
But compared to HYDRA actually succeeding in their plan, this was a blessing in disguise.
So…
Commander Hand smiled slightly: "Since you're back, we won't disturb you two. We'll be leaving now."
Hawke nodded.
"Take care."
"Goodbye, Commander Hand."
Gwen also smiled and greeted Commander Hand.
Soon.
After Commander Hand and the others left, Gwen, who had seen them to the door, withdrew her gaze and turned to Hawke with a serious expression: "If you lose your left arm next month, it shouldn't affect anything, right?"
Hawke: "…"
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