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Chapter 130 Hydra Mission

With Max joining the team, Du Mu was finally freed from his daily tasks.

Now all his daily tasks are outsourced to the X Team. Tasks like arrests are handled by Peter and Harry, while special tasks involving the gray area, such as intelligence gathering, are all assigned to Max.

Max has no moral baggage. He carries out any task he receives without asking questions or having any objections. Just like any other employee, he is only responsible for completing the task and never cares about anything outside of his duties.

It's worth mentioning that Max's efficiency in completing tasks alone is even higher than Peter and Harry combined. There's practically nothing that can stop him; he can freely move through most places along the power lines. After all, who can stop an electric current?

If they encounter an enemy, Max can easily take care of them with a set of electroshock therapy.

Most importantly, it doesn't need any rest at all. It only takes a few seconds to charge and lasts for two and a half weeks. It's practically a natural-born superhuman.

For this reason, Du Mu entrusted more tasks to Max.

Since we can't kill them anyway, let's go all out!
Max was completely numb.

If he had played a few games, he would know that this was not a Pokémon, but a Palkia!
Of course, Du Mu didn't let Max work for nothing.

Knowing that Max longed for recognition, they deliberately arranged for him to fight criminals in public. They then spent money to buy several trending topics to make Professor Max's name known and gradually introduce this newly debuted superhero to the people of New York.

Although Max's fame is currently far less than that of Harry, the little devil, for Max, these small glimmers of attention and recognition seem to illuminate his long-standing gloomy life, making him feel for the first time that he has truly been seen.

Furthermore, Du Mu promised him that he would arrange trending topics for him every now and then to increase his traffic and followers, ensuring that he could remain active in the public eye.

For Du Mu, things that could be solved with money were not problems at all.

Max worked even harder, even taking on new tasks from Du Mu. He was either doing tasks or on his way to do tasks every day, without taking a break at all.

However, not long after, Du Mu sternly stopped him from doing this: "You don't even have time to rest. If word gets out, what will people think of me? Will they think I'm a slave owner?"

"."

Max was speechless for a moment.

He vaguely sensed something was wrong, but still explained, "Don't worry, I won't feel tired even if I don't rest."

Du Mu frowned and scolded, "Even if your body doesn't get tired, I can't make you do missions non-stop for 24 hours. If I did that, would I still be human?"

"I understand."

Max was somewhat touched; it was truly rare to find a superior who cared about him like that.

Du Mu nodded: "Good, you understand. Don't do that again. You must have rest time every day. You can't work 24 hours a day. The maximum is 23 hours!"

Max: "."

Give me back my feelings!

And the same goes for Harry.

Recently, his symptoms have become more and more frequent, and he finally couldn't bear it anymore, so he drank the life-saving potion that Du Mu had given him.

After drinking it, the life potion took effect immediately. Harry's health bar was fully restored, his hands stopped shaking, his tinnitus stopped, and he was full of unprecedented energy. He fought with criminals in the morning and in bed at night, and was still full of energy the next day.

Only those who have experienced despair can truly cherish hope, and Harry worked even harder to complete his missions.

Seeing the other members curling their hair like that, Peter instinctively followed suit and curled his hair too.

With the efficient daily task pipeline of Team X, Du Mu's experience points and reputation continued to increase steadily, making it as easy as AFK (away from keyboard).

In contrast, the other agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were getting busier and busier.

As time went on, the tasks that S.H.I.E.L.D. had to handle did not decrease, but rather increased, and manpower gradually became tight.

As a result, Director Hill had to launch a new round of recruitment, not only recruiting new people from S.H.I.E.L.D., the alma mater of Du Mu's character, but also recruiting various professional talents from outside, which reduced the purity of S.H.I.E.L.D. quite a bit.

It has to be Hill. He accomplished in no time that Nick Fury had done in all those years after becoming director.

Even Steve was recruited by Hill into S.H.I.E.L.D., a century-old veteran returning to work, carrying out high-level special missions with Natasha, and being authorized to command a S.H.I.E.L.D. special operations team.

Since the Battle of New York, Steve Rogers, Captain America, has once again come into the public eye.

As a former national icon and moral exemplar, the American government naturally wouldn't let go of this traffic-generating opportunity, so they let Steve return to his old profession and become a spokesperson for various events.

Fortunately, America no longer needs Steve to sell his body; instead, he's been asked to serve as an ambassador for student conduct in various states, filming short videos to inspire and educate students.

For this reason, Steve also gained quite a few more little black guys.

Finally, unable to resist any longer, and to avoid the activities arranged for him by the American government, he simply agreed to Hill's invitation to join S.H.I.E.L.D.

Steve's shield has now reverted to the Star Guardian logo, but upon closer inspection, it's clear that it's simply been coated with a plastic film.

There was no way to remove the octopus pattern from the shield. Even if you covered it with paint, it would quickly revert to its original state, as if the octopus pattern had been permanently imprinted on the shield.

To avoid misunderstanding, Steve had no choice but to cover the pattern with a film.

After all, he's frequently active within S.H.I.E.L.D. these days. If S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were to discover that his shield had the Hydra symbol on it, he'd probably be arrested as a Hydra captain.

Coincidentally, the Hydra spies lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D. thought the same thing. Captain America was renowned, and it was he who had caused Hydra to fall apart. Therefore, everyone was walking on thin ice, fearing that their identities would be exposed in front of him.

And so, Steve and the Hydra spies lived cautiously every day, afraid that they might accidentally reveal their identities as Hydra captains and Hydra agents.

Only Du Mu was carefree and didn't care about the risk of his identity being exposed. After all, he was a double agent for Nick Fury and Pierce. Even if one of his identities was exposed, someone would cover for him and cover up his true identity.

That day, as soon as he stepped out of the director's office, he quickly assigned the routine tasks he had just received to Team X.

Just then, Sitwell walked up to him and said in a low voice, "Agent Du Mu, Mr. Pierce requests your presence."

"understood."

Du Mu nodded in agreement, then suddenly noticed that Sitwell was pressing his hands tightly against his pockets.

He looked surprised and asked, "What are you doing?"

"No, it's nothing, just a slight cramp in my thigh."

Sitwell chuckled awkwardly. In reality, he was just worried that Du Mu would steal his things; this wasn't the first time the other man had done it.

Without giving it much thought, Du Mu followed Sitwell to Pierce's office, pushing the door open without knocking.

"Sir, what do you need me for?"

Pierce's lips twitched. He couldn't find another agent in the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. who disregarded all rules like this. But when he heard that Du Mu had kicked open the door when Nick Fury was director, he suddenly felt it wasn't such a big deal.

Pierce first gestured for Sitwell to leave with his eyes. After the door closed, he smiled at Du Mu and said, "Yes, now I have a very important secret mission for you. I need you to escort Loki's scepter to our research base in Sokovia."

[NPC Alexander Pierce has given you a new quest.]

[Mission: Escort the Scepter]

[Objective: Deliver Loki's Scepter to Sokovia, Hydra's research base]

[Rewards: 1000 experience points, 20 S.H.I.E.L.D. reputation, 1 random piece of equipment]

No, what's with the Hydra-issued mission to increase S.H.I.E.L.D. reputation?

You're not even acting anymore, are you?
Du Mu mentally scoffed, but nodded and said, "I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

He wasn't surprised at all that the scepter had fallen into Hydra's hands; after all, the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. was practically riddled with infiltration, so it would be strange if it weren't in their possession.

Pierce emphasized, "Remember, this mission must be kept strictly secret and must not attract anyone's attention."

"understand!"

Sokovia is a small, landlocked country in Europe that has long been plagued by internal strife and armed conflict.

Years ago, the United States, under the guise of ending the country's political turmoil, planned and launched several airstrikes against Sokovia, making the already unstable Sokovia even more chaotic.

Hydra took advantage of the situation in Sokovia, establishing a secret research base there and using local unrest and conflict as cover.

Of course, they operated under the guise of a S.H.I.E.L.D. peacekeeping force. The supply convoys were marked with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, and the members were all dressed in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms. No one could tell that they were Hydra.

Hydra's secret research base is located on the outskirts of Novigrad, Sokovia, in an ancient fortress perched on a small hill. The fortress is surrounded by dense forest, and former forest watchtowers and newly built military bunkers together form a defensive network.

Du Mu, carrying the metal box containing Loki's scepter, moved several times before finally boarding the car arranged by Pierce and arriving at the ancient fortress hidden in the mountains.

As the vehicle traveled along the forest road, many hydra-like creatures could be vaguely seen patrolling the forest, maintaining a high level of vigilance.

Du Mu got out of the carriage and walked towards the ancient fortress. He was stopped at the entrance by a Hydra guard.

"Please show me your pass."

Du Mu took out the special document Pierce had given him. After the Hydra guards carefully examined it, their attitude immediately became respectful. They straightened their bodies, raised their fists at a 45-degree angle, and performed a standard Hydra salute.

"Long live Hydra!"

This was the first time Du Mu had ever seen this kind of luggage. It resembled a certain mustache, but it looked more like Astro Boy and Superman.

"Long live Hydra!"

Du Mu nodded in response, then carried the metal box and walked through the fortress gate.

The interior of this ancient fortress has been completely transformed into a modern research base full of futuristic technology, filled with densely packed precision instruments. Researchers in white coats hurry between various experimental areas.

A man wearing a one-way mirror and sporting a neat buzz cut walked up and said expressionlessly, "I am the head of this research base. Just hand over the items to me."

[NPC: Wolfgang von Strucker]

Codename: Baron Strucker

【Favourability: 0】

[Review: The leader of the European faction of Hydra, he seemed very powerful, but he was killed off within minutes of his appearance.]

Hydra is not a monolithic entity; it is divided into several factions, each fighting its own battles.

Pierce leads the Hydra forces operating within S.H.I.E.L.D., while Baron Strucker controls the Hydra branch operating in Europe. They do not interfere with each other, but they occasionally cooperate, just like now.

Du Mu handed the metal box to Strucker, and the system's voice sounded at the same time.

[Mission 'Escort the Scepter' completed]

[Rewards: 1000 XP, 20 S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation, Equipment 'M1917 American Smith & Wesson']

[Equipment: M1917 American-made Smith & Wesson (There's no problem it can't solve; if it really can't solve it, it'll just solve itself)]

Du Mu glanced at the equipment and found it was a revolver.

Yes, there's really no problem that a single bullet can't solve.

Strucker took the metal box, opened it, and saw Loki's scepter inside. His eyes flashed with undisguised eagerness.

"Pierce is still as reliable as ever."

He handed the metal box to the researcher beside him, whispered a few words of instruction, and then turned to look at Du Mu again: "I heard Pierce mention that you are his most capable agent at present?"

"That means I'm only slightly better than others."

Du Mu spoke humbly, making a gesture that would make any man from a peninsula blush.

Strucker's eyelids twitched slightly as he said, "Since you're here, why not take a look at our future plans? After all, this is a key collaboration project that Pierce is focusing on."

As he spoke, he led Du Mu through an alloy-sealed door that required iris verification. Behind the door was a downward-extending passage, with the walls gradually changing from ancient stone bricks to cold metal panels.

At the end of the passage, a spacious and bright laboratory came into view.

Most striking is the long table in the center of the laboratory, where dozens of alien weapons left behind by the Zeta Swiss soldiers are neatly displayed, each one remarkably well-preserved.

"These are all gifts left over from the Battle of New York. We spent a lot of effort collecting them. However, most of the energy cores inside these weapons have been depleted. To restart them all, we need a huge energy source. Fortunately, Loki's scepter can help us solve this problem."

Strucker's gaze shifted to the other side of the laboratory, where two bio-pods were placed. Through the huge glass windows, a man and a woman could be seen standing inside.

"In addition, we can use that scepter to develop biological effects. Sokovia has been ravaged by numerous wars, and many genetically abnormal individuals have emerged among the nearby residents. They will be our best test subjects."

Du Mu glanced at the man and woman in the biological chamber.

A man is a man.

The woman has long hair cascading over her shoulders, and her facial features are exquisitely modeled. She wears a large lab coat, but it can't hide her perfect figure and well-developed pectoral muscles. Her modeling attributes are in no way inferior to Emma's.

(End of this chapter)