American comics start with asking Iron Man a question.

Those who answer incorrectly will have one attribute of their own deducted randomly, including but not limited to knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc.

Before long, a new question appeared, drawing everyone's attention back.

Everyone glanced at the big screen, and the atmosphere immediately became tense.

It must be said that this question is quite "explosive," revealing a cruel and shocking fact: S.H.I.E.L.D. was destroyed in the future!

This left everyone present somewhat incredulous.

What kind of organization is S.H.I.E.L.D.?

That's currently the largest intelligence agency in the United States, directly responsible to the UN Security Council. In terms of size, organization, and authority, it far surpasses intelligence agencies like the CAI and FIB.

They have branches, offices, and secret bases in cities throughout the United States, forming an incredibly solid network.

Moreover, S.H.I.E.L.D. has branches in many other countries outside the United States, making it an extremely large and behemoth.

No intelligence agency in the world can compare.

Could such an organization be destroyed in the future?

Are you kidding me?

Everyone felt it was so unreal.

Although this future was revealed through a quiz system, people still found it hard to accept at first.

Nick Fury, the current director of S.H.I.E.L.D., felt his brain was going blank and wondered if he had seen it wrong.

Lao Tzu's S.H.I.E.L.D. was destroyed in the future?

Is this a joke?

Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America, and the others were also a bit provoked.

Captain America is alright, though. He doesn't actually have a deep sense of belonging to S.H.I.E.L.D. right now; he's just cooperating with them and busy dealing with Hydra.

It's not that unacceptable yet.

But Black Widow and Hawkeye were truly speechless. They were both veteran agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the significance of S.H.I.E.L.D. to them was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has actually been destroyed. I have to say, this is something I never expected." Tony Stark also showed surprise and was speechless.

“However…” Tony Stark then changed the subject, “Considering the brutality of the future, the killing of billions of people and the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. are not unacceptable things.”

"Nothing in the world is eternal; what matters is the value it brings while it exists."

Nick Fury quickly returned to normal, his expression seemingly unchanged. "The same goes for S.H.I.E.L.D., so if S.H.I.E.L.D. is truly destroyed in the future, I will accept it!"

"Besides, this hasn't happened yet, so everyone, let's start answering the questions!"

Everyone present was no longer a child; in fact, even without Nick Fredo saying anything, everyone had already adjusted their mindset.

I refocused my attention on answering the questions.

"Destroy S.H.I.E.L.D.? An intelligence agency of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s size is no easy task." Black Widow spoke first, her face serious. "In fact... it's simply impossible."

The Black Widow is definitely not an exaggeration.

Destroying S.H.I.E.L.D. is never as simple as just destroying S.H.I.E.L.D., because S.H.I.E.L.D. is not some civilian armed organization with no backing, so it's not a big deal if it's taken down.

S.H.I.E.L.D. is backed by the United States and the UN Security Council!

If there were truly a mastermind behind this attack on S.H.I.E.L.D., neither the United States nor the UN Security Council would stand idly by.

Whoever the mastermind is, if they really destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D., it means that they possess power that transcends the United States and the UN Security Council!

That's simply impossible!

This is without considering the armed forces possessed by the mastermind behind the scenes; it's only from a political perspective.

To put it another way...

Even if the other side could truly transcend the factors behind S.H.I.E.L.D., such as the United States, and actually take action against S.H.I.E.L.D., it would still require an extremely large armed force.

Which organization in the world today possesses such armed forces?

Black Widow really didn't expect that.

Unless it is a national-level force such as the military or government, no institution or organization possesses such power.

Therefore, considering all these factors, it does indeed seem like an impossible task.

"If we want to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D., I can only think of two possibilities!" Nick Fury pondered for a moment before speaking as well.

"First, all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s branches and bases around the world were taken down by the enemy. All of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s personnel were killed, and the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. network was paralyzed, leading to its collapse."

This possibility is the most direct and logical assumption, setting aside all the underlying factors and focusing solely on the point of "destroying S.H.I.E.L.D."

“That’s impossible!” Hawkeye Barton immediately shook his head. “It means someone has launched a global attack on S.H.I.E.L.D. There is no organization in the world with that kind of power.”

Whether from a political or armed perspective, this is impossible.

Nick Fury, Captain America, and others aren't fools; they're all involved and have a thorough understanding of every aspect and intricacies of the situation.

There was no need for Hawkeye Patton to explain further; they all knew it was impossible.

unless……

“Unless… it’s Hydra!” Hawkeye Barton then uttered those words heavily.

On this point, Hawkeye Barton was thinking the same thing as everyone else.

"We already know that Hydra has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. so thoroughly that there are now more Hydra agents than S.H.I.E.L.D. agents!"

"This is just now. If Hydra is allowed to continue developing like this, no one can imagine how much control Hydra will have over S.H.I.E.L.D. in the future!"

"However, one thing is certain: by then, Hydra agents will be present in every branch, base, and office of S.H.I.E.L.D.!"

"And as long as the highest leader of Hydra gives an order to those undercover agents... what Commander Fury said will happen."

“Every base and every branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be taken over by Hydra.”

"This is the only possibility."

Hawkeye Patton then launched into a eloquent and well-reasoned analysis under everyone's watchful eyes.

No one objected to this, because from a technical standpoint, it was indeed the only possibility.

"So the answer to this question is Alexander Pierce?" Black Widow raised an eyebrow. "He gave an order in the future to allow Hydra to seize power and completely control S.H.I.E.L.D."

"As Hydra's power continues to grow, they will certainly no longer be satisfied with being restrained by S.H.I.E.L.D., and seizing power is indeed a possibility."

Captain America nodded solemnly, echoing Black Widow's words.

Renting someone else's house is nowhere as enjoyable as being your own homeowner.

The people present exchanged glances and all felt that Alexander Pierce was currently the most "competitive" candidate.

"No, there's another possibility." But then, Captain America's expression shifted, and he put forward a new point of view.

"Has everyone forgotten about Project Insight?"

Insight Project!

Everyone present couldn't help but change their expressions. They instantly realized that, apart from Pierce ordering Hydra to infiltrate and seize power, there was indeed another way.

Violent murder!

“We only know that Captain America went to stop Project Insight, but we never know whether he succeeded!” Hawkeye Barton said in a deep voice.

“What if…” Hawkeye Barton glanced at everyone, “What if the captain fails to stop Operation Insight, and Hydra actually launches that operation and kills all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents?”

“Well.” After thinking for a moment, Black Widow couldn’t help but nod. “If it’s Project Insight, it does seem like it could indeed destroy S.H.I.E.L.D..”

“If the Insight Project method is used, then Pierce and the Winter Soldier are both possibilities,” Nick Fury said thoughtfully.

"Although Pierce now works in an office, he used to be a senior agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

“Operation Insight was a plan that could kill hundreds of thousands of people at once, so it’s understandable that he personally took charge of it.”

"Of course, it's also possible that Pierce would stay behind the scenes, while Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, would be in charge of the operations."

"If it's based on the captain's 'Insight Project Assumption,' we can't make a judgment."

“So…” Black Widow glanced at Tony Stark, “Based on Stark’s style, the Winter Soldier is unpredictable, but Pierce has the potential to fit the question, so for this question, we’ll choose Pierce?”

“Romanoff, you really know me.” Tony Stark shrugged in agreement. “If it were me, I would definitely choose Pierce.”

There are two assumptions: one that there is no choice, and the other that one must choose Pierce.

If Tony Stark had to choose, he would definitely choose Pierce.

"but!"

At this point, Tony Stark turned his gaze to Nick Fury, "This choice has a premise, which is Nick Fury's assumption that 'every S.H.I.E.L.D. base is destroyed by the enemy.'"

"But Nick Fury said he considered two possibilities. So what's the second possibility, Nick Fury?"

"The second possibility is that someone used some means to get the World Security Council to disband S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Nick Fury said solemnly, meeting everyone's gaze.

This is indeed a theoretically effective approach.

"Theoretically speaking, it is indeed possible, but when combined with reality, it seems unlikely."

"It sounds as if someone made America disband the FIB on its own initiative, which is so incredible."

Black Widow glanced at everyone and said in a surprised tone.

"Who knows what will happen in the future? Perhaps the world will undergo tremendous changes, the international landscape will be destabilized, and the world will no longer need S.H.I.E.L.D.... We have no way of knowing right now."

Nick Fury shrugged.

Everyone present was speechless. If this was the case, there was simply no way to analyze it properly.

The future holds infinite possibilities, and without grasping even a single fragment, they have no way of starting any analysis.

"Ladies and gentlemen, although our analysis has reached a temporary impasse, I don't think this will affect our ability to make a judgment."

"The captain and I are both S.H.I.E.L.D. We would never do something like destroying S.H.I.E.L.D., so I think we can rule that out."

"The ones who want to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. must be Hydra, so all we need to do is choose between Pierce and the Winter Soldier."

At this point, Black Widow shrugged. "So, the final answer to this question is still Pierce."

We all looked at each other, and no one had any better way to select candidates.

It seems that Pierce is indeed the option with the best chance of winning at the moment.