In reality, things were not as simple as Tony imagined.
Although he desperately wanted to unearth all of HYDRA through various clues and wipe them out in one fell swoop,
after the investigation began, he discovered that all of HYDRA had gone into hiding. Even if one or two unlucky individuals were occasionally caught, no real big fish could be found.
To put it bluntly, HYDRA, after all, was once a massive organization that had hidden for decades under the noses of various countries around the World.
Even if their plan to overturn the table failed this time, exposing their existence to everyone,
it merely transitioned from being secretly hidden to everyone knowing they were secretly hidden.
Although Luca also believed that the exposed HYDRA would eventually be eradicated, without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s detailed information exposed to the World this time,
how long it would take to eradicate HYDRA, and whether it could ultimately be completely uprooted, remained uncertain.
It's estimated that the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s work for a considerable period will involve the lengthy process of searching for HYDRA, launching attacks, or notifying local authorities to handle them.
And now, S.H.I.E.L.D. also faces questioning from the Security Council.
The Avengers, meanwhile, are preparing to search for HYDRA possibly instigating unrest in the states that declared independence.
Yes, in just two days, Texas and Florida, two completely unrelated states, simultaneously declared independence.
The U.S. stock market and economy collapsed, the populace was in chaos, and some federal states watched with amusement, waiting to see what would happen, while others actively contacted external forces for help. In short, it was still a chaotic mess.
However, Luca did not intend to deeply participate in these matters.
Currently, Steve was the vanguard in quelling the rebellion, actively rushing to the front lines in various places, simultaneously appeasing the chaotic populace and striking at any potential HYDRA presence.
While Stark also participated in these efforts, his role was more focused on economic and material support, only joining attacks when encountering particularly troublesome HYDRA Bases.
As for Luca, he, along with Harry and Gwen, returned to New York.
Uh... Harry did go home, but Luca's Villa was destroyed by a missile, so the entire family simply moved into the company.
And Gwen, not wanting to cause trouble for Tony, secretly confirmed that the Daisy family had not been injured in the incident, then followed Luca to the Orange Building for temporary residence.
Outside a temporary ward in the Orange Building.
Luca and Shirley were looking into the ward through the glass.
Inside, White was currently assisting Gina with physical rehabilitation, hand in hand.
However, although Gina in the ward appeared completely normal, with a rosy complexion, and even moved without stumbling,
Luca remained outside, frowning tightly, with no intention of going in.
"Is Gina still the same?"
Shirley, holding a tablet, asked with a similarly serious expression.
"Yes, all physical indicators are normal, and she still possesses basic cognitive and physiological responses, but she will not respond at all without external stimulation and guidance."
Hearing Shirley's words, Luca rubbed his temples, feeling a headache, but for a moment, he didn't know how to handle it.
In fact, Gina's body had already begun to recover days ago, during the HYDRA unrest.
At that time, although her body was immobile and she couldn't leave the bed, and her reactions were somewhat sluggish,
at least she could speak simply and seemed to be quite conscious.
However, in the past two days, after Gina had fully recovered and all her indicators were normal, Luca and the others gradually discovered that Gina's situation seemed to be more complicated than imagined.
Even though White's monitoring showed Gina's body was very healthy, how should one put it?
The current Gina can speak, but only when someone actively asks her; she hasn't lost her memory and can recall past events.
She can walk, but needs someone to guide or support her; it's not that her body can't move, but if no one guides her, she just stays there motionless.
At this moment, Gina is like a robot without active consciousness; she only reacts when there is external interaction with her.
Or like a… puppet that has lost its soul.
"Damn it! What kind of situation is this?!"
Luca angrily punched the glass in front of him.
However, at this commotion, Gina inside merely turned her head, looked with her indifferent eyes, and then quietly continued her rehabilitation exercises with White's assistance.
Seeing Luca's appearance, Shirley wanted to offer comfort, but after opening her mouth, she also didn't know what to say.
White was already a super Doctor far beyond its time, but even White's scans couldn't identify the 'cause of illness.' Shirley, a half-baked Doctor specializing in medicine, was even more at a loss, so she chose to change the subject.
"Jonathan's injuries are basically stable now. Although he hasn't fully recovered, it doesn't affect his movement. Do you want to go see him?"
Hearing Shirley's words, although he knew she was actively changing the subject, Luca still forced himself to control his emotions and nodded. At a time like this, anger wouldn't solve anything.
In another temporary ward, Luca directly pushed the door open and walked in.
Actually, the 'Jonathan' Shirley mentioned was the Spotted Man Luca had captured earlier with a pal sphere.
However, after being captured by the pal sphere, the Spotted Man had become a loyal subordinate to Luca, so he voluntarily reported his real name: Jonathan Ohnn, a scientist under Kingpin in another World.
As for why he was also in the ward...
Cough cough, to ensure the success rate of the capture, Luca had indeed been a bit heavy-handed at the time.
Inside the ward, although Luca was in a very bad mood at the moment, seeing the Spotted Man, who was covered in bandages but still nimbly got up to salute him, he didn't deliberately show a bad face in front of him.
"Master…"
"Stop! Just call me Young Master."
Luca was really unaccustomed to being called 'Master' by a big man who liked to run around naked.
"How's your recovery? Can you use your abilities normally?"
"Yes, but currently I can only teleport freely within this World. The previous consumption was too great; I need to replenish particle energy to travel between planes."
As he spoke, the Spotted Man even moved his bandaged arm, seemingly wanting to prove that he had recovered.
However, looking at his grimace — he didn't have a mouth, but judging by his grunts and groans, he wasn't fully recovered.
Nevertheless, there was no need for a particularly good attitude towards this subordinate who had been transformed from a villain.
Luca simply pulled out a watch, threw it in front of him, and directly said,
"Take this. From now on, you're my driver."
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