Chapter 41:
"Lock down the office. Open the files!"
"Access denied!"
"Decrypt the files."
"Decryption failed!"
"Director override. Nicholas J. Fury."
"Override denied. All files are sealed!"
"Check authorization."
"Authorization: Nicholas J. Fury!"
Listening to the cold female artificial intelligence voice, Nick Fury sharply sensed that something was wrong.
At the same time, in a conference room in another building, Secretary Pierce was explaining to the various council members of the World Security Council about the recent hijacking of the Lemurian Star by international pirates.
After finally dealing with it, as he walked out of the conference room, his assistant secretary came over and whispered a few words in his ear.
As soon as he entered the office, Pierce saw Nick Fury — the not-very-liked schemer within S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Even if we're neighbors, unless there's a nuclear crisis, you would never come to me. So, what's going on?"
Pierce got straight to the point the moment he saw Nick Fury.
"I've decided to temporarily suspend the Insight Project!"
Pierce hadn't expected that Nick Fury had come this time specifically to delay the Insight Project. After all, Nick Fury himself had been the biggest driving force behind the Insight Project.
He never thought this warmonger would make such a request now.
"Nick, you know this will require a very long hearing."
"I know. But even the longest hearing is better than the day when the Helicarriers are already in the air."
Seeing the rare seriousness on Nick Fury's face, Pierce also fell into deep thought.
"I understand. But you don't need to worry too much."
"Pay more attention. Let's hope there really isn't a problem."
Nick Fury took a deep breath, then left the office, leaving Secretary Pierce standing there in a daze.
On the other side, while on his way to the veterans' support group, Captain America ran into Alex Chen, who was out for a run.
"Captain!"
Captain America was also quite surprised to encounter Alex Chen here.
He waved at Alex Chen.
It seemed like a chance meeting, but in reality, Alex Chen had been waiting here for quite some time.
Ever since helping Tony resolve the trouble caused by the Extremis virus, Alex Chen had been lying low for a long period.
Until recently, when Tony informed him about some details of the Insight Project, Alex Chen decided to do something to completely eliminate Hydra.
Alex Chen's goal was simple: he wanted to learn Hydra's organizational structure by dismantling the organization layer by layer.
After all, this organization had survived so many devastating blows and still retained enough vital strength.
It was clear that the organization's core had never truly been destroyed by S.H.I.E.L.D. over all these years.
Therefore, Alex Chen planned to imitate this deeply rooted organizational form.
But he had been troubled by the lack of a suitable opportunity.
Fortunately, Alex Chen had once again caught this important timing.
As long as he could convince Captain America to let him participate in the upcoming plan, Alex Chen was confident he could obtain what he wanted from it.
Moreover, several core figures of Hydra were currently lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D., but Alex Chen knew their identities better than anyone. This information gap also gave Alex Chen the best conditions for action.
"Captain, I wanted to ask — what has the Bureau been busy with lately?" Alex Chen asked the Captain America sitting beside him.
"Hmm? Why are you so interested in knowing?" Captain America looked at Alex Chen's expression and seemed to understand something. "Did you discover something?"
"Nothing much. I just feel like things in the Bureau have been a bit strange lately, like there are some matters that need handling." Alex Chen smiled and said, "Captain, if it's something big, I think I can help you."
Hearing Alex Chen's words, Captain America fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and said: "No need. You just focus on doing your own job."
Seeing Captain America directly reject his request, Alex Chen could only swallow his words. After casually chatting about other topics for a bit, he found an excuse to leave.
Alex Chen hadn't expected Captain America to refuse him so directly. Since the Captain America route was blocked, he would have to find another way.
No matter what, he was still a person within S.H.I.E.L.D., so he would eventually have the chance to come into contact with these matters.
Although Captain America wouldn't allow him to get involved, that didn't mean Alex Chen would give up this opportunity.
If a suitable chance appeared, he naturally wouldn't let it slip by easily.
The next morning, Alex Chen had just gotten up, put on his clothes, and walked out of his room.
As soon as he stepped out the door, Alex Chen saw Wanda standing not far away. Looking at Wanda's relaxed appearance, Alex Chen became somewhat entranced.
Ever since finishing her studies early, Wanda had been busy every day at the company, handling all kinds of big and small matters. It was rare to see her have time to rest properly.
But today Wanda was different. She was actually wearing a nightgown, drinking coffee while watching TV, with a smile on her face.
"What are you watching, silly girl? Smiling so happily."
Alex Chen walked over and asked.
"Ah? Oh, nothing. I was watching the morning news." Wanda quickly turned off the TV, looking a bit flustered. But Alex Chen could see the gleam in her eyes.
Wanda definitely wasn't telling the truth. She had not been watching the morning news just now.
But Alex Chen didn't press further. He knew that if Wanda didn't want to tell him, no matter how long he asked, she wouldn't reveal the truth. In that case, it was better to let things take their natural course and ask again when Wanda was willing to tell him.
After breakfast, Alex Chen dropped Wanda off at the company building and then headed toward S.H.I.E.L.D.
In a place where Alex Chen couldn't see, Wanda took out her phone and called Bill.
"Bill, you've already agreed to help me. I know you must have a lot of things to handle right now, so I won't trouble you to come personally. Just send me the address, and I'll handle the rest myself." Wanda said on the phone.
Wanda's voice was very sweet and pleasant, but at this moment, it sounded to Bill like the roar of a devil from hell.
Bill didn't dare to imagine what would happen if his boss discovered that he had helped Wanda behind his back. Would he be turned into a cement pillar?
Thinking of his boss getting angry, Bill couldn't help but shiver. When his boss got ruthless, it was truly terrifying. He had better be careful.
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