"Hiss!" The Hydra soldiers standing by gasped in unison as they saw Kurt's pitiful state. Even though they were highly trained and brainwashed, fear still surged through them. Brainwashing didn't eliminate all fear; otherwise, Kurt wouldn't have been so terrified when Robert appeared.
This wasn't about weak mental endurance; it was a primal fear of the strong and of death.
Kurt's eyes gradually lost their vitality, and soon he took his final breath, his body growing cold. He died with deep regret, unable to comprehend why, on such a routine mission, he had encountered a terrifying Saiyan. Hydra had long ceased targeting Superman and the Saiyans—why did this happen now?
No one would answer Kurt's questions, and as his consciousness faded, he felt as though he was descending into the Hell Dimension. Countless vengeful spirits surrounded his mind. As Kurt gazed at their faces, he recognized them with a jolt of horror: they were the innocent people he had killed in the past!
"Kurt! Return my life!"
"Kurt! You deserve to die!"
"Kurt! I will make you suffer!"
"Ahhh!" With a terrified scream, Kurt suddenly sat up, gasping for air, still reeling from the shock. He looked at his hands in disbelief and murmured, "Wait... am I not dead?"
"Hmm? Looks like you've had an unexpected experience," Robert said, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He had sensed a strange aura from the Hell Dimension around Kurt's body, something that had never happened before in all the times he had used his healing powers.
This suggested that either something was stirring in the Hell Dimension or Kurt had attracted the attention of some demon for all the wrong he'd done.
"Were those visions real?" Kurt asked in a daze after gathering himself.
"You'll know for sure after going through it twice more," Robert replied with a smile, and then, without hesitation, snapped Kurt's neck again.
"So it wasn't just my imagination? I really died just now? Is this what Saiyans are capable of—controlling life and death at will?" As these thoughts swirled in Kurt's mind during his brief moments of consciousness, they were soon cut short as the vengeful spirits swarmed him once more.
"No!!!" Kurt screamed in terror as he shot up again, his face pale and his body trembling.
"What did he just experience?"
"Can Saiyans really control life and death like that? How can anyone compete with that?"
"Didn't we get strict orders not to provoke Saiyans? How did we end up messing with one?"
The Hydra soldiers nearby were utterly terrified. While they had known Robert was powerful, they hadn't realized he could so easily control life and death. If Robert could determine their fates so casually, what was the point in resisting? It was better to tell him everything.
Despite their brainwashing, these soldiers were fanatics only to a point. In the face of godlike power, they suddenly became very clear-headed.
"Please! I'll tell you anything you want to know! Just don't send me back to that hell! Don't torture me anymore!" Kurt, who had suffered the worst, finally broke down completely, sobbing as he begged for mercy the moment Robert raised his hand again.
Robert had used this tactic on Hydra soldiers before, but typically, they would rather die than endure the torture again. They'd beg him to end it quickly.
But Kurt was different. Having been tormented by the souls of those he had wronged, he genuinely did not want to die. He feared eternal suffering at the hands of those vengeful spirits.
"Alright, start talking. Who ordered you to go after Alex? Who's your superior? Why is Hydra targeting her?" Robert asked, seeing that Kurt had completely crumbled.
"My superior is Kona, and I can give you contact information for 207 other Hydra soldiers," Kurt blurted out in panic. "I don't know why they're targeting the Minister. I was just sent to assist because there were concerns the operation might go wrong…"
Kurt wasn't particularly high-ranking within Hydra, despite being enhanced by the super-soldier serum. Whether it was due to the serum's effects or other factors, he was just a mid-level officer.
"Kona?" Robert raised an eyebrow. He hadn't heard that name before and gestured for Kurt to explain further.
"We don't take orders directly from Kona. We were acting on orders from Kojar to capture the Minister," a Hydra squad leader spoke up first. "We're all under Kojar. Some of us were planted in the Investigation Department from the start, while others were converted after joining."
"Wait a second! My department has no superpowered individuals, it's just a dead-end department. Why would Hydra bother planting so many of you here?" Alex, hearing this, looked at the Hydra soldiers with a mix of exasperation and disbelief.
To be honest, after Red Skull's death, Alex had tried to revive and expand the Investigation Department. But with no superpowered people or connections, the department had been largely ignored. The fact it hadn't been outright abolished was due to the indifference of numerous factions.
In such circumstances, even Alex had long given up and was coasting through the job. She never imagined that her department would have so many Hydra operatives. It was beyond her comprehension.
"Uh... we were just following orders. The higher-ups figured it was a superhuman-related department, and maybe one day it could gain access to some powers," the Hydra squad leader explained awkwardly. "We never thought the department would actually become so inactive. It's been so long we've gotten rusty. That's the only reason the Minister managed to take us down so easily…"
In truth, the Hydra soldiers were a little embarrassed. It wasn't that Alex had used some masterful combat technique—her moves had just been particularly underhanded. They had simply let themselves go soft over years of slacking off.
"And who is Kojar? You don't know why he ordered you to go after Alex?" Robert asked, looking at the Hydra team.
"We only know our superior's name; we don't know where he's located or what identity he's using in public," one of the Hydra members replied, exchanging uncertain glances with his comrades.
Having already started spilling Hydra's secrets to Robert, they didn't dare hold back. However, Hydra's structure was so compartmentalized that even they, as members, didn't know much about the organization's internal workings.
"I see," Robert said, raising an eyebrow before turning to Alex. "I'll take you home first and come back to continue the investigation."
"Sure, but let me know what you find out. I need to know if I can keep coasting in this job," Alex said, realizing that staying around would be of no use. She figured it was better to go home and wait for Robert to finish his investigation.
With a soft whoosh, Robert disappeared from the spot with Alex and reappeared beside Kara.
"What's going on?" Kara asked in confusion, seeing Alex suddenly appear.
"She's being targeted by Hydra for some reason. I'm going to investigate the mastermind. Take her home for now," Robert explained briefly before vanishing again.
Back in the Investigation Department office, after Robert and Alex left, the Hydra squad and Kurt exchanged uneasy glances. Their instinct for survival urged them to flee, but their fear of Robert kept them rooted to the spot. They feared that if Robert returned and found them gone, they'd suffer even worse.
Caught between two conflicting desires, the Hydra soldiers were stuck in indecision, unsure which course to follow.
Whoosh! Before they could decide, Robert had already returned. He looked at the still-immobile soldiers and nodded in approval.
"Good. At least you didn't run," Robert said calmly. "Now, tell me, where were you supposed to take Alex after capturing her?"
"I was told to bring her to a warehouse by the docks," Kurt quickly responded.
"We received the same orders," the Hydra squad leader added.
"Looks like Kojar and Kona are working together. Well then, let's head over there. From now on, you've successfully captured Alex," Robert said with a nod as he transformed into Alex right before their eyes.
Robert didn't worry whether this might be some Hydra trap. The trail led there, so he would follow it. He doubted Kojar and Kona would be as clueless as Kurt and his team.
Gulp. Kurt and the Hydra soldiers swallowed nervously. Despite the shock of seeing Robert transform, they quickly accepted it. After all, if Robert could control life and death, shapeshifting seemed like nothing in comparison. In their minds, Robert was already like a god—after all, hadn't Zeus in mythology transformed into humans or animals as well?
Before long, the group left the Investigation Department. Along the way, a few staff members spotted Robert disguised as Alex, but none reacted. They were all just there to slack off. As long as their paychecks arrived and the department didn't close down, they didn't care what was happening around them.
"We're here," Kurt said as they arrived at the warehouse by the docks. The room was dimly lit, and the surroundings were hard to make out, filling the group with both anxiety and anticipation.
They were anxious because they feared Robert's true identity would be discovered and they'd be left to fend for themselves. Yet, they also hoped that their superiors would be subjected to the same torment they had suffered.
At this point, Kurt and the others had broken free from Hydra's brainwashing. Their lives now seemed far more important than Hydra's mission. If ordered to turn against their fellow Hydra members, they wouldn't hesitate.
"Well done. You can leave now
," a voice called out from the darkness as the floor of the warehouse opened, revealing an elevator platform. Two men appeared and waved dismissively at Kurt and his team.
What would happen next was beyond Kurt's pay grade. They weren't privy to the reasons behind capturing Alex; their job had been to deliver her, and now their task was done.
"But..." Kurt hesitated for a moment, looking toward Robert for guidance, unsure if they should really leave.
That one glance was all it took to expose Robert. Real Hydra soldiers would never hesitate or disobey orders, not even for a second. But Kurt's glance clearly showed that he was deferring to Robert, which instantly aroused the suspicions of the two men.
"What's going on? How dare you defy orders?!" The men drew weapons from their belts, eyeing Kurt's group warily.
As for Robert, they paid him little mind. According to their intel, the real Alex had no superpowers. They assumed Kurt's team had been compromised by some external force.
"Idiots. You've blown your cover," Robert grumbled. Without further delay, several energy blasts shot from his hands, instantly killing both the Hydra squad members and Kurt.
"You…" Kurt, clutching his chest, stared at Robert in disbelief, unable to speak.
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