"Sir, all the data is encrypted. The encryption method is very sophisticated. It will take some time to crack it, about three days."
Nick Fury received the feedback quickly.
"Then don't waste time, hurry up and crack it. I'm giving you one day!"
"Also, report any findings directly to me, don't reveal anything to anyone!"
"Understood, sir!"
After ending the call, Nick Fury contacted Tony Stark again to inquire about the progress of the surveillance drone's development.
Nick Fury also met with Captain America to briefly discuss the subsequent investigation into Hydra.
He was also constantly monitoring Black Widow's activities.
Busy as he was, a day quietly passed.
"Sir, something's wrong!"
Early the next morning, Black Widow brought some very bad news, "Those five Hydra guys are dead."
Nick Fury's expression couldn't help but change, his already egg-like face becoming even darker, "What happened?"
"Poisoning." Black Widow's expression was also extremely serious, "Someone poisoned their food."
"Have you found out who did it?"
"We found it. It was the agent in charge of their meals," Black Widow replied in a low voice. "The agent has been confirmed dead in a car accident."
Clearly, the other side's methods were not only swift but also flawless.
Both Nick Fury and Black Widow knew they wouldn't be able to find any more information.
The atmosphere in the office became unusually heavy and oppressive.
Nick Fury unconsciously looked up, glancing around. "How many of them are there in this building? Who can I trust now?"
Nick Fury really felt a sense of shock.
A deep sense of helplessness.
To prevent Hydra's claws from reaching in, he didn't even dare to use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, instead finding another secret base.
The personnel used were also carefully selected, only those he considered his confidants.
Yet even under these circumstances, Hydra infiltrators still managed to slip in!
Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. had reached such a depraved level!
At this moment, Nick Fury suddenly understood why, in the predicted images, he had to fake his death and tell Captain America not to trust anyone.
Nick Fury felt the same way now, unable to trust anyone! If he hadn't been able to confirm the trustworthiness of Captain America, Black Widow, and Agent Hill through the quiz system, Nick Fury wouldn't even know what to do.
"Not good!"
Immediately afterward, Nick Fury realized something.
Since Hydra had infiltrated to this extent, what about his confidant in the technical department?
Nick Fury immediately started dialing the internal phone to ask his confidant about cracking the data.
But then he found that he couldn't contact his confidant anymore.
After asking the logistics department to investigate, he discovered that his confidant was also dead.
Along with the data he sent for analysis, everything had sunk to the bottom of the sea and vanished without a trace.
Nick Fury couldn't help but gasp.
Although he was the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. had been controlled by an invisible hand, isolating him, Nick Fury, completely.
"Is this S.H.I.E.L.D. still my S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Nick Fury couldn't help but fall into thought.
"Where's the Winter Soldier?"
After a long pause, Nick Fury finally looked up and asked Black Widow in a serious tone.
"He's being held in a separate system from the five Hydra members, and Captain America is personally in charge. He's fine," Black Widow shook her head.
This caused Nick Fury to breathe a sigh of relief.
Even though most of their achievements had been destroyed by Hydra, it wasn't all for naught. The Winter Soldier was still alive!
"Romanoff, immediately move the Winter Soldier. Don't tell anyone, except for you and Captain Rogers!"
"I will also secretly recruit a new group of people. Everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer trustworthy!"
"Romanoff, we are in the most critical stage of the battle. Be careful!"
"Understood, Director!"
Black Widow nodded solemnly and then retreated.
Because Hydra's actions were too swift, catching Nick Fury off guard, the raid on the Hydra base this time didn't yield much.
Or rather, the only gain was the Winter Soldier.
In addition, some charred and incomplete paper documents did provide some information, but it was all relatively unimportant.
Nick Fury began to become low-key and cautious.
But this was just the surface.
Privately, Nick Fury, Captain America, Black Widow, Coulson, Agent Hill, and Tony Stark, the people he could trust, engaged in countless communications and discussions.
They were quietly making a series of arrangements.
As for Thor, he was basically holed up inside S.H.I.E.L.D., constantly trying to communicate with his hammer, attempting to pick it up.
However…
Several days passed, and he still hadn't made any progress. Instead, he was getting depressed.
"Why, Father, why are you doing this to me?"
Thor sat on the ground, looking completely dejected. He gazed up at the ceiling and mumbled to himself.
"Brother!"
Suddenly, a very familiar voice rang out in Thor's ears.
Thor looked up and saw that the person who had come was none other than his brother, Loki.
"Loki? What are you doing here?" Thor immediately stood up, surprise etched on his face.
"I need to see you," Loki said to Thor, his expression serious.
"What's happened? Right, how's everything in Jotunheim?" Thor immediately asked, his face equally serious.
"Father is dead," Loki said to Thor, his face etched with grief and a heavy expression.
"What?" Thor was stunned, then angered, "Enough, Loki, there's a limit to your jokes. How can you fabricate something like this about our father?"
"You think I'm joking? Would I joke about something like this?" Loki repeated seriously, "It's true, Father is dead."
"Loki, cut the act!" Thor said resolutely, "I know Father isn't dead at all, so don't try to fool me! I'm not as easily tricked as I used to be!"
Loki: "..."
Loki was a bit dazed.
What happened?
Was this still his brother, the one with a head full of muscles who fell for every trick?
How had he become so smart this time? Had Thor been hit in the head by a meteorite during his banishment, opening his mind?
"That's truly impressive, brother!"
Seeing his trick had failed, Loki stopped pretending and, like a changing mask, revealed a cunning smile.
"It seems banishment wasn't a bad thing for you, but a good one!" Loki said, a mixture of mockery and feeling. "I suddenly understand Father's meaning."
"Loki, take me back to Asgard, I will explain everything to Father! I also want to talk to you properly!" Thor said to Loki with a serious face.
"Banishment was Father's decree. I'm sorry, brother, I can't take you back!"
"I'm really happy for you, seeing how you've grown on Midgard."
"Oh, and by the way, just to let you know, because of Father's disappointment in you, the burden of the throne has now fallen on my shoulders."
Loki said to Thor with a hint of smugness on his face.
It was as if a younger brother, who had long been overshadowed by his older brother's brilliance, had finally done something to make his brother take notice.
It was a kind of flaunting, born of a deep-seated need for validation.
Thor already knew through the quiz system that Loki was vying for the throne, so he wasn't surprised. He even felt a little sorry for Loki, and felt a twinge of shame himself.
Because Thor knew that what Loki really wanted wasn't the throne, but to be on equal footing with him, nothing more.
"Loki, you can have the throne," Thor said sincerely to Loki. "I've been reflecting these past few days in exile, and perhaps Father and I have both ignored you…"
"Stop your posturing!" Loki interrupted Thor angrily. "'Take it'? You didn't want it, so you gave it to me?"
"No, Loki, that's not what I meant..."
"The throne should have been mine! I was more qualified than you! But neither you nor Father understood that! It doesn't matter, I will make you understand!"
"Farewell, brother!"
After saying these words to Thor, Loki's body vanished like a phantom.
"No, Loki, wait!" Thor called out urgently.
However, Loki ignored Thor completely, leaving as gracefully as possible, without leaving a trace.
Looking at the empty space in front of him, Thor felt incredibly frustrated.
But now, he couldn't do anything.
Or rather, he couldn't do anything other than pick up the hammer as soon as possible and return to Asgard.
Inside a dim hall in Asgard.
A group of people began to get restless.
A man in armor, looking rather stout with a large beard, was frantically gnawing on a chicken leg.
But judging by his expression, he was just using the frantic eating to vent his frustration.
"Our best friend is exiled, Loki has ascended the throne, and you can still eat!" Another short-haired man in armor couldn't help but point at the large, bearded man and scold him.
"Four boars, six chickens, half a cow, and two barrels of ale! This is mortifying! Don't you care at all?"
The short-haired man angrily slapped the chicken leg out of the big, burly man's hand.
"Don't think that just because I have a big appetite, I don't care!" The big, burly man retorted, and the two of them began to argue.
"Enough, you two!"
"Stop bickering!"
A woman and a man with a braid separated the two.
"We all know we have to do something!" The woman then surveyed the group, her voice grave.
"We must leave! We must find Thor!" After a moment of silence, the braided man said resolutely.
These people were none other than Thor's most loyal comrades and partners, the Warriors Three and the female warrior Sif.
"This is treason!"
"To hell with treason, this is suicide!"
"If it were us, Thor would do the same!"
"Keep it down, Heimdall might be watching us!"
The group began to discuss amongst themselves.
Boom!
At that moment, the golden gate opened, and an Asgardian guard came before them. "Heimdall wants to see you!"
With a hint of apprehension, the four of them went to the Bifrost, arriving before Heimdall.
"You will defy the King's decree, commit treason, and betray your vows as warriors, and even then, you still want to bring Thor back?"
Heimdall's gaze was like a bolt of lightning as he looked down at them, asking in a deep voice.
"Yes!" Sif gritted her teeth and said.
"Very well!"
Heimdall nodded.
"So, will you help us?" Sif asked, immediately delighted.
"I am duty-bound to serve the King, and I should not open the Bifrost for you!" Heimdall said these words coldly and strode away.
However, after Heimdall left, the Bifrost was activated. It turned out he had already made all the arrangements beforehand.
唰!
A dazzling light flashed, and Sif and the other three figures quickly vanished without a trace.
All of this was seen clearly by Loki on the castle walls, causing his face to turn as dark as water.
Where did he fall short compared to Thor? Why did Father, Mother, and everyone in Asgard always favor Thor and reject him?
Loki was utterly enraged.
He then went to Asgard's treasure vault, released the Destroyer, and ordered it, "Make sure my brother never returns! Destroy everything!"
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury's office.
"You're saying Loki just came to see you?"
Nick Fury looked at Thor, who was sitting opposite him, and said with some surprise, also with a hint of caution, "What is Loki's objective?"
"I'm not quite sure. He told me he's now the king of Asgard, and then he left," Thor told Nick Fury truthfully.
"He came all this way just to tell you that, and then did nothing else and left?" Nick Fury was a little surprised.
"Yes," Thor thought for a moment and nodded.
He didn't mention that Loki had deceived him about Odin's death. That kind of thing felt like a family secret, not something to be broadcast.
"It seems Loki just wanted to get some attention from you. He's really a child who desperately needs love," Nick Fury then shook his head and smiled.
Since Loki had already left, he didn't dwell on the matter too much.
The two were talking when Nick Fury's phone rang. It was Coulson calling. Nick Fury didn't avoid the call and answered it directly.
"Sir, an hour ago, we detected a sudden surge of immense energy, which then quickly vanished!"
Coulson's voice immediately crackled over the comms.
-------------
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(End of Chapter)