"Hold this for me."
He took the glasses from his face and handed them to the nearby Nick Fury.
Colin turned to look at the nearby Hydra base, his hands clenched into fists, as the surrounding rubble faintly trembled, he slowly ascended into the air.
He looked down and nodded down to Howard and the others below.
Immediately after, he seemed to be wiped away by some invisible force, vanishing without a trace.
Accompanied by an almost imperceptible whoosh, he left the location of The Resistants.
Hawkeye's gaze retracted from where Colin had disappeared, and he turned his head to see Nick furtively putting on the glasses he was holding.
"He told me to hold onto them."
Sensing Clint's gaze, the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director stated with a serious expression.
…
"Gate 7, report your status?"
"All clear, over."
Maintaining Invisibility, he landed on the roof of the base where Scott had landed earlier.
Colin did not impatiently rush into the base. Instead, he first confirmed the internal situation using his two powers: Super Hearing and Super X-Ray Vision.
Activating Super Hearing, he quickly pinpointed Scott's voice.
…
"Alright, guys, this is the last one."
Controlling his Ant Army, he arrived at the last marked area.
Scott looked at the numerous researchers throughout this laboratory, carefully dropped from Anthony, and hid in an unnoticed corner crevice nearby.
Creeping along the wall crevices into the laboratory, Scott soon noticed the word 'Reborn' marked at the entrance.
"Reborn (Regeneration)."
"It looks like this should be the target we're looking for."
Muttering the name at the laboratory's entrance, an excited expression couldn't help but appear on Scott's face beneath his helmet.
Clenching his fists, he tried hard to control himself from making too much noise.
Using Brainwave Guidance, he guided the large Ant Army behind him to crawl through the wall crevices into the laboratory. Scott stayed close to the wall, avoiding the numerous, busy people in the laboratory, as he approached the control console.
On the backs of the Worker Ants were Electronic Devices miniaturized by Pym Particles. Once Scott entered the control console, he could use these devices to copy the data regarding the 'Reborn' project from within the Hydra base.
Beep-beep—
However, just as Scott was carefully moving.
Inside the Reborn Laboratory, a sudden, urgent alarm sounded.
"WHAT? WHAT!"
"What's happening?!"
The sudden alarm made Scott's heart skip a beat.
He glanced left and right at the situation inside the laboratory. With the alarm blaring, the researchers also showed panicked expressions; clearly, like him, they were unaware of what was happening.
"You scared me, I thought I was exposed."
Seeing this, he patted his chest. Scott was about to ignore the alarm and continue moving.
"Warning: The laboratory will enter lockdown in five minutes. All personnel, cease your actions and evacuate the lockdown area…"
Inside the base, the announcement over the intercom suddenly made his time run short.
He saw that as the intercom's countdown sounded, the laboratory staff frantically began packing up and rushing out. The doors and windows around the laboratory also began to slowly descend; clearly, once the countdown ended, the entire laboratory would be sealed off.
Under such circumstances, Scott had only two choices left.
Either abandon the operation and escape directly from the laboratory, or continue, risking being locked down.
"Anthony, get me over there!"
Standing still, he hesitated for a moment.
Scott quickly made a decision. He flipped over, climbing onto Anthony, and controlled his Ant Army, which, like a swarm of locusts, surged toward the ventilation outlet behind the control console.
…
Walking through the corridors of the Hydra base.
"Still haven't found them?"
Madame Hydra turned her dark green eyes, painted with blue eyeshadow, sweeping over the staff rushing through the base, and with a nonchalant expression, asked the subordinate behind her.
Standing slightly behind Madame Hydra, this Hydra member asked through his earpiece about the situation at the base's various entrances, then shook his head and replied in a low voice, "No abnormalities at present."
"It seems our 'guest' is very cautious."
Hearing her subordinate's reply, Ophelia's lips curved, a bewitching smile appearing on her cold, beautiful face.
She then turned her head to glance at the subordinate behind her: "Or are you saying you think this is a misjudgment on my part?"
"I wouldn't dare."
Retracting her gaze from her subordinate, Madame Hydra toyed with the poisoned dart in her hand, which was covered in venom, then extended her crimson tongue and licked her dark green lips.
"Perhaps we should try a different approach. Since the 'guest' is so shy, then as hosts, we naturally need to be a little more proactive."
"Notify the base to release the biochemical toxin."
"But, Madame, once the toxin is used, most experiments within the laboratory will…"
Hearing Ophelia's command, the subordinate's face showed a hesitant expression.
"Are you questioning my decision?"
Facing her subordinate's reply, Madame Hydra maintained her cold, bewitching composure, but the look in her eyes gradually grew dangerous.
"Or are you saying you want to test out my newly researched neurotoxin?"
As Ophelia spoke, the poisoned dart in her hand began to spin as she spoke.
"I will immediately notify base personnel to release the toxin."
His gaze fell upon the poisoned dart in Madame Hydra's hand, and the subordinate immediately replied loudly, his entire face contorted with tension.
Seeing his reply, Ophelia immediately put away the poisoned dart in her hand with a bored expression.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the subordinate in charge of communications, with almost trembling fingers, pressed the communicator on his shoulder, giving orders to the Hydra members in the control room.
As he spoke, he donned the gas mask strapped to his waist.
Not just this subordinate; all personnel within the entire Hydra base, after hearing the emergency notification over the intercom, frantically put on their gas masks.
Unlike other Hydra bases, almost all members here were equipped with specialized gas masks. The purpose of these masks was not to deal with enemies, but to protect themselves.
Judging by the reactions of these Hydra members, they seemed already familiar with it.
Amidst the panicked members throughout the base, Madame Hydra's calmness stood out. In fact, she was the only one in the entire base who hadn't donned a gas mask.
(end of chapter)