Inside S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America walked out of the room where the Hulk was resting.
He truly looked weighed down with worry, because the Hulk still hadn't woken up.
At the same time, the doctors were helpless against Banner as well. No one dared to try the kinds of procedures they routinely did in an operating room on the Hulk.
And on top of the Hulk, Captain America still had to deal with the World Security Council next…
Sigh.
Captain America strode back to the command room like a soldier.
But what he never expected was this.
At this moment, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s command room already had someone else issuing orders to the agents.
Noticing Captain America's return, Hill lifted her head from a mountain of documents, glanced at him, then stood up.
"Thank you for your help, Captain Rogers. If it weren't for you, S.H.I.E.L.D. would probably have fallen completely."
"Ah… no, no!" Rogers suddenly felt awkward.
Commander Hill was still alive!
Then what about the way he'd been forced into taking command earlier?
Would Hill think he'd been trying to seize power?
Fortunately, Hill didn't say anything extra. She simply thanked Rogers naturally, then personally escorted him to the lounge to rest.
After a full day of fighting, Rogers really should be exhausted.
…
Maybe what Hill should be thankful for was that Rogers had no ambition…
…
After seeing Captain America off, Hill immediately called Coulson and the others together again.
This time, in the meeting, she almost overturned most of the orders Captain America had previously issued for S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Abandon the New York Triskelion branch. We're transferring all lines to the Helicarrier.
"Unlock the trainees' agent permissions. Right now, S.H.I.E.L.D. has no trainees. They've all graduated.
"Stop pursuing HYDRA's core members. What we need most right now is to recuperate. Priority goes to compensation and support for the agents who sacrificed themselves.
"Besides, John Gattler will come to us on his own!
"As for the various projects currently underway, every project involving Dr. Zola and all former HYDRA scholars is halted across the board.
"Coulson, take a team and hand over the Tahiti Resurrection Project to the World Security Council in exchange for their continued support of S.H.I.E.L.D. Those big shots will be interested in resurrection and immortality.
"Natasha, you're all the way in Texas, so get back here. We're S.H.I.E.L.D., not Homeland Security. We don't need to guarantee the safety of Thor's girlfriend. She's an adult. Even if something happens to her, Thor's fury will be directed at whoever hurt her.
"When you return, take over Coulson's work immediately. You're more suited than Coulson to dealing with the politicians on the World Security Council.
"Coulson, after transferring your work to Agent Natasha, your mission is to contact Tony Stark. S.H.I.E.L.D. needs every ounce of strength we can get, especially a top scientist like him.
"Also, maintain a good relationship with Captain America. He may not be a qualified agent. He may not be suited for this blood-soaked kind of work.
"But all of you must remember this. Captain America will always be our last and strongest line of defense. I have always believed that.
"And the final, most critical mission. Agent Barton, Agent Melinda, I hope the two of you can shoulder this responsibility and successfully continue the development of Project Pegasus.
"After taking such a heavy hit, we especially need power that we can hold in our own hands. The Tesseract is dangerous, but it's our only shortcut to that kind of power.
"Also, Agent Barton, ensure Project Pegasus runs safely. You may recruit talent freely from the S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees. Since they joined us, they must be ready at all times.
"Move out!"
When her words fell, the agents finally felt the real S.H.I.E.L.D. again.
Hill really was more suitable as Director.
Captain America's orders…
Everyone was willing to follow them.
But everyone also understood that Captain America's style simply wasn't suited to an intelligence organization like S.H.I.E.L.D.
Just like that, in only a dozen minutes, Hill established the fact that she had inherited Nick Fury's will.
She had finally become the true head of this massive machine.
But only after reaching this point did she suddenly realize something.
She and Nick Fury weren't that different after all.
Maybe it was precisely because there was no difference that Nick Fury had been willing to give her such enormous authority in the first place.
…
…
…
When Bullseye stood confidently before Heisenberg and reported to him, two months had already flown by.
In those two months, Heisenberg had long since adapted to his current life.
He wasn't some battle maniac. If nothing was happening, he could sunbathe, drink a little, and do some interesting things with girls.
Wasn't that far more enjoyable than beating up some pitiful giant?
But while enjoying life, Heisenberg also hadn't stopped his plans.
And now was the time for Bullseye to report the overall progress.
Bullseye, already fully recovered, brought Elektra and… and the slightly unwilling Daredevil with him, and excitedly reported to Heisenberg.
"BOSS, after a full two months of effort, I've crushed eighty percent of New York's gangs.
"Our manpower has expanded to more than seventy thousand. We've taken over more than sixty percent of all nightlife venues.
"New York's weapons and smuggling routes are back in our hands too. And we now hold shares in more than eighteen major corporations. Even the smallest stake among them is at least fifteen percent!"
"Mm!" Heisenberg nodded in satisfaction.
When he lay around sunbathing, he would sometimes switch on his super hearing to listen in on New York's situation.
During that time, he'd heard that public order kept improving. Even Hell's Kitchen had basically returned to the calm and rules it once had under Kingpin's reign.
Thinking of that, Heisenberg looked at Daredevil and asked softly, "Matt, how does it feel? Do you still hate me in your heart?"
After speaking, he didn't wait for Matt, who looked somewhat embarrassed, to respond. Instead, he continued.
"Whether you still carry hatred for me or not, I'll ask you just one thing. Since you started working for me, has Hell's Kitchen been changing toward the way you want it to be?"
As he spoke, Heisenberg drank a glass of liquor, then waited for Matt's answer.
After thinking for a moment, Matt replied, "You're right, BOSS."
"Of course I'm right," Heisenberg said.
"After I took control of New York, this city no longer has any drugs. That rule alone drove every addict who couldn't endure it straight out of New York.
"Once the easiest source of violent incidents was removed, Hell's Kitchen was already much better. And the damage you and Bullseye inflicted on the major gangs directly stripped them of the money needed to feed their underlings.
"Bullseye's underworld-on-underworld warfare, and you working on both the legal level and the physical level.
"Those gangs naturally have to lower their so-called strong heads to us, just like they're doing now."
"Exactly." Listening to Heisenberg, Matt nodded firmly.
Back when he'd just been discharged from the hospital, he hadn't really wanted to join Heisenberg's team.
Of course, he hadn't wanted revenge either, because he was the one who had barged into Heisenberg's house looking for a beating. He couldn't blame anyone else for that.
But under Elektra's constant persuasion, and Heisenberg's boss…
Ahem. Under Heisenberg's boss-like authority.
Daredevil finally walked the path of being a private lawyer.
And once Daredevil put aside his superhero mentality and devoted himself to the identity of a private lawyer…
He truly was an outstanding lawyer.
Relying on his understanding of the law and his ability to exploit loopholes, Heisenberg successfully inherited more than eighty percent of Kingpin's legacy.
And after submitting to Heisenberg, Daredevil also succeeded in achieving most of his ideals, namely, making Hell's Kitchen completely stable.
No matter what, Matt Murdock had great merit.
But Bullseye's report today wasn't only to brag about recent work.
He had something more important to discuss with Heisenberg.
He stepped closer by two paces and asked in a low voice, "Boss, recently all the gang leaders in New York, they want to see you once before they're completely finished. What do you think…?"
"Heh. See me once?" Heisenberg sneered, glancing at Bullseye's face full of disdain.
"They don't want to see me. They want me to restore the rules from Kingpin's era, right?"
After he spoke, the contempt on Heisenberg's face practically overflowed.
"Bullseye. Elektra. Matt."
Heisenberg spoke seriously.
"I will never be Kingpin, because he was more businessman than godfather.
"But I'm different. I don't need that boring money, so I've given you the right to distribute those earnings however you want.
"I don't need more money. What I want is all of New York. I need this city to exist according to my requirements. I need everyone here to obey the rules of me, Heisenberg!"
"This…!!!" Matt was startled by Heisenberg's words. He stood up at once, about to argue.
But Heisenberg raised a hand and shook his head at him.
"Don't overthink it, Matt. My rules are the rules you're already carrying out. I want this city to be completely drug-free. I want to stop every act of violence that happens in this city.
"I want this city to become our strongest rear base, able to provide abundant driving force for our future expansion.
"I need this city's economy to keep rising. I need everyone's income in this city to rise. I need them to be completely satisfied with their lives.
"But most importantly, I need them to be grateful to me!"
As he spoke, Heisenberg stood up.
"You might think this is some kind of dictatorship, but if it makes everything better, dictatorship is indeed a method I'm willing to choose.
"I won't leave behind any gang organization that could create chaos.
"Bullseye, you've got ten days. I want every last so-called boss to get thrown into the trash.
"Matt, you don't need to participate in armed operations for now. I need you to draft laws our team can accept, laws that those bastards can accept too, and laws that will help stabilize this city. In other words, laws that belong only to us.
"As for Elektra, I'll take time to pull a group of people from Rumlow's men, and you'll lead them in training our gang's ordinary thugs.
"The American police can't keep the streets stable, then we'll do it for them.
"The American government can't meet the citizens' demands, then we'll meet them for the government.
"Don't think of yourselves as people challenging order. Believe me. Under my leadership, we will become order itself.
"Starting now, gradually get used to your new identities."
"Yes!"
The three answered without hesitation.
/-\
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