Chapter 43: The Gold Content of the Director's Mug
Norman, oh no, to be accurate, it should be the Green Goblin.
He looked down at the crude green armor on his own body, then looked at the streamlined, high-end metallic-gloss authentic suit opposite him.
That was one thing, but the most ridiculous part was that the semi-finished metal glider under his own feet would puff out black smoke from time to time, whereas on Lin Zhen's side, the glider was spitting out eerie blue exhaust flames, looking incredibly cool.
It was like an impostor meeting the original, and the impostor looked more authentic than the real thing—how does that make sense?!
The Green Goblin's brain briefly crashed.
Lin Zhen also scanned the Green Goblin, retorting, "You knockoff loser, you can't even afford a skin, and you dare to come out and show off while riding on a piece of junk? You're a disgrace to villains."
The Green Goblin's eyes instantly bloodshot; he quickly recognized his own design. What the other person was wearing was clearly the latest model of armor he had developed.
"Where did you steal that from?! That is my life's work!" the Green Goblin roared, his sanity completely consumed by the brutality within the serum.
He suddenly let go with both hands.
Mary Jane let out a scream as her body fell straight down toward the water below the bridge.
The steel cable holding the cable car full of elementary school students also slipped down along with her.
"No!" Peter's eyes widened, his legs exerted sudden force, and he leaped off the steel beam at the top of the bridge.
He shot two thick strands of spider silk in mid-air. The spider silk from his left hand accurately stuck to Mary Jane's waist, while the spider silk from his right hand tightly coiled around the rapidly falling steel cable.
Peter's arm muscles instantly tensed, pulling the spider silk taut. The immense downward force tugged at his body as his feet landed heavily on the steel beam of the bridge deck, his shoe soles sparking against the metal surface.
"Ugh!" Peter gritted his teeth, holding onto both ends with all his might.
He was single-handedly holding up an adult woman and an entire cable car full of elementary school students. The terrified cries from the students in the cable car made Peter's eardrums ache.
In mid-air, the Green Goblin completely disregarded the lives below. The semi-finished glider under his feet puffed out a plume of black smoke, and he charged wildly toward Lin Zhen.
"Go to hell!" The Green Goblin reached into the weapon holsters on his thighs with both hands, pulled out two pumpkin bombs, flicked the fuses with his thumbs, and threw them forcefully at Lin Zhen.
The two pumpkin bombs traced orange parabolas in the air, radiating lethal heat.
Watching the flying bombs, the corners of Lin Zhen's mouth curled up under his mask.
With a flip of his left hand, a pitch-black frying panappeared in his hand out of thin air.
Standing on his purple-tier glider, he didn't retreat but instead advanced, charging head-on toward the pumpkin bombs.
"Perfect block, watch me hit a home run." Lin Zhen put power into his waist, swung the frying pan with his left arm, and accurately struck the first pumpkin bomb.
With a crisp "clang."
Under the strike of the frying pan, the pumpkin bomb flew back the way it came.
The Green Goblin's eyes widened sharply. Before he could maneuver his glider to turn, the pumpkin bomb detonated with a roar less than three meters in front of his face.
Violent flames and shrapnel instantly engulfed the Green Goblin.
As the black smoke cleared, the Green Goblin's knockoff armor was left pockmarked, his face covered in soot, looking utterly disheveled.
"Motherf*cker, you dare to come out with this little bit of firepower?" Lin Zhen mocked loudly, applying slight pressure with his feet, causing the purple-tier glider's engine to emit a low rumble.
The glider accelerated instantly, leaving a trail of deep blue afterimages in the air.
Just as the Green Goblin stabilized his stance, he saw that Lin Zhen had already circled behind him.
"Too slow, old man." Lin Zhen's voice came from above.
He maneuvered the glider, flying directly in front of and above the Green Goblin. The main exhaust port at the rear of the purple-tier glider was aimed at the Green Goblin's face.
Boom! An extremely powerful blue exhaust flame surged out, mixed with high-temperature airflow, blasting the Green Goblin right in the face.
The Green Goblin was sent tumbling twice in mid-air by the airflow, and the semi-finished glider under his feet groaned under the strain, nearly falling apart.
Meanwhile, under the bridge.
Peter gritted his teeth tightly; the muscles in his arms were aching to the extreme, and sweat from his forehead trickled down along the mask.
While listening to the cries of the elementary school students below, he struggled to lift his head and look at the night sky.
He had thought tonight was completely over.
Just one Green Goblin was hard enough to deal with, and then another Green Goblin with even more luxurious equipment appeared; he had thought these two monsters would join forces to tear him to pieces.
As it turned out, these two Green Goblins were actually fighting each other.
And that better-looking Green Goblin was actually holding a frying pan in his hand.
Peter looked at that familiar frying pan, his eyes blinking under the mask.
"God, I must be dreaming. Why does this frying pan look so familiar? Could it be that 'Chicken-Head Brother'?" Petercouldn't help but complain wildly in his heart.
In mid-air.
The Green Goblin, dazed and confused by the exhaust fumes, fell into a complete frenzy.
He realized that throwing bombs from a distance was useless; the opponent not only had superior equipment but also that godforsaken frying pan.
"I'm going to tear you apart!" the Green Goblin roared, pushing his glider's power to the limit.
The semi-finished glider spewed out a massive amount of black smoke, and the Green Goblin, like a crazed beast, charged straight at Lin Zhen, intending to engage in the most primitive form of hand-to-hand combat.
Watching the Green Goblin charging over, Lin Zhen put away the frying pan and fumbled frantically in his System Inventory, his movements appearing extremely panicked, all while shouting.
"Oh no, I'm out of items, I'm out of ammo, don't come over here!"
Seeing Lin Zhen's actions, the madness in the Green Goblin's eyes turned into extreme ecstasy.
"You're dead!" the Green Goblin laughed, increasing his speed once more.
Just as the two were less than ten meters apart, Lin Zhenfinally pulled something out of his System Inventory.
It was a pure black ceramic mug, which he had previously swiped from Nick Fury's desk.
Lin Zhen gripped the mug with his right hand, aimed at the Green Goblin's face, and threw it hard.
The black mug tumbled in the air.
The Green Goblin looked at the incoming object and sneered.
He tilted his head slightly, dodging a direct Shockwavefrom the mug, and accurately caught it in mid-air with his right hand.
He looked down and realized it was just an ordinary drinking mug.
The Green Goblin looked up and let out an extremely arrogant laugh at Lin Zhen.
"You're trying to use this kind of trash to deal with me? You're practically asking for death. What do you think a broken mug can do?"
Just then, an extremely urgent "beep-beep" sound came from the mug in his hand.
He lowered his head, his gaze directed inside the mug.
At the bottom of the cup, a pumpkin bomb was wedged tightly.
The fuse of the pumpkin bomb had already been pulled, and an orange light was flashing frantically.
The Green Goblin's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpricks.
"No..."
Boom!
A deafening roar exploded over the Queensboro Bridge.
Violent flames erupted directly in the Green Goblin's hand, less than half a meter from his face.
The power of that pumpkin bomb was terrifying.
The goblin helmet on the Green Goblin's head was blown to pieces on the spot, with metal fragments flying everywhere.
He let out a shrill scream, his whole body sent flying by the shockwave of the explosion.
The semi-finished glider under his feet was completely wrecked, snapping into two pieces.
The Green Goblin, covered in black smoke, fell straight down into the river below the bridge.
With a loud splash, water sprayed everywhere as the Green Goblin sank into the river, his fate unknown.
Lin Zhen leisurely rode his purple-tier glider in mid-air, looking at the ripples on the water, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.
"As expected of the Director's mug; its gold content keeps rising!" Lin Zhen stroked his chin, calculating in his heart that he should borrow a few more mugs from the Directorin the future.
At the same time.
S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Director's office.
Nick Fury stood in front of a giant holographic screen, his one remaining eye staring fixedly at the footage of the Queensboro Bridge transmitted back by satellite monitoring, while Agent Hill, standing beside him holding a folder, didn't dare to breathe.
Fury watched with his own eyes as Lin Zhen appeared wearing that garish green suit.
Finally, he watched with his own eyes as Lin Zhen pulled that familiar black mug out of his inventory.
When that mug exploded into countless fragments on the surveillance screen.
Nick Fury's blood pressure instantly exceeded the critical point.
"Lin Zhen!!!"
Fury let out a roar that resounded throughout the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
He swung his right fist violently, slamming it hard onto the brand-new solid wood desk in front of him.
Crack!
The sturdy desk was punched through by his fist, wood chips flying everywhere.
The Agents outside the door shivered in fear, not daring to take a single step near the Director's office.
Fury pulled out his fist, looking at the wood chips all over the floor, his chest heaving violently.
"Motherf*cker, that was the new mug I just bought yesterday!"
Chapter 44: With a resolve to die, paying the "public grain"!
The scene where Lin Zhen defeated the Green Goblin was filmed by some influencers and livestreamed in real-time.
The popularity of the livestream soared rapidly, and countless comments floated across the screen.
"He saved us!"
"Is this a new superhero? What is his name?"
"I don't know, but he really looks like the Green Goblin!"
"I want to have your babies!"
Everyone was looking at Lin Zhen, who was hovering in the air, with faces full of admiration.
On the other side, Peter Parker, hanging in mid-air:???
"Hey, I also had a part in saving people, how come you all admire that guy?"
"Is anyone going to feed me peanuts!"
...
That night, the video of the real and fake Green Goblinspread like wildfire.
The two looked so much alike that enthusiastic netizens gave Lin Zhen a superhero codename: Green Hat Hero!
The reason was simple: because the Green Goblin mask on Lin Zhen's head was green and covered his entire head.
Lin Zhen was dumbfounded at that moment.
He really doubted the cultural level of the new generation in the U.S.
He figured that you would have to have eaten hundreds of pounds of excrement to come up with a codename like Green Hat Hero.
Isn't this clearly a personal attack?
If you couldn't think of anything else, couldn't you have called me Green Mask Hero or Green Crotch Hero? After all, my chest is broad, and my crotch isn't small either.
He immediately refused to accept it and engaged in a war of words with the crowd in the comments section, trying to defend himself.
Then he discovered that these keyboard warriors were too fierce; they kept calling him a "little hater" and told him not to smear their "idol."
Lin Zhen:???
Lin Zhen: "I am the Green Hat Hero... uh... I am that green handsome guy, can you let me say a few words..."
Fans: "Get lost, if you were my idol, I'd be your father!"
In the end, he was completely speechless.
The popularity of the Green Hat Hero grew larger and larger; even Spider-Man's number one hater, J. Jonah Jameson, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, made an exception and reported on the matter.
The headline was: The Secretive Relationship Between Spider-Man and the Green Hat Hero!
How should I put it, this headline... was full of hype.
To be able to become the editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper, he certainly had some skills.
...
[Main Quest Completed: Evil Goblin]
[Quest Rewards: EXP +3000, Points +20, Random Purple Equipment ×1] [Obtained Item: Reborn's Pet (Leon): A shape-memory chameleon pet. It can transform into many things without changing size. Additionally, it can produce Dying Will Bullets (hitting the target's forehead will cause flames to erupt; completing the task with a resolve to die increases attributes by 500%, with the side effect of clothes exploding).]
Lin Zhen stared at the chameleon that had suddenly appeared on his shoulder, feeling somewhat skeptical.
Does this little guy really have any lethality?
He gestured with one hand, and Leon transformed into a pistol.
Bang!
A bullet struck his forehead, and Lin Zhen collapsed to the ground.
When he stood up again, eerie blue flames were already erupting from his forehead.
"With a resolve to die!"
The next second, Lin Zhen felt an uncontrollable, primordial power surging within him. His muscles expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his previously loose casual clothes were instantly stretched to their limit.
"Rip!"
Accompanied by the sound of tearing fabric, his jacket, shirt, pants, and even the boxers with the SpongeBob pattern were shredded to pieces by the impact of this violent power, turning into strips of cloth flying everywhere.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Zhen had turned into a completely naked, muscular hunk. From head to toe, apart from that immovable chicken mask, there was no other covering.
"Roar!"
Lin Zhen let out a beast-like roar toward the sky, the Dying Will flame on his forehead flickering violently. He now had only one thought in his mind, which was the last sentence that flashed through his head before he was shot.
"I must, with a resolve to die, go pay the public grain!"
Lin Zhen's eyes had completely turned a fanatical crimson. He yanked the palm-sized anywhere door out of his System Inventory, slammed it hard onto the ground, and then, like an out-of-control rhinoceros, dove into it with his bare buttocks exposed.
Meanwhile, in Queens, New York City, at the home of Chief George.
The TV in the living room was replaying the battle between the real and fake Green Goblin on the Queensboro Bridge.
On the screen, that "Green Hat Hero," stepping on a purple glider and wearing a Green Goblin helmet, was arrogantly batting a pumpkin bomb back with a frying pan.
Captain George Stacy, wearing gray loungewear, sat on the sofa with a cup of hot tea in his hand. Watching the scene on TV, his beard was trembling with anger.
"New York is truly crazy now. Not only is there that Spider-Man who swings around all day destroying public property, a maniac wearing a chicken mask, but also a Terrorist called the Green Hat Hero."
Chief George slammed his teacup onto the coffee table and turned to look at his daughter, who was sitting next to him eating an apple. "Gwen, you are absolutely forbidden from going out at night in the future. These so-called superheroes are a hundred times more dangerous than those criminals; they are not bound by the law at all!"
Wearing pink fuzzy pajamas, Gwen heard her father's complaints. She took a bite of her apple with a guilty conscience and mumbled, "Actually, I think they are also saving people. After all, if it weren't for that Green Hat Hero, those elementary school students on the bridge might have been in danger."
She was, of course, feeling guilty, because she was the one who swung around all day as Ghost-Spider, and she knew better than anyone who the person wearing the chicken mask was.
Thinking of Lin Zhen, Gwen's cheeks couldn't help but flush hot. The crazy scenes from the office and the restroom a few hours ago were still lingering in her mind.
"That bastard, he said he'd empty his ammo, and now I don't even know what nightclub he's gone off to fool around in."
Gwen gritted her teeth inwardly.
Just as the father and daughter were each lost in their own thoughts.
The air in the center of the living room suddenly twisted violently, and immediately after, a pink wooden door appeared out of thin air.
Chief George was stunned. He had been a police officer for thirty years and had never seen anyone build a door out of thin air in someone else's living room.
Before he could even draw his service weapon.
"Bang!"
The pink wooden door was kicked to pieces by an extremely violent force. Amidst the flying wood chips, a man with bulging muscles, completely naked, and with eerie blue flames atop his head, rushed out with an unstoppable momentum.
"Gwen, I have come with a resolve to die to pay the public grain!"
Lin Zhen's deafening roar echoed throughout the small living room.
The whole room fell into dead silence.
Captain George Stacy maintained his pose holding the teacup, his gaze moving down from Lin Zhen's visually shocking mask, finally landing on that unmasked, extremely arrogant part.
The apple in Gwen's hand fell to the floor with a "thud." She looked at the stark-naked Lin Zhen, and she was completely dumbfounded.
— — — — — — — —
Hehe, after fighting so much, one has to occasionally pay the public grain, right? Do you big bosses like reading this kind of stuff?
Please keep the updates coming, please give five-star reviews!!!! Big bosses.
Chapter 45: New Mission, Hydra.
"You pervert, stay away from my daughter!"
Chief George roared and pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang!
Three bullets, pointed straight at Lin Zhen's forehead.
In the Death-Qi state, Lin Zhen's attributes were increased by 500%, and his vision and speed were terrifying.
In his eyes, the trajectory of the bullets was as slow as a snail.
He didn't even take the frying pan; he directly extended two fingers, clamped them in mid-air, and caught a bullet.
"Old man, don't get in the way of my main quest!" Lin Zhencasually threw the bullet away and flashed in front of Chief George.
Chief George only felt a blur before his eyes, and the gun in his hand was dismantled into a pile of parts by Lin Zhen, clattering onto the ground.
Lin Zhen turned around, staring intensely at Gwen, who had petrified on the sofa.
"Gwen, I'm here!" Lin Zhen opened his arms and pounced like a hungry wolf.
Gwen finally reacted, screamed, and instinctively raised her foot, kicking Lin Zhen in the face.
"Wake up!" Gwen shouted.
This kick was powerful and sent Lin Zhen flying backward, crashing into the wall.
Just then, the five-minute duration of the Death-Qi bullet expired.
The ghostly blue flame on top of Lin Zhen's head went out with a "poof."
The crimson red in his eyes faded, and reason reclaimed the high ground.
Lin Zhen shook his head, climbed up from the ground, and looked at Chief George, who was wielding a desk lamp as a weapon, and Gwen, who was huddled in the corner of the sofa, covering her face.
A cold breeze blew in from the broken anywhere door, and Lin Zhen felt a chill on his lower body.
He looked down.
"Motherf*cker..." Lin Zhen's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
He finally realized that the "clothing explosion" side effect meant literally not even a pair of underwear left.
At this moment, Chief George's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. He gritted his teeth and stared at Lin Zhen, "You bastard wearing a chicken mask, how dare you break into my house and... and say those things to my daughter? I'm going to shoot you today!"
Saying this, Chief George turned to look for spare magazines in the drawer.
Although Lin Zhen's skin was as thick as a city wall, being butt-naked in front of his future father-in-law was still a bit embarrassing.
He was quick-witted, grabbed a pink Hello Kitty pillow from the sofa, blocked his critical parts, and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, hello Chief, I am a senior inspector from the Federal Chicken Head Administration, codenamed 'New York Ji Ba'."
Lin Zhen spouted nonsense with a straight face.
"I was just chasing a highly dangerous invisible Mutant. That guy's ability is to dissolve clothing. To protect public property, I unfortunately got hit. This is all for work, absolutely not because I'm a pervert."
Chief George turned back with a magazine, laughing out of anger, "Do you take me for a three-year-old? What did you mean by 'handing over the public grain' just now!"
"That's our bureau's secret code!" Lin Zhen said without blushing or skipping a beat, "It means 'hand over the safety of the public granary to me', abbreviated as 'handing over public grain'."
Gwen rolled her eyes on the side; there wasn't a single word of truth in this bastard's mouth.
"I don't care what bureau you're from. You are now suspected of illegal trespassing, assaulting an officer, and public indecency. I'm arresting you!" Chief George clicked the bullet into the chamber, the muzzle pointing directly at Lin Zhen's head.
Lin Zhen curled his lips, knowing this old man was stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason.
"Fine, since you won't cooperate with our federal agency's investigation, I'll withdraw first. Remember to give me a five-star review."
Lin Zhen held the Hello Kitty pillow with his right hand and shouted: "Brother System, teleport!"
The air twisted, and Lin Zhen disappeared into thin air amidst a flash of light.
Only Chief George was left, holding a gun, looking at the empty living room, trembling with anger.
"Gwen!" Chief George turned to look at his daughter, "You know this lunatic, don't you?"
Gwen's eyes darted away, and she stammered, "No... I don't know him. How could I know such a pervert..."
"Change your job tomorrow. No, move back to the policedepartment's family compound tomorrow!" Chief Georgeroared.
...
Lin Zhen teleported back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, but because there were no specific coordinates, he fell directly into the logistics department's locker room.
He grabbed a black S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical suit from a locker and put it on, finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Damn developer, the settings for this Death-Qi bullet are too ridiculous. I'll never use it on myself again." Lin Zhencomplained while opening the locker room door.
Just as he stepped out, he saw two S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents rushing over.
"Consultant Lin Zhen, Director Fury is waiting for you in his office. He... he looks like he's in a very bad mood." The Agent swallowed and said cautiously.
Lin Zhen rolled his eyes and swaggered toward the elevator.
Director Fury's office.
Nick Fury stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to the door.
The door opened, and Lin Zhen walked in wearing an ill-fitting tactical suit.
"Yo, Director, enjoying the view in the middle of the night?" Lin Zhen pulled up a chair and sat down, propping his legs on the desk.
Fury turned slowly, his only remaining eye staring fixedly at Lin Zhen. If looks could kill, Lin Zhen would have been sliced a hundred times by now.
"Lin Zhen, you'd better give me a reasonable explanation." Fury's voice was low, "Not only did you steal classified equipment from Oscorp, but you also wore that green piece of junk and fought Norman Osborn on the Queensboro Bridge. Now the whole internet is calling you 'Green Hat Hero', and most importantly..."
Lin Zhen picked his ear, looking innocent: "Didn't I perfectly complete the mission you assigned? Norman Osborn was knocked into the river by me, and I sent you the secret experimental data of Oscorp. What else are you dissatisfied with?"
Fury took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to draw his gun.
He knew there was nothing he could do about this kid. This guy's strength was still a mystery, and he could always complete missions in extremely bizarre ways.
"Norman Osborn's body was not found, and the the military has already intervened." Fury said coldly, "Oscorpis now leaderless, the board of Directors is frantically selling off shares, and Stark Industries has taken the opportunity to acquire 30% of their shares."
"That iron turtle Tony moves pretty fast." Lin Zhen touched his chin.
"That's not the point." Fury brought up a holographic projection. On the screen was a huge underground fortress surrounded by heavy troops.
"We found an encrypted file on Oscorp's secret server." Fury stared at Lin Zhen, "Norman Osborn was not only researching Mutant serum, but he was also providing weapons and funds to a mysterious organization. The name of this organization is... Hydra."
The system prompt sounded suddenly in Lin Zhen's mind.
[Main Quest Triggered: Cut off one head, grow two heads]
[Mission Objective: Infiltrate the secret Hydra baselocated in Siberia, destroy their core server, and obtain the preliminary list for the 'Project Insight']
[Mission Reward: EXP +5000, Points +50, Random Orange Equipment Fragment x1]
Seeing the words "Orange Equipment Fragment," Lin Zhen's eyes lit up instantly.
"Hydra, right? No problem, leave it to me!" Lin Zhenslapped his thigh and stood up, "But Director, going to such a cold place as Siberia, the business trip subsidy should be doubled. Also, I'm afraid of the cold, you have to equip me with a private jet, preferably one with a heated swimming pool and a few blonde flight attendants."
Fury sneered, "No private jet, but there is a the militarytransport plane. You leave tonight. Also, you're not going alone this time."
"Huh? You're giving me a teammate?" Lin Zhen looked disgusted, "I'm used to soloing. Bringing a drag-along affects my sword-drawing speed."
The office door was pushed open.
A red-haired woman wearing a tight black leather suit with an incredibly hot figure walked in.
She stepped in high heels, her eyes cold, with a faint smile on the corners of her mouth.
"Director Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 Agent, Natasha Romanoff, reporting to you."
Lin Zhen looked at Black Widow walking in, and the disgust on his face instantly vanished without a trace. His speed of changing faces was comparable to flipping a book.
He adjusted his chicken mask like a gentleman, extended his right hand, and smiled: "Oh, it's Agent Natasha. Long time no see. I take back what I said just now. Men and women working together makes the work easier. When are we leaving? Should we go grab a cup of coffee and discuss tactics in depth?"
Natasha glanced at Lin Zhen, didn't shake his hand, but looked at Fury, "Director, are you sure you want me to execute a mission with this... person who is not mentally stable?"
"That's an order, Agent Romanoff." Fury said lightly, "Although his brain is a bit abnormal, he can indeed bring unexpected results sometimes."
Lin Zhen was not happy and retorted, "Old man, who are you calling mentally abnormal? I'm sharp as hell most of the time!"
Natasha sighed and turned to walk out. "See you at the tarmac in ten minutes. Don't be late, Mr. 'Green Hat Hero'."
Lin Zhen's mouth twitched when he heard this nickname: "Motherf*cker, whoever calls me Green Hat Hero again, I'll get into a fight with them!"
He turned to look at Fury, and casually picked up a newly replaced stainless steel thermos on Fury's desk.
"Director, this cup keeps heat well. Let me borrow it; it'll be perfect for holding hot water in Siberia."
After speaking, Lin Zhen didn't wait for Fury to get angry and directly activated the teleportation skill, disappearing on the spot.
Fury looked at the empty desk, the veins on his forehead throbbing wildly.
"Lin Zhen, f*ck you!!!"
Chapter 46: Back Off, Girl, This Mob Is Mine
S.H.I.E.L.D. underground hangar.
A cold wind howled as a charcoal-gray Quinjet started its engines.
The air twisted for a moment.
Wearing a chicken mask, Lin Zhen appeared out of thin air beside the boarding ramp, holding a steaming stainless steel thermos.
He lowered his head to unscrew the lid, glanced at the few red goji berries floating inside, and curled his lip in disgust. "Motherfucker, Nick Fury actually drinks goji berry tea for his health? Is he having kidney issues?"
As he spoke, he poured the water and the goji berries from the cup into the hangar drain, then pulled a bottle of ice-cold Happy Water from his System Inventory and poured it into the cup.
Natasha stood at the cabin door with her arms crossed, looking down at Lin Zhen's smooth, practiced actions, the corners of her mouth twitching uncontrollably.
"If you had been thirty seconds later, I would have taken off on my own," Natasha said coldly, turning to walk into the cabin.
Lin Zhen quickly put the lid back on his cup and bounded up the ramp in two steps. "Don't be like that, girl. While soloing means you get all the experience, Siberia is freezing. I wouldn't be able to handle it without a teammate to warm the bed."
The cabin door closed slowly.
Lin Zhen scanned the empty cabin; apart from a few rows of cold metal seats and weapon racks, there wasn't a ghost in sight.
"What happened to the promised blonde flight attendant?" Lin Zhen slumped into a seat and complained loudly. "This crappy S.H.I.E.L.D. organization is going to be finished sooner or later; they don't even have any employee benefits. Look at Oscorp—they even gave me a purple-tier skateboard!"
Natasha sat behind the pilot's seat, checking the tactical pistol strapped to her outer thigh, and replied without looking up.
"If you don't find the seat comfortable, I can tie you to the wing."
"I think I'll pass." Lin Zhen crossed his legs and took a happy sip of his Happy Water.
The dozen-plus hours of flight were dull and tedious.
Natasha tried to use Agent interrogation techniques to extract information about Lin Zhen's background, but Lin Zhen was too busy thinking about what gear he could loot when they reached Siberia, giving her nonsensical answers that infuriated her so much she simply closed her eyes to rest.
"Beep!"
Red lights flashed inside the cabin, and the mechanical voice of the autopilot system came over the intercom.
"Arrived at target airspace, Siberia."
The rear cabin door lowered slowly, and a violently ferocious polar wind mixed with ice and snow instantly flooded the entire cabin.
Lin Zhen shivered from the cold and quickly pulled the battered green goblin suit from his inventory, putting it on without hesitation.
Although this thing reduced his Charisma by fifty, it was a solid metal exoskeleton with a built-in climate control system, making it much more effective than any down jacket.
Natasha, wearing a white arctic stealth combat suit, frowned slightly as she looked at Lin Zhen, who was topped with a goblin helmet and wearing a chicken maskover it.
"Is this outfit of yours meant to help Hydra snipers find their target?" Natasha remarked coldly.
"What do you know? This is called stacking armor. As long as your health bar is thick enough, snipers are just tickling you." Lin Zhen replied righteously and jumped straight out of the cabin door.
The two landed in a snow-covered valley.
Less than five hundred meters ahead was an abandoned Soviet Union-era dam, with thick layers of ice covering the entire structure.
Natasha pulled a palm-sized military scanner from her waist, its screen flickering with complex waveforms.
"The base entrance is at the bottom of the dam. There are three heavy blast doors equipped with infrared thermal imaging and gravity-sensing alarms." Natasha lowered her voice, her tone extremely professional. "I need ten minutes to hack their external surveillance, and then we will infiltrate through the ventilation ducts. Remember, we must not alert the enemy."
She turned her head, only to find that the space beside her was empty.
"Lin Zhen?" Natasha was stunned for a moment.
"BOOM!"
A deafening, earth-shaking roar came directly from the bottom of the dam.
Violent flames shot into the sky, mixed with heavy steel plate fragments and ice shards flying everywhere, detonating a mushroom cloud in the snowy valley.
Natasha's eyes widened as she stared at the entrance at the bottom of the dam, which had been blown open into a five-meter-wide hole, and she was completely dumbfounded.
"Motherfucker, the quality of these blast doors is really poor. Two pumpkin bombs took care of it." Lin Zhen's extremely arrogant voice came through the communication channel.
Natasha was shaking with rage and roared into the communicator: "I said we were going to infiltrate! What are you doing, you lunatic?!"
"You don't get it, girl?" Lin Zhen stood in front of the smoke-filled hole, holding a frying pan in his left hand and weighing a glowing orange pumpkin bomb in his right. "As long as we kill everyone inside who sees us, this is a perfectly flawless infiltration!"
A shrill alarm instantly echoed throughout the valley.
Red alarm lights flashed wildly inside the base, and dense footsteps surged from all directions.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Dozens of fully armed Hydra soldiers in black combat uniforms rushed out from the depths of the passage, carrying assault rifles.
"Open fire!"
A dense hail of bullets poured toward Lin Zhen like a metal storm.
"Bring it on! You're all just walking experience packs!" Lin Zhen yelled excitedly.
He didn't retreat at all; the green goblin suit at his feet powered up to the max, and he turned into a green afterimage, charging straight into the hail of bullets.
Clang! Clang!
Bullets hit the green goblin suit, sparking a series of flashes, without even breaking through its defense.
Lin Zhen swung the frying pan in his left hand so fast that it was airtight, swatting away all the bullets aimed at his face, while his right hand precisely threw the pumpkin bomb into the densest part of the crowd.
"Boom!"
Flames rolled, and a dozen Hydra soldiers were instantly blown away, their severed limbs scattered all over the ground.
System notifications flooded Lin Zhen's mind.
[Killed Hydra elite guard, EXP +50]
[Killed Hydra elite guard, EXP +50]
Lin Zhen didn't even look at the charred corpses; he pulled off a silky-smooth slide, rushing in front of several soldiers who had been stunned by the blast.
Both his hands moved in unison as he skillfully began looting the corpses.
"Oh my, this tactical flashlight is actually a blue-tier item. Yoink!"
"This modified submachine gun is not bad; it can sell for a good price. Taking it!"
"Motherfucker, why does this poor guy only have five dollars in his pocket? Is Hydra's salary that low?!"
When Natasha rushed into the passage with her gun raised, this was the incredibly bizarre scene she saw.
Corpses were strewn everywhere, and the man wearing the chicken mask was squatting on the ground, skillfully stripping a bulletproof vest off a body, cursing and complaining about the low drop rate.
"Are you here to carry out a mission, or are you here to stock up on inventory?" Natasha gritted her teeth and blew the head off a Hydra soldier who was trying to ambush them from a corner.
"It's just a matter of convenience." Lin Zhen stuffed the last few magazines into his System Inventory and stood up, clapping his hands.
Just then, the heavy metal door at the end of the passage slowly slid open to both sides.
An extremely cold, murderous aura surged from behind the door.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, each step feeling like it was stomping on one's heart.
A man wearing a black tactical vest, with shoulder-length hair and a black half-face mask, walked slowly into the light.
His left arm was a mechanical arm with a cold, metallic sheen, and the side of the arm was stamped with a very conspicuous red five-pointed star.
The moment Natasha saw this man, her pupils constricted sharply, and her hand holding the gun tightened involuntarily.
"Winter Soldier..." Natasha's voice carried a hint of extremely rare gravity.
Lin Zhen, however, didn't care at all about what Natashawas saying.
His gaze was locked onto the man's metal left arm, and the system panel had automatically popped up the target's information.
[Elite BOSS: Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes)]
[Extremely high drop rate: Vibranium mechanical arm (Purple epic-tier material, can be used for forging top-tier equipment or sold for a high price)]
Lin Zhen's eyes lit up instantly.
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and, extremely excited, raised the frying pan, pointing it at the man opposite him.
"Back off, girl, this mob is mine. I reckon his metal arm is worth at least five million!"
Chapter 47: Old Man, Have a Taste of Explosive Grilled Eggs!
"Are you crazy? That's the Winter Soldier, the perfect assassin from the Soviet Union's Cold War era!"
She took a deep breath, her tone heavy with unprecedented gravity.
"Even I'm not confident I could walk away unscathed against him. You going up there is just suicide."
Lin Zhen curled his lip in dismissal, muttering, "Purple-tier material, man. If I sell it to that iron turtle Tony, I could at least trade it for a seaside Villa and three sports cars. This is a massive profit."
Natasha looked at his money-grubbing expression and felt that teaming up with him was the most unwise decision she had ever made.
She fought back the urge to curse and glanced at Lin Zhen, asking, "If you face him, what are the odds? How confident are you?"
Lin Zhen stroked his chin and said with certainty, "Three-seven split."
"Only thirty percent?"
Natasha sighed. It seemed she would have to find a way to run.
She thought to herself that although this guy was usually full of nonsense and his mental state was extremely unstable, at least he had some self-awareness at critical moments, knowing his win rate wasn't high.
Just as she was about to open her mouth to discuss which ventilation duct to escape through, Lin Zhen brazenly added,
"Three seconds, I kill him seven times."
Natasha:???
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Green Goblin glider under Lin Zhen's feet sprayed two streams of azure air from its tail.
He was like a heavy green cannonball, stepping over the shattered glass and shell casings covering the floor, charging out with extreme arrogance.
"Drop the gold coins, old man!" Lin Zhen roared, the frying pan in his left hand whistling as it tore through the air, heading straight for the Winter Soldier's forehead.
The Winter Soldier stood where he was, expressionless.
Intense killing intent radiated from those calm eyes.
He didn't even take half a step back; just as the frying panwas about to hit his face, his body shifted to the right with eerie speed, perfectly dodging the heavy blow.
Immediately after, that mechanical left arm with the red star emblem lifted sharply.
His five fingers clenched into a fist, creating a sonic boom, and landed with pinpoint accuracy on the armor of Lin Zhen's chest.
Bang!
A deafening dull thud exploded in the corridor, and a visible shockwave rippled outwards.
Lin Zhen, along with the pan, flew backward, crashing into the wall and leaving a human-shaped crater.
Natasha held her gun, staring blankly at the figure on the wall, the corner of her mouth twitching uncontrollably.
She never expected that this guy would act so tough and shout the most arrogant slogans, only to fail to take even a single move from the other side.
"Killed seven times in three seconds by the Winter Soldier?"
After landing the hit, the Winter Soldier didn't pause at all, stepping over the debris and approaching Natasha with a blank expression.
Natasha gritted her teeth, quickly regaining her composure. She raised her gun to fire while retreating rapidly towards Lin Zhen.
Bang, bang, bang!
She fired seven shots in a row, the bullets aiming with extreme precision at the Winter Soldier's eyes, throat, and knee joints.
But the Winter Soldier simply raised his mechanical arm to protect his face; the bullets sparked against the metal, completely unable to stop his advance.
Natasha retreated to the load-bearing wall, looking at the motionless Lin Zhen embedded in the wall, and shouted irritably, "Are you dead? If we don't leave now, it'll be too late."
"Half-dead. I urgently need a Russian beauty with D-cups to give me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, otherwise, I'm going to kick the bucket right now."
Natasha rolled her eyes hard.
Even at a time like this, this jerk still had the mind to act like a pervert.
She certainly couldn't give him any mouth-to-mouth, but they were colleagues, after all; she couldn't just leave him here to feed Hydra.
Natasha grabbed Lin Zhen's arm and pulled him out of the wall with force.
Lin Zhen's entire weight pressed onto Natasha's shoulder, his head rubbing lecherously against her neck.
"Stand steady, I'm taking you out of here." Natashasuppressed the urge to stuff him back into the wall, supporting Lin Zhen as she prepared to evacuate through the side ventilation duct.
Just then, the Winter Soldier moved.
His speed suddenly exploded, crossing a dozen meters in an instant, his terrifying mechanical arm reaching straight for Natasha's throat.
An extreme sense of danger immediately enveloped Natasha.
Her pupils constricted, and the hair on her body stood on end.
The pressure from the Winter Soldier was too strong; that tangible killing intent made it almost impossible for her to breathe.
With a dead weight on her, she couldn't dodge this attack at all.
Natasha's heart sank, despair spreading within her, feeling that she might really be done for today.
Just at this critical moment.
Natasha suddenly heard a strange "hissing" sound by her ear, like a heavy truck tire leaking air.
Immediately after, she felt the weight on her shoulder suddenly disappear, and the originally hard Green Goblinexoskeleton armor felt soft and rubbery to the touch.
She subconsciously looked down.
She saw that the Lin Zhen who was originally quite solid in her arms was collapsing like a punctured balloon, deflating at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In less than a second, the Lin Zhen wearing the battle suit turned into a thin piece of rubber skin.
Finally, with a soft "pop," the leaking rubber skin turned into an inflatable doll wearing only a thong and a chicken mask.
On the inflatable doll's face, there was even a mockery-filled, funny smile drawn on it.
Natasha:???
Her brain crashed instantly, completely unable to understand everything happening before her eyes.
What kind of hellish superpower is this!
And at this moment, the Winter Soldier's mechanical arm was less than half a meter from Natasha's neck!
"Motherf*cker, dare to touch my teammate? Did you ask the motherf*cking Chicken-Headed Green Hat Hero first?!"
An extremely arrogant voice rang out from behind the Winter Soldier without warning.
The Winter Soldier's pupils contracted violently. His instinct, honed from years of walking on the edge of life and death, made him instantly give up attacking Natasha, and his mechanical arm swung backward violently.
But it was too late.
The real Lin Zhen, having used a system item to circle around to the Winter Soldier's blind spot, didn't know when he had arrived.
He held the pitch-black frying pan in his left hand and two sticks of C4 explosives flashing red light in his right, sliding directly under the Winter Soldier's crotch with an extremely silky sliding tackle.
"Old man, have a taste of explosive grilled eggs!"
Chapter 48: There wasn't even a system notification sound; who would believe you're dead?!
The moment Lin Zhen's voice faded, the C4 was already stuck to the outer side of the Winter Soldier's pant leg.
The red light blinked. Beep, beep, beep.
The Winter Soldier's pupils constricted. His metal left arm lunged downward, fingers hooking into the edge of the C4. He ripped the C4 off along with the fabric of his pant leg. With a flick of his wrist, the two ticking C4 charges flew directly toward Lin Zhen and Natasha.
Seeing this, Natasha's expression changed. The distance was too close; there was absolutely no time to dodge.
The life-threatening sound of the beeping was amplified infinitely in the narrow corridor.
"Lin Zhen, look at the mess you've made!" Natasha glared fiercely at Lin Zhen.
"Girl, why are you panicking? The C4 hasn't even exploded yet, has it?" Lin Zhen shrugged. "With me here, don't be afraid!"
As he spoke, he flipped his wrist, and suddenly, a frying pan appeared in his hand. Lin Zhen leaped forward, swung the frying pan, and executed a smash.
"Clang!" An extremely crisp metallic ringing sound echoed.
Under the strike of the frying pan, the two C4 charges flew back along their original path and landed with extreme precision right at the Winter Soldier's feet.
"Old man, did you think I watched the Olympic men's singles badminton final for nothing?!"
For the first time, a trace of astonishment appeared on the Winter Soldier's calm, expressionless face. He didn't even have time to react before the C4 exploded with a boom. Boom!
The power of the two military-grade C4 charges was terrifying; large cracks appeared in the sturdy load-bearing wall, and chunks of concrete from the ceiling fell in a flurry.
The Winter Soldier was blasted away by the shockwave, hitting the metal blast door a dozen meters away like a ragdoll before crashing heavily to the ground.
Natasha lay on the ground, shielding her head with her hands, feeling her eardrums buzzing.
In contrast, Lin Zhen, thanks to the frying pan's 100% rebound mechanism, suffered no significant damage from the explosion's impact.
She looked up and saw Lin Zhen, completely unscathed and even still holding an incredibly arrogant pose from his swing, and her brain went into a state of shock once again. This bastard actually hit the C4 back like a shuttlecock?!
"Woohoo, nice shot!" Lin Zhen whistled smugly and casually shouldered the frying pan.
Before the smoke ahead had cleared, Lin Zhen impatiently walked over. At this moment, the Winter Soldier was covered in scorch marks and looked as dead as can be.
Natasha climbed up from the ground, brushed the dust off her body, and frowned as she watched Lin Zhen's unguarded back.
Lin Zhen crouched down and reached out toward that cold, gleaming mechanical arm. Just as his fingertips were about to touch the metal, the Winter Soldier's tightly closed eyes snapped open.
His intact right hand had somehow already gripped a tactical knife. From bottom to top, with a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air, he lunged straight for Lin Zhen's throat.
This strike was extremely vicious and tricky, a purely instinctive counterattack by a top-tier assassin in a desperate situation. Anyone else facing a "corpse" that had just been blasted by C4 at close range would have let their guard down; this strike was almost guaranteed to hit.
However, Lin Zhen's movements were faster. "Clang!"
The black frying pan, as if foreseeing the future, was positioned with extreme precision in front of his throat. The tip of the knife stabbed hard against the bottom of the pan, sparking brilliantly, but it didn't even leave a scratch.
At the same time, Lin Zhen's left hand, like an iron pincer, clamped tightly onto the Winter Soldier's knife-wielding wrist.
The Winter Soldier's face, which was usually calm and expressionless, finally showed undisguised astonishment and shock. He had even used Hydra training to force his heart to stop, perfectly disguising himself as a corpse. By all logic, it should have been impossible to see through!
"How did you know I wasn't dead?" The Winter Soldier's raspy voice squeezed out from deep in his throat, filled with intense confusion.
Lin Zhen sneered, exerted force with his left hand, and directly pinned the Winter Soldier's right arm behind his back on the ground, raising the frying pan high with his right hand.
"How did I know?!" Lin Zhen slammed the bottom of the pan hard onto the Winter Soldier's forehead. "Motherf***er, you have the nerve to ask? There wasn't even a system notification sound for completing the mission; who would believe you're dead?!"
Bam! "I came over here full of anticipation to loot the corpse, but after waiting forever, I didn't hear the familiar ding-dong sound at all!"
Bam! "You wasted my emotions for nothing. You old man are not only poor, but you also dared to play dead to trick me!"
Bam! Bam! Bam! The Winter Soldier was beaten into a state of helplessness. His proud combat skills and assassination techniques were impossible to unleash now that he was severely injured.
Most crucially, the material of that frying pan was extremely bizarre; every strike carried a defense-ignoring heavy hit effect, making his brain buzz.
After a few more pans, the Winter Soldier's half-mask was smashed to pieces, his nasal bone fractured, and blood flew everywhere. He didn't even have time to say a word before his eyes rolled back, and he completely passed out.
This time, a crisp and pleasant sound finally rang in Lin Zhen's mind. [Defeated Elite BOSS: Winter Soldier(Bucky Barnes)] [Received Reward: EXP +3000, Points +15] [Special Drop: Mechanical Arm Part ×1 (Requires manual collection)]
"Hear that? This is the correct way to do it." Lin Zhenexhaled in extreme comfort and casually wiped the blood-stained frying pan on the Winter Soldier's tactical vest.
In the distance, Natasha was stunned. She looked at the existence listed as extremely dangerous and invincible in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top-secret files—this Winter Soldier had even served as an instructor for the Red Room... Yet, such a powerful person had actually been killed by Lin Zhen at this moment?!
And that Lin Zhen was now... pulling a large wrench and a Phillips screwdriver out of his System Inventory.
"What... what are you doing?" Natasha stepped forward, watching Lin Zhen's extremely professional stance, her eyelid twitching uncontrollably.
"Didn't you see the system prompt saying it requires manual collection?" Lin Zhen didn't even look up, using the wrench to firmly jam the shoulder joint of the mechanical arm and prying it with force. "This is high-level equipment; it can sell for a high price. If that iron turtle Tony saw this thing, he'd definitely drool with envy."
Creak! The teeth-grinding sound of metal friction echoed in the corridor. Lin Zhen stepped on the Winter Soldier's chest, grabbed the mechanical arm with both hands, and pulled back hard as if pulling a radish.
Rip! Sparks flew everywhere, and the complex neural circuits and metal skeleton were forcibly torn apart. That expensive Vibranium left arm, which incorporated Hydra's top-tier technology, was ripped right off by Lin Zhen.
"Done." Lin Zhen clapped his hands with extreme satisfaction and shoved the nearly one-meter-long mechanical arm extremely crudely into his crotch... which is to say, his System Inventory.
Natasha looked at the one-armed Winter Soldier, her expression extremely complex... "What are you still standing there for? Don't forget why we're here; we haven't collected all the mission rewards yet. Let's go, let's go, let's go raid Hydra's base."
Lin Zhen swaggered over the Winter Soldier's body and walked toward the depths of the corridor. Natasha sighed and quickly followed. She was increasingly feeling that Nick Fury recruiting this guy into S.H.I.E.L.D. might be an even greater hazard than Hydra.
Chapter 49: Locusts Sweeping Through
In the next five minutes, Natasha deeply understood what it meant to be a "locusts sweeping through."
The emergency explosion-proof lights on both sides of the corridor walls were knocked down one by one by Lin Zhenwith his frying pan and stuffed into his crotch.
The titanium alloy casings of the surveillance cameras were also forcibly pried off by him with a screwdriver.
Even the pure copper handle on the door of an office belonging to Hydra could not escape his clutches.
"What are you taking the door handle for?" Natasha finally couldn't hold it back anymore; she felt that her Agentprofessionalism was being trampled upon like never before.
"This is pure copper. If I take it back to New York and sell it as scrap, it can still trade for two burger combos." Lin Zhendidn't even turn his head as he used a wrench to remove a fire hydrant from the wall. "Girl, you're just used to the spendthrift life at S.H.I.E.L.D. and don't know how hard it is for us low-level players to earn some game currency."
Natasha shut her mouth, deciding not to communicate with this lunatic anymore.
The two traveled unimpeded. The earlier explosion and the crushing defeat of the Winter Soldier had clearly terrified the remaining Hydra soldiers inside the base, and they didn't encounter much resistance along the way.
In front of the core server room in the deepest part of the base.
Blocking their path was a heavy titanium alloy blast door half a meter thick.
"The door lock is an independent physical closed-source system; I need time to access it." Natasha pulled a complex electronic decoder from the tactical pouch on her thigh and walked up to the door. "Cover me; it'll take about three minutes."
"Three minutes? It'll be too late by then."
Lin Zhen pulled Natasha behind him, reached into his backpack, pulled out C4, and slapped it directly onto the blast door's hydraulic bearings.
"Are you crazy! This is a load-bearing structure. The explosion could trigger a collapse of the dam above, and we'll all be buried here!" Natasha was horrified and reached out to rip the explosives off.
"Don't be such a coward."
Lin Zhen didn't give her a chance, pulled her back a dozen meters, and decisively pressed the detonator.
BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed through the narrow corridor.
The heavy titanium alloy door was forcibly deformed by the violent shockwave. The hydraulic bearings completely snapped, and the entire door collapsed with a crash, slamming into the metal floor of the server room and kicking up clouds of dust.
"See, isn't it open now?" Lin Zhen said.
The interior of the server room was huge, filled with dense rows of black server racks, their indicator lights flashing wildly.
A dozen Hydra researchers in white lab coats and four armed guards were trembling as they hid behind cover.
Seeing Lin Zhen rush in wearing that chicken mask, the four guards instinctively raised their assault rifles.
"Robbery! Men to the left, women to the right! Anything electric, glowing, or valuable, hand it all over!"
Lin Zhen roared, his Green Goblin glider powered up to full, and he charged into the crowd wielding his frying pan.
The four guards didn't even have time to pull their triggers before they were solidly smacked in the forehead by the frying pan, rolling their eyes and foaming at the mouth as they passed out on the spot.
Seeing this, the researchers screamed, hugged their heads, and crouched on the ground, not even daring to look at Lin Zhen.
Natasha walked into the server room with her gun raised. After confirming it was safe, she immediately rushed toward the central console.
She had to download the classified data as soon as possible and then destroy the place.
Just as she pulled out the data cable of the decoder, she saw that Lin Zhen was already crouching in front of the console. He was holding an extremely cheap USB drive with a cartoon Pikachu printed on it and plugged it directly into the host's USB port.
"What are you doing? This host's firewall is military-grade. If you plug in an unknown peripheral like that, it'll trigger a self-destruct sequence!" Natasha was anxious.
"Girl, times have changed. This USB drive of mine was exchanged with a ton of points."
Lin Zhen raised his eyebrows triumphantly.
As soon as he finished speaking, a progress bar suddenly popped up on the console's huge display screen. The progress bar soared at a speed visible to the naked eye, jumping from zero to one hundred percent in a mere three seconds.
[System Prompt: Core server data theft complete. Current mission progress 50%.]
Lin Zhen pulled out the USB drive and casually tapped a few keys on the keyboard.
"Come on, let's see what kind of shady business these snakes are up to."
The image on the screen switched instantly, and an encrypted document titled "Project Insight - Preliminary List" was forcibly unlocked.
Countless photos, names, and resumes scrolled across the screen like a waterfall.
Natasha initially just glanced at it casually, but then her eyes locked onto the screen. Her pupils constricted violently, and her face turned deathly pale in an instant.
"Alexander Pierce... Minister of the world Security Council, former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Jasper Sitwell... Senior Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Brock Rumlow... Captain of the Strike Team."
Natasha's breathing became extremely rapid. She stepped back in disbelief, her hands clenched tightly into fists.
"This is impossible... The top brass of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Captains of the strike teams... they're all Hydra?!"
She felt her worldview collapsing.
S.H.I.E.L.D., the massive organization dedicated to protecting the safety of the world, had actually rotted from within, turning into a complete snake pit.
If this list was real, it meant everything they were doing right now was under the enemy's surveillance!
"Oh, wow, this is a juicy one."
Compared to Natasha's world falling apart, Lin Zhen was rubbing his chin with an excited expression.
"No wonder Nick Fury is always crying poor to me; it turns out the funds were all embezzled by these traitors."
He reached back into his backpack, pulled out the S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite phone he had swiped, and dialed Nick Fury's direct line.
The phone rang twice before it was answered, and Fury's deep, slightly weary voice came through.
"Lin Zhen, did you get the data?"
"Old man, something big happened!" Lin Zhen said.
"What did you blow up this time?!" Fury's voice instantly rose an octave; he clearly had developed PTSD from Lin Zhen.
"I didn't blow anything up; I just accidentally saw a list." Lin Zhen grinned, his tone full of schadenfreude. "Old man, your S.H.I.E.L.D. is basically a snake pit now. Even Pierce is Hydra. You're a pretty failed Director."
There was dead silence on the other end of the line.
A full five seconds passed before Fury's voice, cold to the extreme, rang out again.
"Lin Zhen, that kind of joke isn't funny. Do you have any idea what you're saying?"
"Who's joking with you? The list is in my hands. Even that Captain of your special forces, what's his name, Crossbones, is a snake too." Lin Zhen tapped the table. "Now, let's talk business."
Natasha was listening from the side, her scalp tingling.
Was this guy crazy? He actually dared to use top-secret intelligence concerning the survival of the world as a bargaining chip to blackmail the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?!
"What do you want?" Fury gritted his teeth.
"Flat price, fifty thousand dollars, and I'll send you the data." Lin Zhen demanded an exorbitant price and then added, "Otherwise, I'll post this list on Twitter immediately. The title will be'Shocking! S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Actually Working Undercover in a Snake Pit,' or I'll just sell it to Stark. I think Tony would be very interested in this."
"You dare!" Fury roared on the other end of the line.
"Just watch me. I even dared to take the condoms from your drawer; what else wouldn't I do?" Lin Zhen retorted without backing down.
Fury took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his impulse.
He knew that this lunatic Lin Zhen would absolutely do what he said.
"Bring the data back; I'll pay!" Fury squeezed these words out from between his teeth and then hung up the phone abruptly.
"The boss is generous!"
Lin Zhen put away his phone with satisfaction and turned to look at the dozen huge black server racks in the server room.
"Data acquired. Now it's time to complete the final step of the mission."
Natasha forced herself to steady her mind, drew the tactical pistol from her waist, and prepared to shoot at the server's motherboard.
"Wait! You spendthrift woman, what are you doing!"
Lin Zhen pressed down on Natasha's muzzle, looking at those server racks with a heartbreaking expression.
"These are large-scale servers! The graphics cards, CPUs, and motherboards inside are all top-tier military spec. Do you know how much money you'll lose with one shot!"
"The mission requirement is to destroy the core server!" Natasha frowned.
"Who said it has to be smashed to be considered destroyed?"
Lin Zhen waved his hand. Under Natasha's extremely shocked gaze, he walked up to those heavy, two-meter-tall server racks and spread his arms.
Whoosh!
A flash of light, and all five core server racks, weighing several tons, instantly vanished into thin air, forcibly stuffed into his System Inventory.
[System Prompt: Core server destruction mission complete! Gained EXP +5000, Points +50, Orange Equipment ruyi jingu bang fragment x 1.]
[ruyi jingu bang fragment [1/99]: Forged by the Daoist Ancestor Taishang Laojun using nine-turn refined iron, later lent to Great Yu for flood control, used as a tool to measure the depth of rivers and seas.]
"WTF??!!!"
Chapter 50: golden cudgel?
"Motherf*cker, a golden cudgel?!"
Lin Zhen's voice trembled with excitement; he almost thought he had misread it.
"Brother System, you finally did something human. If I collect all of these, won't I be able to walk sideways in the Marvel Universe?"
But when his gaze moved down and he saw the glaring [1/99], his face instantly turned black as the bottom of a pot.
"Ninety-nine fragments? Are you f*cking kidding me? Do you think this is a Tencent lucky draw? Where the hell am I supposed to find the remaining ninety-eight!" Lin Zhen was so angry he kicked the empty metal floor nearby. "Damn developer, how long is this going to take to grind!"
Lin Zhen went on a crazy rant at the void, spitting as he cursed.
Beside him, Natasha didn't understand a word of Lin Zhen's howling about a "golden cudgel."
Her gaze was still fixed on the spot where those five core servers, weighing several tons, had vanished into thin air just moments ago.
"You... where did you put them?" Natasha asked, swallowing hard.
"Put them away." Lin Zhen rolled his eyes and righteously patted his crotch. "This is called a four-dimensional pocket. Understand? It's standard equipment for high-level Agents."
Natasha looked at that area, her eye twitching uncontrollably.
What the hell kind of four-dimensional crotch was that? What Agent could fit tons of iron junk in their crotch!
Although there were many super-powered individuals in the world, storing things in one's crotch was just too ridiculous, right?
"Alright, stop spacing out. Hurry up and see what else is valuable."
As he spoke, he glanced at the researchers trembling in the corner and raised his frying pan.
"What are you looking at? Haven't you seen a zero-dollar shopping spree before? Hand over the Rolexes and gold chains on your wrists!"
Natasha painfully covered her forehead.
She swore that if she could make it back alive this time, she would definitely apply for workers' compensation from Fury—the kind for mental distress.
Five minutes later, having finished looting, Lin Zhen didn't even spare the two leather ergonomic chairs in the server room, stuffing them all into his backpack.
"Retreat. This place is too cold. I need to hurry back to New York for some hot pot." Lin Zhen rubbed his hands and took out a black remote control.
Natasha looked at the remote warily: "Did you plant bombs again?"
"Of course. This is called destroying the evidence, and earning some EXP on the side." Lin Zhen grinned. "I stuck twenty blocks of C4 on the load-bearing walls and the armory. I guarantee I won't leave Hydra even a single screw."
Upon hearing this, Natasha didn't say a word; she turned and ran outside.
If she didn't leave, this guy was crazy enough to blow her up along with everything else.
The two sprinted along the passage they had come from. When they passed the unconscious Winter Soldier, Lin Zhen didn't forget to stop and casually strip off the tactical vest that looked quite warm, even trying to take his shoes.
"Have you had enough! If we don't leave now, we'll be buried with this guy!" Natasha grabbed Lin Zhen's arm and forcibly dragged him away.
"What's the rush? These shoes look like purple-tier gear. I'm a man who always plucks a feather from a passing goose; a thief never leaves empty-handed."
Rushing out of the dam entrance, Lin Zhen summoned his purple-tier hoverboard, wrapped his arm around Natasha's slender waist, and stepped onto the board, shooting into the sky with azure flames erupting from the tail.
"Detonate!"
He pressed the remote control in mid-air with extreme arrogance.
Boom! The deafening sound of chain explosions echoed across the entire Siberian snowfield. The massive dam collapsed amidst the soaring flames, completely burying the entire secret Hydra base under the ice, snow, and rubble.
[System Notification: Destroyed the Hydra Siberian Branch base. Gained +2000 EXP, +10 Points.]
"That feels good." Lin Zhen faced the high-altitude cold wind, looking at the panel with satisfaction.
Natasha was held tightly in his arms, feeling the extreme speed of the hoverboard. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Do you know that you just blew up decades of Hydra's hard work? They will hunt you down at any cost."
"None of my business. They didn't pay me protection money. If they dare to come, I'll just farm them as EXP packs." Lin Zhen curled his lip, completely unconcerned.
Over a dozen hours later, New York, S.H.I.E.L.D.Headquarters, Director's office.
Nick Fury sat behind the third solid wood desk he'd had to replace. His single eye was bloodshot, and his face was so gloomy it could drip water.
Bang! The office door was kicked open. Lin Zhen walked in swaggering, wearing the chicken mask, followed by a weary-looking Natasha, who seemed as if her soul had been drained.
"Old man, I've brought the goods you wanted." Lin Zhentossed the childish Pikachu USB drive onto the table with a crisp sound. "Fifty million. Cash or transfer? I accept Bitcoin and Ethereum."
Fury didn't even look at the USB drive; he stared fixedly at Lin Zhen. "How much of the list's contents did you see?"
"I saw it all. Pierce, Sitwell, Crossbones... even your cleaning lady is probably Hydra." Lin Zhenunceremoniously pulled out a chair and sat down, casually picking up a cigar from Fury's desk and sniffing it. "Old man, it's not that I want to lecture you, but you might as well rename S.H.I.E.L.D. to Hydra's New York Branch. You're acting like a mascot of a Director, paying salaries to snake-skins every day."
Fury's facial muscles twitched uncontrollably. He clenched his fists, struggling to suppress the urge to draw his gun.
Natasha stepped forward and handed a paper report to Fury. "Director, he's telling the truth. I've verified part of the list. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s infiltration rate... exceeds sixty percent."
Hearing this, Fury seemed to age ten years in an instant.
He had always thought he was in control of the big picture, but he never expected that he was the blind man kept in the dark.
The entire S.H.I.E.L.D. had been eaten away by Hydra into an empty shell.
"We can't alert the enemy now." Fury took a deep breath, clutching the USB drive tightly, his knuckles white. "We don't know what their next plan is. Pierce is a high-ranking member of the Council; without concrete evidence, I can't touch him."
"That's simple." Lin Zhen blew a smoke ring and crossed his legs. "Pay me more—one hundred thousand dollars. I'll go to Pierce's house tonight, knock the sh*t out of him with my frying pan, and hang him on the Statue of Liberty's ass. I guarantee he'll be dead as a doornail, with no need for resuscitation."
Fury glared at Lin Zhen and roared, "This is politics, not your street brawls! If Pierce dies, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be immediately taken over by the government, and Hydra will go completely underground. Then we'll be in the light and they'll be in the dark; more people will die!"
"Tch, tacticians are all dirty. Deal with your own headaches." Lin Zhen rolled his eyes and held out his hand. "Pay up. Fifty thousand. If you're short a single cent, I'm sending the list to the New York Times immediately. I've even thought of the title:'Shocking! Director Nick Fury is working for the Snake Nest.'"
Fury gritted his teeth, took a checkbook from his drawer, scribbled down a string of numbers, tore it off, and slammed it onto the table.
"This is a cashier's check from a Swiss bank. Take your money and keep your mouth shut!"
Lin Zhen picked up the check, flicked it, looked at the numbers, and stuffed it into his crotch with extreme satisfaction.
Fury watched this action, his eye twitching wildly again.
"Thanks for being generous, Boss. If you have any more jobs like raiding houses, remember to call me. I'll give you a two percent discount." Lin Zhen stood up, ready to leave.
Leaving Fury and Natasha staring at each other in the office.
"What exactly is he?" Fury muttered to himself, feeling like his decades of career as an Agent had been wasted.
Just then, the red classified phone on Fury's desk rang extremely urgently.
Fury picked up the phone, listened for two seconds, and his face changed drastically.
"What did you say? Tony Stark was attacked at the Monaco racetrack?!"
On the other end of the line, Coulson's voice was extremely anxious: "Yes, Director. The attacker claims to be the son of Ivan Vanko. He is wearing a suit of armor powered by a miniature arc reactor, and his weapons are two high-voltage electric whips. Stark is in a very dangerous situation; his portable armor hasn't been fully equipped yet!"
Fury hung up the phone abruptly and slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth.
"Motherf*cker, this world won't give me a single day of peace!"
Meanwhile, Lin Zhen, who had teleported to a Red-light district in New York, heard the system's notification sound right on time in his mind.
[Triggered Limited-Time world Event: The Whip of Vengeance in Monaco!]
[Mission Objective: Head to the Monaco racetrack and assist Tony Stark in defeating "Whiplash"!]
[Mission Reward: Determined by damage ratio; the higher the damage, the higher the item reward.]
Lin Zhen looked at the panel, his eyes instantly lighting up, and the smile on his lips couldn't be suppressed.
"Tony's Iron Turtle main storyline has updated again? I have to squeeze another hundred or eighty thousand out of him as a mercenary fee for this wave!"