"What the...?"
While Crossbones and Sitwell were shocked that the "person" Pierce was waiting for was such a monster, another Hydra agent beside them lost his composure and exclaimed aloud.
His exclamation was likely just surprise because the monster looked exactly like the Hydra logo.
But in this context, it could easily be misinterpreted as disrespect.
Sure enough, the next moment, the octopus-headed monster that had just stepped out of the elevator merely glanced at the speaker and raised a hand slightly.
A large cloud of yellowish-brown mist spewed from the monster's hand.
It instantly engulfed the agent who had spoken.
Before everyone's horrified eyes, the man didn't even have time to scream. The mist corroded and devoured him, leaving only a pile of melted flesh and broken bones on the floor.
Everyone shuddered. Even elite agents like Crossbones, who had seen countless battles and fought superhumans, instinctively took two steps back.
Only Alexander Pierce, standing at the front, remained respectful and humble, as if he had expected this.
"Lord Hive, the plan has reached the final stage. We await you to personally inaugurate this new era!"
Yes, the octopus-faced monster before them was Hydra's original god, Hive.
He was also the first Inhuman, exiled to a distant planet by the Kree, the creators of the Inhumans.
In fact, the organization known as Hydra originated from a society of nobles who worshipped the legend of Hive.
However, saying he was Hydra's original god was correct but incomplete.
As mentioned before, Hydra's internal structure was complex.
For example, the European branch led by Baron Strucker essentially inherited the will of the Red Skull, the Hydra leader during the Nazi era.
But the Hydra led by the Red Skull was actually a "brand new organization" established by the Red Skull himself after finding the name of the mysterious ancient organization in old texts and borrowing its shell.
The SHIELD-Hydra faction led by Alexander Pierce had an even more complex composition.
Initially, it was formed by remnants of Hydra brought into SHIELD through Operation Paperclip—essentially Red Skull's legacy.
But after Arnim Zola died and uploaded his consciousness into a computer, becoming an artificial intelligence, he strengthened the infiltration capabilities of these Hydra agents within SHIELD. Later, they merged with other Hydra remnants, expanded slowly, and evolved into the current faction aiming to subvert governments and control the world—the Subversion Faction.
Of course, besides these well-known factions, there were many more secretive branches within Hydra. Even the Hydra leaders themselves couldn't be sure how many Hydras existed in the world.
The point is:
Although Hydra's internal connections were close, the factions were fragmented, like a tray of loose sand.
However, when the "Return Faction" (the Orthodox Hydra) collaborated with Loki to obtain space teleportation technology and successfully brought Hive back from the alien planet...
Capitalizing on his symbolic significance and the powerful force of Inhuman abilities, the Return Faction, once obscure among Hydra branches, seemed poised to regain control over all of Hydra.
At least, Alexander Pierce seemed to have submitted completely.
Pierce humbly guided Hive to the deck of a Helicarrier in the center of the underground hangar, introducing it meticulously.
"Lord Hive, this is the core of Project Insight, the Helicarrier..."
As he spoke, the ceiling above the Helicarrier slowly parted.
Looking down from the sky, one would see three massive rifts opening on the artificial lake outside the Triskelion, revealing the entire lake as a giant dock for the Helicarriers.
As the Helicarrier engines started, the deafening roar drowned out Pierce's voice.
Even so, Pierce continued his respectful introduction, and Hive stood calmly at the front of the deck, as if he could actually hear Pierce.
Only after the initial engine startup roar subsided did Hive speak calmly, ignoring wherever Pierce had gotten to in his speech.
"Launch. I imagine the fireworks will look more beautiful from above."
Hearing Hive, Pierce sensibly stopped his introduction and respectfully led him to the bridge command center.
With the ion thrusters of the three Helicarriers firing at full power, massive thrust lifted the carriers vertically into the sky.
This time, Captain America wasn't there to stop these weapons of mass destruction.
Once the Helicarriers reached the designated altitude of 3,000 feet, the prepared Project Insight satellites quickly integrated with the Helicarriers' fire control systems.
Instantly, all ground-attack weapons on the three carriers deployed.
Without a hitch, the threat algorithm locked onto every potential enemy of Hydra with precision.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
The dense array of carrier cannons opened fire.
Countless bullets rained down from the sky like a storm.
In an instant, countless "threats" determined by the algorithm in Washington D.C., the US capital, were struck dead in the streets by bullets falling from the heavens.
The White House, the core of American power, was designated a threat building by the algorithm. Without even needing to expose the politicians inside to satellite surveillance, the terrifying firepower from the sky instantly turned the building into a honeycomb.
The destruction caused in that instant was horrifying.
But the terrifying barrage seemed to last only for that instant.
In fact, before the first wave of bullets even hit the ground, all the ground-attack cannons on the three carriers went silent and began to sway aimlessly.
Seeing this, the previously confident Alexander Pierce's face changed drastically. He rushed to the Hydra operators on the bridge, grabbed one by the collar, and roared with bloodshot eyes.
"Why stop firing? WHY STOP FIRING!!"
The operator he grabbed was sweating profusely, unable to answer.
Another operator, still checking the system, whispered a warning.
"Secretary, it seems... it seems our system has been hacked!"