Two hours later.
When Nick Fury hurried back to the base, he saw Captain America with his head in his hands, looking somewhat dejected, which made the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. vaguely curious.
"What's going on?"
Nick Fury immediately looked at his trusted subordinate.
Coulson shook his head with a peculiar expression, helplessly spreading his palms and awkwardly spoke, "Sir, why did you have Special Agent Uehara come here..."
"..."
Nick Fury glanced at Uehara Naraku, who acted as if no one was there, his eyelids slightly twitching. "Did this guy say something he shouldn't have?"
"No."
Uehara Naraku seriously shook his head, glancing at the silent Steve Rogers. "I comforted Captain Rogers a bit, now he's no longer so fixated on Lady Carter."
"..."
Nick Fury's eye twitched.
Although Steve Rogers now seemed not to be fixated on seeing Peggy Carter, he didn't look too good either!
As the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury certainly had ways to perk people up; he knew this WWII veteran better than Coulson and Uehara Naraku present.
All it takes is a mission...
To reinvigorate this soldier who used to follow orders.
"Captain Rogers."
Nick Fury squatted down, looked at the blond man before him, and softly spoke, "Perhaps this is the time you should take a good break, but you should know from Coulson that Hydra has resurrected, right?"
"..."
Steve Rogers slowly put down his hands.
In the next moment, a resolute aura gradually returned to him, he slowly stood up and clenched his fist. "I understand... Is there anything you need me to do?"
In fact.
Steve Rogers had a lot to do.
Currently, only Uehara Naraku, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff were the three major forces in S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve Rogers' awakening added another trump card to S.H.I.E.L.D.
This WWII veteran was quite obedient to orders.
Nick Fury happened to need Steve Rogers' strength, taking the opportunity while his emotions needed venting, he directly air-dropped Steve Rogers with a Quinjet, allowing Captain America to be reinvigorated, boldly breaking through three Hydra bases.
The achievements were nothing short of astounding.
In such circumstances, Hydra's hatred for Captain America was evident, their actions increasingly crazy, not lacking in spies hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. making moves.
Such as today's bunker attack battle.
Steve Rogers held up his shield and charged ahead into the Hydra base, leading a team of field agents directly breaking through the defenses.
Just when Captain America was cautiously searching for enemy traces inside the base, several field agents suddenly surged forward, pushing him down into an iron-cast dungeon!
"Steve Rogers, this is a gift from Hydra!"
"Hail Hydra..."
A few field agents bowed their heads, murmured their organization's motto, silently took out a grenade, quietly pulled the pin and tossed it into the dungeon.
"...Another spy!"
Steve Rogers huddled in a corner, using his shield to cover his body, feeling almost on the brink of collapse!
Can anyone tell him, exactly how many Hydra are lurking inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Throughout this period, not only did he have to dodge bullets from the front but also evade assassination attempts from behind, this combat environment was even worse than when he fought Nazis and Hydra back then!
On the battleground of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, one could never tell who was actually a teammate and who was an enemy, every time Steve Rogers wanted to entrust his back to a comrade, his comrade would timely stab him in the back...
If it were someone else, they'd probably be long gone insane?
Steve Rogers quickly dialed his wrist communicator, dodging bullets while calling for his support: "Uehara, I need support over here..."
"Hold on for twenty seconds."
Uehara Naraku leisurely bit a straw, his face earnest as he said, "I have twenty seconds to reach your position..."
"Understood!"
Twenty seconds later.
A black-haired man descended from the sky, quickly kicking out, sending several field agents who betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D. into the dungeon!
Steve Rogers crouched and rolled to their side, wielding his shield and knocked these guys all to the ground!
A thick rope pulled Steve Rogers up.
Taking a deep breath, Steve Rogers grabbed Uehara Naraku's hand with one hand and spoke solemnly, "Mr. Uehara, I don't know if I can evade another assassination from behind, I no longer even have any comrade I can trust behind me..."
"Forget it."
Steve Rogers shook his head on his own, clenching Uehara Naraku's hand tighter. "You've saved me once again, looks like I still have one trustworthy comrade, a new comrade."
"No, it should be us apologizing instead."
Uehara Naraku's face showed a hint of remorse. "Once we return to Washington, I'll suggest to Director Fury to increase the scrutiny..."
Uehara Naraku glanced at the bodies in the dungeon, spoke solemnly: "But recently the frequency of assassination attempts has decreased significantly, perhaps this was the last time someone tried to assassinate Captain Rogers..."
"..."
Steve Rogers was silent for a while, then shook his head and said: "Though this is effective, it also means we lack trust in our true comrades..."
Scrutiny in these matters...
Can only be said to have both good and bad sides.
In comparison, those trustworthy S.H.I.E.L.D. agents subjected to scrutiny certainly wouldn't feel very happy, especially considering S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ordeal during scrutiny...
Of course...
There is actually a more dangerous scenario.
If Hydra members mix into the scrutiny personnel, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents become the ones scrutinized, this would be the most dangerous situation for S.H.I.E.L.D.
Coincidentally...
Several of Nick Fury's most trusted confidants were dispatched on more secretive missions, the authority to scrutinize could only slowly be delegated to some members who passed scrutiny.
Washington, S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
Inside an underground interrogation room.
A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was pushed into the interrogation room.
Several agents dressed in black walked in, sat across from him, methodically turned on a lamp and opened a notebook.
Originally, this S.H.I.E.L.D. agent thought it was just regular procedure because he himself was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he could prove his innocence...
However...
The fact turned out unexpected.
Just as this S.H.I.E.L.D. agent passed a series of scrutinies, the members responsible for scrutiny suddenly produced a plastic bag sealed with paper printed with delicate Nazi swastika patterns.
"Special Agent William, we found some burned ashes in your room, and after restoration, we got paper depicting Nazi swastikas, we suspect it's related to Hydra..."
"..."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's face changed drastically!
"Someone's framing me!"
"Hold on a moment... We are not discussing framing.
The agent responsible for scrutiny took out a paper full of names, calmly continued: "Please, do not panic, this sealed letter is not from Hydra, we are not suspecting you..."
"The letter's contents were to kill traitor Red Skull..."
"Signed by Adolf Hitler..."
"This sealed letter should have been retrieved during the Arctic Ocean's Captain Steve Rogers' salvation operation three weeks ago, and you happened to be one of the personnel in that operation..."