"Whether it is true or false, you can investigate it yourself," Bant said.
He knew that even in his anger, Captain America would not immediately completely believe everything he had just told him.
For the current Captain America, he desperately needed proof. He needed evidence to show whether Bant was right or if this was all just baseless slander.
At this moment, whatever small relief he felt that only a few remnants of Hydra remained vanished completely. In its place was anger, and fear!
If what Bant said was true, then his former enemies had not been wiped out at all. Instead, they had transformed into the rulers of this country and become his very own superiors.
Could it be that every mission he had participated in since waking up was actually working for Hydra?
He found it incredibly ironic.
"I am going to find Fury and ask him clearly!"
Captain America immediately turned to head back, planning to confront Nick Fury face to face.
But Bant was quick. He grabbed Steve's shoulder while pointing out toward the ocean. In the darkness, flying fish leaped over the surface of the sea, making it look as though Bant was merely reminding Steve not to miss the astonishing scenery.
"Go straight to Nick Fury and ask him clearly?"
He let out a scoffing laugh. "Do you think he would honestly tell you the truth?"
"Just like I said, the world has become complicated, Captain."
"It is no longer seventy years ago. Back then, all your enemies stood right in front of you. You just needed to hold your shield, lead your soldiers in a charge, and wipe them all out. That was enough."
"In this era, you do not even know where the enemy is. Acting rashly and impulsively will only put you in danger, and it will put me and Peter in danger too."
Hearing this, Captain America looked over at Peter. His clenched fists slowly relaxed.
Bant was right.
Right now, he was just one man. Once exposed, he would be completely isolated and helpless.
It was not that he was afraid. Even if he was entirely alone, he could still fight, but he knew that he could not win that way.
Moreover, it would force Bant and Peter into a passive and vulnerable position.
A little thought made it obvious. Steve was perfectly fine before, but after taking a stroll with these two little bugs, something immediately went wrong with him. There would be no need to ask who caused the problem.
Steve suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness, like he had clenched his fists but had nowhere to throw a punch.
Yes, the world was different now.
"What is your plan?"
"Pull them up by the roots, Captain." Bant turned his head to look at Steve. "Find every single member of Hydra, and completely eradicate them from the roots."
Since they were planning to go to war with Hydra, Bant figured they might as well kill all of them. Of course, this would be difficult, but they needed to at least subject them to a massive purge.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was a snake pit, but the snake pit extended far beyond just Hydra-S.H.I.E.L.D.
Those agents, like Crossbones and his ilk, might be Hydra, but ultimately they were just slightly stronger cannon fodder. They could not even be considered the snake's heads. At most, they were just the rustling scales.
Merely wiping out these external enemies would only make Hydra hurt a little bit; it could not be called a victory.
"We can talk about the detailed plan after you confirm whether what I said is true or not," Bant said. "I imagine you also need some time to digest these earth-shattering changes."
Hearing this, Captain America let out a laugh full of absurdity.
The true orthodoxy of S.H.I.E.L.D. lay within Hydra.
This was indeed an earth-shattering change.
"Do you know? Since waking up, I have seen mutated monsters, steel robots, and aliens. I thought I had seen it all and would never be surprised by anything again, but I did not expect this."
"It is still early. Weird things happen every year, but there are especially many this year," Bant said. "I bet you ten bucks that you will be surprised one more time."
"Unless you tell me I am Captain Hydra." Captain America shook his head. Even though he had already lost a ten-dollar bet earlier, his horizons simply had not been broadened enough back then.
But now, S.H.I.E.L.D. had practically become Hydra-S.H.I.E.L.D. What else could possibly surprise him?
Could it be that I, Steve Rogers, am also Hydra?
That would be absolutely absurd!
"James Barnes is still alive."
Bant did not keep him in suspense. One single sentence was enough to make Captain America aggressively pull out a ten-dollar bill.
"Are you telling the truth?!"
Upon hearing this news, Steve's body began to tremble invisibly. If he had not remembered Bant saying they were being watched, he probably would have grabbed the other man's shoulders and shaken him vigorously by now.
Just a few seconds ago, he was hoping everything Bant said was false. But now, he was desperately wishing that this was true.
"I know you and Barnes have a great relationship, as close as brothers, just like Peter and me. So I would not joke about this," Bant said.
"Where is he?"
"Have you heard of the Winter Soldier?"
"He is currently controlled by Hydra and has become their super soldier weapon. To prevent him from going out of control, he is kept frozen in ice most of the time. He is only thawed out when needed to eliminate dangerous targets for Hydra."
"I do not know where he is, but I found video footage from 1991. Under Hydra's orders, the one who killed Howard Stark was none other than Barnes, who had been modified into the Winter Soldier."
Bucky killed Howard?
All at once, Captain America was struck hard by this shocking news.
Telling Captain America the news about Bucky was essentially a shot in the arm from Bant to win him over.
To Steve Rogers, Bucky was his best friend. The few times he had laid down his shield, it was all for Bucky.
As for the potential conflict that might arise between him and Tony over the Winter Soldier later on, Bant could not be bothered to care.
It was none of his business.
I helped one of you find your father's killer and helped the other find his brother-in-arms. You should just thank me regardless.
You guys can slowly fight out the rest amongst yourselves.
But to be honest, right now, those two did not even share the bond of comrades-in-arms. If they really started fighting, who knew how far things would escalate.
Their conversation did not last long. After standing on the deck for a while, they walked back inside as if nothing had happened.
Returning to the conference room, Nick casually asked, "How did it go? An agent saw you two chatting on the deck, and said the Captain even gave you a few bucks?"
Hearing this, Captain America's gaze sank slightly.
The surveillance was indeed real.
"I made a bet with the Captain. He insisted that nothing in this world could surprise him anymore," Bant explained without batting an eye.
If it had been Peter facing a question like this from that bald egg, he would have definitely stuttered out of a guilty conscience.
But Bant would not.
"Then I told him that France is now a Black nation, and that a white-skinned Captain America can no longer represent America. So he obediently handed me ten dollars."
Nick Fury was speechless.
He previously thought Peter was quite good at chatting. Now it seemed Bant was even better at it, and then some.
Peter was merely unintentionally offensive, whereas Bant was intentionally stabbing you right where it hurt the most.
He took a deep breath and said, "I was asking what you thought of the Helicarrier."
"The technology on the Helicarrier is quite impressive. I am guessing it can fly, right? However, the turbine technology is a bit outdated. If it takes a concentrated attack, the Helicarrier will lose power."
"Exactly. I was just about to discuss the anti-gravity system with you," Nick said, seizing the opportunity.
He had a deep thirst for advanced technology.
He had set his sights on the levitation technology Bant showed off at the Stark Expo at first glance. However, because he figured he could get it for free once he recruited Bant into the Avengers, Nick simply never bothered to buy it.
This caused Coulson, who also wanted to modify his car, to complain endlessly.
Now look at how things turned out. Facts proved just how wise his decision had been!
"As a welcome gift for joining the initiative, should you not show some form of appreciation?" Nick raised an eyebrow.
"Get lost!"
Bant grabbed a chair and hurled it right at him. Nick Fury scrambled away, clutching his head.
"Trying to freeload again? If I do it for you for free, what happens to my company? The people working under me still rely on me to eat!"
"Oh, come on! How many people do you even have in that crappy company of yours?" Fury cursed back.
"Still a no." Bant rolled his eyes and proposed a solution that both of them could accept. "First, I will raise the quote to 200 percent of the original price, but I will only charge you 130 percent. How about that?"
"Too little," Nick immediately shook his head.
Bant thought Fury felt the cut was too small for Bant and was a little surprised. "Did you suddenly grow a conscience?"
However, Nick slammed his hand heavily on the table and declared:
"I mean the price you proposed is too low! 200 percent? Who are you looking down on?! If those Chinese guys saw that, they would think our Security Council cannot afford it! Make it 500 percent! 500 percent per ship!"
Nick Fury was absolutely thrilled.
In his eyes, this was a classic win-win situation!
With this, why would he ever worry about lacking funds to build safehouses?
He figured that if he had met Bant a few years earlier, he might have been able to hollow out the entire underground of America by now.
Not only that, but the three Helicarriers would also be upgraded. Once the modifications were complete, Project Insight could finally be put on the agenda.
Scamming the budget meant he won once. Upgrading the Helicarriers meant he won again. I win twice, is that not the definition of a win-win?
"Doing business with you is a genuine pleasure!"
Bant was also absolutely thrilled.
A win-win, an absolute win-win!
Nick Fury wanted to upgrade three flying Helicarriers. With a 120 percent premium on each one, three Helicarriers amounted to a 360 percent profit. Getting tens of billions for nothing, that was one win.
Even though it was not as much as the amount Nick Fury was embezzling for himself, it was not a big deal. Because as far as Bant was concerned, those three Helicarriers would ultimately belong to him anyway.
Once Hydra-S.H.I.E.L.D. kicked the bucket, who else would those Helicarriers go to?
Another win!
Spending someone else's money to upgrade Helicarriers for himself at a premium price. He was winning so hard!
After finishing all this business, Bant and Peter finally left S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury looked reluctant to see them go. Toward Bant, the wonderful saint who had just helped him pocket tens of billions in a single night, he truly felt a sense of regret for not meeting him sooner.
Of course, this money could not possibly be entirely spent on building safehouses. That would be a complete waste of resources. It just so happened that he could use it to speed up the progress on the Tesseract project as well.
/-\
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