Anna didn't hide anything, recounting everything she knew and understood in detail.
Just like her previous conversation with Hawke.
No concealment.
No deception.
Hawke, standing to the side, didn't interrupt, quietly listening to Anna narrate the events.
His expression remained unchanged.
Only after Anna finished her story did he look at her with a hint of curiosity: "What did you originally plan to do with that infant girl?"
Anna gave a bitter smile: "I originally intended to take her away, bring her to some small country, find someone to adopt her, and then find an opportunity to tell you."
Hawke's brows rose at her words.
"I thought you were going to destroy her."
"Alexander Pierce had that intention."
"Oh?"
"But I didn't agree."
Anna took a deep breath, looking at Hawke, whose face was calm and showed no emotion: "She has your bloodline. Only you can decide what to do with her. No one else, including Strucker, has the right. I told Pierce that if he did that, all of HYDRA would be destroyed by your wrath."
Hawke listened to Anna's words, looking at her with a placid expression.
Anna didn't flinch.
She genuinely thought that, and she genuinely intended to do that.
Their eyes met.
Hawke withdrew his gaze and chuckled softly.
"You've been missing for two years, Anna."
"What?"
Anna's expression instantly became bewildered.
She had considered that she might have died and come here because she hadn't been saved.
But she had expected it to be at most a few days, or a few months.
The result… two years?
How could this be?
Hawke looked at the stunned Anna and smiled slightly.
Anna's story had just ended.
Now it was his turn.
"Alexander Pierce is dead."
"Arnim Zola is also dead."
"Because the two of them conspired to deceive me. Guess what they lied to me about."
"…"
Anna looked at the smile on Hawke's face, frowned, and considered a possibility.
"Dr. Arnim Zola is an electronic life form. I guess he mimicked my voice, making you mistakenly believe I was still alive."
"Clever!"
Hawke smiled slightly: "Then guess again, how did I discover their deception?"
Anna thought for a moment: "They made an excessive demand?"
Hawke shook his head: "You are my first friend, and I said that I owe you a favor, so for you, no request is excessive."
Just like when HYDRA came to his house for someone, and when he was at New York S.H.I.E.L.D., he chose to stay out of it again because of Anna's phone call, not participating in the game between HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D.
The first is always special.
Leaving aside Anna's allegiance and her ulterior motives, at the very least, Anna was the first to choose to be his friend, and during their interactions, Hawke never felt awkward; instead, he felt very comfortable.
Not to mention, Anna was the one who gave him that truckload of meteorites, which was crucial for his beginnings.
Anna met Hawke's gaze, pursed her lips, thanked him, and then shook her head.
"Then why?"
"Right now, it's noon in New York City. If you were in Hong Kong, it would be evening. If I said 'good morning,' what would you say?"
"Of course, 'good evening'."
Anna said without thinking, then reacted and looked at Hawke: "They greeted you according to your time zone?"
Hawke smiled slightly.
"Yes."
"I became suspicious, so I specifically went to the island nation, intending to see you."
"Island nation?"
"Alexander Pierce told me you were promoted and went to take charge of matters in the island nation."
Hawke said this, and as if remembering something, looked at Anna: "But I didn't see you on the island nation. Instead, I saw another woman. She said her name was Ophelia, and she said she was your good friend."
Anna nodded.
"Ophelia, Madame HYDRA. Yes, because of Alexander Pierce, we've met a few times, and I usually like to go shopping in the island nation, often together. So, yes, she is my friend."
"That's good."
After confirming, Hawke completely removed Ophelia from his pending confirmation list and said to Anna: "It was from Ophelia that I learned you had never been to the island nation, and she hadn't seen you in a long time. So I went to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion, intending to ask Alexander Pierce where he had hidden you."
Anna, hearing this, already guessed what would happen next.
"He didn't say."
"No, he did. Do you know what he said before he died?"
"What?"
"Hail HYDRA!"
"…"
Anna glanced at Hawke, who was repeating Alexander Pierce's last words, opened her mouth, and then, as if realizing something, shook her head with a bitter smile: "It seems he was still brainwashed by Strucker. After I fell into a coma, he agreed with Strucker's plan, thinking that by holding your child, he could control you."
Hawke chuckled.
"Do you think he only hid this one thing? He also hid the cloning from me. You didn't know this either, did you?"
"…"
Anna once again looked up at Hawke, her expression shocked.
"Cloning? I remember Pierce also agreed with my view at the time, saying he would never clone you, especially since you had explicitly forbidden cloning beforehand."
"Who told you to fall into a coma?"
"…Sorry."
"It's not your fault."
Hawke waved his hand, then as if remembering something, looked at Anna: "Want to see Alexander?"
Anna was slightly startled.
Hawke's thoughts stirred, and he instantly moved Anna from the Pure Land to the Netherworld Prison.
Icy and snowy.
Snowflakes fell heavily.
Visibly, two souls, one after another, like zombies, moved mechanically, wearing only thin jackets, hugging their arms, and trembling as they walked.
Whenever the soul behind tried to stop, the Blood Elf behind would whip Merrick, making him scream in agony.
In comparison, Alexander Pierce was clearly more self-aware.
After dying and resurrecting again and again, Alexander Pierce continued to walk with a numb expression towards a distant horizon that never seemed to end.
Hawke led Anna to stand on the distant ice, watching Alexander Pierce from afar.
"See that one, Merrick."
"I know him."
Anna nodded, still not hiding anything: "This person was once noticed by Pierce and listed as a potential research subject to be recruited."
Hawke smiled, then looked at Alexander Pierce, who was walking mechanically in the distance.
"I never give ordinary people a chance."
"But Alexander Pierce, I gave him two chances because he's your adoptive father."
"The first time, on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion, I told him to tell me your whereabouts, and I would spare his life."
"He not only refused but even shouted 'Hail HYDRA'."
"So he died."
"I threw him in here, originally intending for him to suffer eternally."
"But after I captured Merrick, I gave him another chance. Do you know what he said?"
"He didn't say anything, directly ignored me, and chose to continue suffering here."
"I'm not giving him a second chance."
Hawke said this, then looked at Anna with a half-smile: "Now, Anna, tell me what I should do with you."
Anna's heart trembled. Meeting Hawke's eyes, she chuckled, then, after withdrawing her gaze, prepared to step out of the protective circle in front of her.
The next second.
Anna's vision blurred, and she once again stepped onto the grass of the Pure Land, which was like paradise.
"Eh?"
"Haha."
Hawke's voice came from behind: "I never said I would make you suffer with Alexander Pierce. You are my friend, Anna."
Anna turned to look at Hawke.
"But we…"
"Not 'we', it's 'they'. Not you."
Hawke smiled slightly: "You are you, HYDRA is HYDRA. If you knew about cloning me and didn't tell me, then I would throw you into the Netherworld Prison, ensuring you thoroughly taste my carefully designed Eight Netherworld Prisons."
Anna opened her mouth.
"But that infant girl, I also didn't…"
"Do you remember my prior warning when you took my blood?"
"I remember."
"What did I say?"
"You said that no matter what research we did with your blood, as long as it wasn't cloning."
"Yes, cloning. My warning only included cloning."
"…"
Anna was silent for a while, then looked at Hawke, who was smiling, with some uncertainty: "So, you don't mind Strucker doing that at all?"
Hawke shook his head.
"No, I still mind very much."
"Then…"
"But that's between me and Strucker, it has nothing to do with you. However, I am indeed angry that you knew about the infant girl and didn't tell me. You should have told me immediately."
"…Sorry."
"Too late. I intend to punish you."
Hawke looked at Anna with a smile, then as if remembering something: "I remember you said that if you weren't with HYDRA, you wanted to open a flower shop, right?"
Anna, hearing this, although not quite understanding Hawke's meaning, still nodded.
"Yes."
"Alright then."
Hawke smiled slightly, then, without looking back, snapped his fingers behind him.
The next moment.
As the Aetheric power of the Little Universe's two Eyes of Reality manifested, the ground of the Pure Land undulated like dragons and snakes, and in the blink of an eye, a exquisitely designed flower shop, filled with fresh flowers, appeared on the side near the River of the Underworld.
Hawke directly teleported Anna to the entrance of the flower shop.
Anna looked at the flower shop in front of her, which, while not exactly the same as she had imagined, could only be described as being carved from the same mold, and her mouth dropped open.
"As punishment for you, you will no longer be able to leave the Pure Land."
"You must take good care of these flowers."
"From now on, any soul suffering in the Netherworld Prison who receives a bouquet of your flowers will be able to leave the Netherworld Prison and live on the Pure Land."
Hawke smiled as he declared his punishment for Anna.
As his words fell.
The Underworld instantly trembled, as if recording Hawke's words.
At the same time.
The fresh flowers arranged inside and outside the flower shop, at this moment, fully bloomed…
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