While Anton and Ivan Vanko continued their research, Ethan Voss casually wandered through the base.
The facility carved into the mountain was enormous, containing multiple categories of laboratories along with full production capabilities. Entire sections were dedicated to engineering, biochemical research, weapons design, and experimental materials development.
Aside from the Vanko father and son, Ethan had arranged for several other scientists to work here long before the base became operational.
One of them was Dr. Samuel Sterns.
Sterns—often nicknamed "Dr. Blue" in certain scientific circles—was currently responsible for human physiology adjustment projects. Ethan had begun funding his research several years earlier, and Sterns had played a key role in developing the enhancement drug.
Now he served as Ethan's chief biochemist.
Another important researcher stationed here was Professor Curt Connors, a specialist in limb regeneration technology. Connors had originally worked for Oscorp, but Ethan had managed to recruit him away from the company.
The offer had been simple.
Connors would receive unlimited research funding and unrestricted laboratory conditions.
More importantly, he would gain something few researchers ever obtained.
Human test subjects.
After all, many of the criminals imprisoned in Nahaide Prison had committed crimes so severe that Ethan considered them completely unworthy of living freely in society.
Unfortunately, the law sometimes proved too weak to punish true evil properly.
With Hydra's vast network protecting him, Ethan could easily arrange for certain prisoners to disappear from the system. If a convicted criminal lost an arm, a leg, or even their life during experimental procedures, the situation could be quietly resolved.
Records could vanish.
Reports could be rewritten.
Investigations could simply stop.
After finishing several routine inspections within the Divine Realm, Ethan opened another portal and returned to Typhon Manor.
At the moment, he still couldn't maintain a stable portal permanently. However, he could clearly feel his control over the Divine Realm growing stronger as its population continued to increase.
Perhaps within a few months he would be able to open several portals simultaneously.
Or even maintain portals indefinitely.
If he could open two or more portals to the Divine Realm at the same time, the location could function as a transit hub.
Travel between distant locations would become incredibly convenient.
Currently, several recruitment teams operated under Ethan's command across different parts of the world.
They were particularly active in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe.
These regions shared several convenient characteristics.
Corrupt governments.
Weak infrastructure.
Limited national oversight.
And minimal government control in remote areas.
Such conditions made them ideal environments for quietly relocating people.
In addition to those recruitment operations, Ethan occasionally organized raids against human trafficking networks operating in New York.
Some of those rescued victims later became residents of the Divine Realm as well.
And finally, Nahaide Prison itself provided another valuable resource.
Many of its inmates were individuals whose disappearance would barely attract attention.
Of course, Ethan enforced extremely strict selection standards for anyone entering the Divine Realm.
His world was meant to become a hidden paradise.
Not another sinful city.
The next day at noon, the roar of helicopter blades echoed over Nahaide Prison.
A military transport helicopter landed inside the secured courtyard, carrying Rumlow and more than a dozen agents from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Technically, they still used the organization's full name.
The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.
However, one unexpected visitor accompanied them.
General Thaddeus Ross.
Ross was Bruce Banner's father-in-law.
As far as Ethan knew, the Hulk had already been created. The green giant had fought Ross's forces once before and then disappeared.
Intelligence reports suggested Banner was currently hiding somewhere in Brazil, possibly working inside a bottling factory.
Sooner or later, Dr. Sterns would probably come into contact with him.
As for General Ross himself, the man had been gathering resources and strengthening his forces while waiting for another opportunity to capture the Hulk.
Ross had apparently heard rumors about Ethan's secondary super soldier serum.
At the time, however, he had dismissed the project and never bothered to investigate further.
Now he had suddenly appeared in person.
Most likely he had recently learned about the BF drug.
That made Ethan curious.
Did Ross have informants inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Or possibly inside Hydra?
Considering Ross's reputation and past behavior, Ethan certainly didn't view him as a particularly moral individual.
People who understood the situation described Ross as a high-ranking military officer obsessed with harnessing the Hulk's power.
Those who didn't know the full story often assumed he was simply provoking a monster and causing catastrophic destruction wherever he went.
Regardless, Ross had repeatedly pursued the Hulk despite suffering defeat again and again.
Eventually their battles had even destroyed an entire street in New York.
After shaking Ethan's hand, Ross immediately asked his question.
"I heard you've developed a BF serum capable of giving soldiers super soldier–level performance."
Ethan nodded calmly.
"That's correct."
Ross spoke again.
"Can you demonstrate it?"
Ethan bowed slightly with professional politeness.
"Of course. Anytime."
Both Ross and Rumlow attended the demonstration.
The test subject was a large muscular man named Mike Peterson.
Mike had originally been an ordinary civilian who suffered severe injuries during a workplace accident. Later testing revealed that his body possessed an unusually high compatibility with biochemical enhancement drugs.
As a result, Typhon Group recruited him as a volunteer.
The demonstration began with baseline testing.
Mike sprinted one hundred meters in 5.2 seconds and successfully lifted a weight of 1,368 kilograms.
Then he received an injection of the BF serum.
Almost immediately his veins bulged dramatically beneath his skin. His eyes turned bloodshot, and his muscles swelled as if his entire body had expanded.
When the second test began, Mike's movements became nearly impossible to track.
His sprint down the testing track left visible friction marks on the surface.
The time measurement displayed a staggering result.
Less than three seconds for one hundred meters.
Next came the strength test.
Mike easily lifted more than three tons.
During the combat durability demonstration, he smashed through brick walls and twenty-centimeter-thick cement barriers as if they were made from fragile plaster.
In his frenzied state he rampaged across the testing area like a wild beast, destroying almost everything in sight.
Only one object managed to survive.
A steel plate built to the thickness of tank armor.
Even that plate was left covered with dents and deep impact scars.
The enhanced state lasted less than five minutes.
Then Mike suddenly collapsed.
His muscles lost all strength, and he fell to the ground like a pile of boiled noodles.
Rumlow stared at the scene with barely contained excitement.
What soldier wouldn't want power like that?
Ross, however, remained completely calm.
"Not bad," he said flatly. "But still far weaker than what I've seen before."
Ethan rolled his eyes internally.
The comparison was obvious.
Ross had fought the Hulk.
That was hardly a fair benchmark.
Nevertheless, Ross glanced around at the shattered training field before asking another question.
"I need a squad of soldiers like this. What's the price?"
Ethan answered casually.
"The enhancement procedure costs three million dollars per soldier."
"The BF serum and recovery potion cost four hundred thousand per set."
He shrugged slightly.
"That's the internal negotiated price for S.H.I.E.L.D."
Ross frowned.
The enhancement cost itself wasn't particularly outrageous.
However, the BF serum was expensive.
If a ten-man squad deployed on a single mission and used the serum only once, the chemical cost alone would reach four million dollars.
Clearly the military still needed to develop its own super soldier program eventually.
"I want twenty soldiers transferred here," Ross said finally.
"Each one will carry three doses of the serum."
"I'll bring them here in one week."
"Excellent."
Ethan smiled and shook his hand.
"I'll send you the contract. Everything will be ready when you arrive."
After Ross departed, Ethan and Rumlow went to meet another important Hydra member.
Dr. Faustus.
One of Hydra's greatest strengths had always been its endless supply of loyal operatives.
The secret behind that advantage was simple.
Brainwashing.
Dr. Faustus, an exceptional psychiatrist, had perfected Hydra's psychological conditioning techniques.
His mastery of hypnosis, suggestion, and mental manipulation had reached an extraordinary level.
In extreme cases, he could even compel someone to commit suicide.
With his help, Hydra had created a reliable system for producing enhanced soldiers loyal to the organization.
Sitwell and Rumlow selected suitable agents from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Those agents were transferred to Typhon Manor under the official pretense of adaptation training and psychological counseling.
During that process, Dr. Faustus quietly reshaped their loyalties.
Finally, Ethan's biochemical team enhanced their physical capabilities.
Throughout the entire operation, S.H.I.E.L.D. unknowingly supplied both the personnel and the funding.
Hydra gained the soldiers.
Director Fury naturally suspected that something unusual might be happening.
He had already sent Clint Barton and Phil Coulson to conduct multiple investigations.
Some were official inspections.
Others were secret operations.
Ethan had even discovered traces of Natasha Romanoff's surveillance activities.
Fortunately, the existence of the Divine Realm made information leaks almost impossible.
Anything Fury's agents discovered was carefully prepared false intelligence.
Ethan's team had also deliberately avoided altering the first two batches of reassigned agents.
Combined with the internal protection provided by Alexander Pierce and Jasper Sitwell, Fury's suspicions eventually faded.
Recently, however, Fury had become preoccupied with several other major matters.
And that distraction had given Sitwell and Ethan the opportunity they needed.