"Oh, not Wanda?!"
Luca, who had originally only intended to observe the riot from the window, immediately spotted the Maksimov siblings in the crowd.
It wasn't that Wanda's White was so conspicuous; rather, the two siblings were charging at the very front of the rioting crowd, pushing against the Orange Group building's security with all their might, as if determined to drive the Orange Group out of Sokovia.
Just as Luca was contemplating whether to send someone to bring these two incredibly promising siblings over, Strucker had already arrived in front of the crowd below.
Without any preamble, he immediately pulled out a pistol and fired two shots into the air.
"Everyone! Quiet!!"
A roar, two gunshots.
The rioting crowd immediately calmed down. Baron Strucker was only satisfied when he saw that everyone present had stopped causing trouble and were watching him in terrified silence.
"Sokovia is a democratic nation."
Well, in short, it was the usual demagogic rhetoric, along with a brief introduction to the history of Orange Family, directly stating that the Orange Group was on their side.
This return to Sokovia was to build Sokovia with the money earned from the U.S. folks.
Promoting the 'Orderer' pistol for police equipment was also to allow everyone to live a more stable life.
Whether these people believed Strucker's rhetoric or not, they at least had to believe in the guns in HYDRA's hands.
Facing these black muzzles, people would always find various reasons to convince themselves.
It's better to live a wretched life than to die a good one.
For these ordinary citizens of Sokovia, apart from their lives, they seemed to have little else to lose.
However, after the crowd had dispersed completely, two people remained in place.
It wasn't the Maksimov siblings Luca had been observing earlier. Thinking that this 'meeting' wasn't particularly pleasant, Luca didn't immediately step forward to recruit them.
The Orange Group was destined to invest heavily in Sokovia in the future, so recruiting the two of them wasn't urgent at this moment.
As for the two people left after the crowd dispersed, one was clearly a white-haired elder, probably a butler, which can be set aside for now. The other, a man around thirty years old, was dressed in a sharp suit with meticulously styled hair, clearly out of place among the impoverished commoners from before.
At this moment, this man with his butler did not retreat with the others. Instead, he took a few steps forward and stood calmly in front of Baron Strucker.
"Mr. Strucker, could you take me to meet that junior from Orange Family?"
Although the man was asking, his tone carried an undeniable authority.
It was as if he didn't really put Strucker, this 'warlord leader' who almost completely controlled Sokovia, in his eyes.
"Zemo…"
Strucker softly uttered the man's surname.
Yes, the person before him was indeed the leader of the few traditional family powers that remained in Sokovia.
Helmut Zemo, also known as the infamous Baron Zemo.
In fact, Luca, who was standing by the window upstairs at this time, had already recognized his identity.
After all, he was a ruthless individual who, as an ordinary person, almost annihilated the Avengers, so Luca had a relatively deep impression of him.
But no matter what Luca upstairs was thinking,
Strucker below was frowning slightly at this moment.
Being controlled by lokis scepter did not mean he lost his ability to think; however, all of Strucker's thoughts at this moment would prioritize Luca's interests and commands.
And as the one secretly controlling Sokovia, he naturally knew Baron Zemo.
It was just that the Zemo Family had always maintained a neutral stance, and very few family members participated in Sokovian affairs.
Now that the other party suddenly wanted to meet Luca, Strucker was temporarily unsure of what the other party intended to do.
"Zemo, the Orange Group is my friend, and they have come to Sokovia to invest with good intentions."
Before he could finish his sentence, Baron Zemo in front of him directly raised a hand to interrupt, his tone still unchanged as he said,
"I also came with good intentions. The Zemo Family and the Orange Family Family have a much better relationship than you do."
Upon hearing this, Strucker merely gave Baron Zemo a deep look and then no longer stopped him.
After all, although the Zemo Family had a certain influence within Sokovia, he didn't believe that the other party could pose too great a threat to Luca.
The group arrived upstairs, and before Strucker could even lead Zemo into the office, he first greeted Dunshan and the others outside the door.
"Dunshan, long time no see."
Dunshan, who was guarding the office door, first looked at Baron Zemo's face with some confusion, then, as if remembering something, asked with some hesitation,
"Captain Zemo?"
Baron Zemo smiled slightly upon hearing this.
"It's Lieutenant Colonel now."
As he spoke, he even lifted the collar of his suit, revealing the military insignia on the shirt underneath.
"You are…?"
Dunshan looked at Strucker and the others nearby, then at Zemo, who had come upstairs with them, and asked with some uncertainty.
"Nothing, just here to meet the new helmsman of Orange Family."
Listening to Baron Zemo's words, and recalling his past relationship with Gina during his time in the military, Dunshan said nothing more, merely nodded slightly and stepped aside.
Still in the same office as before.
This time, even Strucker found an excuse to temporarily leave, leaving only Luca, Erha, and Zemo 'three' in the office.
At this moment, Luca was still a bit unclear about the purpose of this representative of the local Sokovian forces seeking him out, but the next moment, as soon as Baron Zemo spoke, he caught Luca off guard.
"Luca, has your mother ever told you about the existence of HYDRA?"
Upon hearing this, Luca was stunned for a moment.
'No, are you HYDRA too?'
"HYDRA? Isn't that a World War II organization?"
Not knowing the other party's purpose at the moment, Luca merely vaguely retorted.
Who knew that Baron Zemo didn't follow Luca's train of thought at all; instead, he nodded thoughtfully.
"It seems you know, but didn't Gina tell you?"
Luca: "…"
'No, big brother, why aren't you playing by the rules!'
However, Baron Zemo in front of him didn't pay attention to Luca's speechless expression; instead, he spoke to himself.
"Since Orange Family has chosen to cooperate with HYDRA, what are you prepared to bring to the nation of Sokovia with your return this time?"