A massive shadow loomed over the Potomac River as the mechanical giant serpent code-named "HYDRA" finally pulled its body completely out of the ground.
The asphalt pavement shattered instantly into large chunks; reinforced concrete was no match for it.
Rumble—!
One of its giant metal claws slammed heavily onto the bridge deck, the air blast easily flipping several cars into the river. On that massive metal serpent head, a dozen crimson electronic eyes darted around before finally locking onto the retreating Chevrolet van.
"It's targeting us!" Sam Wilson shouted from the driver's seat, his hands drenched in sweat. "This thing doesn't look like it wants us to leave!"
Steve Rogers pushed open the car door, his vibranium shield reflecting the sunlight, his gaze resolute.
"Take Bucky and go." Steve looked back, his tone brook no argument. "I'll stop it."
"Sit back down."
A hand pressed him back into his seat.
Lin Huai had stood up at some point; he leisurely straightened his collar and pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket to put on.
"Captain, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the current situation?" Lin Huai pointed at Bucky in the back seat, who was still unconscious and looking pained. "Your mission is to take this easily-awakened'Sleeping Beauty' home and maybe read him some fairy tales while you're at it. This kind of rough work, fighting monsters, isn't for retired old men."
"But—"
"No buts." Lin Huai snapped his fingers, and a ball of fire appeared at his fingertips. "Sam, drive! Floor the gas pedal; don't drive like an old lady going shopping!"
"Hang on tight!" Sam grit his teeth and slammed the gas pedal all the way down.
The Chevrolet's engine let out a roar, and after a sharp drift, it surged into the oncoming lanes, disappearing into the billowing dust.
The mechanical giant serpent clearly didn't want to let the high-value target escape. Its massive head swung violently, its giant maw opened, and a blinding blue light began to glow deep in its throat.
Roar—!
A high-energy ion cannon was charging.
Just then, an orange-red figure abruptly appeared in mid-air, blocking the path between the giant serpent and the car.
Lin Huai hovered in the air, his feet stepping on continuously exploding flames, hands in his pockets as he whistled at the gargantuan creature.
"Hey, look over here, you oversized loach!"
He reached out his right hand and made a grasping motion in the air.
Boom!
A highly compressed Air Bullet, carrying ripples visible to the naked eye, slammed hard into one of the serpent's primary electronic eyes.
Sizzle!
The massive electronic eye burst instantly, sparks flying everywhere.
The target lock failed, and the giant head jerked aside. The ion cannon blast that was originally aimed at the Chevrolet grazed the bridge cables and flew off, blowing a distant signal tower to smithereens.
Roar!
Aggro shifted instantly.
All of the serpent's electronic eyes swiveled, locking onto this reckless little bug in mid-air. The armor plates on its back flipped open, revealing rows upon rows of missile launch ports.
Alexander Pierce stood before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, his expression grim to the extreme. On the dozen screens behind him, the scene on the bridge was being broadcast live from every angle.
"Since he wants to die, let's grant his wish," Pierce ordered coldly. "Kill him. I don't believe he can stay a ghost forever."
On the bridge.
Countless micro-missiles trailed fire as they swarmed toward Lin Huai, blotting out the sky.
Lin Huai twisted his body at an incredible angle in the air, slipping right through the gap between two missiles.
Immediately after, his figure flashed.
[Flame Leap].
He appeared directly on the serpent's back, several silver coins engraved with runes appearing in his hand. He sprinted along the serpent's spine, quickly stuffing the coins one by one into the gaps in its armor.
"That should about do it."
Lin Huai stood on top of the serpent's head, watching the Chevrolet which had completely disappeared in the distance, and brushed the dust off his hands.
He didn't continue his attack; instead, he relaxed his combat stance.
He stood at the high point, the wind making his trench coat flap loudly. He turned around, facing the nearby Drone's camera, as if staring directly at Pierce through the screen.
A brilliant smile appeared on his face.
He reached out and made a'stop' gesture toward the camera.
"I say, Secretary Pierce."
"You didn't really think I'd fight this pile of scrap metal to the bitter end for the sake of so-called Justice, did you?"
In the command center, Pierce's expression froze.
On the screen, Lin Huai shrugged, his tone relaxed and tinged with a hint of a rogue:
"Come on, it's the twenty-first century now; I expect overtime pay."
"When... did I ever give you the impression that I was some self-sacrificing hero?"
He pointed at the rampaging giant serpent beneath his feet, and then at the distant Triskelion Building.
"This is an absolutely terrible terrorist attack, right? A monster out of control is attacking Washington."
"So, as the S.H.I.E.L.D. that maintains World security, shouldn't you quickly solve the problem?"
Lin Huai's gaze became playful.
"Oh, right, who's in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. now? So hard to guess."
"Since you raised this big guy..."
Lin Huai gave a final wave to the camera, as if saying goodbye to an old friend.
"Then clean up your own mess."
"I'm not dealing with this crap anymore."
Before his words could even fade.
Boom!
A massive ball of orange-red fire exploded around Lin Huai without warning.
The fire swirled in the air for a moment before dissipating into countless sparks.
The top of the serpent's head was empty.
The man was gone.
He had slipped away.
Clean and decisive, without a hint of hesitation, he hadn't even struck a proper finishing pose.
"Bastard!"
Pierce slammed a fist onto the console, his face, which always maintained a hypocritical poise, finally twisting.
Ring ring ring—
Just then, a red secure phone on the console began to ring shrilly.
Pierce took a deep breath and reached for the phone with a trembling hand.
"Pierce! This is Ellis!"
The President's angry roar came from the other end of the line. "What on earth is your S.H.I.E.L.D. doing? Why is there a mechanical dinosaur tearing down a bridge in downtown Washington? Ten minutes! I don't care if it's aliens or whatever, you solve it immediately! Otherwise, I'll send in the military directly, and you're finished—Fury was much more reliable than you!"
Beep—beep—
The call disconnected.
Pierce gripped the receiver, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
He looked at the "hydra" serpent on the screen, which was circling in place after losing its target.
Pierce grit his teeth so hard they nearly broke, feeling a metallic taste rise in his throat.
He had been backed into a corner.
"Officer... what do we do?" the operator asked tremulously. "It's searching for a new target."
Pierce closed his eyes and remained silent for two seconds.
When he opened them again, his gaze was full of viciousness and resolve.
"Order all STRIKE Teams to deploy immediately and attack 'hydra' at all costs."
The operator was stunned: "But Officer, those are our own people..."
"Execute the order!" Pierce roared. "We're going to put on a show for the President! A play showing S.H.I.E.L.D. heroically confronting an unknown threat!"
"And..." Pierce stared fixedly at the giant serpent on the screen, "modify the 'hydra' attack command."
"Have it attack the defensive outer wall of the Triskelion Headquarters."
"W-what?"
"Only if it attacks us will we be seen as victims! Only then can we clear ourselves of suspicion!" Pierce said coldly. "Let it fire a few shots at the outer wall to create a visual impact, and then... activate stealth navigation mode and retreat through the riverbed."
"Yes..."
On the bridge.
The mechanical giant serpent, which had been in a state of confusion, suddenly seemed to be provoked. It snapped its head around and looked toward the Triskelion Headquarters.
Roar!
It let out an earth-shaking roar, its massive body crushing the bridge deck as it charged toward S.H.I.E.L.D. with a momentum that threatened to destroy everything.
Meeting it were a dozen quinjets flying out from S.H.I.E.L.D., along with heavily armed Agents on the ground.
These HYDRA soldiers, having received their death orders while utterly bewildered, were forced to aim their weapons at their own guardian.
"For S.H.I.E.L.D.! Fire!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
It was an absurd battle.
HYDRA's people were fighting HYDRA's serpent.
Explosions rang out one after another, and shrill sirens and screams blended together, echoing through the sky.
The mechanical giant serpent didn't hold back; it faithfully executed its role in the performance, biting a quinjet in half, sweeping its tail to smash several unlucky Agents into a pulp, and then firing an ion cannon blast at the glass curtain wall of the Triskelion Building.
Boom!
A corner of the building was blown apart, debris flying everywhere; it was a spectacular sight.
After completing this series of destructive performances, the giant serpent let out a long cry and dove violently into the Potomac River, kicking up waves dozens of meters high before disappearing into the murky Water.
Pierce stood in the wreckage of the command center, looking at the glass shards covering the floor and the still-smoking outer wall of the building outside the window, his face livid.
Although he had preserved his trump card, the cost... was essentially rubbing his own face in the dirt.
"Lin... Huai..."
He muttered the name through grit teeth.
Meanwhile, the instigator of it all.
At this very moment, he was standing in a deserted, shadowed alley behind the Triskelion Building.
Lin Huai leaned against the wall, listening to the earth-shaking commotion coming from the front entrance and watching the Agents running toward it like headless chickens; this place had instead become completely deserted.
He pulled a piece of chocolate he had prepared earlier from his pocket, tore open the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth, chewing with relish.
"What a good show."
He brushed the dust off his hands and looked up at the back door, which was devoid of any guards. All the manpower had been diverted to the front to clean up the mess; not even a watchdog was left.
"Alright, Arrodes."
Lin Huai took out the silver mirror, a knowing smile appearing on his face.
"Lead the way."
"Let's go get the evidence of the tasks Mr. Judgement was ordered to perform over the years. Otherwise, the moment he and Tony meet, we'll have an internal explosion."