Chapter 60: Exposed
"Is it fair for the many to bully the few? Now it's my turn."
As Warren finished speaking, the figures around him unsheathed their swords, drew their bows, and cocked their guns, making a convincing display.
After receiving the news of Warren's accident on Yashida's property, Yashida immediately woke up the police chief in the middle of the night and mobilized a large number of police forces to the scene.
The ninja group arrived even earlier than the police.
Yashida's controlled gangs were also mobilized, guarding various intersections.
The local police and gangs in Japan became a unified force here, following the same will.
Red Queen's strategy was entirely based on the "Marvel Story" that Warren had told her. Those individuals who could disappear instantly and had strange attire were likely the sorcerers from the "Marvel Story."
So Red Queen had people keeping a close eye on the area, instructing them to immediately subdue anyone who suddenly appeared.
Meanwhile, in New York during the daytime.
New York Exchange... Oh no, it's the Sanctum.
A mage had just stepped out, preparing to buy some food. After all, mages were still human and needed earthly sustenance.
But as soon as he stepped out, he saw a drone hovering outside with a few small pocket missiles attached to it, looking quite cute.
"Whose remote-controlled airplane is this? It's exquisite."
The mage praised, as they frequently interacted with the outside world and had some knowledge of technological products.
However, the information transmitted back to Red Queen from the drone was: Unidentifiable.
Clearly, the symbol was present on the building, but once the drone appeared at the entrance, it encountered an unidentifiable entrance phenomenon.
It seemed like interference, but the reason was unknown.
Just as Red Queen was preparing to use the drone to attempt physical disruption, the mage walked out.
Just as Red Queen was about to invade nearby public telephones and other devices to contact the mage, Warren's safety in Japan was secured.
The drone made a turn in the air and left.
...
The Dark Circles Mage glanced around and reluctantly raised his hands.
"I surrender."
He spoke these words, and then his hands suddenly moved.
Oh no!
There were people all around. What would be the consequences if this mage acted recklessly?
So Warren instinctively shot an arrow, and the icy arrow turned into a streak of lightning, piercing through the mage's head.
"The Dark... Ah!"
His words were interrupted, but his spell wasn't. A portal opened below, and Ophelia fell down with him.
They needed to escape!
In this situation, Warren, who had activated bullet time, had the quickest reaction. He dropped his Ice Vein Magic Bow to the ground and shot two strands of spider silk from his wrist launchers.
But he was still a step too slow. After the master died, the portal suddenly shrank, and Warren's spider silk only managed to pull out half of his body.
Huh~
Most of the people nearby took a step back, disgusted by the scene.
Ophelia escaped, saved by a mage sacrificing himself.
"The darkness? He mentioned the darkness? Yes, it must be him."
Warren began to assess who should take the blame for this.
Darkness, mage, villain. Wasn't it obvious?
"Dormammu!"
(Supreme ruler of a certain dark dimension: What?!)
...
Today's events were somewhat eventful, especially for the gangs. During dinner time, they were gathered, drinking in the venue, when suddenly they were called to surround an area.
In the middle of the night, they were called out to witness some "magic tricks" on the streets, and they were quite grotesque. It made the young policemen nearby nauseous, so Warren kindly handed them a bottle of beer to rinse their mouths.
Fortunately, the casualties weren't particularly high. The main target, Ophelia's guards, were killed, and those mages were ruthless killers.
Driver Mike had another close call. Last time, he almost got turned into a pancake by the Hulk. If it weren't for the mages' attention being focused on Warren, and the fact that they were outnumbered, he would have been in serious trouble.
Warren estimated that he would soon resign. After all, there were no drivers more dangerous than him. He wasn't even a security guard. Warren didn't need one anyway.
But who would have thought that this guy couldn't stop blabbering on the way back. It was as if he had awakened his talent for racial rap after decades of silence.
Warren treated it as background noise and focused on dealing with the issues left by Red Queen.
Just disappearing for ten minutes almost caused S.H.I.E.L.D. and Overwatch to start a world war. If it weren't for Japan being too far away, a few teleporting mutants from Overwatch would have led a large force to come over.
Both sides had already started their actions, but luckily Warren returned quickly.
...
"A mage? What kind of mage?" Nick Fury asked.
"A cult mage who follows the path of darkness. Anyway, put this woman on the wanted list. Take a look at her information yourself. Be careful when you encounter her. Ordinary people can't handle these people."
"Alright, I'll be careful, and I'll inform you as soon as I have any news."
"Good."
Warren informed Nick Fury only about Ophelia and the cult mage, not mentioning Hydra, as Hydra was part of Warren's plan.
He labeled Ophelia as a charismatic cultist and classified her Hydra secret base as illegal human experimentation.
However, he couldn't hide it from someone else.
"I haven't found the right opportunity to twist his beliefs, and now it's ruined by these cultists... The war is about to begin!"
Originally, Warren planned to find a suitable opportunity to manipulate Alexander Pierce's beliefs, but there hadn't been such an opportunity. However, Warren wasn't in a hurry.
But he never expected that these cult mages would catch him off guard, and Red Queen activated the emergency plan. Originally, they planned to quietly absorb Ophelia's power, but now it was exposed.
On the surface, Warren hadn't joined Hydra, but what would happen when Alexander Pierce found out that Warren had raided a Hydra facility?
Just imagining it was thrilling.
Warren went from discussing the cult's wanted status with Nick Fury to informing Garrett the next moment.
"Send someone to Japan immediately to pick me up. If Pierce wants to meet you, agree and I'll come with you."
Garrett regretfully said, "It's impossible. We didn't inform him about our operation against Ophelia at the American base. He became suspicious and won't meet with me anymore. He even went into hiding, especially since we have a team of mutants."
Alexander Pierce was a smart and suspicious person. After all, he used to be the former head of the intelligence agency.
When he discovered that one branch of Hydra had been raided, his expression was simply marvelous.
Damn it... We've been undercover for so many years, how did we suddenly get exposed? What an idiot!
But then he realized that something was off and immediately had someone check Ophelia's base in America.
It had completely fallen, and it was Overwatch who did it.
The crucial problem was that Alexander Pierce was the head of this branch of Hydra, and he had sent his trusted lieutenant, Garrett, to turn Overwatch into a powerful tool for future Hydra. But...
Why did Garrett turn into a traitor?
Such a large operation, and Hydra got exposed, but you didn't report it to me. And you say you're not a traitor?
Meet with me?
Forget it. Who doesn't know that mutants have all sorts of abilities? If I show my face, a car full of mutants will come looking for me.
So Alexander Pierce went into complete hiding, and the entire Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D. went into deep cover. They withdrew all the higher-ups with significant numbers and only left the lower- to mid-level operatives who didn't know about each other.
"Quick response. In that case, I'll return in a couple of days. Be prepared. Tell the agents going on missions during this time to be cautious."
"Understood."
Then, Warren instructed Red Queen to strengthen the defense of Aqiz Island.
...
"Boss, I captured an amazing video. It was taken inside that strange space before. Can I upload it to my profile?"
Warren thought for a moment and answered, "You can, but it's better to have Red Queen blur out some of the bloody parts. It wouldn't be good if children saw it."
Alexander Pierce, are you ready?