Chapter 124: Oh No! I've Become a Body Double!

Although these soldiers were sufficiently fearless and elite, they were steadily forced back by the combined efforts of Frank and Natasha.

This spectacle, prepared well in advance, was projected by the Eagle through various means to every corner of the globe, with the exception of Asia. Displayed on hundreds of thousands of giant screens, the primary objective was singular: to ensure that the hidden members of HYDRA witnessed this scene. The secondary goal, naturally, was to showcase their power to the world.

"Mr. Lin Zheng-ying, you may stand down. They have found their own solution, so we shall not intervene," Li Xiao-yao said, calling Lin Zheng-ying after seeing the satellite feed in the office alongside Guan Zhen.

The Clock Tower lacked mystics capable of precognition, and though they had originally intended to assist once their own affairs were settled, such help was no longer required.

This was an open gambit, yet one that only the Eagle and the Clock Tower could employ, and only once at that; after all, the price of such a scheme required the sacrifice of the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Eagle was also fortunate; they had used HYDRA to flex their muscles, while simultaneously leading the uninformed to believe that the relationship between the Clock Tower and the Eagle was akin to that between the Celestial Court and China.

In this way, their title as the world's police could be maintained for a few more years. China and other nations in the know would not expose them; after all, the disintegration or collapse of such a massive state would be unimaginable for the current world order. Stability was now the absolute priority.

As Li Xiao-yao and Guan Zhen watched the imagery on the screen, Frank had already dispatched the soldiers—a task that, for him, was nothing more than a minor disturbance. Meanwhile, Natasha was locked in a fierce struggle with Pierce.

"Natasha!" Frank shouted, a reminder to pick up the pace. If the fight dragged on too long, it would seem overdone; as a top-tier operative, it shouldn't take Natasha long to kill Pierce in the public eye.

As for his and Natasha's true identities, Frank didn't need to think twice to know that the Eagle would likely release them soon, albeit with a fair share of falsehoods mixed in.

Pierce seemed to grasp the implication behind Frank's words faster than Natasha. His strength faltered slightly, and to the eyes of onlookers, it appeared as though Natasha had smashed through his defenses before plunging a blade directly into his body.

After delivering the fatal blow, Natasha instantly retreated via the shadows. Less than a second after she left, Pierce’s body hit the ground and detonated, sending the surrounding earth flying into the sky.

As Natasha emerged near Frank, she flexed her fingers. The tactile sensation of the stab had been wrong—it hadn't felt like piercing flesh, but rather a synthetic composite material, only hitting flesh after breaking through that layer.

This should have been the only flaw, but with the self-destruction of the corpse, that flaw had vanished entirely.

The moment Pierce fell, missiles began to soar from underground sites across the Americas and Europe.

This was HYDRA’s revenge plan. Once Pierce’s life ended, these pre-programmed missiles were set to launch simultaneously at the capitals of multiple nations.

Frank and Natasha felt no panic, for aside from HYDRA, there were others in this world capable of such an attack. Nick Fury was one of them; he held the remote launch codes for every S.H.I.E.L.D. base. If programmed correctly and coordinated with the Eagle, simulating such an event was not overly difficult.

Meanwhile, aboard the Helicarrier, Pierce frowned as he exited his private chamber. The President had just hung up on him, quite inexplicably.

He emerged just in time to see the missiles ascending on the screens, and he lunged toward the console in a panic.

The HYDRA agents who had remained in the command center were dazed. Pierce’s "death-revenge" was a widely touted secret within HYDRA, designed specifically to demonstrate the organization’s strength to the rank and file.

"Rewind the video!" Pierce shouted. No one responded, forcing him to take control of the screen himself.

After watching the ten-minute recording at high speed, Pierce collapsed into his chair. Only one thought echoed in his mind: "It's over! I've become my own body double!"

The surrounding HYDRA agents looked at Pierce with suspicion. Could this be a hypnotized double of Pierce?

Terrified, Pierce stood up and slapped his subordinate across the face. "Would a double have access to the Helicarrier's authority?! I am Pierce! The one inside was Nick Fury disguised as me!"

"Yes, sir!" the subordinate responded, saluting.

Pierce could feel his authority rapidly eroding. If the soldiers who had followed him for years thought this, what were the HYDRA troops outside thinking?

He dared not dwell on the thought.

What a ruthless man Nick Fury was, willing to use his own life as a pawn, and so convincingly!

It was so convincing that if Pierce wanted to prove his identity, he would have to slit his own throat to trigger the real missile launches from the HYDRA bases—but what would be the point? He would be dead regardless!

Now, he could only hope that Nick Fury’s scheme would backfire. Pierce stared intensely at the missiles on the screen.

Just as the missiles were about to reach their targets, a wave of energy enveloped every nation targeted, with the exception of the United Kingdom. Instantly, all the missiles went dead and failed.

Heimerdinger shook his head, having amplified his domain using the primitive equipment of this world. The side effects were high, and his head throbbed.

As for the United Kingdom, a river of light swept across the territory, and those missiles were reduced to nothing but dust.

"It’s over... completely over..."

Pierce slumped in the command chair. Even if he died now and had his chest ripped open, he could never prove his identity.

"Take the Helicarrier straight to Washington! Hurry! What are you all staring at!" Pierce roared.

"Sir, all the passwords provided by this 'Pierce' have been invalidated..." a soldier whispered to the Helicarrier’s original commander.

The commander nodded, then threw Pierce—chair and all—off the deck. He brushed off his HYDRA uniform and looked at the others in the command center.

"This is a double with a broken brain. Everyone! Hear my command! Target: New York! For HYDRA! For Pierce! Revenge! Revenge!"

"For HYDRA! Revenge!"

The slogans rang out through the command center. Pierce lay sprawled on the floor. He could have taken down the original commander in a few moves, but what use would that be?

He had truly become his own body double.

At the base of the Helicarrier, Jayce looked up at Viktor, who was tinkering with something, and yawned. "Not done yet? If not, I'll just head up there and wipe them out with the adaptive mechs."

"Brute," Viktor replied coldly. "I have already altered their guidance systems. Wouldn't it be better to have them fly the ship back to the temporary laboratory than to break it and have to repair it later?"