Chapter 899: The Not-So-Secret Invasion (Part 1)

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In the dimly lit corridor, a cold, sterile light cast its glow upon the metallic walls. The mechanical architecture offered no sense of warmth, but those who lived here had grown accustomed to it.

A man dressed as a military officer briskly strode through the corridor. As the blinking overhead lights alternated between light and shadow beneath his furrowed brow, he exuded a menacing and cold demeanor.

In his hand, he held a telephone, his voice brimming with anger as he spoke to the person on the other end, "Correct, the safehouse has been attacked. Many generals have unfortunately sacrificed themselves. But until I receive orders to halt the plan, I will remain here. Hand over the materials? You must be dreaming!"

"The base's location is top secret. Besides the general who initiated the plan, no one else can find this place. Even if someone could, no one can breach our defenses!"

The officer smirked with a touch of mockery and continued, "Do you think General Manley is as timid as you? Unable to even defend his own base? Shall I repeat myself? Years ago, a mere hacker breached your systems..."

"Our systems here are never connected to any network. Even the local network used for material transfer grants no access without General Manley's authorization. The defense protocols for the weapons also require the general's approval..."

"You might as well give up this futile endeavor! Tartufaction has worked tirelessly for years, and we won't surrender because of a momentary setback. If you have the guts, come and take it yourself!"

After hanging up the telephone, the officer adjusted his attire, his expression cold. He pushed open a door and entered a laboratory. He glanced at the researchers inside and said, "Experiments are proceeding as usual. I hope none of you are slacking off."

One of the researchers, wearing glasses and looking somewhat timid, approached him. He said, "General, when can we leave? We have families too. You can't keep us locked up here..."

"Dr. Andrew," the officer replied sternly, "I advise you not to dwell on such matters. It is an honor to work for us. No one can leave until the research is completed, including me."

The officer sneered, "If you think you can escape, go ahead and try. Without the general's authorization, no one can open that door."

He then turned and left the room. Once he was gone, Andrew, who had appeared somewhat weak earlier, turned cold. He lowered his gaze, looked at his work badge hanging from his chest, and silently returned to the laboratory table.

At that moment, a younger researcher approached him and said, "Professor, we've been locked in here for months. My family must be very worried. When can we..."

Andrew adjusted his glasses and interrupted, "Haven't you heard him? We can leave once the research is completed."

The young researcher clenched his teeth and said, "They have no respect for science. Can you really research near-orbit strike weapons in a few months? And what's with that other project, the star detonation device? What do they intend to do?"

Another female researcher, who had overheard the conversation, expressed her concerns, "They might want to use these weapons to rule the world. This research is evil, and I'm not willing to..."

Andrew's voice turned grave, "Have you forgotten everything I've taught you? Whatever the task, you must remain composed. Perhaps a turning point will come sooner than you think..."

Despite the worries on the faces of the two students, the atmosphere in the laboratory fell silent.

A few minutes later, Andrew left the room with the materials he had prepared. As he made his way toward the elevator, he suddenly turned into a side corridor. There was a tool room there, and behind the door of the tool room, a blind spot in the surveillance.

He pretended to be looking for tools, entered the room, and removed his work badge from around his neck. On the back of one of the badge buttons, a faint light blinked.

He gently pressed the button and spoke into it, "It's me. Have your people arrived? I must remind you, the defense of this base has been updated recently, and there are no blind spots in the security facilities near the entrance. Even more importantly, the entire base has a self-destruct protocol. If they detect an irreversible intrusion, the entire base will be buried by underground explosives..."

Andrew sighed and continued, "I've been here for months, but I haven't found any vulnerabilities to obtain the authorization code. I think we might have to give up on this place."

He gritted his teeth and said, "General Manley spent a fortune building this base and resorted to various illegal methods, including kidnapping researchers, to study technologies related to near-orbit weapons and stars."

"At present, the research has made significant progress, and many valuable materials and supplies for research are stored in the warehouse. It's a treasure trove, if only we could use it..."

"Unfortunately, among that bunch of idiots, he's the only one with some brains. The entire base is nearly impregnable, and the person in charge here is very cautious. I've confronted him several times and found no weaknesses."

As he spoke, Andrew suddenly heard a commotion outside, as if a firefight had broken out. He immediately put the button back on his badge, left the tool room, and headed towards the source of the noise.

Andrew held a handgun and hugged the wall as he moved closer to the source of the intense firefight ahead. However, when he reached the intersection, the sounds suddenly ceased.

He cautiously peeked around the corner and saw a military officer lying on the ground, covered in blood but not yet dead.

The officer spotted Andrew approaching and coughed violently, spitting out a large amount of blood. He said, "Doctor... hurry... to the office... activate the defense protocol... cough... there are invaders..."

The officer convulsed twice and angrily said, "How did they open the door? Cough... without an authorization code, it's impossible... Doctor! What are you doing?! No!... If you kill me, the invaders will breach the research area, and the whole base will self-destruct. You'll die too..."

"Bam!"

A gunshot rang out, a bullet passing through the officer's head, but Andrew's handgun remained unlit. He tightened his grip on the gun and looked towards the source of the shot.

Ward's face gradually emerged from the darkness as he lowered his gaze to the lifeless officer. In a somewhat cold tone, he said, "Let's go. Take me to the core area, and let me assume control of this base."

With that, he walked forward, and Andrew followed, surprised. "Ward??? How did you get in? That new door is made of molten steel. Please don't tell me you broke it..."

"And the defense system here is set up so that if there's a violent breach, it'll immediately focus its fire. If that doesn't stop them, the whole base will self-destruct..."

"How did you get in?" Ward snorted and replied, "I used a key."

He continued into the elevator. Just as Andrew was about to swipe his employee card, Ward entered a series of codes on the elevator's control panel. The elevator smoothly descended, and upon arriving at the research area, Andrew widened his eyes in astonishment. "Where did you get those codes?"

"According to the previous head," Ward explained, "the entire base has only one highest-level authorization code, known only to a single General..."

Seeing Ward's expression, Andrew was shocked. "You didn't... mean to say that you took that General's code, did you? But isn't this a bit too radical?"

But quickly, he added somewhat awkwardly, "I understand. Some questions are better left unasked. That doctor has always been very strict..."

Ward continued down the corridor and, upon reaching the core control room, entered another series of codes. Then he turned to Andrew and said, "All important material warehouses are unlocked."

"Take your students and upload all research materials that can be easily transferred to the designated material repository. Precious research materials and hazardous substances will be handled by my people."

"The problem is, where should we move everything?" Andrew glanced around and said, "Taking over another base might be easy, but it will undoubtedly lead to retaliation. No matter where we move our belongings, they could be taken back. And if we deploy a large number of personnel to guard them, it won't be cost-effective..."

Ward gave him a sidelong glance and said, "Of course, we'll move everything to S.H.I.E.L.D. Dare they try to steal from S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"But..." Andrew furrowed his brow and said, "Nick Fury is dead, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is in chaos, practically defunct. Is the doctor still unwilling to give up that territory?"

"Defunct doesn't necessarily mean it's gone," Ward said with a low voice, glancing at the control panel of the core control room. "That legendary Agent might return sooner than you think. We need to prepare some surprises for him..."

He then glanced at his watch and said, "Stop dawdling. Move everything to the locations I sent you. Remember, everything – not a single pen should be left here."

"Clear out everything and move it to the designated warehouse!" A female agent stood in the center of another laboratory, directing everyone. She said, "What's this? Why isn't anyone moving this machine? What? It's broken? It looks perfectly fine on the outside. No connection, just move it. Pile everything in the warehouse."

Another researcher approached and asked, "Boss, the location you sent me is the place Nick Fury used to park the Helicarrier, right? Where did all this junk come from?"

The female agent shot him a glance and said, "You think they haven't thought of that question upstairs? Just move it. Why so many questions?"

The researcher shook his head, lowered it, and got back to work. The female agent took out her phone and said, "Ward, is everything okay on your end? Good, I've moved everything here..."

"There are a few bases near New York State that should have already been dealt with. There are a few more near Boston; they should be on their way." The female agent looked at the agents moving things out and whispered:

"To be honest, I don't quite understand the doctor's intentions. I'm not surprised he could obtain the authorization codes for these top-secret bases, but when it comes to moving things, even broken machines and junk... isn't this a bit..."

"Ah, of course, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm just a bit worried. Can the warehouse really accommodate everything? Even if the Helicarrier has been moved out, is there enough space to stuff all this 'junk'?"

The female agent stood by the door, hugging her arms, and nodded as she spoke into her phone, "That's true, who cares if they're needed or not. Let's move them first. If there's no space, we can pile them outside. Anything's better than leaving them for these people..."

She looked at the equipment in the room with a hint of disdain. "For so many years, these generals have built so many bases, and I haven't seen them achieve anything. We might as well hand everything over to us. Only we can lead humanity toward a brighter future."

"Hail Hydra, Hail the doctor."

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 900: Not-So-Secret Intrusion (Part 1)