Chapter 365: New and Good (Part 1) (Patreon)

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New York is a truly sleepless city, especially the buildings near Wall Street in Manhattan. The lights are on all night long, and even though it's already 11 pm, the lights are still as bright as daylight, and people are coming and going on the streets.

Not far from Wall Street, in the Arkham Sanatorium, Schiller is working at his desk. Just then, a special-looking secure phone next to him rings, and he picks it up and says, "Hello, yes, I am the 'Doctor'..."

"Yes, I am also very sorry about Director Pierce's situation... The four bases in the east of New York? Sorry, but I have too much work on my hands right now. You know, there is only one high-level member left in all of New York who can still maintain communication and has not entered a silent state, and that's me..."

"...Okay, but I can only accept two bases at most. The remaining two... I suggest you strategically abandon them and evacuate the personnel..."

"What? Safe havens?... I'm sorry, Director Pierce didn't leave me enough safe havens before he went into silence, and now they're all full."

Schiller sighed and said, "It's not that I'm being greedy, but there are just too many people coming to me... Yes, thank you for understanding. For the additional personnel on the preservation plan, it's $300,000 per person, and for senior management and important research personnel, it's $300,000 per person for preservation fees..."

Listening to the response on the other end, Schiller covered his forehead, his tone turning cold as he said, "Do you think it's time to negotiate? The West Coast is their primary target. Do you know how much risk I have to take to receive you?..."

"Don't talk to me about this. Everyone knows that the emergency evacuation actions are all for the sake of preserving your own core power. Only the safe havens here are truly reliable. If you want to be scammed out of your money, I won't stop you..."

"Fifty? No, I already said that there are limited spots, and I can only give you 15 spots at most, at $300,000 per person... Okay, 10% discount, considering that we have all worked under Director Pierce before..."

Schiller sighed and put down the phone. He leaned back in his chair and stretched, then looked at Nick Fury sitting across from him.

Nick Fury looked up from his desk and said, "Another $5 million in revenue, huh?"

"It's still a 55-45 split, but I think this small amount of money can't make up for the psychological trauma caused by my overtime."

Schiller was about to stand up and go make some coffee when his phone rang again. He picked up the phone and said, "Hello, this is the 'Doctor.' What? Your base was attacked? I'm sorry, I don't have any extra manpower to send to rescue you..."

"Captain America attacked you? Even if it was God who attacked you, I can't save you..."

"Okay, I can only give you a retreat route. Please go to the port of New York immediately, where there will be special agents to pick you up. But if you want to transfer to a safe haven, please send a message to your superior and have them pay your preservation fee..."

"I'll say it again, this is not extortion. The safe havens are already full, and if you want to come in without paying, what will the others think? You'd better call your boss quickly. If he's willing to pay, then you have a chance. If he's not willing, then God help you..."

After hanging up, Schiller looked at Nick and joked, "Cold-blooded, aren't I, Doctor?"

"Mutual, Doctor."

From the moment Schiller took over Hydra's special agents in S.H.I.E.L.D. and eliminated Garrett's backhand left behind after he caused Pierce's silence, he completely controlled Hydra and fabricated a preservation plan, turning the Arkham Sanatorium into Hydra's "safe" haven.

From the beginning, Schiller didn't want to fleece these special agents. Let's face it, how much money can these workers make? Even if they sell the eternal life factor, it's slow and troublesome.

Schiller chose a different path and opened up another line of business.

The competition between Stark and Steve gradually intensified, and their internal competition became more and more fierce. Therefore, the scale of this purge became larger and larger, and all of Hydra on the East and West Coasts were involved. Because this competition started too suddenly, most of them were unprepared.

This is different from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "investigation" that says one thing and does another. Captain America and Iron Man take Hydra seriously, so in just a few days, the heads of Hydra on the East and West Coasts lost a lot of power.

As more and more supposedly safe havens are breached, more and more Hydra leaders enter a silent state to protect themselves. However, the more they enter a silent state, the less they can organize a decent defense, resulting in more losses.

These Hydra leaders may have gone silent, but they are not willing to see their core power that they worked so hard to build be completely eradicated. If that happens, they will become isolated and alone when they come out.

Hydra's internal struggles are professional, and they must consider how to face their colleagues who are like wolves and tigers after they come out of silence. If they really become powerless, they will only be torn apart.

At this time, a rumor spread among the high-levels that Alexander Pierce, the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the most famous Hydra leader, left behind a similarly experienced silent agent and an absolutely secret safe haven before entering silence.

This silent agent, codenamed "Doctor," is likely a special agent in S.H.I.E.L.D., but their identity is currently unknown. However, there is no doubt that their preservation plan is quite effective.

The effectiveness of this preservation plan can be traced back to S.H.I.E.L.D. After the important Hydra special agents were transferred, S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately began a purge, and those special agents who did not participate in the preservation plan were directly eliminated.

Of course, this was a wave of cooperation between Nick and Schiller. After Schiller transferred the important Hydra special agents, the rest were small fry. Nick could easily find a reason to eliminate them. The core Hydra members had left, and they could not organize any decent defense or counterattack.

Although the special agents who were preserved were sent to a sanatorium for treatment, those who were not preserved lost their lives. This further illustrates the importance of the preservation plan and the experience and decisiveness of the silent agent codenamed "Doctor."

After rumors of the safe haven spread, many Hydra leaders began to consider transferring their core personnel there.

Schiller's demand for money was not unexpected. This is how Hydra operates. If they don't take advantage of the situation now, when will they?

On the contrary, Schiller's approach increased the confidence of these Hydra leaders. If it weren't for pure Hydra, how could he be so skilled at taking advantage of others' misfortunes and making outrageous demands?

With his level of skill, Pierce had a keen eye!

These Hydra leaders felt an extremely familiar atmosphere from Schiller's approach. They didn't care about his high price. Hydra has been in business for so many years, and they still have some capital. Spending some money to preserve their core personnel is the most cost-effective option for them.

During the evacuation to the Arkham Sanatorium, 80% of the people were caught by the "clairvoyant" S.H.I.E.L.D., and only 20% successfully arrived at the sanatorium. However, they didn't think there was anything wrong with this.

Now, the situation has become so dire that the fact that 20% of them survived is already considered lucky.

But what they don't know is that in the office of the director of the Arkham Sanatorium, their savior is weighing them by the pound and selling them to S.H.I.E.L.D.

"To be honest, I think you should find a way to get out of this. In a few days, those two crazy people who are in a heated race will find you." Nick advised Schiller, "We all know that we are working for a just cause, but those two have been a bit reckless lately. If they accidentally hurt their own people, it won't be good..."

Schiller is not in a hurry at all. He smiles and says, "Don't worry, I have a solution."

"What solution?" Nick looks up at him.

Just then, a portal appears in the office, and Strange walks out of it. He looks up at the sky outside, yawns, and sits next to Schiller. Schiller asks, "Are you done with your work?"

"Yes, the Supreme Sorcerer has entrusted all the affairs of Kamar-Taj to me. Now I am truly the Supreme Sorcerer, except for a handover ceremony."

"Well, congratulations to you. But I heard you say before that you have a lot of troubles lately. What's wrong?"

When Strange brings up the issue, he looks a bit worried. He says, "The sorcerers think that Stark is too stingy. He only gave them one ship out of more than ten ships to study..."

"You know, those big sorcerers are all research maniacs. One ship can't satisfy their appetite."

"Sorcerers are also divided into many schools, some using white magic, some researching summoning magic, and their approaches to modification are also different. Some want to completely energyize the ship, while others want to use enchantment techniques. Recently, I have stopped at least a dozen arguments..."

"In any case, we need at least three ships." Strange concludes, "Less than this number, I find it difficult to balance the experimental needs of the sorcerers."

"Just like I told you on the phone before, you sorcerers have portals. You can secretly go up and do some research. It shouldn't be discovered."

"That's exactly what I'm hesitating about..." Strange shows a troubled expression and says, "I don't want to exacerbate the opposition between ordinary humans and sorcerers. We are the guardians of Earth, but we are not managers, let alone rulers. If we are discovered, Stark will be very angry."

"Just don't let him discover you. Do those big sorcerers also get used to not cleaning up after their research like Stark and his rich friends?"

"Of course not. We are different from Stark and his kind. Kamar-Taj has maintained the virtue of frugality for many years. Our magic is environmentally friendly and pollution-free, and we don't even have waste."

"Moreover, the Supreme Sorcerer left me a special item that can reset time..."

The more Strange talks, the brighter his eyes become. He says, "I can completely let the big sorcerers experiment first, and then use the gem to restore the ship. This way, Stark will not be able to find us..."

As he speaks, he stands up and says to Schiller, "Yes, I have a plan now."

Then he opens the portal, steps into it, and before leaving, he turns back and says, "Thank you, thank you for your flexible thinking and...morality."

When Strange's figure disappears completely, Nick looks at where he left and asks thoughtfully, "Your scapegoat?"

"Don't say that. There are many doctors in this world. How could anyone suspect Stephen's head?"

"Yes, no one could have suspected him before. But you instigated him to illegally occupy the ship under Stark's nose. Who would Stark suspect? It goes without saying..."

Schiller walks over with coffee, hands a cup to Nick, and raises his coffee cup, saying, "If you don't say it, I won't say it. Who knows if he was inspired by me?"

Nick smiles and picks up the cup. The two lightly clink their cups and then show a knowing smile.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 366: New and Good (Part 2)