Triskelion's top floor, Pierce's office.
The massive floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of Washington D.C., and sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the carpet.
Behind the desk, Alexander Pierce was tidying up the last few documents, a satisfied smile of impending success on his face.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Pierce said without looking up.
Nick Fury pushed the door open, followed by Steve and Coulson. Their expressions were calm, as if they were just attending a regular meeting.
"Nick, you're just in time." Pierce looked up, a gentle smile on his face. "Project Insight is about to launch. As the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., you should witness this historic moment."
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it," Fury said, walking to the desk. "After all, this is the pride of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Steve's gaze swept across the room, searching for potential threats. The office was large, and besides Pierce, there were several bodyguards in black suits standing against the wall.
One of the bodyguards caught Steve's attention.
The man stood not far behind Pierce, wearing a black mask that revealed only a pair of cold eyes. Most striking was his left arm—a metallic, gleaming bionic arm.
Steve's heart almost stopped.
Voss's words echoed in his mind: Winter Soldier, Hydra's super assassin, bionic left arm, masked, tall…
"Bucky… So Voss really wasn't wrong, Bucky really is alive!" Steve silently repeated the name in his heart, his fists clenching involuntarily.
Coulson noticed Steve's abnormality and subtly nudged him with his elbow. Steve snapped back to attention, forcing himself to remain calm.
"Steve Rogers." Pierce looked at Captain America. "The legendary American hero who led the Howling Commandos to defeat Red Skull, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Pierce." Steve nodded in greeting, his voice sounding calm, but his heart was in turmoil.
The masked bodyguard—Bucky—looked at Steve with a cold gaze, devoid of any recognition. To him, Steve was just a potential threat to be monitored.
Fury sensed the subtle shift in the room's atmosphere: "Pierce, your bodyguard looks very professional."
"Of course," Pierce said proudly.
"This is a new agent I recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D., his name is… Barton Kress."
Steve's gaze was fixed on the masked bodyguard, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from his chest.
That familiar figure, that iconic bionic left arm, and those eyes that were once warm as spring sunshine, but now cold as winter.
"Barton Kress?" Steve repeated the clearly fake name, his voice trembling slightly.
Pierce observed Steve's reaction with interest, a playful smile on his lips: "What, Captain, are you very interested in my bodyguard?"
"He just looks familiar." Steve forced himself to remain calm, but his fists were already clenching unconsciously.
"Familiar?" Pierce feigned surprise. "What a coincidence. But I don't think you two have met, as Mr. Kress has always been on highly classified missions."
The Winter Soldier—Bucky—stood there expressionless, his gaze sweeping over Steve without any trace of recognition, as if he were looking at a complete stranger.
Fury noticed Steve's abnormality and subtly stepped forward, ready to react to any sudden developments. Coulson also nervously touched the card on his chest, his fingers already subtly moving towards the weapon at his waist.
"Mr. Pierce." Steve took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound calm. "I think we should discuss Project Insight. It's getting late, after all."
"Of course, of course." Pierce walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to everyone. "Project Insight will officially launch in two hours. By then, this world will usher in true peace."
"What kind of peace?" Steve asked, his gaze still unable to leave Bucky.
"Peace without threats." Pierce turned around, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism. "No terrorists, no rebels, no destabilizing factors that could disrupt order."
Fury sneered: "You mean peace without free will."
"Freedom?" Pierce shook his head. "Nick, you're too naive. Humans never needed freedom; they need security and order. And Hydra—"
"Hydra?" Coulson feigned surprise. "Mr. Pierce, what did you just say?"
Pierce realized he had let something slip, but quickly regained his composure: "Nothing, just a metaphor."
Pierce internally: "Damn, I talk too much in front of my subordinates, it's become a habit, almost gave it away."
...
Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s level seven underground vault.
"Found it!" Voss excitedly pointed at the screen. "The authorization code for system administrator privileges!"
Tom's paws rapidly tapped on the keyboard, and a complex string of code appeared on the screen.
"ADMIN_OVERRIDE_CODE: 7A 9B 2C 4D 8E 1F 3G 5H"
"Excellent!" Artoria leaned in to look. "With this, we can control S.H.I.E.L.D.'s entire system."
Jerry pulled out a small storage device from his toolkit, ready to copy the important data.
"Wait, let me write this information down first." Voss took out his phone and started taking pictures.
Aqua was bored, looking around, completely uninterested in these complex technologies.
"Hurry up, it's stuffy and hot in here, I want to get out," Aqua complained.
"Almost done." Voss continued taking pictures. "This data is too important, we must ensure it's foolproof."
Tom had already started downloading the complete Project Insight files, the progress bar moving slowly.
Just then, Aqua noticed a red button on the wall with "EMERGENCY ALERT" written on it.
"What's this button for?" Aqua curiously reached out her hand.
"Aqua!!!" Voss hastily tried to stop her, but it was too late.
Aqua's finger pressed the button.
"Beep, beep, beep, beep—"
Aqua's expression at this moment: (￣'i￣;)
A piercing alarm blared throughout the Triskelion. Red warning lights began to flash, and a mechanical voice came from the broadcast system:
"Alert! Alert! Unauthorized intrusion detected! All security personnel immediately proceed to the underground vault!"
"Aqua! You pressed the emergency alert button!"
"I… I didn't know!" Aqua said in a panic.
"It was written in English, and there were some complex English words I didn't recognize, let alone that it was all in capital letters!"
"But you're speaking English right now!!! ヽ(≧□≦)ノ"
"Speaking is one thing, reading is another!"
Voss ranted wildly, Voss wanted to cry 〒▽〒, Voss was completely defeated.
In that moment, Voss wished so much that he and Kazuma could cross worlds, so he could take Aqua to another world for recycling.
Tom and Jerry exchanged glances, both showing helpless expressions. They quickly packed up their equipment, ready to evacuate.
"What now?" Artoria gripped her sword hilt. "They'll find us soon."
"Retreat first!" Voss made the decision. "We have the data, we must leave here and quickly get back to the server room!"
Footsteps came from the corridor, growing closer.
"This way! Quick!" Jerry pointed to the entrance of a ventilation duct.
The group quickly climbed into the duct, Tom entering last and reattaching the grate.
About half a minute later, a team of fully armed Hydra agents burst into the server room.
"Search every corner!" the captain loudly ordered. "The intruders must still be nearby!"
...…
In another corner of the Triskelion, Hill, Clint, and Natasha heard the alarm.
"Looks like our friends are in trouble," Natasha said.
"This is actually an opportunity," Hill analyzed.
"All security personnel will go to level seven underground, so other floors will be relatively weakly defended."
Clint checked his bow and arrows: "So, we act now?"
"Now's the time," Hill nodded. "Infiltrate the server room amidst the chaos."
The three came to a ventilation duct entrance. Hill used her Deputy Director's access card to open the maintenance tunnel door.
"Remember, our target is the main control server room on the 15th floor," Hill said. "Once we gain system control, immediately shut down Project Insight."
Natasha was the first to crawl into the ventilation duct: "Stay close, don't fall behind."
Clint followed closely: "Hope no one presses the wrong button this time."
Hill entered last and closed the entrance: "Pray our luck is better than theirs."
The three quickly crawled through the narrow duct, heading for the 15th floor.
The entire Triskelion was in chaos due to the alarm, with Hydra agents searching everywhere for intruders.
But what they didn't know was that the real threat was quietly approaching the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D.