"You all need to conduct internal inspections on the personnel under your charge. I don't want this kind of thing happening again!"
Fury pressed both hands on the table, his body leaning forward slightly. His dead-fish-like gaze swept across each of the senior agents one by one.
"Yes, sir!"
On the surface, none of the senior agents showed the slightest abnormality.
After they all left, only Natasha remained.
"Director, this will definitely alert Hydra." Natasha understood the entire situation inside and out.
"What we need to do now is exactly to startle the snake." Fury's expression no longer showed a trace of the rage from moments ago. "Chaldea doesn't just want to target Hydra—they want to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reputation and its very beliefs. You know I can't let that happen. So, what I want most right now is for Hydra to jump out on its own. That way, we can pin everything on them."
Shen He clearly had an entire plan of his own, and Fury had every reason to believe that what happened today was only the beginning.
So he also had to begin preparing S.H.I.E.L.D. for its future reconstruction. For him, planning five steps ahead from one step was basic skill.
"Agent Hill has her mission." Natasha looked at Fury. "Then what about mine?"
"That woman who escaped today—she's classified as an 084 in our files. Shen He wouldn't drag an innocent person into this for no reason. In the future Chaldea observed, she must have some kind of special significance." Fury thought for a moment and instructed, "Find her, gain her trust, investigate her. That's what you're good at."
The term 084 was an internal S.H.I.E.L.D. code, referring to an object or entity of unknown origin.
When Kase was still an infant, an entire team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents died protecting her. That was why her entire background had been completely erased.
"Understood." Natasha nodded and left.
Meanwhile, Shen He—after closely monitoring and quietly amplifying the spread of online public opinion—also began preparing his next move.
Right in front of Coulson, he made a call to Tony Stark.
"Tony, did you see what just happened?"
"Of course, He. The dangerous people around you are getting more and more numerous," Tony replied. He had been following the situation closely.
Shen He hadn't hidden the plan from him at all. But knowing the plan and witnessing a group of elite agents calmly going berserk were two entirely different experiences.
"A dangerous opponent requires dangerous people to deal with," Shen He didn't deny the terrifying effectiveness of Lelouch's ability. "Tony, the next phase of the plan might require a slight adjustment. I may need you to personally speak up and vouch for Steve's identity. There's nothing in this world more convincing than something coming out of your mouth."
"Oh, that's the most correct thing you've said in the last half month."
But Tony didn't immediately agree. His tone even carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
"It's just… if your script needs a hero, why choose a soldier from seventy years ago? You went to all that trouble digging him out just to go to all that trouble making him a hero. He, I'm starting to suspect you've fallen for those sculpted muscles of his."
"Wait, Tony." Shen He looked helpless. "If you had objections to the plan, why bring them up only now?"
"No, it's not that I object—I just don't get it… Fine, I'll help you. After all, Hydra and I also have a score to settle." Tony finally agreed, but added, "But if he can't live up to the title of hero, I'm refusing to cooperate."
"Alright…" Shen He had no idea what else to say.
Perhaps because he had built a pretty good relationship with Tony from the moment he arrived in this world, he almost forgot that Tony Stark was not the type to easily acknowledge others.
Getting him to help promote someone else? Practically impossible. He much preferred being the one in the spotlight.
"Mr. Stark will definitely acknowledge the Captain." Coulson had overheard the conversation. "My instincts tell me they'll become good friends."
"Who knows." Shen He shrugged.
Lelouch had now been recalled, and Saiki Kusuo stayed beside Steve to make sure nothing went wrong.
Next, Shen He also needed to make arrangements.
Tony, after agreeing, reacted swiftly—he gathered reporters in the shortest time possible. In fact, crowds of journalists were already blocking the entrance of Stark Industries, eager to get his opinion on S.H.I.E.L.D. and the alien incident.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.? Of course I know them—my father was one of the founders," Tony opened with a bombshell. "But I have nothing to do with them. They inherited none of the Stark family's finer qualities. And yes—the man they arrested today is indeed Captain America from seventy years ago. He's not dead. A business partner of mine dug him out of the Arctic ice…"
Right as Tony held his press conference, the public-facing CEO of Virtual Reality Technologies released an official statement, confirming that they were the ones who rescued Captain America.
This company—registered as specializing in medical, biological, and digital research—was making its debut in the eyes of ordinary citizens.
And when people discovered that Tony Stark was a shareholder in the company, they immediately understood who Tony's "business partner" was.
"Our chairman is furious."
The VR company's CEO wrote in the official announcement:
"We overcame countless hardships to finally find the hero who rendered outstanding service to America seventy years ago.
We originally only wanted to return this hero's remains to his homeland. But God gave us a tremendous surprise.
—Captain America is alive!
We couldn't wait to share this joy with everyone.
Yet before we could do so, the hero was arrested for standing up and protecting the people.
This is something no American can accept, and an unforgivable insult to a wartime hero.
We have collected all video evidence related to today's events. We will immediately file legal charges against S.H.I.E.L.D. They must return the hero safe and unharmed…"
In addition to the announcement, the company released a series of evidence: photographs of finding Captain America in the Arctic ice, the thawing procedure, medical recovery data, rehabilitation parameters after waking, and even videos of the Captain recounting his past.
With such ironclad proof, everyone believed it at last:
The hero who existed only in history books and museums had truly returned—and stood once again before the world.