Daniel walked out of Fury's office.
After much persuasion, Fury finally believed that he had no intention of leaving S.H.I.E.L.D.
Daniel also took the opportunity to request that, in the future, besides high-difficulty missions, he should not be assigned low-value missions, as he no longer found them appealing!
Then, he happily received a day off.
The reason was that there were no high-difficulty missions readily available at S.H.I.E.L.D. at the moment, as all the higher-level missions had already been taken by other Agents.
Fury simply gave Daniel a day off, allowing him to rest well, lest this 'sales champion' overwork himself.
"This game is truly unplayable; even the NPCs are so competitive!"
Daniel grumbled as he strolled down the corridor.
Come to think of it, he had never properly explored S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters until now. Every time he came, he would go straight to Fury's office, and he hadn't even fully revealed the S.H.I.E.L.D. map.
This was a good opportunity to uncover the map and see if there were any hidden easter eggs.
After all, some game developers liked to stuff treasure chests into every corner of the map, deliberately making players search painstakingly, which really annoyed Daniel back then.
No sooner said than done!
Daniel opened the mini-map and moved towards the unrevealed areas of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It must be said that S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters was indeed very large; Daniel had been exploring for over an hour and still hadn't fully revealed the map.
Soon, he arrived at the door of an office. The map showed that inside was an unexplored dark area.
Not many people at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters had independent offices; their identities were usually not simple, and their authorization level was at least Agent Level 8, far from what a Level 5 Agent like Daniel could easily access.
But Daniel was clearly unconcerned and pushed the door open directly.
Walking into the office, Daniel saw a blond old man in a suit sitting behind a desk, with a bald man wearing glasses standing opposite him, seemingly reporting something.
Daniel's sudden intrusion visibly startled the two.
The bald man with glasses quickly reacted, looking at Daniel warily: "Who are you? How did you get in? Why didn't the office security system trigger an alarm?"
So many questions!
Daniel suspected he might have triggered some plot, and replied: "I'm Daniel. There's no need to explain how I got in. As for why the alarm wasn't triggered, it's simple: because I hacked the system."
The bald man with glasses: "?"
How could you say that with such righteous indignation?
"You—"
"Alright, Agent Sitwell, you may leave first. I need to speak with Agent Daniel."
The blond old man suddenly interrupted Sitwell.
"Mr. Pierce, but he—"
"It's fine, I'll handle it."
"...Understood."
Sitwell gave Daniel a deep look, then exited the office.
"Please sit."
Pierce offered Daniel a very friendly smile.
Daniel was also not polite, plopping down opposite Pierce, casually playing with a wallet in his hand.
"This is...?"
Pierce looked puzzled.
"Oh, this? My wallet."
As Daniel spoke, he took all the cash out of the wallet and put it into his pocket, then casually tossed the wallet into the trash can at his feet.
Pierce had excellent eyesight and clearly saw a driver's license slide out of the wallet. The person in the photo was Sitwell, who had just left.
Pierce: "..."
This was a master thief!
And he was petty; Sitwell had only glared at him and had his wallet stolen.
Pierce formed an initial assessment of Daniel in his mind and said directly: "I know you, Agent Daniel."
"Oh? You've heard my story too?" Daniel became interested.
"Of course, your abilities are quite outstanding. In just two months, you've been promoted from a graduate to a Level 5 Agent. This is unprecedented in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history," Pierce praised him.
"You flatter me, you flatter me."
Daniel's impression of Pierce greatly improved; such a discerning NPC was rare.
"However, I know more than just that."
Pierce's face showed a meaningful smile.
Daniel disliked such riddlers the most, but in consideration of the praise, he still cooperatively asked: "Then what else do you know?"
"Of course, it's..."
Pierce leaned slightly forward, close to Daniel's ear, and whispered in a very low voice: "Hail HYDRA!"
Daniel's eyes suddenly widened, looking at Pierce in disbelief.
"You, you—"
Pierce nodded contentedly, seemingly believing Daniel had fully understood: "That's right, I am..."
"What do you mean by this?"
Daniel finally finished his sentence.
Pierce: "..."
Can you please stop with the dramatic pauses!
Pierce's expression darkened, and he chose to reveal everything directly: "Don't you understand yet? I am HYDRA!"
"And also your superior, Officer!"
Hearing this, Daniel finally realized, immediately stood up, and said solemnly: "Sorry, Officer! I didn't recognize you earlier!"
That's right!
The identity Daniel had chosen back then was precisely a HYDRA spy!
According to the system, he was a secret spy embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D.
And his mission was simple: to hide his identity well, ensuring it was never discovered by anyone, especially a certain black-hearted bald man.
Aside from that, he could also accept S.H.I.E.L.D. missions normally, and the rewards would be collected as usual.
"It's alright, it's normal that you didn't know. For the organization's safety, all unactivated HYDRA members will not know of each other's existence before confirming their identities."
At this point, Pierce looked at Daniel helplessly: "If you hadn't barged in today, I wouldn't have actively activated you, this sleeper Agent."
This time, Daniel had purely stumbled into it by accident, just happening to meet his other direct superior.
"However, your sense of caution is commendable. Even if someone shouts 'Hail HYDRA' to you, you shouldn't admit it on the spot. You did very well in that regard."
"Uh, thank you for the praise, Officer."
Daniel scratched his head a little guiltily.
Could he say that he had been a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent for so long that he almost forgot about HYDRA?
No, this was the highest level of disguise—if even he forgot his true identity, then who else could discover it?
Thinking this, Daniel immediately felt good about himself again.
Pierce's expression turned serious: "Since you've been activated, don't waste the opportunity. I happen to have a mission that requires manpower, and I think your qualifications are very suitable."
"What mission?"
Daniel immediately perked up.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't be competitive, then HYDRA might as well be.
"This is a long-term mission. I need you to keep a close eye on Fury. Once he assigns you any special missions, or if you discover any particular movements from him, you must report to me immediately."
[NPC Alexander Pierce has issued you a new mission]
[Mission: Hail HYDRA]
[Objective: Report Fury's mission movements to Pierce in a timely manner]
[Reward: Depends on mission completion and intelligence value]
"Mission accomplished, Officer!"
Daniel stood at attention and responded.