Chapter Twenty: Dealing with S.H.I.E.L.D.!

After subduing the first wave of agents, including Wanda and Pietro, Hao Yun motioned for Barton and Natasha to cuff the two of them and follow him upward.

Yes, upward...

Natasha and Barton had already come to a clear understanding of their role: they were nothing more than jailers escorting prisoners.

The second floor...

"Ninjutsu: Rebirth Technique!"

Another entire section went down, not a single one left standing...

The third floor... and on...

"Ninjutsu: Rebirth Technique!"

The fourth floor, the fifth floor... all the way to the highest level, the eighteenth floor!

At last, they set foot in the core of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s upper echelon, the eighteenth floor.

Natasha and Barton wore rather complicated expressions. They had originally thought this would be a fierce battle between rival powers, but it turned out to be a stair-climbing trial?

Had they known earlier, they might as well have gone to fight Nightmare instead! At least then they could have fired a shot or loosed an arrow, right?

"Alexander Pierce, in the name of the Illuminati, I hereby declare you guilty of eighteen charges, including violations of human security and privacy, conspiracy to subvert world order, and other offenses. You are under arrest!"

With righteous indignation, Hao Yun strode into the executive office at the top of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters... while Natasha whispered to Barton behind him.

"Do those crimes even exist under American law?"

"No country in the world has laws like that, okay!"

"Looks like our captain really should study some law..."

Hao Yun shot the two of them an annoyed glare over his shoulder. They were in the middle of a fight; could they please stop obsessing over legal technicalities? And stop mocking him, too. Were they the resident wisecrackers or what?

Inside the office, to everyone's surprise, though not to Hao Yun's, many people were seated there.

At a glance, the ones Hao Yun recognized included Alexander Pierce, Sharon Carter, Maria Hill... and, clearly, Natasha recognized even more. There were also people who shocked her to the core!

"Councilman Pine? Representative Page? Why are you here too?"

Natasha stared in disbelief at Pierce. Was this guy planning to use them as hostages?

And indeed, Natasha's intuition was right. Alexander Pierce, the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D., truly intended to use them as hostages!

When Alexander Pierce saw Hao Yun and the others, he raised the remote control in his hand, pressed his finger against the red button, and gave it a slight shake toward them.

"Thunder Knight, I advise you not to move."

"Director Pierce, what do you think you're doing?"

Hao Yun frowned slightly. Hmm... he genuinely didn't care whether the hostages lived or died. There weren't any Chinese people in there anyway! Besides, these American upper-crust types weren't innocent, not one of them.

If anyone was even slightly more righteous, it would probably only be Sharon Carter and Maria Hill.

"Thunder Knight, I know you're strong. Even if you count the entire S.H.I.E.L.D., none of them are your match."

Alexander's expression remained cold, as if he were conducting a business meeting. "But believe me, the moment I press my finger lightly, all of these people will die from heart piercings. Like this..."

As he spoke, Alexander pressed a small button next to the red one. A woman on the scene let out a scream as a huge hole was seared through her chest, blood pouring across the floor in a hideous, horrifying mess.

"And now, everything happening in this conference room is being broadcast on major television networks across the United States. I think, for the reputation of the Illuminati, you wouldn't dare gamble, would you?"

Hao Yun suddenly turned his head. Natasha cooperatively held up her phone... and sure enough, the major American media outlets were in complete chaos, every television signal hijacked.

That meant his actions, as well as the death of that American executive just now, had already been seen by most Americans!

In other words, from here on, not only would he have to contend with the Hydra threat, but he would also be under the watchful eye of the entire American public!

One careless move, and the whole Illuminati would fall into an utterly disastrous storm of public opinion!

"Pierce, that was a brilliant scheme you've come up with!"

Hao Yun gritted his teeth. The Illuminati was in an excellent position now, and there was absolutely no way they could lose here!

Public opinion was his shield, but it was also the chain that restrained heroes.

"Speak. What do you want?"

With the hostage situation constraining him, Hao Yun pulled out a chair and sat down, staring at Pierce with an expressionless face.

Pierce revealed a satisfied smile. The infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. had seemed on the verge of being taken down without resistance, and now, at last, he had won a point back.

"Simple. Wake up the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and the Illuminati will no longer participate in any S.H.I.E.L.D. operations!"

"What?"

Hao Yun looked at him in disbelief. "You mean S.H.I.E.L.D. is still going to be under your control?"

"Of course. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s purpose is to maintain world peace. It hasn't done anything wrong, so why can't it exist? Speaking of which, I should be asking you why you came to attack S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place."

Alexander Pierce wore an innocent expression, completely ignoring the corpse lying in the conference room... That shameless face was just like the monkeys on Emei Mountain.

They not only steal your food, but also throw your backpack down the mountain... despicable, shameless, utterly without shame!

"Are you sure?"

A dangerous light flashed in Hao Yun's eyes. Once he withdrew, he would truly lose the initiative.

He could already imagine how the S.H.I.E.L.D. that emerged from this crisis would smear the Illuminati online! And don't think the government would step in. Aside from a limited number of countries, in most Western nations, many senior officials had already been infiltrated by Hydra!

Add to that Hydra members in every industry and every walk of life, and the Illuminati would truly become a rat everyone wanted to beat to death!

Pierce could also feel the killing intent in Hao Yun's words. His thumb pressed tightly against the button, and he really looked as if the slightest tension would make him press it down!

"Thunder Knight, don't scare me. There are hostages here!"

"Good. Very good! Pierce, I've remembered you!"

Hao Yun turned as if to leave. Although he could kill Pierce instantly, he did not dare gamble.

Still, when he reached the door, Hao Yun suddenly looked back.

"I'll remember today, Pierce!"

"By all means."

Alexander laughed heartily, his thumb easing ever so slightly away from the button...

"Ninjutsu: Binding Stake Illusion!"

The illusion struck instantly, locking Alexander's limbs in place so tightly that he could not move even a fraction!

Immediately afterward, Hao Yun flung a mass sleep illusion at the kidnapped hostages: Rebirth Technique!

In an instant, the conference room went down in a heap, not a single one left standing!

Well, except for Hao Yun and the other two on his side, and the prisoners...

Natasha and Barton stared with open mouths. Wasn't that performance a little too magical?

Just like that, it was solved?

"Search them. I suspect there are accomplices among the hostages."

Hao Yun gave a signal, and Barton and Natasha immediately moved to search them... As expected, the two of them peeled away disguises from Hill and Sharon's faces. They were Hydra agents!

Viewers in front of their televisions had been suspicious of Hao Yun's motive for knocking everyone out, but when they saw this scene, it all clicked at once. Hydra was truly sinister, actually hiding murderers among the hostages!

And so, the assault on Trident was a success!