Chapter 125: Hail Hydra

The next day, in front of the White House grounds in Washington, Senator Stern stood before a crowd of reporters with a grim expression. "Today, I am honored to present the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, Mr. Tony Stark, and Mr. Wang Jing."

On the podium, Rhodes, Tony Stark, and Wang Jing stood together to receive their awards.

"Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes, thank you for your extraordinary contributions to the United States. This is well-deserved!" Senator Stern said, pinning a medal onto Rhodes' chest.

"Thank you," Rhodes replied simply. He knew full well that not only had he not been much help, but he had also caused quite a bit of trouble. If not for the sake of maintaining the military's reputation, this medal would never have come his way.

After awarding Rhodes, Senator Stern moved on to Tony Stark with another medal. "Mr. Stark, I must also thank you for your contributions to the United States. This is also well-deserved!"

Facing the Senator, Tony Stark smiled smugly.

Senator Stern wore a smile as well, but he deliberately pricked Tony Stark’s chest with the pin on the back of the medal. Tony let out a sharp cry of pain.

Hearing his reaction, Senator Stern feigned concern. "Oh, my apologies! The sharp sting of a pin is quite unpleasant, isn't it?"

Without waiting for Stark's response, the Senator picked up the third medal from a tray and approached Wang Jing. "I don't know why Congress insisted on giving you a medal too, but whatever, who cares about that, right?" As he spoke, he prepared to fasten the medal onto Wang Jing.

Wang Jing leaned in and whispered into the Senator’s ear, "Hail Hydra."

Upon hearing those familiar words, Senator Stern looked at Wang Jing in astonishment. Wang Jing gave a slight nod and said, "Senator Stern, you really should pin the medal on me now."

Recovering from his shock, Senator Stern smiled and pinned the medal on Wang Jing, adding, "This is well-deserved, Mr. Wang Jing!"

The ceremony proceeded to the photo session and interviews.

Once everything concluded, Wang Jing and Senator Stern moved to a secluded area. "I truly never expected that you, Mr. Wang Jing, were one of us in Hydra."

"I am not part of your branch of Hydra. Johann Schmidt scoured the world for geniuses toward the end of World War II and founded a secret empire." Wang Jing placed his right hand on the Senator’s shoulder and said, "I will take you to see it now."

The next moment, Wang Jing transported Senator Stern to the Prime Plane. Before the Senator could recover from the shock of this miraculous ability, he was stunned by a stun gun.

"Alright, hurry up and extract everything from his brain; we are short on time!" Wang Jing commanded the researchers who were holding the Senator.

They placed the unconscious Senator in a chair and fitted him with a helmet connected to a dense array of cables. Sitting beside him was another man who looked exactly like him, also wearing an identical helmet. The only difference was that one was unconscious while the other was awake.

This conscious "Senator Stern" was a retired American politician who had undergone facial reconstruction in a medical pod. To better execute the "Slack-off Plan" and replace the real Senator, the United Government had specifically selected a retired politician well-versed in political maneuvering to carry out the mission. This retired politician was more than happy to take on this thrilling, familiar line of work.

The devices on their heads were memory extraction units, improved from the neural link technology of the Elysium plane. After scanning and filtering out trivial information, the extracted memories were injected into the brain of the retired politician.

The sudden influx of memories required a few days of digestion to be fully understood, so the most recent and important memories were prioritized. The process took over half an hour. Once the transfer was complete, Wang Jing returned the replacement to the Marvel plane.

"Be careful not to get caught. If you encounter any difficulties, contact the Advisory Group on the Prime Plane," Wang Jing cautioned before parting ways with the Senator.

He found Tony Stark, who was about to drive away, and sat in the passenger seat without ceremony. "How was it? Did it go smoothly?" Tony asked with a smile.

"Quite smoothly. Soon, you can go and give him a good beating," Wang Jing replied, smiling as well.

"I can hardly wait!" Tony started the sports car's engine and sped off.

After the car vanished around the corner, Nick Fury appeared where the car had been, his hands on his hips. "Damn it, I should have kept my eyes on him the whole time," he muttered with annoyance.

After leaving the White House, Wang Jing brought Tony Stark back to the Prime Plane, where Senator Stern had already regained consciousness and learned of his current situation.

Upon seeing Wang Jing, the Senator became agitated. "You liar! You aren't a member of Hydra at all!"

"That’s still better than you. And are you sure you want to keep talking to me in that tone?" Wang Jing stood before the restrained Senator.

Recalling his predicament, the Senator immediately changed his demeanor, fawning and begging, "Mr. Wang, I was forced into this. After all, what normal person would join Hydra?"

"The soldiers have already explained to me that this is no longer the original world. Without the supervision of other Hydra members, I have turned over a new leaf. Mr. Wang, could you untie me? I’m just an ordinary person; I can’t go anywhere."

"That is not for me to decide. Whether you regain your freedom depends on how cooperative you are from now on."

"I will cooperate, I promise! I will do whatever you ask, I guarantee it!" the Senator exclaimed excitedly.

Wang Jing smiled and patted the Senator’s shoulder. "Excellent. If you maintain this attitude, I believe you will regain your freedom soon."

Hearing this, the Senator’s smile grew even brighter—though only he thought so. To Wang Jing and Tony Stark, the smile was filled with hypocrisy and disgust.

However, the Senator’s smile faded the next moment. "But before that, there is a personal grievance you need to resolve." Wang Jing stepped aside, revealing a smiling Tony Stark.

"Don't be afraid, Senator. I have no other intentions; I just want to return something to you," Tony said, flicking the medal the Senator had pinned on him earlier from his pocket.

Seeing the medal, Senator Stern let out a sigh of relief. "Mr. Stark, I apologize for what happened earlier. I truly didn't mean to prick you with the pin!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he let out a sharp cry of pain. Tony Stark smiled as he tapped the medal on the Senator’s chest. "Mr. Stern, I thank you in advance for the contribution you are about to make to the United Government. It is well-deserved!" Tony emphasized the last sentence.

To this, the Senator could only squeeze out a smile and say, "Thank you."