Ch. 269 The Sole Owner of the Hydra

As someone who had spent decades in the world of society, witnessed various grand scenes, and achieved significant accomplishments, Gideon didn't particularly enjoy the feeling he had right now.

Although Russell currently appeared somewhat polite, at least he hadn't immediately displayed his unreasonable strength, in reality, Russell hadn't given him any room for negotiation or choice.

What was even more important was that Russell somehow knew about Nathan's situation.

This was something not even his daughter, Stephanie, knew about.

Gideon didn't immediately respond to Russell; his mind was working furiously, trying to come up with a plan that would be most advantageous for him.

Gideon's contemplation made Stephanie, who had already harbored suspicions, furrow her brow once again.

She couldn't understand why Russell had merely made a casual threat, and Gideon was already considering handing over the Monolith and abandoning the tradition and legacy that had lasted for thousands of years.

Though she was not pleased with this, Stephanie was well aware that, whether she liked it or not, Gideon was the one in charge now.

Time passed slowly.

Russell didn't rush Gideon; he gave him ample time to think.

He wasn't worried that Gideon would choose to fight to the death.

The reason was simple: Gideon had never been one to sacrifice himself.

To avoid his own sacrifice, he hadn't hesitated to deceive his only brother, Nathaniel Malick.

Gideon's contemplation once again made the atmosphere in the meeting room somewhat oppressive.

After a few minutes had passed, Gideon finally made a decision and looked at Russell with a complex expression.

Then he said slowly, "If I hand over the Monolith to you, how confident are you in killing the Hive?"

Upon hearing Gideon's question, Stephanie's expression darkened immediately.

"As long as I have the Monolith in my hands, the Hive is as good as dead!" Russell declared confidently.

The Hive's core was a collective of special parasitic insects.

In the past, even if he could completely kill the Hive, it would require a considerable effort.

For example, he would need to ensure that only he and the Hive were present during the battle, and that the battle took place in a location where he could completely exterminate the Hive, such as a vacuum environment or outer space, and so on.

But now, he was no longer the same person as before, who relied solely on physical attacks.

The Hive's core, a collective of parasitic insects, was indeed troublesome. However, for him, who had acquired magic and possessed a Space Stone, dealing with it was not difficult.

As long as the Hive dared to appear, he was absolutely confident that he could kill it.

"I can hand over the Monolith to you, but I want to know how you plan to protect us once you have it."

"I received information that the reason S.H.I.E.L.D. is vigorously hunting us down is because you provided them with a list."

Gideon looked at Russell warily, as if trying to discern something from his microexpressions.

"That's correct, I did provide S.H.I.E.L.D. with a list, and now you will be pursued relentlessly by them, which indeed implicates me," Russell admitted.

"However, that doesn't mean I am on the same side as S.H.I.E.L.D."

"To be honest with you, I killed Pierce and Whitehall, and I orchestrated Bakshi's actions before."

"Although I don't particularly like you all, I also don't want to see the ancient Hydra, with its long history, disappear like this. So I plan to replace the Hive and become the sole owner of Hydra."

"Since I'm going to be the new owner of Hydra, I need to have my own subordinates."

"If you are willing to pledge your loyalty, I can offer you the same status as Bakshi."

At this point, Russell no longer intended to conceal his intentions.

Although he couldn't let Hydra be directly associated with the legitimate organization, he didn't mind letting Gideon know this.

Gideon originally thought that Russell simply wanted to gain some benefits from Hydra, such as Maveth and some resources on Earth.

But he never expected that Russell's goal was to become the sole owner of Hydra.

This was no longer a matter of having ambitions or not; it was an extremely crazy idea.

Wasn't he afraid that this information would leak out, and he would go from being a respected superhero to a terrorist who everyone despised?

Not only Gideon and Stephanie were shocked by Russell's idea, but Skye, who was sitting next to Russell, also showed an incredulous expression.

Russell paid no attention to the shocked expressions on Gideon, Stephanie, and the others' faces.

Since he dared to say this in front of them, he had prepared for everything.

"I now understand why you were called the 'Mad Traveler' when you became famous in the New York underground world!" Gideon said.

"The Monolith is currently in Germany. When do you want to receive it?" Gideon finally yielded.

Russell wasn't surprised by Gideon's choice.

From the moment he approached Gideon, Gideon had no room for choice.

Of course, he could choose to gamble.

More accurately, he could choose to gamble twice.

First, he could gamble on whether he could escape from Russell today. Then, he could gamble on whether the Hive was a grateful person.

Unfortunately, even if he chose to gamble, his chances of winning were slim.

Furthermore, he still hadn't learned how to bring the Hive back to Earth.

Otherwise, when S.H.I.E.L.D. was hunting them down so aggressively, he would have brought the Hive back long ago, instead of hiding as he was doing now.

"Send the Monolith to the castle in the southwest of England. You know which one I'm talking about," Russell said nonchalantly.

To open a space channel to Maveth using the Kree Monolith, all he needed to do was resonate with the Kree Monolith at a specific frequency.

Although he could do it anywhere, he didn't want to waste time figuring out the resonance frequency of the Kree Monolith elsewhere. So he planned to open a space channel to Maveth directly in Hydra's castle.

If he had known the exact location of Maveth, he wouldn't have needed the Kree Monolith at all. He could have gone there directly using portal magic or a Space Stone.

"All right, I'll arrange for someone to send it right away!" Gideon said as he dialed a number on his phone and arranged for his subordinates to transport the Kree Monolith to the castle in the southwest of England.

After Gideon hung up the phone, Russell said slowly, "It will take some time for the stone to arrive. In the meantime, the two of you will come with me to a place."

Although Gideon appeared cooperative now, Russell didn't intend to trust him completely.

"Where are we going?" Gideon asked with a furrowed brow.

"I don't fully trust you yet, so I plan to give you a little brainwashing," Russell replied.

"Don't worry; this brainwashing technique was developed by Hydra itself and is very reliable."

With that, Russell used his portal magic in front of them.

When the shiny golden portal formed, a brainwashing room that hadn't been used in a long time appeared on the other side of the portal.

"Please, both of you," Russell gestured to Gideon and Stephanie.

After taking a glance at the scene behind the portal, Gideon and Stephanie got up and walked toward the portal.

Seeing Gideon and Stephanie get up, Skye, who was sitting next to Russell, also intended to get up and enter the portal.

However, before she could get up, Russell stopped her and said, "Although you haven't completed Perkins's training yet, I can at least tell you your mother's name now."

"Your mother's name is Jia Ying, and she is an Inhuman. Giyera, you know her, don't you?"

Russell pointed at Giyera, who had been sitting beside him.

Giyera, who had been expressionless all this time, furrowed her brows when she heard Russell mention Jia Ying's name. She couldn't help but feel confused.

'How did he know Jia Ying, and how did he know that I know her?'

Various questions flashed through Giyera's mind, but she didn't ask Russell about his intentions. Instead, she looked at Skye, who was sitting beside Russell, with a puzzled expression.

Was she Jia Ying's daughter?

Giyera curiously looked Skye up and down.

At this moment, Skye didn't notice Giyera's scrutiny. She was staring at Russell in shock, a mix of emotions in her eyes.

She hadn't expected Russell to tell her about Jia Ying at this moment.

"Jia Ying..."

Skye's emotions were now complex, a mixture of excitement and confusion.

"Do you have any questions? You can ask later," Russell said, and then he used portal magic once more.

After the portal, the brainwashing room that hadn't been used in a long time appeared.

"Both of you, please!" Russell said to Gideon and Stephanie.

After receiving his instructions, No. 3 immediately operated the instruments in the room and began the brainwashing process on Stephanie.

Seeing Stephanie in pain due to the electric shocks as she was restrained in the chair, Gideon involuntarily clenched his fists.

"You're not a good brother, and you're not a responsible father!"

"If you really cared about Stephanie, you shouldn't have let her enter Hydra in the first place."

"Strucker did a better job in this regard. He didn't involve his only son with Hydra."

Russell said calmly.

Gideon didn't argue and just stared silently at Stephanie, who was undergoing brainwashing.

"Brainwashing doesn't end so quickly. Stay here with Stephanie for now!" Russell said.

After he said that, Russell once again used portal magic to leave the room.

After a while, he returned to Diana's study.

After briefly explaining his plan to Diana, Russell retrieved the Space Stone from her.

"Be careful and stay safe!" Diana reminded him as he was about to use the portal magic to leave the study.

"Understood, Your Majesty!" Russell turned and looked at Diana with a serious expression.

Gideon's estate.

Back in the meeting room, Russell saw Skye sitting on the couch with a somewhat despondent expression.

She sat quietly on the sofa, lost in thought about something.

"What did you say to him just now?" Russell asked Giyera.

"Nothing much, just mentioned Jia Ying's situation," Giyera replied promptly.

"You didn't reveal the exact location of the Inhuman, did you?" Russell asked.

"No, I didn't!" Giyera confirmed.

Hearing Giyera's response, Russell took a seat on the couch opposite Skye and said, "Don't think too much. Jia Ying didn't come to find you not because she didn't want to but because she doesn't know that you're still alive."

"After this is over, I'll take you to see Jia Ying."

In the past, Skye would have been delighted to hear Russell's words.

But now, she had a different mindset.

"Let's talk about it later. I'm not ready to meet her yet," Skye said quietly.

"Alright!" Russell agreed.

While waiting for Gideon and Stephanie's brainwashing to finish, Russell completely disregarded the fact that he was supposed to be a "guest" and naturally instructed the mansion's staff to prepare afternoon tea.

Judging by the usual speed of brainwashing, it would take at least until evening for Gideon and Stephanie's brainwashing to be completed.

Considering that he would also need to sneak the Kree Monolith from Germany to the castle in the southwest of England, Russell was certain that he wouldn't be able to return to Hydra's headquarters to sleep tonight.

However, that didn't matter. When he retrieved the Space Stone from Diana, he had already informed her in advance.