"Whether it's true or not, you can investigate it yourself," Ben said.
He knew that even in his anger, Captain America wouldn't immediately believe everything he had just said.
For Captain America right now, he desperately needed proof to confirm Ben's words, or to expose them as baseless slander.
In this moment, any lingering relief he felt about Hydra's remnants being wiped out vanished, replaced by anger and fear!
If what Ben said was true, then his old enemies hadn't been eliminated but had instead transformed, becoming the rulers of this country, his superiors.
Had all the missions he'd participated in since waking up been for Hydra?
He found it deeply ironic.
"I'm going to find Fury and get some answers!"
Captain America was about to leave immediately, intending to confront Nick Fury directly.
But Ben was quick, grabbing his shoulder. He even pointed towards the sea, where flying fish leaped out of the water in the darkness, as if merely reminding Steve not to miss the astonishing scenery.
"Go straight to Nick Fury for answers?"
He scoffed, "Do you really think he'll tell you the truth honestly?"
"Like I said, the world has become complicated, Captain."
"It's not seventy years ago anymore, where all your enemies stood before you, and all you had to do was charge with your shield and soldiers to defeat them."
"In this era, you don't even know where the enemy is. Acting rashly will only put you in danger, and it will put me and Peter in danger too."
Hearing this, Captain America looked at Peter, and his clenched fist slowly relaxed.
Ben was right.
He was alone now. If he were exposed, he would be completely isolated and helpless.
He wasn't afraid; he could fight alone, but he knew he couldn't win that way.
Moreover, it would put Ben and Peter in a passive position.
It was easy to imagine: Steve was fine, but as soon as he spent some time with these two little bugs, problems immediately arose. Who caused the problem was obvious.
Steve felt a sense of powerlessness, like clenching his fist but being unable to strike.
Yes, the world was different.
"What's your plan?"
"Cut the weeds and remove the roots, Captain," Ben turned his head to look at Steve. "Find all the Hydra members and eradicate their roots completely."
Since he planned to fight Hydra, Ben intended to eliminate all of them. Of course, this was difficult, but he wanted to at least carry out a thorough purge.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was a snake pit, but the snake pit was far larger than just S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agents like Crossbones, though part of Hydra, were ultimately just slightly stronger cannon fodder, not even the heads of the snake, at most just rustling scales.
Merely eliminating such external enemies, besides causing Hydra some pain, wouldn't be a victory.
"We can discuss the detailed plan after you confirm whether what I said is true," Ben said. "I think you also need some time to digest all these... earth-shattering changes."
Upon hearing this, Captain America let out a laugh filled with absurdity.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was legitimately Hydra.
This was indeed an earth-shattering change.
"You know, since I woke up, I've seen mutated monsters, Iron Robots, and aliens... I thought I was already desensitized and wouldn't be surprised by anything anymore. I didn't expect..."
"There's still a long way to go. Strange things happen every year, but this year is particularly eventful," Ben said. "I'll bet you ten dollars you'll be surprised again."
"Unless you say I'm Captain Hydra," Captain America shook his head. Although he had already lost ten dollars on a bet, his knowledge back then wasn't enough.
But now, S.H.I.E.L.D. was almost S.H.I.E.L.D., what else could surprise him?
Could it be that I, Steve Rogers, am also Hydra?
It was absurd!
"James Barnes is alive."
Ben didn't play coy any longer. One sentence made Captain America instinctively reach for ten dollars.
"Are you telling the truth?!"
Upon hearing this news, Steve's body trembled uncontrollably. If he hadn't remembered Ben saying they were being monitored, he would have grabbed Ben's shoulders and shaken him violently.
A few seconds ago, he had hoped Ben's words were false, but now, he was desperately hoping they were true.
"I know you and Barnes have a very good relationship, just like Peter and I are like brothers. So I wouldn't joke about this," Ben said.
"Where is he?"
"Have you heard of the Winter Soldier?"
"He has been controlled by Hydra and turned into a super-soldier weapon for them. To prevent him from going out of control, he is mostly kept frozen and only thawed when needed to eliminate targets for Hydra."
"I don't know where he is, but I found a video recording from '91. At that time, Barnes, who had been transformed into the Winter Soldier, killed Howard Stark under Hydra's orders."
Did Bucky kill Howard?
Instantly, Captain America was struck by this astonishing news.
Telling Captain America about Bucky was a powerful shot in the arm Ben used to win him over.
To Steve Rogers, Bucky was his best friend, and he had put down his shield several times for Bucky.
As for the potential dispute that might arise between him and Tony over the Winter Soldier later on, Ben couldn't be bothered.
It has nothing to do with me.
I helped one of you find your father's killer, and the other find his brother. You should thank me anyway.
You guys can fight it out later.
But honestly, they weren't even comrades now, and he didn't know how bad it would get if they actually fought.
Their conversation didn't last long. After standing on the deck for a while, they walked back as if nothing had happened.
Back in the conference room, Nick asked casually, "How did it go? An agent on deck saw you two chatting. Did Captain give you a few dollars?"
Hearing this, Captain America's gaze sank slightly.
The surveillance was indeed real.
"Captain and I were making a bet. He insisted that nothing in this world could surprise him anymore," Ben explained with a straight face.
If it were Peter, he would have stammered under Nick's suspicious gaze, feeling guilty.
But Ben wouldn't.
"Then I told him that France is now a black country, and a white American Captain can no longer represent America, so he obediently handed me ten dollars."
Nick Fury: ...
He used to think Peter was quite a conversationalist, but now it seemed Ben was even more so.
Peter was unintentionally offensive, but Ben was deliberately poking at your weak spots.
He took a breath and said, "I'm asking about the Helicarrier."
"The Helicarrier's technology is very advanced. I guess it can fly? But the turbine technology is a bit outdated. If it's attacked, the Helicarrier will lose power."
"Yes, I was just about to discuss the anti-gravity system with you," Nick said, seizing the opportunity.
He was very eager for advanced technology.
He had his eye on the hovering technology Ben showcased at the Stark Expo, but since he planned to recruit Ben into the Avengers and get it for free, Nick hadn't bought it from Ben.
This made Coulson, who also wanted to modify cars, complain endlessly.
Now, it turned out his decision was so wise!
"As a welcome gift for joining the Avengers, shouldn't you show some appreciation?" Nick raised an eyebrow.
"Get lost!"
Ben grabbed a chair and threw it at him. Nick Fury ducked, covering his head.
"You want it for free again? If I give it to you for free, what about my company? My employees are counting on me to feed them!"
"Come on, how many people are even in your crappy company?" Fury cursed.
"Still, no," Ben rolled his eyes and proposed a solution that both could accept. "First, I'll raise the price to 200% of the original, but I'll only charge you 130%. How about that?"
"Too little?" Nick immediately shook his head.
Ben thought he was complaining about his own cut and was a bit surprised, "Have you seen the light?"
However, Nick slammed the table and said, "I mean the price you're asking is too little! 200%? Who do you think you're looking down on?! If those Chinese guys saw this, they'd think our Security Council couldn't afford it! 500%! One Helicarrier for 500%!"
Nick Fury was ecstatic.
In his opinion, this was a classic win-win situation!
Now, he didn't have to worry about funding for safe houses!
He estimated that if he had met Ben a few years earlier, he might have already dug out the entire underground of America.
Not only that, but three Helicarriers were also slated for modification, and once completed, "Project Insight" could be put on the agenda.
Tricked them out of funding, won once. Modified the Helicarriers, won again. I won twice, isn't this a win-win?
"Doing business with you is so refreshing!"
Ben was also ecstatic.
A win-win, definitely a win-win!
Nick Fury wanted to modify three Helicarriers, and each one would give him a 120% premium, totaling a 360% profit from the three Helicarriers. He gained tens of billions for free, winning once.
Although it wasn't as much as Nick Fury himself was greedy for, it wasn't a big problem, because in Ben's opinion, these three Helicarriers would eventually belong to him anyway.
When S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone, who else would these Helicarriers belong to if not him?
Another win!
Spending other people's money to upgrade the Helicarrier at a high price, I'm totally winning!
After finishing these things, Ben and Peter finally left S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury looked reluctant, feeling he'd met Ben, this great benefactor who made him billions overnight, far too late.
However, this money couldn't all be spent on building safe houses; that would be too much of an understatement. It was just the right time to accelerate progress on the Cosmic Cube.
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