Before Natasha set off, Su Ming simply brought in a typewriter and began 'drafting' several of Leviathan's plans on the spot in the suite. The typed documents were placed against different backdrops for the Black Widow to photograph with a micro camera. She would only carry microfilm when she 'escaped'.
This way, on the one hand, Fury and the others would be unable to verify the details of the originals. On the other hand, as long as part of the information in the documents could be verified, it would prove Natasha's reliability.
Of course, being detained for a period of time was inevitable, but there were already many Spider Web girls within the 'Logistics Department' now, so Natasha's life was absolutely safeguarded.
Those Spider Web agents wouldn't deliberately climb the ranks; not every agent's mission required becoming an executive.
The correct approach was to ensure that each layer within SHIELD in the future had their people, ensuring a wide range of intelligence. Some infiltrated the science department, some focused on the administration department, and others infiltrated combat squads, with even some dedicated to the counterintelligence department.
Yes, the more a spy agency, the more attention paid to the construction of its counterintelligence department.
"Alright, you can't give too much at once. First offer the 'Red Guard' and 'Echo' plans as an entry token. Stop by the Spider Web Headquarters to pick up a Leech Potion. But don't worry, it's been modified by the Adjutant; with the current scientific research capabilities of the world, it's impossible to replicate."
After photographing the documents on the table, Natasha flipped through a few pages casually and then tossed them into the fireplace.
"Are these all real? The Red Guard Plan and Echo Plan?"
Su Ming nodded. Perhaps to some, these were all secrets, but not to him. He knew these things existed; he just had to put them into written form using his own words.
"The Red Guard is a branch of the Winter Soldier program, using a different potion. The former uses a potion re-extracted from Captain America's blood, while the Winter Soldier program uses stolen German goods. Depending on the situation, you can decide whether to steer their thinking toward the Winter Soldier program. But I guess during the Cold War they would certainly be interested."
"Captain America's blood is lost again?" Natasha looked somewhat helpless.
Su Ming shrugged, refilling the glasses for the three of them. It was raining in Sochi today, and everything outside appeared gray. He didn't know why, but the sky here seemed exceptionally high, a vast expanse with countless fine silver threads.
"Perhaps it was obtained on the battlefield back then; Steve had shed blood everywhere in Europe. Or maybe it was obtained from the United States Military. We still don't know how many agents Leviathan has in the United States, just like how we don't know how many spies the past SSR had over on the Fur Bear side."
"What about the Echo Plan?" Natasha watched the fire to ensure the paper documents were completely destroyed. She gracefully swirled the liquid in her glass.
"The Echo Plan is a strategy by Leviathan to build secret bases under large offshore drilling platforms in various Allies of the Fur Bear, used to dock submarines, secretly transport nuclear weapons, and covertly transfer or store troops. If the Cold War unfortunately turns hot..."
Su Ming looked at Natasha's little face and raised one hand, making a capsized gesture.
Yes, don't doubt Leviathan's courage to cleanse the land with nuclear bombs; those madmen want to find their place in the world, but their destination is actually only one: that highest position.
Natasha smiled, her lips curling into a charming arc. "World War III, do you hope for it to happen or not?"
"I actually don't care, as long as too many people don't die and Earth doesn't lose too much human resources, then any problems that arise can still be fixed." Su Ming answered calmly, picked up his glass, walked to the French window, reached out to touch the curtain printed with seagulls, and opened the door leading to the balcony.
The outside temperature was probably around seven or eight degrees above zero, so the fine rain drifting with the wind carried a slight chill. Looking at the distant Caucasus Mountains through the rain curtain, the pristine snow at high elevations remained distinct.
Su Ming ended the conversation; enough had been said about the mission, the rest depended on Natasha's performance.
"What are you planning to do next?" In the evening, Natasha was ready and left, leaving only Su Ming and Gin in the spacious suite.
The Valkyrie walked up to him, reached out, and closed the sliding door to the balcony, significantly reducing the wind noise in the room.
"I'm going to prepare a batch of fresh cannon fodder to cooperate with Natasha's act, then devise a plan to pit Leviathan against the new SSR and see if Element Zero can be obtained... Originally, I didn't want to get involved in this, but Zheng Xianyi mentioned it, it reminded me that Element Zero is something useful. And you? Do you have any other plans?"
Su Ming hugged her shoulders, and they both watched the rain intensify outside the window.
"I need to go to Warnerheim; the economic system transformation there isn't complete yet. If we plan to use it as a cosmos port, there's still a long way to go." Gin sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Well then, let's act now. I bought a nice piece of mountain land in Maine last time, once things settle down, I'll build a house there. You know how to find me."
"Build a house? You?" Gin showed a perplexed expression, looking up at him.
Su Ming returned her gaze with the same expression, "Is it strange that I can build a house? Although I won't say I could build a castle, at least a wooden cabin would be no problem."
.............
Three days later.
New York Central Park.
A somewhat despondent Steve was there... sketching?
In fact, he hadn't drawn anything meaningful. It had been a long time since he set down his pen, not to mention comics; he couldn't even complete a decent sketch.
Maybe it was the cold weather that made his fingers unable to move freely, at least not able to draw a beautiful curve.
He originally planned to come here, to this rare open space in the city center, to see how people usually live. He would be living as an ordinary person for a long time and felt he needed to learn how to live normally and independently.
If he sat on a park bench in the middle of winter with empty hands staring at others, it would be somewhat strange, so while tidying up the old house, he took out the drawing board from his childhood.
'Much smaller than the shield.'
As if a reflex, when he held the drawing board in his hands, this thought involuntarily came to his mind.
Then he realized, oh, the shield had been returned, and he wasn't Captain America anymore.
Not just him, even the previous Captain America he had encountered had gone silent, and no one knew where he had gone.
Just as he was contemplating the chaotic lines on the paper, some snow from the tree branches fell into his neck, bringing him back to reality from his complex thoughts. He had expected to see sparrows or pigeons feeding on the treetop, but there was nothing there.
Moreover, the swaying amplitude of the treetop kept increasing, the whole tree, or rather all the trees in the park were shedding snowflakes.
Steve immediately became alert. He slung the drawing board on his back, crouched down, and touched the ground with his hand. The cold cement clearly transmitted vibrations.
This irregular sudden frequency reminded him of those days in the World War trench.
Bombs, artillery fire, and even worse, giant robots, or self-exploding flying discs.
But now isn't the time to think about those things. He quickly stood up, looked around in the cold wind, searching for black smoke or firelight. If an explosion occurred somewhere, there must be something wrong. This is New York, and the last invasion is still vivid.
However, there was none. There were no obvious explosion marks on the ground, and in whichever direction, the sky was gray, the typical color of a metropolis.
"Underground?" Steve immediately made a judgment. When it came to combat, he always reacted quickly.
Although he did not have a good impression of places like sewers, especially after being stuffed with rags by a certain doctor there, he still grabbed a trash can lid from a bench not far away, found the nearest sewer entrance, and jumped down.
Indeed, after entering the sewer, the dark and deep passage conveyed the sounds of explosions and gunfire to his ears, much like entering an underground blacksmith shop where all sorts of chaotic noises flooded his ear canals.
Steve looked up at the place he descended from, where there was faint light coming in. Moreover, facing the light, he could see thin layers of dust falling from the sewer's ceiling.
The explosion site was not far from here, and the sounds were coming from the east direction, towards Brooklyn.
He started running towards that direction. Although he was no longer the Captain, he still had to protect this city.
Uncertain how many turns he made, and how far he ran in the dark, just when he started feeling slightly breathless, he finally saw faint firelight and the gunfire was more intense.
And at the next junction, the sound of footsteps splashing through sewage could be easily distinguished amidst the gunfire.
Then, he saw a head of red hair in the darkness, like dark red kindling, striking even in a lightless place.
But when he saw the person, the person obviously saw him too. Not like someone chased down in a panic, the woman was firing back while simultaneously turning and running in his direction.
"Help!"
Without much thought, a young-looking woman wearing a black tight-fitting jumpsuit, no matter how he looked at it, seemed more trustworthy than the group behind him carrying sub-machine guns, wearing anti-toxic masks, and black suits.
He immediately raised the trash can lid in his hand to cover the woman's back, leading her to escape quickly.
And her enemies remained silent, except for firing guns, they employed various explosives, so the strong airwaves and hot bullets continuously followed them, involuntarily quickening their steps.
"Are you Captain America?"
He heard the woman beside him ask in Russian-accented English, her face expressed some surprise in the darkness.
"No, I'm not." Steve became alert. The other knew him?
"No one else can use a shield like you. You must be Captain America." The woman spoke quickly, not waiting for him to refute or explain, she continued: "I am Natasha Romanoff, formerly a Leviathan agent, now defecting to SSR. I have very important intel to report to your leader, it concerns billions of lives."
Steve frowned. He certainly knew Leviathan, and hadn't had a shortage of encounters with those lunatics before. Although not always hostile, most encounters ended unpleasantly.
But thinking about her claim of holding intel concerning billions of lives, he decided to first bring her to safety, then verify the authenticity of the intel.
"SSR has been dissolved, and I am retired now. However, I can help you, follow me!"