"Molokai."
"Mauna Loa."
"This is…"
Hawk listened to the address Klaus reported, thought for a moment, and looked at Klaus: "Hawaii, forty-eight nautical miles east of Honolulu?"
Klaus, while wondering which prominent figure Hawk was in the supernatural World, continued to smirk at Hawk.
"Yes, you were there three days ago too."
"I've never been to this place, not even Hawaii."
Hawk glanced at Klaus.
The reason he could pinpoint the location so accurately after Klaus mentioned the place name was entirely due to his excellent memory.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to study law.
Hawk then looked at Klaus.
"Mind telling me about your experience on that island?"
"What can you give me?"
Klaus playfully twirled his wine glass, looking at Hawk with interest.
He could let go of Katherine, whom he had hunted for over five hundred years, simply because Hawk's aura alone was enough to crush him.
It was no big deal.
Anyway, his werewolf blood was already unsealed, and hunting Katherine was merely because he felt she had offended him.
Now that someone was vouching for Katherine, he didn't need to cross a powerful individual.
But… "You asking me to let go of Katherine out of respect for you is one thing."
"You wanting to know how I unsealed my power is another."
"Another favor?"
Klaus leaned back in the booth, his right hand spinning the whiskey glass on the table.
Hawk smiled slightly, looking at Klaus, his hands spread open.
"Can I?"
"Of course!"
Klaus's smirk widened as he looked at Hawk, who was once again using his 'face fruit' ability on him: "As you wish."
With that.
He began to recount the story of how, three days ago, on the night of the full moon, he went to Molokai, forty-eight nautical miles east of Honolulu, Hawaii, to unseal his werewolf blood, and saw 'Hawk' on the island.
"You know me very well."
"Though I don't know where you learned it, you know me very well."
"So you should know I've been searching for the most crucial doppelgänger to unseal my werewolf blood for many, many years."
"At first, I thought Katherine's doppelgänger, Elena, was the only one."
"But that wasn't the case."
"One of my blood servants, on my way to Waterfall Town, told me there were also doppelgängers on Molokai."
"Many."
"So I went there, and I saw them."
"And it was there that I saw you."
"To be precise, many of you."
"In a pit of corpses."
"A pit of corpses made entirely of your doppelgängers. Many doppelgängers."
"…"
Hawk listened to Klaus's narration with a calm expression, then looked up at Klaus: "So, you used my doppelgängers to unseal your werewolf blood?"
Klaus's lips curved upwards.
"Yes."
"Apparently, someone there seems to have mastered the technique of creating doppelgängers. They create you, and then they kill you."
"Clones! Merrick!"
Hawk muttered to himself, then looked at Klaus: "May I ask if you found the place where they mass-produce my doppelgängers?"
"I don't need to find it. I just need the doppelgängers' blood. There's a pit full of doppelgängers there. All I needed to do was have Elijah grab a random werewolf and meet me there."
"Conveniently, the lie I spread about the moonstone attracted all my potential enemies to Waterfall Town."
"I also found a local Witch there, and then I calmly and smoothly broke the seal on my werewolf blood."
"After that, I came here, intending to meet the enemies who tried to steal the moonstone and prevent me from unsealing my werewolf blood."
"The rest, you know. I came, and you came too."
Klaus said calmly: "So, if you're asking if I alerted them, my answer is no. If you go to Molokai now, you should be able to get what you want."
Hawk's heart stirred, and he looked at Klaus.
"You want me to leave Waterfall Town?"
"Of course."
Klaus didn't hide his thoughts: "I can't see through you. You're very powerful, but you're not my enemy, and I don't want you to become my enemy. The wisest thing to do is to give you what you want. So I pardon Katherine Pierce, and I also told you about Molokai. My intuition tells me you'll thank me for it."
Hawk heard this and met Klaus's gaze.
The next second.
He smiled slightly.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Hawk then stood up from the booth: "If I can find what I want on Molokai, I owe you a favor, Klaus. You can find me anytime."
Klaus looked up at Hawk.
"That's exactly what I want, thank you."
"Pardon Katherine Pierce, and also Elena. You don't need Elena anymore anyway."
"Yes, I will pardon them."
"I'm leaving."
Hawk listened to Klaus's answer, said no more, and in the instant he turned, silently disappeared from Klaus's sight.
Klaus felt the powerful aura that vanished without a trace the moment Hawk disappeared, and his expression changed.
Just then.
Elijah, dressed in a suit and tie, looking more like an elite lawyer on Wall Street than a Vampire, walked over from behind, sat in the booth where Hawk had just been, and looked at Klaus opposite him: "You could have asked him to find Mikael."
Mikael Mikaelson.
Their father.
Just as Katherine was hunted by Klaus, Klaus was also hunted by his father, Mikael.
After all… Klaus wasn't his biological son, but the child of Mikael's wife and the werewolf next door.
Klaus looked at his brother, Elijah, smiling wickedly.
"I've already unsealed my werewolf blood. Mikael is no longer a problem. Rather than using this favor on Mikael, I'd prefer to use it elsewhere."
"Like…"
"I haven't thought of it yet."
Klaus looked at the spot where Hawk had just disappeared: "But I will think of it."
Fox Manor.
Caroline, Elena, and Stefan, who were sitting on the living room sofa waiting, all stood up in unison the moment they saw Hawk return.
Gwen also turned to look at the returning Hawk.
Caroline spoke first: "Cousin-in-law, how did it go?"
Hawk didn't answer but first went to Gwen and kissed her.
He always kissed Gwen first every time he returned.
This time was no exception.
After the kiss, Gwen also asked.
"Did Klaus give you this favor?"
"What do you think?"
Hawk smiled and glanced at Gwen, then turned his gaze to Caroline, Elena, and Stefan: "Klaus is no longer your problem. You don't even need to draw blood anymore, because Klaus has already found other doppelgängers to solve his problem."
Elena's expression visibly relaxed upon hearing this.
Stefan, however, was stunned: "Other doppelgängers? I thought Elena was the only doppelgänger?"
Hawk smiled and glanced at Stefan.
"Apparently not."
"Then…"
"You can leave."
Hawk interrupted directly.
He wasn't interested in chatting with Stefan and Elena, and he didn't even want to deal with this matter initially.
But his fiancée had promised to help Elena solve this matter.
So… his intervention was merely to protect his fiancée, nothing else.
To put it bluntly.
If Caroline wasn't his fiancée's cousin, even Caroline would find it extremely difficult to meet him.
Just like when he was an ordinary person, he knew Tony Stark, but it was very difficult to meet Tony Stark.
Stefan understood the meaning in Hawk's words and knew when to quit while he was ahead.
"…Alright, I apologize for bothering you, Mr. Phoenix."
"It's fine."
Hawk said calmly, then said something to Gwen, and went back to the manor room with Gwen.
After Gwen closed the door, she turned and looked at Hawk.
"You go. I can go to the airport by myself tomorrow."
"Wow."
Hawk, who was about to speak, looked at the proactive Gwen and chuckled: "Is it true that I can't hide anything from you?"
Gwen looked at Hawk with a smile in her eyes: "I just know you so well, Hawk, better than anyone else, so, yes, you can't hide anything from me. Where are you planning to go?"
Hawk smiled.
"Molokai."
"This is..."
"Hawaii, an island forty-eight nautical miles east of Honolulu."
"Because..."
"Merrick."
Hawk didn't hide it from Gwen. After meeting Klaus, he unexpectedly learned from Klaus that Dr. Merrick was very likely to be on Molokai.
Of course.
He omitted the 'pit of bones' from Klaus's words, a pit of bones seemingly piled up with many, many of his clones.
Although Hawk didn't take this matter to heart, he knew Gwen would worry if she knew, so to avoid trouble, this wasn't called concealment, but rather a benevolent concealment.
Gwen blinked when she heard it was news unexpectedly provided by Klaus, then looked at Hawk: "Then you should thank me, Hawk."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
Gwen smiled and said, "If I hadn't agreed to Caroline to help her solve this problem, you wouldn't have met Klaus, so, thank me."
Hawk looked at Gwen with a serious expression.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Gwen's smile was brilliant, then she reined in her smile and looked at Hawk: "Go, catch that damned Merrick, finish it quickly, come back soon, I'll be waiting for you at home."
Hawk hummed in agreement.
"Then tomorrow..."
"I can have Caroline come to the airport with me, so don't worry about me, hurry up, don't let him get away this time."
"Okay."
Seeing this, Hawk said no more. After hugging and kissing Gwen, the moment he looked up, his figure had already appeared tens of thousands of feet in the sky.
Boom!
A sonic boom cloud suddenly appeared, then transformed into a rainbow light, instantly speeding towards Molokai.
At the same time.
Just as Gwen smiled and opened the door, preparing to go down the stairs, her phone rang.
Gwen took out her phone, glanced at it, and answered it while descending the stairs.
"Good afternoon, Sharon."
"Gwen, S.H.I.E.L.D. satellites just detected Hawk's energy fluctuations..."
"Hawk went to find Merrick."
Gwen walked down the stairs and headed towards the living room: "Molokai, Hawk said it's an island near Honolulu. He just received news that the real Dr. Merrick might be there."
Sharon on the other end of the phone acknowledged.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. You're our friend, Sharon, and Hawk also said that if it's you asking about his whereabouts, it's okay to tell you."
"Again, thank you. By the way, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Abby Bruce and Lorraine Cross are already on their way."
...I'll be back in New York City tomorrow, and Hawk might be back very soon."
"I insist, S.H.I.E.L.D. insists, Gwen. With Hawk not here, we need to ensure your safety."
Sharon on the other end of the phone looked up at the two signals already moving towards Fox Manor to protect Gwen.
This was already the tacit understanding between the post-reshuffle S.H.I.E.L.D., Hawk, and Gwen.
When Hawk was out, S.H.I.E.L.D. would ensure Gwen's safety.
S.H.I.E.L.D., having found a way to interact with Hawk, clearly understood that having a good relationship with Gwen was having a good relationship with Hawk.
Therefore, if anyone disliked anything happening to Gwen more than Hawk, the current S.H.I.E.L.D. dared to claim second place; even George and Helen wouldn't dare claim first.
Soon.
After hanging up the phone, Sharon used her satellite phone to directly contact her superior, the former New York SHIELD Commander, now S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters Commander, Victoria Hand.
"Commander, Hawk has gone to Molokai. The real Dr. Merrick is suspected to be on that island. Do we need to send S.H.I.E.L.D. agents?"
"No need."
Victoria Hand barely hesitated: "Since Hawk has already gone, we won't go. If the real Dr. Merrick is on that island, our involvement could easily alert the enemy."
Although S.H.I.E.L.D., under the command of current Director Maria Hill, had already undergone a complete overhaul from top to bottom.
But... HYDRA still had remnants surviving all over the World, so Maria Hill and Commander Hand suspected that there might still be HYDRA Agents within S.H.I.E.L.D. who hadn't been found.
Therefore, the two conferred and assigned the task of comprehensive contact with Hawk to the 100% trustworthy Sharon, and Sharon personally selected 100% trustworthy Agents to join her team, specifically to remain in the New York SHIELD hub (which had also been disbanded and then expanded), responsible for all of Hawk's affairs.
Any news related to Hawk would be directly communicated to her and Maria Hill, minimizing the possibility of information leakage to the greatest extent.
Therefore!
"Don't worry about Molokai; Hawk will handle it himself."
"Protect Gwen until Hawk returns."
"Understood. Abby and Lorraine have already been arranged to go. They've also been staying in Waterfall Town these days."
"That's good. Ensure Gwen's safety."
"Received."
Sharon acknowledged, then hung up the phone, and then glanced at the large screen, ordering people to cancel the satellite tracking of Hawk's energy signal.
Better safe than sorry.
Speaking of which, with Hawk's speed, he should have already arrived at Molokai by now, right?
Sharon thought to herself, looking at the darkened large screen.
Molokai.
Also known as Molokai or Friendship Island, it is the fifth-largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, covered with pine and bamboo forests, featuring unique black sand beaches, the World's highest sea cliffs, and the Kahiwa Falls with a drop of 1,570 meters.
Most of the island still retains its natural topography.
Especially the Wailau Valley located in the northern part of the island.
The terrain here is steep and out of place with the rest of the island, maintaining 99% of its original appearance. The only safe way to reach Wailau Valley is by helicopter.
Thump!
As a red light seemed to burst forth from ten thousand feet in the sky, Hawk had already appeared silently in the dense forest of Wailau Valley, thick enough to block any light.
The next second.
He arrived in front of a large pit, clearly dug by human hands, and looked into the pit.
What met his eyes.
Hawk's body.
So many of Hawk's bodies, densely packed, strewn about, three layers down, three layers up, naked, with various expressions, twisted as if they were discarded trash, casually thrown into the pit before him.
But... this wasn't the only pit.
Hawk's gaze swept around, and there were several other spots on the ground where the soil clearly showed signs of being disturbed.
His Sixth Sense followed these disturbed soils, rapidly extending downwards.
Then—
Hawk retracted his Sixth Sense and looked at the pit before him, which should have been the eighth one, not yet full and therefore not covered, specifically used to bury his clones.
He suddenly thought of a classic movie.
Resident Evil.
Because Hawk suddenly realized that his current treatment seemed to be the same as the female protagonist, Alice.
The Umbrella Corporation used Alice's blood to create countless Alice clones, attempting to create the perfect clone, identical to the original Alice.
HYDRA here was the same.
They seemed to be planning to use a method of quantitative change to bring about qualitative change, to make the cloned him possess the same power as him?
This... they're overthinking it.
Hawk sneered at this.
The next second.
Boom!
A scorching Phoenix Ray instantly shot out, and the moment it landed in the pit, one body after another instantly vaporized on the spot. In just the blink of an eye, the countless bodies of Hawk in the pit were utterly gone.
Hawk then retracted his gaze, and immediately, his figure vanished from where he stood, following the subtle, invisible footprints left on the ground, appearing on a distant cliff.
Opposite the cliff was the vast, endless ocean.
Below the cliff was Molokai's unique black sand beach.
As for the HYDRA Base here.
It was right beneath his feet.
Hawk lowered his gaze, looking down at the cliff beneath him.
His Sixth Sense burst forth, instantly enveloping everything like a net!
...
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