After Steve's brief explanation, the team members quickly grasped the situation, left speechless by the shock.
They had originally thought it was ridiculous enough that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by HYDRA to become S.H.I.E.L.D.-Hydra, but who could have imagined that a group of experts like the Skrulls were hidden in the shadows? Even HYDRA was likely completely unaware.
With this kind of nesting doll situation, could there be another mysterious force hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. that even the Skrulls didn't know about?
Coulson was the first to react, asking, "What should we do now?"
"Kill those Aliens, of course!"
Ward shouted with grief and indignation, looking as if he had an irreconcilable feud with the Skrulls. Anyone who didn't know better would think he had been defiled by the Aliens.
Steve said in a heavy voice, "There are still many Skrull spies lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D. We must clear them out first and consolidate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s forces to handle the upcoming crisis."
A S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent worriedly asked, "But can we do it with just the few of us?"
"That's why we need to mobilize the power of the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. organization."
Steve left a few team members to guard the remaining Skrulls while the others continued with their original mission, only changing the targets from Nick Fury and HYDRA to the Skrulls.
Meanwhile, he and Darian took Skye straight to the central control room of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
This place monitored every corner of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters; except for top-secret areas and some private locations, there were basically no blind spots.
Darian glanced around and found that more than half of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents in the central control room were HYDRA, a small handful were Skrulls, and the number of truly loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents could be counted on two hands.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents were already scarce, and with the Skrull infiltration, their numbers were becoming even more critical.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!
Darian didn't think twice. He pulled out his golden desert eagle and efficiently took down the Skrull spies.
Steve ignored the bewildered bystanders and walked straight to the broadcast console, opening a channel that connected to the entire headquarters.
"All S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, please pay attention. This is Steve Rogers. Please drop everything you are doing and listen to me carefully."
"Just now, we confirmed that S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer safe. The interior of S.H.I.E.L.D. has long been infiltrated by spies, and the number is... very large."
Through the broadcast, his voice reached every corner of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
Whether they were S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents or HYDRA spies, everyone's expression changed upon hearing this.
The HYDRA spies in particular thought their identities had been exposed. They looked at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents beside them, their gazes gradually becoming dangerous. Their fingers quietly reached for their weapons, prepared to eliminate all threats the moment their identities were revealed.
Just at this tense moment, Steve's tone shifted.
"And the true identity of these spies is—Skrulls!"
The HYDRA spies: "..."
Damn it! Can you not pause for so long when you speak!
Steve completely failed to realize that his one sentence had almost caused the total annihilation of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents.
He continued, "The Skrulls are an Alien race with the ability to shapeshift into anyone. They could be among us, mimicking our comrades and friends, having secretly infiltrated our side."
"And they have only one goal: to completely replace humanity and turn Earth into their new home!"
"I don't know how far their plan has progressed, but S.H.I.E.L.D. is clearly a key target. We must not lose this position. Therefore, I need every one of you to join me in stopping them."
Steve's speech flowed effortlessly, smooth as silk.
In fact, this draft was originally intended for Nick Fury's HYDRA faction.
Unexpectedly, the Skrulls had appeared as a surprise, so he had to replace some of the content on the fly and use it immediately.
And surprisingly, there was almost no sense of inconsistency.
After listening to Steve's broadcast, everyone in the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters was greatly shocked, but almost no one questioned it.
As a national idol of America, Captain America's reputation was beyond doubt. Even the HYDRA spies didn't doubt his words because they knew Steve would never joke about such things.
The Skrulls hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. panicked; they never expected their race's plan to be exposed.
However, they quickly calmed down, full of confidence in their disguise abilities, believing that no one could see through their transformations.
After the speech, Steve turned to Darian: "The rest is up to you."
"Don't worry."
Darian gave a thumbs up and beckoned to Skye.
The latter understood immediately, stepped quickly to the console, and began a rapid series of operations, soon bringing up all the surveillance footage of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
Darian scanned the surveillance screens, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Area A1-12, that curly blonde and the red-haired girl are Skrulls. Capture them; if they resist, shoot them on the spot."
His Fiery Golden Eyes could even see through beauty filters; seeing through Skrull disguises via a screen was naturally no problem.
Darian's voice was transmitted to the corresponding areas via the broadcast.
Everyone in Area A1-12, whether they were S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents or HYDRA spies, simultaneously turned their gazes toward the two named targets.
The two disguised Skrulls immediately broke into a cold sweat. They had no idea how they had been exposed. Just as they were about to argue, they saw nearly ten HYDRA spies with bloodshot eyes and ferocious expressions lunging at them.
They recognized Darian's voice, and as members of HYDRA, they naturally followed orders unconditionally.
Most importantly, S.H.I.E.L.D. was the territory HYDRA had painstakingly cultivated for years, long seen as their own property. How could they allow these Aliens to lay a finger on it?
Before the two Skrulls could speak, they were pinned to the ground by the HYDRA spies. Several cold, hard gun barrels were shoved into their mouths, while others were pressed against their heads; if they said another word, they would be killed instantly.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents on the side were stunned.
How did these colleagues, who usually seemed so polite and amiable, suddenly become so brutal?
However, Darian's voice did not stop.
"Area B3-7, the brown-haired woman looking around in the hallway is also a Skrull."
"Area C5-19, the middle-aged woman pretending to be on the phone, and that four-eyed guy holding his book upside down."
"Area D2-20, that obese black male with pink hair and nail polish. You're really stacking buffs on me here, aren't you? Beat him half to death first, then arrest him."
At this moment, Darian was like a broadcast version of the Death Note; as long as someone was designated, they would immediately be pinned to the ground by the surrounding HYDRA spies.
Any Skrulls who attempted to resist were fed a belly full of bullets the next second.
There were also Skrulls who tried to flee, but their movements were locked down tight by Skye. They were then captured by the strike teams that arrived upon hearing the news, beaten half to death, and taken away, as the teams moved on to the next target.
Some Skrulls who hadn't been named yet grew desperate and tried to use S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment for a final struggle, but they were immediately intercepted by the team members who had been lying in wait.
One Skrull shouted in despair, "Damn it! You humans planned everything long ago! This is nothing but a trap!"
The team members: "..."
We didn't know either.
We were just slacking off and acting, who would have thought this plan to prevent a HYDRA counterattack would actually be useful?
Under Darian's full-map vision hack, the Skrulls hidden inside S.H.I.E.L.D. had nowhere to hide.
Meanwhile, those HYDRA members were like mad dogs, completely fearless of death, scrambling to pounce. Their ferocity was so terrifying that many Skrulls didn't even dare to fight back.
Steve silently noted the faces of these HYDRA spies.
Working this hard, they clearly weren't HYDRA. Instead, the sluggish Agents around them looked more like HYDRA.
Because it happened so suddenly, the Skrull side was completely unprepared and had almost no power to fight back against the HYDRA spies.
Fortunately, there were no individuals with special abilities among these Skrulls, and because they were infiltrating, most didn't carry equipment. HYDRA, with their advantage in numbers and gear, quickly took them down one by one.
Just then, the doors to the central control room were pushed open, and Hill led a squad of Hyd—S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents into the room.
"Why was I not notified about this?"
Hill's face was almost darker than Nick Fury's.
As the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., she actually found out through a broadcast that her own territory had been invaded, and by a large group of Aliens at that.
In the history of S.H.I.E.L.D., this was likely a first.
It was lucky Hill didn't know about the existence of HYDRA, or she would probably be even more explosive right now.
Darian quickly glanced at her, and seeing that she was not a Skrull, he nodded to Steve.
Seeing this, Steve immediately stepped forward to explain: "The situation happened too suddenly. We also just found out about the existence of the Skrulls. To prevent the situation from escalating, we had to act immediately."
Hill took a deep breath: "Now, can you tell me exactly what's going on?"
Steve began to explain the situation, though he omitted the HYDRA part.
Before he could figure out the details of the HYDRA presence within the bureau, he would never easily reveal this information, especially to Hill, who was a S.H.I.E.L.D. Director closely tied to Nick Fury.
During the time Steve was explaining, Darian's naming session was nearing its end, and most of the lurking Skrulls had been dragged out.
Of course, a small number of quick-reacting Skrulls had hidden in advance, ducking into surveillance blind spots like toilets.
But this didn't stop the HYDRA spies. They had already begun to carefully check every hidden corner one by one; as long as someone was inside, they were arrested first and questioned later.
At this critical juncture, who else would dare to stay out of the surveillance's view besides a Skrull?
It had to be said, the work of protecting S.H.I.E.L.D. really had to rely on HYDRA.
"That bastard Nick Fury!"
After hearing Steve's explanation, Hill's expression turned serious, and she immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
At the same time, she couldn't help but curse in her heart. That Bald Egg had actually raised a group of Goblin in private without letting even a hint of it slip to her.
"By the way, have you seen Nick Fury?" Steve asked smoothly.
Hill nodded: "I saw him not long ago, but he only said he had urgent business and left quickly."
Hearing this, Darian said to Skye, "Skye, pull up the recent surveillance records for Nick Fury."
Skye immediately performed a series of operations on the console and quickly pulled up the relevant surveillance footage.
"This Nick Fury is also a Skrull."
Under the effect of the Fiery Golden Eyes, Darian could clearly see that the Nick Fury in the footage was a green person rather than a black one.
He was a bit surprised in his heart.
In other words, the one who sent Sitwell and the strike team to the lowest level of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters wasn't Nick Fury himself, but a Skrull?
That made sense. It wasn't that Nick Fury had changed the script; it was that someone had joined the production with their own funding.
Thinking of this, Darian couldn't help but feel a surge of annoyance.
He had prepared his Popcorn, waiting to see the HYDRA leader Nick Fury battle Captain America Steve. In the end, halfway through, the plot took a sharp turn and suddenly became Captain America wrestling Goblin. The anticipated fun had instantly decreased by more than half.
No matter who was behind the scenes, this debt was now on the books!
Steve frowned deeply: "Nick Fury was also replaced? No wonder those Skrulls had the authority to activate the Strategy Room."
Hill felt a surge of relief.
Fortunately, Darian and Steve had defeated those Skrulls.
Otherwise, they might have had to wait until the Skrulls had completed their full infiltration—even she, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., might have been quietly replaced without anyone noticing any abnormalities.
This suddenly reminded her of the Battle of New York, when Nick Fury was controlled by Loki and used his authority to do many things, even almost blowing up S.H.I.E.L.D.
And this time, the fake Nick Fury had also used his authority, almost causing S.H.I.E.L.D. to be completely replaced by another race from the inside out.
So you, this Bald Egg, are a master of civil war, specifically targeting your own people, huh!
Hill said seriously, "In any case, we must find the people who were replaced as soon as possible."
S.H.I.E.L.D. was already short-handed. If such a large-scale replacement occurred, they would likely have to cease operations in a few days. Moreover, every S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent was a precious asset, trained with heavy investment; they couldn't let anything happen to them.
[NPC Maria Hill has issued a new mission to you]
[Mission: Support the Original]
[Objective: Rescue the humans replaced and imprisoned by the Skrulls]
[Rewards: EXP +2000, S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation +40, Random Item *2, Random Equipment *1]
"No problem."
Darian nodded.
He wasn't worried that the Skrulls would dispose of the people they replaced.
According to what that Skrull had said, they needed to use a special instrument to extract the full memories of the replaced individuals to perfect their disguises.
And this extraction process took time. Until the memory transfer was complete, those 'originals' were more valuable alive. Therefore, there was a high probability they were temporarily safe.