"You really deserve to die," Hong Fei said, shaking his head. Pierce said indifferently, "It doesn't matter. I'm not afraid of death at all; otherwise, you wouldn't see me here."
"Is that so?"
Saying it softly, Hong Fei raised his hand to summon the red wine glass from the table. As beams of light seeped out from his fingers, the glass was sliced into sharp fragments.
Hong Fei reached out and picked up a fragment. Leaning down to wave the transparent piece of glass before Pierce's eyes, Hong Fei said gently and slowly, "I believe there are definitely people in this world who aren't afraid of death, but I also believe those people definitely don't include you. How about a bet?"
Pierce's eyelids twitched slightly, and his eyelashes trembled along with them.
"Are you afraid?"
"I... I am not."
"I'm quite curious now. Under such a psychopathic plan of yours, how did the other HYDRA leaders agree? Or rather, besides Strucker, whom you've already won over, do the others even know what you're doing?"
Pierce's eyes dodged for a moment, but his words remained tough, "We are a whole, unlike you. You are still a fickle young man." Hong Fei smiled thinly.
"That doesn't make much sense. What fickle thoughts could I have? You were the ones who invited me to join HYDRA, and I already agreed. Yet now, you're the one taking the initiative to attack me. You don't think you've gone too far, but instead, you blame me. What kind of logic is that?"
"Heh!"
Pierce couldn't help but sneer.
"You have your own ambitions. You're just trying to use HYDRA to achieve your goals..."
"That's true, but aren't you also using me? Looking around, how many relationships in the world aren't based on mutual exploitation? You use me but don't trust me, and in the end, you blame me. Isn't that a bit much?"
"You can only blame your own strength for being too great. The power you hold alone is uncontrollable for any individual, organization, or even the world. If there were a choice, I believe many countries in the world would be willing to wipe out an existence like yours directly. Because as long as you are alive, you are an uncontrollable and immense threat they must consider."
"I understand. Especially a country like the United States; it's not enough that they've become trash themselves, they're constantly thinking of dragging others down with them. Even if it's harming others without benefiting themselves, they've always been able to do it with relish. The operation against Steve was also pushed by you from behind. I know that since the day Steve came back to life, many in the Federation have regretted it. Steve's legendary history is what they promoted, but they only need a dead legend who can't speak, not a living Captain America with independent thinking."
Hearing Hong Fei mention Steve, a smile suddenly appeared on Pierce's face again.
"You really are smart, but you're out of time."
Outside the window, three Helicarriers had already ascended from the secret Base beneath the river in full view of everyone. On the opposite bank, countless people were holding up phones or professional equipment to film frantically, while cheering loudly in shock or pride. They were completely unaware that the behemoth before them could very likely become their death warrant in a short while.
Hong Fei didn't look back and continued looking at Pierce. "It seems the other HYDRA members don't know what you've done. Right, if all those nukes were detonated, humanity would basically be finished. By then, HYDRA wouldn't escape the consequences either; the fall of civilization would drag them into the abyss as well. You really are heartless."
Pierce's eye muscles twitched a few times, but he quickly returned to normal. He smiled freely and said, "The Insight Project is my life's work; it embodies nearly half the blood and effort of all HYDRA. If the Insight Project succeeds, HYDRA will undoubtedly achieve its long-held wish. Even an old fellow like Gideon Malick would be very happy to see it happen. In the face of a result as tempting as ruling the world, everyone must share the risks together."
Hong Fei slowly shook his head.
"You're not letting them share the risk with you; you're dragging them down to be buried with you."
"You're too confident. More than ten nukes are scattered around the world. Even if you have the ability to use a Portal, whether you can find them depends on your luck."
While speaking, Pierce glanced at the clock on the wall and couldn't help but say, "One minute left, and the first nuke will detonate. After that, one every thirty seconds. The attack range includes Sokovia and New York. Whether it's your old nest or the city you set up The Foundation to try and rebuild at all costs, they will be completely reduced to ruins. No sign of human life will be seen for centuries."
At this point, he stopped abruptly and then said, "Of course, as long as you choose to agree to my conditions, I can make them all stop. The world will still be the vibrant place you see now, and your girlfriends won't have any trouble. In the future, after HYDRA rules the world, I can even give you a continent entirely under your control. Aren't you of Chinese descent? I can give you the whole of Asia. You have fifty seconds to consider, but I advise you to be quick, otherwise my orders might be delayed, and you'll likely regret it too late."
Unexpectedly, Hong Fei wasn't very nervous upon hearing this. Instead, he said calmly, "I'm not in a hurry. Detonating one or two nukes isn't entirely a bad thing."
Pierce sneered.
"If the world knew the Dragon King actually said such words, I wonder what they would think."
"You won't get to see it."
Pierce's conditions were fake. If he simply wanted Hong Fei to submit, then what he was doing now wouldn't be essentially different from what he did before, and its binding force on Hong Fei would be very limited. So his true goal had always been to want Hong Fei dead.
The current negotiation was just to stall for time. Among those ten-plus nukes, one with an extremely large yield was right here at S.H.I.E.L.D. Hong Fei was very tough, and Pierce was a little panicked, but at this moment, he simply couldn't show weakness in front of Hong Fei. So he adjusted his mood very quickly and then said directly, "If I die, you won't be able to leave either. Even if you do, your Avengers friends won't be able to escape."
"I can let you live for now."
"I will kill myself."
"Then there's no way. I can only say you're impressive."
Pierce was left speechless by the retort. Outside the Triskelion, Tony was the first to arrive in his iron armor.
Without any warning, he directly attacked the three Helicarriers, and the carriers' defense and counterattacks were not slow at all. After Tony, Hawkeye and the others arrived quickly, and in an instant, a chaotic war broke out.
Looking out through the glass, Pierce said mockingly, "We've made many preparations this time. Not just the Avengers, even if all nine of your subordinates come, they will definitely not be able to stop the normal activation of the Insight Project."
"I really don't know where you get such strong, mysterious confidence. Didn't that dead ghost Schmidt pass on even a hint of humility to you?"
"Verbal disputes are meaningless. You've lost."
Pierce had a smile on his face.
Hong Fei shook his head and said, "You deserve to die, but given Fury's precedent, I won't let you die easily. From now on, you will become the first human test subject in Big Head's laboratory. Don't worry, I'll have him treat you well and strive to keep you alive longer."
He stood, glancing at the Avengers locked in brutal combat with HYDRA elites outside the window.
"Also, I should thank you," he continued. "You're actually a good person."
Why would Hong Fei say that? Because in Master Hong's eyes, Pierce's psychopathic schemes amounted to nothing more than raw physical attributes. And when it came to nukes, dismantling even one was a heroic act. If this could prevent a global nuclear war, the scale of that good deed would reach unprecedented heights. Hong Fei had considered the benefits of turning against HYDRA, but he never imagined Pierce would be this reckless.
In a way, the man truly had no fear of death—or at least, he was willing to gamble with his life. So yes, to Hong Fei, Pierce qualified as a good person.
"One last thing," Hong Fei said. "I won't let you die. But there are fates worse than death in this world. Let me give you a preview—so you don't faint when Big Head takes over."
Ribbons of swirling light danced in the air. Glass fragments sharpened into perfect rhombuses, hovering like crystalline dust.
Hong Fei flicked his fingers. The shards shot forward.
The whistle of splitting air barely registered before Pierce's screams tore through the room. The glass didn't just cut—it pierced his skin, then traveled deeper, following veins and muscle fibers. A thousand cuts without the mercy of death.
Pierce convulsed, his body curling inward. His wails trembled with violent vibrato.
"Relax," Hong Fei murmured. "It hurts, but you won't die. And if you do? I'll bring you back. You'll be Big Head's most resilient test subject—maybe even universal."
As the words faded, nanotech surged over Hong Fei's body. Crimson base. White eyes. Golden dragon motifs. For a world-saving operation, only the most dazzling armor would do.
The nuke sat in SHIELD's underground base. No need to fly—Hong Fei stepped through a portal straight to the weapon. With a gesture, the void split open like a beast's maw, swallowing the nuke and everything around it.
The Dragon Dimension was infinite. A single nuke meant nothing. Even if detonated, no signal could breach that spacetime barrier.
Roar!
A deafening dragon cry shook the air as the spectral shadow of a divine dragon erupted through layers of steel and earth, soaring skyward. Countless eyes snapped toward it.
When the crowd recognized Hong Fei's armor, thunderous cheers erupted—even if most didn't understand why.
And when Tony and the others, who were besieging the Helicarriers, saw Hong Fei clad in that familiar iron suit again, their expressions hardened into grim resolve.
"Xu Wenwu will reinforce you," Hong Fei ordered. "End this quickly. Lock down the Triskelion—no one leaves. Execute anyone who tries."
The moment Hong Fei's voice reached their ears, the entire room froze. Tony was the first to break the silence.
"What's going on?"
Hong Fei didn't mince words. He rattled off a string of major cities before dropping the bombshell, "HYDRA's planted nukes in every location I just named."
A collective gasp filled the room.
"I'm heading out. You all keep working!"
Before the words fully left his mouth, Hong Fei vanished through a shimmering portal.
In Sokovia, Dr. Helen Cho led the "Regeneration Cradle" project with meticulous precision. To most observers—including the Avengers and even some of Hong Fei's own people—her primary identity had become simplified: the Dragon King's girlfriend. Her scientific achievements? An afterthought. Her combat abilities? Practically nonexistent.
The perception wasn't entirely baseless. Since the project began, Helen had dedicated herself entirely to research. Her combat experience remained perfectly consistent: zero.
But zero experience didn't mean zero capability when facing human threats.
Finishing an experiment, Helen stepped outside to catch her breath. As she leaned against the doorway admiring the mountain view, a researcher approached with his head down. She paid him no mind—until they passed each other.
The man spun abruptly, a slender dagger flashing in his hand. The blade drove toward Helen's unprotected back.
She didn't react.
But her bracelet did.
A pulse of light raced across her wrist as nanotech armor erupted across her skin. Vibranium plates snapped into place just as the dagger struck.
CLANG!
The impact sent Helen stumbling forward. By the time she regained her footing, the sleek black armor had fully deployed—a streamlined version of Hong Fei's own suit, minus the dragon motifs.
Beneath the helmet, Helen's breath came in quick gasps, her heart hammering against her ribs. The adrenaline shock of her first combat encounter left her momentarily stunned.
The commotion brought castle guards running. Gunfire erupted. The attacker fell in seconds. No need for prisoners—Hong Fei's standing orders were clear.
Meanwhile, in a New York apartment, Mei propped her chin on one hand while watching Peter struggle with his homework.