Several cars blocked the middle of the road. Horns blared nonstop from the vehicles stuck behind them. Traffic jams were the absolute worst.
But the moment several armed men stepped out of the cars with guns in hand, the other drivers panicked and floored it in reverse, desperate to get away. No way this was a movie shoot—there was nothing "Hollywood" about a scene this real.
"Oh, shit!"
Coulson cursed under his breath. They were completely boxed in and couldn't move an inch.
He had known the trip might be dangerous, so he'd specifically chosen a Chevrolet Suburban with tank-like defense. But it turned out to be useless. The shell would eventually crack.
The gunmen fired a few shots first. The bullets slammed into the hardened glass but couldn't penetrate. Then they brought out the rocket launchers. One direct hit left the glass covered in cracks and spiderwebbing. A few more and the vehicle would be done for.
Hoping this car would protect them was pointless. They might as well pray for lightning from the sky to strike the bastards dead.
"Agent Coulson, isn't this little play getting a bit too realistic?" Ronin stared at him.
Coulson's mouth twitched. "If only it were a play. Once they blow the car open, I'll make a run for it and report to the Director so he can send help to rescue you."
Ronin's eyes widened. Holy crap… this teammate is selling me out way too hard. Couldn't he at least try fighting back first to see if they could escape together? Saying something so heartless outright—didn't his conscience hurt at all?
Coulson glanced around. "I believe they won't hurt you. You're too valuable. Jealousy can drive people apart. Your industry rivals would love to harm you, and you have that unclear connection with Soldier: 76 and Winston. Any black-hearted group would want to get their hands on you. Owning you is basically the same as owning those two superheroes. Any normal person would assume you're their boss."
He looked at Ronin again. "So just behave yourself over there and try to buy as much time as possible. At least you won't get roughed up that way."
"Agent Coulson, you believe that, but I don't. You have to protect my safety. I trust you can do it. You're an Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent—you must have plenty of skills." Ronin looked at him expectantly.
Compared to transforming, he really hoped Coulson had a way to handle the current mess.
"You believe it, but I don't. How can one person take on a whole group? I remember an Eastern saying: 'Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best.' Of course, that's just a temporary measure. We'll come rescue you. Or maybe we won't even need to—your super soldier and gorilla warrior might arrive before us." Coulson spoke with complete seriousness.
Honestly, Ronin wanted to transform into Soldier: 76 right then and punch him. This guy was way too slippery. When trouble hit, he ran faster than anyone.
Boom!
A rocket completely shattered the car window. Coulson nimbly jumped out and darted between the vehicles, using them as cover to block bullets. In a few agile moves, he escaped cleanly.
Ronin blinked. All his talent points went into escaping?
Ronin wisely raised his hands. Coulson had slipped away faster than a rabbit. He could only rely on himself now. But he still couldn't transform yet. Coulson definitely hadn't gone far—he was probably hiding somewhere watching. If he transformed now and took care of these guys, he'd immediately get dragged back to S.H.I.E.L.D. for another "tea chat."
Seeing he wasn't resisting, the men dragged him into one of their cars and sandwiched him between two of them. They even ran their hands over him—okay, fine, they were just checking for weapons.
"Hail Hydra!"
Ronin suddenly blurted it out after a long silence. The two sturdy men beside him immediately shot him suspicious looks. Strange… Hydra had been keeping a very low profile lately. Besides insiders, everyone who knew about Hydra was already dead.
Hydra was currently building up its strength and hadn't reached the point of openly confronting the government yet.
Seeing their reaction, Ronin nodded to himself inwardly. Sure enough, they're Hydra…
And since there were Hydra agents inside S.H.I.E.L.D., they knew his movements so clearly. They had played their cards well, but what a pity.
No matter how powerful Hydra was, it was still made up of ordinary people with ordinary mindsets. They would never imagine that Soldier: 76 and Winston were actually transformations of his. It wasn't really their fault for lacking imagination—the Marvel world simply didn't have "transformation" as a concept. He was just way ahead of the curve.
"Are you surprised?" Ronin smiled at the two muscular men beside him.
"Behave yourself!"
These men clearly had no decision-making power. They were loyal fanatics who followed Hydra to the death. Why "to the death"? Because if they were ever captured, they would immediately take poison and commit suicide rather than reveal even a single piece of information about Hydra.
There was no point reasoning with them.
The car left the bustling city and headed toward a remote suburban area.
Ronin suddenly reached into his pants and pulled out a handful of air. The two men beside him jumped in fright. When they saw nothing there, they relaxed.
But the next instant, their eyes widened. In that empty hand, a rifle suddenly appeared out of thin air, spraying blue flames. When they looked up and saw Ronin's changed appearance, they collapsed with shocked expressions.
"Idiots!"
Ronin fired two more shots at the driver, then jumped out of the car.
The vehicles following behind saw Ronin escape and immediately surrounded him, cutting off all escape routes.
The men got out of their cars. When they saw Soldier: 76, they were filled with disbelief. Where the hell had this guy come from?
They had zero confidence. They had long heard all the stories about Soldier: 76. Even though he was only one person, he was an entire army by himself. They couldn't afford to provoke him!
But they couldn't run away either. Even if it meant death, they had to complete the mission.
Ronin frowned. More than a dozen men had him surrounded, and there were even rocket launchers. What if he got blown up? The chance was small, but it wasn't zero. Transforming into Winston would remove any worries.
"Surprised? Shocked? Let me give you another surprise!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Soldier: 76 transformed in a flash into Winston—a refined, bespectacled gorilla!
The men looked like they had seen a ghost. Their hands holding the guns trembled. This was the first time the thought of running away even crossed their minds.
Was this guy a monster? A perfectly normal person had suddenly turned into a giant gorilla. Even magic tricks weren't this exaggerated. This wasn't human!