As it turns out, if it doesn't involve men, it's actually pretty easy for women to become friends with each other.
While Su Ye and Su Raven were smoking in the lounge, Gwen and Mai Shiranui had already built what seemed to be an unbreakable friendship.
They even gave him a synchronized pair of eye-rolls when they saw him.
"Mai, you haven't really explored Los Angeles much, have you? I'll take you to Disneyland for some fun!"
"Disneyland? Sure, sure! I went once before, but it was really fun. I'd love to go again!"
"You've been there? Which ride was your favorite?"
"The Ferris wheel, the roller coaster, and the Tower of Terror! They're all super fun. I want to ride them again!"
"I love those too! Perfect, we can go together!"
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
The two quickly linked arms and marched out together like old girlfriends who had known each other for years.
Behind them, Su Ye could only give them an eye-roll in return.
As superheroes and martial artists, isn't the level of thrill in amusement park rides a bit too childish for you?
Women… are just childish!
Snorting, Su Ye also left the villa.
He hadn't been back for a while, and a lot had piled up on the Great Wall Guardian's side.
One of them was a report from the intelligence team stationed in Sokovia.
"Uncle Su, this is an experimental report from the laboratory in Sokovia."
Agent Maria Hill, dressed in her tactical uniform, walked over and handed Su Ye a report.
By now, S.H.I.E.L.D. had essentially been absorbed by the Great Wall Guardians. The HYDRA embedded within had mostly been flushed out, thanks to Su Ye's telepathy and help from Fury, Zheng Xian, and others.
However, Su Ye hadn't taken action against Alexander Pierce.
Sometimes, even the Red Shield Bureau needed a Pierce—to help deflect pressure from all sides.
Honestly, having Alexander Pierce around made many things a lot more convenient.
Because while you know he's not one of yours, he thinks you are, and he'll go out of his way to defend your "insider" status to others—even arguing tooth and nail for you.
Since his stance is firm, it creates the illusion for others that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s position is also solid and unquestionable.
In the end, the Great Wall Guardians had essentially taken over both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, while Alexander Pierce continued to support the cause, keeping everything harmonious.
After taking over S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, the Great Wall Guardians also inherited some of their original projects and operations.
For example, the use of the Mind Scepter to unlock superpowers.
Su Ye had not personally held the Mind Scepter before to avoid any unexpected accidents that might harm the Scarlet Witch.
Moreover, with his tacit approval, the Mind Scepter had been sent to a secret base in Sokovia for covert experiments.
The experiment still recruited volunteer children from Sokovia, but compared to the original events, the process and methods were much more humane.
Children without inherent superpowers would not experience any adverse effects.
Meanwhile, those who had latent superpowers but hadn't awakened them yet were gradually able to develop their own abilities through relatively gentle experiments.
"Perhaps the stimulation we provided wasn't strong enough, so most of the children in the experiments haven't exhibited the mutations we anticipated."
"However, two children succeeded—they are the only two out of the entire group."
Agent Hill explained from the side.
Su Ye nodded, took the document from her hand, and casually asked,
"What abilities do these two kids have?"
As soon as he asked, Su Ye suddenly had a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen this exact scene in a dream before.
Sure enough, Hill continued as she walked,
"They are twins. The boy has accelerated metabolism and enhanced thermal stability, while the girl can use neural electric signals for telepathy and mental control..."
Alright, Su Ye understood now—it wasn't a dream he had seen this in, but a movie. This was just like the scene from the beginning of Avengers: Age of Ultron, except that instead of Captain America, it was now him in that role.
Finally, whether Su Ye fully grasped it or not, Hill concluded succinctly, "The boy's fast, the girl's weird!"
Su Ye really wanted to ask, "Do I look like Captain America with that clueless expression?"
Although, to be fair, he himself wasn't entirely sure about the exact mechanics of these abilities.
"Alright then, make the arrangements. I'll go see them."
"The Quinjet is ready to take off anytime!"
Traveling from the U.S. to Europe now felt as easy as going from Yantai-Weihai to South Korea a decade ago.
That same afternoon, after Su Ye said he wanted to meet the Maximoff twins, he was already in a Sokovian castle.
He only had to say the word—Hill handled the rest.
Su Ye couldn't help but have a higher opinion of her. No wonder she was Fury's deputy, and when Fury had his accident, she took over S.H.I.E.L.D. It might have been partly due to being appointed by higher-ups, but ultimately, it was her capability that mattered most.
A deputy who can handle all of the leader's affairs flawlessly—who wouldn't like that?
Not to mention, her looks and figure were top-tier.
Even among all superheroes, it was hard to find someone who could match her in every aspect.
Her only flaw? Maybe she wasn't 'well-endowed' enough?
Su Ye had watched How I Met Your Mother before but never thought the female lead was particularly stunning.
But in the Avengers series, it was a whole different story.
Maybe it was the effect of the agent uniform—it completely changed a person's aura.
Otherwise, why would so many people love uniforms?
Because they work!
Sokovia, a small Eastern European country, had long been in chaos, thanks to HYDRA.
To create an environment where they could rule the world, Hydra had been stirring up conflicts and chaos everywhere, making the world a complete mess.
Sokovia was just one of their pawns, and a minor one at that. They had created many similar war-torn regions.
But now, due to the Mind Scepter, this place had become a key base. One of Hydra's leaders, Baron Strucker, had been stationed here for a long time and was personally involved in the experiments.
When he saw Su Ye, Baron Strucker respectfully saluted him, looking like he was greeting his direct superior.
"Uncle Su, it's an honor to finally meet you. Welcome to Sokovia for an inspection!"
After the Great Wall Guardians infiltrated Hydra through S.H.I.E.L.D., many, including Baron Strucker, had effectively come under Su Ye's leadership. They genuinely respected him, much like the Four Kings of the Hachijou Clan revered Orochi—some of them practically wanted to kneel and call him 'Father.'
Unfortunately, Su Ye had no desire to take in so many useless children.
"I'm just here to take a look. Lead the way."
"Uncle Su, please follow me!"
Baron Strucker eagerly led the way, guiding Su Ye deeper into the castle while quietly explaining the situation.
"At first, after receiving the experiment, we weren't sure how to proceed. Fortunately, we had the help of Dr. Zola."
Dr. Arnim Zola was one of Hydra's founding members. When Red Skull created Hydra, Zola was there as his right-hand man. After Red Skull perished, Zola joined Operation Paperclip and went to the U.S., where he secretly rebuilt Hydra from the shadows.
You could say that Red Skull represented Hydra's past, while Dr. Zola represented its present.
After his body died, his consciousness was uploaded to a massive computer, preserved permanently as a program.
However, whether it was due to technical limitations or as a precaution to prevent him from being attacked by a virus or becoming a virus himself, no one was sure.
Dr. Arnim Zola had been confined to an abandoned military base, where a single missile could have erased him.
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this groundbreaking scientific achievement—the first person in history to transition from a human brain to a computer—was wiped out by a single missile.
If the director had given him more screen time, Dr. Arnim Zola might have evolved into a character akin to Ultron.
If that had happened, then in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, just Cap, Black Widow, and Falcon alone wouldn't have stood a chance against him.
But in this world, Dr. Arnim Zola had been extracted from the military base and stored in a portable hard drive.
That hard drive had essentially become Zola's 'body.' His program was confined within it, unable to upload itself to the internet, but he could still browse and manipulate the web through external ports.
Moreover, as long as he was connected to an output device, he could communicate with people using a synthesized voice.
Essentially, he was like an offline, enhanced version of J.A.R.V.I.S.
With Dr. Arnim Zola's assistance, Baron Strucker's projects had progressed smoothly, and they even credited themselves for the Maximoff twins' mutations.
Su Ye had no intention of exposing their false claims.
After all, the twins were now his subordinates anyway—let them bask in their 'accomplishment' a little longer.
Inside the lab, Su Ye saw the Maximoff twins housed in a glass observation chamber.
The older brother, Pietro Maximoff, had silver hair and a face that looked like it deserved a punch.
Su Ye really wanted to ask if he'd be interested in donning a green face-covering suit and carrying a stick, just to get beaten up on the streets.
When Su Ye first watched Kick-Ass, he hadn't thought much of it.
But when he watched it again, he realized that it featured two different actors who had played Quicksilver—and even a Ghost Rider who got burned to death.
That scene where Big Daddy burned to death—if he had transformed into Ghost Rider right then and wrecked the villains, it would have been a masterpiece.
Unfortunately, since the protagonist was Hit-Girl, Big Daddy had to die as a stepping stone for her growth.
Speaking of which, Su Ye wondered if his 'girlfriend card' system would ever summon Hit-Girl.
Even though her abilities weren't that impressive, and she grew up a little… off, she was undeniably adorable as a kid!
If he could raise one…
No, no, stop thinking about it—he hadn't even seen Hinata in a while.
Having so many girlfriends—was there even enough story time to keep up with them? How boring.
The upside of having many girlfriends? You got variety.
The downside? It was exhausting!
In a world where even using clones to help himself would count as 'cheating,' Su Ye truly had it rough.
Inside the glass chamber, Pietro was twitching like a lunatic, zipping around the room uncontrollably at speeds that made it hard to follow.
In the adjacent chamber, sixteen-year-old Wanda waved her hands like chicken claws, red energy flowing from her palms as she levitated several cubes in the air.
"They are the only two children who successfully gained powers from the experiment."
Baron Strucker introduced them excitedly, his face filled with enthusiasm.
"I think we should increase the intensity of our experiments. If two of them succeeded, others should be able to as well. The reason they haven't mutated yet is probably that the stimulation wasn't strong enough."
Su Ye shook his head and said calmly, "That's enough. Two is plenty. Using an external artifact to forcibly alter human genes and physiology was never an ideal approach in the first place. Let's leave it at this."
"These two children, along with the scepter—I'm taking them with me."
"The scepter too?" Baron Strucker's expression fell immediately. "Then what are we supposed to do next?"
Without the Mind Scepter project and without the grand ambition of world domination, Baron Strucker suddenly felt like his life had lost all purpose.
Seeing this, Su Ye chuckled. "Not sure what to do, huh? Let me assign you something—you guys can go help with the rescue and reconstruction in the Wasteland."
The 'Wasteland' referred to the Four Islands that had just been destroyed.
Since everything was being rebuilt from scratch anyway, they might as well rename it to match its new identity.
'Wasteland' was a fitting name.
Since Hydra was now part of the Great Wall Guardians, they needed to take on tasks that suited their new role. Helping with the Wasteland's reconstruction was the perfect job for them.
Baron Strucker followed Su Ye's orders without question and immediately gathered his men to pack up.