In the blink of an eye, two days passed in a flash.

With the initial conclusion of this 'terrorist attack' in New York, all aspects of the investigation of this attack have begun to drill into various dead ends. And with no more headlines coming, the media outlets are starting to make new headlines on another side of the story.

"Red Shadow in the Night, Guardian of New York City!"

"A knight in red armor!"

Instead of being skeptical or neutral about Red Mask, the media are now sparing no effort to plow praise on a figure who played a significant role in the police battle. His intervention saved the lives of at least a dozen police officers, an act that can undoubtedly be described as a hero.

And a heroic image, with the right operation, is enough for them to have enough content to fill their newspapers and programs in the next two or three months. Of course, it would be great if this 'hero' had other movements during this time.

With the new round of media bombardment, his popularity among New York citizens has also become higher and higher, and his image has gradually changed from mixed reviews to positive directions. All of a sudden, not just in New York City, but in other parts of the country, his name had been heard.

Of course, this fame also attracts the attention of a special group of people.

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Washington, D.C., Trident Building.

The three-towering building is located on an artificial island on the Potomac River, and the only bridge to the outside world is heavily guarded. ,.. of the Bureau of Territorial Strategic Defense, Attack and Logistics Support L.D., S.H.I.E.L.D. The organization, which has existed since late World War II, has only one goal: to protect the security of the United States and its allies.

On the highest floor of the Trident Building, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Brown. Fury stepped out of his office. The one-eyed black man with an eye patch wears an elongated trench coat and holds a cigar in his mouth. Before he could pull the lighter out of his pocket, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the incoming call message on the screen, and his face suddenly collapsed, and he could only put the cigar back into the box in a stupid manner.

"It's me." He pressed the answer button, and his expression became serious. Agent Hill is one of his most capable men, and she doesn't come to her on a personal phone call unless there's something of a big deal. "What's the matter?"

"Have you read the report on the attack in New York?" Agent Hill's slightly cold voice came from the other end of the phone. Fury pondered for a moment, then remembered the report he had spent ten minutes reviewing the night before.

"Although the news is distorted as a terrorist attack, it is essentially a vicious gang incident. Although I have to say that I am surprised by the low quality of the New York police, the matter has not yet escalated to the national level. Fury summed up the information in his mind unhappily, but there were still some doubts in his heart. Maria. Hill should know that this matter is not under the jurisdiction of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Or have you found the source of that nerve gas?"

"Neither, but there is a new development." Hill replied briefly, then shut his mouth. Listening to this inexplicable silence, Fury's face suddenly became playful.

New developments? A new development that would be enough for S.H.I.E.L.D. to intervene?

If it can alarm S.H.I.E.L.D., then this matter must be something that can directly threaten the stability of the country. On the other hand, even if this happens, the first thing Agent Hill should do should be to report it to the appropriate department within the bureau, instead of calling him directly as he is now.

Unless... Not too many people know about it. Fury glanced around him without moving, and turned sideways to open the fire escape door beside him. After entering the fire escape, he gently pressed a hidden button on his watch. An invisible radio wave suddenly emanated from the watch, and within five meters of him, all instruments that eavesdropped or intercepted the signal would fail.

"Alright, you can go on." After making sure that there was no one around him, Fury spoke again. Agent Hill on the other end of the phone had been waiting for a long time and continued without hesitation.

"First of all, there are at least four special individuals who are beyond the limits of humanity in this incident. In addition to the Red Mask, where we've gathered a little information up to then, he seems to have a companion of similar strength. We don't have any more details about him yet, but he should have been working with the Red Mask for quite some time. ”

"This can be used as a breakthrough. But as you know, their level of enhancement is only comparable to that of a Level 3 mutant at best, and it is difficult to even affect a city. Presumably the important information you mentioned should be related to the remaining two. ”

"Exactly." Agent Hill replied in the affirmative. The remaining two had a brief fight on New York's 16th Avenue. One of them is supposed to be a fugitive prisoner: Carl. Lucas. He was supposed to serve in Haimen Prison now, but now he had become a gang boss's subordinate. ”

"Haimen Prison?" Fury's fingers unconsciously tapped the steel handrail beside him, quickly searching his mind for the corresponding information. "If I'm not mistaken, it's Dr. Bostam's testing site. It seems that his research on super soldier serum has made some achievements. You take the time to organize a team to retrieve the corresponding test materials. ”

"Yes." Agent Hill accepted the order with a clean slate, and then continued. "On the other hand, we couldn't find any information about him. He was surrounded by a well-trained group of companions who seemed to have a military background. They have a large number of prohibited weapons, and we have no way of figuring out where they came from. What's more important is that..."

At this point, Agent Hill seemed a little hesitant to say what to say.

"What is it?" Fury asked, and Ciel gritted his teeth and continued.

"This man, it seems, is the same guy Agent Romanoff used to talk about... There is a bit of a coincidence. It seemed that she herself was not used to reporting unconfirmed information, and Agent Hill's tone was full of hesitation. The descriptions of appearance, the manner of attack, and the characteristics that make it impossible to find out any information at all are very similar. Personally, there is at least a sixty percent chance that the two are the same person. ”

"You said that there is a sixty percent possibility, so the reliability of this news is already very high." Fury's tone became low, and his brows furrowed in contemplation. "The Winter Soldier... Is that man who is like a ghost and can't be traced... Since he appeared, does it mean that the malicious force is also involved in this? ”

"That's right, since this person has appeared, it means that this incident in New York is enough for us to pay attention to." Agent Hill's tone was also a bit serious. "After all... The force that this man represents..."

Fury nodded unconsciously. The Winter Soldier, an elite soldier whose everything seems to be a mystery, has been active for the past forty years, participating in dozens of events, large and small. And every incident he has ever had has caused a lot of obstacles and even losses to S.H.I.E.L.D. in the end. Who is the beneficiary of this, S.H.I.E.L.D. has not found out for decades.

The illogic of the information makes Fury wonder if it's just a coincidence. After all, the 'Winter Soldier' first appeared more than forty years ago, and is now at least sixty years old. No one else can maintain such terrifying combat effectiveness at this age. And even under the search of such a powerful force of S.H.I.E.L.D., the mysterious force still did not find any clues. The most plausible inference is that it didn't exist in the first place.

Fury, however, was well aware that he couldn't let his guard down completely. If this organization does exist, its threat to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the world will be incredibly large.

"Immediately devote all the resources at hand to investigating the causes and consequences of the events in New York." At this time, Fury has completely changed his mindset of not caring at the beginning. "Seize all the clues, and we must get to the bottom of this matter. The U.S. is our home turf, and we can't let them slip away so easily this time. ”

After hearing Fury's order, Agent Hill rarely did not respond immediately, but fell into an embarrassing silence. It was a long time before she spoke again, and this time her tone was even more hesitant.

"How so... Managing director... We may have found a fairly reliable source of information. ”