Chapter 98: Project Insight

The plane crash not only shocked the entire world but also stirred the ambitions of countless schemers. After the case containing the energy core was destroyed in the incident as well, the whole of America began to seethe beneath the surface.

With both the Black Palace and the backup case destroyed, America had lost all records concerning its energy core and was forced to accept assistance from other nations.

Now that the deterrent power of nuclear weapons had declined sharply, the American military had no choice but to acknowledge its own helplessness. A tsunami was closing in on American soil, and even the mightiest military force in the world paled before it.

Thus, caught between the opposing pressures of the Western Alliance and the Bear Country, America began to fracture from within. Energy cores belonging to the two factions were established in the east and west respectively.

As for the Eastern Alliance, it naturally went to help the other nations across the American continent establish their own energy cores. A tsunami cared nothing for which country one belonged to.

Tony, meanwhile, was investigating the culprit responsible for the plane crash. Washington had fallen, and despite a lengthy investigation, he had been unable to locate the source of the infection. After discovering that it had not spread, he could only suspend his efforts for the time being.

While humanity dealt with its internal conflicts, Artanis and the others were also engaged in a struggle against the Evil God. Even with the three of them working together, they could barely suppress their opponent. Vorazun and Selendis had yet to break through the tenth level of psionic power, and the energy within them had not yet formed the Bridge of Heaven and Earth. Unable to establish a stable cycle with the Psionic Realm, they could not maintain their suppression for long.

Fortunately, both Selendis and Vorazun carried the Kydarin crystals standard issue for Templar warriors. Taken together, they should be able to hold out until the fleet arrived.

Dagon realized that he was being suppressed, while the tsunami sent to drown humanity had also been blocked. Naturally, he flew into a rage. His fury soon reached the minds of the messengers of the various evil cults, driving them to seek a new solution.

Eight hours remained before the fleet arrived. So long as Dagon did not receive a massive supply of flesh during those eight hours, victory in this battle would be beyond his grasp.

Of course, the Dark Church’s scheme had only just begun.

Steve and the others stormed into S.H.I.E.L.D. and anesthetized most of the corrupted personnel, leaving them unconscious on the floor. They had not expected that several senior officials, led by Alexander, had already activated Project Insight.

Project Insight had originally been conceived by S.H.I.E.L.D. as a means of better preserving world peace. By combining remote satellites with three helicarriers, it would enable strikes beyond the range of sight and provide more effective protection for Midgard.

In truth, however, Hydra had targeted the project from the very beginning. Its goal was far more extreme: first, to use the Zola Algorithm to identify individuals who posed a threat to Hydra, then eliminate them all and thereby achieve its ambition of ruling the entire human race.

Now that most of Hydra had been transformed into cultists, the project had naturally been repurposed once again. In particular, after a defensive matrix was reestablished across the Americas, the cultists who knew of Project Insight turned their attention toward it in the hope of earning divine forgiveness.

Project Insight was activated ahead of schedule. Its objective remained the removal of potential threats, but its primary purpose was no longer to dominate humanity. Instead, it was intended to serve the gods more effectively. Even Doctor Zola, whose consciousness resided within a computer, could not escape being brought under their control.

Hydra’s members also differed from the other corrupted S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel. For various reasons, even after their corruption was purged, they continued to adhere to their former beliefs, though they were no longer quite so fanatical. Naturally, this was also connected to the nature of their original convictions.

Steve and the others soon detected the abnormalities among this group of Hydra agents. It became clear that S.H.I.E.L.D. had long since become an empty shell, with Hydra—Steve’s greatest enemy—lurking within it. This also meant that the extraordinary supernatural organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. would never again exist in this world.

During the battles that followed, Steve encountered his closest friend, Barnes, who had been transformed into the Winter Soldier. Unfortunately, the Winter Soldier had long since fallen under Hydra’s control. Even after the corruption was cleansed, he remained under Hydra’s command.

To save his friend and preserve world peace, Steve and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents dismantled Hydra’s Project Insight and successfully awakened part of the Winter Soldier’s memories.

Sam, who often ran laps with Steve, defeated Crossbones during the battle. Afterward, he earned Steve and the others’ recognition and was invited to join the Avengers.

As expected, the failure of Project Insight dealt a devastating blow to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s prestige. The authority in charge of East America had also long coveted S.H.I.E.L.D.’s power, and it began interfering aggressively in an attempt to absorb the organization.

Director Fury acted decisively and announced the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. In reality, he had merely moved it underground. The remaining members were taken over by Tony Stark and nominally became auxiliary personnel of the Avengers.

Under pressure from West America and several other nations, East America could only abandon its plan to absorb S.H.I.E.L.D. in its entirety. It was forced to watch helplessly as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s advanced technologies flowed into Avengers Tower.

After successfully rescuing S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve and the others ended the battle, only to discover in astonishment that the outside world had changed beyond recognition. Under the combined pressure of internal conflict, external forces, and the threat of death, America had split in two. For the man known as Captain America, the revelation was bitterly disheartening.

America was now divided roughly along the Mississippi River into two great regions. The eastern region was economically prosperous and densely populated, while the western region possessed vast expanses of land and formidable military strength.

This was one of the reasons East America had sought to absorb S.H.I.E.L.D. If it could take over S.H.I.E.L.D.’s entire network and resources, its military power would increase dramatically.

But this was not the time to discuss such matters. After discovering that Project Insight had failed, the cultists grew even more furious. They began conducting horrifying rituals in various places. Although local police and military forces dealt with most of them, many cities and regions still fell, becoming forbidden zones of life.

There were now hundreds of such forbidden zones, large and small. The most terrifying was the first one to appear—Washington. The city had been transformed completely into a living hell. Even the cultists dared not approach it. The East American military had sealed off Washington and prohibited anyone from entering.

Naturally, because the defensive matrix had been successfully established, no number of cult rituals could send the accumulated flesh and blood back to the Evil God on the battlefield. But the moment the defensive matrix disappeared—even for a single minute—the cultists would be able to use their rituals to transmit the energy contained within those lost lives to Dagon.