Although Jasper didn’t give an explicit answer, his question was proof enough that he had made his choice.
“You won’t regret it.
In the future, you’ll definitely thank yourself for the decision you made today.”
“And you’ll find that following me has much better prospects than following Hydra!”
Russell didn’t answer Jasper’s question directly either, giving Jasper a promise that currently seemed to have no foundation.
“I hope so!”
After wiping his glasses clean and putting them back on, Jasper’s aura underwent a complete transformation.
The timid, terrified bald man from earlier completely vanished, replaced by an elite professional with resolute eyes and a serious expression.
“You had Dr.
Wilson count the personnel and supplies, which means you probably intend to abandon this base.
But indeed, there’s no need to stay here any longer.
To break free from Hydra’s control, you’ll definitely need to look for a new base.”
“Where do you plan to establish the new base?
Also, how do you intend to handle the survivors?”
“Even if they aren’t die-hard Hydra loyalists, they won’t easily go with you.
Not everyone has the courage to make an enemy of Hydra!”
Jasper quickly adapted to his new role and began discussing the specific issues they would face next.
As expected of a talent valued by both SHIELD and Hydra, Jasper truly possessed extraordinary capabilities once he returned to his normal state.
“I plan to build the new base in New York, right in Hell’s Kitchen!”
“As for the people in this base, if they’re willing, I’ll take them with us.
I need some of their professional expertise.”
“As for how to persuade or filter them out, you can witness it with your own eyes in a moment!”
“There’s no need for me to witness it in person.
It’s not appropriate for me to appear in public with you!”
Jasper declined Russell’s offer.
He was someone who would return to Hydra as a spy, after all; he didn’t want to expose his relationship with Russell so easily.
“You want to build a base in Hell’s Kitchen?
That’s Kingpin’s and The Hand’s territory—aren’t you afraid of exposing yourself?”
Without waiting for Russell to answer, Jasper immediately continued, “I get it now. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
You want to continue researching enhanced soldiers—you’re going to steal Hydra’s Extremis data!”
When Jasper said this, Russell was genuinely shocked.
He had only mentioned that the new base would be in Hell’s Kitchen, yet Jasper had immediately guessed his intention—and even deduced that he intended to steal the Extremis data.
Guessing the continued research on enhanced soldiers was easy, since Russell had said he needed the professional skills of the base staff.
But stealing the Extremis data was a secret pact between him and Dr.
Wilson; no third person knew about it besides the two of them.
Jasper could actually deduce this just from the location of a base, and judging by his expression, he clearly wasn’t making a wild guess.
“How did you know?”
“It’s easy to guess!”
Russell didn’t think it was obvious at all, so he said to Jasper, “Explain.”
“Your unwillingness to give up these researchers in the base shows that you still need to conduct research on enhanced soldiers.”
“However, as far as I know, the Third-Generation Abomination Soldier project is already quite mature.
Even without these researchers, Dr.
Wilson could handle all the remaining work by himself.”
“You need these researchers because you have a new research plan.
Only then would you need these researchers whose skills are inferior to Dr.
Wilson’s—you need them to lighten Dr.
Wilson’s workload.”
“Add to that your choice of location for the base in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, which means you have no intention of hiding at all, or rather, you don’t believe a new base could be hidden from Hydra in the first place.”
“Although Hydra possesses immense power, if you and Wilson were truly set on hiding from them, it wouldn’t be very difficult.”
“If you were merely defecting, Hydra wouldn’t spend too much energy on you.
After all, headquarters has backups of all the research data here.”
“Yet you know Hydra will try their absolute best to hunt you down in the future, because what you plan to do will be far more severe than simple defection.”
“Something more severe than defection, which also requires Dr.
Wilson and those professional researchers…
the answer is obvious!
You plan to steal the Extremis data!”
Listening to Jasper’s chain of reasoning, even Russell had to admire him and admit it was brilliantly done.
This made him all the more determined to tie Jasper tightly to his warship.
“I’m starting to wonder if sending you back to Hydra as a mere spy is a waste of your talents!”
Russell’s words resonated deeply with Jasper.
This feeling of being highly recognized was deeply satisfying no matter the occasion.
“Although Hydra can’t deal with you out in the open, that doesn’t mean they’re easy to handle.
Don’t forget, they can still use SHIELD to deal with you!”
Having witnessed the battle between Russell and Mutated Jack with his own eyes, Jasper wasn’t worried about their physical safety, but attacks from other directions weren’t something that could be resisted by individual strength alone.
Such as official investigations, or SHIELD’s intervention, and so on.
“You don’t need to worry about that.
This is the United States, a capitalist world!”
Although Russell didn’t mention any key terms explicitly, Jasper keenly guessed his thoughts.
“Oscorp Industries?
Or…
the military?”
Hearing Jasper’s words, Russell was stunned for a moment before smiling.
“I’ve decided—from now on, I need to stay sharp whenever I talk to you.
Your insight is terrifying!”
Whether it was Oscorp Industries or the military, both were targets Russell needed to contact next.
Because he needed their power to help him handle official, public-facing forces—most importantly, to avoid interference from SHIELD.
The US military had never given up on super soldier research, and Oscorp Industries was the most powerful biotech company in the United States.
For Russell, whose only trump card at the moment was biological enhancement, they were undeniably the most suitable partners.
And it was precisely from this point that Jasper guessed their identities.
To Oscorp Industries and the military, whether it was Abomination Soldiers or Extremis, these were offers they could not refuse.
“It seems you’ve planned everything out.
I was worried you would use the most brutal method to clash with Hydra, but now it seems I was overthinking it!”
After understanding Russell’s entire plan, even Jasper had to admit that this was the best optimal solution available.
As long as this plan proceeded smoothly, whether it was Hydra or SHIELD, they would have no choice but to watch helplessly as Russell’s emerging force rose to power.