MD-Chapter 282 A Little Toy

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While Natasha continued to relentlessly grill him with questions, they walked out of the underground facility. Stepping into the open air, Natasha finally ceased her interrogation and turned back to the facility.

"What do we do with this place?" she asked.

"Who owns it?" Arthur inquired.

"Let me check." Natasha pulled out her device, tapped it a few times, and then said, "It's not owned by any individual."

"Interesting..." Arthur mused. "I'm thinking of buying it. Do you think they'd sell?"

"Buy it?" Natasha was stunned. "That would be incredibly expensive and could attract unwanted attention, wouldn't it?"

"What if I don't use my name?" Arthur countered. "Buying it discreetly would make us a target if we were completely unaware of its origins. But now that we know who's behind it, we can make the acquisition seamless. As for the money... I likely have enough. Could this place even be worth 10 billion?"

Natasha was utterly dumbfounded. "Since when did you become so disgustingly wealthy?"

Arthur shrugged casually. "I'm probably wealthier than you think. It shouldn't be a problem. I'm not sure if I have 10 billion on hand, but I could easily gather it."

Arthur hadn't actually calculated his exact net worth. He figured he'd ask Dr. Connors and Tony back in New York about his current assets. If he still came up short, he could borrow from Harry – whether it was 10 or 20 billion. He'd simply pay it back with next year's dividends.

Arthur approached the matter with surprising simplicity.

The trip back to New York was uneventful. By around 10:30 PM, Arthur and Natasha arrived back at their base.

The empty base had an eerie feel to it. Natasha joked, "I feel like I've become a supervillain now."

"Justice may sometimes require a touch of darkness," Arthur replied as a figure materialized in his hand. He tossed Viktor to Natasha and said, "You can begin your performance."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Natasha asked.

"To contemplate the value of this list," Arthur replied.

The list was tonight's most significant gain, perhaps even the most important discovery in recent times.

The only drawback was that the list contained only 36 names.

Given the inclusion of figures like Alexander Pierce, it was clear these 36 individuals were among the most influential members of Hydra.

"This represents Hydra's upper echelon," Arthur mused, his wristband's light flickering as he tapped the back of his chair thoughtfully.

Identifying these individuals would be easy – Natasha could handle that.

Eliminating all 36? That wouldn't be particularly challenging either.

In the current state of the world, there were few people Arthur couldn't eliminate if he chose to.

But would killing these 36 people truly eradicate Hydra?

Who could guarantee these were the top 36 individuals in Hydra? What if there was a 37th or 38th person not on the list? What then?

If these 36 were eliminated without proper preparation, Hydra would undoubtedly retreat into the shadows, completely concealing itself.

"So, we can't rush!"

Arthur took a deep breath. "Since we've made progress, we need to capitalize on this lead. The carrot's already halfway out of the ground – why worry it won't come out entirely?"

His fingers paused suddenly as his gaze shifted to the wailing Viktor.

Natasha's methods were far harsher than Arthur's, and Viktor's current state was so pitiful that even an old-timer like Natasha found it difficult to watch.

"Viktor has this list in his possession. No wonder Hydra hasn't had time to bother me. But that raises another issue... If this drags on too long, will Hydra grow desperate and do something reckless?"

Arthur furrowed his brow slightly. "I'm not afraid of desperation. What I'm truly concerned about is these guys not acting recklessly and instead digging a hole to bury themselves in. 

Looks like Viktor can't stay here much longer. Even if it's just to stall for time, I'll have to release him back into the wild. But before that, we need to see if he has any more valuable information."

Having decided on Viktor's fate, Arthur felt slightly relieved.

Seeing that Natasha was busy, Arthur went to the kitchen to prepare some food and took it to Bucky.

The food was as terrible as ever, and the drink equally undrinkable. By the time Bucky finished, his face was green.

"I think you have a real talent for making poisons!"

A green-faced Bucky said to Arthur, "If you ever have a grudge against someone, just cook for them."

Arthur huffed and left the cell. Back in the main hall, he found Natasha sitting at the round table, scribbling furiously.

When she saw Arthur approaching, she handed him a portion of what she'd been writing and then continued her work.

Arthur glanced at the papers. The first part contained information about Rumlow, while the latter part included intelligence gathered from the interrogation.

"Apart from a few bases, there wasn't much else," Natasha said, handing Arthur the last page. "Most of these bases are operating under the guise of legitimate organizations."

Arthur wasn't surprised. He looked at the papers in his hand and said, "Alexander couldn't have pulled this off alone. There's likely someone in their ranks who holds significant power in this country. Possibly more than one person."

"The names on the list should be prioritized for investigation," Natasha suggested. "I'll handle that part."

"We need to approach this on two fronts," Arthur said. "Even though everything seems quiet, we're probably nearing a critical moment. If conditions permit, I need to meet with Steve in a week."

"No problem. I'll inform him. Here, or somewhere else?"

"Speaking of which..." Arthur said with a grin, "I've prepared a few little toys."

"What toys?" Natasha was momentarily confused before watching Arthur excitedly walk into another room. The moment he opened the door, Natasha realized it was a workshop.

When Arthur reappeared, he was holding two old-looking phones.

"Don't judge their appearance," he said with a smirk. "Unfortunately, only materials like these can handle a certain level of… well, magic!"

(Chapter Ends)