Chapter 21: Poaching Talent

By the time Russell and Jasper were almost done with their conversation, Dr. Wilson also arrived in the conference room.

Dr. Wilson now looked relaxed, no longer carrying the panicked expression from before. He had regained the confidence of a top-tier biologist.

"The personnel and supplies in the base have been tallied. Take a look first," With that, Dr. Wilson handed the tablet in his hand to Russell.

After taking the tablet from Dr. Wilson, Russell quickly skimmed through the contents.

He didn't understand the specialized equipment and reagents, so he ignored those sections and focused on the personnel and funds, which were his primary concerns.

//

~ Researchers remaining: 59

~ Security personnel remaining: 32

~ Research funds remaining: Over $30 million

//

"This funding is a bit low..."

For the average person, $30 million would be a huge sum.

But for a research laboratory, this amount was pitifully small.

"Previously, most of the research materials and equipment were supplied by headquarters, so the base never had much funding. These funds are only meant to cover daily needs. When specialized materials are required, we directly request them from headquarters."

As a top biologist who had led numerous high-end research projects, Dr. Wilson also knew that this amount of funding was far too little for any serious research.

Research was an expensive endeavor, and insufficient funding was a fatal blow to any project.

Russell handed the tablet back to Jasper who was sitting across from him, and asked quietly, "Is there a way to transfer these funds from the base's account to a private account without HYDRA finding out?"

"Yes. But it'll take some time."

Russell was a soldier, and Dr. Wilson was a biologist. So, this kind of task could only be handled by a professional like Jasper.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Since Jasper said he could handle it, Russell didn't need to worry about it anymore.

He stood up and said to Dr. Wilson, "Doctor, go notify the remaining personnel and have them gather in the base's main hall. I'll be there shortly."

With that, Russell left the conference room alone.

When Russell handed the tablet to Jasper, Dr. Wilson realized that Jasper had also become part of their group.

The doctor was also curious about how Russell had managed to turn a high-ranking HYDRA member like Jasper to their side.

After leaving the conference room, Russell didn't go anywhere else. Instead, he returned to the room he had been living in for over a month, quickly freshened up, and changed into a clean black uniform.

Since he was about to recruit new members, it was necessary to tidy up his appearance.

After changing into the uniform, Russell carefully examined himself in the mirror and suddenly felt a strange sense of 'unreality'.

Just over a month ago, he had been a third-rate programmer and game designer.

Now, he had become a genetically enhanced superhuman and had undergone a series of HYDRA agent training.

Even more interestingly, he was about to poach talent from HYDRA and turn HYDRA members into his own people.

"This is what life is all about... utter unpredictability..."

After a final adjustment of his collar, Russell left the room and headed toward the base's main hall.

On his way to the main hall, whether by coincidence or not, Russell soon ran into Allen and Heather.

Like Russell, the duo had also changed into clean black uniforms, and like him, they had torn off the HYDRA insignia from their uniforms.

Neither Allen nor Heather spoke. They simply followed silently behind Russell as the three of them walked toward the main hall.

The base's main hall wasn't very large, but it could easily accommodate seventy or eighty people.

Dr. Wilson had already arrived in the hall ahead of time, but Jasper wasn't present.

Jasper would eventually return to HYDRA headquarters as a spy, so it wasn't appropriate for him to appear here now.

Aside from Russell and Dr. Wilson, everyone else believed that Jasper had already left the base and returned to headquarters.

"Good day, everyone. Although you probably already know me, I'll introduce myself anyway. My name is Russell. As for what my identity is, that depends on the choices you make next..."

With that, Russell gestured to Dr. Wilson.

Seeing Russell's signal, Dr. Wilson also signaled his assistants to distribute the documents in their hands to the researchers and soldiers below.

"What you're holding is your background information. It includes your personal details, family information, and social background, among other things. This information was downloaded from HYDRA headquarters' database."

Looking at the information in their hands, the researchers and soldiers below didn't show much reaction.

When they joined HYDRA, they had already been aware of this, so seeing the information didn't cause much psychological impact.

"Not long ago, I killed the mutated security chief, Jack, in the training grounds. Now I can tell you very clearly that the reason I killed Jack wasn't to protect this base. It was simply to settle a personal grudge between him and me... This base means nothing to me, and soon, I will completely leave this base. To be precise, I'm leaving HYDRA."

When Russell finished his last sentence, the researchers and soldiers below immediately became restless.

Russell might not be the only one who wanted to leave HYDRA.

But to announce it so openly and decisively in front of everyone, he was probably the only one who would do that.

Russell ignored the murmuring researchers and soldiers below and continued in a calm tone, "Of course, you can consider this behavior a betrayal or whatever else you want. That's your freedom. I had the doctor gather you here to ask one thing: Is there anyone among you who wants to leave with me?"

"Right now, three people have decided to leave with me; the doctor, Allen, and Heather. If you're willing to leave HYDRA with me, you're more than welcome. And I can guarantee that if you choose to follow me, I'll give you double whatever HYDRA offers you!"

Hearing this, Jasper, who was observing the hall through the surveillance feed in the conference room, couldn't help but frown.

He had thought Russell would have some clever recruitment strategy, but he never expected him to resort to such a common and seemingly unreliable tactic... bribery...