Chapter 332: Thor and Hydra

"Hmm? Hydra? What a coincidence?" As Clark watched, Thor was taken to a secret base, and he couldn't help but be speechless when he discovered that those who had purchased Thor were members of Hydra.

It's clear that even in this combined universe, Hydra is a pervasive organization, their influence extending into every industry, especially the grey markets like the black market.

"Let Robert handle Hydra. After all, he has dealt with them more..." Clark thought as he saw Thor being locked up.

However, Clark didn't rush to have Robert rescue Thor. At this point, Thor hadn't experienced any real hardships, and rescuing him prematurely would defeat the purpose of his ordeal.

Besides, even King Odin had tacitly allowed Thor to be taken without intervening. Why should Clark be in a hurry? After all, it's just being used as an experiment. King Odin surely had preparations in place, and it wouldn't be easy for humans to dissect an Asgardian god's body.

Especially now, Thor seemed to have his genetic structure locked. Outwardly, he appeared no different from a normal human. Even if his blood were analyzed, it would likely reveal nothing related to Asgard...

"Eh? Is that? The guy who loves to shout his moves, Ah Fu?" While Clark watched, a familiar figure emerged at the Hydra base. It was Ah Fu, whom Robert had encountered several times before. He had now fully taken over Valmont's position as the leader of this branch of Hydra.

Ah Fu had changed significantly from the previous martial arts master who sought revenge for Valmont without much desire for power or wealth.

Over time, perhaps due to the effects of the super soldier serum he had once injected, or perhaps not wanting Valmont's line of Hydra to fade into obscurity, Ah Fu had become indistinguishable from other Hydra leaders...

Once solely focused on his opponents in the martial world, Ah Fu now sat on the throne of power, though his desire for revenge had not changed. However, he was unable to confront either Steve or Robert directly.

Robert was untraceable and unknown to Ah Fu, while attempts to engage Steve had been frequent but futile, especially since Steve had returned to London, making it extremely difficult for Ah Fu's men to get close.

As for visiting personally, Ah Fu had never considered it, as he had never had a clear advantage over Steve in their previous encounters. If he actually went to Steve's territory, it was uncertain who would lose or win!

Interestingly, the mighty Captain America's base was in London, which could be seen as a symbol of the close ties between Britain and the US!

Meanwhile, under Clark's observation, Thor gradually regained consciousness. While not completely immune to anesthetics, Thor's superior physique meant he recovered faster than an average person.

"Hmm?!" As he woke, memories of being captured and subdued by despicable means flashed through Thor's mind, suggesting a sinister plot.

Thor did not know his current location, his last clear memory being of Odin's disappointment. Now was not the time to dwell on such matters, however. Escaping was the priority, especially since he felt his limbs were still restrained…

"Heya!" Thor's ears twitched. Instead of opening his eyes immediately, he silently sensed his surroundings. When he detected no movement nearby, he suddenly shouted and forcefully broke the straps binding him.

"Boom!" The nearest researcher, startled by the noise, instinctively turned to look at Thor and was instantly knocked out by Thor's mighty punch, falling into a near-death state rather than mere unconsciousness.

The researchers here were ordinary people, not the kind of thugs concerned about betrayals in the black market. They didn't need to defend themselves; there were specialized personnel for handling disturbances.

Sure enough, as soon as Thor had knocked down the nearest researcher, combat personnel rushed towards him. Inside the base, they did not use weapons and tried to subdue Thor with hand-to-hand combat.

Facing these combatants, Thor performed much better than in the black market. His strength was indeed formidable, but his years of combat experience also allowed him to endure blows well, resulting in none of the advancing combatants managing to subdue him quickly.

At this moment, Thor finally began to show the fighting qualities of an Asgardian God of Thunder, though escaping the base was still far from his grasp.

Because Ah Fu had been alerted by the commotion!

"Experiment subject causing a riot? Just one person, and a dozen can't subdue him? What's his background?" Ah Fu furrowed his brows as he received the report.

"He was provided by Harvey. He said the guy is a secret soldier developed by some secret organization..." his subordinate whispered back.

"Secret soldier? Like a super soldier?" A glint of surprise passed through Ah Fu's eyes as he questioned further, "So, is he a backup experimental subject for the animal soldier project?"

"Not exactly. The middleman Harvey claimed he

's just a regular human who, after training, isn't weaker than a super soldier. It seems this guy's price is quite high…" the subordinate spoke softly, shrinking back a bit.

"Oh? A secret soldier? Interesting. Go, send a super soldier to test this guy's strength and see if he's as formidable as Harvey claims!" Ah Fu's eyes sparkled as he ordered, "If he's not that impressive, then have Harvey return the money. After all, our money isn't just blown in by the wind!"

"Yes, boss!" While Ah Fu had not avenged Valmont successfully, under his leadership, this line of Hydra had managed to maintain its current state. With his strength apparent, his authority within this branch of Hydra was significant.

"Secret soldier? Wonder how good his combat skills really are..." Ah Fu's eyes glittered as he walked towards where Thor was located, reminded of his own past.

Before injecting the super soldier serum, Ah Fu's capabilities were around that of a super soldier. After the successful injection, his powers had surpassed all historical super soldiers and reached the level of the best among the animal soldiers.

Over time, Ah Fu found he could still enhance his strength through personal training, though the pace was very slow. It allowed him to gradually surpass all animal soldiers.

Ah Fu wasn't sure if this was due to his already formidable strength or if the martial arts he practiced were particularly effective.

As the leader, he naturally wanted more strong subordinates. Often, it wasn't suitable for the boss to lead from the front since if the boss were compromised, the whole organization could be thrown into chaos. Ah Fu didn't want his efforts to stabilize Valmont's legacy to be wasted.

Unfortunately, despite teaching many his martial arts, few could grasp the essence or reach his previous level...

Super soldiers could reach levels close to the former Ah Fu, but the problem was that the super soldier serum couldn't be injected a second time, so there was no way to test whether martial arts could make the serum more potent.

Now, hearing about Thor's situation, Ah Fu saw a glimmer of hope. If Thor was as formidable as Harvey claimed, perhaps Thor could be injected with the super soldier serum to test it out!

Soon, Ah Fu arrived near the lab where Thor was still battling with the combat personnel. They had received orders from Ah Fu not to swarm Thor but instead took turns attacking him, giving Thor enough space to fight back continuously.

Facing this gauntlet, Thor showed no signs of fatigue, knocking down one combatant after another with a seemingly unstoppable brute force.

However, observing from the shadows, Ah Fu was not entirely pleased. Thor was merely using his strength and defense to forcefully plow through Ah Fu's men. In Thor's actions, Ah Fu saw little combat technique or strategy, even noting that Thor was not fighting randomly; this was his style!

"How has he been trained to fight like this? A brute style? Just strong hits without much skill?" Ah Fu watched Thor fight with a puzzled expression, unable to understand what kind of secret organization would waste resources on such a peculiar fighter.

Despite Thor's ability to overpower one opponent after another, it was because his strength and defense were robust enough. Such a warrior could dominate when facing weaker opponents.

But the problem was, secret soldiers like Thor would eventually face stronger enemies. If that was the case, why not improve Thor's combat skills?

This kind of brute force approach would not fare well against equally strong opponents. Moreover, Thor's continued victories were largely because the combat personnel weren't using weapons and were not attacking all at once.

If the combatants were armed, brute force alone would have seen Thor riddled with holes, allowing him to continue being a brute in hell...

"Boss!" As Ah Fu was internally critiquing Thor's fighting style, a super soldier approached him respectfully.

"McCarthy, go show that brute what real combat technique is. I hope you won't disappoint me!" Ah Fu nodded at McCarthy. McCarthy had learned martial arts from Ah Fu, and while the improvement wasn't dramatic, his skills were definitely enough to crush Thor in terms of technique.

As for strength and defense, Ah Fu did not believe Thor could match McCarthy.

"Hey!" McCarthy didn't intend to sneak attack; he shouted to attract Thor's attention, while the other combatants stepped back to give them enough space.

"Are you the leader here? What place is this?" Thor demanded, looking at McCarthy.

"If you beat me, then you'll find out..." McCarthy said with a mocking smile, spreading his hands, "But, that might be too difficult for you, you don't need to push yourself!"

"I've battled for a thousand years, and no fight has ever been beyond my reach! I'll give my all in every battle, to the very end!" Thor shouted back, charging towards McCarthy without waiting for a response.

"???" Ah Fu was full of question marks as Thor claimed a millennium of combat experience, momentarily bewildered by the possibility

 that Thor might be delusional.

"Harvey mentioned this guy might have some issues with his brain. Otherwise, they wouldn't have captured him so easily. He even claims to be the Thunder God, Thor..." The subordinate who had dealt with Harvey came up to Ah Fu and quietly explained.

"..." Ah Fu was silent for a moment and said nothing further. As long as Thor's mental state didn't affect his strength, it didn't matter. After all, Hydra had ways of brainwashing, and once Thor's fight was over, they would inject him with the super soldier serum. If successful, they could proceed with the brainwashing.

Then, whether it was Thunder God Thor or even King Odin himself, they would have to obey Ah Fu and Hydra's commands!

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