Chapter 24

"Good, just one."

Grant Ward glanced around and breathed a sigh of relief internally.

If four or five more guys like those he'd just encountered showed up, his escape today might not have been certain.

Without wasting any words, he launched into a fierce assault right from the start, aiming every move at vital points, seeking to quickly take down the robust man before him.

However, to his shock, the man's skills far surpassed his expectations, effortlessly neutralizing every attack Grant made.

"Not bad, no wonder you managed to take down my two men," San remarked, parrying Grant's attacks and advancing with a thrust forward, swinging his body like thunder striking directly at Grant's chest.

"Old Bear Crashing into the Tree!"

San's martial arts, directly taught by Juan, included the Bear form from the Twelve Animal Forms of Xing Yi, which embodies the power of a mountain spirit defending its den. The Bear form is the most powerful in terms of sheer force, potentially more damaging than the Dragon or Tiger forms.

Grant, a top-tier combatant, was sent flying with a mouthful of blood by San's strike, struggling several times on the ground before managing to stand up again.

So strong, so incredibly strong. Throughout his many missions and encounters with numerous experts, this was the first time he'd met someone so formidable.

"Pity I'm an agent, and my strength isn't limited to hand-to-hand combat!"

Knowing he couldn't match this man in close combat, Grant reached for his handgun at his waist and aimed it at San.

Using firearms in a residential area might complicate things for him later, but it seemed he had no choice but to disregard these concerns at the moment.

"I'd advise you to put that thing down, unless you want a bullet in your head. Don't blame me then."

San, seeing Grant pull out his gun, didn't panic; instead, he smirked mockingly.

Grant's expression stiffened, and he slowly lowered his gun. He had realized that he was targeted by two laser sights—one aimed at his head and another at his heart.

It turned out the complex's snipers had adjusted their positions, including the area where San and Grant were fighting within their range.

Shortly, seven or eight burly men dressed as security guards rushed over and surrounded Grant.

"Take him away!"

With a cold snort from San, several strong men disarmed Grant of all his equipment and escorted him towards a specially adapted interrogation room in the complex.

...

"Ding-dong!"

Hearing the notification sound from his phone on the bedside table, Juan slowly opened his eyes and reached for his phone.

"They're getting physical on their first day here, Hydra agents really are impatient."

Reading the report sent by San, Juan carefully moved Wanda's smooth arm and leg off him.

Quietly getting up, he left his room led by two guards already waiting at the door and headed to the interrogation room of the complex.

"Boss, he's tough, hasn't said a word, insists on talking directly to you," San reported respectfully as Juan entered.

Juan waved his hand to signal it was okay, and sat down in pajamas in a nearby chair, yawning and smiling at the bruised and swollen Grant.

"I'm Juan. Tell me, who are you, and what are you doing sneaking around our complex?"

Grant looked up at Juan, despite being battered and bruised, his tone remained remarkably calm:

"My name is Grant Ward. I am an agent with the Homeland Strategic Defense Attack and Logistics Support Bureau. I infiltrated this complex today to carry out a secret mission. Your actions have interfered with my mission, please release me immediately."

"What mission, to kill me? Or kidnap me?" Juan raised an eyebrow.

Grant shook his head, "I can't disclose the details, but it has nothing to do with you; it's all a misunderstanding."

Juan took a handgun from San, pointing it at Grant's head: "You can choose not to tell me, but your head will soon 'blossom'. Don't worry, this room is soundproof, no one outside can hear a gunshot."

"Okay, I'll talk, although it's against regulations. My target is a person named Paige on the sixth floor of Building 8. His real identity might be a terrorist, and I need to infiltrate his home to gather some intelligence."

Grant's expression was serious, showing no signs of lying.

In fact, he was genuinely carrying out this task, a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission orchestrated in advance by John Garrett. There wouldn't be any issues if someone were to investigate it.

Juan turned to San, who replied, "Our research indicates that Paige is just an unemployed troublemaker."

"That's just his cover," Grant quietly responded.

Paige was indeed an unemployed troublemaker with several criminal records, but as of yesterday, he had become a terrorist—an elusive one at that.

Juan nodded, expressing admiration for the meticulous work of these Hydra agents, which explained how they could hollow out S.H.I.E.L.D.

"The Homeland Strategic Defense Attack and Logistics Support Bureau, a major international organization, was established by Captain America's girlfriend Peggy Carter and Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark. Oh, you might not know this, but I'm actually quite good friends with Tony.

The former director, Alexander Pierce, and the current director, Nick Fury—am I right?"

"How do you know all this?" Grant's pupils shrank upon hearing Juan's words.

In his files, Juan was just a wealthy businessman from Sokovia, perhaps a bit unclean in his dealings behind the scenes.

Grant was already surprised by the powerful and almost bizarrely competent security team today, but he hadn't expected that his opponent would also be so knowledgeable about S.H.I.E.L.D. and even friends with Tony Stark, far beyond what the files had suggested.

"I know who you are and who's behind you. You didn't come here looking for some terrorist today. But no worries, I won't hold it against you this time.

However, when you go back, tell the person behind you to stop bothering me, or I won't be as polite as today. It will end… ugly for him!"

Juan's eyes turned icy, his powerful presence making Grant feel almost unable to breathe.

"Alright, let's not treat our guest this way. Bandage his wounds and let him go. Also, give him something to eat on the way back, it's late and he must be hungry.

I'm going back to sleep; I have to visit my new company tomorrow."

After issuing the warning, Juan stood up, yawned again, and then casually left the interrogation room.

Grant was left utterly bewildered by Juan's words, which had completely disoriented him.

Finally, he could only feign ignorance and responded, "I don't know what you're talking about."