Chapter 1888: Madman's Journey (64)_1

After Shiller notified Obadiah Tony Stark of his assassination plot over the phone, the kidnappers hired by Obadiah were bound to take action again. However, this had its benefits - they would empty their nearby bases, leaving no manpower to monitor local terrorists.

In other words, Shiller had implemented a diverting tactic. The Ten Commandments based in Afghanistan already had limited manpower. After their first failed attempt, they would undoubtedly increase their forces to ensure their second attempt goes smoothly, leaving them with no time to bother the local anti-government army.

With less pressure from their rivals, the anti-government army could delegate more manpower to kidnap Tony Stark. The locals undoubtedly understood the terrain and routes better than the incoming members of the heretical group. And just like that, the manpower of the opposition quickly caught up with Stark and Erik's vehicle.

Shiller's original target wasn't Erik, so the problem was naturally left to Wakanda. As long as Tony Stark could be kidnapped to the cave, the plan would be considered successful.

However, things still surprised Shiller. Erik chose to abandon Stark and run, which made Shiller question Erik's expertise. After all, the latter had clearly failed to see Stark's hero complex.

Consequently, Shiller lowered his plan for dealing with Erik to ensure he didn't die too quickly, as they owed T'Challa an explanation.

After Stark was kidnapped to the cave, Shiller used a series of psychological tactics in the naturally enclosed environment. He deceived the naive Iron Man, causing the latter to regard Shiller as his most steadfast ally.

However, the plan was not yet complete. They had to create a powerful common enemy for Stark, otherwise there would not be enough pressure for Tony Stark to transform.

Playboy Stark and Iron Man were two entirely different people. Before his woke stages, Tony Stark was still immersed in his childhood and adolescent fantasies, placing the role of the superhero on others. The latter, however, had recognized the truth and had chosen to become a superhero himself, to save others.

If the pressure was not strong enough, Stark would not have this realization. Thus, the person needed to be influential and hold an important position in American politics, making Alexander Pierce the perfect candidate.

This could not be described as deception, because Pierce was already a Hydra, and someone like Stark who holds a strong sense of justice would certainly not get along with him.

Shiller, trusting Nick, believed that even within just a few days, Nick would certainly put great pressure on Pierce. So, he chose a clever location.

In Pierce's career, he had, of course, known about numerous unauthorized military experiments and had contacts at certain bases. An abandoned base in Afghanistan happened to be one of the leads Pierce had held.

If it was merely to call for a rescue, Shiller did not need to lead Stark to such a remote location. His goal was to have Pierce monitor Afghanistan due to pressure and notice that an unusual signal was coming from an abandoned base.

That is to say, Pierce discovering the coordinates was not by luck or because he was actively monitoring Shiller's communication channel. Instead, Shiller found a secret military base where Pierce had once held contact information, thereby actively giving him the information.

As suspected, Pierce was fooled. He thought that as long as he could get there before Nick and put all the blame on Shiller, he would prove himself innocent. However, he failed to realize that all of this was part of a trap set by Nick and Shiller.

Pierce rushed to Afghanistan and brought Stark back to New York. However, through a series of words and actions, Shiller hinted at Stark, making him suspect that Pierce was the biggest Hydra.

This situation not only put pressure on Stark but also burdened Pierce with enough pressure from Stark's actions. For instance, Stark would ask Shiller to go to court to protect Shiller and to take down Pierce.

What seemed like a mild approach was indeed powerful, letting Shiller go to court meant that the agents couldn't use any special interrogation means against him. But Pierce was already in the previously mentioned dilemma, he had to get some information out of Shiller in order to claim his achievements in attacking Hydra and protect his own career.

Pierce and Stark's opposition was a natural one, which was, of course, the result of Shiller and Nick's plan. Nick pressured Pierce within S.H.I.E.L.D. while Shiller used his leftover influence to press Stark, leading them to become natural opponents.

Becoming enemies wasn't the end though, Shiller didn't plan for Tony Stark to march directly into S.H.I.E.L.D. to kill Pierce. On one hand, it might cause Iron Man to be thrown into jail, which was not what Shiller wanted to see. On the other hand, it would be too cheap for Pierce.

Shiller has always disliked Pierce, but not because he was Hydra. Pierce, as part of Hydra, held a high position but didn't do anything. He was the conservative among the conservatives. If it wasn't for his extreme conservatism, Shiller and Nick wouldn't have to worry about Hydra's manpower later.

Would Shiller and Nick be exhausted if Hydra's Pierce had done more in his thirty years in power? This scene was a wave of public vengeance against private vengeance.

After successfully establishing the opposition between Stark and Pierce, the entire plan had just begun.

This plan, referred to as "Domino" by Shiller, Nick, and T'Challa, was just as the name implied. One thing led to another in a chain reaction, each link triggering the next when it fell.

The opposition between Pierce and Stark let Coulson easily win Stark's trust. As soon as Stark felt helpless, Coulson pointed out that Nick had long suspected Pierce.

This was another kind of psychological suggestion. Simply put, when a person feels solitary and helpless, revealing someone who might be their ally will immediately make them fond of that person, and in part, accept their arrangements.

Indeed, Stark accepted the trade deal proposed by Nick. To get Shiller out as soon as possible and help Nick assume power, he was willing to go to Eastern Europe to wipe out Hydra.

With that, all arrangements for Stark in the plan were completed. Every detail was interconnected. Generally speaking, no one could escape from such meticulously crafted scheme, even if they are the smartest scientist in the world. They are still lacking when it comes to political intrigue and strategizing.

To simplify Stark's storyline: Shiller went to manipulate Stark, while Nick coerced Pierce. Then, through a series of arrangements from both sides, they formed an opposition, trapped in isolation, causing them to take an extreme risk.

Next, was Erik's storyline, which was much simpler than Stark's. Shiller didn't even need to step in personally, he just needed to create opportunities, and Erik would ruin everything himself.

For instance, Shiller's first condition for collaborating with the local anti-government forces was that he would help them tidy up their forces and arrange patrol routes. Since even the patrol routes were arranged by Shiller, he could let whoever he wanted in and kept out whoever he didn't want in.

However, Shiller didn't exclude Erik, but rather, allowed him to enter twice.

As Shiller expected, Erik messed up everything himself.

As T'Challa had determined, Erik desperately needed opportunities for advancement, but his pride was too strong. He always wanted Stark to come begging to him, offering him benefits. This resulted in all his actions seeming discordant.

Even though he claimed to be saving Stark out of friendship and without any desire for fame and gain, he repeatedly made requests, even after being clearly rejected by Stark.

One tactic fails; he comes up with another. After failing to paint himself as a hero, he tried to gain sympathy by playing the victim. Then he sought shared hobbies. In short, he used the exhaustion method to probe repeatedly.

However, Stark was not a character in a game. He was the smartest scientist in the world. Even if he was not good at understanding human nature, Erik's repetitive attempts to choose the correct option like a video game protagonist would undoubtedly raise his suspicions.

The two of them were destined to grow apart, but Erik wouldn't easily give up.

Shiller had heard from T'Challa that Erik's situation in Wakanda was very bad. It wasn't that Wakanda was oppressing him, but rather, Erik wanted more than his abilities could match; his banishment was simply a result of his own undoing.

But because his ambitions were sky-high, yet his life was worth nothing, Erik was sure to grasp his chance to turn his situation around with both hands. A chance he could hardly come by. Just as the saying goes, a pig on the wind wouldn't consider itself to have been blown up by the wind. It would believe that it was its own ability, and that it was meant to achieve more.

However, the pressure that Shiller and Nick had jointly exerted on Stark had taken effect. Stark chose to cooperate with Obadiah instead of banishing him. Therefore, Obadiah became the obstacle Erik couldn't overcome on his way to using Stark Group, and they were destined to be at odds with each other.

It wouldn't be possible for Erik to overcome the obstacle called Obadiah by ordinary means. He had too few talents and wanted too much. Hence, he could only choose one path, to get rid of Obadiah by the most simple and brutal means. Sooner or later, he would make a move.

At this point, Shiller's focus returned to Pierce. Pressed into a corner, Pierce only had one choice, which was to use all of his cards to tackle the Hydra in Eastern Europe, in order to get his career back on track.

However, he didn't have many cards to play. Nick was his opponent, not his pawn. So, naturally, he would think of Tony Stark, whom he had once saved.

Pierce knew what kind of person Stark was. His hasty trip to Afghanistan was to cash in the favor from Stark. In a situation where everything became critical, if not now, then when?

Shiller also knew that Pierce wouldn't use straightforward means to drive Stark to Eastern Europe. Because Nick had already taken that road, and Pierce didn't have a large enough flag to rally Stark.

Therefore, he had to resort to slightly mean tactics. There was only one person whom Stark acknowledged as family - Obadiah.

The subordinates of Erik and Pierce were destined to gather at Obadiah's place. One of them saw Obadiah as an opponent in his path of advancement and had to kill him. The other wanted to kidnap Obadiah to Eastern Europe to blackmail Stark to rescue him, thereby resolving the Hydra issue.

As Shiller predicted, both sides met at Obadiah's villa.

Shiller was well aware that Erik wasn't a pushover either. Wakandan technology, coupled with his desperate determination, led him to eliminate his target. Consequently, Obadiah died.

But having killed Obadiah, Erik couldn't resist the agents' attacks. Thus, Pierce's goal was also accomplished. Although he couldn't kidnap Obadiah, he could kidnap the person who saved Stark's life.

So, when he found out about Obadiah's death, Pierce didn't give up his plan. Instead, he switched his kidnapping target to Erik.

And so, Obadiah was killed in his own villa by Erik, and Erik was kidnapped to Eastern Europe by Hydra agents under Pierce.