Chapter 100: Commanding the Entire Stage (Third Update—Requesting Monthly Votes)

Throughout history, there has never been a shortage of vile organizations that, while parasitically attached to their nations, have always acted as traitors from within. In the annals of the Marvel universe, Hydra was once as loyal as a hound—when the man with the little mustache gave the order to attack, they obeyed without question. But the moment Germany grew weak, they cast the nation aside as though discarding a sack of garbage.

In a private meeting room, Gomez Muller went through the customary ritual of exchanging secret codes with Mei Mumu, but his mind was wholly occupied by the shocking news he’d just received. Seeing the undisguised astonishment on Gomez’s face, and then hearing his next words, Mei Mumu realized that Hydra’s treacherous ambitions had become all too clear at this point.

“Damn it! Lord Red Skull has gone to Stalingrad! If that’s the case, the hard-won trust the Führer has finally extended to Hydra will surely be… Sigh! I can’t imagine how furious his lordship will be when our funding gets slashed.”

Not once in his entire tirade did he mention Germany at all!

Ha! No matter what parallel world Hydra inhabits, their nature never changes!

At that moment, Gomez failed to notice the strange gleam in Mei Mumu’s eyes. The anxiety and fear in his heart were transmuted into shadows, which appeared to Mei Mumu’s eyes in a peculiar hue.

Mei Mumu discovered that as long as he could pinpoint the source of his enemy’s fear and unease, he could overlay his own will and subtly guide his opponent’s thoughts, exploiting their mental weaknesses.

Was this Hypnosis?

Even Mei Mumu himself did not know. He could not describe this spell, or whatever mysterious ability or special skill he had acquired since coming to this world. Even the Balance System merely prompted him with: “Host, you have launched a mental-type attack on the target,” and nothing more.

Yet Mei Mumu could clearly sense that this power was as natural to him as eating and drinking. If he had to trace its origins, it probably began the first time he visited Kamar-Taj, when someone drugged the incense and he had that strange dream…

But since he was here to stir things up, Mei Mumu saw no reason to hold back. Having sensed that Hydra’s unease stemmed from their decline, he decided to fan the flames.

“It’s precisely because of Red Skull’s misjudgment that Baron Strucker sent me.”

Gomez hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you know the target of the ‘Ghost of Stalingrad’?”

The Ghost of Stalingrad? So that’s what these Germans call me in private?

Mei Mumu replied with a dismissive air, “A bunch of Ivans—who do you think they’re most desperate to rescue? Would Stalin really let such a powerful ghost go unused?”

“Yakov!” Gomez forced out the very name Mei Mumu wanted to hear, barely parting his teeth to do so.

Feigning concern, Mei Mumu did not ask directly where Yakov was. Instead, he said, “Baron Strucker has no intention of interfering with Lord Red Skull’s arrangements. The Baron sent me only to confirm that everything is foolproof. Please understand, if Lord Red Skull’s plans have failed, then…”

In truth, Hydra was rife with factions. Although they often cooperated, each faction operated independently in strict terms. This was precisely the weakness Mei Mumu could exploit.

As soon as he finished speaking, Mei Mumu could sense Gomez’s terror—so palpable that it surfaced in his mind without the need for sleep or unconsciousness.

What am I going to do if Lord Red Skull has made a mistake? Damn it, Yakov is only the fourth candidate in the contingency plans. What do I do, what do I do? I can’t even warn his lordship in time. If something happens to Yakov, they’ll skin me alive and toss me into the crematorium at the concentration camp.

Gomez was oblivious to the fact that his every thought had been laid bare to Mei Mumu. Still trying to probe, he asked, “May I ask, is the intelligence on the ghost accurate? How soon might he act?”

“We’ve only confirmed that he’s already in Berlin. He could strike as soon as tonight. Remember, this is a super-agent who, while surrounded by fifty thousand elite Wehrmacht troops, infiltrated an army-level headquarters guarded by five hundred armed soldiers and successfully carried out assassinations and kidnappings. Against such an opponent, you can never be too careful.”

Playing the part of the thief calling out “stop thief,” Mei Mumu continued to frighten this pitiable little Hydra officer.

The scales in Gomez’s heart quickly tipped, and he subconsciously placed his trust in the ‘Hydra high envoy’ before him. “Please, follow me.”

Gomez led Mei Mumu to the officers’ lounge, where they found several other mid-level Hydra officers.

One of them, yet another cursed Hans, introduced Mei Mumu: “That fellow was previously held in Lübeck-Oflag X concentration camp, but after they discovered he was digging a tunnel, he was transferred here. Still, he receives certain privileges here—he doesn’t wear a prison uniform, he’s allowed to dress in his own military attire, and he doesn’t have to do forced labor.”

Hans pointed to an internal map marked with various annotations.

Yakov was held in Cell A of the Special Detention Area. Along with him were Vasily Kokorin, nephew of Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov; British Lieutenant Colonel Tom Cushing-Patrick; and Major Andrew Walsh William Murphy.

Having learned this much, Mei Mumu had a solid grasp of the situation.

As a formidable time traveler and a formally trained sorcerer, even without tapping much into the power of the Time Stone, as long as he didn’t act recklessly and get hit by dozens of artillery shells, he was a city-level powerhouse—capable of single-handedly destroying a city, especially in a place like Berlin where reckless shelling was unthinkable.

He truly couldn’t afford to be careless. After all, that little-mustached Hitler possessed the Spear of Longinus—an artifact of legendary power in the Marvel universe, whose actual might Mei Mumu had no desire to experience firsthand.

Of course, inside Sachsenhausen camp, if he wished, he had plenty of subtle means at his disposal to silently slaughter everyone and then casually drive away with Stalin’s beloved son, singing as if on a country outing. Unfortunately, it would be hard to cover his tracks afterwards.

He quietly cast a quick spell amid the crowd—a Mind Fog, a mental enchantment only those with considerable spiritual strength could perceive, designed to sap the will of all present.

After all, prison guards were rarely formidable individuals; the truly capable were all sent on field assignments around the world.

Mei Mumu pressed both hands on the table and leaned forward. To these minor Hydra officers, his presence suddenly became overwhelming, like a lion king surveying all from a mountaintop.

All at once, they shivered, then craned their necks, awaiting Mei Mumu’s orders.

“Who’s in charge here now?”

“Himmler isn’t present—Colonel Ludwila Etgar is in command at the moment.”