Chapter Thirty-Four: Hyde's Cozy Cottage

After sending his dim-witted subordinates back to the C26 base beneath the Happy Factory, Hyde drove the massive truck alone into the villa grounds. The gate outside the villa was specially designed by him—raised and widened so the truck could easily pass through regardless of its size. Once the truck was parked securely within the designated lines in the yard, Hyde reached for a peculiar device hidden next to the driver’s seat—a contraption fitted with a camera and a small LCD screen.

He directed the camera toward his eye—there was a beep, and the previously dim screen instantly lit up with numerous options. Hyde extended a chubby finger, carefully pressing the topmost “Open Door” selection. A gentle tap, and when the green light appeared on the screen, he finally exhaled in relief.

Beneath “Open Door” was the “Guard Mode” option. He’d been worried he might accidentally press it and lock himself outside, ruining his carefully laid plans for the day. “If only my fingers weren’t so fat,” Hyde mused to himself. Next time, he would definitely modify this cursed remote controller—at the very least, widen the space between each option.

As Hyde pondered how best to improve the device, the rectangular area marked beneath the truck began to sink! Like a descending platform, accompanied by the grinding of mechanical bearings, the platform lowered vertically, carrying the truck underground. Hyde, unfazed, watched the scene; after all, this large lift was custom-built for his enormous vehicle.

He hadn’t expected it to come in handy so soon.

The descent lasted about a minute; if Hyde remembered correctly, he was now some fifty meters beneath the surface. Ahead, the space opened up, illuminated by bright white lamps that made it seem like daylight. Everything around him was crafted from exquisite silver alloy—walls, floors, even the ceiling.

Hyde drove the truck forward a little, and the platform automatically rose again, concealing the existence of the underground base.

Dragging his hefty frame out of the truck, Hyde surveyed his surroundings. This was his personal secret base, built with years of savings; even his superiors were unaware of its location. He now stood in the “living room” of the base—a wall draped with countless screens served as his surveillance center, and nearby rooms functioned as storage and rest areas.

With two quick taps on his remote, a swarm of mechanical arms and conveyor belts surged toward the truck’s cargo hold.

They began methodically transferring the sorted supplies to his various storage rooms. One particularly large conveyor belt, leading from the rear of the truck, stretched directly to the deepest part of the secret base.

That area had been meticulously designed by Hyde; its thick copper and iron walls were built using unique defensive technology developed from Howard Stark’s research on vibranium. The renovation of New York’s Hinger Prison had been the first application of this technology.

Hyde was deeply familiar with its strength—when he had controlled the Rhino in the past, the creature had smashed against the walls so hard that Hyde’s head was left ringing.

Now, in this room fortified to the extreme, he was about to detain an even heavier character.

It was the magical mutant he had accidentally captured five years ago. Though she had yet to awaken her superpowers, Hyde, with top-tier technology provided from above, was able to continuously extract a red energy from her—a power capable of controlling minds.

He called this red energy the “Whip of God.”

The Whip of God was incredibly potent. Just over a month ago, Hyde had used it to control the super-prisoner held beneath Hinger Prison—the Rhino. That enormous brute had fetched him a handsome sum.

And now...

When the square glass cage appeared on the conveyor belt at the rear of the truck, Hyde’s gaze inadvertently glanced inside.

The magical mutant, his “Subject Zero,” was now little more than skin and bones—almost skeletal. Her once exquisite eyes were clouded and gray; her pale skin had turned almost unnaturally white.

It wasn’t that Hyde mistreated Subject Zero. Quite the opposite—he treated her as an honored guest, even hiring an old woman from Sokovia to care for her daily needs.

As long as the mutant stayed quietly within the special cage designed for her—where she could absorb the Whip of God at any time—Hyde was willing to fulfill her every request.

Her ghostly, lifeless state could be traced back about a month.

At that time, for reasons unknown, the cage began to extract exponentially increasing amounts of the Whip of God from her. At first, Hyde paid little attention, thinking perhaps it was a natural increase due to age.

But the growth was faster and more outrageous each day!

A few days ago, the entire cell was flooded with visible, blood-red Whip of God. By then, Hyde was genuinely alarmed.

Every container in the C26 base capable of storing the Whip of God was completely filled.

He could no longer collect any more from the cell. All he could do was watch helplessly as the mysterious power accumulated in the cramped cell, uncertain what adverse consequences might arise.

And in the early hours today, everything seemed to reach a critical threshold.

The massive amount of Whip of God in the cell burst forth, even resonating with the Whip of God Hyde had previously collected.

In an instant!

The whole world changed.

Endless Whip of God surged toward every person, the sky, all things in the world—

Hyde found his subordinates transformed into babbling, childlike three-year-olds, but he himself...remained unchanged.

After some thought, he attributed his immunity to the device on his head, which allowed him to manipulate the Whip of God.

Upon further investigation, he discovered that the range of the Whip of God’s influence had expanded to encompass the entire neighborhood—unprecedented. The magical mutant responsible had been reduced to her current skeletal state.

Hyde guessed: it must be a case of overusing her powers.

At first, Hyde didn’t think much of the incident. He figured he could still control the Whip of God using his device.

He wasn’t in a hurry to take action, instead continuing his investigation and research...

This was the first time the Whip of God had altered the world, not just the minds of individuals. If he could master it, the possibilities were limitless.

But as he delved deeper, his composure finally evaporated...

Because S.H.I.E.L.D. had arrived.