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When Whitney groggily regained consciousness again, she found herself tied to what appeared to be an experimental table. Not far from her stood a bald man in a white lab coat, his back turned to her as he busied himself at a lab station.
She quickly recalled what had happened—Josh Kane had drugged her.
Though she didn't yet know why he had done it, she knew she needed to find a way to escape.
"You're awake!" As Whitney's mind raced, trying to think of a way out, the bald man suddenly spoke.
"A Russian?" Though he was speaking fluent English, Whitney's sharp instincts picked up a slight Russian accent.
But... why would Josh Kane be involved with a Russian? Or was this Russian just someone Josh had hired?
"You're very perceptive, miss." The bald man was slightly surprised by how easily Whitney had identified his origin. No wonder Josh had said she wasn't ordinary.
Indeed, this bald man was none other than Yuri.
And the place Whitney now found herself in was no longer her original world, but a parallel universe in the Cretaceous period—in a new lab Yuri had established. Thanks to industrial equipment provided by Josh, a previous shipment of Japanese prisoners, and dinosaurs used as draft animals, after months of effort, Yuri had built a sizable camp capable of extensive industrial production.
The only remaining issue was the shortage of available manpower—but that situation was improving.
Although Josh world wasn't suitable for supplying too many people to Yuri, after Daenerys invaded Westeros with her army and quickly wiped out several lords, she gained a large population.
Among them, aside from some basic laborers, many nobles and their followers—seen as burdens and unwilling to submit—were bundled up and handed to Josh, who then passed them along to Yuri. Although these people were too primitive for detailed work, Yuri wasn't picky.
Josh's reason for sending Whitney to Yuri was simple.
He needed to confirm whether Whitney had indeed stolen the Night Light drug, and if so, who she was working for.
Although the military had dropped the Night Light theft investigation due to the emergence of the Bright Light drug, Josh was not willing to let it go.
His current safety and rising position in the military were entirely thanks to the Bright Light drug.
But if he didn't have Bright Light?
Then Whitney's incident would undoubtedly have implicated him.
Josh was not a forgiving man. If Whitney had really stolen the Night Light drug and possibly threatened his interests, he definitely wouldn't let it slide.
The most straightforward way to uncover the truth was, without a doubt, to hand her over to Yuri for interrogation.
Josh had no doubt that in the hands of someone like Yuri, a master of psychic control, Whitney would confess everything down to her first period at age whatever.
"Who are you? Where is Josh Kane?" Whitney still didn't realize the severity of the situation and was thinking about escape.
"Heh, you're a smart woman. You should know your current situation. So now I'm the one asking questions, not you~ Tell me, which organization do you work for, and why did you steal the Night Light drug?" Yuri asked casually.
He could've used psychic control to extract everything, but that would have been too boring for him.
Josh had given him a whole day, so Yuri didn't mind chatting with this pretty girl a bit longer.
Several hours later, Yuri walked out of the lab, leaving Whitney lying on the table, her eyes unfocused and her spirit seemingly broken.
"Who is she working for?" Josh asked directly once their communicator connected.
"The Social Sports Club, but it also goes by another name—Hydra's Council of Nine. But it's not the same group as the one with Red Skull. To be precise, Red Skull is a dissenter and traitor from within them. Also, Whitney Frost isn't her real name. Her real name is Agnes Cully," Yuri replied directly.
"Hydra? Damn, I knew it!" Hearing the name, Josh slammed the table. He'd had a hunch—during WWII, only a few organizations were capable of this sort of thing.
Still, hearing the name out loud rattled him.
"What's her position in Hydra? What does she know?" Josh asked.
"She holds a fairly high rank—an important mid-level member and a talented researcher. Some of her ideas even amazed me. Oh, and here's all the intel she has on the Council of Nine." Yuri transferred several sheets of paper.
Josh retrieved the documents from his system—it was a very long list. As he read the names, his expression turned stiff.
These were the members of the current Council of Nine in the U.S. Hydra branch.
But if it's a council of nine, why are there only eight?
Because the last member, Red Skull—Johann Schmidt—had been kicked out.
As for future Hydra leaders like Alexander Pierce? He was still a kid.
Even so, just these eight were enough to make Josh's skin crawl.
These corporate giants already had their hands deep in every corner of America. Compared to this united group, Josh Kane was at best a fat shrimp.
This snapped him out of the cockiness he'd started to feel after receiving the military's huge order.
Stay calm—don't get cocky!
He continued reading.
Aside from the Council member list, the documents contained numerous operations Hydra had conducted over the years—like the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, the orchestration of the Great Depression in 1929, the provision of super-soldier materials to Schmidt, and even a 1940 assassination attempt on Howard Stark to steal his prototype of the vibranium shield that would later become Captain America's weapon.
It was a long list and there was even intel on the founding of Leviathan.
All of this was incredibly valuable to Josh.
"Thanks, Lord Yuri," Josh said after finishing the documents.
"No need to thank me. We're partners. But what are you going to do with the woman?" Yuri asked.
"She's yours," Josh waved dismissively. He didn't want to get too involved with Hydra just yet. Keeping her was pointless.
And how would he explain her disappearance to the public?
Too easy.
A few days later, a headline appeared in London's newspapers:
"Famed Hollywood Actress 'Whitney' Killed in Tragic Accident While Hiking; Struck by Unexploded German Bomb, Body Unrecognizable."
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