The next afternoon, right on schedule, a 1938 Bentley appeared at the entrance of the manor—Lindon Schneider's personal car while in Britain.
So-called British luxury cars weren't worth much during this time. For Lindon, who had helped Josh earn a fortune over the past two months, this was nothing.
However, to Lindon's surprise, the manor gates did not open... Normally, the guards would open the gates the moment they saw his car.
Perplexed, Lindon instinctively honked twice.
Still, no guards came to open the gate.
Just as Lindon began to sense something was wrong and was about to get out to investigate, the small side gate opened, and six of his well-known personal bodyguards—Vito, Brook, and the rest—filed out from inside the school gate, vaguely surrounding the car. Behind them were two burly maids.
"What's going on, Brook?" Lindon asked, confused, rolling down his window at the sight of the formation.
"Nothing has happened, Lindon. The boss has been waiting for some time. But before you meet him, we need you and the lady in the back of the car to step out for a security check," Brook said.
"What? You've got to be joking. Since when do I need a check to meet the boss?" Lindon replied angrily and incredulously.
"This is the boss' order, Mr. Schneider. Please get out of the car with the lady," Vito said coldly from the other side, his hand already reaching for his waist.
"Ma'am, what do you think?" Seeing Brook and Vito were serious, Lindon turned helplessly to the person in the back seat.
"Heh, this Mr. Kane is certainly cautious. In that case, let's get out," a clear female voice sounded from the back seat.
Then, both the driver's and the rear doors opened one after another. Lindon stepped out obediently from the driver's seat.
From the back stepped out a tall, slender young blonde woman in an emerald green leather coat, with delicate features.
She was none other than the Ophelia Salkisten from the "old country" Lindon had mentioned to Josh.
After getting out, Ophelia first scanned Vito and the other five, then looked toward the distant manor and gave a charming smile to a specific window in one of the buildings.
Inside that window, Josh, watching through binoculars, felt a sudden jolt upon seeing the woman's outfit. A title sprang to his mind—
Madame Hydra!
But then Josh frowned.
Was there a Madame Hydra in the MCU movies?
Probably not in the films, but perhaps in one of the spinoff series.
Possibly in a season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but Josh couldn't recall clearly. If he remembered correctly, the Madam Hydra in that show was just a personality of a female AI in a virtual world created with the Darkhold, and had little relation to the original comic book character.
In The Wolverine from the X-Men series, there had also been a Viper Lady who resembled Madame Hydra.
But if it was that version, wouldn't that contradict Josh's previous assumption that there were no mutants in this world?
Josh had only watched a few spinoffs aside from the main MCU movies before crossing over. Otherwise, he would know that in the latest Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, a version of Madame Hydra had indeed appeared.
Of course, that Madam Hydra had little to do with the woman Josh now saw.
That wasn't to say Ophelia wasn't Madame Hydra.
In fact, Josh guessed correctly: Ophelia was Madame Hydra.
It's just that, apart from sharing the same title, Ophelia and the one in Falcon and the Winter Soldier had no other similarities.
Just like "Black Widow," "Madame Hydra" was merely a title.
And Ophelia was the first generation Madame Hydra.
As for which generation the one in Falcon and the Winter Soldier was, no one knew.
While Josh pondered the likelihood of her being Madame Hydra, Brook had already taken out the "Revelation" device and started scanning Lindon.
Ophelia, who had kept a smile on her face after exiting the car, suddenly looked unsettled upon seeing the "Revelation."
Although she didn't know what it was, she did sense a trace of psychic power when Brook pulled it out.
Could it be…?
Sure enough, the moment the "Revelation" lit up red, all six bodyguards raised their guns at once, aiming at both Lindon and Ophelia without hesitation.
Lindon instinctively turned to look at Ophelia—only to see that she had already obediently raised her hands…
Normally, Ophelia was very confident in her abilities. Against any one of the six individually, she was sure of her advantage.
But now, with all six pointing guns at her from a distance, and no cover around except the car, she didn't want to test her luck.
As for psychic control…She had just tried it. Aside from the already-controlled Lindon, the six men and two maids showed no reaction.
Josh? Although she had detected him, he was too far away—outside her range.
Despite her strong psychic control abilities, her effective range was only about ten meters.
Inside the manor, Josh, seeing all this from the window, let out a relieved sigh.
Good thing he'd noticed something off about Lindon and stayed cautious.
Otherwise, he might've fallen into this woman's trap.
"Don't shoot, I mean no harm," Ophelia said helplessly to Vito and the others, hands raised.
"No harm? Controlling our friend, and you call that no harm?" Vito sneered.
Brook, who was closer to Lindon, pulled out an injector and, in a quick step, jabbed it into the small man's neck.
Lindon immediately passed out.
"He should be fine now. I'll take him inside. You handle things here," Brook said to Vito as he hoisted the unconscious Lindon.
"No problem. You two—search the woman. Shoes, hair, underwear—don't miss a single spot," Vito said, nodding to Brook and then ordering the two burly maids nearby.
The two maids nodded and stepped forward to search the now visibly uneasy Ophelia.
"You'd better not make any sudden moves, or we'll shoot without hesitation," Vito warned at the change in her expression.
Ophelia bit her lip and let the maids run their hands all over her.
As for grabbing the maids as hostages? Don't kid yourself—the man clearly didn't care about them at all.
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