"I hope you have good news for me," said the Blacksmith, with an expectant expression upon seeing Axel's appearance.
"Of course, I brought back the data," replied Axel confidently, as he opened the zipper of his waist bag and reached in to retrieve the information.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Axel's movements became increasingly quick and intense, his smile gradually freezing on his face.
Suddenly, he turned the waist bag upside down and shook it with all his might, causing everything inside to spill out.
The contents were all deadly weapons disguised as magical props, including exploding rubber chickens, candy-coated shells, inflated chewing gum, itching powder, T-bombs...
But the "network" data was nowhere to be found.
Rubbing his eyes, Axel still couldn't believe it.
"It's impossible, I had it in there!" he exclaimed, panic starting to flood him.
The blacksmith's expression turned cold, causing Axel to break out in a cold sweat.
He was absolutely certain that he had put the data in the bag, and the zipper was intact, the bag was not torn or cut in anyway. He also had not encountered any obstacles along the way. How could it disappear just like that?
No matter how hard Axel tried to think, he couldn't come up with an explanation.
"I need an explanation," said the Blacksmith in a cold tone, sending shivers down Axel's spine.
Axel then started recounting his actions one by one, including how he recruited Yuri and others, how he calculated the cover of the gang of four, and how he escaped from the FBI guards after obtaining the data.
After finishing, Axel secretly glanced at the blacksmith, who was staring at him with a blank expression.
"Are you sure we weren't seen on the way here?" Suddenly, the Blacksmith asked.
Axel immediately replied, "I'm sure, I can guarantee that."
"Hmm," the Blacksmith sneered, "then how did the data disappear?"
"I...I don't know, but..." Axel gathered his courage and continued, "I don't think that data can really threaten the network. They don't know where we are, they don't know we're hidden underground, and they don't know how many people are in the network. The few peripheral members they know can't leak much information..."
Bang!
There was a loud noise, and the Blacksmith suddenly attacked, charging at Axel. The desk in front of them was shattered, chunks and pieces of it flying everywhere.
In horror, Axel watched as the Blacksmith's skin turned into blue metal from head to toe, and then he was choked by the Blacksmith's hand around his neck.
"I don't want to hear 'I don't know'!" The Blacksmith shouted, holding Axel up high.
*Gasp!*
Axel struggled frantically, feeling as if he were suffocating. His hands trying remove the hand around his neck to no avail.
"Do you know how important that data is to us?" The Blacksmith raged on. "The network's next plan is of great significance, and there can be no risk of leakage."
"They haven't noticed the truly important parts of that data yet, but sooner or later they will piece together all the clues, and then we will all be screwed!"
"Maybe you think that without The Flash in Central City, we can do whatever we want, but don't forget that there's a damn satellite in the sky monitoring the entire Earth! If our plan is leaked, the Justice League will definitely act, so we must be careful!"
Axel talked with difficulty, his face starting to turn blue in suffocation. "I...I understand my mistake, but I can assure you that the data is not in the FBI's hands now, and there's still time for your plan."
"Please give me a chance to make up for my mistake," he said.
The blacksmith looked at him coldly for a moment before finally releasing his grip. Axel collapsed to the ground, clutching his neck and vomiting uncontrollably.
"I'll give you another chance," the blacksmith said sternly. "But remember, I won't tolerate a second failure from you."
*cough!*
Axel continued to cough but also breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a close call.
"I'll try to retrieve the data as soon as possible," he said.
"No need," the blacksmith shook his head. "If the data is in James' hands, it's probably hidden somewhere we can't find it. And if someone else has it, they'll come to us."
Axel didn't quite understand what the blacksmith meant, but he didn't dare to ask. He waited quietly for the blacksmith to continue.
"There's a freelance profiler at the Keystone City Police Department named Hunter Zolomon. He thinks he can fool me, but I already know he's been in contact with my ex-husband. Your mission is to clear all the files on Hunter Zolomon's personal computer."
The blacksmith tossed a small disc the size of a palm to Axel. "Stick this on his computer, and it will automatically erase the data."
"Axel, don't disappoint me!"
—-—
–Yuri's Pathetic House–
Yuri sat in an old, worn-out chair, examining his loot. The Omnitrix was still analyzing the mysterious energy he had captured from the Flash, and it was estimated to take another 17 hours to complete.
Until then, Yuri couldn't use the omnitrix.
He looked at another piece of loot.
Network research data.
Yuri spread the data on the table and began to browse through it.
"Wow, this network is quite impressive," he exclaimed.
Although the content of the data wasn't extensive, totaling only a dozen or so pages, each page contained a significant amount of information.
The headquarters of the Network were incredibly secretive, and even now, their location was unknown.
All the known super villains of the central city had worked with the network to varying degrees, and in theory, a lot of intelligence could be extracted from them.
However, the reality was that every super villain who had been caught remembered going to the network, but had forgotten where it was located and what they had done there.
They didn't have any mental illnesses, and there were no visible injuries on their bodies.
Even the warden of the infamous Iron Heights Penitentiary, who was known for his cold-blooded brutality, couldn't extract any information about the network.
The network had monopolized the black markets of the central city and the Keystone City, with significant trade between various states' black markets. One could say that anything could be purchased within the network.
According to the FBI's estimation, the annual trading volume of the black market was as high as two hundred million dollars, and the network could extract twenty percent of it, which meant that the network's profit was fifty million dollars per year.
It didn't take long for Yuri to finish reading all the data.
Apart from describing the network's business, it also specifically pointed out that a small group of super criminals mysteriously disappeared after committing a series of crimes. They were suspected to have a deeper connection with the network than other criminals.
On the last page, the leader of the network was introduced, and the information on this page was provided by an anonymous informant.
The leader of the network called himself the Blacksmith, and her real name was Amunet Black, the former wife of the super villain Golden Glider and the current president of the Keystone City Union. She had started building the network fifteen years ago.
*****
A/N: It's a new week! care to spare some stones?
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