When Natasha and the others led the Widows into Dreykov's office, Dreykov had already been tied up like a pretzel by Blake, with his limbs broken.
It wasn't that Blake was being overly dramatic; Dreykov was just too cunning and treacherous. Who knew if he had some device on him that could trigger the base's self-destruction?
"Natasha, I left him alive specifically for you," Blake said, pointing at Dreykov, who was lying on the ground.
"You mean for us?" Natasha coldly replied, looking at Dreykov.
Dozens of Widows behind her swarmed toward Dreykov, their eyes filled with hatred.
Blake pulled Tony out of the office. Letting them vent their anger completely was a good idea, and it also gave Natasha some time to comfort the Widows.
"I just looked at the records," Blake said, sitting down heavily on the floor and sighing. "Since this organization was founded, they've been constantly selecting girls from all over the world. To date, at least over 200,000 girls under the age of twelve have been brought into the Red Room, and fewer than 6,000 made it out alive."
The 200,000 didn't even include those who died in accidents on the way, or the many girls Dreykov deemed defective and killed before they even entered the Red Room.
Of the more than 6,000 who survived, fewer than 3,000 remained today, including a few like Melina from the previous generation of Widows.
Tony, usually nonchalant, became unusually serious. "Where are they now?" he asked gravely.
"They're all over the world. Some are assassins waiting for orders, some are mistresses embedded with politicians and businessmen, some are successful businesswomen, and a few even hold important positions in government. See for yourself," Blake replied, handing over a tablet.
The tablet was Dreykov's control device for the entire Red Room system. With it, one could not only control the Red Room directly but also control the life and death of all the Widows out in the field.
Each Widow's control interface had a "Scrap" button. Pressing it would cause the Widow, no matter where she was, to unhesitatingly find a way to commit suicide.
"That son of a bitch deserves the harshest punishment in history!" Tony cursed.
"What do you plan to do with them? Hand them over to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Tony asked, tossing the tablet onto the ground.
"Don't joke around. I guarantee S.H.I.E.L.D. would just have them continue their dangerous work. I mean to recall all the Widows out there," Blake responded.
"We'll remove their neurochemical control. Those who want to start a new life can be given some money. For those who are homeless or choose to stay, they can maintain their current identities. We could still use an intelligence network, Tony."
Dreykov had amassed a huge fortune by controlling many real-world businesses and natural resources through the Widows. That wealth could be used to sustain this base and fund activities for the Widows who chose to stay.
"As for the company operations, I'm not familiar with that. You'll need to find someone to handle the remote management. The funds will be used for the base and the Illuminati."
In truth, this was a massive victory for both the Illuminati and Blake personally, but he still couldn't feel entirely happy about it.
Since they had decided to take over this base, they couldn't stay where they were. The group decided to move the floating base into the Arctic Circle, starting north of Greenland and heading south back toward New York.
Of course, energy was a big issue. Previously, Dreykov's ground forces had regularly supplied power to the base, but now it would have to rely on Tony Stark's arc reactor.
Who would have thought that Tony's self-sustaining renewable energy plan, which hadn't even been installed in the under-construction Stark Tower yet, would first end up powering the floating base?
The base moved slowly. It would take seven or eight days to fly across half of Europe from Eastern Europe, over the Arctic Circle, and down to New York—just enough time for Tony to slowly retrofit the energy system.
Blake could now have Yelena and Natasha begin recalling the Widows from around the world.
Having taken control of the floating base and killed Dreykov, both missions were completed.
He was rewarded with 1,000 points and a necklace.
The 1,000 points were easy to understand. Blake immediately used them to upgrade his combat suit. After all, its ability to reduce kinetic energy was quite useful. At least, when getting hit by a bomb mid-air, he wouldn't be blown too far away.
If he upgraded it to the highest level, with an ability similar to Captain America's shield that could nearly eliminate all kinetic energy and shockwaves, it would be extremely handy.
Right now, his attack power and other abilities were sufficient since most of the enemies he faced were still Earth-based, with a heavy reliance on conventional weapons.
After upgrading, he had only 600 points left, and upgrading his combat skills would cost another 800 points. He'd have to wait until next time. Then he looked at the necklace.
"The Widows' Sweetheart!"
Blake didn't know if the system had designed it this way from the start or if it was inspired by something he had said. The necklace was literally a black cord with a doughnut-shaped pendant.
The yellow "doughnut" was a gem-like crystal, and the chocolate topping was made of an unknown black gem, or crystal—Blake wasn't sure what it was.
Though it didn't look bad, it was unmistakably a doughnut, and Blake, being a straightforward guy, hesitated.
On the back of the doughnut, the words "Black Widow" were engraved in English.
Wearing it could be easily explained, given his relationship with Natasha, but still…
"System, tell me, what's the function of this necklace?"
[See for yourself!] the system replied, popping up a description screen.
[The Widows' Sweetheart:
A medal representing the rescue of all the Widows from the Red Room. When worn, it grants the wearer the gratitude and loyalty of all Widows.]
"Hiss!" Blake gasped and quickly put it on.
Then he thought of something.
"Wait, system, does that mean anyone who wears this will get the loyalty of the Widows?"
Blake needed to clarify this. What if he accidentally lost it? Natasha might end up getting taken away by someone else!
[Host, have you played too many games? Do you really think this is game equipment? You could understand it like this: the necklace contains a specific pheromone, much like the one Dreykov used that made the Widows unable to attack him.]
[But this necklace's effect is to deepen the gratitude the Widows feel toward you compared to others involved in the event, strengthening their sense of loyalty. That's all!]
"Seriously? You couldn't have just written all that in the description? Did I have to ask again?" Blake grumbled, but he was still very satisfied with the item. Most of these Widows had no family, friends, or lives of their own.
Many of them wouldn't even know how to reintegrate into a normal life. Blake wouldn't force them, but he believed most would be willing to provide intelligence for him in secret.
That's exactly what Blake needed—a powerful intelligence network.
As expected, after the Widows returned to the floating base and had their control lifted, most of them didn't know what to do next.
Their entire lives had been filled with training in espionage and covert operations. Under the influence of the Widows' Sweetheart, most of them chose to continue working as spies.
The only difference was that their loyalty had shifted from Dreykov to Blake, and the level of danger they faced was significantly reduced.
They were no longer expendable.
After settling the Widows' affairs and handing leadership over to Natasha, four days had passed. The floating base had moved from Eastern Europe to the northern part of Greenland.
"Blake, the energy conversion is complete. I need to restart the entire power system. I suggest we land first, just in case something goes wrong," Tony said, sounding exhausted.
He had been working non-stop for days—modifying the lab, redesigning the energy system, and connecting it to the propulsion system. He even had to source critical materials himself.
Finally, it was done.
The floating base would no longer need to constantly chase down energy supplies.
They slowly descended onto the icy, snow-covered northern tip of Greenland.
A few hundred meters from the base, beneath the ice, a circular shield gleamed faintly in the sunlight.
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