Ch. 260 I Know Your Secret

After the image of Stephanie dying in the hive flashed through Russell's mind, he couldn't help but frown as he sat in the driver's seat.

In terms of abilities, the hive was indeed a powerful anomaly, and it had a kind of immortality in another sense. But parasites and the like were still quite disgusting.

Justice League Headquarters.

As Russell returned to the garage in the self-driving Porsche 911, he was about to head to Diana's study when his phone suddenly rang.

An unfamiliar number?

Looking at the completely unfamiliar number, he hesitated for a few seconds before pressing the answer button.

As soon as the call was answered, a voice disguised in electronic modulation came from the other end.

"Good morning, Mr. Bradley!"

Although the person on the other end began with polite greetings, the electronically disguised mature male voice didn't sound polite at all.

'How should I put it?

This electronically disguised voice sounded a bit like the interrogation mode voice set by No. 3 on Peter's Spider-Man suit.

Deep, mature, serious, and with a hint of hoarseness.'

"Who is this?" Russell asked, furrowing his brow.

The phone he was carrying wasn't a work phone for external use but his personal phone for everyday life.

Not many people knew his phone number, maybe less than ten.

Although he didn't know how the person on the other end of the line had found this number, he didn't like the feeling of his privacy being exposed.

"Who I am doesn't matter; what matters is that I know your secret."

The person on the other end of the phone spoke calmly.

"You know my secret?"

Upon hearing this, Russell suddenly laughed.

He did have many secrets.

The biggest one, Diana didn't even know.

However, he didn't take the other's threat seriously at all.

The reason was simple: he heard some interesting information from the other's words.

When the young-sounding Peter used the interrogation mode of the Spider-Man suit, he needed a deep, hoarse, mature male voice to disguise his original voice and create some pressure on the other party, increasing the likelihood of a successful interrogation.

When Russell heard the synthesized electronic sound coming from the phone earlier, he initially thought the other party just wanted to disguise their original voice to avoid revealing their true identity.

However, after hearing what the other party had just said, he knew that using this mature, hoarse electronic sound was not just for disguise.

The person on the other end of the phone, like Peter, was a rookie with little to no experience.

"Why are you laughing?" The person on the other end of the phone spoke again.

"Nothing, I just didn't expect that I would be threatened by a rookie one day," Russell said with a smile.

"I'm not a rookie!"

"I'm not joking with you. If you don't want your secret to be exposed, you'd better cooperate with me!"

The person on the other end of the phone started to sound unhappy.

"Alright, I'll cooperate with you."

Russell gave a perfunctory response while signaling to the camera in the garage with a glance.

When the nearest camera turned toward him, he silently mouthed a few words into the camera.

Although he didn't make any sound, he was confident that No. 3, who was in charge of monitoring, would understand his message.

Calculating what he was "saying" through lip-reading was not difficult for No. 3.

"I'll warn you again, please take this seriously. If you don't want your hidden secrets to become tomorrow's headline news."

After hearing Russell's perfunctory response, the person on the other end of the phone became even more unhappy.

This further strengthened Russell's judgment that the person on the other end was a rookie.

More precisely, someone with some skills but no practical experience.

"Are you sure you want to reveal my so-called secrets to the media? In a capital-driven country like the United States, you should know what I can do."

Russell said calmly.

As soon as he finished speaking, his phone received a message from No. 3.

After glancing at the message, he had a confirming expression on his face.

"Mr. Bradley, you mustn't underestimate the power of the internet."

The "rookie" on the other end of the phone spoke again.

"I certainly won't underestimate the power of the internet. But you might also be underestimating the network strength of the Justice League when you underestimate Diana, who is currently in the secret base of the Rising Tide organization in Brookline."

As soon as Russell mentioned this, the other side fell completely silent.

After a few seconds, the call was disconnected.

Hearing the beep of the call ending, Russell looked at the camera in the garage again and calmly said, "Send a few White Zetsu soldiers over to bring back Skye, and as for the other hackers in the base, let them rest in the hospital for ten days or so."

"Yes, sir!" No. 3's synthesized electronic voice responded promptly.

After instructing No. 3, Russell put his phone back in his pocket and calmly walked towards Diana's study.

After spending about ten to twenty minutes in Diana's study, discussing the future development of the Justice League, Russell returned to his own study.

He had just sat down in his study when a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in!"

The door was pushed open, and a White Zetsu soldier who looked no different from a normal human walked in carrying a large black travel bag.

Upon entering the study, this white male, who appeared somewhat military-like, nodded slightly in acknowledgment of Russell.

Then, he placed the large travel bag he had been carrying on the floor.

After setting down the bag, the White Zetsu soldier unzipped it and, with one hand, lifted the person inside and placed them on the chair in front of Russell.

Skye!

The person inside the travel bag carried by the White Zetsu soldier was none other than Skye.

Just like the information he had seen yesterday, Skye was a young mixed-race individual with a typical Asian appearance.

After tearing off the black tape from Skye's mouth and cutting the ropes binding her hands and feet, the White Zetsu soldier left the study and closed the door.

"Miss Skye, we can continue our previous conversation now."

"How do you plan to expose my secret?"

Russell looked at Skye, who seemed cautious and uneasy, and smiled.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Skye asked as she moved her wrists, which were still somewhat sore.

"Not for now."

"But if you continue to threaten me, I don't mind going from being a kidnapper to tearing up tickets."

Skye, or more accurately, the Rising Tide organization actively coming to threaten him, was something Russell hadn't expected.

Although he now carried the title of a superhero, the tasks entrusted to the Rising Tide organization when he first came into contact with them were far from just and righteous.

From that moment on, he knew that the Rising Tide organization was no different from the hacker organizations that specialized in stealing classified information for profit.

It wasn't information he had found; it was information No. 3 had discovered while investigating the Rising Tide organization.

In fact, even if No. 3 hadn't found this information, Russell didn't think the Rising Tide organization would be a just hacker organization.

The first time he encountered the Rising Tide organization, the tasks assigned to them were far from righteous.

From that moment on, he knew that the Rising Tide organization was no different from the hacker organizations that profited from stealing classified information.

"These records are all fake; we didn't do this. We never do such things!"

Skye exclaimed passionately.

"Is it still hard for you to accept reality at this point?"

"We have a computer here; if you don't believe it, you can investigate now."

Russell pointed to the laptop on the desk.

If it were someone else, he wouldn't bother explaining so much. After all, he wasn't the one being treated like a fool.

But Skye was different.

Aside from the fact that she was quite good-looking and matched his aesthetic standards, she was also a superpowered individual with immense potential.

Although in his memory, Skye hadn't fully realized the extent of her seismic powers, he was certain that if she reached her full potential, her power wouldn't be any less powerful than a nuclear weapon.

Under suitable conditions, she could even shatter planets.

So for Skye, Russell had a little more patience.

Just as he finished speaking, Skye immediately opened the laptop on the desk and started operating it swiftly.

Russell wasn't worried that Skye would secretly infiltrate the Justice League database now.

Although Skye's hacking skills were decent, she wasn't capable of infiltrating the Justice League database right under No. 3's nose.

Time passed slowly.

After more than ten minutes, Skye's hands stopped moving, and she looked at the information on the screen in disbelief.

It was true!

The Rising Tide organization was indeed secretly selling classified information for profit!

After confirming this, Skye couldn't help but wear a bitter smile on her face.

Russell didn't say anything but watched Skye quietly.

After several minutes of silence, Skye shifted her gaze from the screen to Russell's face and slowly said, "You had me brought here for a reason other than letting me know the 'truth' about the Rising Tide organization."

"Right, bringing you here wasn't just to let you know about the 'truth' of the Rising Tide organization."

"Your hacking skills are impressive, and the Justice League needs professionals like you. If you're willing, I'd like to invite you to join the Justice League."

Although Russell had handed over the role of Justice League leader to Diana, he still had the authority to recruit new members.

Even though Skye hadn't awakened her superpowers yet, it didn't mean she had no value.

Putting aside everything else, just her hacking skills were enough to make him extend an olive branch.