A gentleman resorts to words, not fists.

In the darkness, Joss listened quietly to the banter and laughter of the Hydra members. Despite not understanding their language, he could more or less deduce their general state and positions. He shrank himself as much as possible to avoid drawing their attention—not out of fear, but to prevent any unnecessary complications.

He had already successfully relayed the precise coordinates and details about the traps here to Steve. Now, he just needed to wait quietly for the Avengers to arrive. The principle behind this bioelectric telepathy was admittedly bizarre, but there was no doubt that contacting Captain America was far better than reaching out to Black Widow. After all, the latter would still weigh the pros and cons, but the former would come to the rescue even if it was only to save a life. That was the greatest guarantee for Joss's safety.

Because of this, Joss tried to keep himself as inconspicuous as possible. Unfortunately, no matter how good his plan was, it couldn't prevent others from seeking trouble with him.

In the darkness, Joss heard footsteps approaching. The black cloth covering his face was suddenly yanked off, and dazzling light stabbed into his eyes. Looking up, he saw a man with delicate, almost effeminate features staring at him.

In that brief moment before the man spoke, Joss’s eyes imperceptibly swept over the entire room. As he had guessed from the voices earlier, there were five people in the room, including the silver-haired girl. Four of them were drinking and speaking loudly in German, while the silver-haired girl was curled up in a corner, seemingly asleep.

From these scenes alone, it was clear that these Hydra remnants had long abandoned the strict discipline that once characterized Hydra. Now they seemed more like an ordinary gang.

This was only to be expected. The real Hydra had been gone for a long time. Even the Hydra led by the Red Skull later on could only be considered a "pseudo-Hydra." What could have survived into modern times?

“Tsk tsk, that little bitch still has the same disgusting taste as ever,” the effeminate man sneered at Joss.

That way of addressing—did it mean they didn’t get along?

The thought flashed quickly through his mind, but Joss showed no reaction, merely meeting the effeminate man's gaze with a perfectly measured look of fear on his face.

After all, the Avengers were already on their way. All he needed to do was buy a little time and everything would be fine. This was not the moment to risk his own neck for the sake of a witty retort.

[Side Mission – Let’s Get the Party Started]

[Objective: Do your best to stir up the Hydra members before the Avengers arrive—for example, ask after their families, discuss why Hydra was destroyed, or tell them the Avengers are on their way!]

[Reward: Gain 100–1000 points of the Source of Recklessness, depending on how agitated the Hydra members become.]

[Failure: If you refuse the mission or your completion is too low, a random ability will be deleted.]

It was as if the heavens themselves were toying with him—at this crucial moment, the system chose to issue a mission!

Staring at the side quest displayed on the system panel, Joss took a deep breath, and his eyes suddenly sharpened, as if he had made up his mind.

To be honest, the reward wasn’t all that tempting. That thousand-point reward, from the hints given, clearly meant he’d have to announce that the Avengers were already on their way. If he actually said that, he might well be killed by this group before they had a chance to escape, and even if the Avengers arrived, they wouldn’t be pleased with him either.

As for the penalty for failure, Joss wasn’t particularly worried. He did have plenty of skills, but only a handful were truly useful, so he wouldn’t be heartbroken if he lost one of the others. Even in the worst-case scenario, he’d only lose his “do-or-die” skill. As long as he could get his hands on the super soldier serum someday, he wasn’t truly afraid.

“But... if I were to back down here, that simply wouldn’t do.”

To survive in this world, one needed sufficient strength. Not being afraid of death didn’t mean he wanted to die. As long as he lived, he would never stop striving to become stronger.

That was why, even during his earlier fight with Jason, Joss had decided that he needed to constantly challenge himself, even in the absence of system missions.

Of course, the kind of self-challenge Joss envisioned mostly involved fighting strong enemies and participating in major events to temper himself.

But as far as the system was concerned, it seemed to simply enjoy giving Joss these recklessly suicidal tasks.

“Well, since the mission’s here, I’ll take it on!”

“You don’t look scared at all. I suppose I’ll just have to play with you awhile first,” the effeminate man, detecting the change in Joss’s expression, grew visibly irritated.

At this, Joss gave a proud, disdainful smile. “Afraid? Why should I fear the weak? I feel nothing for you but pity.”

The sight of that strange smile on Joss’s lips filled the effeminate man with both anger and dread—two opposing emotions that seemed to detonate inside his chest.

A proud, defiant smile—the mysterious force that could both enrage and intimidate your foes!

“You’re not honestly counting on that little bitch to save you, are you?”

After a moment, the effeminate man recovered from his shock and snarled, baring his teeth as he drew a dagger and waved it before Joss’s eyes.

“No, no, she has nothing to do with this. I only feel sorry for the fate that’s about to befall all of you,” Joss replied, tossing his head back with another proud smile.

“Oh? I’m very curious—what trick do you have up your sleeve?”

The commotion finally drew the attention of the others. The wild-eyed woman sauntered over, hips swaying, her mismatched eyes gleaming with amusement as she stared at Joss.

“I have my ways,” Joss replied, giving another proud smile, his eyes flashing with contempt. “But I can offer you a chance. If you untie me right now and bind yourselves up instead, I promise I won’t trouble you afterward.”

“Kid, are you out of your mind?” the youngest Hydra member snapped, drawing his pistol and aiming it at Joss’s head. If Joss provoked him any further, he might just get his brains blown out!

Even the steady, silent man standing nearby couldn’t help but let out a mocking chuckle.

“I’ve seen plenty of tough guys, and I’ve broken every last one of them. But you’re the first to mouth off like this with your life in our hands.”

Suddenly, his expression turned sinister as he bent down and whispered, “So tell me—what exactly can you do in your state, when you can’t even move a single finger?”

This time, Joss didn’t smile. Even he was finding it hard to keep up the act. He merely put on a mysterious air and said quietly, “I’m not joking. To deal with a few weaklings like you, all I need to do is talk.”

“Oh? And how’s that? Are you going to spit us to death?” the wild-eyed woman laughed, hands on her hips.

“No, I can call for help,” Joss replied with an innocent, guileless smile.

He might have been better off keeping silent, for at those words, even the most mature, composed man burst out laughing.

“Ha! Never mind that you have no idea where you are—what could you possibly use to contact anyone? You don’t have anything on you.”

“Eh?! That’s true!” Joss feigned shock, then said, “Guess I’ll have to try telepathy or something. What do you think?”

The young Hydra member was laughing so hard he could barely hold onto his gun, waving it at Joss’s head as he chortled, “I’ll be generous and let you in on something. We’re a full forty kilometers from SHIELD headquarters. If you could actually manage telepathy over that distance, how could we have caught you?”

Before he could finish, the wild-eyed woman jumped in, “Oh~ Are you wondering how we know where your headquarters even is? Too bad—I’m not telling! Hahahaha!”

“How boring... That’s old news to me. Besides, I’ve been here chatting with you all this time just to stall, and you still haven’t caught on?”

“Still putting on airs at death’s door. If you’re so capable, why don’t you call someone over right now, let’s see it!” the youth sneered.

“Heh, if you don’t believe me, look up: does Heaven ever spare anyone?” Joss suddenly began to recite in verse.

The youth paused, then clicked off the safety of his pistol and pressed it to Joss’s head. “What, do you think playing the fool will get you out of this?”

Joss merely shrugged innocently. “I told you to look up, didn’t I? Why won’t you listen?”

“Ha! Even if I look up, what could possibly—?!”

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, a tall man bearing a round shield dropped from above, landing squarely in front of Joss!