Multiverse , Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 408: 408 MCU 83

Antonia Dreykov (Taskmaster) and I continued deeper inside.

As we went further in, women in suits were evacuating past us toward the entrance—they must have been the freed Widows.

Alexei and Natasha’s teams seemed to be doing well.

Eventually, we arrived at what appeared to be Dreykov’s office in the center of the Red Room.

His office had very luxurious furniture and an enormous monitor, but it was clearly a mess—broken things everywhere and bloodstains scattered about.

The other Widows had already been freed, with none in sight.

In the center, Dreykov lay bleeding from the nose, with Natasha, Yelena, and three freed Widows glaring at him.

Alexei and Melina were nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it! If I’d had more time, even the Avengers would have been under my control!"

"Keep dreaming. The Avengers aren’t objects."

As Dreykov shouted in rage, I entered the office and said that.

"You bastard..."

"Yeah, I’m Jin from the Avengers. Natasha, did you secure the locations of all the Widows scattered around the world?"

Natasha nodded.

"Yeah, we got all the information we need. And we had the Aurea destroy the system, so remote commands to the Widows are now impossible."

"That’s a relief. Where are Alexei and Melina?"

"They’re planting bombs on the Red Room’s engines and thrusters."

"So this is the end for the Red Room?"

"Yeah. Unlike Hydra, it doesn’t have branches—destroy this place, and the Red Room is completely finished."

"Good."

At that, Dreykov muttered something strange.

"If only I hadn’t lost contact with my daughter (Taskmaster), I wouldn’t have fallen so easily..."

Since Natasha’s team and Alexei had moved so quickly, Dreykov didn’t seem to know the situation yet.

So I pointed behind me and said,

"If you mean your daughter, she’s already been freed and is right here."

"Wha, what?!"

Antonia Dreykov slowly stepped forward.

Dreykov was shocked, but Natasha was equally stunned.

"Father..."

The moment Dreykov saw his daughter, he shouted orders.

"Antonia! Stop them now! Hurry!"

"It’s over. Can’t you see the situation? Your ambitions end here."

"Antonia! Who do you think saved you after you were so badly injured?! I’m your father!"

"If not for you, I wouldn’t have been injured in the first place, and I wouldn’t have lived a hellish life without free will."

"No, that was to train you properly and make you the strongest Widow..."

Antonia scowled at Dreykov’s absurd justification.

"Do you really think I wanted that life?! Did you ever ask me?! You only used me for your own ambitions!"

"That’s..."

Dreykov couldn’t say anything—he hadn’t expected his daughter to talk back like that.

Just then, Alexei contacted us.

"We’re done with the bombs. We’re heading back to the ship—you all need to evacuate too."

"Got it."

I relayed this to the others.

"You heard them—the bombs are set. We need to evacuate quickly."

Natasha asked,

"What about Dreykov?"

"We’ll leave that to the Widows. They’ve suffered the most, so it’s only right that they decide his fate."

At my words, the Widows’ faces brightened.

"You’re not going to say we should give him a chance?"

"During the Hydra situation, there were victims, so I tried to save as many as possible—but that’s not the case here. Besides, there are still many Widows suffering because of him, so I’m not in a position to say that. Whether they execute him or forgive him is up to the Widows—including Natasha and Yelena."

At that, Yelena said, sounding surprised,

"Avengers have flexibility after all. I thought you’d just say things like ’he must face justice’ or ’give him a chance’—I’m relieved."

"Maybe if the Captain were here, he might have said that. Anyway, I’ll be on the ship organizing things—come when you’re done. You don’t have much time."

"Got it. It won’t take long."

I left Dreykov to them and walked out of the office—and immediately heard Dreykov’s screams.

The Widows had no intention of forgiving him, and it didn’t sound like they’d give him a quick death either.

I returned to the ship and assigned rooms to the waiting Widows.

There were more people than expected—I should have brought the Odyssey instead of the smaller Aurea.

Thankfully, the Widows were used to this kind of life, so sharing rooms two or three to a room didn’t seem to bother them.

I also contacted the Avengers base in advance to inform them of the situation, so the staff could prepare accommodations and supplies ahead of time.

But as soon as I made the call, I received unexpected news.

While we were dealing with the Red Room, a massive prison break had occurred at the Raft—the prison Secretary Ross had built to hold enhanced individuals.

Many guards had been killed.

Fortunately, I had installed surveillance around the Raft in advance, so the Avengers were able to respond immediately and recapture all the escapees.

Ross had apparently been severely reprimanded by the President for failing to manage such an expensive prison properly.

This was exactly as I’d planned.

The number of super-soldier prisoners from Hydra had simply become too much for them to handle.

I didn’t expect it to blow up this fast, though—I thought they’d hold out longer.

’If this works out, things might go well.’

An idea struck me.

If it worked, it would make the Widows’ asylum much smoother.

While I was planning, Natasha, Yelena, and the Widows returned to the ship.

"Everyone, time to watch the fireworks."

Once everyone was aboard, Melina held up the remote detonator and said that.

Everyone moved to the windows to watch the Red Room’s final moments.

BOOM!!! CRASH!! KABOOM!!!

When Melina pressed the detonator, massive explosions erupted throughout the Red Room, sending red flames spreading in all directions.

Having lost propulsion, the Red Room began to slowly descend.

A base of this size falling from this height would produce enormous impact energy—nothing would survive.

"Wow... That’s amazing?"

"Yeah..."

The Widows watched intently until the very end, as if they didn’t want to miss a single moment.

Some of them shed tears—this was the moment their shackles were shattered in the flames, opening the door to a new life.

We didn’t take our eyes off the Red Room until it crashed into the ground and was destroyed.

We then headed to Melina’s house.

With Dreykov dead, Russia’s movements were uncertain, so she couldn’t stay here either.

We had to pack quickly.

"Shoo! Go home!"

OINK OINK

"Hah... They listen to Melina, but why won’t they listen to me!"

Melina was moving her belongings with the Widows’ help.

Meanwhile, Natasha and Yelena were struggling to move the pigs from the farm.

Melina eventually came out, gave a single command, and the pigs obediently moved onto the ship.

Thanks to the chemical conditioning, they followed Melina’s orders perfectly.

Natasha and Yelena looked deflated as they watched.

We loaded the pigs and belongings and set off for the Avengers base.

Natasha hesitated for a moment, then apologized to Antonia for what had happened in the past.

She believed she was responsible for Antonia’s facial scars and her life as a Widow.

Fortunately, Antonia forgave her generously.

"Even if it hadn’t been you, my father would have made me a Widow anyway. My fate was already sealed. So you don’t need to feel that guilty."

"I’m glad you see it that way."

I listened and shared some good news with them.

"The burn scars can also be treated at the Avengers base. Using Dr. Helen Cho’s regeneration cradle, you can make a full recovery."

"That’s great news."

Both Antonia and Natasha looked relieved, and Natasha was finally able to let go of the guilt she’d carried for so long.

I also told the Widows, as I had before, that their uteruses could be regenerated so they could have normal families.

And that if they wanted, they could work for the Avengers to earn money.

The Widows began discussing among themselves, thinking about their future lives.

"I want to rescue the Widows scattered around the world first, then think about it."

"Same. I can’t leave them like this."

Some said they didn’t want to do this kind of work anymore, while others, led by Yelena, said rescuing the Widows was the priority.

Still, more than half chose to work for the Avengers.

Money was an issue, and given what they’d been doing all their lives, they didn’t have many other options.

After that discussion and a quick meal, we rested until we arrived at the base.

Thanks to the advance notice, the staff had prepared supplies and clothes, so the Widows could settle into their quarters quickly.

The pigs were placed in quarantine and temporarily housed in an empty warehouse.

"I heard about the Red Room from Clint. So these are the Widows who were victimized by them. It’s tragic."

The Avengers members also helped the Widows.

The Captain looked especially sorry for them.

"Yeah. They were brainwashed like Hydra’s super-soldiers and suffered all this time."

"Oh, by the way—I was called to the White House because of the Raft prison break. They asked for help."

The government must have been pretty desperate—calling in the Captain for that.

"Really? I’ll handle that."

"How?"

"Half the super-soldiers locked up there are from North Korea. I think they can be rehabilitated. I’m planning to send them to South Korea to help with reconstruction. Living alongside ordinary people will show them how wrong North Korea was, and they’ll change naturally."

"That’s a good idea. Actually, Secretary Ross even suggested execution because he couldn’t handle them. I told him I’d find another way, but I was at a loss myself."

That sounded exactly like Ross—when things got tough, his first thought was execution.

What was the difference between him and those who tried to nuke New York?

Just then, Alexei spotted the Captain while receiving supplies and hurried over.

"Oh~ Captain America! My eternal rival! Nice to meet you. To see you here!"

Alexei smiled and offered his hand for a handshake.

The Captain, caught off guard, accepted it and then looked at me.

"Jin, who is this?"

Alexei froze, his face stiffening in shock.

"He’s the Red Guardian—a super-soldier created to serve as a symbolic hero like Captain America during the Soviet era. He’s also Natasha’s adoptive father."

"Ah! I see. Nice to meet you, I’m Captain America."

"R-right... So you don’t know anything about me..."

"I was frozen and only woke up a few years ago, so I don’t know much about what happened during the Soviet era."

"I-I see..."

Alexei looked disappointed and trudged back to the supply area.

The Captain asked me curiously,

"Huh? Did I do something wrong?"

I suppressed a laugh and said,

"No, you didn’t."

The next day, the Widows underwent health checkups with Dr. Helen Cho, and Antonia began treatment for her burn scars using the regeneration cradle.

Alexei also got his teeth fixed, which had been damaged from years of imprisonment—probably taking advantage of the free service.

Meanwhile, I compiled a report on the Red Room and went to the White House to meet with the President.

Of course, I’d doctored some of the information—particularly regarding brainwashing—to prevent it from being misused.

"Hmm... So you’re saying you’ll handle the Raft situation in exchange for granting asylum to the Red Guardian’s family and the Widows."

"Yes."

"Alright. Not a bad proposal. Having the Red Guardian defect to the U.S. would prove the superiority of our system, so it benefits us as well. Just make sure you handle the Raft situation quickly."

"Understood. I’ll take care of it right away."

The deal went smoother than expected—I thought it would take more convincing.

’I guess it’s lucky Ross wasn’t there.’

I returned to the base and contacted the South Korean president about my plan.

He was concerned about control, but with the labor shortage from the unification, he approved it immediately.

I also bought a quiet farm not far from the city in New Jersey—for Melina and Alexei.

They were thrilled when they saw the photos.

"Oh~ Nice farm. But the house is a bit..."

"Don’t worry. I’ll build you a new one—just think about what kind of house you want."

"As expected of the world’s richest man—you’ve got big pockets!"

After that, they started browsing the internet for house designs.

Alexei picked an absurdly large one, and Melina slapped him on the back for it, but they soon began choosing more carefully, knowing it was their future home.

A few days later, I began transporting the North Korean soldiers from the Raft to South Korea aboard a Helicarrier.

Naturally, I excluded those who had committed murder during the prison break.

Still, over half of the Raft’s prisoners were being transferred.

Staff from Hanawon (an educational center for North Korean defectors) were brought in from South Korea to provide simple education during the journey.

The Captain, Falcon, and Vision’s couple oversaw security.

Meanwhile, Natasha took Yelena, Antonia, and the Widows sightseeing in New York—eating good food and shopping.

She probably wanted them to enjoy themselves before going to rescue the other Widows.

Of course, I footed the bill.

Antonia wore a mask when going out—her burn scars were extensive, and it seemed it would take time for them to heal completely.

Some people looked at her strangely, but since she was with Natasha, an Avenger, they let it slide.

Then Tony visited the base after a long time and was surprised to see the Widows.

"Wow... There are so many beautiful women at the base now?"

Bruce gave him a brief explanation.

"These are Black Widows that Jin rescued. Hey, Jin—can I hit on them?"

"If you cheat, you might get shot in your sleep. And aren’t things going well with Pepper?"

"Pepper and I are... in a bit of a rut? And as for getting shot... that’s rough. I don’t want to die in my sleep."

Tony gave up at the mention of getting shot.

I later heard from Bruce that Pepper had found out about the fight with the Captain, and they’d argued—Pepper had sided with the Captain.

They were apparently keeping some distance now.

With things settling down, I decided to recruit two more people—something I’d been planning for a while.

I took some prepared materials and headed to ’Pop’s Barber Shop’ in Harlem, New York.

The shop was a small barbershop run by ’Pop,’ a former neighborhood kingpin who had retired.

It was a kind of neutral zone—everyone from local thugs to children, even crime bosses, respected Pop and behaved themselves there.

JINGLE—!

As I opened the door and walked in, the customers getting haircuts suddenly saw me and started trembling, breaking out in cold sweats.

Clearly, they were small-time thugs.

"Relax. I’m not here to crack down on criminals today. And when in Rome, do as the Romans do."

The atmosphere eased slightly, but they were still tense.

"Um, Pop... I’ll come back later."

"O-okay."

I just sat in a corner chair and read the newspaper, but even that made the thugs feel suffocated—some left without even finishing their haircuts.

Pop couldn’t take it anymore and came over to ask,

"Why would someone like you come here? You don’t look like you’re here for a haircut."

"Sorry—I didn’t mean to disrupt your business. I’m looking for someone."

Just then, a muscular, large-built black man entered the shop.

"Pop, is something going on? There are people outside—whoa!"

"Perfect timing."

I folded the newspaper and stood up.

Pop suddenly shouted at the big man,

"Run, Luke!!!"

At Pop’s shout, the big man bolted without looking back.

"Hah... Seriously... I’m not here to arrest anyone—why does everyone misunderstand... Anyway, this is for the business I cost you today."

I handed Pop ten 100-dollar bills and left the shop.