S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson, the Kree corpse, Director Fury...
Memories of "Project TAHITI" flooded Raymond's mind like a tidal wave, leaving him momentarily unsure of how to react.
"So... I was actually part of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Raymond was stunned.
After confirming Raina's identity, he had considered many possibilities for why she had come to him, but this was the last thing he had expected.
From the sudden flood of memories, he realized that he had already been secretly recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D.—personally invited by none other than Director Fury himself.
And Fury's reason for recruiting him wasn't simple.
On the surface, he was just a visiting professor at the "S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy," but in reality, he had been secretly assigned to "Project TAHITI" to assist Coulson in its development.
Very few people within S.H.I.E.L.D. even knew about it.
Moreover, these new memories finally answered a question that had long puzzled Raymond; how did the original owner of this body, a psychology expert, end up going insane?
Schizophrenia is usually linked to childhood trauma, like in David's case.
But the original owner of this body had no such childhood problems. His breakdown must have been caused by a major psychological shock.
Yet, until now, Raymond hadn't seen any memory that was traumatic enough to trigger such a severe mental disorder.
It was only when Raina mentioned "Project TAHITI" that these hidden memories surfaced.
It turned out that this was what had driven him to schizophrenia.
As the lead psychologist in charge of therapy and hypnosis for "Project TAHITI," he had successfully treated his team members' psychological problems—only to collapse under the weight of the project himself.
Ironically, despite his deep expertise in psychology, he couldn't heal his own mind.
"I see now..."
After absorbing these memories, Raymond finally understood everything and was no longer surprised by Raina's sudden visit.
The original owner of this body might have questioned Raina's true identity, but Raymond had no such doubts—he knew more about the people behind her than she did herself.
Raina had always believed she was working for a mysterious figure known as "The Clairvoyant."
But she had no idea who The Clairvoyant really was—S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Level 7 Agent John Garrett, a deep-cover Hydra operative.
She was nothing more than a pawn, an expendable member of Hydra's outer circle.
Project TAHITI was something Hydra had long wanted to infiltrate, but had never found a way in.
Despite embedding countless spies within S.H.I.E.L.D.—even Alexander Pierce, the agency's former director, who Fury himself had to tread carefully around—Hydra still struggled to access the project.
In fact, at least a third of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s senior agents were already Hydra operatives.
Yet not a single Hydra agent had ever been a part of "Project TAHITI.
Even if they wanted to work from the inside, they had no opportunity. Their only option was to dig for information using other means.
Hydra was obsessed with figuring out how Coulson had been "brought back to life." They believed that Fury's "Project TAHITI" may have discovered a way to resurrect the dead.
If Hydra could obtain this technology, it would be vital to their future plans.
Unfortunately for them, Fury seemed to have anticipated this. After the project was sealed, he used his authority to completely erase all records from the S.H.I.E.L.D. database.
Trying to find any details about "Tahiti" online was a fool's errand.
The only way left was to track down those who had been part of the project—people who had been involved from start to finish—so they could piece together the full picture.
No wonder Raina was looking for Raymond.
Based on the memories of the original owner of this body, he knew everything about "Project TAHITI".
Even its deepest secrets.
Unlike many others who had only worked on small parts of the project and had no idea what it was really about, Raymond had been involved in every stage.
From what he could deduce, he was definitely not Hydra's first target among those who had participated in the project.
But Hydra still hadn't uncovered the most critical part of it.
Otherwise, Raina wouldn't have been sent directly to him.
Now that Raymond understood the whole picture, he looked at Raina with a hint of pity in his eyes.
Raina immediately noticed the change in his expression and frowned. "Dr. Raymond, what do you mean by that?"
It was clear that his pitying gaze made her uncomfortable.
Raymond didn't answer directly. Instead, he changed the subject. "Since you know about 'Project TAHITI,' you must also understand how big of a deal this is. Do you really think I would betray S.H.I.E.L.D. for the price you're offering?"
"If I actually went through with this deal, I might live long enough to get the money, but I doubt I'd live long enough to spend it." He chuckled and shook his head.
"Dr. Raymond, are you worried we'll cause trouble for you afterward? I can assure you—"
"You can assure me? Of what?" Raymond suddenly scoffed, cutting her off before she could finish. "I'll bet you don't even know who wants this information."
"I—"
For the first time, Raina looked genuinely irritated. No matter how composed she usually was, she couldn't help but feel a flash of anger at being so blatantly looked down on.
But just as she was about to refute him, she hesitated.
Because she suddenly realized… he was right.
She didn't know who was behind this.
Yes, she knew she was working for "The Clairvoyant. And yes, the order to extract information from Raymond had come from The Clairvoyant through an intermediary.
But who was The Clairvoyant?
Or rather—was The Clairvoyant even a single person? Or was it an organization?
She had no idea.
She only knew that The Clairvoyant had massive ambitions and resources—enough to give her an advantage against S.H.I.E.L.D. time and time again.
But she still didn't know their true identity.
In other words, she had always been nothing more than a pawn.
She knew nothing.
'Could it be that he knows?'
A look of shock and disbelief flashed in Raina's eyes as she stared at Raymond!