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[email protected]/Heroicverse
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"Wait a minute."
Suddenly, Serizawa Ichiro seemed to remember something and abruptly turned to look at Maria Hill, who was sitting not far away, attending the meeting in place of Nick Fury.
From the calm expression on her face, it was not difficult to tell that she seemed unsurprised by General Ross's recent remarks.
No wonder Nick Fury didn't attend in person this time. So that bastard already knew Godzilla had left Sokovia?
Damn it, you black bastard, are you deliberately trying to make a fool of me in front of the representatives from various countries?
I must have been out of my mind at the time to even think about cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D. to coerce Karl Merks!
At this moment, Serizawa was completely unaware that his poor performance at this UN General Assembly meeting had directly led to a significant loss of his prestige within the Monarch Organization.
As a result, many people felt he was unfit to continue leading the Monarch Organization, which gave Emma Russell an opportunity to rise to power.
And just as Serizawa Ichiro was secretly lamenting in his heart,
Stacker Pentecost, the head of the PPDC Organization, let out a long sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he hadn't rushed to express his stance earlier, or he probably would have been played like a monkey, just like the Monarch Organization.
It's just that…
The situation ahead was not optimistic for him either.
And so,
This meeting, with its ulterior motives, concluded in an extremely absurd manner.
But the undercurrents beneath the surface never ceased.
… … … …
… …
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
"Motherfucker… That bastard Ross, so this was his plan."
Nick Fury immediately flew into a rage after receiving Maria Hill's report.
Because he had already largely guessed the content of General Ross's cooperation with Karl.
Needless to say, it was definitely related to Kong's business of providing services to various countries for a fee to eliminate Titan invasions.
General Ross's little scheme, he could hear it all the way in Washington.
No wonder the Department of Defense would backstab other organizations at such an important hearing and openly support Karl Merks and Sokovia.
Just thinking about how Karl would soon gain both "fame and fortune" by helping various countries eliminate Titan invasions,
Nick Fury's face contorted with jealousy, a feeling that made him even more miserable than losing a family member.
At the same time, Karl's collusion with the Department of Defense also gave him a severe sense of crisis.
Because in future confrontations with Karl, he could no longer use the banner of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Security Council to wantonly "bully the weak"… Uh, well, though he had never succeeded before.
However, at present, Nick Fury was utterly powerless against this.
Due to previous consecutive failures, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been severely constrained in financial allocations and the jurisdiction of certain special events.
It had directly fallen from its original dominant "Tier 1" status
to its current tragic predicament of being forced to compete for resources with numerous organizations like the Monarch Organization and PPDC Organization.
This filled Nick Fury with unprecedented humiliation and frustration.
Therefore, his next work priority had to shift from how to curb Karl's rise to how to ensure S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "finances and power" were not further weakened by other organizations, a focus on such petty, self-serving matters.
This was also why he had received news of Godzilla leaving Sokovia before the hearing began, but had not informed Serizawa Ichiro.
Killing two birds with one stone… Even if he couldn't sanction Karl as he wished, discrediting the Monarch Organization would still be a great achievement for S.H.I.E.L.D..
At this moment, a staff member walked over to report, "Director, Agent Romanoff just sent word that Eddie Brock's whereabouts have been discovered."
"He is using a set of abandoned email accounts to log into several portal websites, including The Daily Bugle's official website, via satellite signals,
and using the nickname 'Strongest Avenger' to post a large number of comments online opposing Sokovia and the privatization of Titans."
Hmm?
Interesting!
Nick Fury's eyes immediately lit up, and his gloomy expression eased considerably.
Finally, he heard some good news that pleased him.
"Can you pinpoint his current IP address?"
"Not yet. He's very cautious and never stays online for too long… But as soon as he makes a mistake, we'll be able to pinpoint his location immediately!"
"Very good." Nick Fury nodded in satisfaction.
If Eddie Brock truly harbored an Alien Symbiote, then Nick Fury wouldn't mind specially recruiting this "thief" into S.H.I.E.L.D..
For no other reason.
Just for the fact that this kid dared to lambast Karl Merks, Nick Fury respected him as a man.
So no matter what evil deeds Eddie Brock had committed before, as long as he was Karl Merks's enemy, then they were friends!
… … … …
… …
10880 Malibu Point.
"Hi, Rhodes, long time no see."
Pepper Potts opened her arms and gave Colonel James Rhodes, who had suddenly arrived, a warm hug.
He was not only one of Tony Stark's few good friends but also maintained a good personal relationship with her.
"Is this place being renovated again?"
James Rhodes looked at the workers bustling back and forth inside the Villa and smiled, teasing,
"I bet Tony must have given you a lot of headaches with the specific details!"
"You've got him wrong this time."
Pepper Potts, adopting the air of a hostess, chuckled and explained, "Tony wants me to move in with him, so I have to make some appropriate changes to this place."
"Of course… the downstairs is still his private space. If you're looking for him, just go there."
"Wow, congratulations to both of you then. It looks like it won't be long before I get to eat your wedding candy, right?"
James Rhodes joked with a smile, then proceeded down the stairs to the workshop on the second basement level.
"Wow, Tony, isn't this Kamazotz, the Titan that 'destroyed your gear' earlier?"
James Rhodes pointed at the monster fighting a new Mark armor in the simulated battlefield created by holographic projection and teased,
"Let me guess, you've been cooped up at home all this time to develop a new armor capable of dealing with Titans, right? But… isn't this one a bit too big this time?"
"Rhodes, your imagination is as lacking as ever."
Tony Stark ignored his friend's teasing, instead reaching out to grab the holographic image of the new Mark armor closer, then expanding his palm to enlarge it several times.
Only then did he explain with a hint of pride:
"The enemies we're going to face are far more than just those Titans; there are also Kaiju from other Worlds…"
"While you were on your mission in the Middle East, I attended the first 'Hunter Summit' held by the PPDC Organization,
and there I was greatly inspired. Iron Man alone cannot defeat all enemies.
So, in order to better deal with various giant monsters, I decided to help the PPDC Organization build a multi-functional Hunter Mecha…
No, given enough time, I can even help them build a giant Iron Legion!"
James Rhodes, however, looked at him suspiciously. "Tony, are you really planning to help them build 'Gundams'?"
"Why not?"
Tony Stark revealed a mysterious smile on his face. "To use other people's money to test the flaws and feasibility of my design proposals, is there anything more cost-effective in the World?"
Even though he was a billionaire, he would never dare to easily try such investment projects, which are based on "tens of billions" as the basic unit, with his own money.
Because a slight mistake could lead to eternal damnation.
So the safest approach at present was naturally to first use the PPDC project as a trial run.
Once the design plans were fully refined, he would then consider whether to custom-build a "Gundam" for himself.
Otherwise, could the few hundred thousand dollars in employment fees offered by the PPDC Organization really hire Tony Stark?
Upon hearing this, James Rhodes immediately showed a mischievous "that's so like you" expression.
But then he stated the true purpose of his visit.
"Tony, do you still remember the Ten Rings Gang?"
"They've reappeared, and in recent times, they've already caused 5 consecutive tragedies… I was dispatched to the Middle East earlier specifically to search for their whereabouts."
"The Ten Rings Gang?"
Tony Stark immediately stopped what he was doing, turned around, and pointed to the Arc Reactor on his chest, which was flickering with light, saying,
"How could I forget them… Those damned guys, they 'entertained' me warmly for a long time, and thanks to them, I became Iron Man!"
Seeing this, James Rhodes asked eagerly, "Then you never went after them for trouble afterward?"
"Of course not."
Tony Stark shrugged, seemingly having guessed his friend's true purpose for the visit, and then divulged all the information he knew.
"However, after clearing out a branch of the terrorist organization, the trail went cold. Even Jarvis couldn't find any related information…
Rhodes, if you're looking for their whereabouts, I can only tell you that this mysterious organization seems to operate individually, based on grassroots units."
"And the leaders of these grassroots units also communicate with other organizations only through single lines."
"No one knows where their startup funds come from, or who the person giving them orders is!"
At the end, he asked back with some confusion,
"But regarding this kind of intelligence, shouldn't your Military know more and be clearer than a civilian like me?"
"Uh… usually that's the case."
James Rhodes's face showed a hint of embarrassment as he scratched his nose and explained,
"But these guys are an exception. Although their combat effectiveness isn't great, their intelligence is exceptionally precise."
"Many times, it's as if they anticipate when we'll appear, so I've come up empty-handed several times recently."
"But… I suppose Tony, you haven't been watching the news lately, have you?"
Tony Stark nodded noncommittally at the remark. "I've been busy designing new armor lately. Has something else happened?"
"That's right."
James Rhodes said with a slightly solemn tone, "Just a few days ago, the Ten Rings Gang hijacked the White House and the communication signals of the entire East Coast region through hacking technology.
Then their leader, Mandarin, burned Brigadier General Jerritt to death right in front of the President."
"What?!"
Tony Stark clearly hadn't expected the Ten Rings Gang to dare to make such a bold move.
He immediately instructed Jarvis to retrieve the video playback from that day.
When he saw Trevor's right hand transform into a large, pincer-like mouth filled with fangs, and then directly burn Brigadier General Jerritt into a bubbling pool of flesh, his stomach churned, and he nearly threw up his breakfast from that morning.
That was absolutely disgusting.
"Transforming and breathing fire… Could it be that the old juggler injected Compound V?"
Tony Stark immediately thought of the Vought Corporation, known in the top wealthy circles as the "industry tumor."
"It's not impossible. The White House has already ordered a secret investigation into the Vought Corporation."
James Rhodes seriously asked for advice, "But the Ten Rings Gang was able to easily hijack the White House's communication signals this time. I presume they must possess extremely high technological capabilities to do that, right?"
"Perhaps there's an insider near the President, who knows."
Tony Stark wasn't a fool; he always avoided getting involved in matters that could easily backfire.
He immediately spread his hands, adopting a helpless expression, and said,
"Although Jarvis can also achieve that level, it's quite difficult to do so without being detected… So, on this matter, I really can't help you."
Just then, Jarvis's voice suddenly rang out, "Sir, Stacker Pentecost, the head of the PPDC Organization, has requested a temporary video conference with you."
"Accept."
Tony Stark gestured to James Rhodes to "stand aside" with his eyes, and then several figures formed by holographic projections appeared before them.
Among them were Dr. Reed Richards, who, like Tony, served as a technical research and development consultant, and Dr. Dr. Spah Szedifier, who first proposed the Jaeger Program.
"Alright, now that everyone is here, I'll get straight to the point."
Stacker Pentecost wasted no words and then concisely recounted what he had witnessed at the hearing held by the Security Council today…