S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, infirmary.
"WHAT!!"
Talbot howled and sat up from the hospital bed. The medical staff at his side rushed over to restrain him and gave him a sedative before he calmed down.
But he'd become very haggard, and his eyes were still full of fear.
At that moment, Barton arrived after hearing the news and asked the doctor, "How's his health?"
"The body isn't in serious trouble, but he was greatly frightened. His mental state is panicked. Please don't agitate him."
"Okay, I understand."
Barton nodded and turned to look at Talbot... His wide eyes were bloodshot, his hands clutched his chest, and he breathed heavily, as if recalling some horrific incident.
Seeing his appearance, Barton felt sympathy.
But thinking of the threat from the Vongola Family, after hesitating momentarily, he still gritted his teeth and asked, "What did you see?"
"What did I see..."
Talbot was dazed at first, then the hell-like tragic situation appeared in his mind, and he held his head screaming in horror.
The doctor rushed in quickly and gave him another dose of sedative before he was relieved.
Seeing this, both breathed sighs of relief.
But then the doctor glared at Barton angrily and said harshly, "Didn't I say it's best not to stimulate him anymore? Do you want him to become an idiot?"
"I..."
Barton wanted to say he also had his difficulties, but thinking of Talbot's tragic state just now, he really couldn't say it.
At that moment, Talbot on the hospital bed helped him out. "I can understand him. Although soldiers and special agents are different, sometimes, in some cases, even if you must sacrifice your life, you have to act. I don't blame him."
"How do you feel?"
The doctor didn't care what he said but cared about the patient's condition.
Talbot waved his hand, indicating there was no problem, then said, "I have something to say."
"If you have a headache, don't force recall."
After the doctor gave instructions, he left the ward tactfully.
"I'm a general anyway—my ability to accept isn't that bad." Talbot muttered a few words and looked at Barton after the doctor left the ward, continuing, "At that time, the earth's crust broke and magma formed pillars like volcanic eruptions. All the soldiers were burned into charcoal under the lava spray. I don't know how I survived."
At the end, Talbot's tone became somewhat self-deprecating.
"..."
Barton was silent.
He knew that although Talbot said it plainly, the situation at the time definitely wasn't that simple.
This could be felt to some extent considering Talbot's current mental state.
However...
(Is it really an illusion?)
Although the soldiers' bodies weren't roasted into charcoal, there was no doubt they'd been cooked by high temperature.
Upon reaching this conclusion, Barton couldn't believe it.
Although he'd speculated for a while, the fact that illusion could affect reality was so overpowered—it was like being a god.
After all, wasn't illusion created by the user?
All kinds of things impossible in reality could appear in fantasy.
…
Midtown Circle, Midtown Associates.
Top floor, conference room.
"I see!"
Kingpin hung up the phone and looked at the rest of the bosses. "Vongola's revenge is here."
The rest narrowed their eyes, their expressions becoming grave.
It was Kingpin who'd single-handedly orchestrated the two U.S. Marine Corps battalions to deal with the Vongola Family.
Therefore, when the plan failed, they'd gotten the news immediately and hurriedly started a meeting.
After all, the failure of two U.S. Marine battalions equipped with the most advanced weapons and equipment was enough to demonstrate the other side's strength.
"...How many people came?"
Seeing everyone was silent, Madame Gao was first to speak, breaking the increasingly frozen atmosphere.
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the conference room felt relieved.
"Only one person."
"One person?"
All the gang bosses widened their eyes in disbelief.
But Madame Gao, Nobu, and others frowned.
Although they didn't know the specific process, it was obvious the Vongola Family's strength shouldn't be underestimated if they could fully deploy two elite U.S. Marine battalions.
And the fewer people the other party sent, the more powerful they were.
After all, they were different from ordinary people and knew quite a bit about powerful individuals who exceeded common sense.
"The visitor means no good, but we can only fight." Nobu said in a deep voice.
"He came up in the elevator. I've arranged people to ambush in the corridor."
"But it's not safe. Let's go see!"
"Agreed!"
The group of bosses came to the corridor together... The place was already full of people, all holding guns, crouching and standing in three rows in the corridor opposite the elevator. Bombardiers, machine gunners, and bombers were ambushed against the walls on both sides of the elevator.
And behind the corridor, there were several ruthless men carrying RPGs.
Because these people had too many connections, the bosses couldn't break through easily, so they could only stand behind the gang members and wait patiently.
18, 19, 20...
The elevator display showed the floor.
As the elevator got closer, everyone became more nervous, and even the air seemed to thicken.
Ding!
The elevator doors slowly opened to both sides, and the gang members pulled triggers spontaneously. Guns spat fire, and bullets swept in like a tornado instantly. Vision blurred from gunpowder smoke.
CLANG CLANG CLANG...
Before the elevator door fully opened, it was shot into a sieve, and bombardiers lying on both sides threw grenades in unison.
Immediately afterward, before the grenades exploded, the ruthless men with RPGs stood up and fired rockets into the elevator.
BOOM BOOM BOOM...
The roar of explosions continued, and flames swept out like a surge under continuous impact.
The bullets were fired, the grenades thrown, the rockets ejected...
Perhaps because they felt that under such firepower, absolutely no one would survive, everyone forgot about conserving ammunition and stood there dazed, waiting for the firestorm to subside to confirm the result.
After a few seconds, the flames faded.
Only the empty elevator shaft remained, with only cracked walls scorched after the explosion visible.
"That's it?"
Wesley tilted his head to the right, and the rest of the gangsters also showed relaxed looks. Only Kingpin, Madame Gao, Nobu, Bullseye, and others still looked serious.
It wasn't that they'd noticed something, but their experience and wisdom told them: things weren't so simple.
Tap tap tap...
Crisp footsteps sounded, so obvious in the noise of relaxation and joy.
A gleam of light flashed in Madame Gao's eyes, and she didn't care to pretend she didn't know English, so she shouted in English, "He's not dead yet! He's coming up the stairs!"
Hm?
The gang members didn't react immediately and were stunned.
Then...
BOOM!