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Ch. 310 New York Concession
🕑 Added 2024-03-01 16:00:09 +0000 UTCNick Fury's office.
Russell waited for No. 3 to infiltrate the core database of S.H.I.E.L.D. while also awaiting the arrival of other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Although there were no surveillance cameras in Nick Fury's office, it was highly likely that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the building knew he was in the office. After all, he had casually flown into the office after destroying the helicarriers in the Insight Hangar.
If the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the Triskelion couldn't react even to this, they would be too slow.
As Russell expected, it didn't take long for him to see a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent he hadn't met before, but who was not unfamiliar.
Maria Hill!
One of Nick Fury's right-hand agents, a Level 9 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and the commander of the first generation helicarrier.
If her fate hadn't changed significantly, she would become the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the future and gain Level 6 managerial authority in the superpowered countermeasure department established in the future.
Maria Hill wasn't alone when she entered the office.
Behind her was a fully armed S.H.I.E.L.D. special forces team.
Upon entering the office, Agent Hill's eyes fell on Nick Fury's headless corpse.
After seeing Nick Fury's headless body, she first showed intense hostility.
Then, she forcibly suppressed her anger and looked up at Russell, who was sitting behind the desk.
At this moment, Russell was sitting in the director's chair that originally belonged to Nick Fury, with his feet propped up on the desk.
Seeing Russell's attitude, which completely disregarded S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Hill took a few deep breaths and asked, "What exactly do you want to do?"
"What I want to do, you all know very well."
"You should have seen today's press conference by the Justice League."
Russell said nonchalantly.
"Do you want to completely destroy S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Agent Hill continued to inquire.
"Everyone knows the answer to that; there's no need to ask."
Russell said casually.
"Although your face has been saved, do you really want to do it so thoroughly?"
Although she knew the chances were slim, Maria Hill still asked this question.
"I've already been merciful by not killing everyone in the building."
According to his style as an assassin, no one inside the Triskelion would have left alive.
"You..."
While Russell's attitude was arrogant, Agent Hill knew he was telling the truth.
To kill without mercy! That had always been Russell's style!
"Get out, don't force me to kill you."
Russell didn't care about Agent Hill's dissatisfaction and said casually.
Although his tone was calm, Agent Hill knew he wasn't joking.
After thinking for a few seconds, Agent Hill, dressed in black combat gear, left the office with her special forces team.
Once Agent Hill and her team left, no one else came to disturb Russell in the office.
Time passed slowly.
After about ten minutes, No. 3's voice suddenly sounded.
"Sir, all the data from the core database of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been copied to the Justice League headquarters database. Shall I upload it to the internet now?"
"Not so fast! First, hide the information about the Justice League, then see if there's any data that the Justice League can use. Once you confirm that the uploaded confidential information won't have any impact on the Justice League or Octopus Monster Industries, then upload the remaining data to the internet."
Russell quickly responded.
"Understood, sir!"
No. 3's voice echoed once again.
After giving instructions to No. 3, Russell had no intention of staying here any longer. He retrieved the small silver-white device from the office desk and stored it in his system space.
Then, he flew towards the symbol of American official institutions, the White House.
The matter of S.H.I.E.L.D. could be temporarily considered concluded, but he had other matters to attend to. He wouldn't forget the Kree who were currently cooperating with the American authorities.
What these Kree intended to do didn't concern him, but their warships did!
The Accuser Ronan couldn't keep those warships, as he had stated!
It didn't take long for Russell to fly over the White House and overlook the world-famous official residence.
"The government, huh..."
After expressing his disdain for the government in his heart, he landed on the lawn outside the White House and casually walked towards it.
...
One hour later.
Russell left the White House with a calm expression and opened the portal to return to the Justice League headquarters.
Although he had wasted a little time, the results of the negotiations were very satisfactory. Or rather, he had obtained everything he wanted.
Upon returning to the Justice League headquarters through the portal, he gathered Diana and the others in the living room and explained the results of his negotiations with the American authorities.
In simple terms, the result of his negotiation with the American authorities was that he had reclaimed everything that originally belonged to the Justice League and Octopus Monster Industries.
In addition to this, he also received some compensation he wanted. For example, the concept of a "concession," and in this case, he had secured all of New York City as a concession.
Of course, to make the American authorities agree to this humiliating condition, he had made some concessions as well. For example, allowing the American authorities to maintain nominal jurisdiction over New York City. On paper, New York would still be American territory, but in reality, all official rights in New York would fall into the hands of the Justice League, more specifically, into Russell's hands.
Although it seemed unbelievable, Russell had successfully convinced them and demonstrated what it meant to use "reason" to persuade others. Faced with Russell's irrefutable "logic," the American authorities had no choice but to agree to this humiliating concession.
When Russell explained the negotiation results with the American authorities, including the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D., everyone, including Diana, wore expressions of disbelief.
How could this be possible? How could the American authorities agree to such conditions?
"Besides using 'reason' to persuade them, did you say anything else to them?" Diana, who knew Russell the best, immediately guessed that things were not as simple as Russell had described.
"Nothing much. I just informed them that I have a habitable planet suitable for humans and some contact with other extraterrestrial civilizations," Russell replied casually. "I also kindly reminded them that if they didn't agree, I would cooperate with other countries, provide them with support from extraterrestrial civilizations, and help those countries advance into the interstellar civilization stage."
"At the same time, I did my best to suppress America."
Russell said calmly.
After he finished speaking, everyone, except for Diana, looked at him with confusion.
After a few seconds of silence, Kara was the first to ask, "Why didn't you just threaten to destroy the goverment if they didn't cooperate?"
Upon hearing Kara's question, others like Gwen and the Hulk nodded in agreement. It was clear that they also wanted to know why Russell had complicated the situation with such threats.
Russell smiled in response to Kara's question.
Then he said slowly, "I could have directly threatened to destroy the goverment, but that would have been too easy for them."
"Death can only be experienced once, and once it's over, it's over."
"But if it's something else, like making them go from being high and mighty millionaires to penniless beggars, that would be more painful than death for them."
Upon hearing this, Kara, Gwen, and the others finally understood why Russell had acted this way. Although it was somewhat complicated, it was clear that this would make the elites experience a pain worse than death.
As for whether they would choose to end their lives, that was a question that didn't need consideration. These elites lacked that kind of courage.
If they had the courage to die rather than surrender, they wouldn't have agreed to Russell's "concession."
"In addition to all this, I also demanded that they must dismantle S.H.I.E.L.D. I expect we'll see an official announcement on that in a few hours," Russell continued.
Regarding this, Kara and Gwen, and the others showed no surprise and silently nodded.
"The matters with the American authorities and S.H.I.E.L.D. are more or less settled. Now, there's one final issue to address," Russell said, surveying Diana and the others before continuing, "The American authorities revealed the location of the Kree warships and their cooperation details with them."
"The American authorities don't have enough power to deal with these Kree, so we'll have to handle this ourselves."
"My request is simple: make those Kree warships the property of the Justice League. As for the Kree themselves, since they've come to Earth, there's no need for them to leave."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kara asked, "When do we leave?"
Kara was not an Earth human, and she was curious about what the Kree on this world looked like. During the Battle of New York, she had encountered the Chitauri and the Outriders, which left her with a terrible impression.
"Now!" Russell stood up and, right in front of them, began to cast portal magic.
In just a few seconds, a portal with a diameter of five meters appeared in the living room.
"Let's go together and put an end to this," Russell said to Diana and the others.
As soon as he finished speaking, Diana, Kara, and the others stood up and followed him into the portal.
...
Edwards Air Force Base.
This was the largest air force base in the continental United States and the world's largest air force base. The base was established in the 1930s and had been one of the main training centers for the United States Air Force during World War II.
Despite its long history, Edwards Air Force Base remained the primary flight test center for American aerospace to this day, and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center was also located here.
When Russell had No. 3 search for the Kree warships in outer space, they had found no trace of them. He wouldn't have thought that the Kree warships were located at Edwards Air Force Base if the people in the White House hadn't revealed their location.
Russell and his group arrived at Edwards Air Force Base in California via the portal from the Justice League headquarters, landing on the Rogers Dry Lake.
As soon as they appeared, they immediately attracted the attention of base security personnel.
Russell paid no attention to the Air Force soldiers and directed his gaze towards the Kree warships that had landed on the lakebed.
Three escort ships and one flagship, a total of four Kree warships!
Russell didn't hesitate for a moment and flew towards the distant Kree warships.
In just a few seconds, a fierce battle erupted on the Rogers Dry Lake.
To be precise, it was a one-sided battle.
Although the Kree warships had energy weapons and performance far beyond Earth's technology, they were no match for Russell and his group.
The Kree warriors aboard the warships put up a valiant fight against Russell and his team, but the enormous power disparity meant they had no chance.
In less than half an hour, the battle came to an end.
Out of the four Kree warships, only three fell into Russell's hands. One of the escort ships resisted too fiercely and was directly destroyed by Russell and his team.
The remaining two escort ships and the flagship had suffered some damage but were still operational.
After taking control of the three Kree warships, Russell had no immediate plans to leave. He had No. 3 take over full control of these warships and then left the Hulk and Quicksilver behind to handle them.
Russell, along with Diana and the others, returned to the Justice League headquarters.
Back at the headquarters, he immediately issued orders to Grendel, instructing him to go to Edwards Air Force Base.
In addition to that, he ordered No. 3 to restart the unmanned factory to produce the various materials needed for repairing or modifying the Kree warships.
After completing all of this, he made a phone call to the senior officials in the White House, instructing them to hold a press conference as soon as possible to announce the dissolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the restoration of the Justice League reputation.
...
Time passed quickly.
In the study at the Justice League headquarters.
Russell sat behind his desk, looking at Natasha, Captain America, and the others.
With the official support gone, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been dissolved without question. Furthermore, to prevent S.H.I.E.L.D. from rising again, Russell had instructed No. 3 to upload processed S.H.I.E.L.D. confidential data to the internet, exposing the so-called righteous organization to the world.
"Say what you have to say; my time is limited," Russell told Natasha.
As for Captain America, Hawkeye, and the others standing beside Natasha, he completely ignored them, not to mention the agents like Coulson and Hill standing behind them.
"We'd like to negotiate a deal with the Justice League," Natasha said, turning to look at Captain America and Hawkeye before facing Russell.
