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Chapter 868: Radiant Stars, Rotten Cigarette (Thirteen)
🕑 Added 2024-01-05 08:47:18 +0000 UTCIn DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List
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"Asgard?? You just said Asgard's fleet... how did they appear in the Solar System? Do they... do they intend to..." General Ross stumbled towards the end of his sentence, feeling a cold sweat breaking out on his back. However, a major walked in quickly and saluted the generals before saying,
"Sir, we just received a call from Sanctum Sanctorum. They informed us that Asgard is conducting patrols in the Nine Realms, and as members of Earth within the Nine Realms, they request our cooperation."
"Asgard's warships have observed the deteriorating condition of the Solar System and urge us to rectify it promptly. They insist that there should not be too many space installations in space, and that transportation devices and spaceships should be neatly parked."
"Furthermore, to prevent excessive space traffic accidents within the Solar System, their escort ships are assisting in clearing space debris."
"Also, this cleaning service is not free. The United Nations has announced the bill for the cleaning service, and other countries have accepted it. Our President is planning to sign it..."
"No, he can't sign it!!!" The elderly general immediately shouted, "Why should they... why... we can't... they can't! The President cannot sign it!"
Seeing that he was starting to lose coherence, Ross walked up and said, "Where is the President? Stop him immediately; we cannot accept this bill."
The major seemed hesitant and said, "Actually, this bill is quite affordable. Congress approved it without a second round of deliberation."
"Additionally, Sanctum Sanctorum mentioned that Asgard's new God-King Thor intends to create a new crown, hoping to gather Special Metal from among the Nine Realms, symbolizing unity among the Nine Realms."
"The President believes that this might stimulate the price of Vibranium, considering Vibranium is our special metal."
"And the United States, apart from Wakanda, has the highest stockpile of Vibranium globally. If Vibranium continues to drop in price, it would result in significant losses for us. Restoring its value to some extent could help mitigate these losses. That's why Congress wants to improve our relationship with Asgard..."
"Moreover, the United Nations states that space debris is a long-standing issue that needs to be dealt with during the period of human technological advancement. While we can handle it with our own technology, the costs are too high. They are considering a long-term cleaning service agreement with Asgard..."
"General, sir! General, sir! Wake up! Doctor! Doctor!" Ross immediately rushed over to support the old general who had collapsed with rolled-back eyes. All the generals were in chaos, helping the unconscious old general and not knowing what to do.
That afternoon, the sky over New York remained as blue as ever. Sitting in the car on the way back from the hospital, Ross felt the unpredictability of life for the first time, and this was just the beginning.
Although the first two launches had failed, they had involved simplified versions of the core module. Hence, the losses were not as significant. Everyone could only hope for success in the third launch.
The third launch was delayed by two weeks, and everyone conducted another round of calculations, trying to eliminate all possible accidents and aiming for a single successful launch.
On the launch day, almost all the Tartufaction military officers gathered at the launch center. When the rocket took off, everyone's hearts were in their throats.
During the flight, there were no collisions with space debris, and after smoothly reaching the target location, there were no sudden appearances of laser weapons. The base was deployed very smoothly, and cheers filled the entire launch center.
Then they saw a small dot, approaching the base from a distance. Compared to the massive Redgate Orchid base, the figure seemed tiny, but it was captured nonetheless.
"An intruder?! Quick, activate the defense systems! Wasn't it equipped with weapons?" shouted the generals and researchers. However, the researcher responsible for operating it wiped sweat from his forehead and said, "No! The base just deployed, and the energy hasn't fully connected to the defense systems yet. Energy transmission is currently at 13%, it will be completed in three minutes..."
The figure was standing far away, just a small black dot on the screen, impossible to identify. It didn't behave like Magneto, who could crush bases on sight, which made everyone think that he wouldn't attack the base so quickly.
However, unexpectedly, the figure seemed to spin in place, and then threw something. Everyone at the launch center saw a halo approaching rapidly, with unmatched force and incredible speed. It shot across the screen with a whoosh, precisely hitting the energy core of the base.
When the radiant Cigarette flower reappeared on the screen, the generals still had no idea of the name of the phenomenon they had witnessed that day. But the brilliance of the Cigarette flower on their faces surpassed even New York's sunset.
The light illuminated them in a way they had never seen before, the radiant stars in space.
It was still a calm day on Earth, and hardly anyone knew about the events in space. However, in almost all of New York, a few hearts were breaking.
The next day, inside the military base's meeting room, the atmosphere was heavy. Aside from the silence, there were far fewer people present, as most had left to explain the situation to their superiors, while the rest were in the hospital.
This incident didn't contribute to the grand plans of the military; instead, it greatly aided the promotion prospects of younger officers waiting to take over.
Amidst the somber atmosphere, Ross spoke up first, "The plan can't end like this, or we'll suffer even more losses..."
Another officer clenched his teeth and slammed the table, saying, "There must be a conspiracy here; someone is obstructing us!"
"What about that halo from yesterday? Didn't we send someone to recover it?" another general asked, and the general next to him shook his head, saying, "We did, and we even found Stark to retrieve the Mercury Base's surveillance footage. However, the halo disappeared into thin air..."
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly as it sounds. In the surveillance footage, the halo that triggered the Redgate Orchid base's explosion vanished instantly. There were no traces captured, and no one knows where it went."
"Furthermore, according to Stark's analysis report, the light scattered by the halo doesn't match the optical properties of our dimension. It's highly likely it was left by visitors from higher dimensions."
"But who could coordinate the United Nations, Asgard, and these so-called higher-dimensional visitors? If they have such capabilities, why not just have Asgard use their battleship weapons to destroy all our rockets? Why create so many accidents?" A young officer asked, puzzled.
"The problem lies here," another officer tapped the table with his finger and said, "If someone is indeed targeting us from the shadows and has the power to mobilize other countries to launch space debris and connect with Asgard, and even contact these so-called higher-dimensional visitors, then why don't they simply have Asgard use battleship weapons to destroy all our rockets?"
Ross shook his head; he couldn't wrap his head around the issue either. Logically, if someone didn't want them to succeed in this plan, such as mutants, they could simply send Magneto to crush the base. Why go through all this elaborate plotting? It not only wasted time and energy but also seemed pointless.
Ross knew that military's transport rockets and equipment were basically defenseless because they were developed a long time ago. Even if they were fortified, it wouldn't stop today's advanced weapons, let alone someone as powerful as Magneto.
Moreover, if mutants were aware of this plan, they wouldn't remain quiet as they were now. Several times before, when they were pursued by Sentinel Robots, it had caused a massive uproar, and they had wanted the whole world to know they were victims.
This time, military threatened their fundamental interests. If mutants knew about it, not just anyone, even Wolverine alone would create chaos and demand answers.
Ross knew that mutants appeared divided, but they had their roles. Magneto and Professor X played their respective parts, with one being the radical and the other the moderate voice. Wolverine might seem reckless, but he was also a bargaining chip in mutant negotiations.
Among female mutants, those like Shadowcat were relatively gentle and played the role of victims, crying on television. On the other hand, Storm and others, who were more radical, delivered speeches and managed their media accounts to express their views.
If they were aware of military's plans, it would be a chaotic situation. Besides the X-Men members taking action, the Brotherhood of Mutants would ignite conflicts worldwide. Even Magneto, who was currently in the Andromeda Galaxy, wouldn't stay idle. Threatening the President wasn't something he hadn't done before.
But now, there was silence, and Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters students attended classes as usual. The Brotherhood of Mutants remained quiet, and even Magneto, who hadn't returned from the Andromeda Galaxy, and his daughter Polaris were nowhere to be found. It didn't seem like they were under threat at all.
Apart from that, Ross couldn't think of anyone else who would be their enemy.
If you mentioned Stark, there was no evidence of him having a relationship with mutants, and given his personality, if he wanted to oppose something, he'd be making a fuss in Congress, maybe even holding several press conferences, not shutting himself in a laboratory and not even answering his phone.
Asgard and Sanctum Sanctorum were not involved in this matter at all. Both were transcendental organizations, and other Earth countries had no need for this.
Eastern countries focused on their own domestic mutants, and they managed this issue cleverly without causing concern internationally. They didn't express their stance on this matter or interfere while they were busy with technological competition.
After thinking it over, military could only come up with one possibility: S.H.I.E.L.D.
In a secret meeting, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury had unexpectedly expressed strong opposition and was adamant, refusing to be persuaded by anyone.
As everyone exchanged knowing glances, realizing they were all thinking of the same person, the meeting telephone in the center of the table rang. Ross reached out and pressed the button, and Nick's voice came through:
"Oh, oh, oh... Look what we have here. It seems someone's spaceship exploded? How about that? Did you really send your dear mother into the sun? What a pity, she doesn't even have a grave. Did this finally reveal the secret that you're her illegitimate child to your neighbor Susan, next door?"
"I've told you before, you won't succeed! Just like this! Sooner or later, you will explode in the sun with your dear mother! Gone without a trace!"
"This is the consequence of your foolish decisions! Don't expect S.H.I.E.L.D. to clean up your mess!"
As Nick's words sprayed from his mouth with various expletives, the faces of all the generals grew darker.
Moreover, the next day, Nick brought this matter to Congress.
While Congress had previously tacitly approved, it was conditional on your success. If you succeeded, nothing would happen, but if you failed, you would have to account for the military expenses.
Moreover, military had promised various anti-mutant organizations and factions that they would succeed, and these groups and forces applied significant pressure.
Nick's unusually firm and high-profile stance made military firmly target him as the prime suspect. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. and military had always been in competition. Last time, military had put S.H.I.E.L.D. in a tough spot, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had been wanting to regain its position. Nick had sufficient motivation for the crime.
Furthermore, he had the means. S.H.I.E.L.D. was a transcendental organization, and it would be a piece of cake for them to bribe a country to launch space debris.
Nick had even contacted God-King Odin and received Thor and Loki as foster children. It wasn't surprising that he could request Asgard's assistance. As for the so-called higher-dimensional visitors, only someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. could pull off something like that.
With both motive and means confirmed, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s suspicion had skyrocketed to infinity. In military's view, this was a trap set by S.H.I.E.L.D., and it was highly likely a trap that had spanned five years, all to bring Tartufaction to its knees.
Military's wariness of Nick Fury was at its peak, and they had officially torn off the facade with S.H.I.E.L.D.
In an attempt to shift blame and ease the pressure, the case escalated to Congress and even made it to the newspapers. While it didn't specify the exact reasons, almost everyone knew that the two sides had become mortal enemies.
Military had made this big fuss with the mentality of "we've already lost our pants; you won't have it easy either," pressuring S.H.I.E.L.D. to help them cover up.
A military spokesperson stood before the media, berating Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. for inaction, and Tartufaction joining other factions and lawmakers in pressuring S.H.I.E.L.D. Many countries at the United Nations condemned Nick Fury's inaction...
Newspapers flew in one after another from all over the country, landing on Schiller's desktop.
On the front page of the final newspaper, Nick's face was prominently featured, with the headline boldly written in bold letters:
"Yesterday, Congress Gunshot, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury Assassinated on the Spot."
[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]
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Next Chapter>>Chapter 869: Brilliant Stars and a Rotten Fate (Part Fourteen)
