Ch: 216-225
Chapter 216 Research Base
Eastern Europe, Sokovia, Strucker's HYDRA branch.
Among the continuous mountain ranges, there is a gray-white building, which is HYDRA's research base in Sokovia.
After Strucker took over this HYDRA branch, he managed it like his own private garden, and his influence gradually began to grow.
The current HYDRA Sokovia branch is the best-equipped and most heavily guarded remaining HYDRAbase on Earth.
Inside the research base at this time, rows of computers and research equipment were neatly arranged.
Researchers were diligently studying something in front of the computers and research equipment.
The purpose of this fully operational base was to analyze the scepter, which emitted a faint blue light, placed in the instrument in the very center.
After this period of research, they were able to make preliminary use of the scepter's energy.
Therefore, they also designed many new laser energy weapons by utilizing this energy. These weapons were not only powerful but also outperformed traditional weapons in all aspects.
Just as the staff were busy with their research, a short-haired man wearing a monocle walked in through the door.
Seeing the short-haired man walk in, a stern-looking middle-aged researcher put down his work and walked towards him.
"Mr. Strucker," the middle-aged researcher greeted him as he approached the short-haired man.
Strucker nodded in response and asked him, "How are the weapons and equipment coming along?"
The middle-aged researcher immediately replied to Strucker's question, "All combat personnel are now equipped with the latest weapons, and large tanks and armored vehicles are being produced at full speed."
Strucker nodded after hearing the middle-aged researcher's words and said, "Well done. We need to speed up the production of large weapons as well; after all, you can never have too many of them."
The middle-aged researcher nodded in agreement.
Then Strucker inspected various areas and then asked the middle-aged researcher beside him, "By the way, how are the twins doing?"
Hearing Strucker's question, the middle-aged researcher organized his thoughts and replied, "Their condition stabilized a week ago."
"After this week's observation, no abnormalities or side effects have been found. This modification was very successful, and their Inhumans abilities are growing stronger."
Hearing the middle-aged researcher's report, Strucker instructed him, "Take me to see them."
Because Strucker had been busy receiving scattered HYDRA forces all over the world these past few days, he had not had time to check the latest research progress.
The two then walked out of the research area, and after passing through several hidden passages and several security gates, they arrived at another laboratory.
The previous research area was for developing weapons and equipment, while this research area was for human experimentation using the scepter.
After they transported Loki's scepter to Sokovia, experiments with the scepter had been ongoing without interruption.
The most important part of this was the human experimentation area.
There had once been a total of fifteen experimental subjects here, all of whom were Inhumanss transported from the Monster organization.
Most of these Inhumanss were B-class, with only a few C-class.
The reason for this composition was that A-class Inhumanss were relatively precious and too wasteful for experimentation, while C-class Mutants' abilities were too weak, making them too low in strength as experimental subjects.
Moreover, even if a C-class Inhumans experiment succeeded, the effect would not be particularly significant, so experimenting with B-class Inhumanss using the scepter was the most cost-effective method.
Although Monster also wanted to conduct human experiments directly on its own territory, since this was a collaborative project with Strucker, human experiments were placed in Sokovia along with weapon development.
However, even though the experiments were conducted in Sokovia, Monster also sent some researchers and security personnel here, partly to assist in the research and partly to keep an eye on things.
After passing through security, Strucker and the researcher beside him walked into the innermost laboratory.
This laboratory was also built underground, entirely of gray stone material, but it was much cleaner and tidier than the weapon development laboratory outside.
Strucker looked at the two successful experimental subjects housed in the innermost sections, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.
Although thirteen of the fifteen test subjects died during the experiment, with only two ultimately succeeding, he was still very satisfied.
Because the performance and potential of these two successful subjects completely exceeded his initial expectations.
Through two huge floor-to-ceiling two-way mirrors, Strucker could see the two lucky ones inside: Pietro Django Maximoff and his sister Wanda Django Maximoff.
At this moment, Pietro was running rapidly on a treadmill in the laboratory. Because his speed was too fast and the frequency of his leg movements was too high, to the naked eye, he appeared to be motionless on the treadmill.
With a crackling sound, the treadmill under Pietro's feet broke down once again, smoking as it ended its brief life.
In the adjacent room, Wanda's hands glowed with red light, lifting several blocks of different materials from the ground.
Just as she sharply crossed her hands, the floating blocks of various materials were simultaneously pulverized by an invisible force, turning into colorful fragments that clattered to the ground.
These two lucky ones were a brother and sister, and twins. They were originally orphans, and after living together for several years, they were selected by Monster to become pre-awakened Inhumanss.
Then, after successfully awakening their abilities, they were sent to Sokovia for human experimentation with Loki's scepter.
After numerous experiments and adjustments over a year, they were very fortunate to have survived the experiments, becoming the only two successful subjects among the fifteen Inhumans test subjects.
Their original Inhumans class was B-class. The brother, Pietro, possessed physical abilities and speed far beyond ordinary people. The sister, Wanda, had the ability to control objects with her mind.
However, after the Loki's scepter experiments, both of their Inhumans classes broke through from B-class to A-class, and they also showed potential for continuous growth.
Pietro's physical abilities became stronger, and his speed became faster, while Wanda's ability to control objects underwent an unknown mutation and enhancement. Not only did its strength become greater, but it could also affect a wider range of objects, and she could even perform mental control and telepathy.
Chapter 217 The Raid Begins
Strucker looked at the two successful test subjects and felt extremely satisfied.
Since this experiment yielded results, their experience for the next trial would be even richer, and the results obtained should be even better.
Once he had fully mastered this technology and possessed a powerful armed force, he could tear up the agreement he had made with Mil, and even support a puppet within the Monsters to replace Mil.
Because if the technology for enhancing Inhumanss could become stable and mature, Mil would become his biggest opponent, so he absolutely had to get both the Cradle and the scepter into his own hands.
If such a plan and vision could succeed, then what he could control would not only be HYDRA and the Monsters, but perhaps the entire world could be held in his grasp.
The vision and plan that Pierce failed to complete would be finished by him, Strucker.
Thinking of this, the smile on Strucker's lips became increasingly obvious, clearly, the vision of a beautiful future had filled him with joy.
Just as Strucker was inspecting the research results of this period in the base, the Avengers and Meng Ran had already arrived near three HYDRA strongholds, ready to take action at any time.
"Is everyone ready? Mr. Ghost and I have arrived at the designated location and can act at any time."
Tony Stark asked the others via communication. At this moment, he and Meng Ran were standing on a mountaintop next to Strucker's research base.
Without Doctor Zola, the network information of these HYDRA was like an unlocked door in front of Little White; they could open whichever one they wanted.
Their location information was also easily found.
Because this operation was a surprise attack, and for the three surprise attacks to proceed smoothly, Meng Ran and his team needed to act simultaneously.
Although these three HYDRA factions were all disobedient and might not communicate with each other, it was better to be cautious just in case.
"We're also in position. Barton, what about you and Thor?" In the communication channel, no sooner had Tony's voice faded than Rogers' voice came through.
"We're also in position, ready to start at any time." As Barton's voice rang out, all three parties performing the mission were now in position.
"Since everyone is in position, let's prepare to act." Meng Ran said, listening to the reports from the other two teams.
"How about we see who can finish faster?" Tony Stark suggested again.
Rogers: "Can't you be serious for once? We're on a mission."
Tony: "OK, since you're scared, we won't bet."
Rogers: "...What are we betting?"
Tony: "How about whoever loses wears a uniform like yours for a week?"
"Hahaha, just kidding. How about the loser records a concession video for the winner?"
Rogers: "If it's not posted on Twitter, I can accept."
Tony: "OK, it's a deal."
Listening to Rogers and Tony's bet, Natasha and Barton both said in unison: "Boring."
Thor, however, was quite interested and joined the conversation: "I'll join the bet too, but how about adding a truckload of craft beer to the stakes?"
"Of course, welcome to join." Tony said with a raised eyebrow when he heard Thor join the bet.
"Alright, let's end the small talk. We're about to act." Seeing Tony's conversation drift further and further, Meng Ran timely brought the topic back on track.
"Get ready, act!"
With Meng Ran's low shout, their three teams simultaneously began their operation.
The moment the operation began, Tony launched countless tiny high-explosives and missiles from his body, targeting the grayish-white building below.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Explosions continuously rang out, and the personnel walking back and forth on the periphery for defense were left dazed by the sudden attack.
Unlike the heavy casualties of the peripheral personnel, the innermost grayish-white building remained motionless under the missile attack.
Because whenever an attack was about to hit the white building, a strange blue light shield would appear, deflecting and bouncing back all attacks.
Looking at this strange blue light shield, Tony immediately said: "It seems the scepter must be here. This strange energy is very similar to the Tesseract."
While Tony was speaking, the armed personnel below reacted very quickly. They pinpointed the location of Tony and Meng Ran and directly launched several shells emitting an eerie blue light.
Seeing the shells approaching, Meng Ran and Tony quickly left their original positions.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The power of these shells was immense, directly blowing away the mountaintop where Meng Ran and Tony had just landed.
Tony flew into the sky, nimbly changing positions and directions in the air, dodging the attacks of HYDRA's special weapons, while clearing out the armed personnel constantly emerging from below.
Meng Ran, on the other hand, teleported away from the mountaintop and directly arrived at the gathering place of the armed personnel on the ground.
Seeing the sudden appearance, the HYDRA armed personnel holding weapons emitting an eerie blue light quickly reacted. They all raised their weapons and unleashed a barrage of fire towards Meng Ran.
Although their firepower was fierce, Meng Ran's reactions and teleportation were even faster. These people fired for a long time without even touching the hem of his clothes.
In the next instant, Meng Ran directly teleported to the most densely packed area of armed personnel, then with a thought, released his large-scale skill - Thorn Hell.
Centered around Meng Ran, countless dark and sharp spikes instantly rose from the ground over an area the size of two football fields.
All HYDRA armed personnel standing within this range were impaled by the spikes.
After letting out brief screams, they completely lost all signs of life.
These spikes came and went quickly; they retracted back into the earth and returned to Meng Ran after appearing for 5 seconds.
When the black spikes were withdrawn, the ground in this area was covered with numerous corpses of HYDRA armed personnel lying haphazardly.
Blood flowed from their gradually cooling bodies, staining the grayish-white earth a slightly darkened, fishyred.
After dealing with these HYDRA armed personnel, Meng Ran did not stop.
Because not only were more armed personnel pouring out of the base, but more strangely shaped but very powerful armored vehicles were also driving over from a distance.
Chapter 218 Cleaning
After Meng Ran and Tony's surprise attack began, Strucker, who was inspecting the experimental situation in the underground laboratory, also received the news immediately.
After all, the sound of bombing and fighting was very loud; even in his underground laboratory, he could hear it.
Upon hearing the commotion, Strucker immediately walked out of the human research experiment area and came to the weapons and equipment testing area outside.
While observing the situation outside through the computer's surveillance, he asked the nearby manager, "What's the situation now? Who is fighting our people outside?"
Upon hearing Strucker's question, the manager hurriedly explained to him, "It seems to be the Avengers. The initial missile was launched by them."
"Besides that, there's also a dark figure with him, perhaps a new Avenger."
"Only the two of them?" Strucker asked, surprised, after hearing the manager's reply.
The manager nodded and then said, "That's right, the surveillance only captured the two of them."
Strucker hadn't expected that only two people would launch a surprise attack on the base. Where were the other Avengers?
Or did the Avengers think that these two alone were enough to deal with them? That would be underestimating them a bit too much.
Initially, when Strucker learned of the surprise attack, he was a little uneasy, not knowing who the opponents were.
But after learning that it was only Tony Stark and another newcomer, he relaxed.
After all, there were only two of them. Even if every tank and armed personnel he sent out fired only one shot each, they could blast them to smithereens.
"With the energy shield, it's impossible for us to be breached here."
"Send out more armed soldiers and armored tanks. Let's give our distant friends a good welcome, hahaha!"
Thinking of this, Strucker ordered the manager again, then burst into rampant laughter.
Following his command, more armed personnel with guns and armored tanks poured out of the base, enthusiastically welcoming Meng Ran and Tony.
"S***!" Tony, flying in the air, cursed loudly.
He was accidentally hit in the chest by a shell. Losing his balance, he adjusted his posture several times in the air to avoid falling to the ground.
"Watch your language, Stark," Rogers instinctively reminded him after hearing Tony's curses on the comms channel.
However, after the reminder, he felt a little regretful, because he knew Tony would definitely mock him.
Sure enough, Tony, upon hearing Rogers' reminder, retorted without showing weakness.
"Excuse me? You still have time to care about this? Didn't you hand all the work over to Natasha and the big guy, and now you're slacking off?"
Rogers was currently fighting several HYDRA soldiers. As Tony spoke, he had just kicked all these soldiers away.
"Sigh~ I knew it," Rogers sighed, then muttered softly to himself.
After muttering, he didn't continue bickering with Tony but turned and plunged into a new battle.
At this moment, all three teams were fiercely battling the HYDRA armed personnel in front of them.
In Sokovia, Tony flew rapidly through the air, clearing out the countless armed personnel and tanks on the ground.
On the other side of his combat route, Meng Ran was also clearing out enemies like mowing grass.
His body was entwined with violent purple lightning. Every two seconds, these lightning bolts would radiate outwards from his body.
Then they would blast all the armed personnel and vehicles in their path to smithereens until their power was completely exhausted.
While the violent lightning raged, dark, ominous clouds gathered in the sky.
Dense, eerie rain fell, riddling weaker people and objects within its range like sieves.
In Meng Ran's direction of advance, enemies facing him had only two outcomes: either they were riddled like human sieves by the eerie rain, or they were blasted into charcoal by the violent lightning.
Meng Ran maintained his offensive, quickly pushing the front line to the innermost central building.
As he advanced to the central building, Tony also landed beside him with a bang.
After the two stood at the entrance of the central building, no one appeared to block them, because apart from those hiding inside the building, there were no living beings left in this entire architectural area.
Tony opened his mask, then turned to Meng Ran and said, "It'll take about another minute. Jarvis is analyzing the weakness of this energy shield. Once the weakness is found, dealing with this energy shield will be simple."
Meng Ran first nodded after hearing Tony's words, then shook his head and said, "It's fine, no need to wait a minute. I can open it now."
After speaking, he flipped his hand to take out the Cloud Cutter, then swiftly unleashed a gray blade light towards the energy shield in front of him.
It was as if a hot knife was cutting through butter; after the gray blade light struck the blue protective shield, the shield quickly dissolved, centered around the blade light's cut.
Watching Meng Ran's maneuver, Tony's eyes instantly widened, and he said, "Alright, that certainly is faster."
After the shield was dispelled, Meng Ran took the lead and walked in. Seeing this, Tony followed behind him, walking and carefully maintaining vigilance.
The two walked slowly through a long stone passage, heading further inside.
At the same time, inside the research and development base, everyone was clamoring, quickly turning into chaos.
Although they hadn't seen the detailed combat process, they already knew that the armed personnel outside had been completely annihilated.
This was a result they had never imagined and was extremely unexpected.
"Quiet!" Strucker shouted loudly at the clamoring crowd.
After speaking, he also directed the armed personnel around him to maintain order with their guns.
With the actions of the armed personnel, the research base became quiet again.
Seeing this, Strucker stood on a table and said loudly to the crowd below, "Who are we?"
"We are HYDRA, the only organization that understands the true nature and fundamental principles of this world."
"No matter how long we endure destruction, how many difficult obstacles, we still stand firm here."
"Although their offensive is fierce, we are not without the power to resist."
"As long as we still have weapons, we can fight them to the end."
"Cut off one head, two more shall grow."
"We will never surrender, never yield! Hail HYDRA!"
As Strucker's impassioned speech continued, the crowd below gradually stopped their unrest and fear, and began to shout along with him.
"Never surrender! Never yield! Hail HYDRA!"
Chapter 219 Breaking Through the Defense Line
"Never surrender! Never yield! Long live HYDRA!"
Strucker watched the crowd below, finally whipped into a frenzy by his incitement, and nodded with satisfaction before jumping off the table.
These types of people are the easiest to fool and incite. Just give them a logical narrative for them to internalize as a belief.
Then, with some Presentation skills (speech techniques) to stir everyone's emotions, under the influence of the overall atmosphere, everyone's minds will become heated, and they will no longer remain rational.
To hone this skill, Strucker had watched countless speech videos, especially records of the Mustache Man's speeches; the methods and techniques in them had indeed benefited him greatly.
After Strucker's speech concluded, all armed personnel and staff returned to their posts, believing Strucker would find a way to deal with the invading enemies.
At this moment, Strucker was indeed solving a problem, but it wasn't about dealing with invading enemies; it was about the problem of escaping.
He was seen whispering something to his subordinate next to him, who was also the head of this base.
"How are the files being packaged and organized? And the things in the lab over there."
"Those two monsters have already broken in. Although there are still a few layers of defense inside, they probably won't last much longer."
"We need to hurry up and move, get out of here quickly."
Upon hearing Strucker's question, his subordinate walked further inside with him, reporting, "The files and experimental equipment are almost packed, and the aircraft for leaving here is ready."
"We should be able to depart soon."
Hearing his subordinate's report, Strucker frowned and said somewhat urgently, "Anything not ready now, forget about it. Just destroy all the files and equipment."
"Also, pack Loki's scepter. This is a great treasure; all our subsequent research must revolve around it."
"We're out of time, we need to go quickly. Oh, and remember to pacify the twins; they are the most important assets, nothing must go wrong with them."
Listening to Strucker's urgent instructions, his subordinate nodded hastily and then quickly walked towards the laboratory inside.
After his subordinate went to make arrangements, Strucker took the elevator to a deeper underground level.
This was the escape tunnel of the Sokovia base, with several escape planes stored below.
The long runway led directly to a mountainside not far outside the base, allowing evacuees to fly out directly from the mountainside to escape.
Upon arriving, Strucker immediately boarded one of the planes. Now he just had to wait for his trusted subordinates and important experimental subjects to arrive, and they could depart at once.
Inside the research base's passage, several more bodies lay sprawled.
Their chests had been pierced by a sharp object, leaving a large hole.
Meng Ran and Tony continued forward, clearing these last few lines of defense.
At this point, Sokovia's HYDRA had lost the ability to resist; they could only tremble under the fierce onslaught of the two.
Finally, after clearing all the remaining defenses, the two arrived at the weapon and equipment testing area inside.
Upon seeing the two intruders, the HYDRA armed personnel immediately raised their guns nervously.
"I'll give you a piece of advice: put down your guns, let's talk peacefully," Tony said loudly, pointing his hand cannon at the armed personnel after seeing their actions.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
"Da da da! Da da da!"
Evidently, these armed personnel did not heed Tony's words.
Upon seeing the two enter, they fully embraced their duty as HYDRA members, shouting as they unleashed a barrage of bullets from their weapons at the two.
Bullets struck Tony's Iron Man suit, making a "ding-ding-dang-dang" sound before falling to the ground.
Unlike the crisp sounds from Tony's side, bullets hitting Meng Ran made no sound as they dropped to the ground.
For Venom's defensive capabilities, these bullets were merely an itch.
"Don't you understand English? Don't regret it later," Tony grumbled helplessly, seeing that no one listened to him, only firing intensely.
As Tony's words fell, countless black tentacles suddenly shot out from the demon standing beside him.
These sharp tentacles accurately pierced the heads of every armed individual who was firing their weapon.
The sound of bullets, which had been like firecrackers, suddenly quieted down with this action.
Actually, Meng Ran could have had Venom absorb all the bullets that hit him just now and then spit them back at these people, having them kill themselves with their own bullets.
However, because Venom disliked the smell of gunpowder and bullets, Meng Ran could only move a little more and use his tentacles to eliminate these people.
"What did I tell you?" Tony shrugged helplessly, seeing that these people had all fallen to the ground, lifeless.
These people truly wouldn't listen to reason. If they had listened to him, put down their guns, and talked, wouldn't they have avoided death?
Seeing that Strucker was not present, Meng Ran immediately closed his eyes and began to perceive the base over a wide area.
A moment later, he opened his eyes again; he now had a basic understanding of everything within the base.
Strucker had left these people in front as bait and human shields, hoping to slow down their advance.
At the same time, he had already taken all important documents, data, and experimental subjects to a deeper underground space, ready to escape at any moment.
Thinking of this, Meng Ran turned to Tony and said, "You search here and control the situation."
"I'll go stop Strucker first; he's already preparing to escape, and we can't let him just leave like that."
"Once you've secured this area, you can follow my route to find me."
Hearing his instructions, Tony nodded and said, "Understood."
Meng Ran didn't hesitate further and instantly vanished from his spot.
Chapter 220 The Escape Plan was Forced to Be Interrupted
Deep beneath the Sokovia base, Strucker and his trusted subordinates had already gathered, ready to depart at any moment.
"Why aren't Will and Esso here yet? What did they go to do? And where are our experimental subjects? Where is the scepter?"
Strucker looked around at the people near him and asked them curiously.
One of them quickly replied to his question: "Will was responsible for picking up the two experimental subjects, and Esso was responsible for retrieving the scepter. Logically, they should have arrived here by now."
"What?" Strucker's voice involuntarily rose when he heard that.
The fate of those two subordinates wasn't important; the key was the twin experimental subjects and, most importantly, Loki's scepter.
"Damn it! Why can't they even get this one thing right!" Strucker cursed angrily, pacing back and forth.
A moment later, he checked his watch, then gritted his teeth and said, "Forget it, we're not waiting for them. We're leaving first. If we don't go now, those two damn guys will catch up."
Strucker had no choice. Although he was heartbroken, his own life was always the most important compared to the scepter and the experimental subjects.
Experimental subjects could be made again, and the scepter could be found again if lost. As long as he could survive, he was confident he could find those two things again.
After making up his mind, he boarded the escape plane with his trusted subordinates, not even bothering with HYDRA's researchers and guards.
Anyway, all the data was in his hands now, and researchers could be found again. The guards with the researchers could just buy him time for his escape.
"Click! Click!" Strucker's subordinates rapidly pressed buttons on the plane, preparing to start and depart.
"Bang!"
Just as their plane began to spew flames, poised for takeoff, a black figure suddenly burst through the ceiling of this underground space, crashing directly in front of their plane and forcibly extinguishing its engines.
The impact flattened the front of the plane, causing its tail to jut upwards.
Strucker and a few quick-reacting subordinates grabbed onto nearby handrails to avoid sliding down the tilted floor and into the terrifying black figure before them.
The dust from the attack gradually settled, and the figure standing on the plane's dented nose became clearer.
Its long, pale eyes and ferocious mouth immediately captured Strucker's full attention.
"Hello! Mr. Strucker, why are you in such a hurry to escape?"
The voice emanating from this terrifying monster was both hoarse and unpleasant, adding an extra layer of strangeness and horror to its appearance.
"What kind of monster is this!" Strucker was greatly alarmed looking at the fiend before him. His subordinates beside him were also startled, with only a few brave ones drawing their guns.
Meng Ran was very satisfied with Strucker's reaction; not satisfied with his surprise and fear, but satisfied that he didn't know much about his information.
Unlike the Avengers, who were household names globally, the Six-pointed Star Alliance members had almost no public exposure outside of New York City.
Only those who had interacted with them knew how powerful they truly were, such as the Avengers, Nick Fury, and their enemies who had already gone to hell.
"If you few put down your guns, I might consider letting you live a little longer," Meng Ran said, looking at the tense individuals holding guns in front of him.
After speaking, Meng Ran straightened up. As he moved, the armed subordinates immediately pulled their triggers at him repeatedly.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
As several pistols fired consecutively, a series of "firecracker sounds" echoed through the vast underground space.
"Clatter! Clatter!"
The bullets fired by the gunmen were useless. After hitting Meng Ran, they lost momentum and silently dropped to the ground.
Looking at the individuals who had expended all their bullets and whose expressions were growing increasingly terrified, the light in Meng Ran's eyes grew colder.
He said in a hoarse, cold voice, "Well, it seems you don't cherish this opportunity, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to go first."
As soon as his voice fell, several sharp tentacles shot out from Meng Ran's body.
They pierced through the shattered glass and steel plates at the front of the plane, entering the necks of everyone except Strucker, pinning them all to the plane's floor.
"Oh! S***!"
Seeing everyone around him instantly die, Strucker yelled in terror.
Before Strucker could continue his curses, Meng Ran instantly appeared before him, then grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.
"Shh! Perhaps you can be a little quieter. Now it's just the two of us. Let me see what secrets you've been hiding."
Strucker, hearing Meng Ran's words, suppressed his fear and shouted, "Let me go! If you want to know those hidden files, put me down, otherwise I won't say anything!"
After shouting, he seemed to have bolstered his courage. Although his tone was urgent, he continued to speak logically and reasonably.
"I believe you are a smart person, and I'm not stupid either."
"I can tell you all the information I know, but I only have one condition, and that is to survive."
"That should be easy for you, right? You can say you arrived a step too late, and I had already escaped."
"No one will ever know the truth, so put me down, and let's have a good talk."
When the strange man before him left him alive instead of killing him, Strucker realized that this person wanted to extract some information from him, which gave him the leverage to negotiate.
Being able to negotiate meant there was still a chance to escape. Regardless of the strange man's thoughts, at least Strucker believed this to be true.
"Hahahahaha! Interesting!" Meng Ran, seeing Strucker's reaction and hearing his words, grinned with his large mouth and laughed hoarsely and unpleasantly.
"Does HYDRA use the same template and rhetoric when training you all to handle such situations?"
"What?" Strucker was somewhat bewildered by Meng Ran's words; he didn't understand what he meant.
Meng Ran continued to tell him, "Whether it's Pierce or you, your reactions to this kind of situation are exactly the same."
"I don't know who gave you the confidence to actually have the courage to negotiate with me."
Chapter 221 Scepter
Strucker's eyes widened after hearing Meng Ran's words, and he said in disbelief, "What? Pierce is also yours…"
Before he could finish, Meng Ran interrupted him and continued, "That's right, it's exactly as you're thinking."
"And you'll soon experience the same treatment he received after saying those words."
"So there's no need to rush; I'm always fair and impartial."
After hearing Meng Ran's words, Strucker still wanted to say something, but he no longer had the chance.
The large hand gripping his neck now sprouted several small tentacles, fixing his mouth in an open position.
Then, Meng Ran transformed his other hand into tentacles and directly shoved them into his mouth.
After Meng Ran left, Tony Stark began to rapidly investigate the entire experimental base; he had already knocked out most of the remaining personnel.
After blasting away a researcher who was frantically processing data at a computer, the Iron Man armor opened up, and Tony stepped out.
"Alert mode," Tony commanded the now-closed Iron Man suit after exiting the armor.
Upon receiving the command, the Iron Man suit raised its hand cannon and dutifully patrolled the surroundings.
Tony walked over to the computer that was still processing data, then, while typing on the keyboard, he spoke to Jarvis.
"Jarvis, copy all these files and make sure to send a copy to Hill at headquarters."
After S.H.I.E.L.D. ceased to exist, Meng Ran's envisioned new organization had not yet been established.
Because Nick Fury was still busy clearing out HYDRA remnants during this time, the new organization could only remain a temporary concept until the previous matters were completely resolved.
Hill was currently working in the Avengers Tower, which Stark had funded and built.
Tony placed his high-tech phone next to the computer to ensure stable transmission, then said to Jarvis, "Perform an infrared scan of this area. Let me see if there are any other hidden rooms or secret passages here."
As Tony issued the command, a small infrared scanner popped out from the back of the Iron Man suit's hand.
After scanning the entire room, Jarvis reported to Tony, "Sir, I detected reinforced steel bars and airflow within the wall to your left."
Upon hearing Jarvis's report, Tony turned and walked towards the location he mentioned.
He muttered, "It must be a secret door, it must be a secret door," while looking at the stone wall in front of him.
Tony carefully felt the wall in front of him, trying to find the mechanism to open the secret door.
Indeed, in the upper right corner of the wall, he felt a stone that was slightly raised compared to its surroundings.
"Rumble." As Tony pressed that stone, an entire large stone slab on the wall in front of him receded, revealing a passage and stairs inside.
"Yay!" Tony gave a small cheer before walking into the passage.
The bottom of the stairs seemed like an abandoned subway station, but there were no tracks.
The long passage looked dark, with only the lights on the walls providing some faint illumination.
Tony walked for a while, finally reaching the end of the passage, and after exiting it, the space inside finally opened up.
"Tony, how are things on your end?" Rogers' voice came through Tony's earpiece.
Their respective battles had been going on for a while, and the most intense fighting was mostly over, which is why Rogers asked Tony.
Tony heard Rogers' question and softly replied, "Everything's fine on our side; the enemies are mostly dealt with."
"Mr. Ghoul sensed Strucker trying to escape just now, so he went to stop him."
"I'm currently searching the base for any data they haven't had time to destroy."
Upon hearing Tony's report, Rogers immediately replied, "OK, be careful. We'll meet at the base after the mission is complete."
"OK," Tony replied, then continued walking further inside, observing the secret research base.
Perhaps because there was no one in this research base, the entire space lacked any light source.
"Wow, that's a big one! Strucker even got his hands on this thing."
Tony couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at the enormous monster carcass hanging above him.
This huge monster was the Chitauri leviathan that appeared in New York at that time.
Although nearly two years had passed, this leviathan still maintained its majestic state from before its death.
It was unclear whether this was its inherent characteristic or if HYDRA personnel were preserving it using special methods.
After observing the leviathan for a few moments, Tony continued walking further inside.
Several workbenches were arranged in the area ahead, and on the workbenches were humanoid robots.
Because these robots seemed unfinished, they still had wires plugged into them, and their entire bodies were not fully assembled, appearing to be missing limbs.
Tony approached the workbenches, and after carefully examining these robots, he had a general understanding of their information and details.
He then continued walking further inside, and finally, the most important objective of this mission appeared before him.
Not far in front of Tony, there was a strange mechanical device.
Plugged into the device was Loki's scepter, which had been swapped out.
At this moment, the scepter glowed blue, and strange energy flowed back and forth between the scepter and the device.
Seeing the scepter, Tony became happy; he had finally found this most important item.
Just as he took a few more steps forward, a figure following behind him reached out its hands towards his head.
These slender hands silently extended to either side of Tony's head, then the fingers gently moved, as if pinching an invisible ball of air.
As these hands moved, a strange red energy passed through Tony's head, flowing back and forth between the hands.
Under the influence of this energy, a subtle red glow flashed in Tony's eyes.
Tony was unaware of everything happening; his attention was entirely focused on the scepter in front of him.
"I've finally found the grand prize," Tony said softly, reaching out his hand towards the scepter in front of him.
Just then, he suddenly felt a terrifying aura from behind him, and a foul, fishy stream of air sprayed onto his back.
Chapter 222 Nightmare
Feeling the surge of air, Tony slowly turned around.
A massive beast's head was right in front of him.
Its large, fanged mouth opened before his eyes, exhaling waves of foul-smelling air.
Startled by the Chitauri Beast's sudden revival, Tony was confused about what was happening.
He quickly retreated a few steps to the console in front of him, wanting to grab something for self-defense.
Tony had already gripped a tool hammer, ready to fight, but the Chitauri Beast seemed oblivious to his presence. After another roar, it flew over his head.
The chains and steel frame that had suspended the beast broke free with its movement, falling to the ground.
Tony's gaze followed the beast flying overhead, watching it disappear into the distance.
As the beast flew away, the space Tony was in suddenly transformed.
This was no longer HYDRA's underground research base, but a massive stone staircase, strewn with the bodies of his comrades and friends with whom he had fought side by side.
Hulk's enormous body lay at the very top of the staircase, seemingly not entirely dead, his body still twitching slightly.
On the steps below him lay Black Widow. Natasha did not seem to possess Hulk's powerful physique; her eyes were now vacant, and she had lost all signs of life.
Next were Hawkeye, Thor, and at the very bottom, Rogers.
Hawkeye's fingers were still on his bow, looking as if he had fought until his last breath, succumbing to exhaustion.
Thor had also lost his usual swagger, lying motionless with his eyes tightly shut on the cold stone steps.
At the very bottom, Rogers' shield was split in half, casually placed beside his hand.
Tony's forehead was now covered in cold sweat. He was immersed in this nightmare, completely unable to distinguish between the real and the fake in this scene.
What could be more terrifying, more despairing, than seeing all his comrades, with whom he had fought side by side, die before his eyes?
Tony quickly crouched down to check on Rogers, who was closest to him.
Just as his fingers touched Rogers' neck to feel for a pulse, Rogers, whose eyes had been tightly shut, suddenly opened them and grabbed the hand Tony had placed on his neck.
Rogers' sudden awakening startled Tony, but before Tony could react further, the dying Rogers stared intently at him and said, word by word:
"You could have saved us. Why didn't you give it your all?"
After speaking, blood spilled from Rogers' mouth and nose, and he lost his breath, his eyes wide open.
Tony looked at the lifeless Rogers, his lips trembling uncontrollably. His mind was a chaotic mess; he had no idea what he was thinking.
Just then, he heard the roars of Chitauri flying beasts and Chitauri Soldiers from above.
These alien invaders were flying and moving through space, passing one by one through a massive spatial gate above the stone steps.
On the other side of this spatial gate was a blue planet, and countless enemies were advancing towards it.
"No! No!"
"Why is this happening? Why is this happening?"
Tony stood on the stone steps, screaming as he watched the Chitauri continuously invade Earth.
The deaths of all his comrades and his own helplessness plunged him into deep despair and self-reproach.
Outside Tony's nightmare, in the experimental base, Wanda was simultaneously experiencing Tony's nightmare.
She had not expected that this philandering playboy, this damned billionaire, this wicked warmonger, harbored such immense fear within his heart.
In the blink of an eye, a tall man suddenly appeared beside Wanda. This was another successful experiment, Wanda's brother, Pietro.
The two of them were originally supposed to escape and relocate with Strucker, but they learned from the person responsible for their rendezvous about Tony Stark's invasion of the research base.
Upon hearing this news, the siblings were extremely excited. They could finally properly punish the man who had made them orphans.
After confirming this idea, Wanda and Pietro shook off the person who was supposed to guide them and began searching for Tony's whereabouts.
As luck would have it, Wanda spotted Tony Stark in the underground research base, so she quietly followed Tony and then made her move at the right moment.
Her special ability allowed her to influence people's minds, and it was with this power that she was able to silently drag Tony into his own nightmare.
Pietro, upon arriving beside Wanda, also saw Tony Stark standing motionless in front of the console.
Seeing the figure of the enemy he had thought about day and night, his body leaned slightly forward, ready to go and teach this damned warmonger a good lesson.
But just as Pietro made a move, Wanda, who was beside him, reached out and stopped him.
"Am I just supposed to watch him like this?" Pietro glanced at his sister and asked, somewhat helplessly. He didn't understand why the enemy was right there, yet he couldn't do anything.
Looking at Tony, who was trapped in his nightmare, Wanda's face revealed a smile of satisfaction. Hearing Pietro's question, she explained, "He is now trapped in a nightmare."
"I can feel the fear and despair in his heart. This fear will push him into the abyss."
"If he wants to take the scepter, let him take it. He cannot control such immense power, and this power will also become an aid to his descent into the abyss."
"I believe with that fear present, the subsequent developments should be very interesting. We don't need to act; we just need to watch from here."
"Watching him sink into fear, watching him drag those around him into the abyss with him – isn't that more interesting?" Wanda explained to Pietro, her smile growing wider.
Pietro's face also showed a cruel smile after hearing Wanda's explanation.
These twin siblings had spent a long time being experimented on, and the source of all this was war, and those two missiles manufactured by Stark Industries.
One missile blew up both their parents, and although the other missile did not explode, it kept the siblings living on the brink of death until they were rescued.
They were trapped in the room, only able to crouch in a corner. For several days, they dared not make any movement, fearing that any action would detonate the bomb.
Although they were later rescued, even now they cannot forget that feeling of hovering on the edge of death.
Chapter 223 Awakening
Because both their parents died, they became orphans, enduring the elements and wandering the streets for several years.
Afterward, they were taken by the monsters for selection and became reserve personnel for awakening Inhumans abilities.
They endured many hardships with the monsters, sinking into the pain of awakening Inhumans abilities for a long time before surviving the terrifying mortality rate.
However, not long after being cultivated in the Cradle and becoming Inhumanss, they were again sent by the monsters to Strucker to undergo experiments with loki's scepter.
For nearly two years, they lived in this research base.
There were 15 test subjects with them, but only the two of them ultimately survived.
What sustained their survival, besides their strong will, was also their deep hatred for Tony Stark.
This hatred was a crucial reason they were able to persevere through the painful experiments.
Perhaps they didn't really hate Tony Stark that much at first; after all, the war wasn't started by him, and he was just someone who provided weapons.
But the shadow of death from those few days was too deeply etched in their memories, and the Stark Industries logo on the missile was so vividly red and glaring.
Coincidentally, they were then taken away to endure a long life as test subjects, and in those days intertwined with pain and despair, only by holding onto that hatred could they have the confidence to survive; only by clinging to the belief of future revenge could they endure.
Looking at Tony Stark, whose face was covered in cold sweat and who was completely lost in a nightmare, Pietro and Wanda both showed a morbid smile of satisfaction.
Perhaps even they themselves weren't sure what this smile truly represented—whether they were happy that their enemy was being tormented and punished, or happy that they had finally gained a second chance at life after so much suffering.
While Tony was lost in his nightmare and Wanda and Pietro watched with smiling amusement, Meng Ran, who had finished searching Strucker's memories, also arrived in this underground space.
Upon seeing Tony's state, Meng Ran knew things were troublesome; Tony seemed to be sinking into his own nightmare, unable to extricate himself.
Seeing this situation, Meng Ran had no time to deal with Wanda and Pietro on the side, but instead instantly teleported to Tony's side.
Meng Ran gently placed his right hand on Tony's head, then, while releasing a pure white and soothing gentle mental energy from his palm, he softly called Tony's name.
"Tony, wake up, Tony."
"This is just a nightmare; don't be deceived by it, don't sink into it, wake up quickly."
With his soft call, Tony slowly emerged from the nightmare state, and his unfocused eyes gradually re-concentrated.
At the same time, Wanda, seeing Meng Ran's sudden appearance and his actions, felt a hint of unease in her heart; they didn't want Tony to wake up so quickly.
Thinking of this, she raised both hands and gently wiggled her slender fingers towards Meng Ran.
As she moved, a red energy coiled from her hands, then slowly drifted towards Meng Ran not far away.
Wanda intended to use her abilities to influence the newly appeared Meng Ran, making him like Tony, letting him sink into his own nightmare.
Although Meng Ran was focused on soothing Tony's mind at this moment, he was not entirely unprepared.
Feeling Wanda's small movements and the red energy slowly drifting towards him, he let out a cold snort.
Accompanying Meng Ran's cold snort, a surge of mental energy erupted from his body, then shot directly towards Pietro and Wanda, who were hiding in the shadows.
Even the red energy that was drifting towards Meng Ran was swept away by this mental energy and dissipated into the air.
Finally, this mental energy directly impacted Pietro and Wanda, making them instantly feel what it was like to have a splitting headache.
Compared to Pietro, Wanda, who was more sensitive to mental power, was more severely harmed by this mental energy; she not only felt a splitting headache but even her nose began to bleed.
Seeing that Meng Ran's casual strike caused such harm to the two, Wanda, enduring the pain, hastily said to Pietro: "Quick, let's go."
Pietro, hearing this, also endured the pain, then picked up Wanda and instantly left the spot.
Meng Ran did not stop the two from leaving, because compared to them, Tony in front of him was clearly more important, and he also knew that Wanda and Pietro, this brother and sister, were not truly evil people.
Under his continuous efforts to release gentle mental power, Tony, who was immersed in the nightmare, finally slowly woke up.
"Hah, hah." The moment he regained normal consciousness, Tony immediately gasped for air.
His face still held an expression of terror; it seemed Wanda's move had a truly immense impact on him.
"Damn it!" After coming to his senses, Tony realized that the nightmare he just had wasn't reality, but the terrifying and desperate images still left him with lingering fear.
"I… I saw a nightmare." Before Meng Ran could speak, Tony hastily told him.
"I know, I know, don't be nervous, those were all illusions." Meng Ran, seeing Tony's face covered in cold sweat, patted his back and comforted him.
"I saw the deaths of Rogers and the others, Banner, Natasha, Barton, Thor, everyone, everyone died, died at the outpost defending against the alien invasion."
Tony took deep breaths, trying to calm his emotions, while recounting his nightmare to Meng Ran.
"And after the aliens invaded Earth, I also saw that you died, and your companions, all died in the process of fighting those alien invaders."
"Sorry, I know I shouldn't keep thinking about these things, but it was just too real, so real that I couldn't tell if it was an illusion or the future?"
Upon hearing Tony's account, Meng Ran didn't say anything, only comforted him: "Don't worry, your recent nightmare was because a Inhumans interfered with your consciousness, amplified your inner fears, and fabricated a desperate illusion."
"Rest assured, Tony, I promise you that nightmare you saw can absolutely not be the future."
At this point, Meng Ran continued to explain confidently to Tony.
"If the current me faced the Chitauri army that invaded New York back then, I would crush them to ashes before they even descended upon Earth, reducing them to their most primitive state."
"Those aliens might be powerful, but you have to believe, I will only be stronger, we will only be stronger."
"In the current universe, no one can dictate to Earth under our protection, no one."
Chapter 224 Avengers Base
Hearing Meng Ran's confident words, Tony was also influenced by them. Now, thinking calmly about the content of that nightmare, it did seem quite exaggerated.
During the Battle of New York, he couldn't grasp the Ghost's strength, and his analysis of the Ghost's abilities was completely clueless.
Besides knowing that the Ghost was a staunch defender of justice, Tony knew nothing about him or the other members of the Six-pointed Star Alliance.
Even after two years, this remained true; information about the Ghost and the Six-pointed Star Alliancebecame even more elusive.
Especially the Ghost's strength, which seemed to have grown a lot over these two years, becoming even more unfathomable.
"Phew~ You're right. I'm sorry, I... I lost my composure a bit," Tony said to Meng Ran with a sigh, wiping the cold sweat from his face.
After speaking, he looked up at the Chitauri Beast corpse still hanging above him.
The corpse was no different from when he had first seen it; it still had no signs of life. It seemed it truly was just a nightmare.
"Relax, Tony, don't be so tense. You need to trust your comrades," Meng Ran said, patting Tony's shoulder.
It seemed that although the Battle of New York hadn't sent him deep into the wormhole, the overwhelming alien army, like a swarm of locusts, had still left him with a considerable psychological shadow.
"Oh, right, didn't you go to find Strucker?" After shaking the jumbled thoughts from his head, Tonyremembered their main objective.
Meng Ran pointed to the wall nearby, where the unconscious Strucker was slumped.
When Meng Ran had arrived at this underground lab and seen Tony's condition, he had casually thrown the unconscious Strucker there.
Seeing Strucker lying there, Tony nodded and then said, "OK, the scepter is here too. Our mission is complete."
After speaking, he raised his arm. Two seconds later, a jet-powered mechanical hand flew over and enveloped his hand.
Seeing his arm already encased in armor, Tony grabbed the scepter, which was glowing with a faint blue light, from the control panel in front of him.
"Finally found it. Oh, right, what about that Inhumans you just mentioned?" Tony asked Meng Ran, looking at the scepter in his hand.
Meng Ran heard Tony's question and explained, "They are two Inhumanss that Strucker modified with the scepter. Their abilities were greatly enhanced through the scepter's modification experiments."
"They are a pair of twin siblings. The sister's ability is to use a strange energy to influence people's minds."
"You were just affected by her energy, which is why you fell into fear and nightmares."
"When I first arrived, they tried to attack me, but I repelled them with a mental shock, and they also suffered some minor injuries."
"The brother's ability is super speed, so after being injured, they were smart enough to immediately escape from here."
"So that's it," Tony murmured thoughtfully after hearing Meng Ran's explanation.
"Such an attack is indeed hard to guard against. It seems I need to improve my armor."
Then, Meng Ran and Tony left the base, taking the scepter and Strucker with them.
The mission was over, and it was time for them to return.
In New York, on top of Stark Tower, which had become the Avengers Compound, a Quinjet landed.
After the rear hatch opened, Meng Ran and Tony stepped out.
Tony carried a long box containing loki's scepter, while Meng Ran carried an unconscious man with a crew cut, who was Strucker, the leader of the HYDRA Sokovia branch.
As the plane landed, Hill also emerged from inside. After meeting in the middle, she walked with the two men inside.
"Rogers and Thor have already returned. It's just you two left," Hill said to Meng Ran and Tony as they walked.
"Wow, they're pretty fast. I bet their plane was speeding," Tony quipped, still joking, upon hearing that the other two teams had returned.
Then the three of them walked into the building and arrived at the conference room in the middle.
After leading the two into the conference room, Hill left, taking the captured Strucker with her.
All other Avengers members were already present in the conference room, except for Tony, who had just returned, and Hawkeye Barton.
Entering the conference room, Tony was slightly surprised to see Barton's absence and said, "What happened? Why isn't our Legolas here?"
(Legolas is the name of the elven archer in The Lord of the Rings. Here, it's a nickname Tony gave Barton.)
Hearing Tony's question, Rogers explained, "He took a bullet to the abdomen. There was too much stray fire on the battlefield."
"But it's nothing serious. He's currently receiving treatment in the lab."
"Dr. Cho has already rushed over from Seoul. With her treatment, Barton will recover very quickly."
Tony nodded after hearing Rogers' explanation. Then he placed the box he was carrying on the table and opened it.
When the box opened, it emitted a dazzling faint blue light, the light from the faint blue gem on loki's scepter.
"loki's scepter has been retrieved, and that HYDRA leader, Strucker, he tried to escape, but Mr. Ghost captured him as well."
Tony introduced the details of their mission to everyone in the conference room.
Hill also walked in from the conference room door at this moment; she had just gone to imprison Strucker.
"The intelligence transmitted from Sokovia has just been sorted and indexed," Hill said, looking at everyone in the conference room.
Rogers looked at Tony and then said, "Then let's summarize the situation this time."
Hill then began to explain to everyone, "After this mission, the remaining forces of HYDRA have been cleared out."
"Based on the intelligence and data analysis from Sofia, Strucker conducted many experiments with loki's scepter during this time."
"They can be mainly divided into two categories: one is the research and development of weapons, and the other is experiments and explorations on the human body."
"A small portion of the data has been deleted and corrupted, but according to Mr. Stark's observations at the scene, it should be about robotics research."
Hearing this, Meng Ran added, "That part is not only about robotics research but also their exploration of artificial intelligence."
"However, they didn't make much progress in this area. In the end, they only managed to create some relatively advanced robots."
"Their research was mainly focused on weapon development and human experimentation."
Chapter 225 Information
Because Meng Ran had searched Strucker's memories, he had a general understanding of the experiments HYDRA conducted with the scepter and the results they achieved.
Nick Fury and Natasha had already witnessed Meng Ran's methods, so Hill and the others weren't surprised when they heard his additional information.
After hearing his additions, Hill nodded and continued, "The most important part is the human experimentation aspect."
"The data shows that they obtained a total of fifteen Inhumans test subjects from the monster, but only these two were ultimately successful."
"Pietro Django Maximoff and his sister Wanda Django Maximoff."
"These twins are Sokovian. They became orphans at the age of ten due to war; their parents were killed by artillery shells, but they were lucky enough to survive."
"According to current intelligence analysis, they should have first become Inhumanss for the monster, and then were sent to Sokovia for human experimentation."
Upon hearing this, Rogers also nodded and asked Hill, "What are their abilities?"
Hill continued, "The brother, Pietro, has very fast metabolism and excellent thermoregulation. The sister, Wanda, possesses neuronal spatial displacement, as well as perception and mental control abilities."
After Hill finished this series of technical terms, everyone present, except for Banner, Tony, and Meng Ran, looked bewildered.
After such a string of professional explanations, they should have understood, but they genuinely didn't quite grasp it.
Seeing the expressions on Rogers and the others' faces, Hill understood, so she summarized the twins' abilities: "Simply put, Pietro can run extremely fast, and Wanda has the ability to manipulate objects, perceive, and mind control."
"Moreover, according to their examination reports, their abilities have great potential and can continue to grow."
When Hill reached this point, Tony couldn't help but share his previous encounter with everyone.
"That female Inhumans's ability is truly bizarre and incredibly hard to guard against."
"You'd never guess what I went through at the place where Loki's scepter was kept."
"At the top of that research facility, there was a dead Chitauri Leviathan, and just as I was about to get my hands on Loki's scepter, that female Inhumans used her ability on me."
"You have no idea how I felt when I turned around and saw that monster, which should have been dead, come back to life."
"She also made me see a terrifying nightmare."
Tony then recounted the nightmare he saw: Earth being invaded by aliens, and all of them dying—a nightmare filled with fear and despair.
After hearing Tony recount his experience, the expressions on everyone's faces in the conference room grew serious.
Seeing this, Meng Ran spoke up, "So, if you encounter those two Inhumanss later, you must be extremely careful. If your will isn't strong enough, you might suffer."
"However, they have already escaped the laboratory, so there shouldn't be any problems in the short term, as they are not inherently evil people."
"But their abilities are indeed very powerful, so we still need to keep an eye on their whereabouts. Once found, we should act promptly, and it would be best if we could also get them to join our righteous cause of protecting Earth."
At this point, Meng Ran remembered the siblings' plight, so he turned to Tony and said, "Oh, and Tony, you must be careful during this period."
"As far as I know, the two artillery shells that made them orphans were products of Stark Industries."
"Moreover, they have held onto the belief of getting revenge on you for such a long time, which might also be why they were the only two successful ones out of those fifteen people."
Upon hearing Meng Ran's warning, Tony's eyes widened, and his expression became serious.
He truly hadn't expected such a karmic connection between him and these twin Mutants; no wonder Wanda had attacked him as soon as she escaped the laboratory.
Seeing Tony's serious demeanor, Banner softly said, "They have already escaped, so they should soon realize that Stark Industries closed its industrial weapons production department a long time ago."
"And honestly, seeking revenge on you just because you made the weapons seems a bit far-fetched and unreasonable."
Following Banner's words, Rogers also spoke, "This should be considered an obsession. After all, it's the only thing they could hold onto during their long lives as test subjects."
Tony sighed after a moment of silence and said, "It seems I need to be prepared for defense at all times."
"If I really encounter them, I hope Captain, you can come to my aid quickly. I think your righteous speech should be able to inspire them."
Hearing Tony's words, Rogers' mood immediately became complicated. The words sounded strange, as if praising him, yet also mocking him.
But looking at Tony's somewhat sad and silent expression, he didn't know what else to say.
Tony was unaware of Rogers' complex feelings. He sorted through the jumbled thoughts in his mind and said, "Forget it, I won't think about these things. What's coming will come. Let's focus on the current work first."
"Oh, Thor, before we send the scepter back, Banner and I will inspect it first."
It had already been agreed before the mission began that after the scepter was recovered, Thor would take it to Asgard for safekeeping, which is why Tony said this at that moment.
Thor nodded upon hearing Tony's words and said, "OK, no problem."
"Oh, you'll be attending the celebration party in three days, right?" Tony continued to ask Thor.
After hearing his question, before Thor could say anything, Rogers and the others already showed puzzled expressions.
"When was this celebration party decided? I haven't heard anything about it," Rogers asked Tony.
His question also voiced everyone's confusion: how did a celebration party suddenly appear?
"Oh, did I not mention it beforehand? Well, let's decide it now, how about it?" Tony said after hearing Rogers' question.
Indeed, Tony always had this informal style.
Thor readily accepted Tony's suggestion, "Oh, can we settle the previous bet at the party? The video and such aren't important; I just want that truckload of beer."
Tony said with a strange look after hearing Thor, "What are you talking about? We were the fastest, okay?"
After hearing Tony and Thor's words, Rogers couldn't help but laugh, "Why are you always so blindly confident? I was the first one to arrive at the base just now."
The three then engaged in a heated discussion about which team completed the mission the fastest.
Finally, the order of completion was determined only after reviewing each team's mission recording videos.