One thousand meters beneath the ocean's surface, Erik piloted the Wakandan aircraft slowly toward the target cruise ships.
Beside him, Skye worked rapidly on a monitoring console.
Her job was to determine which of the three ships Simon was actually on.
Meanwhile, the other three simply stared out the windows at the deep ocean.
The seabed looked nothing like the colorful scenes shown in movies.
It was pitch black.
Anyone with thalassophobia would probably faint from the oppressive darkness.
---
"We're here," Erik said.
He stopped the aircraft and held it in a stationary hover.
Directly above them on the ocean surface were the three target cruise ships.
"Find anything?" Erik asked as he walked over to Skye.
Skye stared at the screen, comparing incoming signals with the vibranium energy data Shuri had sent earlier.
Finally—
She detected a weak vibranium signature from one of the ships.
But the signal lasted only one second before disappearing again.
"The vibranium signal only appeared briefly," Skye said, pointing at the display.
"But I'm certain of it."
"It came from the eastern ship."
A radar projection of all three vessels appeared in the cabin.
Skye highlighted one of them.
"This one."
"That's where the signal originated."
"Then our target is confirmed."
---
"Good," Erik said.
"Shuri, you're taking control of the aircraft from here."
He tapped the beads on his bracelet to connect with her.
"Got it, cousin," Shuri replied.
"The aircraft will rise to 150 meters above sea level."
"I'll monitor the cruise ship continuously."
Back in her laboratory, Shuri had already recreated the aircraft cockpit through holographic projection.
She was now remotely piloting it.
---
Soon, the craft ascended to the designated altitude.
Erik tossed each of them a miniature breathing device.
"Put this on," he instructed.
"It will generate a breathing mask once you enter the water."
Erik clipped his device onto the bridge of his nose.
The others followed his example.
He then slid his hand across the Golden Jaguar necklace.
Instantly, the Golden Jaguar suit deployed, wrapping around his body.
Black and gold patterns interwove across the armor, giving it a mysterious and powerful appearance.
Gwen and the others activated their vibranium suits as well.
The deployment process was nearly identical.
The five of them stood in a circle with their arms crossed.
"Shuri," Erik said calmly, "we're ready."
The floor beneath them suddenly opened.
In the next moment—
They dropped straight out of the aircraft.
---
They plunged into the ocean.
Immediately, the breathing devices deployed into transparent breathing masks over their faces.
Thanks to the vibranium suits, the immense deep-sea pressure barely affected anyone except Karl—
and Karl himself was protected by magic and his cloak, so he felt nothing either.
They swam quickly toward the target cruise ship.
Soon they reached the ship's hull.
Moving along the underside, they located the anchor chain.
Their plan was to infiltrate the ship through the anchor system.
---
At the same time, the Quinjet carrying the Avengers raced toward Wakanda.
Inside the aircraft, Bruce looked puzzled.
"Isn't Wakanda supposed to be a poor agricultural country?"
"Where does this vibranium come from?"
Tony glanced at him but didn't answer directly.
Instead, he pointed at Steve's shield.
"The material used to make that," Tony said, "came from Wakanda."
"I thought your father said that was the last batch that existed," Steve replied while looking down at his shield.
His shield wasn't pure vibranium—it was an alloy mixed with other metals.
Tony didn't elaborate.
If that had truly been the last vibranium on Earth…
Then how did Tony now wear an entire suit made from pure vibranium?
---
Meanwhile, aboard the cruise ship.
Inside the cargo deck, workers were assembling various weapons.
Some were even constructing missiles of different sizes.
In the tower above the deck, a man with flashy clothes and a short haircut was speaking angrily on the phone.
He was Simon, once a subordinate of Ulysses Klaue.
"Don't feed me excuses," Simon snapped.
"I gave you six short-range thermal missiles and one intercontinental ballistic missile."
"And what did I get in return?"
"A pile of scrap metal!"
"You'd better fix this problem immediately."
"Otherwise, I might just send you an ICBM myself."
He hung up the phone in frustration.
---
Suddenly—
The power went out.
The entire ship plunged into darkness.
Workers on the lower decks immediately panicked.
Simon sensed danger.
He quietly grabbed the pistol lying beside him.
What he didn't notice—
Outside the tower window, a robot with red thrusters hovered silently.
The next moment—
CRASH!
The glass shattered.
Simon was grabbed and thrown straight from the tower to the deck below.
He slammed heavily onto the ground.
The workers scattered in terror, fleeing in every direction.
Within seconds, the deck became eerily silent.
---
A tall metallic figure descended slowly from the air.
It was Ultron.
He landed in front of Simon and looked down at him like a king judging a criminal.
"I came here specifically to see you," Ultron said calmly.
"How about we discuss… a business deal?"
Simon nodded frantically.
He had seen robots like this before.
But this one was clearly far more terrifying.
---
Ultron grabbed him by the collar and dragged him toward an old freight elevator.
Under Simon's trembling instructions, the elevator was activated.
Moments later—
Rows of vibranium bars stored in glass containers emerged from below.
Simon removed the largest one and handed it over.
"I spent a fortune getting this stuff," he said nervously.
"This piece alone is worth over a billion dollars."
The implication was obvious.
You'd better pay.
Ultron didn't hesitate.
His eyes flickered as he connected to global financial networks.
Then he looked back at Simon.
"You're worth that amount now as well."
A notification sounded on Simon's phone.
He checked the screen—
And nearly fainted.
"The money has been transferred to your shell company," Ultron said calmly.
"Exactly two billion dollars."
Simon stared at the endless string of zeros.
His jaw nearly hit the floor.
Normally money like this had to be laundered through countless black-market channels.
But Ultron had done it in seconds.
"Finance is an interesting thing," Ultron said thoughtfully.
"That's why I say—"
"Make both your friends and enemies rich."
"Then you'll know who truly stands with you."
---
Simon suddenly froze.
He recognized that sentence.
His eyes widened.
"Tony Stark said that to Klaue once!"
"I was standing right there!"
"You're one of Stark's creations, aren't you?!"
---
Ultron's expression instantly darkened.
He grabbed Simon by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
"I… was… NOT… created… by… that… man."
His mechanical voice echoed coldly.
"Do you think I'm just one of Stark's puppets?"
"A hollow tin can?"
"Look at me."
"Do I look like Iron Man?"
"Stark… is nothing."
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