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"That…she doesn't know either."
Tony Stark shook his head, looking helpless.
"Motherfucker!"
Nick Fury couldn't help but curse, then ordered Maria Hill, who was not far away:
"Immediately contact the field agents on the ground and track down Maya Hansen's whereabouts… Remember, this woman is a very important scientific researcher, and you must bring her back alive to S.H.I.E.L.D. for interrogation."
"Yes, Officer."
Maria Hill immediately began calling the ground Base.
...
A few hours later.
Miami.
The Ten Rings Gang's secret manor.
A completely invisible quinjet sped down from the sky, silently hovering above the manor, while the armed terrorists patrolling inside the manor had no idea of the impending danger.
"Wow, Sis, is your invisibility ability that amazing now? You can even cover a whole plane."
Human Torch Jonathan Stone gave Susan Stone, who was continuously outputting an Invisibility Force Field, a "I'm really impressed with you" gesture.
"Less talk, whatever you guys are going to do next, you'd better decide quickly…" Susan Stone said with a somewhat grim expression, "Because I'm about to run out of strength."
After all, she had only gained this superpower a few months ago, and reaching this level was already her current limit.
Captain America saw this and quickly said, "Everyone, check if your communication devices and weapons are ready. Before the official operation, I want to reiterate our primary goal… which is to capture Aldrich Killian, the mastermind behind the Ten Rings Gang, and Dr. Curt Connors. If you encounter resistance, you can kill them on the spot."
"But there's one Thing everyone needs to pay special attention to: the best way to completely kill those terrorists who have been injected with Extremis is to shoot them in the head!"
"Understood." Hawkeye smiled confidently, "I'm best at that."
"Jarvis has just scanned the entire manor using the infrared thermal system. This is their personnel distribution map."
Tony Stark then used holographic projection technology to display the electronic sandbox of the manor below, and the red dots moving back and forth represented the positions of individual terrorists.
"The guards in this manor are ridiculously numerous, aren't they?"
Black Widow pointed to two red dots deep within a building that were significantly larger than the other red dots and said:
"Judging from the thermal signals emanating from these two people, they are most likely Aldrich Killian and Dr. Curt Connors. Everyone be careful when you make your move later."
Everyone nodded in unison, only Thing Ben Grimm said indifferently, "Hurry up and let me down. After I deal with these scumbags, I still need to go back and continue searching for Reed's whereabouts."
It was clear that he still hadn't gotten over the resentment of being "abandoned" by his good friend.
So, unless he dragged the other party out and questioned him face to face, he would never give up!
And this was exactly what Nick Fury wanted to see most.
"Move."
Captain America immediately signaled the pilot to open the rear hatch.
Whoosh whoosh—
Tony Stark and Human Torch took the lead, flying out and launching the first round of attack before the terrorists below could react, thereby making ample preparations for their teammates' aerial insertion.
Thing and Captain America followed closely, leaping directly from a height of over ten meters.
Boom—
Thing, like a meteor, directly smashed a large pit into the ground, and then, as the surrounding terrorists surrounded him with guns to check, he charged out of the pit like a heavy tank.
Captain America, during his descent, successfully dissipated the enormous kinetic energy from the high-altitude fall by curling his body into a ball and utilizing the powerful properties of his Vibranium Shield.
He sprang up from the ground with a carp flip and then, without delay, immediately plunged into the battle.
"It's our turn."
Black Widow and Hawkeye exchanged glances, both seeing envy in each other's eyes. How could they not want to make a dashing "leap of faith" like Captain America?
But their physiques and equipment didn't allow it!
So, the two could only use high-altitude rope descent, quickly reaching the ground under the cover of several teammates and joining the battle.
"Aren't you going?"
Susan Stone looked sideways at Bruce Banner, who was standing at the cabin door, hesitating. He scratched his head awkwardly, "I think if they're there, I shouldn't… oh no, I mean, Hulk shouldn't need to make a move, right?"
"You still can't control that power?" Susan Stone asked with curiosity.
Bruce Banner replied with a wry smile, "That's right, after all, I'm just an ordinary scientist. Fighting isn't my strong suit."
"I understand… You, like Reed, possess an unparalleled brain."
Mentioning her ex-boyfriend… oh no, her ex-ex-boyfriend, Susan Stone's eyes couldn't help but show a hint of loss.
The reason she agreed to join S.H.I.E.L.D. was partly because she didn't want to see her younger brother being used by Nick Fury to do dirty work, and partly simply to find the whereabouts of her old flame, Reed Richards.
She, like Thing, wanted to question the unfaithful man face to face: why didn't he take her with him back then?
"Uh, thank you for the compliment."
Bruce Banner nodded politely to the other party, then folded his arms and returned to his seat.
At this moment, the battle in the manor below had entered a white-hot stage.
The six people had clear divisions of labor: Thing, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Human Torch were responsible for containing the enemies outside.
Tony Stark and Captain America were responsible for infiltrating the building to carry out the capture mission.
After all, most of the enemies were concentrated outside.
And although the Ten Rings Gang's Extremis Warriors had an absolute advantage in numbers, they still couldn't stop the fierce offensive of the four Avengers.
Especially Thing, the hard rock layer covering his body could effectively block bullets and the high-temperature damage released by the Extremis Warriors, so he was not afraid even when facing concentrated enemy fire.
Bang bang—
Thing swung his fists, directly sending two charging Extremis Warriors flying, their breastbones instantly collapsing inwards.
But to Thing's surprise, shortly after they landed, they immediately got back up. With a flash of red light across their bodies, the indentations on their chests quickly healed at a visible speed, and then they fearlessly charged at Thing again.
"Hey, big guy, remember to hit them in the head!!"
Hawkeye's voice came from behind. At the same time, two arrows with explosive arrowheads accurately struck the heads of the two Extremis Warriors.
Boom boom—
After two explosive sounds, two bloody, headless corpses crashed to the ground.
According to the information provided by Maya Hansen, as long as a headshot is achieved before these Extremis Warriors activate the Extremis, their post-mortem self-destruction can be avoided.
"Don't worry, even if they self-destruct, it's completely fine, because I'm Human Torch!"
Human Torch directly incinerated an Extremis Warrior into charcoal with a fiery punch, then hovered in mid-air, hands on his hips, showing off:
"See, they didn't even have a chance to explode… Boom!!!"
Apparently, the temperature of the flames he had just released was far greater than the maximum temperature and self-healing ability produced by the Extremis, which was why he was able to burn that Extremis Warrior to death.
But before he could gloat for long, two Extremis Warriors who leaped up from behind directly chose to self-destruct.
Boom boom—
The scorching heat instantly swept out in all directions like a sea of fire.
"Fuck!!"
Hawkeye and Black Widow, who had no time to find cover, could only hit the ground, avoiding vital areas and using their backs to endure the scorching flames.
By the time the explosion ended, although they had successfully escaped, large areas of their special forces suits on their backs had caught fire, and some parts were even burned through, constantly emitting black smoke.
"Ah, my hair?!"
Black Widow shrieked. Her proudly exquisite short hair, at the back of her head, had turned completely charred, looking quite comical.
In contrast, Human Torch, despite being at the core of the explosion, was completely unharmed, and boasted triumphantly:
"How about that? I told you their self-destruction couldn't hurt…"
"Damn it, if you dare to say one more word, I'll kill you myself!!"
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Black Widow, whose eyes were wide with fury below.
If looks could kill at that moment, Human Torch would have probably been shot through by Black Widow's gaze.
Human Torch, seeing this, sheepishly defended himself, "Sorry, I didn't notice their sneak attack just now. Next time I will… Bang!!"
A bullet flew past his head. Black Widow pointed her gun at his forehead and said with a grim face, "Try saying one more word?"
What else could Human Torch do?
Of course… he chickened out!
Originally, he had greatly anticipated leaving a good impression of bravery and skill on Black Widow in this battle, thereby developing a casual fling.
But now, it seemed largely hopeless!
However, before Black Widow could say anything more, a large number of Extremis Warriors surged from other directions of the manor.
Da da da—
Intense gunfire poured towards the four.
Human Torch decided to atone for his mistake, attracting fire in the air while releasing flames to incinerate those unlucky ones who couldn't activate the Extremis in time.
And Thing still maintained his reckless, head-on charge. Ordinary attacks simply couldn't break through his defense.
Bang bang bang—
After scattering the enemy's formation, he grabbed two Extremis Warriors like chickens and then slammed their heads together.
Pfft—
Blood and brain matter splattered out, and the two Extremis Warriors died on the spot before they could even self-destruct!
...
Inside the building.
Guided by Jarvis, Tony Stark and Captain America successfully arrived at the area with dense high-temperature signals.
However, waiting in the hall was not the "mastermind" Aldrich Killian as they had imagined, but two Lizard Men covered in thick scales and clearly in a state of mental disarray… To be precise, they should be called Fire Lizard Warriors!
And dozens of fully armed Extremis Warriors.
Da da da—
Tony Stark immediately ordered Jarvis to scan the facial information of everyone. After confirming that Aldrich Killian and Dr. Curt Connors were not among them, he directly controlled the shoulder machine guns of the Mark 43 Hunter Armor, precisely blowing up the heads of all the Extremis Warriors.
Then he hovered in mid-air and looked at the two Fire Lizard Warriors opposite him, saying, "Hey, gentlemen, which one of you is Aldrich Killian?"
Roar—
But what responded to him was a series of Beast-like roars. The two Fire Lizard Warriors didn't waste any words, howling and attacking Tony Stark and Captain America.
"Oh, shit?!"
Tony Stark dodged the scorching flames sprayed by the two Fire Lizard Warriors, complaining to Captain America, who was constantly dodging attacks below:
"Captain, can you distinguish which one is Aldrich Killian among them?"
Captain America, relying on his rich combat experience, flexibly defended and dodged while helplessly shaking his head, "They all look the same to me, there's no way to tell… How about we just capture them all and bring them back?"
"Looks like that's the only way."
Tony Stark couldn't help but grumble, "I hope that bastard Aldrich Killian is among them, otherwise, next time I see him, I'll beat him until he's begging for mercy!"
...
And at the same time.
New York, Queens.
Inside a car, Aldrich Killian was watching the battle between the Avengers and his subordinates, whom he regarded as disposable pawns, through a monitoring system.
"Tsk tsk tsk, that Thing and Pyro wouldn't happen to be new members of the Avengers, would they? They seem quite difficult to deal with!"
Eric Savin pointed to Human Torch on the monitor screen and said with some concern, "Boss, this Pyro seems to be immune to fire attacks, which is very effective against the Extremis in our bodies."
"And that bitch Maya Hansen seems to have told them the weaknesses of the Extremis Warriors, which puts us at a great disadvantage!"
"It doesn't matter."
Aldrich Killian sneered, "Don't forget, besides Extremis, we now also have the Lizard · Cross-Species Gene Serum. It won't be that easy to deal with us."
Then he glanced at the time on his watch, "How are Things progressing with Dr. Connors? Normally, President Ellis would have already entered by now. It's time for him to start his move."
"As long as he can attract all the attention, we can easily leave with President Ellis… Anyway, we've already gotten our hands on the Lizard · Cross-Species Gene Serum formula, so his life or death is… insignificant to us!!"