"Isn't the battle over? What on earth is that thing?"
Johnny watched in shock as a massive object slowly rose from the ground. The circular object, made of an unknown substance, had only just poked its head out, yet it had already doubled the size of the hole the previous monster had dug. And it was still rising, trying to drill out from underground. Massive cracks began to split Manhattan apart; the destruction of Manhattan was happening right now.
"How is the evacuation of the innocent civilians going?"
Nick, whose head felt like it was about to explode, spoke to Hill beside him. But Hill couldn't answer that; in this situation, could there even be any civilians left in Manhattan? Most were likely dead, and with so many monsters, rescue was impossible. Realizing he had asked a stupid question, Nick stopped talking and watched the giant egg-shaped object slowly rising from the ground.
"What on Earth is this thing? Today is truly full of surprises."
Using black technology far superior to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s, Tony saw more than Nick and the others. He could clearly see dense symbols on the giant object—strange symbols he had never seen before, like a form of writing, but he had no idea what it recorded. Was it something left on Earth by aliens? After the Thor incident and the Battle of New York, Tony had accepted the existence of aliens; now he just didn't know the purpose of whoever left this thing behind.
"Jarvis, scan the patterns on this thing and see if there's any match in the database."
"Yes, sir."
Jarvis quickly gave Tony an answer. None of the recorded patterns matched anything in the database by even ten percent. In other words, they might have discovered a new ancient script. A historian would probably be ecstatic, but Tony didn't find it interesting. It meant this thing could belong to a civilization he knew nothing about, and he had no idea what their intentions were in leaving it.
"Wait, Jarvis, zoom in on the three o'clock position of this object."
Suddenly noticing something, Tony ordered Jarvis to act. The display began to split, and one section zoomed in rapidly. Observing closely, a very shallow scar was on the giant egg. As the egg rose, it became more apparent. The originally continuous text suddenly broke off here. Most interestingly, this scar was semi-cylindrical rather than a cut—very intriguing.
"Jarvis, full power."
Unlike the indecisive S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony directly activated his weapons. Various meticulously crafted weapons flew toward the massive object. This made Captain America, standing nearby, frown. He was dissatisfied with Tony's handling of the situation; he believed they needed to clarify the other party's purpose first. Yet Tony had attacked directly. But there was nothing to be said; since the attack had started, he could only stay alert and see how things would change.
"Tony, that bastard! He attacked without knowing anything."
This scene made Nick so angry his hair almost grew back. You're not a child anymore; you didn't investigate such a huge thing at all and just launched an attack? How unwise. You bastard, if your parents weren't backing you, I'd really want to kick your ass.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion rang out, and the black smoke quickly dissipated. But everyone was shocked to find that the place Tony had just bombarded didn't have a single scratch. This was firepower that had blown away half the body of that big monster earlier. If that monster hadn't had such strong regenerative abilities, it would have died long ago. Yet now, there wasn't even a hint of damage. What was going on?
"Sorry I'm late, Director."
In the Helicarrier, while everyone was in shock, a familiar voice suddenly rang out. Nick turned to look; it was his good subordinate, Special Agent Phil, whose hairline was almost catching up to his own. More importantly, the person beside him made Nick's eyes light up—it was Dr. Banner. At this moment, Dr. Banner was very conflicted; he wanted to help but was also somewhat afraid. His father-in-law had been released again, so he still needed to worry about his situation. But seeing Manhattan turned into this, his kind heart made him want to lend a hand.
Special Agent Phil had been sent by Nick to invite Dr. Banner to help. Nick hadn't held much hope, so he didn't expect Dr. Banner to actually show up. S.H.I.E.L.D. owed Dr. Banner an explanation. They had promised that no one would try to capture the Hulk again, but he couldn't help how the higher-ups played their internal games.
"I have to trouble you again, Dr. Banner. I'm sorry about what happened before."
Nick took a very humble stance, as he truly felt sorry for Dr. Banner. Although he had some grievances against Nick, Dr. Banner also understood that no single person could control everything. Now was not the time for grudges. Seeing the tragedy through the live broadcast, Banner couldn't sit still. When Special Agent Phil came to invite him, he hesitated for a moment and then agreed.
"Say no more, Director Nick. I only came because I couldn't stand to watch anymore."
Shaking hands politely with Nick, Banner's mood was still a bit low. He had been learning how to control himself and not lose his temper; the Hulk hadn't appeared for a long time.
"Director, that thing has completely risen to the surface."
Hearing this, Nick, who was talking with Banner in the corner, quickly turned his head to look at the screen. It was a giant spherical object. From its appearance, it looked like a single massive rock, except there was a long'scar' on its exterior. But it was enough to shock people. A giant rock dozens of meters high appearing before them—wasn't that just a mountain?
"Can you analyze the substance on it?"
Nick asked the technicians nearby. Upon receiving the Director's order, the technicians began operating their computers, but they were soon discouraged.
"Regrettably, Director, this object doesn't match any kind of ore found on Earth."
"This is bad, Director! Three nuclear missiles were launched directly at that giant sphere through some unknown channel."
Before he could recover from the subordinate's report, another big piece of news arrived. Wasn't this familiar scene exactly what happened during the Battle of New York? He didn't expect it to happen again right in front of him. Those shit-eating bastards.
"Everyone evacuate immediately! Notify everyone to evacuate now!"
Nick hurriedly notified everyone to board the Helicarrier. The carrier, built with a massive investment, was indeed impressive, leaving the explosion range without a hitch. Before anyone could open champagne to celebrate, a massive explosion sounded from behind. Manhattan was leveled to the ground. But with this explosion, the two big shots in Avalon and Kamar-Taj both opened their eyes at the same time, sensing something.
"The Old God, Gaia, has been unsealed."
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