mtl008 Chapter 4705 X Royal Clash (1)
Chapter 4705 X Royal Clash (1)
Chapter 4705 X Royal Family: Fierce Battle (Part 11)
"What did you say?!" Nick Fury stared at Black Widow in front of him, stood up from his office chair, walked around the desk to her, and said, "The mutants in the raid team aren't dead, and their consciousness has even infiltrated the factory system?!"
The Black Widow from the main universe nodded and said, "I've already sent you the relevant evidence. You can consult a professional to make your judgment. But you should also know that we have no reason to lie about this issue."
Nick rubbed his face vigorously: "Can they control the master model?"
“To be honest, we don’t know either,” Black Widow shook her head and said, “but mutants are always more powerful than we imagine. Just how they survived in that situation and uploaded their consciousness is something no one can figure out. Maybe that was their plan?”
The last sentence clearly struck a nerve with Nick. His face darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "This must be Professor X's conspiracy. Only he could have done this."
Black Widow now thinks so too. After all, transforming a human with a physical body into a consciousness and infiltrating a system seems to be Professor X's area of research. He's played all of humanity.
“I’ll inform the Avengers,” Nick said. “You two can sit down and have a proper talk, instead of always fighting. After all, if it’s really too late to save the world, you might have to join forces to save it.”
“It’s not that bad yet,” Black Widow said. “The Mother Model isn’t so easy to control either. Perhaps they’re still locked in a tug-of-war, and we still have a chance to eliminate those consciousness entities.”
“I hope so.” Nick shook his head.
After a long pause, the Avengers from both universes sat together in silence. Captain America from the main universe cleared his throat first and said, "Let's talk about this operation..."
The start wasn't great, but it wasn't a major problem either, since this was the only operation they could discuss. The local Avengers were clearly still resentful and not too keen on cooperating. But they also knew that if the mutants quietly gained an advantage where they weren't looking, they would have no choice but to cooperate to even the score.
This news quickly spread within human governments—the possibility that mutants might use the raiding party's consciousness to gain control of the Redgate Orchid factory was the most terrifying piece of bad news they had heard recently. Because, the nature reserve had already been established.
Originally, the mutants had suffered heavy losses and posed little threat to Earth or human governments. Letting them establish a nature reserve for their own amusement wouldn't have been a problem. However, recently the mutants have been quite active, recruiting new members and proclaiming the slogan "We will not abandon any mutant."
This wouldn't have been a big deal, since their strength had been greatly diminished, and even with continuous recovery, it would take a long time for them to turn things around. They were no longer the most important enemy.
But to everyone's surprise, they not only suffered no losses, but also gained an advantage in places unknown to humanity. Combined with their progress on Earth, this suddenly made them the most formidable enemy. What else is there to say? We unite!
That's how human governments are. When there are no external enemies, they're a disorganized mess, wishing they could strangle everyone else; but once there's strong external pressure, they instantly unite and start thinking about new plans to deal with mutants.
Attacking the homeland is one option, but it won't prevent the disastrous consequences of the Redgate Factory being controlled. Even if all the mutants on Earth are killed, those within the factory system can still avenge them, so the only solution is to eliminate those within the factory.
However, in the struggle for control of the factory, the laboratory's coordinates were sold, all the researchers disappeared, and the newly recruited researchers haven't taken over the work so quickly. In other words, the factory is currently uncontrolled, and humans have very limited control over it.
"Open access to the external defense system!" The main universe's Iron Man slammed his fist on the table and said to Nick Fury, "We must get into the internal system before we can kill those mutants."
“This is too risky,” Nick said, frowning. “How can you guarantee you won’t take control of the factory?”
That's exactly what Iron Man in the main universe was planning—to eliminate the mutants and then take control of the Redgate Orchid factory himself. But of course, he couldn't say it like that. He paused briefly, then said, "It's just opening up the outer defenses, not completely shutting down the Mother Model's security. Now that the enemy is inside, what value does the outer defenses still have?"
The local Avengers agree. It's like a house has been infested with cockroaches; everything is in chaos, but the door is locked tight, and those outside can't help.
Besides, mutants aren't cockroaches; they're more like Godzilla. At this point, the door is pointless. If we don't open it quickly, are we just going to let Godzilla eat his fill inside?
None of those present had a proper understanding of just how powerful the original model was; after all, they weren't mutants, nor had they ever attacked the Redgate Orchid factory. Even the two tech-savvy Iron Man fighters, lacking core data, couldn't accurately determine the situation within the factory's systems. They could only speculate on the worst-case scenario.
The power of mutants is well-known, not to mention that the people who went this time were all highly skilled. If their previous guess was correct—that this was Professor X's conspiracy—then they came prepared and are probably already beating up the Mother Model. If they don't hurry to help, they'll be collecting the Mother Model's corpse.
Of course, they also saw Magneto's commotion as a smokescreen—his attempts to rescue consciousness entities and his refusal to abandon any mutant were all just to buy time for the Earth Alliance.
Their previous propaganda about the failed raid and their sob story about nature reserves at the UN General Assembly were all attempts to buy time for their real conspiracy by feigning weakness. Did they really think we'd fall for it?
The more the mutants made a scene, the more the Earth Alliance felt they were just putting on a show, perhaps even using the rescue mission to help those consciousness entities and take down the Mother Model from within. They absolutely couldn't give them that opportunity.
In this urgent situation, Nick no longer objected. He said, "I'll apply, and I expect it to be approved soon. However, both of you must go together."
He was referring to two Iron Mans, because they could monitor each other and prevent the other from taking the master mold. They were sworn enemies; if they saw the other tampering with something, they would definitely retaliate, making things much safer.
The plan received support from the majority. However, the human government clearly had more in mind, and the Secretary of State's office called immediately after Nick submitted the application.
“That’s still not enough to be safe,” the person on the other end of the phone said. “I hope you can contact the other Iron Man who appeared that day, the guy in the blue and white armor. He can suppress the other two Iron Men. In the worst-case scenario, let him take control of the Redgate Orchid factory, so that Stark Industries can avoid getting more technical data.”
Nick Fury was also pondering this question. He was loyal to the Avengers, but Stark Industries was a different story. The military and government had been suppressing Stark Industries, fearing that Iron Man might make further technological breakthroughs that would disrupt the normal order of ordinary society. Now, having no choice but to use him, they had to prevent him from obtaining technological upgrades from the Redgate Orchid factory.
Having another Iron Man to guard against him isn't enough. After all, their skill levels seem to be about the same, and if they fail to stop him, America could face a rising sun. This is clearly unacceptable to the government and military, so stronger external assistance needs to be brought in.
“I’ll try to contact him,” Nick said. He knew the military and government were masters of lose-lose situations, and if things didn’t go their way, they probably wouldn’t hand over the keys, preferring everyone to perish rather than let Stark Industries get everything.
After hanging up the phone, Nick's head started throbbing again—how to contact that Iron Man was the problem. He'd heard from the main universe's Avengers that the special Iron Man was in Clarkia, but they'd devised this plan specifically to combat mutants. Did they really need to call Clarkia to find him?
The Avengers from the main universe remained on Earth, and S.H.I.E.L.D. arranged for them to stay in another dormitory. After they left, the local Avengers had a discussion.
“These guys in the main universe are really annoying,” the local Iron Man said angrily. “I don’t know what they’re so smug about.”
“Take it easy. If we were the main universe, we'd probably be quite proud too,” the Winter Soldier said, shaking his head.
Captain America, holding his shield, sat in a chair, frowning as he pondered something. After a long while, he spoke, "Where is their Doctor Strange?"
"Maybe he didn't come?" Spider-Man guessed. "I didn't see him when I went to Clarkia last time. Maybe he didn't even come from the main universe. After all, someone has to stay behind to defend, right?"
His words immediately drew everyone's attention. Spider-Man rolled his eyes and asked, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
"You went to Clarkia?!" Hawkeye looked bewildered. "When did you go?!"
“Before, I knew Iron Man from the central universe, and I wanted to talk to him, so I called the number on the Clarkia website and said I wanted to visit. After filling in my personal information, they let me in.”
Black Widow couldn't help but cover her forehead and exclaimed, "One dared to apply, and the other dared to approve."
“Don’t be silly, he’s Spider-Man,” Dr. Banner said. “He can go anywhere in the world, and no one will doubt him.”
Just then, Nick Fury burst in, looked at Spider-Man, and said, "You know that Iron Man from the central universe? You've even met him? And talked to him?"
Spider-Man nodded and said, "Yes. Because I think it's best for him to gain control of the Redgate Orchid factory—the technology level in the central universe is very high, he doesn't need the technology of the Redgate Orchid factory, and he's not the kind of person who likes to interfere in other universes. It's safest for him to get the factory."
Nick's eyes widened in disbelief. Spider-Man's idea was incredibly forward-thinking; they were actually considering doing just that. He asked somewhat anxiously, "So what did he say?"
“Of course he refused.” Spider-Man rested his elbows on his legs, flipped his hands, and said, “He said that it wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem. The conflict between our Avengers, the Avengers in the main universe, the human government, and mutants cannot be resolved through his forceful control. Technology cannot solve everything.”
“Wait a minute,” Captain America said, holding out a hand. “Are you sure you’re describing Tony Stark? Their Iron Man in that universe really isn’t anything else…”
"Steve!" Iron Man called out in dissatisfaction.
"That certainly doesn't sound like you," Doctor Strange chimed in. "If someone came looking for you at this hour, you'd be ecstatic, wouldn't you?"
Iron Man crossed his arms, turned his head away, and remained silent.