Director, We've Been Robbed!

His eyes, glowing with a crimson light, coldly fixed on the crowd.

An intense, formless pressure nearly crushed the breath out of them.

At this moment, everyone felt as if they were being stared down by a god.

"It looks like we have no choice but to accept that we've been kidnapped."

Looking around the narrow, cold, and damp ice cave, everyone present had already forced themselves to accept the reality of being abducted.

After all, the one who had kidnapped them was a Superman who could fly freely and shoot lasers from his eyes.

"Mr. Superman, we can accept your terms in exchange for our lives."

Meeting Peter's piercing gaze, Tony spoke slowly.

"But you can't expect us to complete your already impossibly difficult demands in such a crude environment, without even basic lab equipment."

In Tony's view, since they had to accept reality for now, they might as well seize the chance to make some demands.

Like asking for a more comfortable living space going forward.

"Hmm... you make a good point. I suppose I should renovate this place."

Looking around the narrow ice cave, Peter also felt it wasn't suitable for these scientists to conduct experiments.

The next moment, his figure appeared instantly before the rock wall. Clenching his right fist, he slammed it hard into the wall.

Boom!

Terrifying power erupted instantly.

The immense impact made the entire ice peak tremble.

Feeling the mountain shake beneath their feet, the group couldn't stay calm.

"Is this place going to collapse?"

"It... shouldn't."

Even Tony was now deeply worried about whether the mountain was sturdy enough.

Boom... sizzle...

Under everyone's fearful gaze.

In just a few minutes, Peter used his fists, alternating between Heat Vision and Freeze Breath, to quickly carve out a much larger space nearby.

"This guy is way too violent."

With every punch Peter threw, Tony could feel the force behind it—over a thousand tons.

If such a terrifying punch landed on him, he wouldn't even let out a groan...

"Well, if he came to Wakanda to mine, he'd be a real asset."

Shuri, the youngest present, suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.

"Typical of someone from a poor, backward African tribe."

Looking at the naive little girl, the others' eyes were filled with sympathy.

That restless night soon passed.

And as the first rays of dawn rose, a new day began.

At the Washington S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, in the Director's office.

"So, aside from Tony Stark, in just one night, over a dozen scientists from around the world have gone missing?"

"And they vanished without a trace—not a thing caught on surveillance, and even the wives sleeping beside them didn't notice when they disappeared?"

Slapping the file he'd just skimmed onto the desk, Nick Fury asked in a low voice.

"As unbelievable as it sounds, based on our agents' reports, that's exactly what happened."

Though Fury's face showed no expression, Hill could tell he was far from calm inside.

"First, some guy calling himself Superman pops up in New York."

"Now, in a single night, over a dozen of the world's top scientists, including Tony Stark, vanish without a trace."

"What the hell is going on with this world?"

The string of major incidents made Fury wonder if he'd somehow time-traveled.

"We can set the Superman matter aside for now."

"But what kind of massive organization could pull off something this impossible?"

Lost in thought, Fury couldn't help suspecting a large organization was behind it all.

"Could it be... no, impossible. That organization was completely wiped out last century."

In Fury's mind, aside from Hydra—which they'd thoroughly dismantled in the last century—no other group could have pulled off something so invisible.

"Director, there's actually one piece of unusual information that wasn't included in the file just now."

Watching Nick Fury lost in thought, Agent Hill suddenly spoke up, interrupting his contemplation.

"What information?"

Nick Fury looked up, asking with some curiosity.

"According to a source we have inside the CIA, while they were searching Tony Stark's villa, they overheard Tony Stark's secretary mention a theory."

"What theory?"

Nick Fury asked with great interest.

"She said it's possible that the newly appeared Superman kidnapped Tony Stark."

"Superman kidnapped Tony Stark? For what? For money?"

After hearing Hill's news, Nick Fury sank back into thought, weighing the possibility.

"From my investigation, the military and Stark Industries reached two cooperation agreements yesterday."

"One was about that military experiment accident, and the other was related to this newly surfaced Superman."

Hill continued sharing her findings.

"The military again. They haven't even cleaned up the mess from last time, and now they're meddling in Superman's affairs!"

Mentioning the military, even the usually composed Nick Fury showed no good humor.

"If that's the case, it really could be Superman who kidnapped Tony Stark."

Combining this information, Nick Fury felt the probability of Superman kidnapping Tony Stark had risen to one-third.

After all, even using his gut, he could guess what kind of deal the military had struck with Stark Industries.

It was nothing more than demanding that Stark Industries, as a weapons manufacturer, create special weapons capable of threatening or even completely eliminating that Superman.

If Superman found out about this deal, kidnapping Tony Stark would be a perfectly justified motive.

"In that case, let's focus our efforts on investigating Superman's true identity. But we still need to do our utmost to search for those missing scientists."

"After all, if they fall into the hands of some crazy criminals, who knows what kind of chaos they'll cause."

Nick Fury never underestimated the role of any scientist.

Who knew if they might suddenly develop some black tech like the "Super Soldier Serum" from the last century.

"But Director, if it really is Superman, I'm afraid we won't be able to investigate his..."

Buzz buzz buzz...

Just as Hill was about to voice her concerns.

Her phone started vibrating.

"Take it here. I want to hear if something big has happened again."

Nick Fury stopped Hill, who was about to step out to answer the call.

"Hello, this is Hill... What? Say that again!"

"Alright, I understand. I'll report to the Director right away."

"What big thing happened now?"

Nick Fury couldn't help but want to slap his own big mouth—whatever he thought of, came true.

"Director, one of our secret labs was robbed."

PS: Another chapter coming soon, everyone hang tight.