R Batman Incident (IX)

Behind the wreckage of a car, Natasha rolled away to avoid a bat's attack, then took out a strangely shaped gun and fired a shot at the bat.

Instantly, blue ice crystals climbed onto the bat's body, then expanded into a block of ice, and a bat specimen frozen in the ice fell from mid-air.

Natasha shook her hand and said, "I have to admit, this thing is better than I expected. The trajectory of this ice spike is quite accurate."

On the other side of the road, Hawkeye was coordinating with Quake. Daisy slammed her hand on the wall of a tall building, and the group of bats crouching on the roof of the building took flight in a flurry.

Hawkeye held a uniquely shaped bow and arrow, nocked it on the bowstring, aimed at the swarm of bats taking flight, drew the bowstring taut, and the bright blue arrow whistled past amidst ice crystals.

In an instant, the extremely cold ice crystals exploded, forming a freezing whirlwind. The entire group of bats was frozen into ice blocks, and as they fell to the ground, they were torn into pieces along with the shattering of the ice.

Hawkeye went up to investigate, and Daisy, the Quake, also came over. Daisy squatted down, fiddled with the ice blocks, and said, "It's amazing, their Self-Healing factor is completely useless."

"After all, they're frozen solid, and there's no room for them to Self-Healing. Whoever came up with this idea is a genius," Hawkeye said.

Natasha said into the walkie-talkie, "Director George told us to go support the main battlefield after we've dealt with the flank issues. The giant lizard's transformation effect is about to expire, and we need to rush to the rescue."

As she spoke, she smashed a car door and got in. Hawkeye and Daisy got in together, and the group headed towards the front lines.

Near the Brooklyn Bridge, as the sun gradually rose, the vampires' attacks began to weaken, and Connors' scales began to fade, causing him to shrink in size.

He leaped and hid behind a tall building, then slowly returned to human form.

Spider-Man swung over to him, tossed a backpack to Connors, and said, "Doctor! Clothes!"

"Thank you," Connors said. His lizard-like features hadn't completely faded; his eyes were still vertical pupils, and there were still faint scales on his cheeks, making him look somewhat strange. But Peter said, "Doctor, you mustn't do such dangerous things again. Who knows if that serum will..."

"As a researcher, you should have confidence in your research results. I believe everything is within a controllable range."

Peter scratched his head and said, "Okay, I'll take you back now. Doctor Schiller seems to need to speak with you."

"You made that Cold Gun?"

"Uh... not entirely, I just made some improvements."

"I've discovered that you have a talent for cost reduction that most people don't possess," Dr. Connors praised. "You actually managed to mass-produce this amazing weapon. How did you do it?"

Peter gave a wry smile and said, "Probably because we're poor."

In the Stark Tower laboratory, Schiller and Stark were already waiting for Connors when he entered. Connors said, "The situation on the battlefield has improved since it's daytime now, but we're sure to have a tough night ahead."

"From what I can see, the mastermind behind the vampires seems to be gathering strength. He has brought in a large number of bats, probably planning to launch a general offensive tonight."

"Nick just called and said the vampires want to negotiate."

"This is a delaying tactic," Connors said. "Can't Nick see it? Negotiations? Then what's the point of them continuing to send troops to Brooklyn District?"

"We all know their purpose, but there are quite a few dim-witted people among humans," Stark said.

"They're not stupid, they're just greedy," Schiller said. "There are so many people in the world who would betray their race for personal gain, who would calculate defeat before they even know what they're going to do, who are both superstitious and fearful. It's not surprising that a few oddballs would emerge."

"What did Nick say? Are we really going to negotiate with them?" Dr. Connors walked over and sat down, pouring himself a glass of water.

"In the past, this might have actually succeeded. The fighting had already reached a point where neither side wanted to suffer any more losses. The vampires were not in the right to start the war, but humans were at a disadvantage. The two sides were basically even, and all that was left was to divide the spoils at the negotiating table."

Connors pursed his lips and said, "Yes, everyone's happy. Nobody cares about the casualties on the front lines."

"But I mean, that was the case in the past, and this time might be different."

"What other chance could there be? I think those people sitting in the Congress offices don't want to fight anymore," Connors said. "They've even started asking the police not to use overwhelming force—what kind of nonsense is that?"

Schiller took out a remote control and turned on a screen in the lab, which was showing live news.

On one side of the screen was a reporter, and on the other side was a congressman, who passionately declared, "We will fight this monster to the very end! Humanity will never back down! He wants to sit down and talk to us now? I tell you, it's too late! They must pay the price..."

"Hmm, is this a radical faction advocating war?" Connors asked.

Schiller pressed a button on the remote and switched to another channel. A more portly, somewhat overweight politician sat on the sofa. He said, "We should look at this invasion from a more rational perspective. Admittedly, although the vampires were the first to invade, I believe there are reasons for it. They may have their own demands, and humanity should take this seriously..."

Before he could finish speaking, his phone rang in his pocket. He said, "Excuse me, I need to take this call."

After a while, the somewhat overweight politician returned and said, "I just received some very distressing news, yes..."

He brandished his fist and said, "These horrible monsters have caused the deaths and injuries of thousands of police officers! This is a terrible atrocity! This is an unjust war! We must fight them to the end! Listen, you damned monsters, I'm telling you right now, you're all dead..."

"What's wrong with him? Why..."

Then, Schiller switched to another channel. This time, he was interviewing a very important person, as the background was the White House office. The interviewee said, "We are deeply saddened by this invasion, but the blood of those who lost their lives cannot be shed in vain. The vampires' violent acts will be punished with justice. The President vows to stand with all the people to face this disaster head-on and will never back down..."

"What on earth is going on?" Connors asked, puzzled. "Why are their stories suddenly so consistent and so forceful?"

Connors wasn't the only one who was puzzled.

In a dimly lit basement, Deacon, the radical vampire leader, said to his subordinates, "Find out what's going on! Haven't our lobbying efforts been quite effective? How did those damned humans suddenly change their minds so completely?"

Then he cursed under his breath and said, "My plan was working. If we could just hold out until the daytime, humanity would be completely exhausted. Hurry! Go and find out what happened!"

In the S.H.I.E.L.D.. office, Nick and Pierce shook hands, and Pierce said, "I know we haven't seen each other in a long time, but we can catch up later."

"Are you confident you can control this supply chain? My position on the Security Council requires your support. If S.H.I.E.L.D.. can have a supply chain that is not controlled by other forces, it will benefit both of us."

"This industrial chain can only be controlled by us because it is related to supernatural beings. I am very confident that I can persuade Osborn and Stark to work together to maintain it, while resisting pressure from other forces."

"That would be for the best," Pierce concluded. "Even setting aside future developments, the vampire and immortality technology industry chain alone can bring us unimaginable profits. It is an indispensable cornerstone for maintaining world peace, and we must do everything in our power to secure it. I believe you can do it, Nick."

"Of course, we have already obtained the preliminary plan from Osborn. To be honest, the person who came up with this method is a genius. The mystery of the supernatural creature and the characteristics of its outward appearance are enough to attract people to invest with a lot of money."

"Now that the plan is finalized, we need to hurry up and urge them to start production. Don't forget, the war is still going on and it's in full swing. If we can produce the first batch of samples before the vampires are completely wiped out, things will be much easier afterward."

Pierce patted Nick on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about the initial investment being too large. I think we can be even more aggressive, feed those swing voters, and shut them up with money. The main goal is to get the plan implemented as quickly as possible."

"Don't worry, even if S.H.I.E.L.D.. doesn't take any action, those who see the huge profits involved will spontaneously persuade their colleagues."

Which factions have confirmed their membership so far?

"The office on the south side..."

Nick Fury pointed to the left, Pierce said, "It really is them, those radical left-wing warmongers. They are indeed natural allies."

"Alright, I won't bother you anymore. I know you still need to try to get more teammates."

"Oh, and I heard that a new batch of freezing weapons has appeared on the front lines. Could you get me one to take a look? I'm quite curious about it."

"No problem, those are a batch of Cold Gun that Stark Industries rushed to produce, codenamed Blizzard. I can get one; I've never seen one before."

After Pierce left, Nick took out his phone and called Schiller, saying, "Are you sure the Security Council won't suspect anything? After all, the timing of that bat monster's appearance is too coincidental."

"And since it only showed itself once and disappeared in a flash, won't that arouse the curiosity of those with ulterior motives?"

"When we were making the plan, didn't you agree with it?" Schiller's tone was somewhat slow, clearly indicating that staying up all night had made him a little sleepy.

Nick sighed slightly and said, "After all, if we wait for them all to flood into New York and then prepare to launch a full-scale invasion, we will be too passive and suffer even greater casualties."

"We can only take the initiative and lure them out. I just feel that this plan was a bit too hasty and will inevitably leave us with something to hold against us."

"That's your problem. You're the director of this Bat God's descent drama. I'm just a stagehand."

Nick chuckled and said, "Stageman? That's really interesting. This is the first time I've heard that term. You'd probably be the kind of stageman every director dreams of."

"You're a good director too, Director Nick. It's a pleasure working with you."

"It's a pleasure to work with you."

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