S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Who could it be?"

Far away in America, inside a secret base, Nick Fury narrowed his eyes as he looked at the report in his hands.

As the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.—no, it was still called the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division at the time, a long and ridiculously complicated name.

Nick Fury's intelligence network was exceptionally powerful, so he had known from the very beginning that General Ross planned to intercept Chen Mu.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had originally been an organization under the Security Council, and China was also a permanent member of the Security Council. Logically speaking, when the American military attempted to arrest Chen Mu, an important figure in China, S.H.I.E.L.D. should have stepped in to stop it.

Although S.H.I.E.L.D. was paid by the Security Council, everything it did was for America. Put simply, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already become an American organization.

So even though it knew that the American military wanted to arrest Chen Mu, S.H.I.E.L.D. deliberately ignored the news, turning a blind eye and making no preparations to stop it.

At the same time, S.H.I.E.L.D. was extremely interested in Chen Mu's armor. If General Ross could obtain Chen Mu's armor, that would also be good news for S.H.I.E.L.D.

That would mean S.H.I.E.L.D. could obtain the armor's data from General Ross.

For both the American military and S.H.I.E.L.D., it would be a win-win situation.

Director Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. had coveted Tony Stark's Iron Man suit for a long time.

He wanted Tony's armor too, but clearly, he had no opportunity to get it.

As long as Tony Stark had no intention of giving his armor to anyone else, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have no chance whatsoever.

Thus, Nick Fury naturally turned his attention to Chen Mu.

Compared to the powerful Stark Industries, Chen Mu was obviously much easier to bully.

So the fact that the American military had been able to quietly intercept Chen Mu and cut off all surrounding signals was also because S.H.I.E.L.D. had deliberately chosen not to interfere.

It gave neither China on the Security Council nor Chen Mu any warning at all.

It had even secretly fanned the flames, helping the American military establish a signal isolation zone.

What Nick Fury had not expected was that the four F22 fighter jets that suddenly appeared would throw all their plans into chaos.

The American military had deployed a total of twelve fighter jets, yet still failed to hold Chen Mu and the other person back. In the twelve-against-four aerial battle, they had even lost eight fighters.

In the end, Chen Mu and the other person had escaped with ease.

"Chen Mu's armor seems to be stronger than Tony Stark's."

Nick Fury had a sharp eye. Comparing Mark 3 with Chen Mu's Kirin Armor, he easily discovered the differences between them.

"China has strict controls over weapons, so Chen Mu's Kirin Armor apparently does not possess much firepower. In that regard, it is far inferior to our weapons genius, Tony Stark. But in terms of its other capabilities, Chen Mu's armor is stronger than Tony's."

Nick Fury had naturally watched the speed contest between Mark 3 and the Kirin Armor from start to finish. Although Tony Stark's Mark 3 had won in the end, Nick Fury could tell that Tony had only barely won by disregarding energy consumption entirely.

Under normal operating conditions, Mark 3 would definitely have lost.

"It seems China has produced quite an extraordinary figure as well."

Commander Hill beside him could not help but sigh in admiration.

Chen Mu was someone who was not much worse than Tony Stark, and even Hill found that astonishing.

"What is interesting is that, judging from Chen Mu's records, he never seemed to have displayed any talent before. One could even say he was extremely ordinary. The school he attended was merely a second-rate institution in China. It is hard to imagine how he mastered such advanced technology."

A file lay on Nick Fury's desk, and it was clearly Chen Mu's dossier.

Although S.H.I.E.L.D. was far away in America, obtaining Chen Mu's past records had been very easy.

Although the Chinese government had concealed Chen Mu's information, the documents Nick Fury had obtained were the most authentic records.

Could someone be impersonating him?

Thinking of a certain alien race from his memories, that thought could not help flashing through Nick Fury's mind.

"The current situation is that Chen Mu's Kirin Armor is already being prepared for delivery to the Chinese military. That is not good news. Powerful armor will definitely spark an arms race among nations, and that will impact the entire world economy."

Hill, standing nearby, could not help frowning as she spoke.

S.H.I.E.L.D. naturally knew very well what Chen Mu intended to do.

"The armor was made by Chen Mu. If he wants to give it to someone, no one has any reason to stop him."

Nick Fury calmly shook his head and continued without a ripple in his voice. "Besides, China is no pushover. Once they have made a decision, no person or country can stop them."

"..." Hill fell silent. It was the truth.

"Prepare to leave for China. Since the Chinese military has a chance to obtain the Kirin Armor, that means we have a chance as well."

Nick Fury stood up. Coveting the armor as he did, he naturally wanted to obtain it too.

"..."

Hill said nothing, but inwardly, she felt that this was not very realistic.

Chen Mu seemed not to have accepted any money for giving the armor to the military. Put simply, his actions were purely patriotic. S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to obtain the Kirin Armor? What the hell were they dreaming about?

"Do you think I am fantasizing?" Nick Fury easily guessed her thoughts from commander Hill's expression and continued calmly.

"As long as he does not keep the armor tightly in his own hands like Tony Stark, there will always be an opportunity."

"Besides, my target is to get it from the Chinese military, not from Chen Mu. After all, China is also a member of the Security Council. As an organization under it, we naturally have an opportunity to obtain the armor from them."

Hearing that, Hill was even more speechless.

So he still remembered that S.H.I.E.L.D. was an organization under the Security Council.

Had S.H.I.E.L.D. ever listened to the Security Council in all its years of operation? Had it ever fulfilled its duties?

"But earlier, we did not stop the American military's actions. China's higher-ups must already be displeased with us. If we go and ask for the armor now, it will probably be very difficult."

"The American military wanted to secretly arrest Chen Mu, but we never received any intelligence. How were we supposed to stop them?"

Nick Fury said calmly.

"From beginning to end, we never received any information."

Well, Nick Fury had directly washed his hands of the matter. His ability to lie through his teeth made commander Hill feel ashamed on his behalf.

As expected of the Director. When it came to having a thick skin, no one could beat him.