Vampire

Inside the Quinjet, Hawkeye Barton said to Nick Fury, "I told you not to take risks. You nearly got yourself killed."

Nick Fury let out a breath and said, "I didn't expect him to be able to control the aircraft. This time, I was careless."

"His abilities are indeed terrifying."

Barton asked, "What now? Gather people and surround him?"

"Don't make any rash moves yet. We'll talk after we figure out the full extent of his strength."

Nick Fury shook his head. "Even if we really do have to make a move, it can't be in Manhattan. Manhattan can't withstand another disaster."

Barton nodded. "True. You were just chewed out by the council. You can't afford another screwup anytime soon."

"Do you know that eavesdropping on senior meetings can get you shot?"

Nick Fury looked thoroughly annoyed. He ordered, "Go to Malibu Villa. I want to see Iron Man."

"Iron Man is in New York right now. If you want to see him, why not just go to his place? Why go to Malibu Villa?"

Barton was puzzled at first, then suddenly realized something. "Wait, you're not planning to sneak into his villa and give him a scare when he gets back, are you?"

"I'm the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. How could I possibly do something that ridiculous?"

Nick Fury shouted unhappily, "I have my reasons for going to Malibu Villa. You don't need to ask."

Barton snorted. "It had better not be that. Otherwise, watch out for Iron Man to call the police like Andrew Wang."

Nick Fury rolled his eyes. Today was definitely going down as a dark chapter in his history.

That night, Nick Fury successfully gave Tony a huge scare. Well, no—according to Nick Fury, it was called a show of force, letting the other party know that S.H.I.E.L.D. was capable of anything.

Besides, as the head of an intelligence agency, he couldn't exactly knock on the door for a proper visit, could he?

Tony said with a dark expression, "S.H.I.E.L.D. really did steal my father's files. Otherwise, you couldn't have shut down Jarvis."

"Really did?"

Nick Fury froze for a moment, then said, "S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't steal your father's files. In fact, your father, Howard, was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders. Also, S.H.I.E.L.D. owns part of Stark Industries' shares."

"My father was an agent?"

Tony was utterly shocked. He asked irritably, "Why didn't I know anything about this?"

"Your father kept it from you to protect you."

Nick Fury handed Tony a tablet. "Tony, this world has never been safe. S.H.I.E.L.D. has always done everything it could to protect it. I hope you can join this effort."

"Wow, so noble. Want me to give you an award? The Can't-See-the-Light Award?"

Tony snorted, took the tablet, and casually glanced through it. Then he froze. "Vampires?"

In the blink of an eye, time reached the scorching month of July. The aftermath of the Battle of Manhattan gradually settled down. New Yorkers slowly grew used to Iron Man flying wildly through the sky, and to a chatterbox Spider-Man swinging around the city.

They also grew used to TikTok. During this period, TikTok's downloads soared, and it had become the most popular app in America.

"Spider-Man: Hero or Menace?"

In the editor-in-chief's office of the Daily Bugle, Wang Nanxuan looked at today's headline and asked Editor-in-Chief J. Jonah Jameson, "Why do you trash Spider-Man every day?"

"Boss, I'm not trashing Spider-Man. I'm just telling the truth. If Spider-Man is really a hero, why doesn't he take off his mask openly, like Iron Man?"

Jameson said righteously, "Spider-Man, and that Hellfire Knight who appeared some time ago—they both have problems. They might even be bad guys."

Wang Nanxuan casually said, "Is that so? Oh, did I ever tell you? I'm that Hellfire Knight."

"What?"

Jameson was dumbfounded. The boss was actually Hellfire Knight? Was that real? And why had he casually revealed such a massive secret? Was he going to silence me?

"Boss, you misunderstand!"

Jameson immediately changed his tune. "I meant Spider-Man might be a bad guy. As for Hellfire Knight, he descended like an angel. In fact, I've prepared an article praising Hellfire Knight, but I haven't had time to publish it yet."

Wang Nanxuan raised an eyebrow. "An article?"

Jameson immediately said, "No, I misspoke. Ten articles. I've prepared ten articles praising Hellfire Knight. He's Manhattan's savior, New York's guardian. Iron Man and Spider-Man aren't even qualified to be compared with him."

"Very good."

Wang Nanxuan nodded in satisfaction. He asked, "Who took this photo of Spider-Man? It's very clear."

Jameson pointed at the young man outside the window. "Parker took it. The silly-looking one."

Wang Nanxuan turned and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar Peter Parker standing outside with a restrained expression. His worn clothes made it obvious that his family was in poor circumstances.

That face... it seemed like a fusion of two versions of Spider-Man? In other words, the first two Spider-Man movies had merged.

Wang Nanxuan's eyes flickered. He had come here specifically today to take a look at Spider-Man and get a better grasp of the situation.

Wang Nanxuan withdrew his gaze and said to Jameson, "He is indeed a little silly."

Jameson said smugly, "His qualifications are actually pretty good, but I won't let him become a full-time employee, because I want to buy his Spider-Man photos at a low price."

Wang Nanxuan laughed, but said nothing. Although one word from him could give Spider-Man a better life, he was the Hell Lord, not a philanthropist.

Besides, he didn't need an employee who neglected his proper work, ran off to save people every day, and collected a salary from him for nothing.

Wang Nanxuan said, "Jameson, you have a promising future. Work hard. Once the Daily Bugle stabilizes, I'll consider giving you some shares."

"Thank you, Boss."

Jameson was overjoyed. Seeing Wang Nanxuan rise to leave, he hurriedly said, "Boss, we recently received some unusual intelligence. Should we publish it?"

Wang Nanxuan asked, "What unusual intelligence?"

Jameson lowered his voice. "Intelligence related to vampires. At first, I thought it was nonsense too, but someone took photos of vampires. Also, according to my investigation, quite a few drained corpses have appeared in hospitals recently."

"Vampires?"

Wang Nanxuan was startled. Could it be Blade? If so, the five Fusion Worlds were complete.

Blade was from so long ago that I'd forgotten almost all of the plot. It was necessary to investigate. Maybe I could collect some souls.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Nanxuan said, "Give me the information. Don't report directly on vampires. Just report the facts and let the readers guess and argue among themselves."

Wang Nanxuan planned to investigate the vampire matter personally, because he was very free right now.

Susan was working overtime at Rebirth Group, Howard was working overtime at TikTok Company, Three Demons were working overtime at the investment company, and Trask was working overtime in Hell. So Wang Nanxuan was very free and could do whatever he wanted.