Tony's invitation?!!

"Banner, calm down, calm down!!!"

Even though she was sure Banner wouldn't turn into the Hulk from basic anger recently, Hill was still wary of an angry Banner.

She adopted an exceptionally gentle tone to placate Banner, but her tone only made Banner more agitated.

"Damn it!"

Banner said unhappily to the few people present.

"I'm not just angry, this is a dispute of academics and ideologies. Selvig, I hope you respect our profession and don't bring any gambling-like conjectures into formal discussions!"

"But the solution I proposed is indeed the best way to solve it right now!"

Selvig was still trying to persuade Hill, but his words only made Banner more displeased.

"Bang!"

Banner slammed the table hard.

"Selvig,"

He roared at his colleague.

"Do you know what you're doing? You're actively detonating a bomb that could very well destroy Earth. You're opening Pandora's Box, knowing full well what's inside. I can't believe this is your decision. Have you been controlled by that damned Tesseract!"

As Banner finished speaking, Selvig's expression suddenly changed.

He looked as if he had just woken from a dream, looking at his hands in surprise.

But then, that surprise vanished instantly, and he ignored Banner's anger, continuing to explain to Hill.

"Director, I trust my own judgment more. As for Dr. Banner's opinion, burying the Tesseract is simply absurd.

That's the Tesseract, it's already in an active state. No matter how we suppress it, it will eventually erupt. We can only postpone that day, but we cannot prevent the final eruption!"

"But I've done accurate calculations. It needs at least three cycles of diffusion reaction from activation to the critical point. If we let it return to a calm state, it can remain stable for over forty years!"

"That's just a calculation. Until it's proven, your plan is also just a guess, while I am completely solving the Tesseract problem!"

"Yes, you want to solve the problem, in a way that could destroy everything!"

"But that's also a way. If the Tesseract's eruption scale increases with its extended active period, you will regret it for the rest of your life and will never be able to make amends!"

"But if we do as I say, we'll have at least forty years. Forty years is enough for us to make breakthroughs in our research on the Tesseract's energy!"

"But if we can advance the Tesseract's active period, we might have infinite time to research it, and this eruption could help us enter the third stage of research!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!"

Bang, bang, bang!

Banner angrily pounded the table. Even though he hadn't transformed into the Hulk, his demeanor was almost identical to the Hulk's.

He suddenly looked at Hill and roared loudly.

"Hill, I am now the chief executive of Project Pegasus. I demand my rights. The Tesseract must be sealed, because I deeply understand the cost of experimental failure!

Think about the big guy inside me. That's the product of a gamma ray experiment gone wrong, and that was just gamma rays. But now it's the Tesseract. No one knows what its activity might brew!

I don't know what's wrong with Selvig. His brain has been fried by the Tesseract!

I admit that in the field of science, sometimes accidents are needed to drive technological development.

But that requires unexpectedness, not accidents!

That will be a disaster!!!"

With that said, the decision-making power fell to Hill.

Looking at the two great scientists before her, Hill truly didn't know how to choose.

From an outsider's perspective, both of them were right!

Selvig wanted to detonate the danger early to reduce the overall risk.

Bruce Banner wanted to bury the danger and seek breakthroughs for a perfect solution later.

Both were excellent approaches!

But she had to make a choice between them.

After a moment of contemplation, she finally made her decision.

She turned to Dr. Selvig and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Dr. Selvig. Although I lean towards your method, S.H.I.E.L.D. truly cannot afford any more damage or setbacks!"

As she spoke, Hill shook her head wearily.

"Currently, S.H.I.E.L.D. has fully retreated to the American continent. We've lost financial and human support from the other seven continents.

Hydra's damage to the world is temporarily being attributed to us. Even though we've exchanged countless benefits for the Security Council's support, we cannot have another scandal at this stage, especially one involving the testing of large-scale weapons of mass destruction!

So, Professor Selvig, I hope you can understand my decision!"

As Hill finished speaking, Banner let out a long sigh of relief.

As for Selvig, who was opposite him...

He sighed with regret.

But beyond this regret, he was actually a little relieved, though that relief was deeply hidden by the dejection he outwardly displayed.

Perhaps only his relieved, or rather, clear mind knew.

Banner's words were actually somewhat accurate.

He was indeed controlled.

By the Tesseract, by desire, or perhaps... by Thor's brother!

That's right...

As early as when Thor smashed the Bifrost and Loki went missing in Asgard, he had already come to Earth.

And there, he obtained video recordings of the Tesseract, while also planting his own spies early on.

That is, Professor Selvig, who was supposed to independently lead Project Pegasus.

But at this time, Loki would never have imagined...

On the Chitauri flagship, in the command center, above the teleportation circle.

Loki felt the power of the Space Stone with a mind full of confusion.

This damn thing had been exceptionally active half an hour ago, so why had it suddenly lost its activity?

Of course, that activity hadn't completely disappeared, but was gradually weakening at a stable frequency.

But weakening was already very troublesome, as he hadn't successfully communicated with the Space Stone at all.

Even if the Space Stone's activity had continuously increased, it would have been difficult for him to control it remotely.

Let alone now!

One must know, those were Infinity Stones, and fewer than a few dozen people in the entire universe could directly utilize Infinity Stones.

Most people could only indirectly utilize Infinity Stones through special containers, much like the Scepter of Mind Loki held, with the stone embedded in a tool.

Even Thanos could only directly use one Infinity Stone at a time.

Without the Infinity Gauntlet, he couldn't unleash the unified power of the six Infinity Stones with his physical body.

Let alone remote control; the difficulty of remote control was definitely higher than direct manipulation, that was obvious.

But what could Loki do? He had no other choice but to continue trying to communicate here.

He had no retreat.

Meanwhile, at the Earth S.H.I.E.L.D. Project Pegasus temporary base.

Hill was leading Coulson in relocating all items at the Project Pegasus base.

Banner stood cautiously beside the centrifuge, gently pulling out the Tesseract embedded in it.

Even after the Tesseract was placed into the sealed box, its surface still pulsed with slightly chaotic energy surges.

Fortunately, these surges quickly subsided.

"It's done!"

Banner closed the box and said to Hill.

"Based on the current frequency, as long as we seal it properly, it will take at least forty years for it to reach the critical point again.

We have enough time to formulate a plan."

"Excellent, thank you for your contributions to S.H.I.E.L.D., Dr. Banner!"

Hill said softly to Banner.

It seemed like no one had thanked him in a long time, as Banner looked slightly awkward and nervously shook his head.

"You're welcome, and besides, even though the Avengers project has ended with Nick's death, I'm still an advisor to S.H.I.E.L.D., so this is what I should do!"

"Yes, Nick's departure truly took too many things with it. I truly regret and am saddened by his passing..."

Unlike those who didn't know the truth behind Nick's death, Hill genuinely regretted it.

Because the Nick Fury she knew wasn't the hero who sacrificed himself to protect the lives of S.H.I.E.L.D. cadets, as others believed.

The real Nick Fury, much like his habit of hiding in the shadows, died due to his own schemes.

However, there was one thing she didn't say: no matter how much she regretted it, she would never pursue Heisenberg, who truly killed Nick.

The first reason was that she didn't have the ability, and the second was that she should even be grateful to Heisenberg in some aspects.

After serving as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a full two months, she was no longer the person she used to be.

She no longer wished to return to her previous life as an assistant.

Near New York's Central Park, inside the Columbus Circle Theater, Heisenberg lay leisurely in the backyard, basking in the sun.

Beside him, young Billy was constantly updating him on the recent situation.

"Boss, about thirty percent of the police in all of New York have joined us. Maybe we can start charging protection fees to the police stations!"

"No, it's not enough. I want the police system completely destroyed before I seize the rights and money that rightfully belong to the police.

Take their salaries and black income, then use that money to provide them with a huge gang allowance.

This is just a utilization of New York's tax revenue, but it will make those public officials wearing blue skins love us."

Heisenberg said with a chuckle, and his words left young Billy in awe.

His boss's ideas were truly too wild!

His former boss, Kingpin, the emperor of the American underworld, that powerful mob overlord, only bribed public officials.

But when it came to Heisenberg...

Billy began to feel sorry for the future New York City Hall.

"Continue, what else do I need to pay attention to?"

Seeing Billy pause, Heisenberg asked softly.

Billy immediately snapped to attention and continued to tell Heisenberg.

"The Mayor of New York has invited you to a charity gala this Saturday at the Ellenburg Restaurant. What do you think...?"

"I'll go take a look then. It's been over two months since I've been here, and I should make an appearance in public," Heisenberg mused.

"Next, the chairman of Stark Industries, Tony Stark, has sent you a letter inviting you to his wedding next Friday!"

"Cough cough cough...!!!"

This time, Heisenberg was truly stunned. He couldn't help but cough lightly.

Then, he asked young Billy in disbelief.

"Next Friday!!!

A wedding!!!

Are you sure it's Stark himself getting married?!"

"Of course, BOSS. Stark is, after all, an indispensable piece of the puzzle in New York's high society. I've always kept track of his every move. He is indeed holding his wedding next Friday, and he has indeed sent you an invitation.

At the same time, I think if you were to attend his wedding, it would be extremely beneficial for public opinion. Everyone loves Superman, and everyone wants to be Iron Man.

So they will be excited about your interaction with Iron Man."

I just found out recently that I've leveled up, oh my god!!!

I'm sure you brothers, as old bookworms, understand what "leveling up" means. Even if I'm half dead, I have to start asking for votes, for follow-ups, and for collections.

As always, I hope that Half Dead can go further on Qidian with all of you who like this book. I love you all.

Oh, and happy Fifth Day of the Lunar New Year (☆☆).