Fear Triggered by the Abomination Incident

"Melinda, did you catch the mutant who infiltrated? And what about Lu Yifang? How is he now?" Fury gripped the phone and asked anxiously.

"No. She has already left." Melinda's voice was icy; anyone could hear the resentment and anger in it. As S.H.I.E.L.D.'s famed "Iron Cavalry," she had never suffered such a loss before.

"Lu Yifang did not leave, but surveillance footage shows that the mutant approached him while disguised as me. I tried questioning Lu Yifang, but he did not seem very cooperative regarding this matter."

Fury fell silent for a moment before saying, "Then leave it at that. It is enough that Lu Yifang has not left. You do not need to pursue this matter any further."

"Yes, Director Fury!" The communication cut off at that point. It seemed Melinda was still somewhat dissatisfied with Fury's order. But dissatisfaction was one thing; Fury knew that Melinda was someone who kept public and private matters separate. Even if she had taken a loss at that mutant's hands, she would absolutely obey any order Fury gave.

Fury understood Melinda's displeasure very well, because he was equally displeased himself. After closing the communication screen, Fury turned his irritated, questioning gaze toward Professor X.

"I already said that unknown mutant's infiltration was not authorized by me." Professor X spread his hands as he explained.

"Of course I know that. Not only that, I also know that the unknown mutant you mentioned is called Mystique. She is Magneto's right-hand woman. Her strength is only V3, but due to the uniqueness of her abilities, the mutant records have raised her threat level to V4-." Fury's voice was cold.

This was not Fury's first time dealing with mutants. He knew quite a bit about Mystique. What he could not understand was why Magneto's loyal assistant had chosen this moment to break into S.H.I.E.L.D.

The hidden agenda behind it, the blatant provocation—if he, the king of spies, could not sense that, then he would not be a one-eyed man. He would be genuinely blind.

The kind who tied a red ribbon around his head, ran outside shouting "Underpants," and started kicking wildly.

"What exactly did you come here for today?" Fury braced both hands on the desk and stared coldly at Professor X.

"Don't you know perfectly well?" Professor X's expression turned serious as well.

"I want to see that child!"

"Is seeing him really all you want? I am afraid you intend to take him away. Then let me make this clear: that is impossible." Fury rapped the desk and growled.

Professor X did not back down before Fury's imposing manner. Instead, he continued, "As far as I know, those two monsters fought in the streets of New York, causing tens of billions of dollars in direct economic losses and killing or injuring hundreds of citizens. Without Yifang, that figure could very well have increased more than tenfold. Yifang saved all of New York. He is a hero now, yet you intend to place him under house arrest. Is that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s code of conduct?"

Professor X spoke calmly, but the sarcasm in his words was unmistakable.

"I know that, of course. Do you think I do not want to do that?" Fury clenched his fists unwillingly.

"Do you think I do not want Lu Yifang to be a hero properly? At a time like this, he should be entering the White House before a crowd of cameras and receiving a medal personally awarded by the President, instead of hiding in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s recovery ward. And as a witness, I should be there to offer my blessings, perhaps even bring a good 'shovel' and see if I could poach someone from your side.

"But what am I doing now? What the fuck am I doing now? I have to do everything in my power to suppress all information about Lu Yifang, turning this young hero into an untraceable urban legend. What the fuck am I even doing?!" As Fury spoke, he slammed his fist down hard on the desk.

Seeing Fury's stifled expression, Professor X fell silent. After a while, he finally said, "Is it because of the World Security Council?"

The World Security Council was a global organization in the Marvel world. It was not the United Nations, but its authority surpassed that of the United Nations, because it was composed of the world's most powerful nations and existed to safeguard world security.

Although Fury dared to defy the heavens, the earth, and the U.S. Military, he had no choice but to lie low before the World Security Council. One of the Council's duties was to oversee S.H.I.E.L.D., and its funding was also S.H.I.E.L.D.'s financial source.

Fury did not answer Professor X directly. Instead, he placed a hand on the virtual interface and sent a set of opened files before Professor X.

"This is information on Hulk and Abomination. After the Abomination incident, Ross finally could not withstand the pressure and handed over all research materials related to enhanced humans." Fury explained to Professor X.

"It clearly records every operation Ross conducted over the years to capture Hulk. That madman did not just use Depleted Uranium Shells. He deployed tanks, bombers, even Tomahawk Missiles. It was only because those places were sparsely populated that Ross was able to suppress everything under the pretext of military operations. These records also detail the extent of the damage those weapons inflicted on Hulk. And guess what?" Fury looked at Professor X and paused slightly.

"Only Tomahawk Missiles caused Hulk a minor injury, and he recovered quickly. The final result of those missiles was merely enraging Hulk and making that operation fail even faster. Other than nuclear weapons, I truly cannot think of anything that could kill Hulk. And perhaps even nuclear weapons could not kill him."

As he listened, Professor X rapidly flipped through the documents. With his mental power, one glance was enough for him to memorize everything. A few seconds later, Professor X suddenly stopped on one page.

"It says here that Abomination was created after being injected with a large amount of Hulk's blood." Professor X looked up.

"That's right. That is the key point. Due to insufficient data, we do not know exactly how much of Hulk's strength Abomination possessed. But judging from what happened last night, that monster clearly could not be killed by conventional weapons either."

"And Yifang killed him. Without using any weapon, he killed him with his bare hands." Professor X murmured. At last, he understood the crux of the issue.

"You are afraid..." Professor X's gaze fell on Fury.

"You are afraid of Yifang's power."

"Let me correct you. It is not me who is afraid, but the World Security Council," Fury explained.

"I watched the footage too. Hulk and Abomination, whom the U.S. Military could do absolutely nothing against, were like toys before Lu Yifang, casually played with and crushed.

"And the result of his anger was even more alarming. We collected Quartz formed by extreme pressure beneath Abomination's body. Research data shows that at that instant, Abomination endured at least one hundred thousand tons of pressure. That number scared the Security Council badly. In their eyes, Lu Yifang is practically a humanoid walking nuclear bomb."

"So what do you intend to do? Find every possible way to eliminate this threat?" Professor X stared at Fury.

"Of course not. Even if such a foolish order truly came down, I would not carry it out. Would you try to dismantle a nuclear bomb with your bare hands when you knew nothing about it?" Fury spread his hands.

"That is for the best." Professor X closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

Angering a Level 5 mutant was an absolutely terrifying thing. Do not assume that because Lu Yifang had only just awakened and, like other mutants, needed time for his abilities to grow to their peak, he could truly be treated as merely V4+.

The power unleashed by an enraged Level 5 mutant was absolutely beyond the imagination of non-mutants.

"I see. You are actually protecting Yifang." Professor X looked at Fury, a flash of realization passing through his eyes.