Alpha Hive City, Orbital Dock.
Three cruisers and one Destroyer sat quietly in their berths, their battle damage yet to be repaired, but no one cared about that today. The entire dock was bustling with activity, like a Promethium pot of boiling water.
In the lower loading and unloading area, long lines of Planetary Defence Force were squeezing into the Destroyer's hatches.
Each person carried Lasgun, had bandages and rations stuffed in their backpack, and grenades tucked into their waistbands.
No one brought any personal belongings.
I didn't even bring a change of socks.
"Make way! Heavy equipment first!" A foreman-looking sergeant stood by the hatch, waving Data Pad and yelling, "Poison Blade Advanced! Yes, that big guy! Slow down, slow down, don't damage the suspension, repairing that thing costs more than building one!"
A Fellblade Super-heavy Tank was slowly rolling onto the Destroyer's elevator deck, the deck creaking with each rotation of its tracks.
Following behind it were thirty Leman Russ's.
Following behind were twenty armored personnel carriers modified from Leman Russ chassis, with temporary Bolter mounts or Autogun mounts welded to their roofs.
The Hydra Flak Cannon were lined up in columns, their barrels pointing skyward.
Finally, bringing up the rear were twelve newly completed Basilisk Self-Propelled Gun.
The Sentinel Walker didn't seem to be going to fight; they were more like they were going to unload cargo, carrying various supplies onto the ship.
The Servitor pushed carts across the deck, the carts piled high with ammunition boxes and Promethium fuel canisters.
Fu Haoran stood in front of the bridge window, looking at the busy loading and unloading queue below, and was about to make a remark.
Suddenly, someone brought up a sore spot. "They have Space Elevator, why not use it? Instead, they waste a lot of fuel to make an emergency landing on Earth. What a waste!"
The room was silent for a moment; no one answered.
Fu Haoran didn't turn around to look at the green-haired guy.
Tychus, who was standing next to him with Cigar in his mouth, was trying to suppress a laugh by shrugging his shoulders, but finally couldn't help it and let out a snicker.
Wade stared straight ahead, but the corners of his mouth were twitched upwards by a full inch.
Kallen's prosthetic eye flashed three times quickly before she silently turned her head to the other side of the porthole.
Fu Haoran glanced at the wreckage of the Space Elevator blocking the distance—the thing was broken into three pieces, hanging crookedly on the track, and had become a landmark of the Hive City's waste landscape.
He touched his nose and looked away.
Don't ask anyone about this; if you do, just say you don't know.
Back then, I was young and naive, Plasma Cannon. Now look what happened, I can't even afford to repair it.
All the heavy equipment could only be transported onto the track by Destroyer one trip at a time, which was a lot of trouble and consumed astronomical amounts of fuel.
"It doesn't matter, I have plenty of fuel anyway, I'll worry about it when I have the money." Fu Haoran had just finished comforting himself when Wade ran over, carrying a thick stack of manuals.
"Your Excellency, all heavy equipment has been loaded onto the trucks."
"The soldiers' 'Loot Identification and Looting Manual' has also been distributed."
2
"I specifically highlighted the following: Xenomorph weapons and technology first, gold second, food and pure water third, and don't bring back any scrap metal, it takes up space."
Kallen walked past with a dozen or so Tech-Priest apprentices, carrying plasma cutting guns and mining drill bits.
Each apprentice carried a huge tool bag on their back, which jingled loudly.
"Your Excellency, all the dismantling equipment is ready." Kallen's prosthetic eye flashed red. "Whether it's the spaceship engine or the energy reactor, I guarantee we'll dismantle it until not a single screw is left."
Tychus twirled Bolter in his hand and asked with a roguish grin, "Hey boss, how many men are we bringing this time?"
Fu Haoran originally only wanted to bring 200,000 yuan, but there were too many people signing up, so he changed his mind and said, "300,000 yuan, more people means more things will be easier."
The news spread quickly.
The entire Hive City went mad.
Hearing that this trip was to freeload, everyone was scrambling to sign up.
The veterans were eager to make up for what they hadn't earned last time. The new recruits carried the hopes of the entire village and wished they could bring their whole families onto the spaceship.
There was a long queue at the entrance of the recruitment station, with the tail of the queue turning three corners.
The veterans gathered around the bulletin board, poking at the mobilization order on the electronic screen with their fingers, flicking cigarette ash onto the ground as they read it.
Those behind couldn't squeeze in, so they stood on tiptoe and shouted to those in front to read louder.
"Don't push! Don't push! I'll read it! I'll read it: This operation focuses on ground combat and resource recovery. The target area is rich in resources, has abundant water, and the density of metal materials is far higher than the Hive City standard."
"Each person may carry one personal spoils bag; the specifications for the spoils bag will be announced separately."
Someone whistled, someone started unbuckling their backpack, and several veterans turned and ran towards the logistics warehouse.
"We have to grab the best sacks first, otherwise all that'll be left are the tattered ones." The new recruits, in groups of three or five, followed the veterans around asking them all sorts of questions.
What supplies should we bring?
There are plenty when you get there.
The ship's cabin space is precious; it must be reserved for storing spoils of war.
In the Mid-Hive residential area, at Ronan's doorstep.
Ronan leaned against the doorframe, looking at the living room, which was more than ten times larger than before. This was his newly assigned apartment.
Given his current rank and status, he should have moved to Upper Hive long ago, but he refused.
The old father sat in the old rattan chair in the living room, holding a cup of freshly brewed mycelium tea, when he suddenly looked up and asked, "Aren't you taking a few sacks with you?"
Ronan paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head, "Dad, no need."
"Just tell the governor what you want."
"Besides, I'm a military officer now, so my family won't lack anything."
The old father paused for a moment, then slowly nodded, folded the sack and put it back behind the door, patted Ronan on the shoulder. "Alright, you've made something of yourself, now your father won't worry about you anymore."
Meanwhile, in Kallen's foundry, his apprentices were stuffing tools into several metal boxes: plasma cutting guns, ore samplers, and miniature vibration detectors.
An apprentice asked cautiously, "Father, should we take that portable spectrometer that was just calibrated?"
Kallen's prosthetic eye flashed, and she pulled out a handheld impact drill, a tool used in mining operations, from under the workbench, her meaning clear.
In Yuri's office, a crumpled price comparison chart for the star sector lay on the desk, and next to him sat the Rogue Trader, Reck Vance.
Yuri pointed to the rows of numbers on the form, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement, as he meticulously calculated each item.
From fresh water to food, from fuel to building materials, the two of them talked about everything, detailing what was most valuable and what sold best, more thoroughly than a military march.
Everything is ready.
The extra beds were removed, the extra dining areas were closed, and even the sofas in the captain's cabin were moved down and sold as scrap.
The entire fleet was reduced to nothing but weapons and engines.
"Attention all units, prepare to depart."
Fu Haoran's voice echoed across all channels.
The engines of the four warships ignited simultaneously, their blue and white exhaust flames illuminating the entire Hive City above the nest city.
The fleet slowly departed from orbit and flew into the darkness of space.
Fu Haoran stood on the bridge of the Oath of Courage, looking out the window at the increasingly smaller Hive City, a smile playing on his lips.
Marvel universe, here I come!
Super-Soldier Serum, Heart-Shaped Herb, Vibranium ----
They're all mine.
Marvel Universe, near Earth orbit.
A slight tremor was felt, and four Imperial starships filed out of the teleportation window.
The remaining ice crystals on the ship's hull silently peeled away in the vacuum, and the Macro-cannon barrels slowly rotated, pointing towards deep space.
Inside the bridge, the Auspex's scanning beam was deployed at full power.
"Scan the surrounding airspace," Fu Haoran ordered.
"Scan complete. Current location: Solar System, Earth orbit. No hostile targets detected. Locating Wakanda ----"
Before Kallen could finish speaking, the radar suddenly emitted a piercing alarm.
"Sir," Wade's voice came through the communication channel, "A large wormhole signal has been detected, located approximately 800 kilometers directly above New York City."
"The wormhole is continuously releasing small spacecraft."
Fu Haoran raised his head.
On the holographic projection, a giant blue wormhole was slowly rotating over New York.
Countless strangely shaped flying machines poured out of the wormhole and swarmed towards the ground like locusts.
The Leviathan warship slowly emerged from the wormhole, its massive bio-modified body twisting and tumbling in space, its back swarming with Chitauri soldiers climbing upwards.
The image zooms in, revealing twisted, organic-like patterns etched on the aircraft's metal hull. Bio-tubes are embedded in the Leviathan's exoskeleton deck, and blue-purple energy fluid seeps from the seams. This is not mechanical order, but a chaotic symbiosis of organic and metallic elements.
It's a biological weapon from the Chitauri Legion!
Fu Haoran's face instantly darkened.
Xenomorph.
The Empire hates Xenomorph the most.
"Attention all warships, full speed ahead, target: wormhole over New York," Fu Haoran ordered.
"Three cruisers, prepare your Macro-cannon Lance, target the wormhole entrance."
" Destroyer, enter the atmosphere, prepare for ground delivery."
"All close-in weapon systems, enter automatic engagement mode and freely fire at any Xenomorph aircraft in their path."
The four warships accelerated simultaneously, hurtling towards Earth.
The wormhole is 300 kilometers away from the atmosphere.
For a cruiser that is five kilometers long, this distance is just a matter of stepping on the accelerator.
However, Fu Haoran felt it was necessary to inform the villagers beforehand in order to ensure the smooth progress of his subsequent exploitation efforts.
So he ordered, "Lower the flight altitude; we need to flex our muscles."
New York, above Manhattan.
The Chitauri army swarmed across the sky like locusts.
Aircraft weaved between skyscrapers, while energy weapons exploded on the ground, sending bursts of blue light into the air.
Just as Captain America's shield knocked down a Chitauri soldier, Iron Man swept overhead, his palm cannons taking down two pursuing aircraft.
Raytheon smashed a Leviathan warship off course with a single blow, while Black Widow and Hawkeye stood back-to-back in an overturned taxi, their weapons aimed at the sky and firing incessantly.
But there are too many.
After destroying one row, two more rows emerged from the wormhole.
The Leviathan warship was descending, its massive shadow looming over the street.
The Avengers were pinned down at the intersection of 42nd Street and Park Avenue, their defensive line slowly retreating.
Captain America raised his shield to block a Laser beam, then threw the shield backhand, smashing down a spacecraft.
--
But more and more spacecraft poured out of the wormhole, one after another.
The Hulk roared and slammed a tank into the air, only to be simultaneously fired upon by more than a dozen aircraft, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.
Black Widow and Hawkeye stood back to back, having run out of bullets, and could only engage in close combat with daggers and bows and arrows.
Iron Man was attacked by three Chitauri fighters, and his armor was riddled with bullet holes.
"Damn it! How come we can't finish off all these things!"
"Captain, I think we might need a Plan B," Tony's voice came through.
Steve Rogers raised his hand to block an energy blast with his shield, his arm going numb from the shock. Before he could answer, the sky above suddenly darkened.
It's not Leviathan.
It was a larger, heavier shadow.
Everyone instinctively looked up.
Then, they witnessed a scene they would never forget.
Three Imperial cruisers slowly emerged from the clouds, like three moving steel mountains.
Their hulls were as black as ink, the muzzles of their Macro-cannon gleamed coldly, and their massive fins sliced through the sky, casting shadows that covered half the city.
It also blocked the wormhole from directly in front of it.
"My God—what is that?" Steve Rogers muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, inside the bridge, Fu Haoran, seeing that the time was right, indeed gave the order, "Fire!"
The sides of the three cruisers lit up simultaneously, and shells, trailing fiery white flames, slammed into the wormhole entrance. The first salvo hit the Chitauri mothership on the other side of the wormhole squarely.
The Lance followed closely behind, its golden beam cleaving through the vacuum and cutting along the spine of the Leviathan warship, shattering the bio-armor into fragments under the intense heat.
The close-in weapon systems opened fire simultaneously, and the dense barrage, like a wall of fire, swept the rows of aircraft emerging from the wormhole into fireballs.
The Chitauri mothership on the other side of the wormhole didn't even have time to react before it was blasted into pieces by the first wave of Macro-cannon fire.
The flames from the explosion burst forth from the wormhole, illuminating the entire sky.
The Chitauri spacecraft that followed were blasted into fireballs by the Macro-cannon as soon as they emerged from the wormhole.
The close-in weapon system (CIWS) arrays were activated simultaneously.
Countless Laser beams formed an impenetrable web of death.
Every Chitauri aircraft that approached the cruiser was destroyed in mid-air without exception.
Metallic rain began to fall from the sky.
Fu Haoran leaned back in his command chair, watching the kill count constantly refreshed on the screen, and pursed his lips.
That's it?
"This trash, which can't even withstand a single tactical nuclear bomb, dares to invade Earth."
The wormhole is not closed.
The Chitauri soldiers on the ground are still putting up a stubborn resistance.
"Landing operation," Fu Haoran ordered, "Take out these Xenomorph first."
"Then, ask them for favors."
Tychus grinned broadly and was the first to jump onto the Valkyrie Transport.
"Brothers, let's get to work!"
As the order was given, the starship's hatches opened, and Valkyrie Transport and heavy shuttles filed out.
The first wave of Drop Pod crashed down from the orbit, tearing through the clouds at a speed of 12,000 kilometers per hour, the exhaust plumes from their thrusters leaving trails of crimson light.
The deafening roar of air friction swept across the sky like thunder, while the Drop Pod resembled shooting stars.
Tony hovered in mid-air, looking up at the three starships that blotted out the sky, his mouth agape for a long time beneath his mask.
"It's him. That man is back."
"Who is it?" Steve Rogers's voice came through the communication channel.
"A robber." Tony stared at the three starships that blotted out the sky, his tone complex.