New York Flood

New York City, located in southeastern New York State, was the largest metropolis and largest commercial port in the United States.

It lay at the mouth of the Hudson River in southeastern New York State, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It consisted of five boroughs—Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island—and was the most populous city in the country.

New York was a world-class city. Its booming economy meant it was always crowded with tourists, and its beaches were among the places they frequented most.

The beaches had ample sunshine, and the seawater was clean and crystal-clear. Today was no exception.

Groups of tourists in swimsuits sunbathed on the beach, occasionally went for a few laps in the sea, then came back up for a drink when they got tired. If they were lucky, they might even have a romantic encounter.

But at some point, flashes of electricity suddenly appeared far out at sea. Strangely, the sky remained clear and cloudless, yet faint thunder seemed to rumble in the distance.

The weather by the sea could change without warning. Many cautious tourists had already come ashore, planning to shower and leave.

But before they could reach the showers, waves of startled cries came from behind them.

They turned around and were terrified out of their wits. A white line surged toward them from the horizon, reaching the shore within a few breaths.

It was clearly a massive wave, more than ten meters high.

"Damn it! It's a tsunami!"

Everyone on the beach panicked and turned to run, but how could they possibly outrun such a giant wave? They had barely taken a few steps before it crushed over them.

Carrying violent energy, the giant wave slammed directly into the shore. Before this natural disaster, all man-made structures were like building blocks, instantly knocked down and swept away with devastating force.

Nick Fury nearly went mad aboard the helicopter. Fight if you wanted to fight, but did you really have to cause such a huge disturbance?

What kind of place was this? This was New York!

New York was not only the financial center of the United States, but also one of the world's financial centers. It directly affected industries around the globe, including the economy, finance, media, politics, education, entertainment, and fashion, and was widely recognized as the capital of the world.

New York was also one of the United States' industrial centers. Its clothing, printing, and cosmetics industries all ranked first nationwide, while machinery manufacturing, arms production, petroleum processing, and food processing also held important positions.

But now, half of New York had already been submerged. The losses caused by this disaster simply could not be measured in money.

This "natural disaster" affected not only New York and the United States, but the entire world.

The United Nations Headquarters was also located in New York City, on the banks of the East River on Manhattan Island. This flood had hit the riverside buildings the hardest.

Nick Fury saw with his own eyes that boats could already sail beneath the United Nations Headquarters.

The only thing he could be thankful for was that buildings farther from the coastline had merely been soaked rather than destroyed by the flood.

The severity of this matter had escalated from a violent incident into an act of terrorism.

In other words, even he could no longer keep it under control.

If Zhan Liu had only killed May before, Nick Fury could have paid a price to protect him. But now, Zhan Liu had become a terrorist on the same level as Magneto Erik Lehnsherr. No one could protect him.

The U.S. Military had mobilized.

Fighter jets flew over Nick Fury's head one after another. He sighed and ordered, "Return to S.H.I.E.L.D."

There was no need to keep watching. Those lunatics in the military would use any means necessary to eliminate a terrorist like this.

Especially since Zhan Liu and May's battle had already moved to the open sea.

If they were still in the city, the military might have held back out of concern for civilian casualties. But now that they were at sea, they would witness the most advanced technological weapons Earthlings possessed.

The military would not consider May's safety. Friendly fire and the like were all acceptable losses.

Fortunately, he still had the Ultimate Limit Qigong cultivation method he had obtained earlier. Although Zhan Liu was no longer available as an accelerator, if scientists studied it, they might still be able to replicate May's success.

He began considering how to launch a new project to research this Qigong cultivation method, and where he could obtain the funding.

And there was also the question of how to remove S.H.I.E.L.D.'s responsibility from this incident, and who should take the blame.

As he considered this, a series of explosions suddenly sounded behind him. He turned around, and his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

More than ten aircraft exploded in midair before they could even launch their missiles, like huge fireworks blooming one after another.

Zhan Liu withdrew his hand and looked at May, whose pleased expression had not yet faded.

"If you're waiting for someone to save you, then give up that idea."

"These technological creations might be useful against small fry, but against a War God, they are utterly worthless."

"If you want to survive, there is only one path: upgrade Current Drive into Magnetic Field Rotation."

Despair appeared on May's face. Ignoring her body, which was on the verge of collapse, she desperately squeezed her cells once again. Arm-thick currents rolled around her, ionizing the air and filling it with a burnt stench.

Dragging lightning like thunder serpents behind her, she leaped high into the air once more and smashed down at Zhan Liu.

Nick Fury stared in shock at the crashed aircraft in the distance and the electrical glow soaring into the sky once again, hesitating over which trump card he should reveal.

If he underestimated Zhan Liu again and exposed a trump card that proved useless, it would have been meaningless.

As he hesitated, the pilot in front turned around and reported, "Sir, Councilman Pierce is calling."

"Put him through."

"Nick, who is that in New York? Is it Magneto? How did those aircraft explode?"

In that instant, Nick Fury had the urge to throw all the blame onto Magneto. He had a way to make everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. stick to the same story. Magneto was infamous already, and surely would not care about carrying one more accusation.

That way, he could protect Zhan Liu, then use both pressure and persuasion to make him work for him.

But he immediately dismissed the idea. Zhan Liu was displaying overwhelming power and was invincible. If they did not show him something formidable, any cooperation afterward would likely be impossible.

Even if they somehow managed to cooperate, S.H.I.E.L.D. would never be able to take the lead.

Pressure and persuasion required both persuasion and pressure. Before offering him a reward, they first had to hit him with a stick.

"Pierce, it's an alien, not Magneto. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent May is fighting him, but the situation is very unfavorable. You should be able to see it through the satellites."

"Damn it! That area is a high-energy zone on the satellite feed. We can't see anything clearly. I need your on-site intelligence."

"He fights by manipulating electric currents and magnetic fields. Ordinary aircraft can't even get close to him."

"A Mutant?"

"No, he isn't a Mutant, but he has superpowers. Perhaps I can contact Professor X and have the X-Men deploy."

"No. The military opposes involving Mutants. This matter must be resolved by humans."

"Nick, I know you have plenty of methods. This is not the time to keep them hidden."

"This matter will be handled by the military first. If the military can't solve it, then S.H.I.E.L.D. will. If S.H.I.E.L.D. can't solve it either, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s budget will be cut in half next year."

"Pierce, this isn't going to be easy."

"Nick, I'm not discussing this with you. I'm notifying you!"

Pierce forcefully threw out those words and hung up.

Nick Fury's face turned livid as he punched the back of the seat in front of him.

"Damn politicians!"