The Sole Ruler?

Fury looked down at the shareholders below with an icy expression. They all lowered their heads, not daring to look up at him. No one noticed Shendu behind Fury watching them with a mocking look.

"Do you know what you've done?" Fury asked in a low voice.

"Interfering with an emergency mission and recalling agents who were in the middle of an operation! Who gave you the nerve?" Fury's voice grew more furious with every word.

The shareholders kept their heads down. No one answered Fury's anger.

Idiots. It's not your money being threatened, so why are you barking here?

Just do your own job. Stay out of matters concerning capital.

Without us, S.H.I.E.L.D. would've collapsed long ago from a broken funding chain. You don't know how to be grateful, yet you still dare to yell here.

Fury noticed the atmosphere in the room as well, and his gaze turned even colder. He cleared his throat, and the temperature in the conference room seemed to drop several more degrees.

"Remember this: supporting S.H.I.E.L.D. was your request in the first place. Your purpose was for S.H.I.E.L.D. to protect you. But don't forget that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s missions always come first."

"Without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protection, Hydra would have destroyed you long ago. Your so-called corporations would have already collapsed."

"From the moment you chose to support S.H.I.E.L.D., your corporations no longer belonged to you."

Fury took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Clearly, none of the board members were listening to him. They were still busy making their own calculations.

Fury glanced at Shendu beside him. Understanding at once, Shendu walked over to the back door of the conference room.

"Now, I need you to face reality. Being able to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. is your honor. All you need to do is hand over your money. You don't need to worry about anything else." Fury's gaze swept over every shareholder.

"What do you mean by that? You want us to be your treasury? Impossible." One of the shareholders could no longer endure it.

"That isn't for you to decide."

Fury projected an image of a small factory in the conference room. It was a factory in the suburbs belonging to the shareholder who had just voiced his opposition.

He made a throat-slitting gesture toward Shendu. Without receiving any order, a missile launched from a distant military base and flew straight toward the factory.

The shareholder watched as the factory was blown apart. Soon afterward, he received a call from his secretary, who reported that they had suffered an unknown terrorist attack.

The shareholder's face turned livid. "Fury! The use of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s military firepower requires approval from higher authorities. Aren't you afraid the government will hold you accountable for making such a decision on your own?"

Fury waved a hand. "Which eye saw me launch it? I've been in this conference room the whole time. It couldn't possibly have been me."

The other shareholders' faces darkened as well. Under normal circumstances, even if Fury gave the order to launch, it would still require government approval. Yet somehow, Fury had bypassed that step.

"Gentlemen, you now have one chance to choose again. Do as I say, or lose everything." Fury no longer bothered to conceal his intentions.

"My demand is simple. I only need you to hand over your authority within S.H.I.E.L.D. to me."

Fury spoke casually, as if this were an ordinary transaction. But every director present knew that if Fury seized sole control of S.H.I.E.L.D., then with his methods, the government would be unable to touch him at all.

An eerie silence fell over the conference room. Everyone felt as though countless ants were crawling all over them. Fury was still waiting for their answer, and they did not have much time left.

Another ringing phone shattered the oppressive atmosphere in the room.

One shareholder answered it. Fury walked to his side, snatched away his phone, and turned on the speaker.

"Boss, this is bad! We've been attacked by terrorists. They used missiles to blow up our chemical plant. The surrounding environment has been severely polluted, and the government has already—"

The voice abruptly cut off as Fury ended the call.

The director in front of him was already soaked in cold sweat.

"Since you're a veteran director of S.H.I.E.L.D., S.H.I.E.L.D. can help you deal with the government."

Fury's voice echoed in the man's ears. "You know how capable S.H.I.E.L.D. is. Handling something like this would be easy."

"I-I agree to unconditionally transfer my authority to Director Fury," the director stammered.

The other directors had heard the voice on the call as well. They knew full well that if they did not make their stance clear now, they would be next.

"I agree too."

"I agree as well."

Fury took out several documents and watched the directors sign them with a satisfied expression. Now, he was the sole voice of S.H.I.E.L.D., its greatest authority, in command of the world's most powerful organization.

Standing by the back door, Shendu narrowed his eyes as he watched Fury's greedy expression. The corner of his mouth lifted in an imperceptible smile.

He had merely used the Mind Stone's power to magnify Fury's greed. He had not expected Fury to go this far.

Fury was now the king of S.H.I.E.L.D. The entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D. was his dynasty.

Shendu was very satisfied with the current situation. Power concentrated in one person was far easier to control than power scattered among many.

"Very good. You've made a wise choice." Fury smiled as he looked at the stack of signed documents in his hands. "S.H.I.E.L.D. will always protect you. S.H.I.E.L.D. stands with you."

"Director, what do we do next?"

After the threatening meeting ended, Shendu came to Fury's side and guided him further. "Do we need to carry out a major purge of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents?"

Fury waved a hand, unable to suppress the greed in his eyes any longer. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is now my private organization. A cleansing is inevitable, but there's no rush. Before dealing with those ordinary agents, there's still a threat in New York."

"Another threat?" Shendu raised a brow. He had already planted a name in Fury's mind. Now, he only needed Fury to say it.

Fury clasped his hands behind his back and walked to the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the crowds moving to and fro below the building. "Tony Stark."

"Mr. Tony?" Shendu continued to guide him. "Mr. Stark doesn't seem concerned with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal affairs. Why would he still be a threat?"

Fury frowned slightly, clearly displeased by Shendu's questioning. "Idiot! You only need to carry out my orders. You don't need to concern yourself with an emperor's affairs."

Hearing Fury refer to himself as an emperor, Shendu took two steps back and lowered his head to hide the killing intent in his eyes. How dared an ant call himself that?

Fury turned around, his greed and rage swelling even further. "That self-righteous man dared to shut down S.H.I.E.L.D.'s facilities on his own before. There can be no anomalies within S.H.I.E.L.D. Tony must be eliminated."

Fury paused. "I remember you and Tony are quite close. Go bring him to S.H.I.E.L.D. Remember, you cannot reveal anything unusual."

Shendu silently nodded, suppressing the killing intent in his heart. Fury still needed to stay alive for now. After all, Captain Marvel could only be summoned by him.