Before long, a staff member cried out in panic:
"Oh no! If we don't intervene, it'll land near Times Square!"
Maria broke out in a cold sweat at once.
Times Square, located in Midtown Manhattan, was famous for its ever-glowing neon billboards and dense crowds.
It had always been known as "the Crossroads of the World."
It was New York's most bustling district and a popular tourist destination, receiving over three hundred thousand visitors a day!
If that mysterious object struck there, the lives affected would number at least in the tens of thousands!
Maria took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and decisively activated a higher-level alert.
In an instant, the piercing alarm not only rang throughout the entire laboratory, but also spread across the whole S.H.I.E.L.D. New York Branch.
Everyone sprang into action at the sound of the alarm, their hurried footsteps and tense expressions filling the room.
Maria steadied herself and issued an order to the weapons department with a resolute gaze:
"Lock onto that thing immediately and intercept it remotely with missiles. Even if you can't destroy it outright, at least knock it off course!"
"If it really lands in Times Square, we'll become sinners in the eyes of the whole world!"
Just then, another researcher suddenly widened his eyes and cried out:
"Ma'am, look! Its descent speed has slowed, and its trajectory is changing!"
"What?" Maria's heart tightened as she hurried over to the computer.
She carefully examined the data and images on the screen and found that it was indeed true.
Maria made an immediate decision and swiftly changed tactics:
"Recalculate the new landing point immediately. Weapons department, remain on standby."
"Also, all field agents, take your positions! Prepare for any emergencies!"
Meanwhile, after experiencing that heart-stopping free fall, Lu Xi gradually came back to his senses.
He pinched his arm hard, and the sharp pain made him realize that this definitely was not a dream.
Thinking back to that terrifying giant hand before he lost consciousness, he guessed that he had not encountered a ghost, but had offended some powerful big shot!
Then he remembered the flames created by air friction around his body, yet he could not feel any heat at all.
Lu Xi felt that his body might have undergone some strange changes as well.
Perhaps that mysterious being had left him a slim chance of survival.
But as he watched the ground draw closer and closer, Lu Xi found it increasingly difficult to suppress his fear.
To slow his descent, he desperately spread his limbs and flailed like a panicked bird.
He was trying to increase air resistance and reduce his falling speed.
Yet his efforts seemed to have little effect, and his free-fall speed did not decrease at all.
As the ground drew nearer, Lu Xi could clearly make out the outline of the bustling city below.
"Big shot, can't you spare me a way out?"
Just as Lu Xi was nearly despairing,
"Whoosh!"
With a sound like a bird flapping its wings, he abruptly came to a stop in midair in a way that completely defied common sense.
There was no transition whatsoever, as if time had been frozen in an instant.
If old man Newton had seen this, he probably would have blown the lid off his coffin.
Lu Xi froze for a moment. Then he felt an itch on his back and instinctively turned to look.
To his surprise, three pairs of snow-white wings had unfurled behind him.
Under the bright moonlight, a sacred radiance seemed to flow across the wings, making them breathtakingly beautiful.
The sudden sight immediately reminded him of a creature from legend—an Angel.
"Oh no, why did I turn into a birdman?" Lu Xi's jaw dropped in astonishment.
But his survival instinct left him no time to think, and he tried to control the wings.
Miraculously, the wings were like a part of his own body. They immediately began to flap, their movements as natural and smooth as breathing.
Lu Xi was overjoyed, an indescribable excitement rising within him.
He excitedly flew several circles through the sky, weaving through the clouds like a cheerful bird.
Every beat of his wings scattered the surrounding mist, and the feeling of soaring freely made him feel as though he had conquered the entire sky.
Humanity's longing for the sky seemed to be an instinct etched into its genes.
At that moment, that instinct was thoroughly awakened, leaving him too excited to contain himself.
However, amid his excitement, Lu Xi suddenly realized that if anyone saw him looking like this, it would likely cause enormous trouble.
If things went badly, he might even be captured and dissected for research.
Thinking of this, he hurriedly looked down, picked out a place that seemed sparsely populated, and prepared to land.
While in the air, Lu Xi felt that he might be able to fly even faster.
He tried focusing his mind and accelerating.
Sure enough, the wings behind him flapped a little faster.
But his own flying speed surged dramatically.
This did not seem to be flight achieved through aerodynamic wingbeats, but something more akin to magic.
The scenery below streaked past like a fast-forwarded movie.
"Rumble!"
Suddenly, a deafening explosion rang out.
Lu Xi turned around and saw a spectacular sonic boom cloud behind him.
He was not some ignorant illiterate; naturally, he understood that this was caused by an object exceeding the speed of sound and violently rubbing against the air.
"I actually went supersonic!"
If an ordinary person moved at such speed, their face would probably be blown off by the powerful airflow.
Yet at that moment, he only felt as though a gentle breeze was brushing his face, without any great pressure.
That made him even more certain that his physique had most likely undergone earth-shaking changes as well.
Lu Xi fixed his eyes on a relatively quiet-looking courtyard below, folded his wings, and dived down like a meteor.
With a loud crash, he slammed straight into the lawn in the courtyard.
A huge circular crater instantly appeared in the grass, as though it had been blasted by an artillery shell.
Lu Xi slowly stood up from the crater, dusted the dirt off himself, shook his wings, and smiled somewhat helplessly.
"Looks like I really need to practice my landing skills. I didn't control that very well this time."
Just then, the owner of the house heard the tremendous commotion outside and hurriedly ran out.
She had a pair of bright, beautiful eyes, vivid red lips like ripe cherries, and long wavy hair.
Most eye-catching of all was her voluptuous figure, especially her exceptionally ample chest, which made it difficult not to focus one's gaze there.
Even amid such chaos, Lu Xi's eyes were involuntarily drawn in that direction.
The woman tightly gripped a flashlight in her hand.
The glaring beam flashed onto Lu Xi.
When she clearly saw Lu Xi standing before her, completely naked and with three pairs of white wings protruding from his back...
"Mommy! What is that?!"
A scream tore through the silent night.
Then her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot, her body going limp as she collapsed toward the ground.
Before you continue