A Thunderous Boom from the Sky, Lu Xi Makes a Dazzling Entrance

Lu Xi flashed and instantly returned to the villa's living room.

He quickly focused his psychic power and locked onto Hell's Kitchen on Manhattan Island.

From his God-like perspective, he spotted one and a half familiar faces.

In Hell's Kitchen, inside a pizza fast-food restaurant.

At a window-side table, Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers sat facing each other in a silent, awkward atmosphere.

Steve lowered his head slightly, his fingers unconsciously tracing across the tabletop.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head and broke the suffocating silence.

"So... you got married? Had two children? Then made a deal with a demon god, which was why you became young again?"

Peggy nodded lightly and met Steve's gaze calmly.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

Steve gave a faint bitter smile and rubbed his temples.

"No. It just feels like my entire worldview has been completely overturned. It's hard to believe all this for the moment. After all, it sounds far too unbelievable."

Peggy raised an eyebrow, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.

"You were frozen in the Arctic ice for decades and came out fine, yet you find the existence of demon gods in this world strange?"

Steve smiled helplessly.

"That's true. After everything I've been through, I shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore."

He paused, but still could not help asking.

"Then... what about your husband?"

Peggy shook her head and said softly.

"Cancer. He died a long time ago. What, do you blame me for marrying someone else?"

"Do you know how many years I waited for that dance you owed me?!"

Steve opened his mouth, only to find his throat choked by something. He could not say a single word.

He lowered his head, not daring to meet Peggy's eyes again, his heart full of guilt.

The scene fell silent once more, and the awkwardness only grew thicker.

Fortunately, this time, outsiders finally came to break the agonizing tension.

Across from the pizza shop, a group of people dressed in dark clothing suddenly appeared.

They were dressed like ninjas, moving swiftly and nimbly as they headed straight for a building.

Their roles were clearly divided. The outer ninjas watched their surroundings vigilantly, escorting the operation.

The moment they spotted witnesses nearby, they drew their blades without hesitation.

A flash of cold light, and a head hit the ground.

Meanwhile, several people in the center wore hooded cloaks. They ignored everything around them and headed straight toward the building.

Several security guards quickly noticed the unwelcome visitors and shouted warnings.

However, the only response was the guards' ninjas' blades. Before the guards could react further, they were cut down.

Another guard saw this and was terrified. He instinctively drew his pistol and fired repeatedly at the ninjas.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunfire sounded especially piercing in the silent street.

But these ninjas seemed not to know what death was. They charged through the gunfire, sacrificing one of their own to cut down the guard.

The fierce gunshots alerted Peggy and Steve inside the pizza shop.

The two exchanged a glance. Peggy's expression turned grave as she said,

"They're not ordinary people."

Determination flashed in Steve's eyes.

"Looks like, after all these decades, we'll be fighting side by side again."

Before his words had even faded, the two swiftly rose and rushed toward the building.

From Lu Xi's perspective, he saw several people in the middle of the group carefully carrying a mysterious box as they hurried underground into the building.

The demon god aura he sensed was emanating from that box.

Beneath the building, a spiral staircase passage had been dug out at some point, extending dozens of meters underground.

At the bottom of the passage stood a stone wall covered in mysterious runes.

The group arrived before the stone wall and slowly removed their hoods, revealing themselves.

They were the five leaders of The Hand—Alexandra, Madame Gao, Bakuto, Sowande, and Murakami.

Madame Gao frowned deeply, concern visible in her eyes.

"We've made quite a commotion this time. We'll definitely be discovered. Can that thing you found really work?"

Alexandra, who stood at the front, smiled confidently, her eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

She slowly opened the box and removed a demon statue from within.

"Of course! Iron Fist isn't the only thing in this world that can open this seal. Our thinking was far too narrow before!"

Alexandra carefully placed the statue before the runic wall and stared at it nervously, expectation in her eyes.

The instant the statue touched the ground, it emitted a dazzling radiance.

Blood-red lines appeared on their own, swiftly forming an enormous magic circle.

The magic circle rapidly expanded like a blooming blood-colored flower, piercing through the seal on the stone wall and spreading into the space beyond it.

Alexandra screamed in delight.

"Success! Once the statue absorbs the power of the Dragon Bone inside, the power of the demon god of Hell can descend upon the human world!"

"Then every one of us will be granted immortality. Isn't that much simpler than exhausting ourselves over the Dragon Bone?"

The other four were equally unable to suppress their excitement.

Under normal circumstances, Lu Xi would have directly destroyed the magic circle and nipped the conspiracy in the bud.

But this time was different. After all, a thief could not steal for a thousand days, but no one could guard against a thief for a thousand days.

How could he shut the door and beat the dog without letting Mephisto in first?

So he simply sat leisurely in the villa, calmly watching the show unfold.

At that moment, Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers had already fought their way down through the passage.

Though these ninjas feared no death, they were only slightly stronger than ordinary humans. They could not stop Steve and Peggy at all.

Along the way, they encountered a man in a red bodysuit and mask.

He was agile and nimble, calling himself Daredevil.

After a brief exchange, the three continued down the passage together.

When Alexandra saw Daredevil, her face immediately darkened.

"Daredevil! You really are impossible to get rid of. You're here to ruin our plans again!"

Looking at the magic circle on the ground that radiated an eerie aura, Peggy instinctively felt a wave of disgust.

"This thing gives me a bad feeling. Steve, let's destroy it first!"

Neither side wasted any more words. The battle erupted instantly.

Steve and Daredevil charged at the enemy, each taking on one opponent.

Yet unexpectedly, the strongest among them was Peggy Carter.

Sacred energy gathered around her fists before blasting toward the magic circle like cannonballs.

The circle was shaken unstable by the explosion, its light flickering erratically.

The sight startled The Hand's leaders. To preserve the magic circle, three of them had no choice but to step forward together and confront Peggy.

Just as the battle reached its peak, the magic circle was finally completed.

A blood-red beam shot into the sky like a sharp blade, smashing through the building and soaring straight into the heavens.

The building's foundation had already been damaged by the excavation of the passage.

Now, shaken by the beam, the ground trembled and the building swayed precariously, on the verge of total collapse.

Seeing this, The Hand knew their goal had been achieved. They stopped fighting and turned to run up through the passage.

Peggy and the other two followed without hesitation.

The moment everyone emerged from the passage, the building behind them collapsed as though the heavens and earth had split apart.

Dust billowed into the air, blotting out the sky and sun.

Everyone looked up to see a massive rift torn open in the sky above by the blood-red pillar of light.

A heavy stench of sulfur rushed out from the rift.

At that moment, a thunderous boom rang out from the sky, exploding beside everyone's ears.

Dressed in a simple white shirt and black slacks, Lu Xi made a dazzling entrance like a deity descending from the heavens.

(This chapter is setting things up. The next chapter will take off directly.)