Thunderous Response and Absolute Deterrence

The Myriad Realms Secret Society's declaration was like a boulder crashing into a placid lake, causing unprecedented upheaval throughout the Marvel Universe. After a brief period of shock and assessment, tests from every faction arrived exactly as expected.

The first wave: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "polite" invitation.

Less than six hours after Li Wei revealed himself, an unmarked Quinjet silently entered the airspace above his apartment. A processed voice claiming to belong to a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent came through the public channel:

"Mr. Li Wei, I am a Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Director Fury wishes to meet with you in person regarding today's incident and the position of the Myriad Realms Secret Society. Please designate a landing location."

The tone seemed polite, but the aircraft's scanning equipment and weapons systems were half-activated. In the distant clouds, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier loomed in and out of view. It was a subtle form of intimidation.

Li Wei stood before the apartment's floor-to-ceiling window, sipping premium black tea selected by the Crimson Empress. He did not even turn around, merely speaking lightly into the air.

"Tell Nick Fury that if he wants to talk, he can make an appointment himself. My time is valuable; I have no time for errand boys. And put away those ridiculous scanners. If you dare probe my residence in any form again, I won't mind sending your Helicarrier into early retirement."

The instant he finished speaking, every system on the Quinjet went black. Its engines died, and it plummeted like a kite with its string cut! The pilot's terrified cries came through the channel.

Just before the aircraft crashed, an invisible telekinetic force caught it. Slowly, and with the utmost humiliation, it "placed" the Quinjet back onto the rooftop landing pad at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Triskelion headquarters as though setting down a toy.

The entire process was captured by countless surveillance cameras. Inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. command center, Nick Fury's one eye practically spat fire, but what he felt more was dread—how had the other party instantly disabled a cutting-edge fighter from so far away and returned it with such precision? That kind of power...

"Immediately cease all active reconnaissance operations!" Fury ordered through gritted teeth. "Reassess the threat level... designate it 'cosmic-level, pending observation.'"

The second wave: Hydra's foolish test.

The Hydra forces hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D.—and even the World Security Council—believed this was an opportunity. An organization possessing such immense power and technology might be controlled or exploited if...

An elite super-soldier squad derived from Hydra's Winter Soldier program, armed with the latest energy weapons, infiltrated the building housing Li Wei's apartment under cover of darkness. Their movements were covert, their equipment sophisticated, and they were confident they could at least obtain some biological samples or technological fragments.

Yet the moment they entered the building lobby, they discovered they could not move. They were not restrained; rather, the space around them had been stretched infinitely! They could see the elevator not far away, yet it seemed separated from them by countless mountains and rivers. No matter how they ran, they could not get closer. Time itself became utter chaos.

It was a spacetime labyrinth Li Wei had casually set up, combining the Mirror Dimension with a trace of insight into the Time Stone.

Then, before they could devise a countermeasure, ten Shadow Guards appeared beside them like phantoms. Their movements were perfectly synchronized as their hand strikes fell with precision. Every Hydra soldier was instantly knocked unconscious, disarmed, and injected with nanoscale trackers and biological explosives.

One minute later, the soldiers—stripped down to their underwear, with enormous Hydra symbols painted on their bodies in red—were neatly dumped before FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. Beside them was an encrypted USB drive containing their identities, mission records, and part of Hydra's hidden-agent list.

This move caused an earthquake throughout the intelligence communities of every nation! Hydra suffered a devastating blow and had no choice but to retreat into hiding. Its fear of the Myriad Realms Secret Society reached its peak.

The third wave: cooperation requests from major powers and Wakanda's observation.

Several global powers sent cautiously worded yet clearly motivated requests for "cooperation" through official and unofficial channels. They hoped to "share" technologies in fields such as energy, biology, and space, while hinting that they could offer political support and protection.

Li Wei's response was only one thing—a brief list sent by the Crimson Empress directly through encrypted communication lines to the leaders of every country. It listed hundreds of technologies far beyond the current era, each followed by an astronomical "price quote," measured in hundreds of millions of dollars or equivalent value, with a note attached: "Finished products only. No technology transfer. Payment must be made in advance to the designated account."

That list crushed every thought of getting something for nothing and displayed the Myriad Realms Secret Society's unimaginable technological foundation.

Meanwhile, Wakanda, the reclusive technological superpower, had monitored the energy and spatial technology Li Wei used during the New York incident through its princess, Shuri. King T'Chaka was deeply troubled by this. He ordered strengthened border defenses and attempted to analyze the Myriad Realms Secret Society's technological level. They chose temporary silence and close observation.

The fourth wave: Asgard's gaze.

The light of the Bifrost briefly descended over New York before swiftly disappearing. Far away in the realm of the gods, Odin, the Allfather, witnessed Li Wei effortlessly erase the extradimensional creature through the eyes of the guardian Heimdall. He also sensed that power—a mixture of magic, telekinesis, and unknown technology.

"A Midgardian who commands so many powers... and carries the aura of different worlds within him." Odin narrowed his single eye. "His claim of 'myriad realms' may not be empty words. Thor, do not clash with him for now. Observation will suffice."

Thor, who had just returned from suppressing a rebellion in Jotunheim, carried Mjolnir over his shoulder and seemed unconvinced. "Father, no matter how powerful he is, he is still only a mortal! Must Asgard fear him?"

"Foolish!" Odin snapped. "Power takes many forms. There may be beings behind him that we cannot comprehend. Until we understand his true intentions, remain vigilant and... show appropriate respect."

Li Wei's forceful conclusion:

In the face of every test, Li Wei's response had been simple, direct, and intensely humiliating:

To S.H.I.E.L.D.: technological domination, a physical slap in the face.

To Hydra: uproot them and expose them to the world.

To the major powers: clearly marked prices—buy or don't.

To Asgard: ignore their observation, display his strength, and force them into caution.

Within just a few days, the names Myriad Realms Secret Society and Li Wei had become tightly associated with labels such as "not to be provoked," "mysteriously powerful," and "technological monopoly." With absolute power, he had forcibly carved out a territory of his own within the Marvel Universe's tangled balance of powers—a domain that could not be violated.

Inside his Mirror Dimension base, the Crimson Empress reported:

"Master, initial deterrence has been achieved. Active external reconnaissance has decreased by 97.3%. Director Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. has sent an encrypted message requesting... an appointment for talks."

"Hydra sleeper-cell activity has decreased by 71%. Internal chaos has broken out."

"National leaders are conducting urgent consultations regarding the procurement list."

"Asgard remains silently observant."

Li Wei sat upon a throne forged from Vibranium and Uru Metal, secretly acquired through the Crimson Empress's network methods. Hearing this, he merely smiled faintly.

"Tell Fury my schedule is full. Let him deal with the snake infestation in his own house first."

"As for those countries... send them Stark's bill first. Let them see a sample."

"Now it is time to handle our own affairs. Crimson, has the coordinate analysis for the next world been completed?"

"Completed. Target world: X-Men: First Class. Primary plunder targets: mutant gene optimization technology and... early application data for the Tesseract, the Space Stone."

A trace of interest flashed through Li Wei's eyes.

"Mutants... the Tesseract... very interesting. Prepare the transfer."

After responding to every test with thunderous force and initially establishing the Myriad Realms Secret Society's transcendent status, the plunderer's gaze turned once more toward a new and unknown world.