Taking on S.H.I.E.L.D.

Apocalypse carefully went over the details he had not paid much attention to before, only then realizing how terrifying the implications were.

Compared to that, the little bit of power he had gained was hardly worth mentioning.

His greatest advantage was his familiarity with how the plot unfolded. He could make use of that foreknowledge, develop quietly, and strengthen himself.

If he got a little power and immediately had to swagger around like he owned the world, not knowing his limits, he might attract some hidden big boss and die an unjust death.

He still had a beautiful wife who had run away from home. He could not die unjustly and let some other man benefit.

Thinking of this, Apocalypse felt there was still something he needed to do.

Apocalypse searched the map.

He found an agency called the "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." This was the legendary S.H.I.E.L.D.—the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division!

The location of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building was not a secret. It was easy to find, whether on a map or by satellite.

When ordinary people heard a name involving strategic defense and logistical support, they simply lumped it in with regular military agencies and paid it little attention.

In its early days, S.H.I.E.L.D. had indeed kept a low profile and made no major moves.

It was not until the Superhero War arrived that it emerged into the open and took on the responsibility of protecting humanity.

After dawn.

Apocalypse changed into a new outfit and arrived before S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main gate.

Outside S.H.I.E.L.D. was a guard post, while armored vehicles and elite soldiers constantly entered and exited through the gate.

Apocalypse strolled leisurely up to the guard post.

One of the two soldiers stopped him. "Stop! Please show your pass."

Apocalypse shrugged. "I don't have a pass. I'm here to find my wife."

"What?" The soldier thought he had misheard. "Do you know what this place is? You came here looking for your wife?"

Apocalypse pointed at the gate. "Doesn't it say so right there? S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Get lost, get lost. Your wife isn't here. Look somewhere else." The soldier looked thoroughly impatient.

Apocalypse was in no hurry. "I even brought the marriage certificate. I came to ask your director to give me back my wife."

"HAHAHAHAHA..." The two soldiers burst out laughing. "First thing in the morning, and we hear something this funny. Someone actually came to demand a wife from our director."

One soldier said, "Fifty bucks says the director brought some beauty back from a bar last night. She might still be in his bed."

The other soldier clapped his hands. "Deal. I'll add a hundred dollars and bet she was an Oriental beauty."

Apocalypse smiled. "Since you're my wife's colleagues, I won't beat you up for running your mouths. Tell Fury that if he doesn't come out, I'm going to start smashing things."

"HAHAHAHAHA... You're going to throw a tantrum? That's hilarious. Do you even know what this place is?"

"An Oriental guy comes to S.H.I.E.L.D. to throw a tantrum? Haha, that has to be the funniest joke of the year."

"No, that only ranks second. Him coming here to find his wife is the funniest one. HAHAHAHAHA..."

Apocalypse frowned. This was S.H.I.E.L.D., where Black Widow worked, and they would play an important role in protecting Earth in the future.

He really could not lower himself to the level of these soldiers and start yelling about killing people.

Apocalypse turned toward a surveillance camera and said, "Fury, I know you're watching me. If you don't come out now, I really will start smashing things."

Black Widow had married him under false pretenses while carrying out a mission. As director, Nick Fury could not possibly be unaware of it. Black Widow would certainly have recorded it in her report.

If it were only because of that identity, Director Fury might truly not have remembered him.

After all, in their eyes, he had been an insignificant nobody.

But last night's battle had already exceeded the realm of ordinary people. It had been a superhuman battle.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had definitely gathered intelligence on it.

Otherwise, they would not have found the Hulk so easily later on and recruited him into the Avengers.

That showed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had always been tracking these superheroes.

In The Avengers 1, they had invited Doctor Banner, while he was not transformed, to track the Tesseract, and they had been nervous beyond measure.

On the surface, only Black Widow had shown herself, but an elite squad had been lying in wait in the shadows.

Banner had merely pretended to roar, yet Black Widow had turned pale with fright and pointed a gun at Doctor Banner, while the hidden elite squad had all exposed themselves.

It was clear just how much pressure the Hulk put on them.

Last night, he had fought two opponents alone and performed even better than the Hulk.

Apocalypse believed that from the very second he appeared at the gate, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already gone on full alert inside.

Seeing that the building remained silent and unresponsive, Apocalypse put away his smile and deliberately shouted, "Fury, then I'll show you what it means to start smashing things! Yah yah yah..."

In an instant, alarms blared!

Countless gun barrels aimed at Apocalypse, and urgent voices came through the loudspeakers:

"Don't fire! Don't fire!"

Unfortunately, they were a little too late.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat..."

Apocalypse flew into a rage. He stomped his foot, and with a boom, the ground cracked apart as the guard post collapsed outright.

With a flash, he dodged the bullets and charged directly inside.

Beyond the guard post lay a huge plaza filled with countless pieces of military equipment.

A tank slowly turned its cannon toward him and fired a shell.

Apocalypse crossed his arms in front of himself.

With a boom, a fireball erupted and swallowed Apocalypse whole.

The gunfire around him abruptly fell silent, everyone assuming the intruder had been dealt with.

Yet in the next instant, the fireball vanished and Apocalypse slowly emerged, frightening the surrounding soldiers so badly that they forgot to fire.

What kind of monster was this? He could withstand a tank shell head-on?

"ROAR..."

Apocalypse gave the tank no second chance. With an angry roar, he blasted a deep crater beneath his feet and crossed dozens of meters in an instant, slamming straight into the tank.

"Boom... Creak... Creak..."

A loud crash rang out. Black smoke rose from the tank's engine, and it immediately stalled.

That was not the end. Apocalypse tore into the side armor with his bare hands. The fifty-millimeter steel plate that could withstand armor-piercing rounds screeched horribly as he ripped it open.

The two drivers inside stared in disbelief. Before they could understand what was happening, Apocalypse threw them out.

Then he grabbed the cannon barrel, exerted force at his waist, hoisted the tank weighing dozens of tons high into the air, and smashed it onto the ground with a boom.

"Boom... Boom... Boom... Boom... Boom..."

Like a massive hammer, the tank smashed more than a dozen craters into the ground.

Several armored vehicles and tanks had just begun turning their cannons toward Apocalypse when he smashed them wildly with the tank, reducing them directly to scrap.

Fortunately, he was not the Hulk or Abomination. He would not lose himself in endless power. Otherwise, no one knew how many people would die at S.H.I.E.L.D. today.

The current S.H.I.E.L.D. had only the framework of an organization. In truth, it did not have many superheroes worth mentioning.

The most powerful, Captain Marvel, was still maintaining peace in other galaxies.

"Mr. Tang, please stop. We can talk this out, we can talk this out."

A voice called out from afar.

Director Fury, who looked like a hard-boiled egg, jogged out from the building.

Director Fury himself was resolute and cold. In the original plot, even when he was attacked and severely wounded with his life hanging in the balance, he had not shown the slightest panic.

Yet now, facing Apocalypse, sweat appeared on his face. It was unclear whether he had been frightened or simply exhausted from running.

Apocalypse held up the tank and glanced in his direction.

Fury instinctively took a step back, afraid Apocalypse would throw the tank weighing dozens of tons at him over a disagreement.

"Boom..."

Apocalypse set down the tank and slowly walked toward Fury.

At least several hundred weapons of all kinds were aimed at him now, but no one dared fire again.

The closer Apocalypse came, the more sweat beaded on Fury's forehead.

When he reached him, Apocalypse said, "It seems you don't welcome me very much. You had to make me start smashing things before you would come out."

Director Fury hurriedly said, "A misunderstanding, it was all a misunderstanding. I apologize on behalf of the soldiers."

The two soldiers from the guard post were already drenched in cold sweat. They had thought he was an idiot, but who could have expected him to be such a terrifying figure?

They were doomed. They had mocked him just now. Would this powerhouse hold it against them?

Apocalypse said, "Stop talking nonsense. You know why I'm here!"

Director Fury said, "How about we go inside and talk?"

Apocalypse smiled. "Aren't you afraid that if we fail to reach an agreement inside, I'll tear down your S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Mr. Tang, you jest. I believe you are a rational man."

Fury thought to himself, Even if I'm afraid, it's useless. If you truly want to tear it down, we can't stop you outside either.

They arrived at a large office on the top floor of the dozens-story building.

Apocalypse got straight to the point. "Where's Natasha?"

Fury said, "She isn't at headquarters. She rarely comes back under normal circumstances. We need her on standby around the world at all times."

"Since she isn't here, I'll talk to you first."

"Please, go ahead."

Apocalypse said leisurely, "It's nothing else. I came to find my wife. She left me on our wedding day, and I haven't seen her for so many days. I miss her dearly."

Fury's expression grew somewhat grave. "Mr. Tang, you should know that... that was a fake wedding. It doesn't count."

Director Fury was extremely nervous inside, but he had no choice but to tell the truth.

He had originally thought Black Widow had entered a fake marriage for a mission and used some insignificant nobody. Who would have imagined that he was such a terrifying figure?

With a powerhouse of this level coming to demand answers, Fury was uneasy. He did not dare deceive him to his face.

"Hmph. You say it was fake, so it was fake? The wedding was held, and there's even a marriage certificate. Now you dare tell me it was fake?"

Fury said helplessly, "Mr. Tang, at our level, we all know that the local laws of City of God do not bind us. We did not know of your strength before. It was wrong of us to send an agent to approach you, and I apologize for that. What exactly do you want? Please state it plainly."

"HAHAHAHAHA, straightforward. Director Fury, then I'll be blunt. I'm definitely marrying Natasha!"

Fury's expression changed as his thoughts raced.

Could this powerhouse in front of him have taken a fancy to Black Widow's beauty and intended to forcibly take someone from S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Should he resist, or sacrifice Black Widow alone?

"Mr. Tang, are you planning to take her by force?"

If Apocalypse truly made a move, Fury was even considering whether he should call Captain Marvel back.

Apocalypse said, "No! I came today to make a demand, one that requires the director's cooperation. If you can't do it, I'll smash S.H.I.E.L.D."