The Curtain Rises

"All right, for your sake, I'll reluctantly make the trip."

Li Chen got up and gently patted Tohka on the head, telling her to wait where she was.

He entered the spatial transfer room and appeared in Tony Stark's villa the next second.

Azure particles of light slowly gathered, eventually taking shape beside the living room sofa.

Li Chen swept a cold glance over the two men before him—two bald heads, one black and one white.

The black one was an old acquaintance, Fury. The white one was probably the **-appointed congressional representative.

"Three minutes. Talk."

"Damn it! How did you get in here?!"

"Spatial teleportation."

Watching their stunned expressions, Li Chen spoke calmly.

For Earth's current technology, instant teleportation that ignored distance was practically a fantasy. Li Chen landing precisely on this sofa meant he could just as easily breach any security system and appear in some ****'s bedroom.

Though when he really needed to **, he preferred crushing his way through head-on.

"Mr. Li, as a citizen of our country, you have an obligation to hand this technology over to the state." Greed gleamed in the white congressman's eyes.

"First, I'm not under your jurisdiction." Li Chen raised a finger and wagged it. "Second, who the hell do you think you are?"

"Don't mind him. They're always like this." Tony, who was sorting through his father's belongings, cut in. "Last time, they tried forcing me to hand over my armor technology."

The congressman maintained his fake smile, while mentally putting Iron Man on his list.

"Time's up."

"Please sign this Superhero Registration Act." The white congressman pushed over the document.

Li Chen casually flipped through a few pages and let out a derisive laugh.

The act required League members to disclose their identities and ability records to S.H.I.E.L.D. and submit to mandatory deployment. The so-called compensation was nothing more than a handout fit for beggars.

In the conference room, the bald white politician piled on a fake smile and asked, "Have you considered it? If you have no objections, please sign here."

"Ha."

Li Chen casually tossed the so-called Hero Regulations onto the floor, a mocking sneer on his face.

It seemed some people still hadn't learned their lesson.

Did they really think the whole world had to revolve around them?

The League of Heroes was already one of the world's foremost organizations. Tatsumaki alone was enough to erase the entire United States from the map.

Those advanced weapons they were so proud of were merely children's toys before superpowered individuals.

"Don't reject it so quickly. Your organization's activities in New York have won widespread public support, but the authorities' patience is limited."

"Get out."

"Very well, leave the act with you for now. If you change your mind within a month, contact me anytime."

The bald politician was not surprised by the rejection. Instead, he generously allowed more time for consideration. He firmly believed that under ** pressure, the other side would eventually compromise.

That line of thinking was as absurd as Eastern Wu demanding Cao Wei surrender during the Three Kingdoms era.

"And there's the matter in New Mexico."

"Talk."

"The destruction caused by your battle spread across a hundred miles, with losses reaching several billion."

"So?"

"Naturally, the ** is very lenient. You only need to hand over the captured Spirit..."

"Time's up."

Li Chen rose with a cold laugh. Talking to an idiot like this was a complete waste of time. The other side had not grasped the situation at all.

Choose between Tohka and all of America? He would not hesitate to make the country disappear.

The authorities had their eyes on the Spirit for no reason other than to study her spatial abilities and destructive power.

"Stop! The Spirit must be handed over immediately!"

"If it weren't for Stark's sake, you'd already be ground into paste."

"This is your final warning!"

"Bang—"

The bald politician's body exploded instantly, blood and chunks of flesh splattering across the conference room.

"Hey, President, this is my house!" The one-eyed S.H.I.E.L.D. director clutched his forehead and complained. "Couldn't you have handled that more neatly? Now you've caused ** trouble."

"That man was a ** of Hydra." Li Chen spoke with his back to the others. "Go back and tell those ** that if they dare meddle again, I won't mind dealing with every last congressman."

"..."

New York, Capitol Building assembly hall.

The roundtable, usually controlled by the ten most powerful congressmen, now had one empty seat.

As the man at the helm of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury could only stand to one side—anyone seated here was a heavyweight capable of influencing the political landscape.

"Outrageous! We absolutely cannot continue tolerating this arrogant behavior!"

A suited congressman slammed his palm onto the table, his entire face turning red.

It was not that he felt any injustice for his bald colleague whom Li Chen had strangled to death. He simply feared the League of Heroes—not only did it possess destructive power, but it also acted without restraint.

Today, they could casually crush a congressman to death. Tomorrow, he might be next.

"Director Fury, resolving this matter is part of your duty."

"Don't be naive. You know perfectly well how terrifying Tornado of Terror is."

"Perhaps we could deploy..."

"Stop!" The one-eyed director raised a hand to cut him off. "Allow me to remind you all that your so-called ultimate weapons would only turn against you if she controlled them with telekinesis."

Fury had no doubt about it—if they launched **, the result would only be a boom and a mushroom cloud rising over their own territory.

After Li Chen revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had a large number of Hydra ** planted within it, Fury secretly investigated and indeed discovered many suspicious individuals.

But he could not alert the enemy yet—if, as Li Chen said, eighty percent of them were traitors, acting rashly would only get him "suddenly killed in an accident."

Besides, the warning of a worldwide crisis also left him unable to sleep or eat in peace.

From his personal standpoint, he had no desire whatsoever to become enemies with the League of Heroes.

But these congressmen who lived in ivory towers always loved meddling in professional matters.

If he refused their orders, they would not hesitate to replace the director and install an obedient puppet.

"Is there really nothing we can do?"

Another congressman spoke with a trembling voice.

If even nuclear deterrence failed, they would completely lose the initiative.

"And that's only the power Tatsumaki has displayed. It doesn't even include the other members, much less that mysterious president."

"If that's the case... we really do need to proceed cautiously."

"..."

Why not put aside their prejudices and let them act freely?

Those people in the League of Heroes did not care about power struggles at all.

The more they ** them, the more likely it was to backfire.

But Fury knew these paranoid politicians would never listen. They always believed everyone else was coveting their power.

"Since force won't work, we'll change our approach."

"Aren't they fighting monsters in New York? In barely a month, they've already won enormous public support."

"If this continues, public opinion may even shift toward the League of Heroes."

"In that case, the Avengers plan must be launched ahead of schedule."

The ** congressman laced his fingers together and made the decision coldly.

Previously, the higher-ups still had concerns about the Avengers—if this group of superpowered people united in rebellion, the consequences would be unthinkable.

But now, the League of Heroes was the greater threat.

At least the Avengers remained within their control, while the latter had completely slipped beyond it.

"The funding will be allocated from the treasury."

"You'll be responsible for the candidates."

"At the same time, spread the news. Accuse the League of Heroes of concealing the source of the disaster, the 'Spirit,' and ** public hostility."

"Those who lost family members because of the Spacequake will naturally become our allies."

Ever since taking in Yatogami Tohka, Li Chen had anticipated trouble coming to his door.

But he did not care. Compared to politicians who were no better than ants, the innocent and pure Spirit was far more deserving of protection.

"The candidates have been preliminarily selected, but they may not be enough." Fury gave a bitter smile. "According to the League of Heroes' disaster rankings, threats above Demon Level simply cannot be dealt with by conventional weapons—unless ** are used."

The list he drafted included:

The newly awakened Captain America, Steve Rogers, whose reputation from World War II could win over public support;

Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and other veteran agents;

As well as the martial arts prodigy with immense potential—Garou.

Off the coast of New York.

The ink-black sea was as still as iron, without the slightest ripple.

Raging Tide Assault

The instant the schools of fish burst through the surface, tens of thousands of silver scales shot into the air like lightning rods.

A dark, scale-armored army emerged from the depths of the reefs. Humanoid sea monsters advanced toward land through slime. A red cape billowed beneath a crown, dark-blue muscles bulged in slabs, and the emblem of a Demon-level Disaster snapped in the sea wind.

"Land-dwelling vermin!" The Deep Sea King's three-fingered webbed claw crushed a reef. "Seven hundred years of oil, plastic, and radiation will be repaid in blood."

Mutated shells shattered beneath sound waves, while fish skeletons reassembled into grotesque forms. The first army of monsters transformed by pollution was prying open the continent's defenses with whale-bone spears.

When a twelve-meter wall of seawater swallowed New York Harbor, coral arrows had already pierced the foreheads of armed guards. Wolf-level fishmen tore through bulletproof vests as easily as peeling shrimp shells.

That same day, screens across the United States suddenly flickered with static.

A Vibranium Shield cut through the snow of interference, while a star-spangled uniform outlined textbook-perfect buttocks. World War II posters drifted down from ** overhead, and white-haired old men tremblingly crumpled newspapers. "Rogers... It can't be..."

Neon lights bleached the podium white.

As the uniformed man adjusted the microphone, the stench of Deep-Sea Clan corpses drifted into Wall Street on the wind.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. director's orders had to be repeated word for word. He was already well practiced at this sort of mission.

Back when he promoted war bonds, he had toured the entire country.

"Hello, everyone. I am Captain America."

"That's right, the one who disappeared seventy years ago."

"I slept beneath the Arctic Ocean for seventy years, and now I have seen the light of day again."

"Now that I've awakened, I will protect the people and fight evil **!"

"..."

The information age allowed the news to spread like wildfire.

Within mere minutes, nearly every American knew this shocking news.

How great was this war hero's prestige?

As the image model the ** had spared no effort to create, his influence was immeasurable.

From textbooks to memorial halls, from a grassroots rise to a glorious sacrifice—the perfect heroic narrative—

Seventy years of peace had pushed his reputation to its peak.

Soon after, a nationwide wave of celebration swept across the country:

Elderly veterans were the first to leave their homes, some in wheelchairs and others carried on stretchers;

Retired soldiers, inspired by him, joined in one after another;

Teachers and students responded in turn...

The celebrating crowds flooded major cities like a deluge.

"President, do we need to intervene?"

Mash stared at the television news, her brow furrowed tightly.

"So many people have gathered. Should we eliminate all of them?"

A ball of dark energy appeared in Yatogami Tohka's palm as she nervously asked for instructions.

The armies that had attacked her in the past numbered only a few thousand, yet millions of civilians had gathered on New York's streets now.

The scale of it made her mistake civilians for an enemy army—

If she released the energy sphere now, it would likely cause six-figure casualties in an instant.

"Relax." Li Chen waved a hand nonchalantly. "The authorities merely want to use a hero's reputation to suppress us."

It was not a bad move in itself, but they had overlooked one critical variable—

The ultimate boss lurking within the Avengers: the Hero **er, Garou!

This Demon Level martial artist, who possessed Super-Dragon-Level potential, was quietly lying low within the newly formed organization.

Coastline Alarm

He had always scorned so-called "heroes."

Li Chen watched Captain America, who had been elevated onto a pedestal by the media, with cold eyes. This "superhero" was about to become prey.

The sea breeze carried unusual energy fluctuations, as clear in Li Chen's perception as **.

"Mash, recall all field personnel immediately."

"Since certain people believe the Avengers are enough to handle the crisis, let them have a taste of the deep sea's 'hospitality.'"

"The curtain—has risen!"

On New York's coastal boulevard, panicked crowds fled in every direction like headless flies.

Five-meter-tall aberrations were rampaging through the streets—humanoid torsos topped with octopus heads, sixteen sucker-covered tentacles thrashing about, and hundreds of clouded eyes rolling at once. The sight was enough to drive any normal person mad.