After saying that, Ryan used teleportation magic and vanished from the spot with Sebas.
Nick Fury instinctively reached out to touch them, but his hand met nothing but air.
"Boss, what do we do next?"
Coulson wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked.
After struggling with it for quite a while, Nick said, "Pull out of this house. Remove every surveillance device. Be careful not to disturb anything. I'll report this to the World Security Council. What happens next will depend on the opinions of the various countries. Fuck!"
Nick cursed and headed outside.
The information uncovered during that brief exchange with Ryan alone was enough to send chills down his spine.
An incredibly powerful body, telekinesis, communication technology beyond Earth's detection capabilities, the ability to casually open spatial wormholes—if all of that was achieved through technology, then the other side's technological level surpassed Earth's by more than a hundred and eighty streets. If they truly wanted to do something to Earth, it would be like the modern United States dealing with Stone Age primitives. The result would be nothing but a massacre.
With such an overwhelming gap between them, even if Captain Marvel were summoned back, he had no confidence whatsoever that Earth could escape disaster.
After all, this was different from the Skrulls' invasion twenty years ago. Back then, they had only been facing alien refugees, and the threat to Earth had not been as great as imagined. But this time...
Thinking of Ryan's final words before leaving, Nick's expression shifted unpredictably. ...
United States.
White House.
The conference room was filled with clashing voices.
Everyone who had gathered here at this hour was a decision-maker within the United States Government.
The president, vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation... along with hastily summoned psychologists, scientists, and scholars who had conducted special research into the blockbuster works released by Transporter Company.
After watching the recorded footage, everyone began arguing without end.
An alien—someone who had been hiding right beside them, someone they knew and had even interacted with—was actually an alien. If this had not been the White House, if the president had not gathered them here in the middle of the night, they would have thought it was an April Fool's joke.
But now, thinking of Ryan's words about destroying Earth after he left, everyone felt a chill run through their hearts.
"Gentlemen, after our discussion, we believe that some of what the man in the video said was likely true, provided that his emotional expressions do not differ too greatly from those of humans."
After discussing the footage, the psychologists and microexpression experts pointed out, one by one, which parts they considered credible, questionable, or suspected to be lies.
"He really was an emperor?"
Looking at the experts' conclusions, Robert, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, frowned.
"Yes, sir. We believe that statement can be trusted."
One psychologist nodded. There might have been doubts about other areas, but nearly all of them believed that statement was absolutely genuine.
"Now that's interesting. Would an emperor of an interstellar empire really have so much free time that he could stay on one planet and casually play around for ten years?"
"And during that time, he was repeatedly assassinated without getting angry, instead handling matters according to Earth's rules?"
"Honestly, I don't believe that. Just as I don't believe an emperor holding absolute power could tolerate the offense of a bunch of primitives."
"Though this may sound unpleasant, gentlemen, if their technology truly was as advanced as the video showed, then we are primitives in their eyes. Even if he integrated into our society out of curiosity for a while, I think he would have grown bored within a year at most. Even if he truly had astonishing patience, would an emperor lust after primitives, or even respect some of them like elders?"
"I believe there is definitely something wrong here!"
The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation took out several files and handed them to everyone present.
They contained detailed intelligence on Ryan Garcia, including but not limited to how many women he had been with, what he did every day, his medical records, personality analyses, and the relationship between Annie and Mocha.
This intelligence had been gathered long ago. The Federal Bureau of Investigation had not begun paying attention to Ryan only recently; it had been investigating him for a long time.
And it was precisely this intelligence that made Robert, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, refuse to believe that Ryan was some alien emperor. He had definitely used some kind of trick!
"You think there's something fake about this? But this operation was a surprise raid. Ryan Garcia could not possibly have known beforehand that someone would investigate his home. The footage was also broadcast live. That much is certain."
After looking over the documents in his hands, the president set them down and asked calmly.
"I'm not saying there's something wrong with the video. I'm saying there's something wrong with him. Perhaps he has been hiding some secret all along. He may even truly be an alien, but I do not believe he is the ruler of the civilization he belongs to. Nor do I believe the technological gap between them and Earth is really that great."
Robert explained. He had investigated Ryan for quite some time, and unless the facts were laid out before him, he would never believe Ryan was the emperor of a civilization.
"What do the rest of you think?"
The president tapped the table and asked the others.
There were indeed many suspicious points, but Ryan's method of disappearing at the end, as well as the pressure that had blanketed dozens of kilometers around them earlier, had not been fake.
"I don't think we can take the risk. We should comply with their demands and hand over those who broke the rules."
"This is humiliation! The United States will not hand over its citizens just because of threats from an outside enemy!"
"Then what do you intend to do? Fight the aliens?"
"So what if we do? The United States military is capable of ensuring that its citizens suffer no harm!"
"You're gambling with Earth's survival!"
"That's still better than being an alien lapdog ready to kneel and lick their boots!"
"..."
"..."
"Enough!"
Seeing everyone still putting on their own little performances at a time like this, the president slammed his hand on the table in exhaustion.
"Let's vote. Do we resist, or do we give them an explanation in accordance with their wishes?"
Sheets of blank paper were handed out to everyone in turn.
When the final vote had been cast, the president looked at the tally and showed an expression of unsurprised resignation.
Nearly every vote favored giving the other side an explanation. Only a few chose resistance.
Seeing this, the president could not be bothered to look any further. He directly addressed everyone. "The vote favors giving them an explanation. Now, let's discuss how we should proceed..."
What happened in the White House also happened, one after another, in several other major powers that had received the news. Without exception, every country chose to proceed cautiously.
There were many suspicious points in this matter, and they were not completely convinced of Ryan's identity. They still had their doubts.
But they could not afford to gamble. Compared to the possibility of Earth's destruction, no one cared about the survival of a few business conglomerates, especially when those conglomerates were American and the losses would also be America's.
After an emergency video conference, all five nuclear powers raised their military readiness levels without exception. One hidden trump card after another was activated.
At the same time, everyone connected to the plot against Ryan's life and the kidnapping of Annie was arrested and imprisoned without exception. The groups they belonged to were also blacklisted. In an instant, several top-ranked international conglomerates stood at the brink of collapse.
This caused an enormous uproar across the world, sparking endless discussion.
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