The fighting in New York is finally coming to an end.
Dark clouds still hung over the city, and a giant holographic wormhole hung in the Manhattan sky, its deep opening still trembling slightly.
But the familiar sense of oppression has visibly subsided by more than half.
After a long battle, coupled with the suppression of the enemy's offensive from behind, the overwhelming number of Zerg soldiers was drastically reduced.
The once densely packed enemy aircraft formations that blotted out the sky are now sparse and scattered, no longer able to form the crushing waves of attacks they once did.
The entire battlefield, shrouded in smoke, has completely transitioned from Extremis to the cleanup and finalization phase.
Peter continued to move among the burning ruins, his red and blue suit covered in smoke and ash, but he showed no sign of letting up.
The young man gave it his all, each maneuver and attack swift and decisive, fighting with all his might to clear out the remaining enemy forces and protect the ravaged city.
In his eyes, this was a real and brutal alien invasion, Quentin was a reliable mentor who turned the tide, and he had to do everything in his power to defend New York with his comrades.
Not far away, Quentin stood in mid-air, surrounded by clear green energy. With a wave of his hand, energy blades shot out, precisely reaping the remaining holographic units.
His movements remained calm and elegant, without any sign of fatigue from the hard-fought battle.
Compared to the disheveled state of Ivan, Banner, and Hawkeye, who were covered in injuries and exhausted, he was completely at ease throughout, as if this catastrophe, which could crush even top-tier combatants, was nothing more than an easy rehearsal for him.
He deliberately controlled the pace of his attacks, not rushing to end the battle completely, nor trying to steal the limelight. He only eliminated the enemy at the right moment, maintaining his perfect persona.
Down in the neighborhood, Ivan, Banner, and Hawkeye were finally able to catch their breath.
Ivan's armor was no longer the sharp and shiny armor it once was. It was covered with scorch marks, dents and cracks, and many armor plates were deformed and warped. The reactor's glow flickered and emitted a low hum of overload.
He hovered in mid-air, slowly raising his hand to shut down the overloaded arc system. The scorching hot body continued to emit a burning heat, and hot white mist spewed from the heat dissipation vents. The exhaustion from long hours of high-intensity combat swept over his entire body, and his limbs felt heavy and sore.
"Finally... it's almost over." Ivan's voice came through the communicator, hoarse and exhausted.
For a full several tens of minutes, the three of them withstood the relentless bombardment.
Banner landed on the broken street, slightly bent over and panting, cold sweat trickling down his forehead and soaking his collar.
He looked up at the wormhole that still lingered in the sky, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion. The war had been eerie from beginning to end, but he still couldn't figure out where the problem lay.
Hawkeye leaned against the crumbling wall of the high-rise building, one hand bracing against the wall, breathing heavily.
My entire right arm was already sore and stiff, with waves of stinging pain coming from the ligaments, and my palm was red and burning from being rubbed by the bowstring. Most of the special arrows in my quiver had been used up, and my body was covered in dust and small wounds. The spot on my back where I had been hit by the shockwave was throbbing with pain, and every breath was accompanied by a slight, dull ache.
All three were disheveled and exhausted, but Quentin, who entered later, remained upright and composed, calmly reaping the last remaining enemies on the battlefield, becoming the most dazzling and irreplaceable presence in the entire scene.
The entire city's live cameras and the public's attention were focused on Quentin at that moment.
The internet was in an uproar, with praise flooding the entire network. Everyone was singing the praises of this hero who saved the day from Extremis, and no one remembered the three SSC agents who fought valiantly and rushed to the rescue for tens of minutes.
On the observation deck atop Stark Tower, the sounds of gunpowder and wind swept through the floor-to-ceiling windows, carrying the scorching heat of the battlefield outside the city.
Tony stood with his hands in his pockets, silently surveying the bustling and ironic battlefield below, a cold indifference hidden in his eyes. He watched Quentin's flawless acting, watched young Peter's unreserved trust and devotion, watched the city's residents' fervent adoration, kept in the dark. His heart remained undisturbed, only a calm that had settled.
The timing was perfect.
Continuing to let this charade continue is pointless and a waste of time.
Tony slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on Lynn beside him.
Their eyes met, and without a word, the two people in control of the situation instantly reached a tacit understanding.
Lynn nodded slightly, raised his palm and made a grasping motion, and a deep, dark teleportation portal instantly formed in the void.
The portal had no blinding light, no powerful energy fluctuations, but it was low-key yet extremely conspicuous. It broke through layers of thick smoke and was steadily erected in the very center of the New York battlefield, spanning dozens of meters of airspace, and steadily connecting Stark Tower with the battlefield sky.
Tony moved swiftly, lightly touching the ground with his toes, and his body rose into the air.
JARVIS.
A subtle mechanical vibration sounded as silvery-white nanoparticles erupted from the reactor in Tony's chest, rapidly covering his entire body like flowing water.
Shoulder armor, chest armor, and leg armor were rapidly assembled layer by layer, their metallic sheen slowly gleaming amidst the smoke, exuding a strong sense of technology.
Without any unnecessary movements, Tony walked straight through the portal and hovered steadily in the high sky in the very center of the battlefield.
Lynn followed closely behind, his body swaying slightly as he stepped into the air and landed steadily beside Tony.
The two floated side by side at an altitude of 10,000 meters, standing at the very center of the entire battlefield.
Their arrival instantly disrupted the rhythm of the battlefield.
The once noisy and chaotic battlefield suddenly fell silent.
Peter, who was clearing out the remaining Peter, paused and subconsciously looked up at the two figures that had suddenly appeared in the sky, his eyes filled with astonishment and surprise.
Ivan, Banner, Hawkeye, and the others looked up simultaneously, their faces full of surprise. No one had expected Tony and Lynn to suddenly appear at this crucial moment when the battle was about to end.
Not far away, Quentin, who was gracefully wrapping up his performance and enjoying the attention and praise of the entire audience, stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.
He hadn't expected Tony to return so quickly, and a chilling sense of being completely seen through instantly spread down his spine. But he still forced himself to calm down, maintaining a composed and savior-like demeanor, trying to conceal the panic in his heart.
High above, Lynn looked down at the devastated New York City.
Broken and collapsed streets, burned and collapsed buildings, charred walls, shattered and fallen glass, open flames and black smoke everywhere, ruins and debris scattered all over the place...
The entire bustling city was reduced to a desolate and tragic apocalyptic ruin in just a few tens of minutes.
The damage, collapse, and burning clearly demonstrate the devastation of this fabricated catastrophe.
Lynn lowered his gaze slightly and slowly raised his right hand.
The next instant, an extremely dazzling and brilliant stream of light burst forth from his palm, the red halo intertwining and swirling, transforming into a layer of transparent and soft bubble barrier, which spread rapidly throughout the city from the airspace where the two were suspended.
As the light flashed by, the wind stopped abruptly, the smoke ceased, and the floating dust and debris froze in mid-air, as if the flow of time in the entire New York City had been slowed down in an instant.
The nine-colored barrier spread rapidly and expanded infinitely, covering the entire Manhattan area in the blink of an eye, encompassing all the damaged neighborhoods, broken buildings, and dilapidated streets. The transparent light membrane gently enveloped the earth, without any sense of overwhelming oppression, yet it carried a terrifying power to reverse all things.
Then, an unbelievable scene slowly unfolded before everyone's eyes.
The collapsed and cracked asphalt pavement on the street slowly crept up, rose, and closed up. The crisscrossing spiderweb-like cracks quickly receded and healed, becoming flat and solid again.
The overturned, shattered, and twisted vehicles were slowly restored and reshaped under the flowing light. The deformed bodies gradually became regular, the traces of burning completely faded, and they were restored to their original, intact state.
Collapsed and broken walls, shattered glass, and collapsed and damaged roofs are all traced back in reverse. Broken bricks and stones are slowly pieced together, fallen building materials are put back in place, broken steel bars are reconnected, and the damaged buildings gradually stand upright and are restored.
The charred and burned greenery along the street sprouted new buds and turned green again; torn and blown billboards, streetlights, and traffic lights were all restored to their original positions. The open flames that had spread through the streets were quickly extinguished, the black smoke slowly dissipated, and the murky air instantly became clear and transparent.
All traces of war's destruction were rapidly reversed and smoothed out in the halo of light.
In just a few seconds, the devastated and ruined streets of New York City were completely restored to their bustling and clean appearance before dawn. All traces of damage, burning, collapse, and destruction vanished, as if the extremely tragic apocalyptic catastrophe had never happened.
All the fleeing, terrified, and hesitant civilians, all the hard-fought agents, and all the netizens watching the live broadcast froze in place, their pupils shrinking, their faces filled with disbelief and shock.
This ability to reverse time and restore everything is beyond everyone's comprehension and can be described as a miracle.
Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was stunned and lost in thought, Peter suddenly realized what was happening, and a strong sense of anxiety and unease welled up inside him.
He saw Tony and Lynn suddenly arrive, their cold aura seemingly carrying a sense of confrontation and judgment, and he was afraid that the two would misunderstand Quentin and inadvertently harm this reliable senior.
The boy's figure shot out instantly, his Silk precisely locking onto the rooftop of the nearest skyscraper, his body gliding and swooping down at lightning speed, landing steadily on the top of the rooftop.
He looked up at the two figures hovering high in the sky, his voice urgent and urgent as he shouted, " Tony! Mr. Lynn! Don't attack! Quentin is an ally! The Zerg drones in the sky are the enemy! It was only thanks to Quentin that the battle was stabilized!"
The boy's voice was clear and urgent, piercing through the silent battlefield and resounding throughout the entire airspace.
He was filled with worry, fearing that the two powerful figures would attack his most trusted senior without distinguishing right from wrong.
High in the sky, Tony glanced down at Peter, who was urgently explaining himself on the rooftop, through his armor visor. His eyes held a complex mix of emotions: helplessness, heartache, and relief.
He didn't reply or explain; he simply calmly raised his mechanical palm, and nanoparticles at his fingertips shimmered with light, quickly assembling into a sophisticated restraint device.
Tony raised his hand and handed the device to Lynn beside him. His voice, transmitted through the armor, was calm and composed, without a trace of emotion. "I can't pinpoint his exact location. You can mark his real coordinates through the glasses so JARVIS can track his trajectory."
Lynn nodded slightly, his movements concise and decisive.
"Coordinates locked, ready to trigger at any time." JARVIS's mechanical voice sounded precisely on time.
Having received JARVIS's confirmation that the location had been determined, Lynn tossed the restraint device in his hand directly onto the open rooftop of a tall building to the side.
The device flew through the air at an extremely high speed, tracing a clean silver arc before landing steadily in mid-air above the deserted rooftop.
The next second, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The previously empty rooftop space, devoid of any people or objects, suddenly tightened and activated the restraint device.
Buzz!
A pale blue imprisoning shield instantly formed, firmly enclosing a section of void. Energy patterns flickered continuously, locking down the airspace. It looked as if it were imprisoning the air out of thin air, absurd and eerie.
On the ground, high in the air, and on the rooftop, everyone who witnessed this scene was utterly bewildered and confused.
After a long and arduous battle, Ivan was completely stunned. He maneuvered his armor to fly up into the air and landed beside the two men, asking with a bewildered expression, "What are you doing?!"
"We fought tooth and nail throughout the entire battle, and you showed up at the very last moment of all times? And what's with the act of immobilizing us right after you arrived? What kind of tactic is this?"
Hawkeye and Banner also looked up, their eyes filled with confusion as they gazed at the two figures high in the sky. No one could understand this sudden, illogical, and bizarre action.
Peter remained anxious, shouting towards the sky in an attempt to defend Quentin. Quentin himself, bound and restrained, was completely stiff, his heart filled with terror, and his hands and feet were ice-cold.
He knew he couldn't hide it any longer.
Lynn's gaze fell indifferently on the imprisoned void, ignoring the doubts of everyone present. His voice, clear and cold, slowly echoed throughout the sky, "Even now, do you still intend to continue hiding?"
"Shall we continue the performance?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in uproar.
Everyone's pupils contracted sharply as they followed Lynn's gaze to the empty, imprisoned airspace, a bizarre and eerie premonition rising in their hearts.
The next second, the air at the center of the confining light shield began to distort and tremble violently.
The layers of holographic light and shadow rapidly fluctuated, faded, and dissipated, gradually revealing the true body that was originally hidden beneath the false light and shadow.
The outline gradually became clearer, the figure slowly solidified, and the facial features, clothing, and body shape all emerged.
Ultimately, another Quentin appeared out of thin air within the light shield.
At that moment, the entire venue fell silent.
Everyone instinctively turned their heads to look at Quentin, who was still maintaining his fighting stance with a gentle smile in the air not far away.
A person was locked on the rooftop of a high-rise building, looking panicked.
A suspended battlefield high in the sky, still serene.
Ivan, Banner, Hawkeye's pupils dilated, their minds went blank for a moment, and their faces were filled with extreme shock and disbelief.
Peter on the rooftop froze, his anxiety and attempts to explain on his face instantly gone, completely stunned.