The moment the second Quentin's figure slowly solidified, the entire New York fell into a deathly silence.
High in the sky, the holographic light and shadow, still maintaining its elegant fighting posture, remained frozen in place, the afterglow of green energy lingering.
Quentin, trapped on the rooftop of the high-rise building, was already deathly pale and stiff, his panic and fear barely concealed.
This absurd and mind-blowing scene struck everyone in the eye of the beholder.
Ivan and the others stared intently at the two identical Quentin, their minds completely blank.
Peter, who was just moments ago anxiously and desperately defending Quentin, is now frozen at the top of the rooftop.
All the boy's certainty, all his trust, all his relief shattered at that moment.
He stared blankly at the imprisoned Quentin, then looked up at the figure in the sky. His head was buzzing, and countless thoughts were racing wildly, but he couldn't grasp any logic at all.
Two Quentin?
Was it all a scam from beginning to end, when he trusted, respected, and regarded him as a reliable mentor and a source of hope in his Extremis?
A tremendous sense of absurdity and emptiness instantly overwhelmed Peter, making him feel cold all over, his hands and feet stiff, and even his breathing heavy and labored.
Everyone present, whether they were the Avengers fighting on the battlefield, the special agents on duty, the terrified civilians on the street, or the millions of netizens watching the live broadcast on their screens, were all stunned and speechless.
The clamor subsided, the praise abruptly ceased, and the overwhelming worship and eulogy that had just been poured in became the biggest joke.
High in the sky, Lynn's expression remained calm and undisturbed.
Lynn slowly raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through layers of thick smoke, through city buildings, and through spatial barriers, enveloping the entire New York City.
The next instant, his senses suddenly magnified infinitely.
His invisible spiritual power spread, expanded, and covered the entire city like a tide, accurately capturing even the most minute details such as radio waves, magnetic field fluctuations, the sound of equipment running current, and the trajectory of backend data transmission.
The faint electromagnetic ripples that are imperceptible to ordinary people are crystal clear to Lynn.
The entire New York scam, seemingly flawless and without a trace, inevitably required unified back-end terminal control due to the synchronized operation of tens of thousands of drones and the dynamic fine-tuning of battlefield parameters, which would inevitably generate unique radio frequencies and data fluctuations.
Even if the opposing team has top-notch technology, hides its IP address, blocks location tracking, and deliberately erases all traces, it cannot completely erase the faint traces of radio wave flow.
These subtle flaws, which are impossible for ordinary people to detect, are nowhere to be hidden from Lynn's extreme perception.
"Found it."
Inside a hidden warehouse in an abandoned industrial area on the outskirts of the city, a cluster of continuously pulsating, highly encrypted, and all-encompassing electromagnetic signals is constantly transmitting instructions, precisely corresponding to all the control parameters of the entire New York scam.
That's where Quentin Tarantino's team is hiding, and it's also the absolute control center of the entire catastrophe drama.
Lynn's figure flickered, almost teleporting away from the New York battlefield, disappearing from everyone's sight in an instant.
Deep in an abandoned industrial area on the New York City, there is a converted, enclosed rental warehouse.
The interior is completely different from the dilapidated and desolate exterior. Inside, it is brightly lit, with dozens of ultra-high precision terminal hosts, holographic controllers, and signal transmitters neatly arranged, with crisscrossing wires and indicator lights constantly flashing, exuding a strong sense of technology.
Quentin's entire behind-the-scenes team is here.
Programmers, lighting technicians, data analysts, and equipment maintenance personnel—everyone was tense, their hands and feet moving rapidly as they operated the screens in front of them.
On the huge curved main screen, panoramic views of the New York battlefield, holographic correction parameters, drone swarm status, light and shadow camouflage data, and city-wide monitoring feedback scroll in real time. Dense lines of code refreshed frantically, and data streams rolled endlessly in layers.
In their view, the entire plan was flawless, with all the necessary permissions, technology, timing, and script in place. As long as they could maintain control of the final stages, Quentin would be able to ascend to godhood, completely replacing Tony and SSC, and becoming the universally recognized strongest savior of the world.
Just now, the battlefield scene suddenly froze for a moment in a bizarre way.
Immediately afterwards, the terminal alarms lit up wildly, with glaring red warning lights flashing.
The piercing alarm instantly shattered the peaceful atmosphere inside the warehouse, causing everyone's expressions to change drastically and their hands and feet to freeze instantly.
"What happened?!"
"The main holographic device is shut down! The boss's true location has been exposed!"
Chaos erupted instantly inside the warehouse. Everyone panicked and frantically tried to operate the terminals to salvage the situation, but none of their actions were effective.
In the instant when everyone was in a state of panic and confusion, the air in the center of the warehouse suddenly distorted slightly.
A slender and upright figure appeared out of nowhere before everyone's eyes.
Lynn stood quietly in the center of the equipment, his gaze sweeping lightly over the scrolling code, battlefield scenes, and control menus on the screen. Looking at the meticulously planned and carefully constructed deception backend of this group of people, he gently shook his head.
There was no anger in his eyes, only a hint of helplessness and mockery.
The scam, meticulously crafted, intricate, and incredibly realistic, was meticulously crafted with countless hours, time, and technical expertise. Seemingly flawless, it was, in reality, nothing more than a self-deceiving farce from the very beginning.
Everyone in the warehouse froze instantly, their pupils contracted, their bodies turned ice-cold, and even their breathing stopped completely.
No one knows how he found his way here and appeared in the warehouse without a sound.
The extreme fear of the unknown instantly gripped everyone's hearts.
Before anyone could react, Lynn slightly raised his fingertips.
A gentle yet domineering invisible energy instantly spread out, enveloping the entire warehouse and precisely targeting every team member present.
Everyone's bodies were bound by gentle energy, rendering them unable to move.
The next second, an incredibly bizarre scene suddenly unfolded.
Soft energy light membranes precisely enveloped each team member, like transparent balloon bladders, steadily holding everyone in place.
The previously panicked and stiff crowd, like balloons being inflated, slowly lifted off the ground, their bodies gently levitating in mid-air.
The team of dozens of people behind the scenes, along with the entire set of paralyzed control equipment, were all enveloped and locked in by the energy field.
Lynn casually raised his hand to gesture.
rise.
Without a sound, the entire behind-the-scenes team, like a string of balloons on a string, soared into the air along an invisible energy trajectory, instantly piercing through the warehouse roof and breaking through the clouds, following Lynn's figure, and steadily flying towards the battlefield in the main city of New York.
The entire process was extremely fast, yet remarkably smooth, like a precisely manipulated exhibit being escorted back to the center stage of the scam in front of everyone.
In just a few seconds, the forces behind the suburban warehouse were completely wiped out.
The air above the New York battlefield trembled slightly once more.
Lynn stood beside Tony again, and at the same time, dozens of figures wrapped in transparent energy "balloons" floated neatly in the low sky above the battlefield before landing steadily.
Snap, snap, snap...
Everyone landed and was firmly immobilized on the ground by the energy field, lined up in a neat row, unable to move.
All the agents on site reacted immediately, quickly surrounding and closing in, pulling out standard weapons and activating restraint devices to completely subdue the group of people behind the scenes in the first instance.
Lynn turned to Tony beside her, her tone calm and composed, and asked softly, "Should you do it or should I? I think it's better if you do it. After all, you're the boss."
Tony paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the stunned crowd below, the bewildered Avengers, and the completely lost Peter, a hint of helplessness and complexity flashing in his eyes.
Tony nodded helplessly, acquiescing to the arrangement, and then subtly adjusted the armor system.
The next instant, the nanotech armor's loudspeaker system activated.
The powerful, resonant mechanical voice instantly covered the entire New York City, penetrating every street and block, and simultaneously connecting to the live streaming channels across the entire network, resounding in the ears of every viewer.
"Everyone, be quiet."
"Next, I will tell you the whole truth about this incident."
Tony surveyed the entire city, looking at the dense crowds of onlookers, the bewildered team members, and the astonished viewers across the internet. He slowly began to speak, clearly exposing the doomsday hoax that had shocked the world.
"The so-called 'second Chitauri alien invasion' that broke out in New York at 7:00 AM this morning is not a real interstellar catastrophe."
"From beginning to end, this was an elaborate, deliberate scam."
"There were no alien insectoids, no alien fighters, no space wormholes, and no interstellar invasion. All the disasters, gunfire, insectoids, bombings, and apocalyptic scenes you just saw were holographic simulations."
"The overwhelming enemy forces are tens of thousands of modified holographic drones. The wormhole tearing through the sky is a top-tier omnidirectional projection array. The widespread battles, explosions, collapses, and alien debris are all energy attacks from the drones."
Tony's voice was calm and sharp, peeling away layers of pretense to lay bare the most cruel and absurd truth before everyone.
"The mastermind behind this entire scam is none other than Quentin Beck, whom you just fervently idolized and hailed as a savior."
"He used the authority he tricked Peter into giving him, combined with his team's top-notch holographic technology, to recreate the Battle of New York, artificially creating a city-wide catastrophe. Then he deliberately appeared at the right time, pretending to turn the tide and save the city. He had only one purpose!"
That is to create public opinion, reap fame, and completely replace superheroes, SSC, and Stark, becoming the ultimate hero worshipped by the masses.
The truth slowly unfolded, like a thunderclap exploding in everyone's ears.
The entire audience was initially stunned.
Everyone froze, their minds frantically processing this shocking truth that shattered all their preconceptions. They couldn't accept it. The hero who had just risked his life to save the world, so calm and powerful, was actually the mastermind behind a scam? The apocalyptic catastrophe that had nearly wiped out the entire city was just a staged performance?
Immediately afterwards, astonishment quickly turned into extreme shock.
As people recalled the despair of the overwhelming artillery fire, the ruins everywhere, and the near annihilation, as well as the fierce battle where everyone fought to the death, and their own kneeling in prayer, desperate weeping, and frantically Quentin, a chilling sense of absurdity swept over them.
Finally, the shock completely subsided, transforming into overwhelming anger.
Anger stems from being fooled, deceived, and treated like a mere spectator.
It stems from this man-made panic, man-made disaster, and man-made despair.
It stems from the fact that some people are using the peace of New York, the safety of countless citizens, and the bloody battles of superheroes as stepping stones to their own ascension to godhood.
On the streets, the people who had been scattered and watching in shock stopped and slowly gathered from various blocks, alleys and buildings.
Crowds of people converged from all directions of the city, crowding the streets in layers. Looking up at Quentin, who was imprisoned in the sky, and the behind-the-scenes team detained on the ground, the bewilderment in their eyes faded away, leaving only intense anger.
"A scam? It's all fake?"
"We were almost scared to death! I thought the world was ending again!"
"We prayed in despair, only to find it was all just a performance by him?!"
"He watched us panic, watched us flee, watched us despair?!"
"That's disgusting! That's vicious!"
Anger, condemnation, and indignant discussions quickly gathered from scattered voices into a raging torrent that swept across the entire New York City.
In the live stream, millions of netizens were completely outraged. The screen was filled with a dense barrage of comments, and all the previous praise, admiration, and flattery were wiped out, replaced by an overwhelming outcry of anger and condemnation.
The more fervent their praise was just moments ago, the more furious and ashamed they are now.
On the battlefield, after hearing the full truth, Ivan, Banner, Hawkeye, and the others felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity and frustration.
They fought with all their might, risking their lives to protect this city, only to find out from the beginning that they were merely stepping stones and tools to highlight the main characters in someone else's story!
Quentin used all of this to promote his savior persona and to gain fame.
How ironic, how despicable.
On the rooftop, Peter stood silently in the wind, his body cold and speechless.
The boy lowered his eyes, his clear gaze completely dimmed. All his trust, purity, and enthusiasm had been ruthlessly crushed and torn apart in this meticulously planned deception.
His most trusted senior colleague deceived him.
His most admired hero played everyone.
The authority he relinquished without reservation, and the trust he gave without reservation, ultimately became a weapon used by others to harm the city, deceive the world, and climb to the top.
The wind swept across the rooftop, making his battle suit flutter loudly, and the boy's thin figure conveyed an unspeakable loneliness and sorrow.
High above, Tony gazed at the city's boiling tide of anger, at Quentin below who was disheveled, pale, and utterly defeated, and at Peter was lost and dejected, before calmly bringing the story to a close.
"The play has come to an end."
"Next, the liquidation will begin."
The wind on the rooftop was cold, making Peter feel a tightness in Peter chest and a dryness in his throat.
He stared blankly at everything that had been exposed below, his heart feeling as if it were being gripped tightly by an icy hand, so aching that he could hardly breathe.
He was never afraid of battle, disaster, or pain; he always believed in the goodness of humanity and was willing to treat every comrade-in-arms with sincerity.
This time, however, his unreserved trust and pure, fervent goodwill became a bargaining chip for others to do evil.
My naiveté almost led to disaster, plunging countless people into panic and causing the current situation.
This clumsy kindness was taken advantage of, and the extreme disappointment and self-blame overwhelmed him. At this moment, the enthusiasm and innocence in the boy's heart were completely shattered by reality.