The White House, the Oval Office!
Previously, the Avengers dismantled S.H.I.E.L.D.. and Hydra, and senators, military personnel, and even officials from various states were implicated to varying degrees.
The president is currently in heated discussions with his team about how to secure these vacant seats for his party.
Suddenly, the phone started vibrating. The vice president, who was standing nearby, took out his phone, glanced at the number, his expression changed, and he made an apologetic gesture to the president and the others present before walking outside to answer the call.
"You shouldn't be calling at this time. I'm in a meeting with the president at the White House. Damn it, do you know how much risk I'm taking by answering your call?"
The vice president walked to the door, away from the Secret Service bodyguards, before answering the phone nervously.
"Don't be nervous, my Vice President. Don't forget our agreement. I've run into a little trouble and hope you can help clean up some of the mess!"
The voice on the other end of the phone said in a nonchalant tone.
"What?"
The vice president suddenly spoke loudly.
Only after speaking did he realize his rudeness, so he quickly looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, lowered his voice and whispered.
"Damn it, you've messed with the Avengers and kidnapped Pepper Potts and that Natasha Romanoff! Do you even know what that damn Qin Xiao's nickname is here? Madman! A madman who can take on an entire army single-handedly! Of all people to mess with, you had to go and mess with him!"
The vice president wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, took a few deep breaths, and then continued.
"I regret making this deal with you now. Your actions will kill us all!"
"You're giving those outlandish clowns a bit too much credit. The Avengers? They're nothing to me. Besides, I'm arresting people for you. You know our product isn't stable enough; the success rate is far too low. Is there a better experimental subject than an Avengers trained in the Red Room?"
"Moreover, we still have Pepper Potts. In a critical moment, we have a genius scientist who can be used by us at any time. If I inject Pepper with the Extremis Virus, then Tony Stark will have to step in and help us solve that damn overheating problem."
"My dear Vice President, you wouldn't want your little princess to suddenly explode while playing with the dog in the garden after she's finally got a pair of healthy legs, would you?"
"To be honest, if it weren't for this crucial moment, I'd be happy to wait for those clowns to come knocking on our door!"
When his daughter was mentioned, the vice president fell silent.
The other party wasn't in a hurry; they were just waiting for him to speak.
A full half minute passed before the vice president carefully inquired about what had happened before hanging up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, the vice president made two more calls before straightening his clothes and expression and stepping back into the Oval Office.
"We directly investigated all surveillance equipment on more than thirty streets surrounding the China Grand Theatre. Interestingly, nearly half of the surveillance equipment in the monitoring rooms was blank during the hour following today's explosion!"
"I don't believe in such a coincidence. The only explanation is that someone has erased all traces and doesn't want us to find them!"
"Also, bosses, I need the ' Widow ' to share intelligence and have some command authority, to keep a close eye on everything that's happening outside, and to try to find Natasha and Miss Potts ' whereabouts as soon as possible."
Agent Hill, who was recruited by Hawkeye, joined the Avengers on Hawkeye's advice and took on intelligence work.
"Although there's no news about them yet, there's some good news!"
As Agent Hill spoke, he took out a tablet and played a video.
The video shows a Middle East man with a long beard, clearly of Muslim descent, claiming responsibility for the bombing at the China Grand Theatre.
The video editing was chaotic, showing scenes of him praying for some Muslim children, and also scenes of him shooting a rifle directly through a photo of the United States president.
The final shot is a close-up of the man, who speaks to the camera with a defiant tone.
" Qin Xiao, Tony Stark, Avengers, superheroes, you claim to have saved the world, but this time... let's see if you two can rescue the women you love!"
"Damn bastard!"
Tony slammed his fist on the table, then looked at Qin Xiao.
"Don't look at me, the scene is too messy, and there's no specific address, otherwise I would have already opened a wormhole and gone there!"
Qin Xiao was clearly annoyed. He was telling the truth; although he knew from the beginning that Killian was behind it, he had no idea of Killian's exact location.
Just as Qin Xiao and his group were at a loss in the Sky Base, the hospital called to say that Happy had woken up. Although he was seriously injured, he was finally out of danger.
Tony immediately took Qin Xiao to the hospital.
A large number of reporters surrounded the hospital entrance. Qin Xiao and Tony were immediately surrounded by a dense crowd of reporters as soon as they appeared.
" Mr. Qin, Mr. Stark, what do you have to say about the Mandarin's terrorist attack? Are you confident you can rescue your girlfriends?"
" The Mandarin has already announced several explosions. Will the Avengers launch a full-scale war against him?"
"If they use hostages to force you to kill innocent people or plan terrorist attacks, will you compromise?"
Countless microphones were practically shoved into their mouths.
Just as Tony was about to explode, Qin Xiao snatched the microphone from some reporter and crushed it to pieces in front of everyone.
"I'm in a very bad mood right now, extremely bad. I honestly don't know if I'll give in, but I do know that if I lose control in my anger and accidentally kill a few reporters, will the police issue a warrant for my arrest?"
Qin Xiao's eyes turned cold, and the surrounding reporters quickly stepped back several paces.
"We will definitely rescue them. I want to warn the terrorists who did this: you are a bunch of cowards, useless trash, and weaklings who only know how to kidnap women. If you want to challenge the authority of the Avengers, come to our base. I'll be waiting for you here!"
Qin Xiao waved his hand towards the sky, and a huge wormhole appeared in mid-air, directly connecting the Sky Base from New York to Los Angeles, hovering less than a thousand meters above the ground.
Sky Base is visible from anywhere in Los Angeles.
"Do you know the difference between us? We are tigers, visible to the whole world, yet no one dares to challenge us head-on. You are just a bunch of rats hiding in the shadows, without even the courage to show your faces!"