A faint blue light flowed slowly through the underground laboratory.
Tony stared at the Space Stone in Chen Mo's hand, his eyes shining.
The moment the Tesseract shattered, his armored detector recorded terrifying fluctuations in spatial energy. For a genius scientist, nothing is more intriguing than this unknown energy.
" Chen Mo, can I talk to you about something?"
Tony rubbed his hands together and took another half step forward.
"Could you use your ability to conjure things out of thin air on this blue cube? Just a couple more copies for me to slice and study. The price is negotiable."
Chen Mo toyed with the Space Stone in his hand, as if he were tossing an ordinary coin.
"Two or three yuan? You can't even get one yuan, okay?"
"Don't lie to me."
Tony curled his lip. "You were in my lab yesterday, conjuring up an entire Vibranium out of thin air. And now you're telling me this thing can't be replicated?"
Fury, who was standing next to him, froze instantly.
Vibranium?
S.H.I.E.L.D.. recently went to great lengths to obtain some Vibranium scraps from the black market for experiments. But Chen Mo and Stark, on the other hand, just started calculating it as a mountain.
No wonder the new armor sets in Stark Tower are getting more and more extravagant; they're all made of super materials.
Fury immediately shamelessly stepped forward.
"Mr. Chen Mo, S.H.I.E.L.D.. is currently in a rebuilding phase and its defense resources are extremely scarce. Since you can replicate Vibranium, why not sign a strategic cooperation agreement with S.H.I.E.L.D.."
He paused for a moment, then offered his utmost sincerity.
Name your terms.
"Not interested."
Chen Mo refused very decisively.
He looked Fury up and down, his gaze finally settling on Fury's shiny bald head.
"But if you really want it, I can provide a personalized service for free."
Fury frowned slightly.
"Personalized customization service? What's that?"
"I can replicate 20,000 hair follicles for you."
Chen Mo said earnestly, "I guarantee you'll grow thick, black hair within a week, and you won't even need to buy conditioner anymore. How about that?"
Fury's face was as black as a black man's.
This guy's mouth is really damn rude.
"Don't confuse this with Vibranium."
Chen Mo ignored Fury's resentment and continued, "Copying Vibranium is just changing the material structure; at most, it's a physically demanding task."
He held the gem in his hand, and blue light flowed slowly between his fingers.
"But this thing represents one of the fundamental rules of the universe. Trying to replicate it using the ability to Matter Transmutation is about the same as trying to mold the sun out of mud."
With Chen Mo's current abilities, he is indeed not yet able to touch upon the level of the fundamental laws of the universe.
Tony understood and sighed regretfully.
It seems the plan to study the slides has been temporarily shelved.
"Whatever it is, it shouldn't be in your hands!"
Steve remained in a fighting stance, shield held against his chest.
He couldn't understand the thoughts of the people in front of him.
They showed no respect whatsoever for a dangerous weapon that nearly destroyed the world; instead, they were discussing how to replicate it, how to slice it, and how to conduct experiments.
You're playing with fire!
Steve said sternly, "This must be quarantined immediately. No one is allowed to possess it. Hand it over!"
Chen Mo sighed deeply, then rolled his eyes.
"I said, Director."
He ignored Steve and looked directly at Fury.
"Get that 70-year-old tape recorder out of your hands right now. It's giving me a headache from all the noise."
Chen Mo shook the gem in his hand.
"While I'm still in the mood to reason with him, I'd better make him disappear immediately. Otherwise, I really will shove him back into the Arctic Ocean ice."
Fury could see, of course, that Chen Mo's patience was almost exhausted.
If Steve continues to persist, this place could very well become a battlefield between S.H.I.E.L.D.. and Chen Mo today—no, the starting point for Chen Mo's Carnage of S.H.I.E.L.D..
That would have been an absolute disaster.
Fury turned around and looked at Steve.
"Team leader."
Steve didn't turn around; his shield remained in front of him.
Fury lowered his voice.
Peggy Carter.
Steve stopped moving.
She's still alive.
The air in the laboratory seemed to freeze.
Steve froze, slowly turned around, and stared intently at Fury.
Peggy.
That girl in military uniform, always courageous and resolute.
The girl he still owes a dance to.
She is still alive.
In this completely unfamiliar Afterlife, he was not alone.
Steve knew perfectly well that Fury was blatantly trying to change the subject and get rid of him. But this open scheme was too deadly for him to refuse.
In fact, he had just woken up from the ice and was not very familiar with these new things, so he had no chance of winning if he tried to take them by force.
Veterans are not afraid of death, but they will not die meaninglessly.
He needs time to understand this new era called 2010.
Steve took a deep breath.
Click.
The Stars and Stripes shield was hung back on the back.
He suppressed his hostility and walked towards the elevator without saying a word.
"Chief, I'm responsible for taking the team leader back for a full checkup!"
Coulson shouted and immediately followed.
This is Captain America, after all.
A living, breathing Captain America.
It has body temperature, can breathe, and can walk.
Coulson was so excited he could barely stand. Even buying a complete set of rare Captain America cards back then didn't give him even a fraction of the excitement he felt now.
Inside the elevator.
Coulson glanced at Steve furtively, trying to keep his expression serious.
"Captain, don't worry too much about the sense of disorientation brought about by the new era. I have prepared the most detailed briefing on the world situation in the last seventy years."
As he spoke, Coulson glanced at the captain again.
"I will explain everything to you, from post-World War II history to technological advancements. If you wish to see Ms. Carter, S.H.I.E.L.D.. can arrange a medical plane immediately."
Steve turned his head to look at the agent who had been unusually agitated since earlier.
In this place filled with dangerous machinery and bizarre forces, Coulson seems to be the only one who displays normal goodwill.
"Thanks."
"It's my honor, Captain!"
Coulson stood ramrod straight, almost losing control of himself.
bite.
The elevator doors slowly closed, finally shutting out the fanatical gaze that seemed to pierce through Steve.
The underground laboratory fell silent again.
The moment the elevator doors closed completely, Fury's patience and helplessness vanished.
He turned around, his remaining single eye fixed intently on Chen Mo.
"Now, all the bystanders have left."
Fury strode up to Chen Mo, his voice low and cold.
"You asked me to get the captain away just now, it wasn't just because you thought he was too talkative."
Chen Mo tossed the Space Stone into the air and caught it steadily.
What do you want to ask?
"You said before that this thing is an uncontrolled two-way portal."
Fury stared at the blue gem.
"What kind of alien army would follow the coordinates of the Tesseract to attack Earth?"