6:05 PM.
The top officials of the Global World Security Council were forced to return to their respective meeting rooms. Some had just gotten into their cars to go home, some had already picked up their dinners, and one unfortunate fellow was attending his daughter's birthday party. At this moment, they were all sitting at the holographic conference table, their faces increasingly grim.
Nick Fury sat in the main seat, his single eye scanning the dozen or so figures on the screen. He had been working for over twenty hours straight. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters had been demolished, the multiverse exposed, and Chen Mo had added new pressure. An ordinary person would probably be considering taking a shortcut off the building to leave work by now.
" Fury, are you conscious? S.H.I.E.L.D.. has no right to make this request."
One representative spoke first, his tone firm. "The global defense system concerns everyone's safety; we cannot relinquish supreme control."
The other person nodded.
"A joint early warning system is acceptable, but core authority must be managed by the World Security Council. What gives S.H.I.E.L.D.. the right to participate?"
Fury leaned back in his chair, offering no reply. The division of labor among these people was clear: some were vehemently opposed, some were signaling cooperation, and others were prepared to negotiate. If he were to respond to any of these remarks, the meeting would be dragged into a lengthy negotiation process.
Unfortunately, they misunderstood one thing. This plan was not proposed by S.H.I.E.L.D..
" Director Fury, you should understand what unconditionally surrendering authority means." The old man sitting on the right interlaced his fingers and said in a deep voice, "Power without oversight will eventually become a threat. Even if you can guarantee that S.H.I.E.L.D.. won't abuse it, what about that man named Chen Mo?"
"I can't guarantee that," Fury answered bluntly. The old man was taken aback, clearly not expecting him to admit it so readily.
"Just to clarify, S.H.I.E.L.D.. isn't in charge of global defense. We're only responsible for coordination. The system was designed by Stark, Dr. Banner is in charge of energy monitoring. Access is handled separately."
"What authority does Chen Mo have?"
He doesn't need permission.
The meeting room was silent for two seconds. One representative frowned, seemingly trying to find a threat in the statement, but quickly gave up. It wasn't a threat at all; it was simply stating a fact.
"In that case, we cannot agree even more," the first representative said coldly. "No individual can be above the global order. If Chen Mo attempts to coerce the Security World Security Council, we will unite all forces to sanction him."
"Sanction Chen Mo? Are you sure?"
"This is our bottom line."
Fury paused for a moment, then suddenly decided he didn't want to explain anymore. Even if you slapped the report in their faces, they would still discuss its authenticity first.
With that in mind, Fury opened another document.
"A few minutes ago, twelve observatories around the world simultaneously sent out urgent messages."
He pressed the confirm button, and the Earth projection in the center of the conference table quickly disappeared, replaced by an image of a constantly burning star.
That's the sun.
The image was specially processed to barely make out the surface of the sun. The scorching plasma surged, and prominences erupted outwards.
What's wrong with the sun?
See for yourself.
Fury zoomed in on the image, then muted the microphone.
On the screen, endless black and red matter was gushing out from the surface of the sun, covering a large area, and then twisting and piecing itself together at the star's center. In just a few seconds, an enormous smiling face appeared before everyone: two curved eyes and a wide-open mouth.
That face spanned tens of thousands of kilometers, slowly changing with the flames on the sun's surface. Even from a distance of over a hundred million kilometers, it still sent chills down one's spine.
No one spoke in the meeting room.
The representative who had previously proposed sanctions gradually lost his tough stance. He turned to his assistant, who immediately contacted the country's astronomical observation center and nodded after a moment, his face pale.
"The footage is real." Other representatives were doing the same thing. One encrypted line after another was connected and quickly disconnected, and the results from the observation stations in various locations were completely consistent. There was no image forgery or signal intrusion.
There was indeed an extra face on the sun.
"Is this Chen Mo?"
Finally, someone couldn't help but ask.
Fury turned the microphone back on. "To be precise, it's a part of him. He previously left a clone on the sun to absorb the star's energy." He paused, then added, "Don't be nervous, everyone, he seems to be in a good mood today."
Everyone stared at the smiling face spanning the sun's surface, momentarily unsure of the meaning behind this comforting statement. If you're in a good mood, Aether is still shining. But what if you're in a bad mood?
"He's threatening us!" the hardliner said through gritted teeth, though his confidence had waned considerably.
"You're overthinking it." Fury shook his head. " Chen Mo promised me he wouldn't come knocking on my door before you gave him a formal reply. He's currently on the sun, so strictly speaking, he hasn't broken his promise."
The representative opened his mouth, realizing for the first time that these words could be interpreted in this way.
At this moment, an impact warning popped up in the lower right corner of the screen. An asteroid with a diameter of several kilometers was approaching the vicinity of the sun, and according to its original trajectory, it would not affect Earth.
The black and red smiley face turned slightly.
The next second, a slender tentacle extended from the surface of the sun, traversing a vast expanse of space and striking the asteroid. There was no explosion; the asteroid shattered instantly, its fragments swept away by the dark red substance. The entire process lasted only a few seconds, as if what was shattered was not a celestial body capable of destroying all of humanity, but rather an old, stale cookie.
"..."
My God.
At the conference table, the legs of several delegates began to stiffen. The hardliners glanced down at the sanctions proposal on the table, then looked up at the sun. The proposal included economic blockade, asset freeze, global arrest warrants, and, if necessary, the use of force to eliminate the perpetrators.
He thought for a moment, then silently closed the file.
To freeze Chen Mo's assets, we first need to determine if he has a bank account. As for a military crackdown, we can send a fleet to the sun to carry it out.
Whoever wants to go can go; he's not going anyway.
"Regarding the Joint Defense Plan, I think it's worth reconsidering," one representative said, changing their tune first. "The threat from the multiverse concerns all of humanity; we should put aside our differences and improve the efficiency of our cooperation."
The person next to him quickly nodded. "I agree, but the allocation of permissions still needs to be discussed."
The black and red smiling face rotated again, seemingly looking at them through the observation equipment. The man stiffened and immediately added, "Of course, special times call for special measures. I support an unconditional handover."
Fury didn't urge them; he simply brought up the voting page. Soon, the first green indicator lit up, followed by the second and the third. The representatives, who had just been preparing to negotiate, now displayed unprecedented efficiency, pressing the "agree" button in less than half a minute.
It passed unanimously.
Looking at the neat green signs, Fury suddenly understood why Chen Mo had only given him this much time.
Meetings do take time, but notifications are unnecessary.
"Very good, the relevant agreements will be sent later." Fury stood up and turned off the live feed of the sun. "Thank you all for your cooperation. Today's meeting is adjourned."
No one raised any objections.
At 6:10 PM, the transfer of the highest global defense authority was completed. The matter was successfully concluded.