章 205: Chapter 199
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"Look at Loki, for instance, trained single-handedly by Frigga!"
"The level of the 199999 universe is unknown. For some reason, just like how Iron Man, who can fly and has many long-range attack methods, prefers close combat, the great sorcerer Loki also likes close combat."
"Apart from his illusion magic, we've never seen Loki use other magic."
"But in the main universe, he's the first-ranked sorcerer in the Nine Realms!"
"And that's universally acknowledged!"
"However, the Loki of the 199999 universe shouldn't be much different. He even exiled Odin to Earth!"
"Although Odin eventually saw through Loki's magic, this fact still speaks volumes."
"The top sorcerer in the Nine Realms, huh? As expected of my brother, Thor!"
"Although technically adopted!"
Thor couldn't help but show a big, comforting smile. Despite all the misdeeds Loki had committed, and even though the diary hinted at even more wrongdoings, Loki was still his brother!
Moreover, Thor had learned from the diary that Loki did all those things just to be his equal, nothing more.
Loki wasn't inherently evil.
Given this, Thor still acknowledged Loki as his brother. His feelings for Loki hadn't changed much; instead, he felt a bit guilty.
So when he saw his brother being so impressive, Thor genuinely felt proud.
The best sorcerer in the Nine Realms?
Not bad at all!
Though that accolade belonged to the Loki from the main universe, Thor had learned from Tony Stark and others about the traits of parallel universes.
He knew it could be a reference point.
Even in their own universe, Loki's magic must be top-notch!
"Exiling Odin?"
Thor's warm, proud smile froze, and he was momentarily stunned.
Loki exiled Odin?
His brother exiled his father?
What on earth!
What kind of crazy development was this?
Loki's magic was that powerful?
Able to exile a god like Odin?
This was his father Odin, the ruler of the Nine Realms, the All-Father, one of the universe's greatest and most powerful gods!
Even if Loki was the top sorcerer in the Nine Realms, he shouldn't be able to do that!
How could Loki be this formidable?
Of course, that wasn't the main issue. The main issue was, why did Loki exile Odin?
Had he lost his mind?
Dared to treat his father like this?
An act of great disrespect!
Thor started feeling a bit angry.
Could it be another one of Loki's pranks?
Loki had enjoyed pranking since childhood – turning into a snake to trick Thor, cutting off Sif's hair, even misbehaving in front of their parents.
But he had never gone this far.
Or was this not a prank at all, but something else entirely?
Thor fell into deep thought.
In front of another diary, Tony Stark was struck speechless.
Looking back at his past heroic career, Tony had to admit the diary's observations were spot on. He couldn't refute them.
With the most advanced and terrifying weapons on Earth at his disposal, he still preferred close combat.
Most of his battles were settled with his fists.
Only in dire situations did he use his suit's weapons.
The various weapon systems in his suit seemed just for show.
"Do I really need weapons to deal with those guys?"
"My fists are enough!"
However, Tony just shrugged indifferently.
Why use a sledgehammer to kill a fly?
Not thinking further about it, he focused back on the diary, waiting for more hints.
But after several minutes, the diary remained inactive.
Tony realized that Zhou Cheng had once again stopped writing.
Already used to it, Tony closed the diary as expected.
After a brief thought, Iron Man gave an order to Jarvis: "Contact Nick Fury."
"Calling..."
"Stark?"
Soon, Nick Fury's voice sounded in Iron Man's ear.
"Let's skip the formalities. I think you already know why I'm calling. Let's get straight to it."
"Have you collected my DNA?"
Tony bluntly questioned Nick Fury.
"Stark, you're mistaken."
Nick Fury's voice was flawless as he immediately denied it, "Perhaps another version of me did, but not me!"
"I haven't collected your or anyone else's DNA!"
If it were someone else, Tony might have believed it.
But facing someone like Nick Fury, a master spy, Tony felt it was an insult to his intelligence.
"I don't care whether you did it or not, but I want you to know, there are limits I won't tolerate being crossed!"
Tony sternly warned Nick Fury.
"You're not the only one with limits."
"Beep... beep..."
Nick Fury left Tony with these words before abruptly ending the call.
"Looks like I'll need to be even more careful with the Harvest project."
Nick Fury sighed, rubbing his temples.
First, he'd have to deal with Gravik.
Since discovering Gravik's secret actions, Fury had grown wary of him.
Fury was considering whether to remove Gravik from the Harvest project.
However, to avoid alerting Gravik, Fury had refrained from doing so, instead increasing surveillance.
After all, Gravik was the lead on the Harvest project, and replacing him suddenly would be too conspicuous.
But now, Fury couldn't ignore it any longer.
Additionally, there were Tony and Natasha, the other diary holders.
There was no concern about Black Widow.
Not only was she a subordinate, but also a seasoned agent.
The other party would definitely understand the reason for Nick Fury's actions and might even agree. However, with Tony, caution is necessary. He cannot afford to show any flaws in front of him. Considering Tony's intelligence and advanced equipment, this means Nick Fury can't collect DNA from him. Luckily, Tony's DNA isn't that important to Nick Fury. What he values most is the DNA of those super soldiers with extraordinary powers!
"Coulson."
After going through his thoughts, Nick Fury sat back in his chair and called in the ever-reliable Coulson.
"Sir, what can I do for you?" Coulson stood respectfully at Fury's desk, waiting for his boss's orders.
"There's someone I need you to investigate," Fury told Coulson. "I don't know much about her identity, but she goes by the nickname 'Quake'."
Quake?
Coulson immediately made the same assumption as Fury: she was someone capable of emitting shockwaves.
"Do we have any other information?" Coulson asked after a moment's thought, looking back at Fury.
"That's what you need to find out," Fury responded matter-of-factly.
"I'll do my best," Coulson accepted the challenge cheerfully, even though finding someone based solely on a nickname wouldn't be easy. After all, he was just doing his job.
"Oh, by the way, what about Scott?" Fury paused, recalling something, and continued questioning Coulson.
This Scott undoubtedly referred to Scott Lang. Though the future Avengers didn't disclose much to the current Avengers, they did manage to gain one crucial piece of information: they discovered Ant-Man's identity.
Without hesitation, Fury had ordered Coulson to investigate.
"This guy's quite a pity," Coulson commented. "Graduated from a prestigious university with a Master's in Electronic Engineering, worked at a top firm—he could have had a promising future."
"But later, driven by his strong sense of justice, he hacked into the company's security system to modify its source code, just to get back at those clients wronged by his former employer."
"Predictably, he got fired and blacklisted."
"After that, his life took a sharp downturn. Forced by circumstances, he turned to theft and was eventually sentenced to five years."
"He's currently serving time at San Quentin State Prison."
After a brief sigh, Coulson provided Fury with a concise report on Scott Lang's background.
"What a waste," Fury muttered, slightly taken aback. The diary indeed mentioned Ant-Man being a thief, but it never mentioned he had such a high education!
An Electronic Engineering Master turned thief—how ironic. And Ant-Man was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison? If memory serves, his old friend Frank Castle was also incarcerated there.
"From now on, keep a close watch on Scott Lang," Fury instructed. "Report any unusual activity to me immediately."
"Understood, sir!" Coulson replied promptly and went on his way.
Watching Coulson leave, Fury couldn't help but feel a pang of admiration. Loyal, hardworking, never complaining regardless of the task, highly capable, and utterly devoted. It was no wonder his counterpart in another universe chose to revive Coulson after his death.
Once Coulson was gone, Fury again fell into deep thought.
What was he contemplating?
Vision!
Vision's phenomenal power was well-documented in the diary. He was once capable of taking on the entire Avengers team single-handedly. Naturally, Fury couldn't ignore such immense strength.
Moreover, previous encounters—from the Asgardian Destroyer to Loki, and even the future Avengers—highlighted the Earth's defense limitations. These missions, though ultimately successful, relied heavily on sheer luck.
Take the Asgardian Destroyer, for instance. Without the foreknowledge from the diary and the special boost for Captain America, defeating it would have been impossible. And Loki? He single-handedly stole the Tesseract and with a simple mind-control trick nearly tore the Avengers apart. They only prevailed thanks to the intervention of Satana.
And the future Avengers? Let's not even mention Ant-Man; future Tony Stark alone was a formidable force.
Under such circumstances, Fury was desperate to enhance the Avengers' overall strength. He focused intently on the potential teammates deemed worthwhile by the diary, even those not currently official Avengers.
But unfortunately, aside from Red Guardian, there hadn't been many tangible gains so far. Either they couldn't track down specific identities, or the individuals were still ordinary people, necessitating patient waiting for the right moment.
Now, however, Fury felt it was an opportune time! The diary had detailed Vision's creation: Mind Stone plus Vibranium.
The Mind Stone was already in their possession!
And according to the diary, Earth still had Vibranium reserves. With SHIELD's extensive reach, Fury was confident he could acquire it.
In other words, the hardware conditions to create Vision were more or less in place.
What they lacked was the software: the knowledge and skills required to create Vision.
Though Fury wasn't entirely sure of Ultron's role in Vision's creation, considering Ultron intended to annihilate humanity, it was certain he wouldn't share that knowledge. Besides, Ultron didn't even exist yet.
Therefore, creating Vision would have to rely on their existing resources and personnel.
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