บท 123: Chapter 118
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"This is quite embarrassing indeed," Tony Stark couldn't help but exclaim aloud.
The fact that they were nearly annihilated before the war even began was indeed a sorry sight to behold.
To the extent that Iron Man, merely by reading the spoilers in a journal, could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment.
That was truly humiliating.
With his intelligence, Tony Stark was being played around by Loki?
Indeed, he lives up to his name as the god of mischief!
Moreover, from this latest spoiler, Tony Stark also uncovered a crucial piece of intelligence.
Loki was not only skilled in deceit and manipulation; he also possessed the means to control the minds of others!
This called for extreme caution.
Iron Man didn't want to find himself, come the actual Battle of New York, puppeteered by Loki like Hawkeye Barton, almost bringing the Helicarrier to ruin.
Wait a moment, the Helicarrier!
Tony Stark wasn't aware that humanity had such a contraption at its disposal?
On second thought, Iron Man wasn't surprised. After all, who doesn't have a hidden card up their sleeve?
It wasn't strange for the government to silently prepare a big move.
"It seems Bruce Banner should also be a member of the original Avengers," deduced the figure in front of another journal, who was none other than Fury.
Tony Stark might be unaware of the Helicarrier, but Fury clearly knew all about it – a secret project of SHIELD, essentially a mobile airborne base.
How the Hulk almost destroyed the Helicarrier under Loki's manipulative schemes was unknown to Fury, but one thing was certain.
Bruce Banner must have boarded the Helicarrier alongside other Avengers from early on.
Then at some point, he was triggered by Loki's plots to transform.
After all, the probability of Loki throwing an already-transformed Hulk onto the Helicarrier was just too slim.
It didn't align with Loki's reputation as a god of deception, nor did it make any logical sense.
So why would Bruce Banner be on SHIELD's Helicarrier?
The journal had already provided the answer: Bruce Banner was part of the Avengers, and that was without question.
But why original?
The journal mentioned earlier that after Loki stole the Tesseract, Fury gathered the Avengers, but they did not get along at first.
They bickered and argued until Coulson's death finally united them in cooperation.
Undoubtedly, this described an event that took place aboard the Helicarrier and during the early days of the Avengers.
Thus, Bruce Banner's status as an original Avenger was not in question.
Not only that.
After some thought, Fury concluded that Loki managed to outmaneuver the Avengers partly because the team was not yet well-coordinated.
So Nick Fury began contemplating an essential question.
A team that has not been properly integrated can hardly be called a true team.
Having learned from the journal's examples, Fury wouldn't be caught unprepared.
It was clear that an opportunity to properly integrate the Avengers was needed before the arrival of their critical moment.
Luckily, the occasion in New Mexico was just the perfect opportunity!
As for Black Widow outsmarting Loki in deception and intrigue, that had taken Fury by surprise.
Nick Fury admitted that Black Widow was one of the finest agents he had met, but Loki was a god!
The god of mischief.
Shouldn't he be the grandmaster of deception?
Why else be dubbed the god of mischief?
Yet this prestigious entity had his wits outmatched by Black Widow!
This made Fury doubt – was Black Widow just outstandingly competent, or was Loki not living up to his reputation?
Moreover, when Captain America was wanted by SHIELD, Black Widow chose to trust him and they uncovered the truth together.
They revealed that SHIELD had become something else – Hydra in disguise!
In the end, alongside Captain America, Falcon, Nick Fury, and Agent Hill, they dismantled the Insight project.
They even destroyed the entirety of SHIELD – oh, I mean Hydra, within SHIELD.
While this did create complications that led to the rift between Captain America and Iron Man, considering the circumstances, Black Widow had done well.
They, with only a handful of people, managed to completely dismantle the gargantuan entity known as Hydra!
Captain America wanted by SHIELD?
Tony Stark was momentarily surprised, then quickly realized the truth.
That order must have been given by Hydra, not SHIELD.
Considering Captain America's influence among the public, his arrest by any organization would undoubtedly cause a major uproar.
Yet, Hydra proceeded with it anyway.
This reflected the alarming level of power and control Hydra had amassed over the years, lying dormant within SHIELD.
Indeed, the diary then immediately provided the answer: at that time, SHIELD was no longer SHIELD but had become infiltrated by Hydra.
No, this was not an issue that arose overnight; Hydra's infiltration of SHIELD was a meticulous and prolonged process.
Even now, SHIELD was already filled with Hydra!
One thing puzzled Tony Stark, though – Hydra ordered Captain America's capture, and Nick Fury agreed?
Was it a plot by Hydra to frame Captain America?
Or was it all a setup by Captain America and Nick Fury?
No, neither!
Tony Stark quickly dismissed those seemingly obvious conjectures.
What came to mind was another key factor.
Hydra, due to the Insight project, had dispatched the Winter Soldier and almost succeeded in killing Nick Fury!
And according to the journal, Captain America's capture by SHIELD occurred during this same period.
Therefore, Nick Fury was neither fooled by Hydra nor conspiring with Captain America; he had fallen out with Hydra.
And after being ousted effectively by Hydra from SHIELD, he could only watch as they acted unchecked.
"Hill!" Nick Fury called out, his mind stirring in front of the other journal.
After Coulson, Hawkeye Barton, and Black Widow, the notebook has finally "verified" another SHIELD agent.
Since Hill was involved in the sabotage of Project Insight and the destruction of Hydra, it is obvious that she was not a Hydra agent.
In an instant.
Agent Hill's level of trust in Nick Fury's mind rose significantly.
To the same level as Coulson, Barton, and Black Widow.
However, there is one thing that Fury still could not comprehend.
How did these few individuals manage to destroy the colossal Hydra?
Is such a feat even possible?
Even for a master spy like Nick Fury, he couldn't fathom how this was done for quite some time.
The notebook even mentioned that the actions of Black Widow and others in destroying Hydra led to the fallout between Iron Man and Captain America!
How did Stark get involved now?
Was Stark part of this operation?
What exactly led to the division between Iron Man and Captain America?
The fact that the word "fallout" is used suggests a significant conflict between the two.
And Iron Man and Captain America are two pillars of the Avengers.
Their fallout would undoubtedly have a massive impact on the entire Avengers, possibly even causing the team to split.
Although Fury is unclear about the specifics, he has decided that he must prevent such an event from happening!
[After the Infinity War, the Avengers were in disarray, changing their paths, with only Black Widow steadfast in her duty.]
[Stark returned to his family, caring for nothing but his own life.]
[Captain America also came to terms with it, attending support groups and continuing his daily life.]
[Hawkeye became Ronin, indulging in killing mobsters to vent his rage.]
[Captain Marvel, as always, protected the universe, hardly caring for Earth.]
[Only Black Widow persevered, trying to find a way to revive half of Earth's population.]
Infinity War?
Tony Stark immediately etched the phrase deep into his memory.
This "Infinity War" is a new battle explicitly mentioned in the notebook after the Battle of New York and the Endgame.
Though there are no details about the Infinity War in the notebook, one could imagine its scale by the reaction of the Avengers afterward.
Iron Man has returned home, Captain America has made peace, and Hawkeye seems to have fallen.
The responses vary, but one thing is common.
They have all avoided it!
What does this mean?
This indicates that the cruelty of the Infinity War made even the likes of Tony Stark, Captain America, and Hawkeye Barton completely abandon hope.
Wait a minute!
As Stark's thoughts raced, his gaze fell on the phrase "bring back half of Earth's population," and he was struck hard by the realization.
It's about half of Earth's people!
What does that entail?
Billions of people!
So this first-mentioned "Infinity War" resulted in the death of half of Earth's population?
No wonder!
No wonder it struck incredibly hard heroes, including Tony himself.
Such cruelty is unbearable for anyone.
Even Tony Stark thinks it's remarkable that the superheroes haven't gone insane from it.
But compared to that, the fact that Black Widow still has not given up and continues to persist is impressive indeed!
Even the impressive Tony Stark has to admit this.
"Half of Earth's population?"
"Half?"
And soon, Tony Stark's expression changed subtly.
The notebook had previously mentioned that Thanos had wiped out half of all life in the universe!
The death of half of Earth's people fits this description, doesn't it?
So, was the battle where Thanos wiped out half of the universe's beings the Infinity War?
How was it achieved?
How did Thanos accomplish this feat?
What method did he use to kill half of all life in the universe?
Tony Stark clenched his fist slightly, barely containing a surge of emotions, his mind racing to understand.
Unfortunately, without the necessary information, he could not come to a definite conclusion.
[It was also because of Black Widow's perseverance and her daily presence at the base that Ant-Man finally arrived.]
[Otherwise, the half of Earth's population that was wiped out would never have been able to return.]
[So, those who survived the "Snap" really owe Ant-Man.]
[Who would have thought that a criminal who had been to prison, a thief, would one day become a savior?]
[Speaking of which, Ant-Man should still be in prison right now, right? He hasn't been released yet, has he?]
"Ant-Man?"
Nick Fury's gaze sharpened, and his face could not help but reveal a hint of surprise.
While the notebook did not specify, it was pretty clear that it was Ant-Man who revived half of Earth's population!
Success!
Reviving the dead was indeed accomplished by someone in the future!
Fury had been secretly working on a top-secret project called "Tahiti," which was to research how to revive dead SHIELD agents.
But the project was flawed, causing mental instability and severe pain.
So, in a strict sense, it was imperfect, and many inside wanted to halt the project.
Fury had not expected Ant-Man to overcome this challenge in the future.
But even so, reviving billions of Earth's deceased is inconceivable!
Even if the Tahiti project was perfected and ready for use, it couldn't achieve this level.
So, how did Ant-Man do it?
Also, "the Snap," is a new term.
But judging by the context, it likely refers to the revival of half of Earth's population.
Nothing hard to understand or to concern oneself with there.
But a criminal? A thief?
When has Hank Pym ever committed a crime or been a thief?
Especially the part about him still being in prison; that's even more unbelievable.
The current Hank Pym is a business magnate, after all.
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