Chapter 112: Losing Both the Treasure and the Troops

Upon hearing Old Wang’s words, Nick Fury instantly bristled. "Who did you hear that from?"

How could such a top-secret plan have leaked? Well, perhaps it wasn't exactly *top-secret*. With so many people involved, a leak was to be expected. Furthermore, he had a world-class hacker living right under his nose—someone who broke through S.H.I.E.L.D.’s firewalls three times a day, "cucking" the agency more times than he could count. Aside from a few core secrets that remained unknown to most, S.H.I.E.L.D. was like a beauty in a thin veil to Fatty Wang; not only was everything visible, but it was also quite a thrill. He just hoped the final "black forest" remained unbreached, or Fury would be ready to jump into a river.

The Helicarrier, a project that had cost tens of billions of dollars, had only been put on the agenda in recent years. It had barely passed the Security Council, and Pierce had had to talk his way through to secure half the funding, with the other half relying entirely on back-alley deals. If not for his thick skin, the black director wouldn't have been able to stomach it.

As important as the Winter Soldier was, he couldn't compare to the Helicarrier.

*Fatty Wang, you’ve gone too far!*

The Winter Soldier was still lacking. If you could resurrect Captain America and bring him into S.H.I.E.L.D., I’d give you a Helicarrier without batting an eye... No, that wouldn't work either; Pierce would eat me alive!

"Just kidding. I really haven't seen the Winter Soldier. Anyway, I’m actually out for my morning jog. Bye."

Old Wang hung up the phone and picked up his pace.

On the other end, Fury was so angry he wanted to smash his phone. It was clear that Fatty Wang intended to keep the Obelisk for himself, and he likely knew its secrets. *Fine, we can negotiate. You keep the Obelisk, but give me the Winter Soldier, deal?*

Fury paced back and forth, then suddenly made up his mind. He headed downstairs, got into his director’s vehicle, and sped toward the Azeroth Specialty Store.

...

*Chi-Dragon Strike!*
*Soaring Dragon in the Sky!*

Old Wang moved rapidly, appearing behind the Winter Soldier and slamming a palm into his back.

*Tiger Palm!*

The Winter Soldier stumbled, the immense force driving him forward as the internal energy surged into his body, relentlessly destroying his vitality. Realizing he couldn't escape, the Winter Soldier turned to fight. With his metal arm gone, he could only resort to hand-to-hand combat, but he was quickly overwhelmed. Old Wang landed a heavy punch square in his face; attacked in both mind and body, the Winter Soldier collapsed limply to the ground.

"You went down before I even used my full strength?"

Old Wang sighed. The Winter Soldier was truly one of the weakest superheroes in the MCU—he couldn't beat Captain America, nor could he best Black Panther. His strength was at most a cut above Black Widow or Hawkeye. If he ran into the Hulk or Thor, he’d be nothing but a punching bag, barely lasting a single round.

Recalling the power rankings from his past life, Old Wang couldn't help but chuckle. If it came to nonsensical power scaling, aside from Chinese web novels, he only respected Marvel. From Omniversal and Megaversal levels down to Universal, Skyfather, and Earth-god tiers, the power gap was so ineffable that, until the moment Old Wang transmigrated, the cinematic universe hadn't even produced a single entity of universal level. Even the Skyfathers were far weaker than their comic counterparts. If you really counted it up, most of the Avengers were merely "Earth-level"—and not even Earth-god level; only Thor truly qualified as a god.

In terms of the cinematic universe’s superheroes, Old Wang preferred a different classification. Daredevil and the Punisher were street-level heroes; Spider-Man was a city-level hero; Black Widow and Hawkeye fell somewhere in between. Above them were the likes of Thor, the Hulk, and Doctor Strange—the Earth-god tier. The Winter Soldier was barely on par with Spider-Man; if they actually fought, the outcome would be miserable for him—Little Spidey could shoot webbing all over his face.

Old Wang no longer had any interest in such opponents.

"Thor hasn't descended to Earth yet, but the Hulk... maybe I should consider meeting him." Old Wang nodded to himself. With the Winter Soldier already "in the bowl," he was already eyeing the Hulk "in the pot," while keeping Thor in the "vegetable market" in the back of his mind.

He grabbed the Winter Soldier and threw him over his shoulder, then activated his "Teleportation" spell. A flash of magical light shimmered.

Old Wang returned to Chinatown.

It was still deep night in New York, three or four in the morning, and the streets were practically empty. Carrying the Winter Soldier, he didn't head to the Azeroth Specialty Store but instead went to Robbie’s apartment, where he chained him up and tossed him into a freezer to keep him cold.

He then ran back to the Azeroth Specialty Store.

Two hundred meters away, he saw a Chevrolet SUV parked out front. Fury, draped in his black trench coat, stepped out of the car. He froze as he looked at the slightly chubby figure jogging toward him:

*Fatty Wang was actually out for a morning jog? Or does this world really have a way to teleport?*

After all, even a Quinjet would take an hour to make that trip!

"Director Fury, here for a surprise inspection so early?"

Old Wang jogged up to Fury, wiped away the sweat he had painstakingly squeezed out, and smiled. "Are you hunting the Winter Soldier? Did you catch him? Do you need my help? Don't worry, it's free of charge this time."

Fury looked him up and down.

No blood, no wounds, not even a hair out of place, no dirt on his clothes—only the thick scent of sweat. It all seemed normal. But something felt wrong.

"Just passing by, thought I'd check on you."

Fury didn't know if Old Wang was putting on an act. The man’s skin was even thicker than his own; there was no way to tell from his expression. Even if he was lying, there was nothing to be done if the man refused to admit it. He couldn't beat him in a fight, and the "special individuals" under Wang’s command were more numerous than anything S.H.I.E.L.D. had accumulated over the years.

Agent Romanoff had just called to say she had reached the forest but lost the Winter Soldier’s trail; perhaps he had escaped. There was no way to confirm. *I hope Fatty Wang finished him off.* A dead Winter Soldier was better than one in the hands of Hydra.

Thinking of this, Fury felt slightly better. Overall, this was a win for S.H.I.E.L.D. because Hydra had suffered much more. Not only had they failed to secure the Obelisk, but they had also lost so many deep-cover agents within S.H.I.E.L.D., including "Crossbones," who held a high security clearance and rank. By following the trail, they would surely be able to root out many more infiltrators. Most importantly, Hydra might have even lost their ultimate weapon, the "Winter Soldier"—how embarrassing for them.

*It’s not about being worse than others, it’s about comparing yourself to them.* Compared to Hydra, Fury felt like he had come out on top. He exchanged a few words with Old Wang and turned to leave. With such a massive incident having occurred, he was a busy man today; he didn't have time to waste here. He certainly wouldn't admit that he just didn't want to look at Fatty Wang’s punchable face any longer.

"Take care, won't see you out."

Old Wang waved goodbye, went inside, locked the door, and winked at Skye.

"Did you get the Obelisk?"

Skye was clearly still thinking about what Old Wang had told her earlier and quickly asked, "You said the Obelisk is my future—what exactly did you mean?"

"Exactly as it sounds. With it, your future is no longer just a dream."

Old Wang took out the case and smashed it open with a punch, revealing the high-tech-looking Obelisk inside. He smiled and asked, "Do you remember what I told you about the three great empires of the universe?"