Chapter 86: The Final Battle with the Hand Clan

Three days later.

Gloves and clubs were indeed fine things, with far too many uses.

As one of the most renowned weapon masters in the world, Old Wang had spent the past three days getting acquainted with them, and at last he had figured out when and how to use clubs, spearheads, embedded ropes, nine-section whips, electric shocks, and the like. In his heart, his admiration for Fitz and Simmons only deepened.

Those two young scientists truly were exceptional. Even in World of Warcraft, they could outclass most gnomish and goblin engineers by a wide margin, and earning the title of Great Artisan would be no problem.

How could such people be wasted in S.H.I.E.L.D.?

The geniuses of the world, into my jar!

As he was thinking this, his phone suddenly rang.

“Egghead? How rare. What does he want with me?”

Egghead was busy enough. As director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a U.S. general, what free time did he have to chat with an ordinary person like him?

At first, the one handling contact with him had been Coulson; now it was Black Widow. How did he have time all of a sudden? Had he become so bored that he wanted to snatch the title of “Marvel Newbie Village Chief”?

He answered.

A roar, held back by fury, nearly pierced Old Wang’s eardrums. “Tell me why Fitz and Simmons resigned!”

Old Wang blinked.

That fast?

Young people these days had real nerve. Back in my day, I didn’t even dare quit for a monthly salary of three thousand.

Quitting was great. If they quit, they could come to me!

Of course, he could not say that. Old Wang shrugged and feigned ease. “Your subordinates resigned. How should I know why? Maybe the leadership was suppressing them, maybe the pay wasn’t right, or maybe their life ambitions weren’t being met and their social value couldn’t be realized?”

Egghead gave a heavy snort.

He had not cared at all about the two trainees who had just applied to graduate. S.H.I.E.L.D. was not a terrorist organization; it was a proper government agency. Resignation was no issue, as long as they signed a confidentiality agreement.

But half an hour ago, the head of the science department had personally rushed into his office with two resignation letters, saying these two could never be allowed to leave, because they were S.H.I.E.L.D.’s future, the backbone after Ant-Man.

Only then had he realized how formidable those two really were.

But the problem was, they truly no longer wanted to work there. Not even a salary increase or promotion would do!

Thinking it over carefully, there was no reason for those two to quit. The only thing that had happened these days was their contact with Master Wang.

They must have been talked into it by him!

“Let me think. Why would you want two scientists?” Egghead pressed both hands on the desk and considered for two seconds. “You want to study spirit wine? You want them to make high-tech gear for you? No, you want them to study the Darkhold! The Darkhold is in your hands, and Kunlun has a partnership with the Ghost Rider?”

Old Wang was slightly startled. Egghead really was not stupid.

That was indeed one of my goals.

“Say it. What conditions will make them come to me?” Old Wang did not want to waste words and asked directly.

Since Egghead had called instead of simply refusing, he was clearly prepared to negotiate.

In his eyes, scientists were one thing, but even the Tesseract could be handed over, provided the benefits were sufficient or the threat was large enough. If it was to be given away, then so be it.

Wasn’t it in the end handed to Thor in the first Avengers?

“I want the research results.”

Egghead had clearly anticipated this. In a grave voice, he said, “Share the research results on the Darkhold!”

Old Wang smiled. “Fine, then I’ll share the research results on the Darkhold, and you share the research results on the Tesseract. How about that? Or we can just swap directly. You trade me the Tesseract for my Darkhold, and I won’t even want Fitz and Simmons anymore. How about it? After all, you’ve been researching it for nearly a century and still haven’t produced much, have you?”

Egghead’s face darkened.

Master Wang actually knew the Tesseract was in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s hands!

Well, the Tesseract was top secret, but it had been sixty-plus years. Too many people had come into contact with it, especially the researchers, who had been replaced by who knew how many batches. Even now, there were still hundreds of people working on it. It was normal for word to leak. Hydra surely knew long ago, and it made sense for Master Wang, or Kunlun, to know as well.

No matter how good the Darkhold was, it could not compare to the Tesseract.

Egghead was just about to raise other demands when he heard a jumble of sounds coming through the phone.

What happened?

“An earthquake,” Old Wang said, feeling the entire little shop shaking. He quickly used his vital energy to steady the shelves, or all those fragile bottles of liquor would have been ruined.

But the tremor lasted only a very short time, and it was not especially violent.

This was not a natural earthquake, but an artificial one.

Old Wang looked toward a certain building to the north, his panda eyes narrowing to slits. “Director Fury, the Hand has made its move. Bring your people over. The final battle has begun!”

Egghead’s heart stirred, and he recalled certain files on the Hand. “I want the Hand’s resurrection casket, and the last dragon bone!”

“Deal. I want Fitz and Simmons here tomorrow.”

Old Wang hung up, opened the case, and took out the titanium alloy staff and titanium alloy gloves.

He had a premonition.

The first hard battle since arriving in this world had begun.

...

...

In Manhattan, a certain skyscraper.

Deep underground.

After the violent explosion, Alexandra looked at the stone wall as the dust settled, her mood very poor.

Failed again.

This was not a stone wall, but a door, a door sealed by one of the Iron Fists. Behind it was a perfectly intact dragon bone fossil.

Even an explosion strong enough to trigger a shallow earthquake in New York could not blow open this door. Digging through it was impossible too. The power of the Iron Fist had completely sealed off the entire area, and only the Iron Fist could open the seal.

All Iron Fist power came from Shou-Lao, identical in essence. Any Iron Fist, strong or weak, would do, including the current one.

“Everyone get ready. The Immortal Iron Fist will definitely come,” Alexandra ordered, then turned toward a certain direction.

A boy of fourteen or fifteen stood there, looking calm, yet within him lurked a malignant god.

Looking at him, Alexandra quietly steeled herself:

This time, I will succeed.

I will continue to live. I will live forever!

...

...

“That’s the place.”

The black sports car came to a sudden stop. Black Widow looked at the skyscraper a hundred meters away and said in a low voice, “That’s the epicenter. Is everyone ready on all fronts?”

Voices came one after another through the earpiece:

“I’m Eric Koenig. I’ve already contacted the police and the relevant departments. Evacuation has begun.”

“I’m Barton. Snipers are in position and ready to fire at any time!”

“Recon team in position. We found enemies with grenade launchers and shoulder-fired rockets. We suspect a large quantity of explosives is hidden inside the building, threatening everyone in it. Strong assault is not recommended.”

“I’m Skye. I’ve infiltrated the building’s surveillance system. The special operations team will take my command.”

Hearing the last line, Black Widow said, “Agent Barton, the outside is yours. Special operations team, follow Skye’s command... move in!”

They had no choice but to listen.

Aside from herself, everyone in the special operations team belonged to Master Wang.

Master Wang had designated Skye as commander. Who would dare disobey?

...

...

Old Wang quickly arrived near the building. Skye’s voice came through the lower-lip implanted receiver controller.

“Wang, I’ve changed the communication frequency for you... all right, we’re on a unified channel now. Everyone listen.”

“Agent Romanoff, I’ll guide you to all the explosives. Your task is to ensure none of them are detonated.”

“Matt, Elektra, Stick, your task is to eliminate the Hand members inside the building and safeguard the innocents as much as possible.”

“Wang, you’re alone in the underground area. You’ll be facing the Hand’s Four Fingers and the Black Sky. No problem, right?”

Old Wang rolled his hands and smiled. “Just say it—where do we go in?”

Skye was silent for two seconds.

“The sewer.”