Chapter 195
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"Heh, Zhou Cheng, is there really something you don't know?"
Tony's lips curved up involuntarily in a teasing and mocking smile. Zhou Cheng, who had always known the future and even the lives of everyone present, wasn't all-knowing after all?
Thor didn't just come; he had left long ago, bringing Loki along with him.
Still, Zhou Cheng got one thing right: the Battle of New York was indeed prevented in advance. New York should be grateful, thanks to these diary holders, and of course, thanks to Zhou Cheng, a terrible disaster was averted.
Coulson, too, avoided being tragically stabbed to death by Loki...
Wait a minute!
What?
Tony's eyes suddenly widened slightly, and he couldn't conceal his surprise.
In that other parallel world, after Coulson was killed by Loki, he was actually revived by SHIELD? SHIELD had that kind of capability?
Tony had to admit, this spoiler genuinely shocked him. Reviving the dead broke the boundaries between life and death! No matter how you looked at it, this wasn't something an organization on SHIELD's level could achieve.
Even up till now, according to what Tony knew from the diary's spoilers, only using the Infinity Stones to snap could achieve something like this. But that was the Infinity Stones! Even the snap couldn't bring back everyone, for instance, Black Widow who was sacrificed for the Soul Stone couldn't be revived.
But now, SHIELD could do it?
You've got to be kidding!
The diary clearly stated that SHIELD revived Coulson, who died in the Battle of New York. Was that to say SHIELD could already achieve such feats? Nick Fury, that guy, had such terrifying means up his sleeve?
"Tahiti Project!"
Nick Fury, in front of another diary, had a gleam in his only eye. He naturally knew what Satan was referring to.
While the Tahiti Project indeed startled Tony, Fury himself knew better. The Tahiti Project was far from perfect, with a success rate of less than a pathetic ten percent theoretically. The process brought immense pain, often described as a hellish experience.
This was exactly why Coulson begged everyone to kill him—the pain from the Tahiti Project was excruciating.
However, in that other universe, the Tahiti Project successfully revived Coulson despite low odds. Clearly, Coulson was quite fortunate!
But then, what's up with Coulson's squad?
Going by the diary's tone, Coulson had recruited and formed his team. Currently, Coulson didn't have that authority. Could it be Fury, in the other world, authorized it? It made sense and wasn't worth overthinking for Fury. His attention soon shifted to another name—Quake.
Undoubtedly, she must possess extraordinary powers. The term "quake" explained everything—a hero capable of emitting shockwaves, one of the most destructive and domineering forms of attacks.
Seeing the nickname "Quake," Fury subconsciously took her seriously, assuming she must be very powerful. Yet he had not expected her to be extraordinarily, unbelievably strong—capable of shaking the Earth itself!
Too strong! Translated, it meant Quake was a planet-destroying powerhouse. If he recalled correctly, even Danvers needed her binary form to reach that level, and there were no known mutants in their world, meaning Danvers couldn't achieve that.
But compared to Quake's immense strength, another detail caught Fury's attention: She was a SHIELD agent, not an Avenger.
Whether Danvers or the Avengers, Fury could command them, but they were still their own masters before him. If happy, they'd cooperate; if not, he'd be powerless to compel them, especially Danvers, who wouldn't bother with minor issues. Fury had limited control over these superheroes, and it frustrated him.
Faced with this reality, what could Fury do? They weren't SHIELD agents. But now, learning that SHIELD would have such a formidable superhero agent was wonderful news for Fury. He decided immediately: he had to find Quake.
But there was one thing. The claim about Quake shattering the Earth—was it an exaggerated description of her strength, or did she really do that in the future? From the diary's tone, both seemed possible, but Fury couldn't determine which was true.
"Maybe I'm overthinking. Even if Coulson's fate remains unchanged, Quake might not join SHIELD because her involvement was due to investigating the Centipede organization! But now, with Killian wiped out and Extremis not even surfacing, Hydra won't produce their knock-off Centipede Virus. The Centipede organization, one could say, has been nipped in the bud."
Centipede organization? Tony's brow furrowed instantly. Not to judge a book by its cover, but the name "Centipede organization" didn't sound legitimate.
After all, a name can reflect the characteristics and nature of an organization. And what about Centipede? It's a kind of poisonous insect that people are even afraid to look at! This is not a good symbol at all. Looking further, Iron Man's guess was confirmed. It turns out that the Centipede organization was created by Hydra and is a low-grade version of the Extremis virus. So Tony knew exactly what the Centipede organization was. Without a doubt, it was an attempt by Hydra to replicate the Extremis warriors. Given the current situation, all the Extremis warriors, except for the few detained by Nick Fury, have been eliminated by Satan. Hydra, too, is no longer the Hydra it once was, with its leader now an undercover agent for Nick Fury!
Given this perspective, the issue of the Centipede organization doesn't seem worth worrying about. This organization is unlikely to reappear.
[But you never know.]
[Given Fury's personality, I wouldn't be surprised if he's secretly researching the Extremis virus. Bringing back the Centipede organization wouldn't be shocking.]
[It's not that I have a bias against Fury, but he did come up with the Harvest plan!]
[Not only did he collect the DNA of all superheroes, but he didn't spare the Extremis virus either!]
[If not for research, why would Fury do this?]
[Seriously, the Harvest plan is grand; not only did they collect the DNA of all superheroes on Earth, but also of the interstellar ones, both heroes and villains.]
[Mantis, Groot, Drax the Destroyer from the Guardians of the Galaxy, and even Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian from the Black Order were collected.]
[The battle when G'iah and Gravik turned into Super Skrulls was basically a showcase of cosmic hero abilities.]
[So exaggerated!]
Tony: "..."
Just when Iron Man had decided not to worry about the Centipede organization, he got metaphorically slapped in the face. Nick Fury actually carried out a "Harvest plan"? He had been secretly collecting the DNA of all superheroes all along! What is Fury trying to achieve with this! Tony's brows furrowed slightly, feeling a surge of anger. Fury's actions were completely beyond Tony's tolerance. After all, who would want to be someone else's guinea pig? Tony had initially improved his opinion of Fury when he gave up researching the Cosmic Cube. But now, it seemed Tony had let his guard down too much concerning Fury!
Of course, from a rational perspective, Tony somewhat understood Fury's actions. Fury's actions had two main goals:
One, much like Batman, to be prepared for all superheroes. Those with extraordinary powers are potential threats. To be on the safe side, Nick Fury needs ways to deal with these potential threats.
Two, Nick Fury was likely trying to replicate the superheroes' superpowers, attempting to control that immense power! Besides strategic necessity, Fury's actions probably also contained his personal ambition.
With Tony's intelligence, seeing through the logic behind Fury's behavior wasn't hard. He knew that actually, Fury's actions had a certain rationality. Especially from Fury's perspective as the director of SHIELD. But understanding it logically is one thing, accepting it emotionally is another! No way would Tony ever allow his DNA to fall into Fury's hands!
But Fury's plan was extensive! He didn't even spare those extraordinary beings in the galaxy? "Groot!" The name made Tony's heart skip a beat. So this "Groot" was like those talking, walking trees from "The Lord of the Rings"? Such magical species really exist? The galaxy is truly full of surprises! Tony couldn't help but marvel, slightly dumbfounded. There's Rocket Raccoon, Mantis, Groot—what kind of bizarre organization is the Guardians of the Galaxy?
Then there's the Black Order. The name had been mentioned briefly in the diary, but no detailed intel was given. Tony only knew they were top-tier interstellar powerhouses, but had no further information until now: Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian. Unlike names like "Quake," "Ant-Man," or "Thanos," which either reflect abilities or other characteristics, the names Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian reveal little.
Regardless, Tony firmly remembered these two names. As for Gravik, he couldn't help but frown. Having collaborated with Fury on the Skrull issue, Tony naturally knew who Gravik was. He was the Skrull that Fury somewhat trusted. Ironically, it was also Gravik causing trouble secretly! According to the diary, it seemed Gravik ultimately used the DNA collected by Fury? And thus gained the abilities of both Earth's and interstellar superheroes and villains? "Cosmic Hero Showcase" summed it up.
So why was the DNA and those extraordinary abilities collected by Fury all utilized on Gravik? And that Skrull named G'iah? Tony knew that G'iah was Talos' daughter, and their relationship wasn't too good. But that's not the point. The key question was, why would Fury use such crucial resources on two Skrulls? Surely Fury didn't go through all this trouble just to create two Super Skrulls?
[More ridiculously, even Thanos' abilities were included!]
[Gravik turned into Thanos!]
[Haha, Thanos probably never imagined that after going through all the trouble to travel from the past to the future, he'd end up like this.]
[Not only did his entire fleet get wiped out, and he himself turned to dust, but even his DNA wasn't spared!]
[This is failure opening the door to failure—failure all the way through.]