Chapter 261. Ghost Ship

"Stark Industries and the 'Damage Control Department,' set up by the United Nations government, will take over the collection and preservation of extraterrestrial and other alien substances..."

On TV, the news reported the latest trend in the government. Adrian Toomes looked at Tony Stark's mustached face on the screen, and his expression turned gloomy.

"The culprit cleans up his own mess and ends up getting paid for it?"

For the average person, they didn't understand the events leading up to the Battle of New York. While the Chitauri army, as the invaders, was detestable in their eyes, the members of the Avengers somewhat had a hand in creating the conflict, especially since a number of them, including the Hulk, had also taken part in the destruction of many New York buildings in order to stop the Chitauri attack.

"Boss, we still have a shipment left over from yesterday that we haven't turned in."

Just then, the employee in the warehouse lifted the cloth cover on the back of the pickup and spoke to Toomes.

Toomes looked up at the alien wreckage on the pickup truck and then turned his head to look at Tony Stark's face on the TV screen for a moment. He then gritted his teeth and said, "Those things, all of them, keep them. The world is changing, it's time we change too."

...

"Did you know?"

"What?"

In Upper New York Bay, in the harbor, spooky tales of 'ghost ships' were circulating among the seamen.

"Last week, the ocean fishing vessel 'Blue Gulls' encountered the legendary 'ghost ship' off the western Pacific Ocean. According to the crew on the fishing boat, they even heard someone making a lot of noise on the 'ghost ship'." Unloading the ship's contents, an elderly loader spoke with a mysterious look on his face.

"'Ghost ship' in this day and age? I doubt you still believe in that crap."

Grimacing, the younger worker looked on in disbelief, "Nowadays, aliens and spaceships are what's in fashion now."

The Battle of New York spread throughout the city, and thousands of people saw the aliens with their own eyes. Therefore, even if the government wanted to cover it up, they couldn't, so they simply allowed it to happen.

"'Ghost ships' are real!" As a worker who had been living by the sea since his elder generation, the loader was clearly reverent of the sea, "Even if aliens had appeared, can you guarantee that the 'ghost ship' would be bogus?"

"..."

The older loader's retort apparently left the slightly younger workers speechless.

Indeed, in a world where even extraterrestrials were able to invade Earth, the so-called "ghost ship" didn't seem entirely impossible.

After a moment of silence, the young worker couldn't help but follow up with a curious question, "What exactly was that 'ghost ship' you were talking about?"

Looking at the young man who was curiously asking questions, a smug smile appeared on the old loader's face. He then continued to speak with an enthusiastic face, "The 'ghost ship' appeared not too long ago, almost after the alien invasion in New York. It was first found on the sea by an old fisherman who originally wanted to kill himself. The 'ghost ship' was said to be emitting an unsettling red glow like a phantom ..."

"Does the ghost ship look like a three-masted ship?"

Just then, the young worker on the opposite side of the pier suddenly spoke up, interrupting the old loader's explanation.

With a look of dismay on his face, the old loader couldn't help but blurt out, "What? You've already heard about the 'ghost ship' from someone else?"

"Turn your head."

The young worker rigidly shook his head and pointed behind him.

"My god ~"

At those words, the old loader turned his head obediently to look, and was then shocked by the scene before him.

There, in the harbor of Upper New York Bay, a three-masted vessel emitting an unearthly red glow had anchored itself silently at some point.

...

"Recently, New York has been plagued with disasters. We just experienced a major alien invasion and barely survived the catastrophe, thanks to the Avengers, only to have a bizarre 'ghost ship' appear in the harbor of Upper New York Bay again. According to the New York City Municipal Seaport Department, the number of imports and exports in Upper New York Bay has been affected by this 'ghost ship' for a week..."

On NBC, news anchors reported the latest news about Upper New York Bay for the camera.

"Kate, can you give us more details about the harbor?"

Nodding, the anchor then tossed the subject to the reporter on location.

"... Yes, it's not looking good," Kate, a field correspondent, said with a serious expression as she turned her head to point at the huge three-masted ship captured on camera behind her. "Actually, police officers and drones were deployed to conduct an extraction from the 'ghost ship', but apparently, it didn't work out that way... Just now a police-controlled drone hovered over the 'ghost ship' and they quickly lost control of it. It crashed in the harbor. So, to stop some of the curious public from approaching the dangerous vessel, the police had to open a large perimeter to stop it ..."

"OK, thank you, Kate, our correspondent, for bringing us first-hand ..."

On the other side, the media gathered in the harbor to report on the news about the 'ghost ship'.

On the other hand, inside SHIELD, Nick Fury's expression also remained unpleasant as he watched the three-masted ship in the footage.

"Romanoff, what's the situation?"

"Not good."

Standing inside the police central control tent, which was set up for the operation, Natasha looked at the three-masted ship anchored quietly in the harbor and replied with a stony expression, "We've tried everything available, except for the last resort: violence."

"Try to avoid using weapons."

SHILED didn't have any knowledge regarding this odd 'ghost ship' and by rushing out with weapons, Fury feared that it might probably backfire.

"I know, it's just that ..."

Natasha was naturally aware that using force was practically the worst way possible to deal with the bizarre unknown situation at hand, but she said, "The harbor authorities and the police are running out of patience. After all, every day this 'ghost ship' stays in port is a day of loss for the New York Harbor."

"And Tony?"

Natasha's report made Fury frown, knowing full well the limits of the government's patience and the likelihood that they would force the use of weapons if there was no other solution.

"You know what the people of the Council did before." Grimacing, Natasha added.

Natasha's words made Fury's furrowed brow deepen a little more.

Apparently, Iron Man was getting pissed off at the Council for forcing a nuclear weapon launch previously, and even refused to take on a mission.

Fury, of course, was actually just as unhappy with the Council's previous approach.

However, the present situation is urgent, and it is difficult for them to judge whether this sudden "ghost ship" is safe or not. The White House has also issued instructions to SHIELD, hoping that they can deal with the problem of this ship as soon as possible, and they can't let the topic of "ghost ship" continue to spread, causing greater panic among the people.

...

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