Chapter 141: The Gambler, Nick Fury

At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

"Hill, are the missiles ready?" Fury asked.

"Sir, they're prepared," Hill responded. "We can launch at any time, and the fighter jets we borrowed from the military are also on standby. Once the missiles strike the spaceship, the larger fragments will be further broken down into smaller pieces."

Hill, standing beside Nick Fury, worked on her tablet and added hesitantly, "But, sir…"

"I know what you're worried about," Fury interrupted. "You're concerned that if we spread the debris over a wider area, the situation might escalate even further."

Hill nodded in agreement.

Fury continued, "This is a last resort. If NASA had alerted us before the ship entered the atmosphere, we could have taken care of it in space."

As Fury watched the spaceship descending rapidly on the big screen, he muttered curses toward NASA under his breath.

"Hill, instruct them to—"

"Wait!"

Just as he was about to give the order to shoot down the spaceship, Fury spotted another figure on the screen.

"Tony?" he murmured in surprise. "What's he doing there?"

Hill looked equally puzzled. "If I remember correctly, Reed is one of the few people Tony considers a friend."

With a dismissive grunt, Fury replied, "Those two are just birds of a feather."

"Sir, do you think Tony's trying to save Reed?" Hill asked, trying to assess the situation.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Fury answered, "No… I think he's trying to stop the ship from crashing."

"That's impossible!" Hill exclaimed, incredulous. "A crashing spaceship with that kind of impact force—even God couldn't stop it."

Watching Tony make his way onto the ship, Fury asked, "Can we establish contact with him?"

"No, sir," Hill replied, shaking her head. "After you broke into his system last time, Tony improved Jarvis's security—specifically against S.H.I.E.L.D. Unless he agrees, we have no way to reach him directly."

Fury's already dark expression turned even darker. Tony's genius was well-known, and none of Fury's agents could hold a candle to him. His previous successful hack of Jarvis was a mere lucky exploit, and now, with Tony's safeguards in place, there was no way to break through.

Fury rubbed his bald head thoughtfully and, after a moment, said, "Hill, are you willing to take a gamble with me?"

Hill's expression changed instantly. Gamble? The stakes here were the lives of tens of thousands of people around Central Bridge in New York!

Hill understood what Fury intended. He believed Tony could stop the spaceship from crashing and save everyone near the Central Bridge. But was that really possible?

Fury trusted Tony implicitly.

Knowing how difficult it was to change Fury's mind once it was made up, Hill still tried to persuade him. "Sir, shooting down the spaceship now is our best option. The higher the explosion, the wider the debris spread—but the smaller the losses will be."

Her logic was sound. Originally, the spaceship was headed for a massive impact at the Central Bridge. But if it were to break into countless smaller pieces, the overall area affected would be larger, but the damage and casualties would be significantly reduced. If the military's jets could intercept the debris in time, they might even achieve zero casualties.

Placing all their hope on Tony was too much of a gamble.

Fury met Hill's gaze with an unyielding look. Eventually, Hill relented, saying, "We can give Tony some time."

"But if it comes within 800 meters of the ground, we'll have to shoot it down immediately. Otherwise, we won't have enough time."

Fury raised a single finger and said, "One kilometer. If Tony hasn't managed anything by the time it's within one kilometer, we'll shoot it down."

Hill nodded solemnly, though her thoughts now turned to Tony's safety rather than the spaceship's descent. If he failed to stop the ship, the missile launch would mean his death.

Hill realized that Nick Fury was starting to seem a bit terrifying.

At first, it seemed like Fury was just taking a risky gamble, but in reality, his bet was solely on Tony. Tony would either stop the spaceship's descent and survive, or he would be killed by the incoming missile strike.

Pressing her earpiece, Hill issued orders, "All personnel, stand by for command. No one is to leave the deck without authorization!"

On the deck of the helicarrier, a dozen fighter jets lined up in two rows, ready to launch. Upon receiving Hill's command, they stood prepared to engage.

Inside the spaceship.

"Sir, all energy has been successfully rerouted," Jarvis's voice reported as the flames trailing the ship's engines began to dim.

"Jarvis, prepare to adjust course!" Tony commanded. "Divert all power to the maneuvering thrusters."

"Understood, sir."

Tony took a moment to think. At this point, he could rely on Jarvis to manage the ship's interior systems. With the energy redirected, there wouldn't be any major issues, as long as the course correction and landing could be handled safely.

Casting a look at the unconscious Reed and the others by the control panel, Tony sighed, "You all sure picked a cozy time to nap!"

He pushed Reed and Susan aside, placing both hands on the control levers.

"Jarvis, leave the steering and thrust control to me; you handle the power output!" As a mechanical expert, Tony knew that, in situations like these, manual control was the most reliable option. With Jarvis assisting, the chances of success were significantly higher.

"Understood, sir."

Gripping the controls tightly, Tony took a deep breath and said, "Let's get started, Jarvis!"

Tony pushed the control levers forward. Due to the massive inertia of the descending ship, even in the Mark 6 suit, he had to exert considerable effort. But he managed, with Jarvis activating the thrusters on other sections of the spaceship in coordination.

With the combined thrust, the descent rate began to slow, and the ship gradually shifted direction.

"This… is unbelievable," Hill muttered in disbelief as she watched the sequence on the screen—the fading of the ship's engine flames, the activation of various thrusters, and the gradual reorientation.

"Looks like I've won," Fury declared confidently.

But they both knew they couldn't relax until the very end. They continued to monitor the screen intently.

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

In a forested area, Gwen swung swiftly from tree to tree like a monkey, moving through the woodland with increased agility.

"Miss Gwen, this is the place," Red Queen's voice announced. "Based on calculations, the spaceship's landing zone is here."

Gwen halted, nodding in response. "Red Queen, mark the optimal support points—the more, the better!"

Before her, the forest transformed into a digitally rendered blue overlay, with every usable tree and potential support point highlighted by the Red Queen.

Seeing the sheer number of marked points, Gwen clenched her fists enthusiastically.

"Alright, tonight's going to be a big night…"

…

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