43: No-Man’s Land

"It's there! We've arrived," Lyon's voice pulled Natasha out of her thoughts.

She shifted her gaze and saw countless clouds and mist whizzing past them. The dark clouds of the night were layered, completely surrounding them.

Natasha looked around, seeing nothing but the black clouds rushing toward them.

Lyon was moving incredibly fast, yet so silently that it felt as if they were blending into the clouds.

But soon, the mist began to thin out suddenly.

Natasha had a feeling, and she focused her gaze ahead.

Suddenly, a steel runway, several hundred meters long, tore through the sea of clouds.

Following that, a colossal structure emerged, slicing through the clouds.

The dark clouds were suddenly illuminated.

It was a majestic airborne fortress.

A structure shaped like a tower, with three levels, each with four runways for aircrafts to take off and land—twelve runways in total!

The lights of the fortress pierced through and illuminated the surrounding clouds.

"It's hiding here, like a forgotten gem in the world."

"So this is the Red Room, it's here," Natasha stared blankly, her eyes reflecting the fortress's dazzling lights.

Lyon couldn't help but pause to take it all in as well. "Impressive. But its anti-gravity system seems to be just a few large fans?"

"Who designed this mishmash of ancient and modern technology? Must have been a genius."

"And this airborne structure, clearly lacking any energy defense systems, is just a sitting duck, isn't it?" He couldn't resist another jab.

He even thought of his brother: "But Tony would probably like this thing. It has that sleek, metallic look with a touch of impractical elegance. That's exactly Tony's style."

Natasha's brewing emotions were suddenly interrupted by Lyon's string of comments.

She looked at him speechlessly. "You really know your brother well."

"Of course, which is why I need to adjust my strategy."

Lyon ascended, taking in the entire fortress.

"This fortress can't be destroyed. With a little modification, it could be a perfect gift for Tony's 40th birthday."

"Wow, do you guys always give such extravagant birthday gifts?" Natasha felt like something was stuck in her chest, something she needed to say.

As Lyon used his X-ray vision to memorize the positions of everyone inside the fortress, he said, "It's not always like this. But for my 18th birthday, Tony gave me a spaceship, so I can't exactly give him a cheap gift in return."

Natasha couldn't help but lean back, feeling as though an avalanche of absurd luxury had just hit her in the face.

"Well, you brothers... are quite modern," she remarked dryly.

While other rich kids were gifting luxury cars and yachts, these two were exchanging airborne fortresses and spaceships. It seemed they were ready to leave Earth and venture into space.

"Alright, that's enough." Lyon took a few seconds to record everyone's positions.

He and Natasha silently descended, landing as lightly as raindrops on the top runway.

"Take these and follow me," Lyon said, handing Natasha a box containing inhibitors.

"I'll knock everyone out. You follow me and administer the inhibitors to those you find suitable. If not, finish them off."

"Any problems?"

Natasha shook her head. "None."

She knew she was just there as backup, and doing some support work was enough.

"Alright, I'll be waiting for you in the central control room."

Lyon took off, the neon lights on the runway casting a red glow on one side of his body. As he flew higher, he quickly attracted attention.

An ear-piercing alarm sounded inside the fortress.

Soldiers patrolling the deck swiftly gathered, preparing to open fire.

Natasha scanned her surroundings, looking for the right moment to help ease the pressure on Lyon. But before she could act, Lyon, now covered in the red dots of gun sights, made his move.

Natasha felt as if the scene before her eyes suddenly blurred, as if multiple rings appeared, circling around the fortress.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

When she reopened them, those rings had disappeared.

Lyon was still there, but the red dots on his body had all vanished.

"I'm going in now, move quickly, and don't keep me waiting too long," Lyon waved to her before darting into the fortress like an arrow.

Natasha was still in a daze when the sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed continuously in her ears.

Her eyes widened as she looked toward the source of the sound. The deck in front of the fortress entrance was piled high with unconscious combat personnel.

"Oh my God..."

So those lines she had seen earlier were actually the afterimages of Lyon moving at extreme speed.

In the blink of an eye, he had taken down dozens of people and thrown them all in front of her.

"Is this what a Superman can do... It's simply unbelievable."

Natasha couldn't conceal her shock, but she quickly got to work.

Since there was no need for her to participate in the fighting, her task was actually quite simple.

—All she had to do was administer the inhibitor to every Widow she recognized, and even those she didn't.

As for the other soldiers, she made sure to put a bullet in each of their foreheads.

Natasha knew very well.

In the twisted espionage organization that was the Red Room, there were only two kinds of people: those in control and those being controlled.

These non-Widow individuals didn't need to be identified. They were all part of the oppressive, stabilizing force, and not a single one of them was innocent.

After administering the inhibitor to all the Widows, Natasha rushed in the direction Lyon had gone, entering the fortress.

Lyon hadn't held back; the Widows would likely be unconscious for a long time, so she couldn't stay there waiting.

For Natasha, the interior of the Red Room fortress was vastly different from its grand exterior.

Inside, it felt like home; she was intimately familiar with every nook and cranny.

The only difference was that, as she made her way through, every room she passed, every hallway and deck, was filled with unconscious people.

These people had calm expressions, without a single visible injury, and their positions on the ground made it seem like they had merely fallen into a peaceful sleep.

Natasha could easily imagine Lyon's experience breaking into this heavily guarded fortress—it must have been like walking through an empty landscape.

Without hesitation, she moved quickly, shooting with her left hand and injecting the inhibitor with her right, hurrying toward the command center.

However, there were so many unconscious people.

Even with her speed, it still took almost ten minutes to finish the injections and reach the central command room.

Before she even opened the door, she heard a familiar voice inside.

"I apologize, esteemed Superman, please forgive my transgression. I swear I had no idea about your connection with Mr. Tony Stark!" It was Dreykov's voice.

"Begging for mercy? Forget it. I've listened to you talk for several minutes about grand ideals—how the Widow control network spans the globe, how you're shaping peace—only for you to say this now?" Lyon replied.

"What... what do you want me to say? I can say anything! How about we talk about Gorbachev's scandals?"

"Enough. Whatever you want to say, you can tell it to God. You already know about my connection with Tony, and you still think you can walk out of here alive?"

There was a brief silence in the room.

Then the voice suddenly erupted into a sharp laugh.

"...Hehehe, Superman, you've been fooled!

Do you think I've been stalling for no reason?

The pheromones I'm emitting control those around me, making them unable to attack me!

You've already inhaled a large dose of it by now. Go ahead, try attacking me again!"

As Natasha pushed the door open and entered, she saw her former boss, General Dreykov, neatly combed hair, black-framed glasses, and a short, stout body slouched over the table in his suit.

He was glaring up at Lyon, who was standing on the other side of the table, eyes wide and mouth twisted into a sneering grin.

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