Chapter 26: Unexpected Turn of Events (bonus 2/5)

"Sometimes losses are required for a bigger gain, and their sacrifices are worthwhile. The council has agreed to declare an all-out war against vampires."

Nick Fury approached with an excited expression. After planning for so long, success was finally within his reach. Vampires would meet their end at his hands.

Iron Man was slightly dissatisfied with Nick Fury's approach. "Those people don't want to be sacrificed by you."

Nick Fury replied, "Time will prove me right. Alright, let's not waste any time. Coulson, order all teams to take action and eliminate all vampires with the newly developed weapons."

"Yes, Director."

Coulson immediately went to give the orders. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who were already prepared, began their operation led by senior agents such as Melinda May, John Garrett, and Victoria Hand. As they wielded specialized weapons to deal with vampires.

...

Several vampires were wreaking havoc when a grenade was thrown, exploding in a dazzling burst of ultraviolet light, instantly turning the vampires into ashes.

This was the ultraviolet grenade developed by Tony Stark, a formidable weapon against vampires. In addition to that, there were temperature detectors to identify vampires, armored vehicles equipped with ultraviolet lights, and more. This time, S.H.I.E.L.D. was armed to the teeth.

Impatiently, Tony asked, "When do I take action?"

"Your target is Deacon Frost. Wait for him to enter the altar, then you can move. I want to eliminate him and the twelve pure-blooded elders in one fell swoop. Vampires will be scattered by then."

Nick Fury said, his eyes filled with satisfaction as he watched the overwhelmingly one-sided battle on the screen. Everything was under his control. S.H.I.E.L.D. would continue to protect humanity as always.

Just as Nick Fury was feeling triumphant, a sudden call came in. "Director, it's not good. There are large numbers of lizardmen appearing in the city."

"What?"

Nick Fury was shocked and quickly had the technical department bring in the footage of the lizardmen.

In Times Square, citizens were happily shopping as usual when suddenly a man in tattered clothes emerged from a sewer after pushing open a manhole cover.

"Where did this homeless person come from? It smells terrible."

The pedestrians showed disgust on their faces, avoiding the man as they walked past. The man grinned and violently smashed a green potion in his hand on the ground.

With the shattering of glass, a large amount of green mist emerged, causing the people who came into contact with it to fall to the ground and start writhing in pain. Their bodies gradually turned green, and scales even appeared.

The patrol officers were shocked and quickly aimed their guns at the man, shouting loudly, "Get down!"

The man let out a low growl, and its body quickly swelled and transformed. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a two-meter-tall green lizard person. Then, it charged at the officer and swatted him away with a single palm. When the officer hit the ground, his body also began to transform.

The man laughed heartily and continued smashing the potion at the crowd. Similar incidents were happening in dozens of locations across New York City.

New York had descended into chaos.

"So many lizardmen? They're causing trouble at a time like this?"

Nick Fury's expression turned extremely grim, no longer exuding the confidence of being in control.

"People who come into contact with the potion are turning into lizardmen. We must stop them immediately, or else the problem will become increasingly serious."

Iron Man shouted, "I'll rush over immediately. Fury, how many agents do you have left? The police's firepower won't be enough to stop the lizardmen. They can even flip police cars."

"I only have one reserve team left. Coulson, immediately inform the military to send troops into New York. Additionally, order headquarters to deploy Quinjets for support."

Nick Fury said, and Iron Man looked at him disappointedly, activating his suit in preparation to depart. It would take at least an hour for the military to enter the city, and in that time, the lizardmen might have multiplied.

Seeing this, Nick Fury hurriedly exclaimed, "Tony, these lizardmen might just be a distraction. Dr. Connors may have other conspiracies."

"I'll go to the scene first. If you discover his plot, notify me immediately."

Iron Man nodded and swiftly flew away. Agent Coulson turned to Nick Fury and asked, "What do we do now? Are we still proceeding with the original plan?"

"Definitely, we have prepared for so long. We can't let all our efforts go to waste," replied Nick Fury.

Nick Fury said, "Barton, you'll take Iron Man's place and deal with Deacon Frost."

Hawkeye answered, "No problem."

"Damn lizard man," muttered Nick Fury as he looked at the screen. "All teams, move quickly to defeat the vampires and then deal with the lizard man. Coulson, lead the intelligence team and find Dr. Connors for me."

Nick Fury's initial order was to completely eliminate the vampires in New York City, but now it had changed to prioritize taking down the lizard man first.

"Yes," responded the various teams, but this time Deacon Frost had brought many vampires to New York, making it difficult to defeat them all in a short period, even with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s exceptional equipment.

The agents were far superior to the vampires in terms of strength, but their numbers were too few.

News of vampires and lizard men spread online, and major TV stations had helicopters reporting from all over. The citizens of New York were bewildered and furious. What was happening? Vampires and lizard men? Was it a doomsday crisis?

At the Rebirth Tower, Andrew watched the television and sighed, saying, "Not only vampires but also lizard men. It's really lively."

"The Peacekeeper Corps, prepare to intervene and save people. For now, don't worry about the vampires. Our main focus is rescuing those affected by the lizard serum," instructed Andrew. Those people would certainly not want to become monsters, and the success rate of signing the Soul Contract was high.

"What about killing the lizard men while we rescue people?" asked Howard hesitantly.

Andrew understood what Howard meant and replied, "If they attack you, you can kill them. But if they don't pose a threat, don't harm them. We are pacifists."

Howard nodded and said, "Understood."

"It seems we'll be working overtime tonight. By the way, we need to prioritize hiring customer service. We can't handle everything ourselves every time."

Andrew thought of something and looked out the window, where Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, was busy.

Andrew's eyes lit up, and he said, "Black Widow? If I remember correctly, this world has a Black Widow Corps."

"Why did the director ask me to stay and work overtime? Overtime, overtime. I'm an agent, not an office worker," complained Natasha. For the past few months, she had been working overtime every day. What annoyed her even more was Andrew William, who always used the excuse of training her and assigned Susan's work to her while he went out on dates with Susan.

If this continued, Natasha might as well go undercover and become the CEO of the Rebirth Corporation. Well, maybe she should consider changing jobs altogether.

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And for those who are wondering how Andrew got the antidote? Of course, it was done by Gwen.