257

Chapter 257

"Dr. Helen Cho? How come you... haven't you already..."

In the meeting room of the Avengers base, Stark looked at Helen Cho with wide eyes.

Thor spread his hands and said, "Don't you know the function of the Extremis virus?"

"Um... In other words, she didn't die at the time and recovered later?"

Stark accepted this answer, though he didn't expect the effect to be so strong...

"Then bring me a hundred later!"

Helen Cho secretly underestimated herself. When did I get injected with the Extremis virus? How come I didn't know about it?

But now her attention was on something else.

"Ultron doesn't understand the difference between saving the world and destroying it. He has now made a crazy decision to replicate the asteroid impact that happened 65 million years ago. We must stop him, otherwise, all of humanity will suffer a catastrophe!"

Stark took a deep breath. Even though he already knew that Ultron had bad intentions, he was still shocked by his plan.

"There is still one problem. Ultron is still missing. Since he can't use the regeneration cradle, he will definitely choose another plan!"

"Bang..."

The door was pushed open by Steve, followed by Hawkeye and others.

"Bad news. We searched everywhere and found no trace."

His tone was very grim, and you could tell how he felt at the moment.

Thor frowned and analyzed: "To construct a complete body, we need strong enough experimental facilities; otherwise, everything is empty talk..."

"Yes!"

Maria Hill nodded and said, "There aren't many institutions with this level of technology. I've marked them all on the map, but... I found nothing!"

"That means Ultron is in a place that SHIELD agents have no access to. Could it be that..."

When she said this, her expression suddenly changed.

"Perhaps you guessed right," Thor nodded slowly. "S.W.O.R.D."

---

S.W.O.R.D. is an organization similar to S.H.I.E.L.D., but whereas S.H.I.E.L.D. focuses on Earth, S.W.O.R.D. deals with cosmic threats.

The director of S.W.O.R.D. is Thor's acquaintance and Carol Danvers' old friend—Maria Rambeau.

At the same time, Nick Fury holds an important position in S.W.O.R.D., and basically, the two of them have the final say in the organization.

However, Maria Rambeau is often not on Earth, with the space station being her main workplace. Recently, Nick Fury has been overwhelmed by the changes in S.H.I.E.L.D., so most of the responsibilities now fall to Tyler Hayward.

Tyler Hayward...

A typical American redneck, similar to General Ross. To be honest, most of these people are quite extreme, both in character and behavior. Thor has no good impression of them.

It just so happens that this type of person is more likely to gain the trust of Washington. Most of them are in high positions and hold significant power. Thor looks down on them. They often view the Avengers as time bombs that must be controlled...

Thor made a phone call.

"Who are you? How did you get this number?"

On the phone, there was a female voice whose tone was indistinguishable.

"Carol told me."

"Aunt Carol? Wait, you're... that Aunt Carol's friend, Thor?"

"Yes, it's me."

A black woman appeared on the screen.

Monica Rambeau, Maria Rambeau's daughter, had been a cute little girl when she was young. Now, with this look, it's really...

Well, that's not the point.

"Listen, I have an important matter concerning the safety of the world, and I need to find your mother!"

Thor briefly explained the situation.

A few minutes later, Maria Rambeau, then director of S.W.O.R.D., received a report from her subordinates.

"Chief, Deputy Director Hayward refuses to connect!"

"...turn on the research center surveillance directly!"

"The other party has exceeded their authority and blocked us!"

Maria Rambeau's face turned very grim.

As the director and founder of S.W.O.R.D., her authority was being challenged?

"Alright, I got it."

On the other side, Thor confirmed that Ultron was in S.W.O.R.D.!

---

Inside a research center at the S.W.O.R.D. ground base, the surrounding defense facilities had been completely taken over by Ultron.

Thor's guess was correct: Hayward had already colluded with Ultron.

Ultron did not use the mind stone to control Hayward, but rather deceived him into believing that relying on armor would maintain world peace...

Hayward's reasoning was indeed strange. He was unwilling to trust the Avengers, who are flesh and blood, but instead relied on cold machines.

Hayward looked at a coffin-like device in the center of the laboratory with anticipation.

Originally, he didn't expect all this to succeed, but Ultron had told him that there was some special energy left in the vibranium, and it was this energy that he used to replace the function of the regeneration cradle.

"Bang..."

Under his expectant gaze, the device slowly activated, and a pitch-black figure began to materialize before everyone's eyes.

"Ah... it feels so good to have a perfect body!"

Ultron's deep voice resonated.

"Successful?"

Hayward's face was full of enthusiasm: "Hahaha, finally I don't have to rely on those so-called Avengers! I believe the Council will be very satisfied!"

There was a faint blue light in his eyes.

Although the Mind Stone was not used to directly control his mind, it had invisibly strengthened his inner thoughts and even suppressed the inexplicable uneasiness...

Sure enough, a hint of sarcasm appeared on Ultron's face: "Deputy Director Hayward, I think you made a mistake."

"What?" Hayward didn't notice Ultron's expression.

"I am independent, not a subordinate serving you."

Ultron raised a hand: "If you get a chance, you should watch a movie called 'Terminator'!"

"Oh, you probably won't have a chance to see it!"

"Boom..."