Chapter 226

When Fury and representatives from various agencies hurried into the ballroom, they saw a scene of tranquil harmony:

The spacious main hall was clean and tidy, as if it had just been meticulously cleaned. Several terrorist corpses were piled in a corner like cargo, yet they seemed strangely out of place.

The handsome silver-haired young man reclined in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, holding a wineglass and savoring its red wine. Yutong stood quietly behind his chair, ready to carry out his orders at any moment.

Tony and Ellie sat in chairs on either side, both deep in thought, seemingly preoccupied with something.

They appeared to have been discussing something. Only when they saw Fury and the others enter did they stop, raising their heads to look over together.

"Fury, long time no see." The silver-haired young man looked up at Fury, who led the group, and gave a slight nod. The corner of his lips curved upward.

"Yeah. Kyle, it really has been a long time." Fury shook his head with a sigh, feeling an intense sense of unreality as he looked at Kyle seated before him.

After parting, they had met again more than sixty years later. Yet Kyle was as young as the day he had first gone into battle as a recruit, untouched by the ravages of time and unchanged in the slightest.

As for Fury, even with the Infinite Formula serum suppressing his body’s aging to an extreme degree, his physique was still that of an ordinary human. He had inevitably aged around ten years and now looked like a weathered middle-aged man.

Rhodes, the military representative, along with the other agency representatives, listened to their conversation and looked at the familiar Kyle seated at the head of the room. Their shock was beyond words.

Although their superiors had already given them hints, seeing the living legend sitting before them—and that young face identical to the one in top-secret archives from over sixty years ago—still shattered their common sense and left them speechless.

"Alright, find yourselves seats. There are some things I can answer for you one by one." Kyle swept his gaze over them and spoke calmly, taking an unhurried sip of red wine.

Fury did not hesitate. He walked over and sat down in a chair, casually picking up the bottle and pouring himself a glass.

The representatives from the other agencies exchanged looks, made up their minds, and took seats throughout the ballroom.

The ballroom that had just suffered a terrorist attack suddenly became something like a national-level conference chamber, solemn and sacred.

Yet the bureaucrats and military officers who normally wielded immense authority remained quiet after taking their seats, not daring to make a sound. Everyone knew who the main character of the night was. No matter who came, no one could steal his spotlight.

"I’m only a little late. I’m not too late, am I?"

Just then, accompanied by a soft yet forceful female voice, a graceful figure stepped into the ballroom entrance.

Her striking dark-red hair bounced as she walked. The woman wore only a sleek black leather outfit, displaying her devilish figure in full. Her seductive curves invited sin, while her proud breasts rose high beneath the zipper.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new Deputy Director, Natasha Romanoff. I knew this woman would come too."

"The Black Widow, venomous in the darkness…"

The agency representatives whispered among themselves, their voices filled with apprehension.

"Sit down already." Kyle shook his head inwardly. This woman truly was a seasoned agent. She had just left as a Card Disciple, taken a brief detour outside, removed her mask, and returned as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s representative.

Natasha smiled faintly and gracefully approached with a catlike stride, sitting in a chair beside Ellie.

Ellie timidly shrank back. She recognized Natasha as the violent woman who had nearly thrown her to her death earlier.

Once everyone had taken their seats, the ballroom fell silent. Only then did Kyle say calmly, "I know that most of you came here tonight because you want to understand where I have been these past few decades, what I have done, why I never appeared in public again, and why I have suddenly returned now."

The agency representatives smiled awkwardly.

Indeed, they very much wanted to know.

Not only them—people across New York, America, and even the entire world wanted to uncover the answer to that question.

"The answer is simple." Kyle spoke bluntly. "In 1945, a few months after I resigned from my position as a major general shortly after the end of World War II, I left Earth and traveled into outer space. I only returned recently."

He said it lightly, yet it was like a nuclear explosion erupting from level ground. Apart from Fury, Tony, and a few others, most people in the hall turned pale with shock.

Leaving Earth for interstellar travel in the old era of 1945—how could that possibly have been done?! Even now, with advanced technology, humanity had only reached the stage of landing on the moon!

But the one who said this was Kyle, the Symbol of Peace, a man who embodied authority and strength. His words carried an unquestionable persuasiveness of their own.

For a moment, though they found it utterly fantastical, no one spoke up to question him. Instead, they silently accepted it as fact.

"Mr. Kyle. I would like to know how you left Earth back then, and how you returned." Rhodes took a deep breath and asked cautiously, "And what exists in outer space beyond Earth?"

The two questions he asked were the most crucial ones. At once, nearly everyone in the hall looked toward Kyle with faint anticipation.

"The means I used to leave and return to Earth are not something ordinary people can use." Kyle said this because he clearly did not wish to reveal the existence of the Bifrost.

After a pause, he smiled and said, "As for what lies beyond Earth… Visi, show them."

Kyle snapped his fingers. The sunglasses hanging from the button of his shirt immediately emitted two beams of light, projecting a three-dimensional holographic projection.

As everyone in the hall watched while holding their breath, the three-dimensional footage rapidly swept through Sakaar’s alien-style skyscrapers, all manner of strange and powerful alien race creatures, Interstellar Ships gliding silently through the low sky, an Interstellar Stadium large enough to occupy nearly half a city, the barren wilderness of the Ancient Battlefield littered with biological bones and remains, a mountain-sized six-winged Black Dragon creature, and finally the golden city of Asgard in the heavenly realm.

The footage lasted less than half a minute. Most people in the hall looked dazed, their mouths hanging open in astonishment, unable to recover for a while.

"I merely happened to set foot in a small corner of outer space, only two or three places." Kyle smiled calmly, coolly recounting facts that were hard to accept. "As far as I know, beyond Earth, the Milky Way Galaxy alone contains an unknown number of Living Planets. Some alien beings closely resemble humans, yet their technological civilizations are far more advanced than ours. Some nonhuman lifeforms are naturally stronger than us in combat and slaughter!"

"Think about it. If alien beings invaded Earth one day, what would we do?" Kyle shrugged and posed a meaningful question.

Upon hearing that question, most of those present felt their scalps go numb and inhaled sharply.

Fear sprouted from the depths of their hearts, spreading across every inch of their skin.

"So my return is not the important part."

Kyle rose to his feet and looked down coldly at everyone in the hall. "Everyone, I only want to remind you that Earth is about to enter a completely new era—a new age that will overturn all previous understanding!"

"Humanity’s greatest enemy in the future will come from beyond Earth!"