Helicarrier

Early the next morning, Wang Bert received three messages in quick succession!

The first was from S.H.I.E.L.D. The Tesseract had been stolen, and S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to borrow Dr. Banner and Ivan for assistance. They also hoped he would be prepared, as a major event might be coming!

The second came personally from Blade, Director of the Blood Clan Police Department. Something had happened at the California Blood Clan Police Department, and a large number of Blood Clan members had surrounded it!

The third was brought by War Machine Rhodey. The military needed War Abomination and War Lizard to deploy together! So many things first thing in the morning, and every single one is a major matter!

In his office, Wang Bert thought for a moment and said to Lilith, "Reply to S.H.I.E.L.D. Dr. Banner and Ivan will go over to help!"

Lilith nodded. "All right!"

Next, Wang Bert had someone bring Rhodey in and got straight to the point. "Rhodey, why is the military deploying War Abomination and War Lizard? Those two are ultimate weapons. Have aliens appeared somewhere again?"

"I don’t know either. I’m only responsible for transporting War Abomination and War Lizard!"

Rhodey smiled wryly. "The military seems to be planning a major operation. The Fifth Fleet has already received orders and is preparing to depart!"

"The Fifth Fleet? Could it be Wakanda? Hasn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. been keeping it from the military?"

Wang Bert was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, he said, "War Lizard hasn’t finished its testing. Take War Abomination over instead. Also, ask the military whether they’re willing to hire Frank."

"That hot-tempered king of soldiers?"

Rhodey froze, then said, "I’ll ask. The military should be willing!"

"Good. Go to the base. I’ll have someone help transport War Abomination for you."

Wang Bert nodded. After Rhodey left, he took out his phone and was about to call Nick Fury. After some thought, however, he called Frank instead. Once the call connected, Wang Bert told Frank about the military. Frank asked, "Bert, what do you want me to do?"

"I want to know the military’s objective. I suspect they want to attack Wakanda!"

Wang Bert said with a headache, "At any other time, it would be one thing, but this is absolutely not the time for a war to break out!"

"Wakanda, the place you said had advanced technology?"

Frank was stunned. He said, "I’ll follow them and take a look. I’ll report back to you then!"

Wang Bert said, "All right. Oh, and if it really comes to a confrontation with Wakanda, stay in the back!"

Frank asked, "Is Wakanda really that formidable?"

"They’re more formidable than you think. Their technology is even enough to wage interstellar war."

Wang Bert put down the phone and had Lilith call Blade and Melinda in!

Once the two had taken their seats, Wang Bert asked grimly, "Tell me. What exactly happened in California?"

Blade looked at Melinda, signaling for her to speak. Expressionlessly, Melinda said, "York, the Deputy Director of the California Blood Clan Police Department, secretly captured several Blood Clan members for experiments!

"Last night, other Blood Clan members discovered what he had done. York fled back to the police department, and a large number of Blood Clan members rushed over after hearing the news. They surrounded the department and demanded that Director Babu hand York over! Babu refused, and the Blood Clan members were extremely dissatisfied. They gathered outside the department and refused to leave. A clash could break out at any moment."

Blade said, "Babu did the right thing. The police should not yield to a mob, much less hand a criminal over to one because of personal grudges."

"He did indeed do the right thing!"

Wang Bert nodded and asked Melinda, "What do you think should be done with York?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Melinda said, "Handle him according to the department’s internal regulations. Also, since he is the Deputy Director, his punishment should be increased!"

"Since the two of you aren’t in conflict, why did you come to see me together?"

Wang Bert asked in confusion, "Can’t you handle this matter yourselves?"

Blade said, "We came to you together because we discovered that someone wants to use this opportunity to stir up trouble!"

Wang Bert narrowed his eyes. "Stir up trouble?"

Blade nodded. "The Blood Clan in California are all gathering in Los Angeles. They obviously intend to take part in this protest."

Wang Bert sneered. "Do they want to overthrow the Blood Clan Police Department? Have they gotten too full of themselves, or is your blade no longer sharp enough, Blade?"

"They don’t have that kind of nerve. My blade is still sharp!"

Blade said coolly, "Their goal should be Hope Blood!"

"Hope Blood?"

Wang Bert narrowed his eyes. Hope Blood was the new Blood Clan food developed by Dr. Sterns. After rigorous testing confirmed there were no problems, it had begun large-scale production and sales! "That’s right. Hope Blood tastes good—you can add different flavors when diluting it—and a high concentration can increase one’s strength. More importantly, it’s cheap. Many Blood Clan members want to buy it!"

Blade said, "But we only allow registered Blood Clan members to purchase limited amounts. Many unregistered Blood Clan members are deeply dissatisfied."

"They want to force us to loosen the sale restrictions on Hope Blood?"

Wang Bert snorted. "Who is pushing this from behind the scenes?"

"If I’m not mistaken, it should be the old Pureblood family in California, the Hillick Family!"

Blade said, "In California, they are the only ones capable of gathering so many Blood Clan members in such a short time."

"The Hillick Family?"

Wang Bert turned to Lilith. Lilith replied, "The Hillick Family was among the first Pureblood families to come to America. However, they have kept a low profile, never joined the council, and remained in California all this time."

"In that case, they must have preserved their strength quite well. No wonder they dare make trouble!"

Wang Bert asked Blade and Melinda, "You want me to resolve this?"

Blade said, "I can’t make a move against a large family like the Hillick Family! Only you can!"

"What perfect timing!"

Wang Bert sneered. "Since someone wants me to leave New York, then I’ll leave. Blade, stay in New York and keep an eye on the Blood Clan Police Department. Have all officers stand by."

Blade asked, "Is something major going to happen?"

"Something very major!"

Wang Bert did not elaborate. He said, "Have Babu spread the news that I’m going over. I want to see just how tough the Hillick Family’s necks are!"

"They definitely aren’t tougher than your blade!"

Blade shrugged and left with Melinda. On the way, Melinda found an excuse to secretly report the matter to Nick Fury!

Director Fury gritted his teeth. "Coulson!"

Melinda was stunned. "What does this have to do with Coulson?"

"It has nothing to do with him. Melinda, stay alert and report anything immediately!"

Director Fury hung up, his expression extremely grim. That bastard Coulson—how had he never noticed that he was so scheming before? Was he born to be a villain?…

On S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier, Ivan, Banner, and Betty stepped down from a Quinjet. Black Widow shook hands with them and smiled. "Dr. Banner, you seem much happier than before?"

"I have a good fiancée, a good job, and a good boss. Why wouldn’t I be happy?"

Banner smiled. "Aside from having a disobedient, bad-tempered child, everything is great now."

Betty said discontentedly, "Banner, don’t say that. Hulk will get angry!"

Banner said helplessly, "Betty, I think you care more about Hulk than you do about me now!"

Betty laughed. "Don’t tell me you’re jealous of Hulk?"

At that moment, a muscular man carrying a shield walked over and nodded to everyone. "I’m Steve Rogers. Welcome."

Three months earlier, Captain America had officially joined S.H.I.E.L.D. as a special commander. His appearance surprised Banner and the others. Banner stepped forward, shook his hand, and smiled. "I heard long ago that you were back, but I never had the chance to meet you. You’re my idol. Remember to give me an autograph later!"

"Mine too. Ever since I was little, I wanted to defeat you. I even learned combat sports for that reason."

Ivan said bluntly. Steve asked in surprise, "Aren’t you a scientist? Carter mentioned you to me before!"

Banner teased, "He’s a scientist, boxer, crime expert, and lifelong free vodka spokesperson all in one!"

Everyone burst into laughter. At that moment, Black Widow said, "All right, let’s go inside. It’ll soon become impossible to breathe out here!"

Banner asked in surprise, "Don’t tell me this ship is actually a submarine?"

Black Widow was about to explain when Ivan said, "This is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier. It can fly. Bert has a comment about it!"

"That guy actually knows about the Helicarrier?"

Black Widow was a little surprised. She asked, "What comment?"

Ivan said, "Bert said that without even a Defense Shield, it dared fly into the sky. This Helicarrier will probably crash every time it flies!"

Banner shook his head repeatedly. "Ivan, that’s not a good joke. If this ship really crashes, we’ll die!"

"Relax, this ship won’t crash!"

Black Widow said confidently. At that moment, the Helicarrier activated. Four massive turbine engines spun at high speed, parting the seawater as they slowly lifted the Helicarrier into the air! "Turbine engines? Antiquated junk! If you have the money, I can design plasma engines for you!"

Ivan walked to the side, took a look, and sneered. At that moment, accompanied by bgm, a gold-and-red figure descended from the sky. It was Iron Man, Tony Stark.

Tony stepped out of his armor and said unhappily, "Natasha, why did you invite this madman? Everything he can do, I can do. But he can’t do everything I can!"

"I indeed don’t know how to get sent flying every day."

Ivan sneered. Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Black Widow hurriedly led them into the ship. Inside, a large number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were controlling the Helicarrier!

Aside from the staff and Rumlow, Daredevil in red and Iron Fist Danny Rand were also there. They had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. not long ago—Daredevil to fight criminals more effectively, and Danny Rand to reclaim his company! After everyone introduced themselves, Director Fury walked over and said, "Everyone, the Tesseract is of great importance. We must find it immediately. Dr. Banner, the Tesseract emits gamma radiation. You are the expert in this field."

"Get me a spectrometer. I’ll write an algorithm to find it!"

Banner said decisively. Director Fury nodded in satisfaction. At that moment, Tony suddenly asked, "Director Fury, I want to know why the Fifth Fleet suddenly headed for Africa and demanded that War Abomination accompany them. Is it related to the Tesseract being stolen?"

Director Fury looked at Tony with his one eye and said, "That is military classified information. I cannot tell you!"

Tony refused to back down. "If you want us to help, then you have to tell us everything!"

"That’s right!"

Everyone nodded, including Ivan! Director Fury fell silent for a moment before saying, "It is related, in a sense. They went to Africa for Wakanda!"

Tony thought back and frowned. "Wakanda? That super-poor country living on United Nations relief aid?"

Ivan looked at him disdainfully. "Country bumpkin. Wakanda is the most technologically advanced country in the world. They even have an entire Vibranium Mountain!"

"The most technologically advanced country, a Vibranium Mountain? Madman, are you sure there’s nothing wrong with your brain?"

Tony sneered. Quite a few people shared his thoughts. Ivan snorted, looking too disdainful to argue with country bumpkins! Director Fury sighed and said, "Ivan is right. Wakanda is indeed the most technologically advanced country on Earth! S.H.I.E.L.D. has kept this secret all along and prevented other nations from learning about it, to avoid war!"

Director Fury added, "But Coulson and Hawkeye told the American military about it. Their goal was likely to ensure we would not receive military support while also drawing away War Abomination and War Machine!"

Tony frowned deeply. "I don’t believe it. If Wakanda is that powerful, why does no one know about it? And why are they living on United Nations welfare?"

"How am I supposed to know how those people think?"

Director Fury took out his phone and played the earlier footage—the one of the fighter jet crashing into the mountain! After watching it, Tony sucked in a cold breath. "An energy Defense Shield? How is that possible? Could they be aliens in disguise?"

The others were equally shocked. Director Fury shook his head and said, "We’ll discuss Wakanda after we recover the Tesseract. Oh, and there’s even worse news."

Steve shook his head. "What could be worse than a war? After I woke up, everyone told me the war was over and the world had returned to peace. Now it seems that nothing has changed from seventy years ago!"

Director Fury said, "The Blood God, Bert Wang, boarded a plane for California an hour ago!"

"You’ve got to be kidding me. He went to the West Coast at a time like this?"

Black Widow asked in astonishment, "Director, you didn’t stop him? He’s our strongest combat force!"

Steve and the others also frowned. They had read the files and knew just how important Bert Wang was. During the last Lizardmen incident, Kingpin might have actually succeeded if not for him.

With a powerful enemy at the gates, the commanding general had left. What kind of situation was that?

Director Fury shook his head. "The situation in California is somewhat troublesome. It wasn’t easy for me to stop him."

"So what if Bert isn’t here? Do you think the sky will fall?"

Tony said arrogantly, "With Tony Stark here, the world will definitely remain safe and sound!"

Ivan said disdainfully, "If we rely on you, the sky really will fall!"

"If not me, then who? You? What can you do besides destroy things?"

"Beat you up!"

"With you? I just upgraded my armor. I could beat you with one hand!"

"To deal with you, I don’t even need my hands."

Watching the two argue again, Banner sighed and said, "Director Fury, I’ll go work on the algorithm. Do you have a dedicated room?"

"Of course. Natasha, take Dr. Banner there!"

Director Fury said. Looking at Tony and Ivan, who were like fire and water, as well as the others who were still strangers to one another, he secretly frowned. Could this team really save the world? They had to try. They couldn’t keep relying on Bert Wang—he was a Vampire!