Mutual Concerns

The instant Loki spoke, the Chitauri General crossed dozens of meters in a flash and appeared before him, the claws of his right hand nearly piercing Loki’s eyes.

"I wasn’t trying to threaten you."

"But as long as the portal hasn’t opened—"

"Your army isn’t under my command, so everything you say is nothing but empty talk."

Seeing that he had provoked the Chitauri General, Loki immediately backed down and spoke.

"Asgardian, go wage your war."

"But if you fail and let the Tesseract fall into someone else’s hands—"

"No matter where you hide, we will find you."

"You think you understand what pain feels like?"

"Compared to him, pain is as sweet as honey."

The Chitauri General withdrew his hand after hearing this. He slowly circled Loki, moved behind him, placed a hand on Loki’s shoulder, and whispered into his ear.

Then he slapped Loki across the face, and Loki’s consciousness was instantly sent back to his body.

After Loki’s consciousness returned to his body, his eyes flickered constantly.

If he had not encountered a major figure renowned throughout the universe like Thanos, he would not have dared return to Earth so casually and stir up trouble.

Because that monster capable of utterly destroying the Destroyer was on Earth.

However, through Harvey’s conversation with Tony Stark, Loki could tell that Harvey was not wholly devoted to Earth.

The reason Harvey had acted last time was entirely because Tony Stark had gotten involved.

But if Earth suffered too much destruction, Harvey might be drawn in.

For now, he would take a good look at whether the Chitauri army was truly as powerful as they claimed.

As for the Chitauri General’s threats, Loki did not take them seriously at all.

Because before putting his plan into action, Loki had already prepared his escape route. Planning a retreat before battle had always been his principle.

Only by ensuring his own safety could he carry out every scheme he envisioned without worry. Otherwise, if he died, everything would be meaningless.

Meanwhile, Steve arrived aboard a massive aircraft carrier in a fighter jet.

"Get the Captain’s equipment."

Coulson gave the order as soon as he stepped off the fighter.

Although his agent rank was not the highest, he still possessed considerable authority.

"Yes, sir."

A soldier immediately nodded upon hearing the order.

Just as Steve stepped down from the fighter, a beautiful and seductive red-haired woman also approached the aircraft.

"Agent Romanoff, this is Captain Rogers."

Seeing the woman arrive, Coulson said with a smile.

Steve had reviewed her file, but when he saw the beautiful, alluring woman in a red top and tight pants that accentuated her impressive curves, he was still somewhat struck by her appearance.

"Hello, ma’am."

However, Steve had seen countless women before, so he showed nothing unusual on the surface and simply greeted her amicably.

"Hi, Coulson. Someone’s looking for you on the bridge."

"They’ve begun facial-recognition tracking."

Natasha sensed Steve’s subtle appraisal of her face and figure, but did not care. After casually responding to Steve, she turned to Coulson and relayed the instruction.

"You two get acquainted first. See you later."

Coulson looked at Steve and Natasha as he spoke, then left first.

"Natasha Romanoff."

"One of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s agents, and also a member of the Avengers Initiative."

After Coulson left, Natasha turned her gaze toward Steve. A charming smile appeared on her face as she extended her hand.

"Captain America Steve Rogers."

Steve extended his hand as well, lightly shook Natasha’s, then gentlemanly released her hand first.

"When they found you in the ice, it caused quite a stir."

"It made a lot of people happy."

Noticing Steve’s gesture, Natasha’s eyes flickered. She began walking and spoke casually.

"A lot of people were happy. I wonder if you were one of them?"

Steve smiled at her words.

"Of course."

Hearing the faintly flirtatious remark, Natasha remained unmoved inwardly, though she still smiled and nodded on the surface.

No matter what, Captain America’s awakening had given the Avengers Initiative another dependable and capable member.

With a reliable teammate, her future missions would be much easier.

"Dr. Banner."

Seeing Natasha’s reaction, Steve knew she was not interested in him, so he did not force the flirting. When he spotted a curly-haired middle-aged man walking toward them, he called out directly.

"Hello."

"I heard you were coming."

Bruce Banner looked over when he heard someone call him. Seeing that it was Steve, he walked over, and the two shook hands.

"I heard you can find the Tesseract."

Steve smiled and nodded, then spoke.

"Didn’t you hear anything else?"

Hearing the question, Banner rubbed his hands together and asked somewhat nervously.

"As long as you don’t let him appear, there won’t be any problem, right?"

Steve said with a smile.

"…You must find all this strange, don’t you?"

"After all, you’re from decades ago."

Hearing Steve tell him to keep Hulk under control, Banner felt somewhat uncomfortable. He glanced around and changed the subject.

"To be honest, aside from a few unusual things, everything else still feels pretty familiar."

Seeing Banner change the subject, Steve’s heart sank, but he did not pursue the previous topic and instead followed Banner’s lead.

The two then began walking as they chatted.

"Gentlemen, you should go inside before you continue talking. It will become hard to breathe out here soon."

Seeing that the two men each had their own concerns and were making idle conversation, Natasha grew somewhat impatient. She stepped forward and offered a well-meaning reminder.

As soon as she spoke, announcements ordering the deck cleared sounded all around them.

Mechanical roars also began rumbling through the entire aircraft carrier.

"Is this a submarine?"

Along with the mechanical rumbling, Steve heard the sound of water being displaced and spoke.

"Is it?"

"They want me to stay in a sealed, pressurized metal can underwater?"

Banner rubbed his palms together to ease his nervousness as he spoke in a joking tone.

As they talked, the two arrived at the edge of the deck.

An astonishing whirlpool appeared in the sea below, and the colossal object slowly rising from it filled both their eyes with amazement.

Fourth update delivered.