Shengun Bureau or Shengun Bureau?

Old Wang was somewhat surprised. Neither Egghead nor Mr. Stark had called him.

The largest arms company in the United States had changed hands. Weren’t they even a little surprised? Not shocked at all?

But after thinking it over, Old Wang understood.

This seemed… not all that important, really?

An arms company on the verge of bankruptcy only made a few billion dollars in net profit each year. It had always been crushed beneath Stark Industries, singing songs of surrender. If Stark Industries was a bodybuilding coach standing two meters tall and weighing two hundred kilos, then Hammer Industries was a delicate little girl standing 168 centimeters tall and weighing 98 pounds, completely incapable of resisting.

Although Stark Industries no longer had much to do with weapons, its market value had risen rather than fallen. Why would it even spare Hammer Industries a glance?

As for Egghead, he was the dignified director of S.H.I.E.L.D., handling tens of billions every year, with hundreds of thousands of employees and hundreds of billions in assets under his command. He looked down on Hammer Industries even more.

At that thought, Old Wang felt as if he had just finished and instantly lost all interest.

After tossing Azeroth Industries to Skye and Fitz, Old Wang thought for a moment, then took the initiative to visit S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters and find Egghead.

"Master Wang."

Egghead had long been mentally prepared for Old Wang to come in person. "If you’re here to discuss cooperation, my answer is ‘yes.’"

Every year, S.H.I.E.L.D. purchased large quantities of equipment from major arms companies. Its biggest supplier had originally been Stark Industries.

Now that Stark Industries had shut down its weapons division, S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to find new partners. Hammer Industries had originally been one of several candidates.

Master Wang had a good relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. Maybe they could get a discount?

"Skye will discuss that with you."

Old Wang waved a hand. "Director Fury, you still owe me a few favors."

Fury’s expression turned serious.

What was coming could not be avoided. Master Wang had given him so many benefits. What exactly did he want?

For some reason, he always felt that Master Wang was playing a very big game. Whether it was asking for Sky Carriers, destroyers, setting up virtual technology companies and arms companies, or establishing laboratories, all of it was connected to that game. They were all preliminary preparations.

What did he really intend to do?

"How do you want me to repay you?" Egghead asked.

Old Wang smiled. Rather than answering directly, he asked another question. "Director Fury, what is the purpose of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s existence?"

Its purpose?

Egghead frowned. "S.H.I.E.L.D.’s full name is the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Its purpose is protection."

"Protection from what?" Old Wang continued.

Egghead said, "To protect the United States and all humanity from all kinds of mysterious incidents and… people like you. At the same time, it protects those secrets from becoming known to the public before they are capable of bearing them."

That was S.H.I.E.L.D.’s mission statement. He had been able to recite it backward on his first day there.

"Very good."

Old Wang asked again, "Then why was the Avengers Initiative established? What is its mission?"

Egghead’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He had been the one to advocate for the Avengers Initiative, and it involved a secret unknown to most.

But Master Wang definitely knew, so there was no need to hide anything. He laid it all out.

"In 1995, the Skrulls and the Kree invaded one after another, proving the existence of aliens for the first time. No one knows how many powerful alien civilizations exist in the universe. Some may be friendly, but others are highly aggressive. There’s a recent science-fiction novel called The Three-Body Problem. It mentions the Dark Forest theory. I think you should read it. S.H.I.E.L.D. alone isn’t enough. Earth needs a sufficiently powerful emergency force."

Scenes from the past surfaced in his mind.

Carol was certainly not the first Super Hero, but she was many times stronger than any known Super Hero. The energy of the Cosmic Cube had flowed through her entire body.

Carol alone could frighten off the Kree Empire’s Accuser Corps space fleet. If she were still here, she could naturally keep Earth safe.

But she had her own things to do. She had left for fourteen years without returning to see me even once, one year longer than Yu the Great.

Earth needed a sufficiently powerful permanent Super Hero force. Perhaps it would be difficult to find a second Carol, but they could always find a few like Captain America.

As for why they were called Avengers rather than the Protectors originally decided upon?

Egghead subconsciously glanced at his desk drawer. Inside was a photograph, a picture of Carol standing beside an airplane.

There was a line of text on the plane:

Captain Carol "Avenger" Danvers

Although she had never returned, in my heart, she was the first Avenger…

"So can I take it that both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers Initiative exist to protect Earth?"

Old Wang interrupted Egghead’s thoughts. "The difference is that S.H.I.E.L.D. is a conventional organization that handles ordinary incidents, while the Avengers Initiative is an emergency force that handles sudden events that are very difficult to deal with?"

Egghead nodded. "Yes."

Old Wang smiled. "Then how many Captain Americas do you think it would take to deal with the Kree?"

Egghead froze slightly.

Earth was merely a corner of the vast universe. Its civilization was at a very low level, its technology backward. Higher civilizations did not take it seriously at all.

In the Kree’s eyes, humans posed almost no threat, not even as much as a fat orange cat less than fifty centimeters long.

Carol had only been an ordinary member of an Interstellar Squad back then. After receiving merely six years of Kree training, the pager she casually modified had a signal that could cover several nearby star systems—Milky Way Galaxy-level star systems. What kind of advanced technology was that?

S.H.I.E.L.D. had studied the Cosmic Cube for so many years, yet only Howard Stark had developed isotopes from it. But that Kree scientist from back then named Marvel… Mar-Vell had used the Cosmic Cube to develop a Light Speed Engine. What kind of gap was that?

Tony claimed that no one would be able to develop an Arc Reactor within twenty years. Yet in the eyes of higher civilizations, an Arc Reactor was nothing special, merely a high-efficiency energy battery, civilian technology.

Even with ten thousand Captain Americas, could they stop the Kree fleet?

"The backward get beaten. That is an eternal truth."

Old Wang said calmly, "I acknowledge S.H.I.E.L.D.’s purpose, but I don’t understand why it has to be S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avengers, rather than Shengun Bureau and Invaders. Why must we wait for others to attack us instead of taking the initiative and eliminating our enemies beyond Earth?"

Why did they have to take the beating?

No.

Old Wang had never been in the habit of standing around and taking hits. He had only one style:

Attack, attack, attack!

Even in World of Warcraft, when had the Pandaren ever retreated?

I repaired the Scepter of the Shifting Sands, convinced the leaders of the Alliance and Horde to form the Kalimdor Allied Army, and took the initiative to tear down the Scarab Wall and attack the Temple of Ahn’Qiraj.

I took the initiative to open the Dark Portal and invade Outland. I also obtained Well of Eternity Water, created a second Sunwell, and prevented Prince Kael’thas from falling.

I led the army on the Northrend Campaign and dealt with that filial son of Lordaeron. I also went to Deepholm and eliminated Deathwing before the Cataclysm.

I utterly crushed Seven Sha before it broke free of its seal. I also stopped time travel, preventing Warlords of Draenor from ever being born.

There was no Legion invasion, much less Battle for Azeroth.

I helped the Draenei repair Tempest Keep, led the Alliance and Horde on an expedition to Argus, and guided the power of the Titans and Holy Light to destroy the Old Gods, making Azeroth more like a living, breathing person.

I was never a Protector or an Avenger.

I was an Invader from World of Warcraft!

"Um…"

Seeing Old Wang sink into some inexplicable fantasy, Egghead quickly coughed to remind him. "Master Wang, we can’t even put people on the moon yet…"

So the Apollo Program really was a lie… Old Wang snorted. "The most important thing in life is having dreams. Technology is advancing so quickly now. As long as we gather the wisdom of all humanity, let alone landing on the moon, I don’t think even landing on the sun would be much of a problem."

That would turn people into gas… Egghead said helplessly, "Master Wang, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Old Wang said, "I heard that ancient warriors held a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, conquering everything before them. With only a shield and no spear, how can you deal with enemies?"

"So?"

"So outside of S.H.I.E.L.D., I want to establish another organization, one specifically responsible for attacking and proactively dealing with powerful enemies beyond Earth. One organization for internal affairs and one for external affairs. Only then can Earth’s safety be ensured."

Old Wang blinked. "What do you think of Shengun Bureau? Or…"

He frowned slightly.

Among all the artifacts in World of Warcraft, there was only one spear: the hunter artifact, Spear of the Wild Gods.

The Pandaren Monk artifact, the weapon he used most often, Fu Zan, the Wanderer’s Companion, was a fine item personally gifted by the Monkey King. Come to think of it, it was more like a staff.

So the new organization should be called…

Old Wang hesitated for a moment. "Shengun Bureau?"