Undermining Each Other

"Damn it!" Peter trembled all over, at a complete loss and utterly unsure what to do.

His intestines were practically turning green with regret.

Aunt May and Gwen were perfectly safe here, and no one knew about them. But he couldn’t stand being provoked, and in a moment of loose talk, he had let the secret slip, ultimately leading to the crisis they faced now.

After hearing Pierce’s words, the Skrulls immediately grew tense. They all picked up their weapons, preparing to resist.

"Hahaha…" Pierce pointed at the Skrulls and laughed without restraint. "See that, Peter? Just now, when facing me, the vicious villain, they didn’t dare say a single word. But when facing you, they dared to pick up their weapons."

"Peter, you really are a famous good Samaritan, aren’t you?"

"Even the aliens know you’re easy to bully!"

Peter’s face shifted from green to purple. He was both ashamed and furious.

Peter knew perfectly well who was close to him and who was not. He was no longer the softhearted little flower he had once been, so the scales in his heart gradually tipped toward his own people, and his gaze toward the Skrulls grew increasingly hostile.

The Skrulls were extremely nervous. They gripped their weapons tightly, ready to fight for their lives at any moment, but they didn’t dare launch the first attack.

The sound of the door rang out, and someone suddenly walked in from outside.

"Hi, Pierce. Long time no see!"

Everyone turned to look. Nick Fury, clad in Strong Magnetic Armor, had suddenly appeared in the doorway, waving at Pierce in greeting. He was also carrying a fat orange cat in his arms.

The Skrulls immediately let out a long breath and relaxed.

They had complete faith in Nick Fury’s abilities and methods, believing he could resolve the problem before them.

Pierce, on the other hand, grew tense. He shrank behind Aunt May, revealing only his face.

"Get that damned alien cat away from me!"

"Don’t let it come near me!"

"Do you think I don’t know how Ward died?"

Nick shrugged, bent down, and placed Flerken on the ground. Then he turned to Peter and said, "Peter, don’t blame Talos and the others. I was the one who told them to surrender. Their strength is no match for Pierce, so there was no need for meaningless sacrifices."

"I saw Pierce coming this way just now and knew what he was planning, so I specifically ran out to bring Flerken back, hoping to catch him off guard. But now that he’s prepared, this card may be useless."

"Peter, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect him to find this place. If I had known, I should have had the warship make an interstellar jump to another galaxy."

Peter immediately felt awkward.

The warship was actually very safe in this position. The enemies on the battlefield were all busy fighting. Who would care about a harmless warship hidden on the far side of the moon?

It could be said that the Skrulls aboard this warship were the true victims of an unjust disaster.

They had originally been hiding here just fine. Even Earth’s three consecutive explosions hadn’t affected the warship. Who could have known that disaster would suddenly fall from the sky this time?

Peter’s killing intent toward the Skrulls immediately vanished, replaced by a faint sense of apology.

His thoughts were written all over his face, and everyone present could see them.

Just as Nick’s heart had settled, he heard Pierce’s mocking voice.

"Peter, you really are an idiot of a dog!"

"Nick has toyed with you so many times, and you still haven’t learned your lesson!"

"Do you think he couldn’t tell that you leaked the information and lured me here?"

"He’s the head of an intelligence agency!"

"If he couldn’t analyze such simple intelligence, he would’ve died in a ditch long ago!"

"But he deliberately pretended not to know. Everything he just said was meant to draw out your guilt and make you abandon your murderous intent toward the Skrulls!"

Pierce pointed at Peter and sneered. "Ask yourself honestly. Didn’t you just feel terribly sorry for those Skrulls who had been struck by disaster from the sky?"

"What a fool!"

"Used by someone again!"

"If you don’t want to be used by others, the first thing you need is enough selfishness!"

"And you’re still talking about saving the world and correcting everything?"

"What good is your strength?"

"Without a firm will, you’ll be completely sold out in two or three days!"

"If you want to accomplish all those things you talked about, you have to become a tyrant!"

"Act with absolute authority. Regardless of right or wrong, everyone must act according to your rules. Anyone who disobeys will die!"

"Only then might you have a chance of defeating Hydra!"

"Otherwise, if Nick can toy with you like this today, Hydra will be able to use the exact same trick against you in the future!"

Pierce had no qualms about undermining Nick from the side, causing the atmosphere, which had just eased slightly, to grow tense again.

"Peter, don’t let Hydra’s tricks confuse you. He doesn’t have good intentions!" Nick hurriedly tried to calm Peter down.

"That’s right. I really don’t have good intentions." Pierce didn’t deny it in the slightest. "We’re all villains in Hydra, after all!"

"But at least our group of villains is evil out in the open. We don’t say nice things to your face while secretly stabbing you in the back."

He placed a hand around Aunt May’s neck and said brazenly, "The core issue right now is simple: Peter’s aunt is in my hands!"

"Nick, you’re so good to Peter. Come up with a solution for him!"

As he spoke, Pierce looked at Nick across from him with a provocative gaze. Peter, living up to his expectations, immediately turned an expectant look toward Nick as well.

Seeing that Peter was still so easily provoked, Nick’s face darkened even further.

Nick lowered his head and thought carefully before speaking:

"Pierce, if you dare kill Peter’s aunt, he won’t let you off. How about you release her, and Peter won’t kill you either?"

"Hahaha… Nick, are you telling a joke?"

Pierce said viciously, "We’ve been fighting for so many days. If he could kill me, he would’ve done it already! I can’t beat him, but can’t I run? I’ll kill her and run. What can he do to me?"

"But Magnetic Field Warriors grow stronger through emotional outbursts. If you kill May Parker, Peter may very well have a breakthrough!" Nick said calmly.

Pierce’s brows furrowed. Clearly, he was also deeply frustrated by the bug-like advancement method of Magnetic Field Warriors.

After hesitating for a while, he said, "Then let’s change the terms. Peter will remain aboard this warship and stay neutral. He is not allowed to participate in the battle outside. Otherwise, I’ll come back and destroy the warship. When that happens, they’ll all die."

Peter was just about to agree when Nick rejected the proposal.

"No!"

"Once Hydra wins, it absolutely won’t let us go. We’d only be dying a little later. Peter doesn’t have to fight you, but he must participate in the battle against the other members of Hydra!"

This time, Pierce disagreed. "No! He must remain neutral. Otherwise, he’s an enemy, and Hydra will not spare the families of its enemies!"