The Avengers were still holding together for now, but Natasha Romanoff knew all too well what kind of vultures would be drawn to the scent of blood seeping from a wound. Countless forces were waiting for their downfall, eager to feast on their remains. Even Stark was growing weary of the enemies he faced in the business world, which now included the Koch brothers. The Koch family had a long history of fervent Nazi support, with the first-generation patriarch, Fred Koch, having done business with the Third Reich. This family was also one of the largest financial backers of the Republican Party.
Steve Rogers, with the help of Agent Hill, was digging deeper into Hydra's roots, even tracing them back to the legendary FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover—who, before Roosevelt took office, had been a staunch Nazi sympathizer. Although Captain Rogers' main target was the Winter Soldier program, he wouldn't turn away any Hydra-related clues he uncovered along the way.
Agent Romanoff never expected the Avengers to completely eradicate Hydra, because they were already entrenched in enemy territory. The United States, in a way, had become the largest Hydra base after the fall of the Third Reich. Now that the Avengers had openly declared war against Hydra, they were bound to make many enemies.
At the moment, no one wanted to be labeled as Hydra. Whether someone actually was Hydra or not didn't matter—the real question was whether their competitors believed they were. Under such circumstances, they couldn't openly denounce the Avengers or Captain America as Hydra. But once the storm passed and the politicians had their hands free, they would undoubtedly come up with a narrative.
Whether people believed it or not was irrelevant. The majority were foolish, and years of mind-numbing education had conditioned voters to accept any ideology fed to them. In fact, some politicians had already begun opposing the Avengers. It was a compelling campaign slogan—far more provocative and effective than debates over gun rights or drug legalization. However, those who jumped in too soon were immediately labeled as Hydra by their political opponents, and their inability to prove otherwise forced them out of the race, suffering a crushing defeat in the political battlefield.
No one was Hydra, yet everyone was Hydra. Agent Romanoff was utterly disillusioned with the system.
Rather than chasing Hydra, she preferred to steer the Avengers toward other matters. As luck would have it, Solomon had vanished without a trace, which made her suspect that something was being kept from her. She firmly believed that if it was something she was meant to know, Solomon wouldn't have hesitated to share it. On one hand, Nick Fury was pressing her for answers; on the other, her own curiosity was driving her forward. But Stephanie refused to reveal much, only telling Agent Romanoff that Solomon was no longer on Earth and refusing to say anything else.
Even though Stephanie wasn't eager to meet with Romanoff, she still followed Solomon's instructions and handed her a particular item—a gift, in a way. It was a product of the Eternal City's weapon technology, accompanied by a handwritten note from Solomon himself. The theoretical principle behind it involved using a strong magnetic field to contain the extreme temperatures of nuclear fusion plasma, then channeling a portion of the plasma through an accelerator and launching it via the firing mechanism. The star-like heat generated in an instant could melt any enemy. This weapon was Solomon's way of compensating for Romanoff's relatively weaker combat ability. Princess Shuri had already resolved its stability issues—so long as it wasn't fired continuously, it wouldn't produce excessive ionizing radiation or risk an explosion.
The reason it was described as "theoretical" was because the pistol still contained some secret technologies that Solomon wasn't willing to disclose.
With external production capacity expanding, most of the Eternal City's industry had begun relocating, and the Sisterhood had secretly started equipping different models of these weapons manufactured elsewhere. At the same time, this technology was now being integrated into armored vehicles. The Wakandans remained unaware of the true purpose behind this research, including Princess Shuri, who was leading its development. Wakanda was still focused on the vibranium deposits in Antarctica and did not see the Eternal City as a primary concern. They had no idea that Solomon had already set his sights on the massive electromagnetic shield protecting Wakanda's capital—he was convinced that this technology could effectively counter the Wakandan city's defensive barrier.
The Eternal City was a trap, waiting for T'Chaka to walk right into it.
Victoria Hand naturally received reports about Solomon. While the Eternal City operated under a classified hierarchy system, as her clearance level increased, she had learned many secrets previously unknown to her—including the general whereabouts of Solomon. Of course, such information was irrelevant to most people, because to them, Solomon's location was like a lightless star in the cosmos, no more than a distant legend.
They had no idea what Solomon was bringing back.
Merlin approached, scrutinized Solomon, then shook his head in disdain and turned back toward his cabin. He simply could not appreciate the beauty of robots. To him, they were nothing more than a composite of bionic materials, chips, energy conduits, and memory alloys—even their alluring appearances were the product of careful design. It was just a bionic shell. No matter how humanlike they appeared, they were not truly alive. They could never compare to the vibrant presence of a real young woman.
It was, without a doubt, a degradation of aesthetics!
Even Dave couldn't understand why Solomon had ordered the crew to load the casino's mechanical prostitutes onto the ship, only to personally dismantle them. When he woke up, he found that the entire smuggling ship was eerily empty—aside from himself and Merlin, there was not a single soul aboard. The ship was completely silent, its systems shut down, as lifeless as a corpse. The reason was that, under Solomon's influence, the former crew had transformed into interstellar pirates. When customs officers arrived to unload cargo at the casino, Solomon had fired the first shot, using an explosive rifle to kill the first alien on the spot. From that moment on, he became the true leader of this bloodthirsty band of pirates.
He didn't care about money. He only wanted technology—all technology, from food production to weaponry. Every relevant piece of equipment was loaded onto the ship. The mechanical prostitutes were merely the least significant part of his haul.
Solomon had seized complete control of the ship and was now directing it toward the coordinates provided by Merlin, with a heavily armed merchant vessel trailing close behind. They were at the fringes of the galaxy, a place where few dared to travel. But to this crew of money-hungry misfits, Solomon was a fearsome warrior who had taken down a casino tycoon.
This ship had stayed in this industrial world for a long time, and even the Kree first mate who had been with Solomon all along had lost count of how many people he had killed. The first mate only remembered that they had ransacked nearly every casino in the port, slaughtered all the security personnel, and looted every guest down to their last credit.
Following a man like this could only mean one thing—fortune. No one had any objections.
"We are heading into our next war, my friends."
Solomon sat in the captain's seat, his deep crimson sanctified robes stained with alien blood. His voice was loud and commanding, as if it could vibrate the nerves beneath the skin, as though his will was being forcefully instilled into every crew member's body. His newly recruited crew included scoundrels from the port—desperate criminals who now swore allegiance to his throne.
"Ults… Ultsx, whatever. Who cares what it's called?" He tapped his fingers on the hilt of his longsword. Solomon knew this ragtag bunch couldn't fight in any high-intensity war—they were cowards who preyed on the weak.
With a blank expression, Solomon said, "That fat lamb is bringing something valuable to us. We need to win this battle. First mate, do you have any objections?"
"No!" The Kree first mate quickly shook his head and forced a grin, revealing his rotting teeth. "The boys just want to get rich, not cause trouble."
"There's no fortune without trouble, First Mate." Solomon let out a low chuckle. "Our ship isn't heavily armed. Rest up, take your meds, prepare for boarding combat. I'll lead you filthy scum to even greater victories!"
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