"Ugh… I hate you," Black Widow muttered, but she still reached out and held Lock's hand that had just scratched her nose.
With his recent experience devouring Zola's illusory "clouds" in his consciousness, Lock was much more practiced this time.
Ignoring Zola's shrill screams, he drew in both translucent bubbles—one large, one small—straight into his mind.
This time, he wasn't eating physical matter, but pure mental power. The energy didn't go to his stomach—it went straight to his brain.
Lock closed his eyes slightly, calmly erasing Zola's consciousness within his mind, leaving behind only pure spiritual energy to replenish his own soul.
Thick streams of black smoke seeped from his eyes, ears, and even the pores of his scalp—remnants of Zola's thoughts being purged. The moment they left Lock's body, they dissolved into nothing.
With that, Arnim Zola—the so-called "God of the Network"—and his influence across Earth… were completely erased.
Even Zola's final form, his so-called "True Self," ended up as nothing more than a great tonic—consumed entirely by Lock.
This battle hadn't caused the same scale of destruction or casualties as the Dark Elf King's war. But the opponent this time was far more advanced—a higher form of being.
Lock had, for the first time, used the combined power of the Infinity Stones in harmony. His mental strength rose dramatically, reaching a new plateau—finally matching his Ninefold Refined Divine Body.
That power reminded him of something—the "Supreme Intelligence" of the Kree Empire.
A true god of a galactic civilization's network. Compared to Zola, that would be many times stronger… and tastier.
Lock smirked. If I ate that, what would my mind become?
"Ha! Brother—are you getting addicted to eating people now?"
Thor's booming voice echoed across the ruined landscape, startling everyone.
Lock chuckled. "Eating people? Please. That's spiritual food. You muscle-headed idiot wouldn't understand."
Thor grinned and waved a hand. "Alright, alright, I won't argue. But I didn't come all the way to Midgard for nothing. Tell me—where are you going to treat me?"
Most of the S.H.I.E.L.D. members nearby—including Thor—hadn't actually contributed much in the fight. They'd merely watched Lock single-handedly handle Zola.
But watching was its own kind of exhaustion.
Quicksilver was the first to recover and raise his hand. "I vote for drinks! We need to celebrate!"
Everyone looked at Lock, waiting for his answer.
Before he could speak, Vision flew in from a distance.
Earlier, Lock had ordered him—under the title King of Apocalypse—to calm the civilians and prevent chaos.
"Mr. Lock," Vision said with his usual calm tone. "Is the battle over? It's a pity I missed your fight."
Lock asked, "How's the situation outside?"
"Everyone has calmed down," Vision replied. "No one's attacking S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. They just have one request: that S.H.I.E.L.D. pays each person fifty million dollars."
"What?!" Fury nearly jumped out of his coat. "Fifty million?! Per person?!"
"I didn't even spend that much hiring King Apocalypse! And now I'm supposed to pay that to random civilians?!"
Helen rubbed her temples. "Vision… how many people are we talking about?"
"Five million, three thousand, seven hundred and sixty-seven," Vision said matter-of-factly.
Fury froze. "Hhhhhh…" He wheezed, his face turning pale. "Five… million people…"
Even trying to calculate that number made his blood pressure spike.
Vision tilted his head. "Is there a problem?"
Helen sighed. "Vision, don't you think that's… a little too much money?"
Vision blinked. "I calculated it. The cost of printing that much currency is minimal. It's not difficult. And if printing is inefficient, we can just modify everyone's bank account balances directly."
Everyone stared at him, speechless.
Helen sighed again. "Vision, that's… not how economics works. You might want to study finance."
"Mr. Stark's databases contain very little information on that topic," Vision admitted.
"Uh…"
No one knew how to respond.
For all his brilliance, they kept forgetting Vision was still a newborn—only a few days old. Intelligence wasn't the same as wisdom. It took time to understand how the world truly worked.
Finally, Fury turned toward Lock and ground his teeth. "Lock, this is all because of your good son. He used your name to promise five million people a fortune. You have to help me fix this!"
Lock pondered for a moment, then said, "That's… not unsolvable."
Everyone turned toward him in surprise.
Lock wasn't exactly known for his grasp of economics.
"I wonder," he said, "if they'd accept alien assets instead?"
"Alien assets?" Fury frowned. "What kind of assets?"
Lock explained that he had turned Xandar into a "resource world"—a planet rich in materials and energy, gifted to him by the Nova Corps.
Originally, he'd planned to wait for Earth's technology to develop before opening a wormhole link between the two worlds—bridging them gradually.
After all, moving the massive Celestial head from Knowhere to Earth would take centuries. There was no rush.
But since they now faced this crisis, why not go with the flow?
If even a small group of humans were willing to develop the new planet, it could serve as a pioneering effort.
Fury thought it over. "It's feasible. I'll handle the messaging—make them accept it. But I'll need a few of those people to come back to Earth within two or three years, to give everyone hope."
"Otherwise," he added grimly, "if five hundred million people start rioting, they'll tear S.H.I.E.L.D. apart."
Lock nodded. "That's easy enough. I'll borrow a few Xandarian ships to mine some resources and bring them back to Earth for proof."
"As for wormhole construction—that's complicated. We'll wait until Earth's tech catches up."
And just like that, the civilian problem was settled.
The war was officially over.
Thor, delighted, immediately suggested a feast, refusing to return to Asgard so soon.
———
Though this war had fewer casualties than the Dark Elf invasion, its consequences were deeper.
The first wave was the "five hundred million lottery winners."
At first, many were disappointed by being offered "alien assets" instead of cash. But once S.H.I.E.L.D. promised results in two or three years—and Lock's authority backed it up—they reluctantly agreed.
No one dared question the King of Apocalypse. And those who did… didn't have the strength to make trouble for long.
A handful who demanded cash and tried to protest were quickly silenced by S.H.I.E.L.D.
After all, their "reward" was hardly earned through legal means. Greedy enough to ask for more? Fury wasn't about to humor that.
———
The second impact came from the hidden powers on Earth.
When Lock unleashed the Reality Stone to cover the entire Earth-Moon system, countless hidden locations were exposed.
From underground sanctuaries and secret research labs to Skrull warships in orbit and lunar outposts—everything was suddenly visible.
Many powerful beings and secret factions were shaken by that accidental revelation.
Whether Lock had done it intentionally or not didn't matter—they had been seen.
Now, they would have to act.
———
Meanwhile, Lock used the Reality Stone's power to locate a strange plant left behind by Star-Lord's father, Ego, on Earth.
He'd considered uprooting it… but then thought better of it.
That plant was part of Ego's own body. If disturbed, the Ego might notice.
Lock wasn't worried about Ego attacking Earth outright—he was worried about the Celestial using some sneaky method to plant another seed somewhere else.
Then he'd have to search the whole planet again.
That would annoy far too many hidden powers.
Better to leave it for now. If he ever left Earth, he'd just take it along.
He told Fury the plant's location and ordered him to keep it under surveillance. If there is any change, notify him immediately.
———
In the aftermath, global network corporations were in shambles.
To replicate himself, Zola had invaded countless servers. Data was wiped everywhere.
Companies with offline backups survived with minimal loss—but those that didn't were ruined.
Station P, for example—the world's largest video site—had all its servers turned into molten scrap. Their headquarters had literally been blown apart by Zola's rampage. Bankruptcy was inevitable.
On top of that, millions of network nodes were destroyed, and countless electronic systems were overloaded. The entire global internet infrastructure was collapsing.
Reconstruction would require armies of engineers.
Suddenly, electrical and network engineers were the hottest profession on Earth. Governments and corporations alike were desperate to hire.
In this new environment, one particular hacker—freshly released from prison—was surrounded the moment he stepped outside.
His name was Scott.
---
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