Chapter 205: Xi Nian's Unstoppable Shockwave
Under Xi Nian's steady gaze, Skye's beautiful eyes flickered with hesitation before she finally gritted her teeth.
"Fine, I'll do it. I promise you!"
"I'll claim the position of the next Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
"Not just try." Xi Nian shook his head, his student-like air gone, replaced by a firm tone that brooked no refusal.
"You must. Without exception."
After this event, S.H.I.E.L.D. would inevitably undergo a massive purge, and its entire structure would change completely.
Xi Nian didn't want his effort to be wasted. He wanted the restructured S.H.I.E.L.D. to be in the hands of someone he could trust in the future.
Skye was the most suitable choice—and the only choice.
So he set that as his condition for helping.
Skye inhaled deeply, then nodded with determination.
"Alright. I will sit in the chair of the next S.H.I.E.L.D. Director."
"That's more like it." Xi Nian smiled faintly.
"How do you plan on helping me deal with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Skye asked solemnly.
"It's simple. Compared to what I've been through before, this is child's play…" Xi Nian muttered before turning to her.
"But I need you to do one thing for me first."
"Say it. As long as it's within my ability!" Skye clenched her gloved fist, firm and resolute.
"Kiss me."
"…What?"
Skye froze. The determination she had just gathered scattered, replaced by pure shock as she stared at Xi Nian's serious expression.
"Kiss me once. Is that really so hard to understand?" Xi Nian shrugged.
"This…" Skye fidgeted awkwardly, unsure where to put her hands. Her eyes darted around the bombed-out ruins surrounding them.
"Here? Right now?"
"If not, then outside S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters works too," Xi Nian mused.
"Or you can just close your eyes, and I'll take the initiative. Either way, I'm giving you a chance, so if you don't—"
Before he could finish, Skye suddenly tackled him to the ground, tossing Xiao Huang aside.
"You damn bastard, I've had enough of you!" she growled, biting her soft lip in anger.
Then, without hesitation, she leaned down. Her golden-brown hair cascaded down as her cool lips pressed against his.
Pressed? More like bit.
It was as if all her pent-up frustration—Xi Nian keeping secrets from her, treating her like a babysitter despite her being a trained agent, the shame and irritation she had endured—all of it was unleashed at once on the boy beneath her.
Fortunately, Xi Nian thought, I have a steel body. Otherwise, my mouth would be in pieces right now.
But what surprised him was how inexperienced she was. Her movements were clumsy, forceful, and awkwardly feigned confidence.
So in the end, it was still up to him…
Xi Nian sighed inwardly. One hand wrapped around the back of her head, his body shifted upward, and he claimed the initiative.
Skye froze, her resistance softening instantly.
In a heartbeat, Xi Nian completely reversed the momentum. The icy surface gave way to warmth, smoothness, and softness…
Just like beneath the hardened exterior of an agent lay the heart of a caring big sister.
A medium. A medium. A medium!
Xi Nian began drawing her power through the kiss.
…
Night fell.
New York, S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
Under high command, no one was allowed to leave. Agents and staff were all forced to work overtime. The entire headquarters glowed bright as day, its factories and offices fully lit.
The colossal building was like a war machine running at full power, hunting down Steve Rogers—the Captain America—now accused of murdering the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a senior councilman.
Agent Skye, codename "Quake," and Agent Natasha, codename "Black Widow," had both been marked as traitors and added to the blacklist.
Inside the top office of headquarters, Agent Sitwell crouched near the floor-to-ceiling window. Wearing disposable gloves, he picked up a blood-soaked piece of torn suit sleeve. His expression was grim.
"Alexander Pierce is dead," Sitwell muttered in shock. His hand trembled, and the cloth dropped back into the pool of blood.
Armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stood nearby, but every one of them felt a chill run down their spine.
The most powerful man in S.H.I.E.L.D., gone just like that? Dead in his own office, without even a complete body left behind?
"Even if Pierce is dead, the Insight Program must succeed!" Sitwell declared after a moment of silence. His eyes burned with fanatic zeal. "For Hydra!"
"Long live Hydra!" the dozen agents around him shouted back with equal fervor.
Without wasting another second, a strike team rushed toward the underground helicarrier factory. Hydra's terror was about to be unleashed again.
…
Meanwhile, outside the ruined U.S. base in New Jersey.
A red car pulled up, headlights slicing through the night. From the front seats stepped a tall, handsome man with a round shield in hand, and a cold, beautiful woman in black uniform.
Captain America. And Black Widow.
Following their leads, they had come here to investigate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets. But all they found was scorched earth.
"Are we… too late again?" Natasha murmured.
…
Back in Manhattan, on the bridge leading to S.H.I.E.L.D. island headquarters.
The lake below was calm, insects chirping in the night.
But one by one, the patrolling S.H.I.E.L.D. guards collapsed silently—some knocked unconscious, others killed instantly. Two figures emerged from the shadows and stepped into the glow of the bridge lights.
"What should I do next?" Skye asked, her golden-brown hair gleaming.
"Nothing. Just watch."
Xi Nian handed Xiao Huang to her and strode forward, stopping at the center of the bridge. His eyes locked on the massive S.H.I.E.L.D. complex a kilometer away. Slowly, he crouched, placing one palm firmly on the bridge.
"What are you doing?" Skye frowned, confused.
But Xiao Huang seemed to know. The little orange cat raised her white-pawed hands and covered her ears.
The next instant—
The bridge trembled violently. Pebbles rattled, and ripples spread across the lake.
A low hum filled the air.
The bridge shook as if alive. The air itself quivered.
"No way…" Skye's eyes widened, her mouth falling open.
She recognized it immediately.
Shockwave.
Her own power.
But this time, it was magnitudes stronger—tenfold, a hundredfold, perhaps even a thousandfold.
"Skye, watch closely. This is how shockwaves are used."
Xi Nian placed both hands on the ground. Energy surged outward in a devastating wave.
The bridge shuddered as if about to collapse, the lake below exploding into massive waves. The entire island trembled, cracks tearing across the ground like lightning, racing toward S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
Inside headquarters, panic erupted. Agents fled as ceilings cracked, lights flickered, and walls split open.
"It's an earthquake!"
"No, it's—"
The quake tore through every floor, every chamber, even down into the hidden helicarrier docks.
And all the while, Xi Nian stood unshaken, channeling Skye's power with precision. Unlike her, he could withstand the backlash. His steel body absorbed the recoil, while his spider sense allowed him to target specific enemies with terrifying accuracy.
Hydra infiltrators marked by Alice's hacked surveillance were struck down one by one, their legs shattered by focused vibrations, collapsing in waves like wheat before a scythe.
It was perfect.
The combination of steel body, spider sense, and shockwave… a flawless fit.
Soon, Hydra operatives across the base screamed and fell. But Crossbones, gritting his teeth in fury, hurled himself into the control room. His feet burst into bloody pulp under the vibrations, but with one final act of madness, he slammed his hand onto a red button.
"Long live Hydra!" he roared.
The factory roared to life.
The ground split apart, and three colossal helicarriers rose into the air, engines blazing bright enough to light up the entire island.
Alice's voice came through Xi Nian's phone:
"Master, I can't hack their onboard defense systems in time!"
"Xi Nian, we can't let them launch! If the Insight Program activates—" Skye shouted in panic.
"Don't worry," Xi Nian narrowed his eyes.
"If tech won't solve it… we'll use physics."
With that, he slammed his hands down harder.
The bridge cratered, water erupting upward as cracks spread like spiderwebs. The force of the shockwave surged outward, converging on the three ascending helicarriers.
…
Elsewhere in New York, chaos spread. Nick Fury awoke in a hidden medical safehouse, the tremors rattling his bed. "Hill… what's happening?"
"I don't know," Maria Hill replied gravely. "But the epicenter seems to be S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters."
"…Could it be her?" Fury whispered, concern flickering in his single eye.
Across the city, Captain America and Black Widow watched as blinding light filled the night sky.
"Too late. Again," Steve muttered.
And in Queens, a boy named Peter Parker froze by his window as three blazing white rings rose into the sky like false stars, only to collapse back to earth in fiery ruin, as though the world itself had crushed them in its palm.
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