Chapter 98: The Fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Is Being Loving Also a Sin?
S.H.I.E.L.D. was filled with the acrid smell of burnt flesh.
The ground was covered with severed limbs and HYDRAAgents scorched to charcoal.
Steve Rogers knelt in a pool of viscous blood.
The Vibranium shield, a symbol of absolute justice, lay discarded at his feet, half-submerged in blood.
Decades of unbreakable faith were shattered by the skull-and-tentacle totems plastered all over the walls.
He thought he was a hero, only to find he had been a high-level thug for these Nazis for decades.
A dust-covered red boot stopped in front of him.
Lin An casually tossed a cold can of Vought-exclusive beer over.
The can hit Steve in the chest and rolled to the ground.
"Have a drink?" Lin An stood with his arms crossed, looking down at the broken veteran.
Steve didn't move, his voice as dry as if he had swallowed a mouthful of sand: "Is this what you wanted? To let the whole World watch a national security agency turn into a joke?"
"Don't flatter yourself, Captain." Lin An scoffed.
"Those official white gloves have been filthy and stinking for a long time."
Lin An kicked aside a HYDRA corpse and squatted down to look Steve in the eye.
"Politicians care about votes; S.H.I.E.L.D. cares about power. They can't give you the pure justice you want."
"But Vought's iron glove can."
Lin An patted Steve's rigid shoulder: "From today on, forget about that damn Stars and Stripes, and look at Vought's KPI sheet. Whoever blocks our path, we crush."
Steve stared at the can of beer on the ground.
He knew clearly that by picking up this drink, he would no longer be the pure Captain America, but the number one lackey under this tyrant.
But he knew even better that Lin An was right.
A rough hand reached out, thumb hooking into the tab.
With a "click," bubbles surged.
Steve tilted his head back and downed the icy, blood-scented beer in one gulp.
Lin An smiled with satisfaction.
This hardest of stones had finally become the most useful blade for Vought International.
Meanwhile, deep underground at the Triskelion in Washington.
Alexander Pierce stared intently at the screen showing the bloodbath at S.H.I.E.L.D.
It was over.
Decades of infiltration, generations of effort, all overturned by Homelander's few-minute livestream.
The disguise had been torn off; now, he had no choice but to flip the table.
Pierce slammed his hand onto the red authorization button in front of him.
"Launch the Insight Project." He roared into the communicator, "Forget the purge list, just cover everything with full firepower! Kill that maniac in the Stars and Stripes!"
...
Over Manhattan, a shrill air-raid siren abruptly tore through the city skyline.
The clouds were forcibly ripped open by a massive shadow.
Three Helicarriers, their size blotting out the sky, hovered diagonally above Vought Tower, accompanied by the roaring wind of their engines.
The armor plates on the bellies of the Helicarriers snapped open in unison.
Thousands of heavy weapon modules and high-energy laser emitters poked their heads out, and infrared targeting beams gathered on Lin An like a rainstorm.
The oppressive atmosphere in the air was almost suffocating.
"Boss, it's the Military's Helicarriers!" Hughie's voice trembled with fear, his legs so weak he leaned against the wall.
Lin An didn't even look at the cannons overhead; he even took the time to straighten the folds of his cape.
In his eyes, the deterrent power of this scrap metal wasn't even as great as a street vendor's cart.
"What are you panicking for?" Lin An raised an eyebrow at the livestream drone in mid-air, "These days, official deliveries come via Helicarrier."
Without needing Lin An to give an order, the Vought Dragon Squad, who had been holding back their anger, had already moved.
The Deep let out a strange cry, his telepathy directly communicating with the sewage pipes of Manhattan.
"Taste my sewer assault!" The Deep jumped up and down below, afraid the drone wouldn't capture his effort.
Queen Maeve bent her knees, shattered the ground with a boom, and slammed into the flank of a Helicarrier like a cannonball.
The alloy armor was torn open by her bare hands, and the shrill screams of HYDRA Agents came from inside.
Iceman Bobby pushed his hands out, and extreme freezing air spread along the deck, directly freezing the Quinjets preparing to take off into huge ice sculptures.
The number of online viewers in the livestream had exceeded 1.5 billion.
The global network was completely paralyzed.
The comments flooded the screen like a waterfall.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is rebelling! They are actually using such weapons of mass destruction in the center of New York City!"
"Vought Dragon Squad is awesome! Kill those Terrorists!"
"Homelander hasn't even moved; this sense of oppression is incredible!"
Just then, a deafening thunderclap exploded in the sky.
A thick bolt of lightning pierced the clouds and struck directly on the main engine of the Helicarrier in the center.
"Boom—!!"
The ten-thousand-ton steel beast tilted violently in mid-air, a blinding fireball exploding from its tail.
Thor flew out of the fire, carrying his still-smoking hammer, and slammed heavily onto the open ground in front of Lin An.
He was still wearing the yellow vest printed with "Vought Delivery," covered in sweat.
"Boss, this broken spaceship is blocking the shipping lane." Thor wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"There were a lot of takeout orders today, I almost exceeded the time limit. This doesn't count as absenteeism, does it?"
Viewers across the network watched this legendary Norse god wearing a yellow vest to clock in, and their worldviews shattered.
Before Lin An could speak.
Tony Stark ascended in the "Anti-Homelander Armor" that had just been rushed out, full thrusters on his back, repulsor blasts firing in succession.
The blinding pulse beams directly pierced the command tower of the third Helicarrier.
Fire soared into the sky, and the huge Helicarrier began to plummet toward the sea, trailing black smoke.
Tony's mask snapped open, and he hovered in mid-air, pointing at Thor and mocking him.
"That hammer-wielder, you really became a delivery guy now? Do you need me to give you a five-star review?"
Tony turned to look at Lin An, patted his heavy armor, and looked smug: "Bro, look at this firepower, is it awesome?!"
Lin An didn't even lift his eyelids: "Not looking."
The smile on Tony's face froze. Just as he was about to retort, the exchange of fire at the street corner below was nearing its end.
Natasha held a Glock in each hand, pulling the trigger expressionlessly.
Bullets drilled precisely into the foreheads of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents who had once eaten at the same table as her.
"Sorry, guys, I have a new boss now."
Natasha blew the smoke from the muzzle.
Hawkeye Barton crouched on a nearby rooftop and sighed.
He didn't use explosive arrows, but the most ordinary armor-piercing ones.
The bowstring vibrated, and several HYDRA elites attempting to operate heavy machine guns for a counterattack were pinned firmly to the wall.
"All cleared." Barton reported in the communication channel.
The scene went completely quiet, with only the wreckage of the three Helicarriers crashing into the sea still burning.
Wanda's fingers danced, and a red light of Chaos Magicturned the last piece of scrap metal hurling toward the crowd into powder.
Starlight's eyes lit up with blinding white light, arcs of electricity dancing at her fingertips, illuminating the surrounding area as if it were daylight.
Lin An walked forward, treading slowly over the ruins.
He walked between Wanda and Starlight, naturally extending his arms to wrap around their waists, one on each side.
Wanda struggled symbolically, while Starlight leaned obediently against his solid chest.
Lin An looked up, and the quantum livestream drone immediately flew closer, the lens pushed right up to his face, which wore a wicked smile.
"By the way, before we started, the internet seemed quite lively."
Lin An, holding the two top-tier female heroes, spoke in a tone as casual as if discussing what to have for dinner.
"Someone started a rumor that my private life is chaotic and that I have hidden, ambiguous relationships with the female heroes under my banner."
He paused, staring directly into the lens.
"I would like to officially clarify something here."
"This is not a rumor."
1.5 billion viewers across the network gasped simultaneously, all thinking they had misheard.
Lin An smiled even more unscrupulously.
"But your choice of words is inaccurate. I don't call this hidden rules."
"I am just more loving."
He tightened his arms around Wanda and Starlight: "I just want to give every female hero who is exhausted from maintaining World peace a warm harbor. Am I wrong?"
The livestream room fell silent for a full ten seconds.
The feminist fighters and moral guardians who were originally ready to spray abuse had their CPUs shattered by this kind of bottomless rogue logic.
Ten seconds later, the comments exploded.
There wasn't a single curse left.
"Boss! I'm an E-cup! I'm homeless too! Please give me a harbor!"
"Homelander! Even though I'm a guy, I'm much more handsome than The Deep! Can you be loving toward me too!"
"What the hell is loving! This tyrant really treats Earth like his own harem!"
"Whatever! A man who can tear apart a Helicarrier, I'll fan him even if he opens a harem!"
Lin An watched the popularity points on the system panel skyrocketing again, the corners of his mouth curling into a satisfied arc.
This batch of netizens is indeed easy to lead.
...
Nick Fury slumped on the floor, his only remaining eye bloodshot.
His Agents were either rebelling with Pierce or being unilaterally slaughtered by Vought's people.
As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he couldn't even command a janitor now.
The White House even issued an arrest warrant for him!?
Fury pulled open the interlayer of his bulletproof vest and took out that old, dilapidated pager from the last century.
This was his last card.
His rough thumb pressed down hard on the send button.
On the screen, the red and blue octagonal star logo began to flash, sending a signal into the distant deep space.
Chapter 99: Cleanup, The Last Hope of the Egghead
Seven levels underground at S.H.I.E.L.D., the air raid siren was stuck in a damaged loudspeaker, emitting a harsh, staccato sound.
Alexander Pierce stared at the wreckage of the Helicarrier on the monitor, which had been ripped in half, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.
He turned his head to look at the cryogenic chamber behind him that was emitting a cold mist.
The hatch was wide open.
"Go, kill the one draped in the flag, and the one holding the shield. Kill them all."
Pierce ordered the man in the shadows wearing a metal mask, his voice as dry as if he had chewed a handful of sand, "This is an order."
The man had a mechanical left arm that gleamed with a cold light; there were no human emotions in his mechanical eyes, only absolute obedience.
Bucky Barnes, or rather, the Winter Soldier.
He carried a modified heavy railgun and strode towards the collapsed elevator shaft.
Pierce wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
This weapon was the last card HYDRA could play; as long as it could stall Homelander for three minutes, he could roll down the secret passage to South America, change his identity, and live for another hundred years.
The walls of the corridor on the fifth underground level were violently torn apart.
Lin An walked in the front, his shoe soles crunching on the broken glass covering the floor.
Steve and Tony followed behind; this demolition squad pushed forward all the way, without any obstacles.
A whistling sound suddenly pierced the air.
A high-explosive armor-piercing round fired from a blind spot in the pitch-black corridor, heading straight for Lin An's brow.
Clang.
The metal warhead struck Lin An's skin without leaving even a white mark, bouncing straight back and embedding itself into the concrete ceiling.
Lin An didn't even lift an eyelid; just as he was about to sweep over with Heat Vision, Steve, standing at his side, rushed out.
The Vibranium shield forced its way forward against the dense hail of bullets, sparks flying everywhere.
"Don't kill him! He's here for me!" Steve roared, having recognized the tactical movements.
In the shadows of the corner, Bucky discarded the empty rifle and drew a combat knife, thrusting it straight at Steve's throat.
The metal arm collided with the Vibranium shield, erupting in a shrill screech of metal grinding against metal.
The mask fell off, revealing a face Steve could never forget, even in his dreams.
"Bucky?" Steve's whole body stiffened, and the shield in his hand dropped, "You're still alive? I'm Steve..."
Bucky made no response; his metal left arm clamped around Steve's throat, pinning him tightly against the wall, while his right hand drove the knife straight toward Steve's eye socket.
"You don't recognize me? Bucky, I'm your best friend!" Steve didn't fight back at all, watching as the tip of the knife was about to Pierce his eyeball.
"What the hell kind of masochistic fetish is this, you old popsicle?"
Tony, standing behind, couldn't bear to watch any longer.
The red and gold armor's pulse beams flared, blasting Bucky in the back.
Bucky was sent flying, breaking three load-bearing columns.
Steve clutched his throat and coughed violently, his eyes red as he moved to stop Tony: "Don't hurt him! He's being controlled!"
This is such a damn classic melodrama.
Lin An rolled his eyes in his heart.
He had spent the whole afternoon shattering Steve's filters, making him see reality, and yet, one resurrected best friend later, this pushover was acting like a fool again.
What a pain.
Lin An flashed in front of Bucky, who was just climbing to his feet, grabbed him by the throat with one hand, and lifted him into mid-air.
"Let him go!" Steve said, anxious to step forward.
"Shut up and watch the show." Lin An didn't even turn his head.
Bucky struggled frantically, his mechanical arm pounding desperately against Lin An's wrist.
Annoyed, Lin An extended his other hand, splayed his fingers, and pressed them directly onto the top of Bucky's head.
Powerful psychic energy, mixed with raw bio-electromagnetic pulses, poured recklessly into Bucky's cerebral cortex.
Those brainwashing commands implanted by HYDRAwere uprooted under Lin An's unreasonable mental crushing.
Bucky rolled his eyes, foamed at the mouth, and passed out.
Lin An tossed him to Steve like a piece of trash.
"He's not dead; I just demolished the illegal structures in his brain. Once he wakes up, you two can hold hands and go buy ice cream in Brooklyn."
Lin An dusted off his hands, stepped over the rubble, and continued walking deeper inside, "Now, it's time to settle the bill."
Ten minutes later.
The plaza in front of the building.
Pierce was held down by two burly men, kneeling in the center of the ruins.
"Boss, we've brought him."
The Deep and Butcher stood on either side, working extremely hard to press down the head of this former World Security Council Minister.
Lin An stood directly in front of the camera and adjusted his cape.
Internet users across the globe didn't even dare to breathe behind their screens.
"Everyone, in the past few hours, you have witnessed a major cleanup." Lin An pointed to the kneeling Pierce and spoke eloquently to the camera.
"This man here, the World Security Council Minister, former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. At the same time, he is also the leader of HYDRA. They used taxpayers' money to build aircraft carriers, preparing to gun down anyone who wouldn't listen from the sky.
If it weren't for Vought International working overtime to wipe out these Terrorists, you'd all have to sleep with one eye open tonight."
Pierce raised his head, his face filled with gray, deathly energy: "You won. According to the Geneva Convention, I have the right to request a court trial..."
"The Geneva Convention? You old geezer, did you get something wrong?" Lin An laughed out loud.
"You, a murderous Nazi, want to talk about the law?"
Lin An turned around, looking down at Pierce from a position of superiority. The red light deep within his eyes began to converge.
"Court trials are too slow, and lawyer fees are too expensive."
Lin An's voice was broadcast to every corner of the World, "On my Earth, I am the law."
Two crimson beams of Heat Vision ruthlessly pierced through Pierce's chest.
Pierce's body burned violently under the super-high temperature; he didn't even have time to scream before turning into a pile of human-shaped charcoal.
The entire internet fell silent.
"From today on, S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists." Lin Anturned to look at the drone camera, "Global defense and supernatural events will be fully taken over by the Vought Dragon Squad."
"Who approves, and who opposes?"
No one dared to oppose.
Inside the United Nations headquarters building, those politicians were all trembling as they watched the smoking charcoal on the screen.
A crisis thus came to an end in such an absurd and brutal manner.
The task of rounding up the remaining HYDRA members inside the building was left to Hawkeye, Steve, and Natasha, the three old S.H.I.E.L.D. employees.
In a corner of the ruins, Lin An called out to Jasper Sitwell, who was about to sneak away.
The bald Agent was so terrified that he knelt on the ground, holding his head in his hands.
"Don't kill me, I was only in charge of logistics..." Sitwelltrembled all over.
"Get up." Lin An kicked his shoe.
Sitwell carefully lifted his head, meeting Lin An's eyes, which were filled with malicious amusement.
"Pierce is dead. Someone has to take over those secret Bases, financial chains, and experimental data that HYDRAhad in Europe and Asia." Lin An rubbed his chin, "You go. Pack up all of HYDRA's legacy and transfer it to Vought International as fast as you can. If a single cent is missing, I'll shove you into a microwave."
"Don't even think about running. As long as you are still on Earth, I can find you no matter which corner you run to!"
Sitwell was stunned, followed by wild joy. He could live!
"Understood! I guarantee I will complete the mission!" The bald Agent nodded repeatedly, like a dog that had found a new Master.
Lin An waved his hand in satisfaction.
Only a fool would pass up a bargain; the technology and wealth that HYDRA had scavenged for decades were too good to pass up.
Wait, that's not right, did I forget about that black egghead?
...
The Director's office.
His single eye stared fixedly at the old pager on the desk.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was finished.
That monster named Lin An had completely overturned the chessboard of human society.
Conventional weapons were useless, and the war of public opinion was a joke.
Just as Fury was calculating whether he should find a bomb shelter and hide for the rest of his life, the pager on the desk lit up.
The red and blue eight-pointed star emblem stopped flashing.
A short message leaped into view.
"Arriving on Earth in five minutes."
Fury's eyes lit up; he was saved!!
Chapter 100: Captain Marvel Appears, Violent Auntie
Fury's cracked lips curled into a grim arc.
The last hope, and the strongest trump card, was about to descend!
Five minutes!
Just five minutes!
Boom—!!!
Before this thought could even settle, the door was ripped off.
A violent gust of air sent him flying, slamming him hard against the wall, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Amidst the swirling dust, a pair of blood-stained red boots stepped onto the rubble.
Lin An, draped in a Stars and Stripes cape, walked in leisurely while tossing a cross-dimensional quantum live broadcast drone in his hand.
Behind him were Hughie, who looked as obedient as a sidekick carrying luggage, and The Deep, whose face was full of excitement.
"Director, stop looking."
Lin An stepped on and crushed the glowing pager on the ground, his eyes filled with mockery.
"How could you hide like this? Five minutes? I'm embarrassed for you just listening to that."
Fury looked up abruptly, half his face already drained of color.
He looked at the drone lens aimed directly at him, knowing that his pathetic state as a stray dog was being synchronized to billions of people around the globe.
"Homelander."
Fury spat out a mouthful of blood, a flash of crazed sneer in his single eye, "You think you've won just by tearing down S.H.I.E.L.D.? You have no idea how big this Universeis! There is always someone better than the best!"
"Oh? How big?" Lin An raised his fist, "Bigger than this fist of mine?"
Fury turned his head, too lazy to pay him any mind.
"Isn't it just that Captain Marvel woman? Fine, I'll wait five minutes for you."
Fury's eyes widened.
"You... is there anything you don't know?"
Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
A violent low-frequency vibration came from the ceiling!
The building was torn apart!
A blinding golden light, like a meteorite from beyond the sky, pierced through in an unreasonable manner, crashing through the dome with a boom!
The concrete instantly vaporized under the extreme heat, and the ear-piercing sonic boom scraped against their eardrums, shaking Hughie and the Butcher duo outside to the ground in pain.
A woman burning with light as dazzling as a star hovered in mid-air.
Binary state.
Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers!
Carol looked down at Lin An in the center of the ruins from a high vantage point, her eyes spitting scorching photon energy, and her gaze held the arrogance of a god looking down on mortals.
"So you are the one creating Carnage on Earth and disrupting order?"
Before Lin An could speak, The Deep, who had become obsessed with this month's KPI, let out a strange cry and pounced forward.
"Where did this glowing auntie come from! Daring to talk to our boss like that! This is performance points delivered to our door!"
The Deep got hot-headed, thinking this woman was just a big lightbulb, at most a circus Mutant.
"Death wish."
Carol didn't even turn back.
She casually raised her right hand, her five fingers slightly spread.
Boom!
A ring of visible, substantial energy shockwave surged outward with her as the center!
The Deep didn't even have time to scream; he was like a fly hit by a maglev train, tumbling a dozen times in the air before slamming into the rock wall behind him with a bang, knocked unconscious on the spot, unable to be pried off.
The live stream chat exploded instantly!
[Damn! Who is this human lightbulb? One-shot The Deep?!]
[Such strong pressure! This is definitely not a Mutant!]
[Fury the old dog really had a trump card! It seems Homelander has hit a snag this time!]
Fury's single eye erupted with ecstatic light, and he struggled to roar: "Homelander! Your doomsday has arrived!"
Lin An ignored The Deep in the wall; he twisted his neck, and his joints emitted a crisp cracking sound.
Good guy, Marvel's number one saint, the representative of cosmic feminism, Auntie Carol is finally online!
This is a walking super popularity blood bag!
He grinned at the drone lens, revealing neat, stark white teeth.
"Family, today I'll show you something different. I don't really have any other hobbies."
He reached out and pointed casually at Carol in the sky.
"I just like hitting women. Especially this kind of self-righteous, arrogant alien left-behind woman."
The entire network's barrage cleared instantly, followed by dense [Damn, pervert but I like it] filling the entire screen.
Carol's brows furrowed tightly, the light in her eyes almost overflowing from her sockets.
"Crude barbarian. Fury said a runaway tyrant appeared on Earth, it seems it is you."
She stopped talking nonsense and turned into a golden meteor, carrying massive kinetic energy capable of destroying an interstellar warship, smashing straight towards Lin An!
The air along the way was ignited!
Lin An crossed his arms to protect his chest.
Bang—!!!
The violent shockwave spread in a ring, blowing through the entire building as if a category ten typhoon had passed through!
Lin An was blasted by this punch through more than a dozen floors, even smashing through the alloy wall of the Underground Room, and only stopped after shattering seven or eight layers of rock!
[Damn, damn! Homelander was hit into a hole?!]
[First time seeing him so miserable! What is the background of this woman?!]
[Is a new god here?? My god, Earth is too dangerous!]
Fury was trembling with excitement.
Won! It must be a win!
Carol hovered in the air, looking at the deep tunnel she had blasted out, and snorted coldly.
However, in the next second, Lin An's figure slowly walked out from the rubble, patted the dust off his cape, completely unharmed.
"Strength is not bad, a bit stronger than Hulk."
Carol's pupils shrank, and she turned into a golden afterimage again, a series of heavy punches and photon blasts too fast for the naked eye to capture landing on Lin An.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lin An seemed to have become a punching bag, hit by Carol all the way from the underground to ten thousand meters in the air, each Impact erupting with nuclear bomb-like energy halos, the sky dyed golden.
The audience in the live stream and everyone in Vought Tower were all stunned.
Tony's expression was extremely grave: "This guy's energy level... even exceeds Thor! This is no longer a situation we can intervene in."
Steve clenched his fists tightly: "John..."
With these two in the sky, he didn't even have the qualifications to help.
The hearts of billions of viewers around the world were in their throats, and speculation about "Homelander's defeat" was rampant on the internet.
Above the stratosphere, Carol gathered all her energy into her palms, and a world-destroying photon shockwave completely swallowed Lin An, the light even overshadowing the Sun!
"It's over." Carol panted, not believing any carbon-based life form could take this move.
Fury watched the live stream at the building and was already laughing out loud.
Homelander, oh Homelander, you have such a day too?
However, five seconds passed.
When the dazzling energy light dissipated.
Lin An hovered in the air, spat, and smoothed his slightly messy hairstyle.
A faint force field barrier on his body surface slowly dissipated; that was his pure biological force field.
The system exchange record flashed by.
[Silver Superman high-level biological force field has been redeemed, costing 60 million popularity points.]
"Warm-up over?"
Chapter 101: Recruiting Captain Marvel as Extra Staff
[Deducting 60 million popularity points, redeemed: Silver Superman Advanced Biological Field]
Lin An glanced at the redemption record on the system panel, picked his ear in boredom, and wore an extremely bored expression on his face.
"Are you out of moves? That was flashy, but the light pollution was pretty severe."
He spoke nonchalantly: "Now, is it my turn?"
For the first time, a look of horror and disbelief appeared on Carol's face.
Her Binary energy, enough to pierce the Earth's crust and destroy stars, had been unleashed on this man without reservation, yet it hadn't even managed to singe a single hair of his?!
The global live stream chat exploded after a second of silence.
"Am I blind? Was that a Sun exploding just now? Homelander didn't even lose a single hair?!"
"Oh oh oh! You can always trust Homelander!"
"Who was it that said Homelander couldn't do it just now? Step out, f*ck!"
"Ahhh, he's so handsome, I want to have his babies!"
Inside the Vought Tower command center, Tony Starkstared fixedly at the screen and blurted out: "Jarvis, what's the energy reading?... Never mind, don't read it. I've wasted my time studying physics!"
Beside him, Thor subconsciously tightened his grip on Stormbreaker and muttered: "A mentor is a mentor. How many times does one have to be mentored to earn such a formidable physique?!"
The ecstasy on Nick Fury's face instantly froze. He stared at the screen, muttering to himself: "Impossible... absolutely impossible..."
"You..." Carol managed to spit out one word.
"You what?"
Lin An's figure vanished from the spot instantly.
When he reappeared, he had already reached Carol like a phantom and grabbed her wrist with his backhand.
His five fingers clamped down fiercely!
Crack!
The crisp, ear-piercing sound of bone breaking echoed through the silent high altitude!
Carol let out a painful grunt, her internal violent energy instinctively erupting in an attempt to shake off Lin An's suppression.
"Like absorbing energy, huh? Today, I'm going to give you a purely physical massage!"
Lin An didn't give her any chance to create distance, pulling her wrist into his chest.
His right knee bent like lightning, carrying terrifying kinetic energy that broke the sound barrier several times over, and slammed hard into Carol's lower abdomen!
Bang!
Carol arched instantly like a boiled shrimp, and that layer of golden protective energy actually showed spiderweb-like cracks in the face of absolute physical might!
Captain America turned his head away, unable to bear it: "Sigh, the boss... is too heavy-handed with women."
The three women in the plaza reacted differently.
Wanda looked at that violent figure on the screen, feeling both fear and a twisted sense of security.
Starlight looked at that figure with obsession; it was so cool.
Natasha felt lingering fear: "Is this the true strength of Homelander... Good thing I didn't do anything to betray him."
In the high altitude, the slaughter continued!
Lin An grabbed her short, professional hair, wound up his fist, and delivered a solid right hook to her face, which was filled with shock and bewilderment!
Boom!
Carol flew like a cannonball leaving the chamber, crashing back through the thick atmosphere and turning into a meteor that slammed straight into the surface!
Lin An kicked off the air and followed in hot pursuit, crashing down like a meteorite trailing a wake of death!
Boom!!!
The ground in the suburbs of New York shook violently, and a terrifying crater dozens of meters deep appeared on the surface.
The cross-dimensional quantum drone flew professionally above the crater, providing a high-definition close-up.
Carol Danvers, this top-tier powerhouse who could rank in the second tier of the Marvel Universe, was currently lying in the mud, in a wretched state.
The golden light on her body had dimmed to the extreme, blood was spilling from the corner of her mouth, her eyes were unfocused, and she had completely lost the power to resist.
Lin An landed slowly beside her, casually stepping on her chest with one foot.
"Space Police? Guardian of Earth?"
Lin An bent down, his laughter filled with undisguised mockery, "You've been a saint in the Universe for decades, where were you when Earth was being infiltrated by HYDRA into a sieve? Where were you when one villain, Mutant, or superpowered individual after another was running amok?"
Carol bit her bloody teeth, struggling to retort: "There are tens of thousands of Planets in the Universe that need me..."
"Shut up."
Lin An exerted force with his foot, and the crisp sound of ribs breaking rang out again.
Carol's face spasmed in pain, forcing her to swallow the rest of her sentence.
"Don't disgust me with your fake, grand, empty narratives."
"Come, let's show our alien Police officer who the real cancer of Earth is: Vought International or S.H.I.E.L.D."
Lin An snapped his fingers, and Butcher extinguished his cigar, scurrying over to hand a data tablet to Carol.
The footage scrolled: The Deep cleaning up ocean trash in the Pacific Ocean; Mutants stopping robberies on the streets; members of the Dragon Team protecting civilians during riots.
Then, the footage changed to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion, showing the bloody HYDRA tattoos on the chests of Rumlow and others, as well as the internal purge list.
"See that?" Lin An patted the tablet, "The people under my command, whom you view as freaks and threats, are maintaining law and order with real steel and blood every single day."
Lin An moved his toe from her chest and looked straight into Carol's shocked eyes.
"And you? The moment you returned to Earth, you indiscriminately ran over to support an intelligence agency that had been completely infiltrated by Nazi HYDRA and even attempted to open fire on global civilians."
"Is this your justice? You call this protecting Earth?"
Carol was completely stunned.
She stared fixedly at the HYDRA symbol on the screen, which represented evil and slaughter, and her mind went blank.
Carol turned her head to look at Nick Fury, who was being dragged over like a dead dog by the loyal The Deep.
"Fury... is this true?" Her voice trembled, carrying the shattering feeling of a collapsed belief.
Fury's lips moved; looking at S.H.I.E.L.D., which had been stripped of all its secrets, he couldn't spit out a single word.
It was over.
He closed his eyes in despair.
His last card had not only been beaten into scrap metal by Lin An physically, but his faith had also been ground into powder.
The light in Carol's eyes was completely extinguished.
The savior she thought she was turned out to be a complete joke, an accomplice to evil.
"Alright, don't look like it's the end of the World."
Lin An smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles on his suit, a capitalist's signature smile curling the corners of his mouth.
"I see you're just an idiot being used by an old fox. As for your strength, it's barely passable."
Lin An pulled a crumpled contract from his pocket and threw it directly onto Carol's mud-stained face.
"Look at you, flying around the Universe all day. Do you have insurance? Do you have salary guarantees? You just know how to bump around like a drifter."
"Sign it. The position of 'Extraordinary Consultant for Cosmic Affairs' at Vought International is yours."
"Room and board included, no base salary, all based on KPI commissions. The main job is to go to outer space and give those alien scum who want to target Earth some friendly physical law enforcement."
Lin An looked down at her from above, red light flickering in his eyes, and the temperature of the surrounding air seemed to distort.
"Sign it, and you can continue to be your Space Police, but the rules have to be mine."
"Don't sign it, and I guarantee you won't leave this Planettoday."
Carol clutched the unequal contract on her face and glanced at the completely broken Fury.
Then she looked at the people cheering for Homelander on the big screen in the distance.
She took a deep breath.
Earth indeed needed a powerful order.
Even if the one establishing this order was a hot-tempered, cruel bastard.
She bit her finger and, feeling incredibly aggrieved, pressed her bloody handprint onto the contract.
[Ding! Successfully recruited core Marvel character 'Captain Marvel' by force, changing the cosmic-level plot direction!]
[Global live stream shock points maxed out, public faith reshaped!]
[Current popularity points: 30 million.]
Listening to the system notification in his mind, Lin Ansnapped his fingers with satisfaction.
And in the corner, Fury lay on the ground like a piece of dead wood.
He didn't even have the thought of running away.
In front of this devil who could trample even gods at will...
All resistance was nothing more than a stepping stone to increase the ratings of the other party's global live stream.
Chapter 101: Finding Something for Bored Employees to Do
"Yes, yes, yes."
"Right, a little more to the left, use some Chaos Magic; my shoulders have been a bit stiff lately."
Lin An lay on the million-dollar top-tier leather sofa in the top-floor office of Vought Tower, letting out a groan of comfort.
On the left side of the sofa, Natasha, wearing her tight Black Widow uniform, was skillfully massaging Lin An's calves with the same hands that had snapped the necks of countless Agents.
On the right side of the sofa, Wanda, with scarlet magicenergy swirling around her fingertips, was carefully giving Lin An a deep shoulder and neck massage.
A week had passed since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.
That Nick Fury, who used to spend all day thinking about how to scheme against him, was now wearing a bright orange prison uniform, sitting in a solitary cell at the New York Super-Powered Prison, reflecting on his shattered career as an Agent while staring at a stainless steel toilet.
The trend on the internet had completely changed.
#Homelander Clarifies Rumors#, #Fall of HYDRA-S.H.I.E.L.D.#, #Thor the Working God Takes Another Order#, #Invincible Homelander#, #Homelander and My Countless Secrets#
These hashtags firmly occupied the top ten on the global Twitter trending list.
Vought International's stock price soared all the way, and the popularity value on Lin An's system panel remained steadily at an astronomical figure that allowed him to do whatever he wanted.
Being a tyrant whom no one dared to control was just that simple, unpretentious, and boring.
"Boss."
Madelyn walked into the office in high heels, holding a data report, her smile brighter than a flower. "The X-Menofficial website is about to be crashed by fans. Over thirty million netizens are begging for a sequel in blood, and there's also..."
Madelyn paused with a strange expression.
"What else?" Lin An asked with his eyes closed.
"There are also about five million female fans, and even some male fans, leaving comments begging to enter your harem of love; they even sent over their measurements and medical reports..."
The corners of Lin An's mouth curled up in satisfaction; this generation of netizens really had good sense.
"Do you want me to help you block them all?"
Lin An's face stiffened.
"Aren't you hurting the fans' hearts by doing that?!"
He changed the subject.
"Just block those below 36D."
Madelyn: "...Fine."
The private phone on the desk vibrated frantically.
He answered the phone.
"Lin An! Homelander! You damn Vampire!"
Tony Stark's voice, filled with deep resentment, instantly rang through the office.
"Fuck! Why is the whole World discussing your private life? Even that alien who runs food deliveries all over the U.S. has several trending topics with millions of likes!"
"What about me?! I'm a tech genius who wore the Anti-Homelander Armor and withstood three Helicarriers! The playboy of New York! I can't even get on the tail end of the trending list now! What is the PR department of Stark Industries doing? Have they all been bought off by you? I want to be on the trending list! Put me on the headlines!"
"What's interesting about an old man like you? Netizens like to see contrast and dirty humor."
Lin An retorted ruthlessly and hung up the phone directly.
But after hanging up, Lin An sighed and rubbed his temples.
Being idle is the beginning of trouble.
This bunch of Superheroes, who had been forcibly recruited by him, had way too much damn energy.
Ever since the fall of HYDRA, Steve Rogers had been like a dedicated neighborhood committee aunt, dragging Bucky, whose brain had just been wiped, around the Base every day to conduct ideological education, trying to turn this hundred-year-old assassin back into a decent, upstanding young man from Brooklyn.
The two of them recited the United States Declaration of Independence in the Base all day long, annoying The Deep, who lived next door, to the point of a nervous breakdown, forcing him to seek comfort from Octopus Man in the middle of the night.
That would be fine, but what made Lin An's blood pressure soar the most was the newly recruited representative of cosmic feminism, Carol Danvers.
This Captain Marvel aunt had only been at Vought International for three days before throwing a hundred-page document on his desk, containing N suggestions regarding the promotion of racial equality, feminism, and equal rights for Superheroes within Vought International.
Lin An flipped through two pages; it even demanded that all toilets in Vought Tower add non-binary gender passages, and that The Deep must be careful not to infringe on the habitat rights of plankton when cleaning the sewers.
Lin An almost couldn't help but use his Heat Vision to burn that report, along with Carol's desk, to ashes.
Looking at that thick stack of nonsensical reports on the desk, and then at the hundreds of spam messages from Tony on his phone demanding popularity.
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Lin An's mind.
The best way to deal with this bunch of over-energetic, troublemaking guys was to find something for them to do and make them compete fiercely.
As for what to do... what could be more interesting than personally rewriting the original fate of this group of people?
"Madelyn." Lin An sat up from the sofa and patted Natasha's butt to signal her to stop. "Notify everyone, including that whining woman Tony Stark, that there will be a meeting in the top-floor conference room in an hour."
An hour later, the Vought International conference room was full of people.
Everyone sat upright, looking at the tyrant who was sitting in the main seat with a face full of pleasure.
"Everyone, you have all been very idle over the past week. So idle that some people are holding reading competitions in the Base, and some are writing me toilet paper reports as thick as the Three Character Classic."
Lin An's gaze swept over Steve and Carol, both of whom had different expressions.
"In order to give your restless energy some place to be put to use."
Lin An rested his hands on the tabletop, his eyes flashing with the madness of causing trouble: "Starting today, we are officially launching the Vought Cinematic Universeseries project! Abbreviated as WCU!"
"WCU?" Tony's mouth twitched. "Why does it always feel like a knock-off brand?"
"Do you have an opinion?" Lin An glared at him, and the pressure of his bio-field made Tony shut up instantly.
"We will be launching two projects simultaneously."
Lin An snapped his fingers, and the huge holographic projection screen behind him lit up.
Vought Universe 1: Iron Man
X-Men Series 2: Dark Phoenix
Seeing his name appear on the screen, Tony instantly threw his previous fear to the back of his mind and excitedly slammed the table.
"Ha! I knew it! I, Tony Stark, was born to be the protagonist of the big screen!"
Tony stood up, beaming with delight.
"The script should follow what you said before! It's about a dashing genius billionaire who, after experiencing a thrilling kidnapping, has an epiphany, uses his supreme intelligence to build an invincible suit of armor, and finally defeats the evil forces to win the beauty—a legendary story! How about it? Isn't it epic?"
Lin An sneered and pulled a thick folder from under the table, slamming it into his face.
"Sorry, I've decided to change the script."
Lin An pointed to the projection screen, and the image changed.
Core Story: Iron Man: My Father Is an Arms Dealer.
Tony was stunned: "What the hell kind of title is this?"
Chapter 103: Enthusiastic Vought International Employees!
"This is called depth, you have no clue what you're talking about."
"In this story, the point isn't how you show off."
"The point is how your father, Howard Stark, colluded with the Military to conduct dirty, backroom deals."
"We need to dig deep into how Stark Industries made its fortune from war, and film the misery of the civilians whose homes were destroyed by Stark missiles."
Tony's face went pale instantly, and the veins on his forehead throbbed: "John! You are insulting Stark Industries!"
"No, I am elevating you."
Lin An didn't care about Tony's murderous gaze. "In the movie, you will appear as an atonement seeker who has enjoyed the bloody dividends. You need to show the pain of carrying thousands of lives on your shoulders, and finally, put on that scrap metal to clean up the mess for the World."
"I refuse!" Tony huffed, "Stark Industries' legal team will sue you into bankruptcy!"
Lin An picked his ear nonchalantly: "Suit yourself. If you don't act, there are plenty of people lining up to do it."
He turned his head to look at The Deep, who was huddled in the corner trying desperately to lower his presence.
"The Deep, you play Iron Man. Cover up your green fish scales, stick on a fake mustache, and I've already thought of your lines."
"I am the Iron Man of the deep sea, and by the way, dolphins feel really great!"
The Deep's eyes lit up, as if he saw the dawn of a comeback: "Boss! Can I add a scene where I dance with a seahorse? I absolutely..."
"Enough!!"
In Tony's mind, the image of The Deep wearing the Iron Man armor and passionately kissing a dolphin appeared; that kind of mental pollution was even worse than death.
He slumped back into his chair like a deflated ball, grinding his teeth and squeezing out a few words: "I'll act… I'll act, okay?!"
Lin An nodded with satisfaction. That's right, the joy of a capitalist should be built upon exploiting the dignity of employees.
Having handled Tony, Lin An turned his gaze to the Mutantcamp on the other side.
"So, I have to play this Joker-like supervillain?" Magnetocrossed his arms, his mouth twitching uncontrollably, clearly extremely dissatisfied with his character positioning.
"Don't say that, old friend, this is cleaning up your image!"
Raven covered her mouth, laughing until she shook. "Look, although you've been rebuilding New York and doing quite well as a construction contractor lately, the public is still afraid of you. They're terrified that one day when you're in a bad mood, you'll rip the metal tracks out of the ground and send them flying everywhere again."
She patted Magneto's shoulder playfully.
"Come on, I believe in you, future 'Best Villain' sir."
Magneto rolled his eyes at her.
In the corner, Professor Charles raised his hand weakly.
"Um… I fully support Eric's image improvement plan, but could we delete the part in the script where Eric and I hug and cry? I feel it's a bit… gay."
"No!" Lin An interrupted firmly. "Fans nowadays eat this stuff up. Do you understand shipping? Didn't you see how high the public demand is? What, are you saying you, Professor, want to stand higher than the people?"
Charles was speechless instantly.
Just then, an angry voice broke this absurd atmosphere.
"This is simply insane!" Captain Marvel Carol examined the script.
"You want to treat a city, the homes of countless people, as the background and disposable props for your movie?!!"
"Captain Danvers, please control your emotions. Photon energy might damage our expensive conference table."
A cold voice rang out.
Sitwell, the bald head of Vought International's legal department, walked forward slowly and deliberately.
He placed a thick document on the table with a "slap" and pushed it in front of her.
The former HYDRA Agent adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
"What you call 'nonsense,' we call a 'linked economic stimulus plan for promoting employment and post-disaster reconstruction.'"
"We not only purchased unprecedented, astronomical insurance for the entire New York City, but also signed priority reconstruction contracts with multiple construction companies."
"By the way, the construction team represented by Mr. Ericis the pre-determined winner, which can also better improve his public image. It kills multiple birds with one stone, doesn't it?"
Lin An smiled, looked around at the people with various expressions, and finally locked his gaze on the dumbfounded Carol, slowly adding:
"What you see as destruction, we at Vought see as business opportunities, as GDP, as an excellent opportunity for urban renewal."
"Captain Danvers, don't always think about saving the World; occasionally, you should learn how to 'operate' this World. Welcome to the World of capitalism."
What kind of lawless corporate culture is this?!
Carol felt her fists clench. She had never so clearly felt that sometimes, the most shameless evil…
…does not come from alien invaders, but from elites in suits.
"Nonsense!"
"I strongly protest! This kind of project must go through the approval of a safety hearing!"
"Invalid." Lin An leaned back in his boss chair, looking at this troublesome woman. "However, given how much you care about safety, I've decided to add to your workload."
Lin An spread his hands and directly gave her a title.
"From now on, Carol Danvers, you are officially appointed as the Safety Consultant for the WCU project team."
"Your job duty is to stay on set around the clock. If those Mutant actors get too into character and want to blow each other's heads off with Cyclops' lasers, you use your photon Impact to press them back down."
"Don't you want to keep the peace? Now, the heavy responsibility of keeping the peace on set is handed to you."
"Of course. If you don't agree, then you can be exiled to outer space."
Carol stood there stunned, her strength feeling as if she had punched a pile of cotton.
Seeing that the meeting was about to end in an extremely strange and oppressive atmosphere, Thor, who was sitting in the back corner wearing a yellow Vought errand runner vest, raised his hand cautiously.
"Um… Boss."
Thor rubbed his large hands, which were covered in french fry grease, his eyes revealing a clear stupidity and intense longing. "What about me? Tony has a standalone movie now; is there a role reserved for me in this WCU?!"
"Of course there is. You are the former crown prince of Asgard; how could there not be a part for you?"
Lin An looked at this working God whom he had squeezed until he was practically smoking, and a devilish smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
"You have an extremely important cameo in Iron Man. In this script, Tony will be kidnapped by Terrorists in Afghanistan. And you will be in that cave."
Thor's eyes lit up: "Am I the God who goes to save him?"
"No." Lin An shook his finger. "You play a laborer who was conscripted by the Terrorists and is digging for oil with his bare hands in the cave."
"When the time comes, Tony will rush out wearing scrap metal to save you, and you need to shout with tears in your eyes at the camera: 'Thank you, iron boss, I will definitely go to your factory to tighten screws to repay your kindness in the future!'"
Stark's vision went dark.
Thor slapped his thigh, his eyes reddening with excitement: "So moving! The character arc is so full! Boss, I won't sleep tonight; I'll go back and practice the movements of digging for oil with my bare hands!"
Looking at the employees in the conference room who were either broken, stifled, or caught in self-moved delusions.
Lin An snorted coldly.
Telling you all to stop looking for trouble when you're bored!
You forced me to crack the whip of capitalism hard.
Chapter 104: A Fiery Start!
As the WCU preparatory meeting ended, Tony and a group of Mutants fled as if they had seen a ghost.
In the spacious conference room, only Lin An and the forcibly retained "Security Consultant" Carol remained.
Lin An grabbed a map of the Middle East desert and slapped it onto Carol's face.
"Go clear out the Ten Rings Gang Base in Afghanistan and secure the location for filming."
Carol was stunned, her expression softening slightly.
Had this tyrant finally done something decent?
"No problem!" Her fists glowed with photonic energy. "I'm off to destroy the extremists' lair and rescue innocent civilians."
"Did cosmic rays fry your brain?"
Lin An tapped the table. "Who told you to destroy them?"
"I told you to notify them to have their RPGs and AK47s ready. The Vought Studios crew is going there for location shooting tomorrow."
"Tell them to have the set cleaned up by eight tomorrow morning. If they dare not to cooperate, I'll wipe out their whole village."
Carol's worldview shattered instantly.
"Wait, you're making actual Terrorists work as extras?!"
"Don't get all high and mighty; this is called corporate social responsibility," Lin An sneered.
"I'm giving lost lambs a chance to turn over a new leaf, using cultural industries to boost re-employment in the Middle East. Captain Marvel, if you won't even give them a chance, aren't you engaging in regional discrimination?"
Carol was so stunned by this sophistry that she choked on her own words.
She wanted to retort, but Lin An's glowing red eyes were already fixed on her cervical spine.
In the end, filled with frustration, she smashed through the floor-to-ceiling window and flew toward the Middle Eastas a streak of golden light.
"That lady really doesn't understand," Lin An shook his head. "Money is hard to earn. Using Terrorists as extras saves on labor costs and high-temperature subsidies."
The next day, Afghanistan.
The underground Base of the Ten Rings Gang.
A group of Terrorists carrying RPGs crouched behind sandbags, gnawing on dry crackers.
Boom!
Several meters of rock were violently smashed through!
Sunlight and dust poured in.
The Terrorists were terrified and scrambled to load their weapons.
As the dust settled, Thor, wearing a yellow Vought delivery vest, descended from the sky, carrying two cases of bottled water and insulated lunch boxes in his arms.
"Lunch is here!" Thor said with the enthusiasm of a wage slave. "Line up, don't push! You brother over there, put down the iron pipe and get your beef and potato stew first!"
The entire Ten Rings Gang was dumbfounded.
Behind Thor was Tony Stark, wearing a battle-damaged suit and looking utterly hopeless.
It's over.
Tony covered his face.
As the head of Stark Industries, he was actually going to film a movie with kidnappers!
A sonic boom sounded in mid-air as Carol hovered directly above.
With a dark expression, she gritted her teeth and announced: "By order of Vought International... this Base is now forcibly requisitioned as the filming location for 'Iron Man: My Arms Dealer Father'! You have been enlisted as temporary workers, put down your weapons and get ready for makeup immediately!"
"Put on... makeup?"
The bald, bearded leader of the Ten Rings Gang was furious, thinking these lunatics were insulting him.
"Fire! Kill them all!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat! Machine gun fire poured out.
Bullets hit Thor and Carol, only making crisp clinking sounds.
Thor brushed the stray bullets off his clothes and shouted, "Save your ammo, guys! Save it to shoot at Tony when we start filming! The production budget is tight; we aren't providing extra bullets."
The bald man realized something was wrong and grabbed the detonator.
Before he could press it, a violent shockwave swept out, and aggressive heavy metal music blasted through the desert.
Bang!
Lin An, in his red and blue suit, smashed into the scene at sonic speed.
He stomped an armored vehicle into scrap metal, and his bio-field sent a dozen extremists flying, crashing them into the stone walls.
Lin An strode toward the trembling bald man.
The bald man trembled, about to press the detonator.
Hiss——
Lin An's eyes glowed blood-red, and his Heat Vision sliced through the air.
In a second, it melted the detonator, and the remaining power cut three main battle tanks in the back in half!
The underground facility instantly became a graveyard of scrap metal.
Dead silence.
Lin An put on a professional smile and shoved a printed document into the bald man's burned hand.
"Vought Studios employment contract."
"One cent daily wage, includes one lunch box, worker's compensation not provided."
"Sign and put your thumbprint on it now, or I'll send your whole village to meet Allah tonight," Lin An patted his chest. "Which do you choose?"
The bald man stared desperately at the burning tanks, tears streaming down his face, and bit his finger to press a bloody thumbprint.
Half an hour later.
"Scene one of 'Iron Man: My Arms Dealer Father', action!"
Lin An sat on a folding chair, holding a megaphone and micromanaging the whole scene.
In the center of the camera shot, the bearded extras were punching and kicking Tony.
Before filming started, Lin An had just swept his Heat Vision across their crotches, warning them that if the acting wasn't realistic, they would be physically "graduated."
The Terrorists, driven by an overwhelming survival instinct, took all their fear of Homelander out on Tony's ribs.
"Put some effort into it! Did you not get beef for lunch?" Lin An cursed through the megaphone. "The one with the white headscarf! Use the rifle butt to smash his left kidney! Are you giving him a massage?"
Bang!
The extra shuddered in fear, crying as he swung the rifle butt to smash Tony.
"Ah—!" Tony screamed, his eyes red. "John, you animal! This is real hitting!"
Carol was speechless.
Had human filmmaking become this hardcore now?
A hundred meters away, in an abandoned mine, was Thor's exclusive set.
In the script, he was a tragic prisoner of war oppressed by capitalists, digging for ore with his bare hands.
"Don't forget to suppress all your divine power! Use your fingernails! Dig with your bare hands!" Lin An stared at the monitor. "Squeeze the resentment and pain of a bottom-tier laborer out from your tear ducts!"
To avoid having his end-of-month KPI deducted, the Crown Prince of Asgard threw Mjolnir aside and bit the bullet, digging into the marble with his bare hands.
The Terrorists guarding him with guns were all stunned.
This pure spirit of a bottom-tier laborer struck a chord deep within them.
A scarred guard secretly pulled out half a piece of cold naan and slipped it to Thor during a blind spot in the camera angle.
"Brother, eat something and take a break. How much are you making a month, hundreds of dollars? It's not worth risking your life for."
On the other side.
Meanwhile, at the abandoned New York film studio Base, the 'X-Men' crew, featuring elite Mutants, also hit a snag.
In front of the artificial ruins, the two arch-enemies who had fought for half their lives were hugging each other in a twisted pose on a concrete pillar.
Magneto's old face turned purple with effort, veins bulging, but he couldn't squeeze out a single tear.
"Charles..." Magneto ground his back teeth.
"What is it, old friend?" Professor X's cold sweat rubbed onto Magneto's collar.
"You're stepping on my foot!"
Magneto opened his eyes wide, his magnetism went out of control, and he shoved his old rival away.
He grabbed his anti-telepathy helmet and smashed it hard against the camera!
"I'm not filming this!"
The Mutant leader, who made the World tremble with fear, howled hysterically at the camera.
"What kind of brain-dead, anti-intellectual script is this! Two old bones with one foot in the grave, hugging and crying on ruins, promising to go to an orphanage to work as caregivers?!"
Magneto kicked a concrete block to pieces, completely losing his mind.
"I'd rather be riddled with holes by Terrorists' Rocketlaunchers than act a single second in this brain-dead fujoshi drama!"
His chest heaved violently, and he suddenly shot into the air, his magnetic field tearing through the void.
Just as he was about to forcibly dismantle the entire set, Lin An's cold voice drifted slowly through the megaphone from the monitor.
"What? Do you want to come to the Middle East and experience the life of digging for oil?"
Chapter 105: New Fun After the Movie Release
Magneto, suspended in mid-air, froze.
"Middle East... mining..."
In his mind, a miserable image instantly emerged of Thorwearing a yellow vest, his face covered in black mud, digging into marble with his fingernails.
That pure soul of a worker, that joy of having one's soul sublimated...
Erik Lehnsherr, this Mutant leader who had dominated for half a century, would rather die than experience that sort of thing.
He slowly descended to the ground, picked up the camera he had smashed, silently placed it back in its original position, and then walked back to the concrete pillar without a word, forcing an expression onto his face that was even uglier than crying as he looked at Charles.
"Charles... my old friend..."
Charles sighed and cooperatively extended his arm.
Fine, shoot it, let it all be destroyed.
...
Under the high-pressure extraction of Lin An, who didn't treat people like human beings, a Hollywood S-Rankblockbuster that would normally require over half a year of production time was finished by Vought Studios in one month.
Meanwhile, on the beaches of Neon.
Lin An turned off the monitor and lay comfortably on a beach chair, surrounded by seven or eight chirping bikini-clad female fans.
They were chattering about how to help My LordHomelander apply sunscreen more evenly.
"Madelyn's taste is getting better and better; this batch is quite good."
Lin An ate "imported" cherries, enjoying the clumsy yet thoughtful service of the fans.
"Achoo—!"
He sneezed without warning.
Who is talking about me?
Lin An frowned and did some quick mental calculations.
It must be those bastards, slacking off while I'm on a business trip.
"I'll deduct their performance bonuses as soon as I get back."
He thought viciously.
...
Three days later.
Released simultaneously worldwide.
New York Times Square was packed, with fanatical fans and media reporters filling every inch of the ground.
Lin An led the main cast onto the temporarily erected stage, the camera flashes as bright as daylight.
He stood in the center, smiling brightly.
Beside him, Tony Stark wore a pair of sunglasses that covered half his face, expressionless, like a wax figure about to be buried.
Next to him was Thor, wearing a custom suit and still foolishly waving at the crowd.
Professor X sat in his wheelchair, maintaining a decent smile, but the fatigue in the corners of his eyes could not be hidden.
And Magneto, wearing a hat, sunglasses, and two layers of medical masks, was wrapped up like someone about to rob a bank.
"Thank you all for your support!" Lin An said into the microphone, his voice full of vigor.
"This movie pours out the heart and soul of all of us; it tells a story about sin, redemption, and love! Believe me, you will fall in love with it!"
Lin An felt nothing inside.
Whether they love it or not doesn't matter, as long as they leave the money and popularity points behind.
The movie began.
Relying on the overwhelming brainwashing marketing of Vought International and the ultimate realism brought by full location shooting, the box office grew explosively from the very first second.
Then, the word-of-mouth exploded too.
In a very strange way.
In the cinema, when Tony Stark was in the cave, shedding tears of remorse while roaring, "My father was a villain who made a fortune from war! I am a sinner who feeds on human blood!" the whole audience was dead silent at first, then burst into roars of laughter.
"Hahahaha! Who wrote these lines? Too vicious!"
"Where is the PR team of Stark Industries? Did they all resign collectively?"
"He cried so sadly, but I laughed even louder!"
The next day, the hashtag #TheMostMiserableRichSecondGenerationTony# shot directly to the top of the global trending list.
Tony's face, crying his heart out, was made into countless memes with all sorts of captions:
[My expression when the boss asks me to work overtime]
[My expression when I see the credit card bill]
[Please, stop the rat race]
Tony Stark sat in his Villa, watching his stupid face on his phone being photoshopped onto various cats and dogs, and the red wine glass in his hand cracked from his grip.
The stock price of Vought International surged in response, and even the stock price of Stark Industries strangely rebounded by a few points.
Lin An even specifically called: "Tony, see that? I helped you complete the rejuvenation and democratization of your brand image, don't thank me."
Tony hung up the phone directly.
He swore that in this lifetime, he would build an armor capable of pinning Lin An to the ground and rubbing him against it three hundred times.
And it wasn't just Tony who went viral.
Thor had a cameo in the movie as a laborer who dug for oil in an Afghanistan cave and was eventually saved by Iron Man.
But his clear and foolish eyes, and that simplicity of being reborn after being oppressed to the extreme, unexpectedly struck a chord with all the audience.
Major film festivals even broke precedent by nominating him for "Best New Supporting Actor of the Year."
Thor held the newspaper, looking at his still photo, moved to tears, and stated on the spot that he would continue to shine and heat up at Vought International, dedicating his life to art and labor.
But what truly ignited the social network was the "Elderly CP" of Charles and Eric.
At the end of the movie, above the ruins, the two old rivals who had fought for a lifetime hugged tightly in the sunset, tears streaming down their old faces.
They promised to put everything down and go to an orphanage to be caregivers.
"Eric, we are both old, let's not fight anymore."
"Charles, my old friend..."
This scene directly drove the fujoshi (fangirls) around the World crazy.
"I ship it! I'm shipping the real thing!"
"What kind of divine love is this! Loving and killing each other for a lifetime, yet choosing each other in the end!"
"#ECEternity#! Lock it for me! I've swallowed the key!"
This scene, which was forcibly added by Lin An, directly made the two Mutant leaders the hottest elderly CP of the year.
Topic tags like #AgeGapFriendship#, #LoveAndHate#, and #HugOnTheRuins# dominated global social media trending lists.
Various fan art and fan fiction sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
Professor X Charles looked at the pictures online that painted him as a shy little wife, his old face turning bright red.
But seeing that the approval rating for "Mutants and humans living in harmony" had soared by ten percentage points because of this, he felt a subtle sense of gratification in his heart.
Moreover, the World finally understood the complex bond between them that transcended friendship.
On the other side, after Eric saw with his own eyes a poster that photoshopped him as a domineering top, enjoying a shoulder massage from his delicate wife Charles.
He gritted his teeth and crushed all the metal objects around him.
Now when he goes out, let alone a helmet, he has to wear three layers of masks and a bucket hat that covers his entire face.
He was afraid of being recognized by passing fangirls, who would drag him and ask, "When are you and Charlesgetting married?"
"I'd rather be locked in a plastic prison again!" Eric roared.
Lin An looked at the numbers jumping wildly on the system panel, his mouth unable to close from smiling.
The movie was a huge success.
Enjoying the monetization of popularity points while lying down is much more comfortable than fighting and killing.
The clamor of the celebration banquet faded away.
In the top-floor office of Vought Tower, Lin An sat alone, looking at the night view outside the window, calculating his next money-making plan.
Madelyn knocked and walked in, her expression somewhat strange.
"Boss, there... is a situation in the underground freezer."
"Hmm?" Lin An didn't turn his head. "Did The Deep shove another marine creature into the sewer and clog it up?"
"No, it's not The Deep." Madelyn's tone was very serious. "It's that... 'old antique' you brought back earlier."
Lin An turned around.
Soldier Boy.
That first-generation Superhero in the The Boys World, his nominal "father."
"What happened to him? Is the freezer's cooling effect not good? Did he melt?"
Madelyn weighed her words. "Soldier Boy, during today's routine re-freezing maintenance, his emotions were a bit agitated."
"Is he awake?" Lin An raised an eyebrow.
"Not fully awake, but his consciousness is very active. He keeps repeating one sentence."
"What sentence?"
"I want to get out."
The office went quiet instantly.
Oh my, I had forgotten about this old antique.
Tsk, how should I handle this?
It's a shame to waste it.
He pondered for a minute.
Lin An slowly raised his head, an extremely evil and amusement-filled expression on his face.
Madelyn shuddered; the boss must have some twisted idea again.