As for whether those foolish pigs lived or died—what did it have to do with Nick Fury?
After watching the video, everyone's expressions darkened to the point that they looked as though water might drip from their faces. Even seasoned agents like Natasha and Barton felt the urge to put a couple of bullets into those World Security Council idiots, let alone the others.
"I can hack into their networks and dig up all their dirt," Skye said, holding the S.H.I.E.L.D.-issued laptop. "Give me an hour, and I'll have everything we want."
"Exposing scandals is useless," Lucas replied coldly. "They control the internet and the news. Any dirt you release will just sink without a trace. I want to teach them a lesson they'll never forget."
Lucas's face was grim. He had never liked America—especially its government.
This time, even Steve said nothing to stop him. Sacrificing civilians was a line Steve could never accept, let alone sacrificing millions in one decision.
[Ding—Congratulations, Host. Mission complete. Reward unlocked: New Summoned Beast—Immortal Phoenix.]
The system's voice rang out suddenly, making Lucas pause in surprise. He hadn't expected a new summon so soon—especially the Immortal Phoenix. A legendary summon passed down through generations of the Rosfield family, one of their core, life-bound summons.
Everyone present suddenly felt the temperature around them spike sharply, the heat clearly radiating from Lucas.
A flicker of flame flashed through Lucas's eyes, then vanished. The intense heat dissipated just as quickly, and the temperature in the conference room returned to normal.
Still, everyone had clearly felt it.
"It's time to make those idiots pay," Lucas murmured.
In the next instant, his figure vanished from the conference room.
When he reappeared, Lucas was already standing on the deck of the Helicarrier. This instantaneous movement was a gift from the Immortal Phoenix—short-range teleportation.
Lucas lifted his gaze toward the sky. Flames burned like solid fire in his eyes as a pair of phoenix wings suddenly unfurled from his back. Accompanied by a clear, piercing cry, he shot straight upward, disappearing into the clouds.
Moments later, the entire sky over New York seemed to ignite, turning a blazing red—like an exquisite sunset—casting a breathtaking crimson veil over the war-torn ruins of the city.
At the same time, far away in Washington, D.C., the sky mirrored New York's fiery hue. But unlike New York, two black dots had appeared within that red expanse—and they were rapidly growing larger.
D.C. was the political heart of America, home to nearly all federal institutions, heavily guarded and fortified.
It was early evening. Fire-cloud sunsets were rare, so pedestrians stopped to look up, many excitedly snapping photos.
Soon, people noticed what looked like two meteors streaking slowly across the sky, their golden trails dazzling against the crimson backdrop.
"Look! Meteors!!"
Many civilians shouted in excitement. Seeing such clearly visible meteors at dusk was an exceptionally rare sight.
But the meteors didn't burn up in the atmosphere.
Instead, they plunged straight downward toward the city.
With thunderous roars like earthquakes, the two meteors slammed into the ground, followed by an overwhelming burst of fire that illuminated several surrounding blocks.
Only then did people realize the meteors had struck something. Crowds rushed toward the impact site—some out of concern, some out of curiosity, and others eager to capture firsthand footage for social media.
To their shock, the meteors had struck the Capitol Building.
In an instant, it was reduced to rubble.
Secondary explosions continued to erupt within the ruins—the Capitol complex covered a vast area, after all.
The entire United States was thrown into panic, especially the citizens of D.C. Rumors quickly spread that God had unleashed divine punishment upon America.
Some people even dropped to their knees in the streets, crossing themselves and praying fervently.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the fiery sky began to fade. The evening sky returned to its normal colors.
This only strengthened the beliefs of those convinced it was divine retribution—the disappearance of the flames was seen as proof that God's punishment was complete.
---
Meanwhile, Lucas reappeared on the Helicarrier's deck.
He glanced in the direction of Washington, D.C., smiled faintly, and walked calmly back toward the interior. From his departure to the meteor strike, and then his return, less than ten minutes had passed.
Lucas took out a secure communication device and put it on.
"Skye, delete all surveillance footage related to me from earlier."
In the conference room, a dialogue box suddenly popped up on Skye's laptop. Though it displayed seemingly irrelevant data, Skye carefully scanned everything before closing it. She then began erasing all surveillance footage of Lucas from ten minutes earlier.
After finishing, she reopened the dialogue box, typed in a string of code, and closed it again.
Lucas received confirmation through the communicator that everything had been deleted.
When he strolled back into the conference room, all eyes instantly turned toward him. Everyone stared as if they were looking at a ghost.
"What?" Lucas asked. "Why is everyone staring at me like that?"
He even glanced down at his clothes to make sure he hadn't left any obvious clues before looking back at them.
"Not bad, kid," Tony said, stepping forward and patting Lucas on the shoulder, clearly enjoying the chaos. "That was some fast retaliation."
"Get lost," Lucas replied smoothly. "What are you talking about? Who did I retaliate against?"
He continued the act. This was something no one could have proof of—even if they knew it was him, knowing and proving were two very different things.
"Breaking news," Natasha said, pressing a button on the remote.
The big screen lit up with live footage from Washington, D.C.
"The Capitol Building was struck by two meteors. The scene is catastrophic. Nearly all members of Congress were killed. A handful survived only because they were meeting in an underground facility at the time."
Reporters flooded the scene. Every major network was covering it—this was now the hottest news in the country, even beginning to overshadow the Battle of New York.
After all, those two meteors had effectively wiped out America's entire legislative body. The government itself might be paralyzed by this single event. And with countless civilians witnessing the meteors fall from the sky, there was no trail left for investigators to follow.
"You're not saying this was my doing, are you?" Lucas said, waving his hands dismissively.
"Come on, don't joke around. I was gone for barely ten minutes. There's no way I could've gone from New York to D.C. and back. Besides, I don't even have the ability to summon meteors—and you all know that."
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