An old man was carefully arranging equipment, and at the center of the apparatus sat the Cosmic Cube.
He was none other than Dr. Selvig, who was under Loki's control via the Mind Scepter.
Loki had actually set his sights on Selvig long ago, incorporating him into his next stage of planning.
Now, Selvig was to become his pawn—the key to opening that portal!
As arcs of electricity surged upward, the power of the Cosmic Cube was instantly activated. A straight beam of blue light shot skyward, piercing directly into the air above Stark Tower!
This beam of energy carried a mysterious force, impacting a designated region of space.
Soon, in that spot, a small pitch-black hole slowly began to open!
Earth's light was reflexively drawn inward, allowing a glimpse of what lay beyond.
An alien army—on the move!
Grotesque faces, bodies exuding the aura of slaughter and war!
From the ground upward, the portal rapidly expanded, soon transforming into a pitch-black rift over ten meters in diameter, suspended in the sky!
On the streets below, people simultaneously looked up—and were utterly stunned by the sight.
"What is that—my God!"
"Is Stark Industries developing some kind of cutting-edge technology?"
"Oh my God… that doesn't look right!"
...
When the portal first appeared, people had not yet grasped the danger.
They were merely amazed, even fantasizing about what kind of superweapon Stark Industries might be researching.
But this had nothing to do with Stark Industries!
As the portal expanded further, the Chitauri army in space could no longer contain its excitement. With savage howls, they poured through the rift, mounting their aircraft and diving straight toward Earth!
Not only were the Chitauri hideous in appearance—their hearts were even darker.
Or perhaps they had no hearts at all.
Their very essence was closer to that of electronic lifeforms.
The moment they invaded Earth, they showed no hesitation in attacking the civilians below!
Boom—boom—!
With the roar of cannon fire, the onlookers who had lingered finally snapped back to reality.
Run!
Whether Stark Industries was conducting research no longer mattered!
Their minds went blank.
They only wanted to survive!
Unfortunately, the firepower of the Chitauri army—even their vanguard—was far beyond what civilians could withstand!
The first wave of Chitauri forces descended upon Earth, crushing humanity like ants without mercy!
Those ion cannons were terrifyingly powerful—each blast that struck a person blew them apart into several fragments on the spot!
It was clearly the destructive force of an RPG, yet in their hands it was unleashed in rapid, machine-like succession!
The scene was unimaginably brutal.
Those still alive were driven to utter despair!
"AAAAAAAAAAAA—!"
Shouts! Screams! Wails of anguish filled the city!
Just minutes earlier, these same people had been drinking tea, chatting in the world's greatest metropolis—savoring life, discussing plans to team up for a dungeon run later that evening.
Some of the older ones had even been thinking about going home to cook dinner.
Life had been comfortable.
Relaxed.
Happy.
And yet the crisis had arrived without warning!
That beautiful picture of everyday life was as if it had been viciously slashed by a flaming Nepalese kukri—then torn to shreds!
Sob…!
Wails…!
The American police were the first to arrive at the scene.
After all, Stark Industries was located in this district—it was an area that required constant patrols and order maintenance.
Now, this chaos was their responsibility!
Though these officers were usually lax—and even prone to flirting with pretty girls—they still rushed to their patrol cars at this moment of crisis, striving to maintain evacuation routes as efficiently as possible!
The panicked crowd heard the sirens and, inexplicably, felt a flicker of relief.
There was hope.
But it didn't last long.
One of the Chitauri flying craft swooped down at high speed!
The grotesque face of the Chitauri soldier was terrifying, and the strange weapon in its hands locked directly onto a police car!
Then—
A blast erupted.
—————————
Xu Dan was well aware of how despicable the Chitauri were.
Not just the Chitauri—it would be more accurate to say that most extraterrestrial races were hostile toward humans.
It was precisely because he understood this that he placed such importance on the possibility of interstellar invasion.
Humanity was weak.
And in this Marvel universe, powerful civilizations were like stars in the sky—countless beyond measure!
Humans could not gamble on the morality of those advanced civilizations, nor on their attitudes toward Earth.
But one thing was certain:
If they wanted to attack Earth, all it would take was a single battleship.
That was why Xu Dan was so eager for Earth to accelerate its development and step into the interstellar age as soon as possible.
Even if humanity never invaded others, it at least needed the ability to protect itself!
When the vibration of the helicarrier temporarily stabilized, Xu Dan did not follow Tony to join the defensive battle.
Instead, he immediately ran toward the flight deck!
Only an idiot would rush into combat!
He was a game developer—invited by Tony to research the Mind Stone.
Now that the ship was under attack, of course his priority was finding a safe place!
This was a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship.
If it got damaged, that was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s problem.
He had no interest in fighting a bunch of alien mercenaries!
As for the safest place on the ship—
There was none better than his own aircraft.
He might not trust many things, but he had absolute confidence in the aircraft produced by his own company!
But just as he passed through a corridor, the radio beside him suddenly came alive with the Red Queen's voice.
"The invasion has begun… Master, Master, New York City has detected an invasion by unknown forces. Your property is projected to be under threat within three hours."
Xu Dan froze mid-run.
In that instant, everything became clear.
Given the current situation, there was only one possible invader—
The Chitauri army.
He simply hadn't expected it to happen so fast.
According to the original sequence of events, the portal shouldn't have fully opened until after the helicarrier incident was resolved!
Loki—that damned bastard—had gone for a two-pronged approach!
"Red Queen, send this information to the 'Brined Egg' as well!"
"Yes, Master!"
"Open the hangar doors. Power up our aircraft. I'm heading back immediately!"
"Command executed."
"And notify all the forces that should be notified. It's time to remind them—let me see just how sincere they really are."
"Yes, Master!"
Xu Dan nodded and continued running toward the deck.
Since the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel had been considerate enough to clear a large space for him, his aircraft had not collided with anything when the ship lost balance.
-----------------------
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