Begin from the original form of torture and become immortal

Chapter 1731 Nick Fury: There's nothing I can do.

There was a deathly silence on the other end of the communication, lasting for a good ten seconds.

Tony could picture Pepper covering her mouth, her face deathly pale.

“Tony…”

Pepper's voice was weak and trembling, "Are you...are you sure? This...this sounds..."

“Pepper,”

Tony interrupted her, his voice low and powerful, “I’ve never been so sure. This isn’t a business decision, this is… insurance for the survival of our species. This ‘sample,’ this ‘bomb,’ it’s right here. Understanding it, controlling it, or at least keeping it safely locked up, is our only option. For… all those living on this blue planet. For the future. I… need you.”

The last sentence carried an unusual sense of dependence and pleading.

There was another long silence.

Finally, Pepper's voice came through, carrying a resigned weariness and an iron will—her most powerful moment as CEO of Stark Industries: "...Coordinates? Preliminary engineering blueprints? How do we solve the supply chain problem? How do we get supplies in under a global blockade?"

"The coordinates are the current location of 'Ark' Alpha. Jarvis will send you the preliminary design of 'Hell's Gate'; he started modeling it while Changwei was freezing it. Supply chain?"

A cold glint flashed in Tony's eyes. "Use all our secret channels, the black market, the gray areas. Transportation? Use our latest deep-sea stealth transport vessel, the 'Leviathan,' from the seabed. Avoid all national surveillance. This... can only be done by ourselves. S.H.I.E.L.D.? They can't even get close."

"understood."

Pepper's voice regained its crispness, though it still carried immense pressure. "I will initiate the second phase of Project 'Ark,' codenamed... 'Abyssal Citadel.' I will be in charge of global resource coordination. You... must come back alive."

The last sentence, as light as a mosquito's buzz, yet as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"I will."

Tony promised, his gaze returning to the crimson cocoon as if staring into the abyss itself.

Meanwhile, at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triscissor Wing headquarters, Nick Fury stood before a massive global map in the strategic command center.

On the map, a huge, ever-expanding, deep red area, representing extremely dangerous radioactive contamination and geological instability, is alarming, centered at the junction of the island nation's sea and the Northwest Pacific.

On the small screen next to it, the last footage captured by the high-altitude stealth reconnaissance aircraft at great risk was playing: the outline of a colossal beast exuding destructive energy and with a ferocious and terrifying form flashed by in the eerie light of the deep sea, and was then forcibly "frozen" by an incomprehensible force that distorted space. The image was eventually swallowed up by intense energy interference.

In the corner of the screen, Stark Industries' damned holographic watermark with its radiation warning sign ("Made by Changwei, supervised by Stark Industries (equivalent guarantee!)") is still stubbornly flashing.

Fury stared intently at the deep red area with his single eye, his face ashen, his forehead covered in cold sweat, and his clenched fists with white knuckles.

Deputy Director Hill, standing beside him, reported in a dry voice: “Director… Stark Industries’ ‘Ark’ platform is right on the edge of the contaminated core area. All our submersibles and probes attempting to approach, including the latest ‘Neptune’ deep-sea submersible, were completely paralyzed by intense electromagnetic pulses and spatial distortions at a distance of 300 nautical miles from the target… and… three even disappeared entirely. Energy readings… our most conservative models show that the frozen core of the target has a yield… exceeding 50 million tons, and… it’s still increasing. Once it gets out of control…” “Enough!”

Fury growled, his voice terribly hoarse.

He slammed his fist on the control panel.

"Such a massive event! A super nuclear bomb, detonated on the edge of a densely populated area, in one of the world's busiest oceans, with a yield exceeding the total yield of all nuclear tests in human history, and still growing larger! An ultimate catastrophe capable of collapsing the Pacific ecosystem, triggering global mass extinction and climate disaster!"

He turned around abruptly, his single eye burning with anger, frustration, and a near-desperate sense of powerlessness.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.! The agency with the world's largest intelligence network, the most cutting-edge technology, and the most elite troops! Yet it's like a toddler learning to walk, only able to stand on the shore, watching helplessly as others in the deep sea, in ways we can't understand, deal with a crisis we have no right to intervene in! We don't even have the right to get close!"

His cherished "Avengers" blueprint was now shattered into nothingness in his heart.

Tony Stark, that guy, not only soars on land and in the sky, but now he's extending his tentacles into the deep sea hell that even S.H.I.E.L.D. can't reach!

Bruce Banner, his wisdom may play a key role in deciphering that terrifying energy cocoon.

And that mysterious and unpredictable Chang Wei... his power has surpassed the scope of Fury's comprehension, almost godlike!
These three monsters, with power and methods completely beyond the reach of S.H.I.E.L.D., resolved a world-ending crisis that S.H.I.E.L.D. could only increase casualties with all their might.

They are a distinct entity, existing outside of all rules and systems.

the Avengers?
To them, it's probably just a joke.

His long-cherished "Avengers" plan has now completely vanished in his mind.

Tony Stark, the maverick billionaire and genius inventor, has long proven that he doesn't need S.H.I.E.L.D.'s leadership.

Bruce Banner, the Hulk, seems to have found a dangerous balance under the cutting-edge labs and protection provided by Tony, and scoffs at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s offer of help.

And Chang Wei goes without saying, he was the most brilliant one, so brilliant that this century is proud of his existence, he rewrote the scientific landscape and science that had been without innovation since World War II!
These three individuals, the most dazzling and dangerous geniuses (or monsters) of this century, actually formed a small, aloof circle and solved a crisis that even S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't understand or control in a way that even they were helpless against.

They play their own game, set their own rules, and control their own power. How could they possibly be willing to join the "Avengers" and follow Nick Fury's orders?

Fury, frustrated, pulled up another list: Steve Rogers, a World War II veteran frozen for seventy years. Although his will was strong, what could his shield do against a monster like Connors, who could destroy the world at any moment? Resist the aftershocks of energy?

Top agents Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff are masters of assassination, infiltration, and intelligence, representing the pinnacle of human skill.

However, when faced with a behemoth like Connors, whose size is comparable to a skyscraper, whose skin can withstand the bombardment of a main battle tank, and whose energy attacks can melt steel, their archery and fighting skills would probably not even be enough to "tickle" the opponent. They would be instantly vaporized or crushed into mincemeat!

(End of this chapter)