Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 248 The Era of Superheroes Has Arrived

For special forces squads and elite agents, Xia Zuo's Wood Release Forest is hell.

Here, they lost their information support.

Without information and support from the rear, the legendary special forces are nothing more than a group of slightly stronger infantry.

These soldiers could no longer receive support from cruise missiles or obtain the enemy's coordinates; all they could rely on were their own eyes and ears, and the guns in their hands.

As soon as you hear any movement, you have to open fire immediately and use the densest barrage of bullets to take down the other person, otherwise you will be killed by them.

The special forces soldiers were suffering terribly, and they all thought of the Vietnamese rainforest hell that their instructors had described.

Thus, in this not-so-large forest, the Dark Forest Law governs everything, and everyone has to struggle for their own life.

The battles not only occur between different factions, but even members of the same squad can turn on each other and kill each other because they cannot confirm each other's identities.

However, a small group of people thrived in this chaotic and brutal massacre.

Some people possess modified mechanical arms that can knock down trees that would take several people to encircle with a single punch, crushing enemies hiding behind the trees to death.

Some people have had their brains modified, giving them bat-like ears and ultrasonic generators, allowing them to see their surroundings with perfect clarity.

Some people have bodies as hard as iron, completely unafraid of bullets and daggers, and rampage through the world killing indiscriminately.

Some people can manipulate fire, setting everything on fire wherever they go, forcing enemies to expose themselves, and then burning them to death one by one.

Clearly, these are superhumans secretly recruited or trained by various powers and organizations.

In this unique environment, superhuman abilities outperformed high-tech equipment.

With their bio-engineered infrared vision, Osborn Industries' special forces team successfully assembled, and relying on their organizational and command advantages, they wreaked havoc in the dark forest.

Osborn's team, deep in the forest, were exceptionally lucky to find Abomination beneath a pile of ruins.

The Abomination was a behemoth weighing over 4 tons. Osborn's team modified their senses but not their bodies, so they couldn't move the monster at all.

Left with no other option, they sent someone to the treetops to fire a signal flare into the sky, guiding the retreating helicopters over.

But as soon as the signal flare was fired, the lizard soldier was shot in the head.

The sniper who killed him was immediately killed by another sniper.

The treetops are the only open area in this dark forest, where countless snipers lie in ambush, silently waiting to hunt.

When the first shot was fired, within seconds a series of loud sniper shots rang out, each shot taking away an excellent sniper.

The sniper's body fell beneath the tree canopy, triggering another round of intense gunfire.

Upon seeing the signal flare, Osborne's helicopter entered the forest area as planned, but just as it hovered at the signal position, several anti-aircraft missiles streaked over, leaving trails of smoke.

These missiles were all unprecedented models, the smallest of which was only the size of a pencil.

But this smallest anti-aircraft missile was the fastest, and it was the first to hit the helicopter, blowing up the cockpit.

The unfortunate helicopter crashed into the forest amidst a series of explosions. The wreckage broke countless branches, carving out a passage of light that briefly illuminated the bottom of the forest.

The Osborn Lizard Squad, illuminated by the beam of light, were stunned, as their keen hearing detected a sudden surge of footsteps around them.

Their location was exposed, and the helicopter that was supposed to pick them up crashed, making it impossible for them to retreat with Abomination.

The team members stared intently at their captain, who rationally ordered, "Abandon hatred, retreat for now, and save our own lives first."

Although Osborne's Lizard Squad was fast enough, they were still intercepted by a fire-controlling superhuman and barely escaped after losing one member.

Afterwards, this ruin, which buried abominations, became the focus of the battle, attracting all sorts of superhumans and strange weapons.

The frenzied battle continued until the forest sealed the hole in the canopy, restoring the forest floor to an environment where visibility was extremely low, forcing everyone to carefully conceal themselves.

Xia Zuo's Wood Release Forest was like a silent green hell, devouring countless special forces and special squads, until it was finally conquered by superhumans.

In the end, the cyborg soldiers from S.H.I.E.L.D. proved to be the more skilled ones, using the immense strength of their mechanical bodies to drag the unconscious Abomination to the edge of the forest.

After leaving the cover of the forest, the cyborg soldiers were intercepted by special forces who had retreated from the forest earlier.

Without the cover of the forest, the entire battle was exposed to the eyes of all the major powers.

The ambush meticulously planned by the elite special forces was easily countered by the cyborg soldiers, resulting in the deaths of only two cyborg soldiers before the entire force was wiped out.

However, they did manage to buy time for the cyborg soldiers, but were caught up by Osborn's lizard squad, followed by the fire-breathing man and the strange man with the steel arm.

Amidst various surveillance videos, a chaotic battle erupted around the comatose Abomination, blurring the lines between friend and foe.

The brutal battles definitively proved that traditional special forces are almost entirely outmatched by superhumans with bizarre abilities.

In the face of such superhumans, ordinary soldiers seem so powerless, at an absolute disadvantage in battle, often requiring the lives of more than a dozen ordinary soldiers to kill a single superhuman.

Nick Fury stared at the monitor, his face extremely grim: "These cyborg soldiers are a S.H.I.E.L.D. team? Why didn't I, the director, know this?"

"Who is this guy with the steel arm? How come there's never been any information about him?"

"Who is this fire-breathing guy? Who is he?"

"Osborn's Lizard Squad—I recall recent intelligence indicating that Osborn hadn't made any major breakthroughs yet. Why has such a sophisticated combat squad emerged?"

"And the failed serum from before!"

"OMG!! How many things are I not aware of?!"

Nick Fury was furious, but his anger couldn't stop the phone calls demanding accountability from him.

The five Security Council members' inquiries overwhelmed Blackie, who barely managed to evade them with his quick wit.

After hanging up the phone, Nick Fury, his face grim, issued a series of orders to his agents: "Profile everyone involved in the battle and investigate their intelligence."

"The main thing is that guy with the steel arm. Although I can't see his face clearly, he looks kind of familiar to me, which is not a good thing."

"Reinvestigate Osborn Industries. I need to know the progress of the lizard gene research, as well as all other research progress, especially those technologies that have entered the substantive verification stage."

"And Hammer Industries and Pioneer Technologies, I saw traces of their technology. Investigate them again."

"We need to increase the number of people investigating the failed serum. Give me a boost and find clues as quickly as possible. I have a very bad feeling."

"Holy crap, how did so many random things suddenly appear?"

"Coulson! Remember to remind me to increase the enrollment at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent School. We need more agents; the number of targets we need to monitor and investigate is increasing."

Phil Coulson said with a wry smile, "Chief, we don't have any more budget. How about we make up for the deducted funds?"

Under Nick Fury's fierce gaze, Coulson dared not say another word.

How could money that ended up in the hands of Chief Fury possibly be returned? Doesn't Nick Fury have any pride?

Who is Hei Ludan?

He is the number one agent, born with a suspicious nature. His greatest skill is applying for and withholding funds, and his hobby is digging tunnels all over the world to turn the massive amounts of withheld funds into all sorts of secret bases.

Coulson thought for a moment, then forced himself to say, "Chief, we really don't have any money left."

Nick Fury gave his trusted lieutenant a deep look, then waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about the money. I'll apply for special funding from the Security Council."

When Nick Fury talked about "applying for funding," his eyes lit up. Clearly, he was not only devising reasons to apply for more reimbursements, but also figuring out how to use the extra funds.

His greatest skill is turning crisis into opportunity.

Coulson gave a helpless, bitter smile. Of course, he thought Nick Fury had gone too far, but he was his director, and what could a mere Level 7 agent like himself say?

The biggest problem with chaotic warfare is the disorder and the inability to resolve issues in a timely manner.

When a convoy of tanks rumbled to the edge of the forest and opened fire on the superhumans in battle, the situation completely spiraled out of control.

There is a phenomenon called the broken window effect.

The story goes that if a window on a building is broken and not repaired in time, it will give people the illusion that the building is no longer valuable, leading to more windows being broken.

The previous series of battles were the beginning of a series of broken windows on Wall Street, and a very serious series of broken windows at that.

The current chaotic battles fought over hatred are a consequence of the broken windows theory, causing a dramatic increase in the scale of damage to Wall Street. However, the level of damage remains limited to the "windows" and has not yet affected the building itself.

But the appearance of that tank convoy signified an escalation of destruction, and also indicated that someone no longer cared about the value of the Wall Street building; they were willing to demolish it to get what they wanted.

Clearly, this person no longer wants hatred. No matter how valuable this monster is, it's not as valuable as a Wall Street reputation.

What he wants is to go against the tide.

Since Tony Stark publicly acknowledged that he is Iron Man last year, the era of superheroes has officially begun.

To seek revenge, Iron Man begins a relentless campaign to eliminate terrorist organizations. He frequently visits terrorist bases, easily defeating his enemies and beheading the terrorist leaders.

Tony Stark proved the power of superheroes to everyone with his clearly documented combat record.

The revenge launched by Ivan Vanko, the Russian "Whiplash," against Iron Man fully demonstrates the destructive power of supervillains.

Therefore, whether or not a group possesses superheroes or supervillains, and how powerful the superhumans they possess are, has become a new standard for measuring the strength of various groups and organizations.

In the past few months, organizations around the world have been searching for and absorbing superhumans in order to maintain and strengthen their power in the new era, lest they be devoured by enemies or allies.

Street heroes who were once looked down upon are now being recruited by large companies and organizations and have well-paid jobs.

But there are only so many street heroes, and not everyone has superpowers or super weapons.

Therefore, some established companies or organizations have failed to recruit superhumans and have fallen behind in this round of competition.

Hulk's series of battles on Wall Street further proves the decline of traditional conventional weapons, which are insignificant in the face of super monsters.

Shazor's battle to suppress the Hulk demonstrated miraculous power, proving that the best way to defeat a super monster is to find an even stronger superhuman.

The recent chaotic battle in the Dark Forest, and the melee on the edge of the forest, proves that superhumans who aren't that powerful are no longer something that special forces can handle.

The irrefutable facts prove that only those with true superpowers or super weapons can participate in the struggle for Abomination.

So, some force lacking superhuman abilities broke through the defenses, no longer caring that this was the financial center of the United States, the concentration of world wealth, and the most glamorous Wall Street.

Disrupting this global economic and financial center will inevitably lead to a major shock to the most important stock market, and could potentially trigger a global stock market crash.

Especially since the subprime mortgage crisis broke out last year, its aftershocks have not yet subsided.

The two violations, combined with the inevitable short-selling by financial vampires, could very well lead to a new economic crisis.

When the stock market reopens, a huge number of unlucky people will go bankrupt due to the stock market downturn, and then line up to jump off the buildings on Wall Street.

There's no way around it; Americans are used to borrowing money, even when it comes to stock trading, they borrow money to do so.

Even when borrowing money to speculate in stocks, they dare to leverage. Ten times is nothing, twenty times is barely passing, thirty times is ordinary, forty times is considered daring, and they never lack the extreme of fifty times.

Therefore, as soon as the stock market fluctuates, American stock investors can lose all their capital, or even incur huge debts, leaving them with no choice but to jump off a rooftop to relieve their worries.

It's not a big deal if a few hundred unlucky people jump off buildings to their deaths, but the economy is a three-in-one entity.

A stock market crash inevitably leads to a slump in the bond market, followed by a depreciation of the dollar, a rise in oil prices, and ultimately, an economic downturn.

This is not a joke.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, American tycoons and conglomerates are very careful to protect Wall Street and are unwilling to let it suffer any harm.

But the situation is different now. Some organizations and conglomerates have misjudged the situation and lost control of the future.

Moreover, the development of violent methods went wrong.

This was an absolutely fatal mistake; there wasn't even a chance for bankruptcy reorganization.

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