In the Marvel Universe: I can summon items from all dimensions.

At that moment, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s elite agents were on their way on horseback.

The group of forty people, divided into eight teams, departed from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York branch by helicopter. Led by the renowned "Black Widow" Natasha Romanoff and "Hawkeye" Clint Barton, the group also included six elite police squads transferred from the New York Police Department. They rushed towards Hyde Medical Center from different angles of the city. All of them were equipped with the highest level of weapons available in the city. Their scale was so large that it didn't seem like they were going to rescue people at all; they could have been used in local wars in Africa or even the Middle East.

"While Commander Carter is important, this level of troop strength seems a bit excessive."

Clint adjusted the short compound bow in his hand and said to Natasha, who was in another helicopter, in a sarcastic tone, "It reminds me of the days of counterterrorism—none of those people were as generous as our one-eyed chief."

"Hehe, who knows?"

On the other end of the communicator, Natasha replied while doing stretching exercises, "My team is already speculating whether Fury has some kind of improper relationship with Commander Carter."

"No matter what, it shouldn't have come to that..."

Clint sighed, and just as he was about to say something more, the helicopter pilot turned around and announced loudly, "Sir! Hyde Medical Center is just one block away! Shall we disembark here?"

"Fly to the rooftop of that apartment building! I'll disembark there, then sneak into the hospital through the sewers—Natasha! You're in charge of the ventilation ducts!"

Clint instructed the others via the public channel: "Everyone else, wait for news from me and Natasha—Officers, please surround the hospital as previously planned, and have the negotiators speak to the criminals inside! If you understand, everyone move out!"

—Some might think that this convoy of helicopters and armored vehicles had no intention of rescuing anyone, but rather seemed to be there to raze the hospital to the ground. However, that's not the case. The Hand had no intention of hiding the news. After informing the government that they had hijacked Hyde Medical Center, they openly sent people to guard the hospital's main entrance and injured several citizens who went to check on the situation, clearly intending to escalate the situation.

As a result, the New York Police Department received more than a dozen emergency calls about Hyde Medical Center within minutes. Given this situation, it would be strange if the police didn't send someone over.

Although the gatekeeper has disappeared for some unknown reason, this does not prevent S.H.I.E.L.D. from developing a strategy based on the situation. The overall plan is to have Clint and Natasha lead the charge, conducting preliminary investigations of the hospital through the sewers and ventilation ducts, while having the police buy time. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are preparing for the assault, with three backup plans in place to ensure the perpetrators have no chance of escape.

But... as Clint and Natasha began their infiltration, and the police started making announcements, they realized something seemed amiss—

Where are the criminals? Why aren't they reacting at all?

The infiltration operation went unimpeded, and the police negotiation experts stood downstairs at the hospital shouting through a loudspeaker for ages, but not a single person came out to answer.

Moreover, when the government tried to contact the Hand Society again to discuss terms, they simply did not answer the phone.

What's going on? Could it be that the hospital is just a cover, and the perpetrators have already escaped to another location with Commander Carter?

Upon realizing this possibility, Clint and Natasha immediately lost their desire to slowly infiltrate the hospital. Because the hospital's internal surveillance system had been compromised by the police, the two risked being discovered by deploying several small drones (sponsored by Stark Industries) into the hospital through the pipes, intending to use the cameras to see what was going on inside.

There's nothing wrong with the first floor.

But when the drone arrived on the second floor, the two of them were dumbfounded.

Dead body.

Corpses littered the corridor.

Twisted, broken, indescribable—to put it another way, it was like throwing a horde of rats into a meat grinder, then casually pressing the start button and shutting it off.

The two seasoned veteran agents were merely shocked, but several people in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technical department couldn't bear the sight and began vomiting profusely.

Intelligence agents retrieved footage of Matt Murdoch and the New York Police Department's raid on the Hand, confirming the identities of the bodies. Meanwhile, drones captured images of people who were physically unharmed but likely psychologically traumatized—from the second floor to the third and fourth floors. Within minutes, the drones had scanned the entire hospital, ultimately concluding that the Hand had been completely wiped out, and that Agent Carter was unharmed in a ward on the top floor.

After eliminating any potential dangers, Natasha quickly made her way to the top floor through the ventilation ducts and cautiously made her way to Carter's hospital room.

The first thing they saw was a white tiger sleeping soundly like a baby outside the ward, a ninja's corpse with its head blown off inside the ward, and a large part of the outer wall that had been destroyed.

Most importantly, Carter was lying safely in bed receiving oxygen.

Upon seeing Natasha, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked up, saying, "You've come."

"It's here..." Natasha blinked, bewildered. "So... what exactly is going on?"

"Time is of the essence, please connect me to Fury first."

Carter removed his oxygen mask and struggled to sit up, while Natasha wasted no time, immediately pulling out her communicator, switching it to a private channel with Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and handing it to Carter.

Carter took the communicator, held it to his ear, and said calmly, "Establish a top-level contingency plan, then contact Professor Charles and Reed immediately. We might be in big trouble."

"What?"

On the other end of the communicator, Nick Fury asked in surprise, "What on earth happened at the hospital?"

"A powerful superhuman, who had never appeared in the public eye before, slaughtered the Hand's ninjas," Carter replied. "From what I've observed, she possesses terrifying strength, reaction speed, and defensive capabilities. Judging from her manner of speaking, she might be an extremely self-centered person—although in the end, she should have saved everyone in the hospital. But we must begin to develop contingency plans for such a powerful individual."

She calmly recounted what she had seen and heard in the past few minutes, then said with a hint of worry, "Frey, this is just my hunch, but that person's existence could trigger something very big. Whether the outcome is good or bad, we need to be prepared."

The conversation was brief, lasting less than a minute due to Carter's rapid speech. Carter concluded with an order: "Also, evacuate the crowd as quickly as possible—centered around the Fitz Apartments in the southwest, which are currently under renovation. The next step may be…"

"boom!"

Before the words were finished, a deep and distant sound, like a thunderclap, came from the southwest.

Without Carter's orders, Natasha immediately rushed to a window where she could check the situation. Peeking out, she saw a huge mushroom cloud of flame rising slowly about a block or two away.

The shockwave arrived a beat too late, rattling the windows and forcing the police downstairs to halt their activity. In the city, numerous vehicle anti-theft devices were triggered, sounding like a death knell in the somber atmosphere.

"This is really..."

Carter's eye twitched twice, then he lowered his head and continued to Nick Fury, "Notify the professionals... the Stark kid, or the good neighbors of New York City—we've had enough trouble these past few days. If any more major problems arise that can't be handled, the citizens will question the government's credibility."

"That kind of thing probably disappeared decades ago..."

Nick Fury sighed. "I'll make the arrangements. You can retreat with Natasha and Clint."