Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1059 (First Update)

Manhattan's nightlife is often synonymous with dazzling lights and revelry. Rockefeller had already purchased surrounding land before donating the site to the United Nations. After the UN headquarters was built, this land in eastern Manhattan, near the East River, became incredibly valuable. The Hilton Millennium Hotel and the New York River Club attract numerous political and business figures, celebrities, and entertainers every night. But tonight was different. The entire city seemed to be placed under a giant flash of light, the night sky, stained with city lights, suddenly becoming blindingly bright. The flash was fleeting, followed by a deafening siren sounding from the thick clouds, as if transporting people back to the Wild West's development era, when steam trains were still in use—memories of steel and steam violently crashing into their minds.

Then, the roar of jet engines replaced the sirens, the sound growing louder and more intense as it approached. Countless people took to the streets in terror, watching in horror as a dense mass of dark shadows, faintly illuminated by lightning, appeared in the sky below the clouds—a dozen aircraft, unlike anything Americans had ever seen before, streaked with flames as they swooped down toward Manhattan, hovering over the UN headquarters like fireflies in a summer night's bushes. Countless drones soared into the night sky, encircling the airspace over Manhattan's East Coast. In the concrete plaza in front of the UN headquarters, two gigantic bipedal war machines, each half the height of the building, appeared out of nowhere, raising their massive weapons on their arms and once again unleashing sirens capable of shattering steel.

Despite his exhaustion, Tony Stark donned his Iron Man suit once more and flew out of Avengers Tower. He had spent hours crossing the Atlantic from Berlin back to New York, and an hour earlier, he had dragged his weary body to visit a young man in Queens. However, his attempt to rest was abruptly shattered by the loud commotion. "Friday, what happened?" he asked the AI ​​inside his Iron Man suit, struggling to blink his dry eyes and suppressing his anger stemming from sleep deprivation, Steve Rogers' lack of cooperation, and his anxiety over the suddenness of the event. "Has the Chitauri invaded?"

"Sir, a lot has happened," Friday replied calmly. It projected live footage from the UN channel onto the helmet's display, followed by outdated satellite maps of areas like Yambor, Plovdiv, and Etos in Bulgaria; Mikhail Kogarnica in Romania; and Bydgoszcz and Szczecin in Poland, all barely transmitted via undersea cable to government announcements on the other side of the Atlantic. Airport emergency calls for help, images of cities in chaos taken by ordinary people, attacks on military bases… hundreds of different messages piled up in a short time. Tony Stark glanced at them and saw the same massive explosions and flames rising over different cities in the videos, the announcements in different languages ​​but with identical content—a sense of foreboding washed over him.

He felt the worst he could have imagined had happened. Before he could even calm himself, the Iron Man suit, aided by Stark Industries' navigation satellites, transported him to airspace near the United Nations headquarters. He received nearly a hundred warnings the moment he approached, ordering him to stay away. These warnings overwhelmed his screen, taking several seconds to clear on Friday. The missile lock-on warnings continued incessantly, driving Stark to the brink of madness from the alarms he had set. However, just as he instructed Friday to deactivate the alarms, War Machines, positioned in the UN headquarters plaza, had already aimed their weapons at him. Being targeted by two War Machines with a total of eight massive weapons was extremely unpleasant; Tony Stark did his best to avoid the line of fire.

"This isn't an alien invasion, this is war!" He stared at the hovering spacecraft and massive war machines, a chill running down his spine, while the oblivious New Yorkers tried to gather around. "How large is the area?"

"From the Balkans to Eastern Europe, sir, most of these are military bases belonging to NATO member states." On Friday, the radar-detected trajectories of the interstellar missiles were displayed, their sheer number staggering. Stark hadn't anticipated a saturation attack. "I can't track the real-time situation; the latest intelligence is from an hour and a half ago, but we can still estimate the approximate casualties. Tonight, the UN passed a resolution for NATO intervention in Latvia, but NATO had already amassed troops at military bases in Central and Eastern Europe a week ago, including a large number of fighter jets and air defense systems. Currently, all NATO military satellites over Europe are out of contact, many communication satellites are malfunctioning, GPS is out of service, and signal transmission relies solely on undersea cables across the Atlantic. There's an 85.5% chance the satellite communication loss is due to the recent implementation of Latvia's 'Declaration of Satellite Annihilation,' a 12.3% chance due to an unobserved solar wind, and…"

"Could we possibly break through these defenses?" Tony Stark took a deep breath, glancing at the scaled-down UN Security Council live stream in the lower left corner of the screen. A figure in golden armor was speaking eloquently on screen, but he wasn't paying attention to what was being said. "I have to stop this. This is terrible."

"I don't understand, sir."

"What I mean is, is it possible for us to break through the blockade and get to the United Nations headquarters?"

"Data is lacking, sir. Assuming the aircraft's armor is similar to your Iron Man suit, assuming the drone carries armor-piercing explosives, assuming…" Tony Stark stepped back slightly, waiting for Friday to complete the assumptions and calculations given the insufficient data. He didn't want to test what would come out of that cannon barrel, which was as tall as a man. Moreover, the maneuverability and firepower displayed by those aircraft hovering high in the sky were awe-inspiring. Without air defense radar detection, he could only assume that some aircraft were hidden behind the clouds, a deduction based on Salomon's modus operandi.

He had absolutely no idea how these Latvian aircraft had breached the US air defense system and reached Manhattan. At that very moment, the US Air Force was trying to call him to find out what was going on. Tony Stark answered and exchanged a few words with Colonel Rhodes, saying he was also confused about the situation. National Guard main battle tanks were still stuck in traffic, F-22 fighter jets hadn't even taken off, and all official forces were helpless in the face of the current situation.

"The navigation system is malfunctioning, Tony." Colonel Rhodes wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "The military might temporarily requisition Stark Industries' navigation system and cybersecurity experts. Be prepared. We still don't know what the terrorists who stormed the Security Council are up to..." Colonel Rhodes suddenly lowered his voice, "Tell me the truth, do you know that person? There are a lot of people on social media who idolize that King Latvian, and they all recognize that horse—the Pegasus from the Battle of New York. We must resolve this as soon as possible; the UN security forces can't handle so many people in powered armor."

"I……"

"Listen, Tony. You've got enough trouble already. Don't let anyone else find out you're connected to Latvinia," Colonel Rhodes said. In fact, US intelligence had already begun facial recognition work using footage shown in the Security Council broadcast, intending to trace the identity of the King of Latvinia. However, so far, US intelligence had come up empty-handed; the facial recognition database hadn't found any accurate match. "The White House already knows about the UN. The Secretary of State and the President will both be speaking to you later. Tony, you're the closest Avenger there; only you can resolve this without harming the hostages. Remember not to say too much, especially about the election and NATO operations… I know you support the Democrats, but don't get involved in this war. Those arms dealers won't let this opportunity pass…"

"It could take you several hours, sir, and that's without factoring in collateral damage and energy consumption," Friday calmly interrupted Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes, showing them recent land sale prices. "Do you need me to calculate collateral damage and potential casualties after the war begins? Optimistic estimates should be far lower than the casualties in Manhattan during the Chitauri invasion, but even with insurance coverage, reconstruction costs could far exceed Stark Industries' market capitalization, given the enemy's formidable weapons of mass destruction. The reconstruction costs from the Chitauri invasion will be deducted in four days, and Stark Industries doesn't have enough liquid cash, so I don't recommend you try it lightly."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)