Without Iron Man saying more, Nick Fury naturally understood the seriousness of the situation. He had long emphasized that the Cosmic Cube was of utmost importance.
Because based on the clues currently at hand, Loki's arrival on Earth was inevitable — it was tied to the grudges and conflicts of Asgard.
Loki would sooner or later use the Cosmic Cube to open a spatial portal and come to S.H.I.E.L.D.
What S.H.I.E.L.D. could prevent now was what happens afterward.
They had to stop Loki from stealing the Cosmic Cube!
As long as they stopped this, the subsequent Chitauri invasion would not occur.
"Looks like the security level of the Dark Energy Joint Base must be upgraded comprehensively!" Nick Fury decided silently.
At that thought, he instinctively glanced at Iron Man—because making that happen really needed Iron Man's tech skills.
[This round of questioning ends!]
At that moment, the system notification sounded, and the large screen in front of everyone vanished. The people who had been frozen by time now resumed normal movement.
Several agents looked dazed, repeatedly staring at Nick Fury and Black Widow nearby.
"Are these two ghosts? How did they suddenly appear in front of us? And why don't they make a sound when they walk?"
Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Iron Man, the three who had just finished the questioning, exchanged glances and tacitly pretended nothing had happened.
The questioning system was no trivial matter and could not be revealed.
"So~" Black Widow shrugged, acting like she was holding back Iron Man, "Stark, we really appreciate your help, but please leave the next steps to us, okay?"
The questioning system had frozen time right as Iron Man was cutting a hole in the fighter jet and trying to enter.
Now that time was back, the performance had to continue in full.
Actually, after learning that Iron Man was on their side, neither Nick Fury nor Black Widow planned to stop him.
"Not a chance!" Iron Man replied with his usual arrogant tone.
Then, ignoring them, he flew straight into the fighter through the hole.
Nick Fury and Black Widow followed, rappelling inside with ropes. The others were ordered by Nick Fury to stay outside and provide support, and no one else was allowed in.
Only the three of them—"their own people."
"Sir, it's Captain America's shield!"
Just as they entered the fighter, something on the floor immediately caught everyone's attention. Black Widow excitedly shouted to Nick Fury.
There it was — Captain America's shield!
If they found Captain America's shield, how far could they be from finding Captain America himself?
Nick Fury nodded with satisfaction, feeling a slight surge of excitement.
"That old guy's buried right beneath here," Iron Man said, pointing to a corner inside the fighter.
At the first moment inside, Iron Man had scanned the whole cabin thoroughly and immediately located Captain America.
You had to admit, when it came to rescue missions, having Iron Man made things way more efficient.
"Is he still alive?" Nick Fury asked gravely.
"Although the thermal signal is weak…" Iron Man shrugged, "he's definitely still alive."
Nick Fury and Black Widow both breathed a sigh of relief. Though they had already learned this from the questioning system, Iron Man's confirmation made it certain.
"Stark, then I'll leave the next part to you," Nick Fury said seriously.
Iron Man naturally didn't refuse. Wearing his armor made it much easier, so he immediately started working.
In no time, Captain America was dug out.
Nick Fury and Black Widow gathered around, inspecting his condition, unable not to marvel.
"Seventy years… Who would have thought, Captain America is actually still alive," Black Widow sighed in awe.
You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes.
"Alright, now, let's take Captain America home!"
Nick Fury stood up, clapping his hands confidently.
What Nick Fury didn't know was, the moment they dug out Captain America, some watchful enemies outside had already noticed and secretly sent out the news.
Several fighter jets were already flying toward them!
"Two people get down and carry the Captain out!" Nick Fury ordered through his radio.
"Understood, sir!" came the immediate reply.
But at that moment—
Whoooosh!
The sound of something rushing through the sky and causing atmospheric shockwaves rang out.
Nick Fury and Black Widow's faces changed immediately — they recognized the sound of fighter jets.
They hurriedly looked up through the fighter's opening, seeing two jets circling closer.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Several missiles were launched instantly.
Boom boom boom!
The jets accompanying Nick Fury and the others were engulfed in fire and exploded immediately.
The missile explosions combined with the jet blasts created a terrifying shockwave, shaking the ground like an earthquake.
"Enemy attack! Sir, enemy attack! Ah!"
A panicked, urgent shout came over the radio, followed by a scream—and then silence.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Dense gunfire followed. Clearly, the two jets switched from missile bombardment to machine gun strafing.
Soon, silence fell outside.
It was obvious the agents outside had all been wiped out.
Inside the fighter wreckage, Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Iron Man wore the gravest expressions.
No one expected such an accident during this secret rescue mission.
But none of them panicked—they immediately entered a state of high alert.
"Stark, what's the situation outside?" Nick Fury asked.
There was no need for Nick Fury to say more—Iron Man had already activated his x-ray vision and was observing outside continuously.
"Two FT-2 fighters. They destroyed everything outside and killed your people," Iron Man said in a low voice. "They're landing now. This is our chance… They've landed!"
(End of Chapter)