Fish, I desire; bear's paw, I also desire.
If both can be obtained, then they can be enjoyed together.
Su Ye shook his head and sighed; he wondered when this beautiful wish could be realized.
Because of Loki's appearance, S.H.I.E.L.D. became extremely busy, launching the Helicarrier and assembling superheroes to form the Avengers in preparation for the possible upcoming battle.
The formation of the Avengers went smoothly.
Captain America woke up and joined the team smoothly. Although Hawkeye was taken by Loki, Black Widow successfully joined. Bruce Banner, as a non-combat researcher, was also invited onto the Helicarrier.
Although theoretically Bruce Banner could no longer transform into the Hulk, as an expert in gamma radiation, S.H.I.E.L.D. needed him to track the gamma radiation emitted by the Tesseract to help locate Loki.
As for combat power, after losing the Hulk, S.H.I.E.L.D. considered Abomination as reinforcement. Unfortunately, negotiations with Abomination weren't going smoothly and required more communication.
However, in a critical moment on the battlefield, throwing Abomination into the fray to wreak havoc could be a good choice.
The last expected Avenger was, of course, Iron Man, Tony Stark.
However, when he received Nick Fury's call, Tony Stark's first response was, "I'm not going to New York!"
He said it with such firmness and confidence, much like how Old Ma declared to the media, "I'm not interested in money," making it hard not to believe.
Clearly, even though Stark Tower in New York was officially operational, it didn't change Tony Stark's apprehension about the city.
Fortunately, the Helicarrier was stationed at sea and would later ascend to the sky, having nothing to do with New York, which finally eased Tony Stark's concerns.
After Bruce Banner and Tony Stark had a lively discussion about gamma radiation collection technology, S.H.I.E.L.D. successfully used facial recognition to pinpoint Loki's location and sent people to capture him.
So, after all their busy work, it was all for nothing.
On their way back after capturing Loki, the unanticipated yet strongest Avenger, Thor, appeared and successfully joined the team.
By this point, the original Avengers were nearly fully assembled, Loki had been captured, and the Mind Scepter was in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession. Everything seemed under control.
Meanwhile, in New York, on the rooftop of the Osborn Group building, Su Ye and his team stood by the glass, watching a massive device being erected on top of Stark Tower. A chubby middle-aged man busily moved around it.
"I feel like there's something very dangerous over there," Gwen suddenly whispered.
Before she spoke, Su Ye had the same feeling—a warning from his spider sense, a looming sense of imminent danger.
"Cooked Chicken, let Old Mike and me go take care of that thing!" Harry volunteered, with Max also eager to act.
Due to Su Ye's dark humor, he gave himself the nickname "Old Uncle" as their leader. Harry, fluent in Chinese, wasn't about to let it slide and humorously gave Su Ye the nickname "Cooked Chicken" in return.
What a troublesome nickname.
Su Ye ignored the nickname and shook his head. "Let's wait a bit longer. We still can't be sure if this is good or bad for us."
"Blessings lie within misfortune, and misfortune lurks within blessings."
"A loss may turn out to be a gain."
"Losing something in the east, only to gain something in the west."
A string of classical Chinese phrases left Harry, an expert in Chinese culture, utterly confused. His young face was filled with question marks, just like Max's.
Gwen and Sharon, on the other hand, had an expression of admiration on their faces. They couldn't understand a word, but that didn't stop them from blindly idolizing him.
"By the way," Sharon, ever mindful of her role as a secretary, spoke up.
"Shouldn't we report the situation here to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Unknowingly, Sharon had fully shifted her loyalty. After all she'd been through with Su Ye, she no longer reported every detail back to her former employer. Instead, she devoted herself entirely to being Su Ye's secretary, consulting him on everything first.
The moment Sharon's mindset completely changed, her profile suddenly appeared in Su Ye's system.
[Character: Sharon Carter.]
[Current Affection Level: 100 (Utterly Devoted).]
[Note: Why things turned out this way is no longer important. What matters now is to cherish her loyalty. As long as you don't betray her, she will reward you accordingly.]
Only then did Su Ye realize that people who already existed in this world could also passively develop into system-recognized girlfriends.
According to the system, once he acquired a girlfriend, Su Ye would gain the abilities of her original boyfriend. So, the question was: who was Sharon Carter's original boyfriend?
While the Great Wall Guardians were observing the assembly and debugging of the Tesseract activation device up close...
...high above, aboard the Helicarrier, the newly formed Avengers were arguing under the influence of the Mind Scepter, unaware of the imminent danger.
In his airborne prison cell, Loki wore a smug smile, his scheming unaffected even in captivity.
"This Midgard... not even one worthy opponent..."
Recalling the night he was repeatedly beaten by fighters, Loki changed his phrasing.
"This Midgard... doesn't even have one clever person. Life truly is as lonely as snow."
As time passed, the Avengers, under the Mind Scepter's influence, escalated from arguments to outright fighting. Even Bruce Banner felt an urge to transform back into the Hulk.
At that moment, Loki's mind-controlled Hawkeye arrived. Using his knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Helicarrier, he quickly infiltrated and caused a series of troubles, ultimately helping Loki escape.
During this, a small detail occurred: as Loki was about to ambush and kill Phil Coulson, a burly agent resembling Rambo (though with an overly intense expression) rushed in and saved Coulson.
However, afterward, when Coulson went to thank the agent, he found out that the man had died in the earlier chaos.
"Life is unpredictable. The one who should have died was me!"
In the meeting room, Phil Coulson's face was filled with grief. The Avengers, moved by his emotions, decided to set aside their differences and unite against Loki.
Seeing this, Nick Fury felt relieved but was suddenly reminded of the Red Shield Division.
If that idiot council minister, Alexander Pierce, could ease his vigilance against the Red Shield Division and let them board the Helicarrier, wouldn't the situation have turned out differently?
With this thought, Nick Fury dialed Su Ye's number.
"Uncle Su, we're under alien attack. That guy who appeared outside the Shiranui Dojo last time, Thor's brother Loki, has returned. You must have heard by now."
Nick Fury believed that with Sharon around, Su Ye couldn't be completely unaware of these events.
Thus, he called to remind Su Ye, urging the Red Shield Division to prepare for whatever Loki might do next.
But Su Ye's response made the usually stoic Nick Fury furrow his brows. "What did you say?"
"I said, not only do I know Loki is here, but I've also seen him. He's currently on the rooftop of Stark Tower, which was recently put into use, working on some equipment with a beer-bellied old man!"
Over the phone, Su Ye calmly repeated himself.
"Gentlemen, we've found Loki!"
Nick Fury shouted to the Avengers while internally cursing Alexander Pierce. If not for that old fool rejecting the Red Shield Division's involvement, they wouldn't be in such a passive position.
"Uncle Su, lead your people and stop Loki's next move immediately," Nick Fury barked into the phone after issuing orders to the Avengers.
Su Ye hesitated. "That might not be appropriate. Alexander Pierce has already made it clear that the Red Shield Division isn't allowed to interfere in this matter."
Nick Fury couldn't hold back anymore and blurted out, "Motherf***er!"
However, that remark wasn't directed at Su Ye but was meant for Alexander Pierce.
An incompetent leader burdens the entire army. That idiot Alexander Pierce would eventually drag all of S.H.I.E.L.D. down with him.
"I'll deal with Pierce. The Red Shield Division should start acting now. This is a major event concerning the safety of the entire planet. We can't always follow the usual procedures!"
Suppressing his anger, Nick Fury could only try to appease Su Ye and encourage him to mobilize immediately.
However, Su Ye sighed. "Director Fury, I'm afraid it's too late. Prepare for war!"
As Su Ye spoke, a blue beam of light shot up from the rooftop of Stark Tower, piercing the sky. At an altitude of a thousand meters, it spread out like a mirror, forming a circular blue barrier.
Then, from within the barrier, black, unidentified objects began pouring down like an uncontrollable flood.
Nearly everyone in New York City saw the relentless flow from above and wondered what was happening.
Was this a real catastrophic event, or was it some 3D holographic display created by Tony Stark to celebrate the launch of Stark Tower?
Soon, as the black objects descended closer, people realized they were strange-looking, grotesque creatures that were clearly not human. And were they holding guns?
What poured out of the portal was Loki's borrowed invasion force from Thanos—the Chitauri army. These skeletal-looking soldiers wasted no time, launching ranged energy attacks mid-air before even touching the ground.
Their energy weapons, resembling laser cannons, blasted buildings to rubble, flipped cars, destroyed bridges, and left countless craters on the streets.
Realizing the danger, citizens began to flee in panic. Screams and explosions filled the air, and in no time, New York was engulfed in chaos, resembling an apocalyptic battlefield.