Chapter 187: Magneto’s Plan to Reshape the World Order
Ever since Matthew's appearance had already turned the Sacred Timeline into a complete mess, nearly everyone's fate had been stirred and changed.
Because of that, no matter who died, Matthew would not be surprised.
Forget Nick Fury. Even if Tony Stark died because of some accident, it would not be impossible.
However, judging from the information Neagley had given, this was thick with the scent of a cicada shedding its shell.
Faking his death was without question one of Nick Fury's clever moves.
Because when it came to Pierce, Nick Fury was at a huge disadvantage.
Matthew believed there were definitely Fury's loyalists inside S.H.I.E.L.D., and that there were quite a number of them, at least enough to contend with the HYDRA parasites inside.
But the problem was that Nick Fury had no way to be certain who was human and who was a ghost.
To put it plainly, Nick Fury was playing against Pierce with his eyes covered.
In internal struggles, victory and defeat often depended on whether both sides were fighting openly or in the shadows.
If it was the latter, things were still fine. At least both sides had not completely torn off the mask.
But if it became an open fight, then the methods used to decide victory were very simple and plain.
The easiest and most direct method was physical elimination.
Clearly, Nick Fury, that clever old dog, had already sensed that Pierce could no longer hold himself back.
Originally, the hidden struggle between the two sides should have lasted a while longer.
But the Manhattan incident led by Kaecilius, the appearance of demons, and the emergence of the Astartes and Raven had shattered that already fragile balance.
Pierce could no longer sit still.
Pierce's strategic objective from beginning to end was to control the upper levels of America, then complete Project Insight against the entire world and achieve global domination.
What was Project Insight? In truth, it was the so-called Helicarriers, carrying out targeted global strikes refined down to the individual.
It was equivalent to hanging a Sword of Damocles above every person in the world.
And the key deciding when that sword fell was in Pierce's hands.
But now?
After the Manhattan incident, Pierce realized that this world did not only have humans and mutants. If it were only mutants, then there were specially developed drugs and special bullets to deal with them.
Pierce had always been researching genetic-level drugs.
Across laboratories all over the world, mutants had been abducted and subjected to cruel experiments, and Pierce had taken part in that.
He was even one of the biggest people behind the scenes.
Pierce believed that as long as the drugs were developed, mutants would likewise be restricted.
Besides, mutants were far too easy to target. It did not even take much effort.
Now, the appearance of demons meant that aside from humans and mutants, Earth also had legendary creatures. If there were demons, did that mean there were angels?
And if there were angels, did that mean there were all kinds of other messy races too?
The Olympian gods of Greek mythology, Asgard from Norse mythology, the Vanir gods, the immortals of the Eastern Heavenly Court, and so on?
Putting those aside.
Just the incomprehensible strength, speed, technological equipment, and everything else displayed by the Astartes and Raven Warbands was enough to make Pierce understand that the Project Insight he had designed, and his idea of ruling the world, no longer worked.
Time was Pierce's greatest enemy.
Pierce was not young.
HYDRA did have something like the super-soldier gene serum, and after injection, it could strengthen the body. The problem was that HYDRA's version of the serum was not mature.
It was still Howard's version of the serum.
The flaw was that it could easily make a person lose control, become violent, and kill.
Pierce had now seen his enemies. They were not only humans, but also life from beyond Earth, the Astartes, the Raven, and the mysterious organization behind them.
No matter what, Pierce could no longer stay hidden.
He needed to unify S.H.I.E.L.D., prevent Nick Fury from becoming his stumbling block, integrate resources, and gather all strength to build the next strategic objective.
Nick Fury had sensed the danger, so he decisively used a fake death to slip away.
"Most of Pierce's assets have already been swallowed by us. He has to integrate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources in order to speed up his later plans."
Neagley saw through Pierce's thoughts.
"Let them fight. When the time is about right, we'll step in and receive some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assets and talent. Keep an eye on that, Neagley."
Let them fight.
Matthew did not care much about it. Still, it had to be said that S.H.I.E.L.D. had quite a lot of good things, and plenty of talented people too.
Internal strife was fine, but they had better not waste all the talent he wanted.
Matthew would feel distressed.
In this regard, Matthew was very similar to Boss Cao. He loved talented people and had a very serious talent-collecting obsession.
It was terminal. There was no saving him.
"Understood, BOSS."
Neagley also knew very well what kind of person her BOSS was. She had long since prepared for this.
After reporting the news, Neagley ended the communication.
Perhaps coincidences really did come in pairs. Not long after Matthew ended his call with Neagley, someone else came looking for him.
It was Professor X.
It had to do with that old thing Magneto, who was preparing a "great" plan to reshape the world order.
…
Alberta, Canada.
A remote border town, bitterly cold and desolate, with few people around. Rain mixed with snow fell from the sky.
In this environment, a thin figure wearing only a gray hoodie and jeans walked with difficulty, as if every step drained most of her strength.
Under the brim of her hood, her lips could be seen turning faintly purple from the cold.
Soon, her eyes lit up. Ahead of her was a small rural bar. Several cars were parked outside.
Without the slightest hesitation, she quickened her pace and, trembling, arrived at the bar's entrance before ducking under the eaves.
By now, she was almost completely soaked.
To keep herself from freezing to death, she opened the bar door and walked in.
Unlike the cold outside, the bar was much warmer, and noisy voices filled the place. The girl's arrival drew quite a few people's attention.
When many of them saw the thin girl and her drenched body, their eyes unconsciously lit up, greed appearing in them.
Each of these customers was large and sturdy.
Most were residents from near the small town, or truck drivers stopping here to rest.
The bar was not very big. On the left side, there was a simple ring.
On it, two shirtless men were boxing. Their faces and bodies were marked with bruises and blood from the fight.
Below the ring, more than a dozen customers were shouting with empty beer bottles in hand.
"Take him down, Nayo! You're the damn strongest!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
"John, I put money on you, damn it! Don't make me lose!"
The heated atmosphere sent everyone's adrenaline soaring.
The girl did not care about them. Under the ill-intentioned gazes around her, she trembled as she walked to the bar counter.
The bartender behind the counter was an older man with a white beard. He was fairly strong, wearing an old cotton jacket, and he stared at the girl with a scrutinizing gaze.
"This isn't a place you should be, girl."
...
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