Chapter 148

Future chapters at patreon.com/FFAddict.

Additionally, I have many new works readers may be interested in. Go look, if you wish! 

No wonder!

A sudden clarity dawned in the eyes of Tony Stark, a moment of enlightenment.

No wonder Nick Fury, the king of spies, held the Skrulls in such high regard, even developing a group of Skrull subordinates to act as his powerful arm.

It turns out that the Skrulls possess such miraculous abilities.

It must be said, pairing them with a spymaster like Nick Fury is truly a match made in heaven.

"The Secret Invasion, so that's what it's all about!"

Then, Iron Man immediately has a realization, his face showing an expression of sudden understanding.

The notebook mentioned the Secret Invasion more than once, but Tony previously couldn't deduce much about this war, other than it being initiated by the Skrulls.

Now?

Iron Man finally understands.

The so-called Secret Invasion is the Skrulls using their perfect disguise abilities, quietly replacing key figures without a trace.

No gunfire, no turmoil, silent and unseen!

Everything done in absolute secrecy.

That is the Secret Invasion.

"This species is truly dangerous!"

Tony couldn't help but inwardly sigh.

The apprehension towards the alien Skrulls instantly reached an unparalleled level.

Although the Secret Invasion is a war without gunfire, in Iron Man's view, the threat of this war is even greater than that of nuclear weapons.

After all, nuclear weapons can only destroy a city, but the Secret Invasion could silently replace an entire country's leadership!

Imagine that.

If those in core positions are Skrulls, to put it more bluntly, if those in the ruling class are Skrulls.

Then who really rules the country, humans or someone else?

The notebook mentioned before that the Skrulls almost changed the ruler of Earth during the Secret Invasion, which Iron Man found exaggerated at that time.

But now, looking back, it wasn't an alarmist statement!

Besides, there's another critical issue worth Tony's attention.

That is, the Nick Fury everyone sees now, is he really Nick Fury, or a Skrull?

"Something's not right!"

In front of another notebook, Nick Fury's brows furrow slightly in concern.

Having known well about the Skrulls, Fury had already guessed what the Secret Invasion entailed.

And now, the notebook confirms his suspicion, which didn't surprise Nick Fury at all.

However, at the same time, it deepens the doubt in Fury's mind.

How impactful could the Skrulls be with just a few of them?

But looking at the notebook's tone, it seems the Secret Invasion really did reach a certain scale and caused much harm to society.

Otherwise, how could it "almost change the ruler of the Earth"?

This was clearly stated in the notebook before.

Now, the notebook also says that Skrulls "impersonated so many people."

Exactly how many were not mentioned by the notebook, but no matter what, if there were only twenty or thirty people, Satan wouldn't be so shocked, right?

Furthermore.

Considering the purpose of the Secret Invasion, the Skrulls should specifically target important figures for replacement.

Especially with just a few dozen Skrulls.

But in reality?

The Skrulls even targeted War Machine Rhodes!

While War Machine Rhodes doesn't exist in reality, through the notebook's descriptions, Nick Fury can imagine what level of being that is.

Simply put, a knockoff Iron Man.

Its importance is indeed there, but if it's about a secret war, replacing other more important figures would make more sense.

Especially since there are not many Skrulls, right?

Before, Nick Fury speculated whether the Skrulls had other reasons.

Now, Fury can't help but consider another possibility.

What if he's been wrong all along, and the Skrulls on Earth are not just Talos and his group?

But also other Skrulls, besides Talos!

And perhaps in vast numbers!

Only then would everything mentioned in the notebook seem reasonable.

It seems a good talk with Talos is in order!

Nick Fury secretly makes this decision in his heart.

[This matter is hard to determine, but one thing is for sure.]

[Nick Fury must have left Earth after the Infinity War.]

[When Thanos snapped his fingers, Nick Fury, along with several billion others, was affected.]

[But before turning to dust, Nick Fury took out Captain Marvel's pager!]

[Such an important item, Nick Fury would surely carry with him at all times.]

[Thus, the Nick Fury who turned to ash must be the real Nick Fury.]

[As for the period after the Infinity War, it seems only Fury himself would know.]

The Snap!

Tony Stark's pupils involuntarily narrowed sharply.

This word was repeatedly mentioned in the notebook, a key and mysterious term.

Hua Hua's son knew it to be a magical and powerful "action" that could revive the dead under normal circumstances.

Even in the endgame, Iron Man himself snapped his fingers.

At that time, Tony had analyzed that he was likely to die from the snap.

But now it seems?

It's not that he analyzed incorrectly; it's utterly off the mark, even diametrically opposed.

The snap was actually a tool used by Thanos for killing!

Through the spoilers of the notebook, Tony already knew that Thanos eradicated half of the universe's living beings, including several billion people on Earth, during Infinity War.

But as for how Thanos accomplished this, Tony had absolutely no clue.

He couldn't even begin to analyze.

He never imagined that it could be done with a snap of fingers!

This has to be a joke, right?

A snap of fingers, and half the universe's living beings just vanish?

And here the term "vanished" isn't a metaphor or something similar, it's an objective description.

Half of the universe turned to ash!

What kind of terrifying snap is this?

And previously wasn't it said in the notebook that the snap was meant for saving people? Why is it used for killing here?

So what exactly is this snap?

Tony began to fall into deep thought.

But even after racking his brains to the point of near explosion, he couldn't make sense of it.

It seems that the mystery of the snap can only be unraveled by the related spoilers in the notebook.

Both Tony and Nick Fury turned their attention back to the journal. However, to their frustration, the journal stopped updating abruptly at a critical moment. "This devil surely knows how to leave a cliffhanger!"

Muttering a mild complaint, Nick Fury snapped the diary shut on his desk with a slap. Sip! Taking a slightly cooled sip of coffee, Nick Fury closed his eyes and began to ponder the spoilers from this journal entry. It revealed quite a significant amount of information, particularly the horrifying details about the Celestials. Nick Fury hadn't realized until this spoiler session just how formidable and awe-inspiring the Celestials were, to the extent that not even Odin, the ruler of the Nine Realms and king of the gods, could handle them.

While Nick Fury didn't know who the ancient Avengers were, nor the specifics of their battle against the Celestials, it was clear from the tone of the journal that they had been utterly defeated. If even the prehistoric Avengers, including Odin, had succumbed, what about the current Earth's Avengers? If the Celestials truly set their sights on Earth with intentions of causing trouble, could Earth really muster any force capable of standing against them? Even during the heyday of the Avengers, with the likes of Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Doctor Strange on the team!

According to the journal, a nascent group of Celestials seemed likely to emerge on Earth soon after Odin's death - and Odin himself wasn't expected to live much longer. This implied that in the near future, Earth could have its own group of Celestials. The very thought gave Nick Fury a headache. For now, though, the Celestials' matters weren't something he could handle, not even knowing where to start. The only thing he could do was later consult with Thor, the Asgardian prince, to see if he had more information.

And for now? Time to take care of some manageable issues. "Coulson!" After some thought, Fury called his trustworthy agent Coulson once again. "Look into whether any top scientists have recently encountered difficulties, such as being unable to secure investment for their research projects." Coulson was perplexed by the order, which seemed to come out of nowhere, as usual, leaving him with metaphorical question marks above his head.

In response to Coulson's visible confusion, Nick Fury instructed, "Look for someone at the same level as Stark." With this clue, Coulson knew whom to search for - a scientist of the highest caliber, rare even nationwide. Coulson made the obvious inference that Fury might be planning to invest in such a top scientist, given the immense value they could bring. And indeed, Coulson guessed right. Nick Fury intended to find Mister Fantastic and invest in him – a man deemed smarter than Tony Stark by the devil himself. To have such a brilliant mind on board with SHIELD was worth the cost.

"I understand, sir," Coulson responded, readily accepting the command and departing to carry out his duty. Once alone, Fury dialed an encrypted line to contact Tony Stark. "Nick Fury," came the familiar voice of Iron Man from the receiver, "I'm not surprised to get your call." Indeed, Iron Man knew Fury well enough to anticipate his next move, especially after the revelations from the journal, indicating that SHIELD's current director Alexander Pierce was Hydra.

Nick Fury needed Iron Man to use JARVIS to dig deeper into Pierce to confirm his Hydra affiliation. Without any hesitation, Tony responded to Fury's implied request. "It's time to end this game of hide and seek. Wait for my update." With that assurance from Tony, Fury found some peace of mind - confident that Stark would quickly uncover the truth about Pierce. For now, though, Fury planned a visit to Thor both to gather information about the Celestials and to monitor Thor's "hammer training" progress, both tasks of great importance to him. Without any further ado, Fury donned his imposing coat and swiftly set out on his quest.