Chapter 170

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Zhou Cheng had already resolved the toughest part. The remaining follow-up tasks posed no challenge to the Avengers. Under Captain America's leadership, everything was proceeding smoothly.

Killian's secret base was quickly taken over by SHIELD, and the lab deemed "evil" by Captain America was demolished. Of course, before that, Black Widow had already copied some relevant data. These are details that hardly need mentioning.

Thus, the villain Killian, who had once instilled endless fear in the U.S. and nearly destroyed Iron Man, was quietly taken down, all due to a small diary. 

Now, having fallen into Nick Fury's hands and become his test subject, Killian at least kept his life. Whether this was a blessing or a curse for Killian is hard to say, but for Nick Fury, there was no doubt it was a good thing.

"Director, everything's in here," Black Widow said, placing a special hard drive in front of Nick Fury in his office at the Triskelion.

Nick Fury glanced at it, outwardly calm, but inwardly elated. "Well done, Natasha."

He nodded approvingly at Black Widow, then immediately took the hard drive, deciding to research the "Extremis" serum with the utmost urgency and effort. His goal was to perfect the serum as quickly as possible.

"And what about Killian and his people?" Fury asked, looking up at Black Widow.

"As per your orders, they have been detained in the Raft," Black Widow reported promptly.

The Raft was SHIELD's secret prison for holding superpowered individuals, specifically designed for super-criminals like Killian. Its security was exceptional, making it impossible for even a powerful Extremis-enhanced soldier like Killian to stir up trouble.

Fury nodded slightly. However, detaining Killian in the Raft was only temporary, as Fury's secret research base for Killian wasn't ready yet. Once it was prepared, there was no doubt Killian would be transferred. Fury had no intention of letting his ready-made guinea pig waste away in prison.

"Now, what can you tell me about Satan?" Fury asked after gathering all the mission-related intelligence. He had assigned Black Widow a secret mission to evaluate Satan's power and potential threat.

Although Fury hadn't exposed Zhou Cheng as the diary holder, he still couldn't ignore such extraordinary power. Just as he secretly monitored Bruce Banner and the elderly Captain America, he had also arranged to keep tabs on Zhou Cheng. Unfortunately, anyone assigned to monitor Zhou Cheng mysteriously lost their memory, and equipment often failed.

Undoubtedly, this was Satan's doing. Not only did Satan know about Fury's surveillance, but he easily thwarted it, providing only trivial or extremely boring information instead. Fury had managed to grasp none of Satan's core secrets.

Using the opportunity of hiring Satan to gather intelligence was rare, and Fury did not want to miss it.

"Satan's power is far more terrifying than our reports indicate," Black Widow solemnly noted. "Preliminary estimates suggest he can move objects with his mind." She detailed how Zhou Cheng killed the Extremis soldiers, including her own analysis.

Fury's expression grew serious. Although Satan's telekinesis had been demonstrated during a fight with the Hulk, he hadn't expected Satan could perform such precise "decapitation" maneuvers. Combined with his ability to fly, shoot feathers, and put Hulk to sleep, Satan's potential threat level in Fury's eyes reached a peak.

Fury had enough reason to believe Satan possessed even more unidentified abilities.

"Anything else?" Fury inquired without showing his thoughts.

"When Satan first joined us, he stayed very low-key," Black Widow continued. "He didn't resist Rogers' commands, or rather, he didn't care..."

Black Widow gave a psychological assessment of Zhou Cheng. "So, given all this, I personally believe that although Satan is very powerful, he isn't a threat. Additionally, I don't think he will join the Avengers. Despite his previous actions in Hell's Kitchen, it now seems that was not his true intentions."

Fury understood. These conclusions aligned with his evaluation team's findings, with no major discrepancies. As for recruiting Satan into the Avengers, Fury had lost interest in that idea. In a way, the current situation was ideal. If a dire situation arose, they could hire Satan's help, which was straightforward and clean. 

"By the way, any leads on the Black Captain America?"

After finishing discussing the issue with Satan, Nick Fury remembered some other matters and began questioning Black Widow.

This mission had been assigned to Black Widow by Fury a long time ago but had been interrupted by other tasks. After Thor left Earth, Nick Fury once again entrusted this important mission to Black Widow. After all, this matter concerned not only the black Captain America but also his grandson, Patriot, a future Young Avenger. For Fury, this was a golden opportunity. Children are the most innocent and easily manipulated. Influencing them subtly from a young age would make future control easier.

"Commander, this will take some time," Black Widow replied. "But I have already found some clues."

"After Dr. Erskine was killed, the military indeed initiated some secret projects. They attempted to replicate Dr. Erskine's results to create more super soldiers. There isn't much information left about those plans, so I need more time."

Nick Fury nodded, indicating that he understood. "Keep following up."

"Understood!"

After discussing a few other matters with Black Widow, Fury waved his hand, dismissing his capable subordinate.

"Commander," Agent Hill arrived shortly after Black Widow left, holding a file.

"I've found some information about the Ten Rings. Their traceable history goes back a thousand years, and there are legends about them all over the world—Europe, North America, Asia—major events globally seem to have their shadow."

"But there's not much concrete information left about them, only bits of legends and fragmented clues."

Nick Fury casually browsed through the information Hill gathered. It aligned with the diary mentioning that Xu Wenwu is a thousand-year-old monster. However, Hill's report had no information related to Xu Wenwu.

"What about their leader?" Nick Fury asked.

"Nothing, no clues leading to him or her. In fact, no clues point directly to the organization itself," Agent Hill shook her head. Up to this point, everything she found was indirect and peripheral, not a single direct clue. The secrecy of the Ten Rings was evident.

"Keep monitoring them," Nick Fury ordered after a brief consideration, then dismissed Hill.

"Oh, right, Satan's final payment!" After finishing all official business, Nick Fury wasted no time. He immediately pulled out his phone and made a call, "Settle the remaining payment."

"Understood."

The other party swiftly executed the required operations.

In his mansion, Zhou Cheng immediately received a notification that the remaining 45 million dollars had been deposited.

"Another fifty million in, not bad."

Zhou Cheng's mood was great. In any country, fifty million dollars was a substantial amount. He had earned it in less than half a day. Following Deadpool's advice to enter the mercenary business turned out to be the right decision. It not only solved the issue of sustaining his diary but also improved his lifestyle. After all, even though he was a super soldier and incredibly powerful due to prolonged enhancement, who could refuse a luxurious life?

Honestly, this mission with the Avengers was also a very interesting experience. Zhou Cheng habitually summoned his diary to record his feelings.

...

Marbury Luxury Villa.

"Tony, Dr. Wu's appointment is scheduled for three months later," said Pepper Potts in her professional attire, tying Tony Stark's tie.

"Did you not tell him I was the one requiring the surgery?" Tony asked, clearly incredulous.

"You think I scheduled an appointment with a surgical specialist without mentioning your name?" Pepper replied, exasperated.

Tony knew this well; he wasn't seriously asking, just expressing his surprise. Who was he, after all? The great Tony Stark! Any hospital would treat him like a VIP and prioritize his needs. Yet this Dr. Wu dared to make him wait three months? Tony couldn't help but be a bit impressed.

"So even after knowing it's for me, he still makes me wait three months? That's rare," Tony muttered.

"It is rare. Someone actually not giving the famous Tony Stark preferential treatment," Pepper laughed. "So, what are you going to do? Wait for three months?"

"What else can I do?" Tony shrugged helplessly. "Go ahead and make the appointment."

"You're really taking this so calmly? That's not like you, Tony," Pepper teased.

"Sir, the diary has been updated," JARVIS interrupted after Pepper left.

Tony approached the diary without delay and indeed found new content on it.

"Today, I fought alongside Captain America and Iron Man. It was quite an interesting experience. Last time they teamed up against the Destroyer; this time, we faced off against Extremis soldiers. Has the Avengers already formed?"

"Though Fury had the idea for Avengers, its actual formation should occur during the Battle of New York. I didn't expect it to happen so early this time."

"But the Avengers are somewhat weak at this stage. Captain America's fifty-fifty split ability is nothing special, and it's uncertain if Thor is even part of the team yet."

"As for Stark, is he still using the Mark VI or VII armor? Whatever it is, it doesn't really matter. Besides creating the nanotech armor that allows Stark to match gods, his other suits are just so-so."