"Looks like you've heard of me?" Bai Ye asked with a faint smile, noticing the change in Reed's expression.
"I've heard Agent Coulson mention your… actions."Facing Bai Ye directly, Reed felt a heavy pressure weighing on him.
"Oh? In that case, things will be simple." Bai Ye nodded. "There's something I need your help with."
Reed nodded quickly. "Please speak."
"I want you to study the cosmic storm," Bai Ye said. The moment the words left his mouth, Reed's eyes lit up—but dimmed again just as quickly.
"According to my calculations, the cosmic storm has already moved far away from Earth. At its current speed, our spacecraft can't possibly catch up to it," Reed explained.
But the next moment, a spatial portal appeared in the sky in the distance. Amid the roaring gale that surged backward through it, Reed saw the pitch-black vacuum of outer space on the other side—along with a massive orange-gold light band.
"Th-this… could it be—?!"Reed's eyes widened. His voice trembled uncontrollably.
With a wave of his hand, Bai Ye closed the portal and nodded. "That's right. A portal leading directly to the cosmic storm. I can open it whenever I want—and I could let the entire cosmic storm flood onto the planet, granting every human on Earth superpowers."
"But there's one small problem."Bai Ye looked at Reed and spoke slowly. "The superpowers unlocked by the storm are unstable and uncontrollable. They may cause the body to mutate into a monster. It's far too risky."
"So now, I need someone to research a machine that can revert a superpowered individual back into an ordinary human."
"I-I-I'll do it!"Thinking his goal had failed, Reed practically lunged forward, pointing at himself."Just give me observational data from the cosmic storm! I swear I can develop it!"
Just moments ago, he had still felt a bitter twinge about Bai Ye's relationship with Susan.But before the call of scientific research, Reed instantly cast all of that aside.Women only slow down his progress.
"Really? Then I'll leave it to you." Bai Ye said.
The next second, Reed's surroundings distorted—and he found himself standing in a bright, spacious room.
"This is Reed Richards, the man I told you to find. All research on the cosmic storm will be handed over to him."Bai Ye said to Stark, who was busy handling government affairs inside the White House.
Although the space station had been damaged earlier, it had still retained all data regarding the cosmic storm.
"And here—Pym Particles."Bai Ye set the container on Stark's desk.
"Where did you even find this?" Stark asked in shock.
"I just wiped out one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s major bases. Nick Fury and Coulson tried to escape, but I killed them too. Found these there."
Bai Ye continued casually, "Also—some of our own people were Hydra or S.H.I.E.L.D. defectors. Banner was just killed by me at that same base."
Stark's expression shifted instantly.Their own operatives had been quietly searching for the Hulk—yet Hydra had still beaten them to it.Someone had clearly leaked information.
"Looks like I've been too merciful," Bai Ye chuckled. "I haven't even initiated a proper purge, yet these people still think they're allowed to breathe."
"Find every insider involved—and skin them alive. Then send their whole families along with them."
"T-that's too much!" Stark's face drained of color. "Just killing the key people is enough!"
Bai Ye fixed his gaze on Stark."Don't hold back. If I find out you did… even more people will die."
If the Hulk had truly gotten the Pym Particles and then rampaged through his coronation ceremony—With strength amplified a millionfold—even the slightest mistake on Bai Ye's part could cause half of New York to be obliterated.People he knew might die.
And those traitors had dared to leak that information?They must be tired of living.
Seeing Stark's stiff, uneasy expression, Bai Ye looked away. "Forget it. You're not suited for this. Jarvis—relay my instructions to Kingpin. Let him handle it."
"Yes, Mr. Bai," Jarvis's synthetic voice echoed through the empty White House.
"Tomorrow is my coronation. Everyone from the group chat will be attending. I don't want a single unexpected incident. If something does happen… I'll be very, very angry."
Bai Ye continued,"S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra remnants, the rebels—this has dragged on too long.Tell Professor X to use the Cerebro amplifier and locate them all.Once we have the coordinates—kill them all."
"Any locations not marked as friendly that cannot be scanned by his telepathy—If they fail to give an acceptable explanation—Kill everyone inside.If they're not guilty, why hide?"
Bai Ye issued his supreme directive, which Jarvis relayed outward.
Condensed into a single sentence:
"All rebels—kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"
"I expect that when tomorrow's sunlight hits New York City, the entire planet will kneel to me completely. Understood?"
"We understand!"Stark, Kingpin, and Rodriguez—who received the audio remotely—all voiced their obedience.
Bai Ye nodded and looked out the window at the endless sky.Hopefully Captain Marvel doesn't pull some alien-invader stunt tomorrow… otherwise, even a hundred well-equipped black guys might not satisfy her when the time comes.
Drawing his gaze back, Bai Ye stepped forward into a portal and vanished—leaving Reed behind with Stark.
"Dr. Richards, right?" Stark said, watching Reed, who still hadn't recovered from Bai Ye's words.
"You'll head out with the Secret Service shortly to find Mayor Victor. You'll be working together on the cosmic storm project.As you may have noticed… tonight is a little busy."
"Mayor Victor?" Reed blinked.
"Victor von Doom. Your old college classmate. He's the mayor of New York now."
"But regardless of how much your statuses change, you're both serving Bai Ye.If you want—after the research is done—you can swap positions with him."
Stark rolled his eyes.Under Bai Ye's absolute rule, they practically had unlimited authority—so long as nothing threatened Bai Ye's safety, they could do whatever they wanted.Positions could be swapped at will; they were only loosely connected to responsibility and held no real power.
He'd once seen Kingpin and Rodriguez get drunk and switch roles on a whim—Kingpin becoming President, Rodriguez Vice President—and livestreaming outside the White House singing "The Emperor's Rule Shall Never Fall" to praise Bai Ye.
This planet would fall apart without me!Stark thought helplessly, convinced he was the only sane man left.
(End of Chapter)