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"Heh heh, Dr. Connors is actually already ready, just waiting for your command."
Eric Savin showed a hint of hesitation on his face, pointing at the monitor and saying, "But boss, do we really have to blow up the entire Base?"
"Building the underground facilities and the Extremis Virus laboratory there cost several hundred million U.S. dollars…"
Aldrich Killian listened and scolded him, both annoyed and amused, "I told you, kid, can't you broaden your horizons a bit?"
"As long as our plan can be successfully implemented this time and we successfully help the Vice President ascend to power, we can earn as much as we want then!"
"Alright, it's time to have a final showdown with that playboy…"
Aldrich Killian stared venomously at Tony Stark, who was trying to capture the Fire Lizard Warrior alive on the monitor, and couldn't help but recall the night he was deceived more than a decade ago.
It was precisely because he was left hanging on the rooftop by Tony Stark for an entire night that he firmly embarked on this path of revenge.
And now, it's time for this arrogant narcissist to pay a heavy price!
Aldrich Killian then used a tablet to bring up a remote control program, entered a long string of passwords, and in the auto-detonation option that subsequently appeared, he pressed the detonation button without hesitation.
…
Inside the Ten Rings Gang's secret Base.
Tony Stark and Captain America struggled immensely to subdue two Fire Lizard Warriors, then each dragged one directly into the Villa.
Meanwhile, the battle outside had already ended.
"Huh? Barton, Natasha, why are you two so disheveled?"
When Tony Stark saw Black Widow's scorched scalp, he almost burst out laughing on the spot; fortunately, his face mask hid his expression, otherwise he would definitely have been beaten up by Black Widow.
"It's all that foul-mouthed idiot."
Black Widow glared at Human Torch irritably, who shrank his neck like a child who had made a mistake, then looked at the two Fire Lizard Warriors curiously and said,
"Wow, that's so cool. This Thing looks exactly like a real miniature Godzilla… But speaking of which, I remember you said before that they have both Lizard · Cross-Species Gene Serum and Extremis in their bodies, so their self-detonation power should be even greater, right?"
Almost as soon as Human Torch finished speaking, violent red fluctuations suddenly surged from within the bodies of the two Fire Lizard Warriors, who were being held by Tony Stark and Captain America.
Human Torch's face instantly changed drastically, "No… it can't be such a coincidence, can it?"
%￥@X&…
Black Widow wished she could shoot that jinx in the head, but her body instinctively reacted by evading, simultaneously pouncing off the platform with Hawkeye, and shouting, "Run, they're going to self-destruct."
In fact, without their reminder, Tony Stark and Captain America had already noticed the anomaly at the first moment.
The Mark 43 Hunter Armor, made of Titanium Alloy, though possessing excellent toughness and capable of withstanding general missile attacks head-on, could not achieve true no-damage.
Even if the internal shock absorption system could avoid most of the Impact waves generated by the explosion, a portion would still be transmitted to Tony Stark.
And this portion of Impact waves was enough to cause some damage to his brain and internal organs.
What's more, he had previously analyzed the explosion site where Happy was injured; the scale and power of that Extremis Warrior's self-detonation were several times more terrifying than a general missile… not to mention these two "evolved" Fire Lizard Warriors.
So he immediately dropped the Fire Lizard Warrior in his hand, then grabbed Captain America's collar and flew rapidly towards the building behind them.
Captain America, upon realizing what was happening, immediately used his Vibranium shield to protect the two of them from behind.
Boom—Rumble!!!
Two small mushroom clouds rose one after another in the Villa.
The Villa, less than a hundred meters away, was directly reduced to scorched ruins by the Impact waves and fire rings generated by the explosion.
Even Thing, weighing several tons, was blown far away.
At this moment, Nick Fury's voice suddenly came through the communicator, calling out anxiously, "Tony, Captain, are you two alright?!"
Apparently, he had already seen the dangerous scene unfold below through the monitor.
"Don't worry, such a small scene can't kill us…"
Tony Stark's voice then sounded, "But we're both currently trapped under the ruins and can't move. We need someone to move those boulders from the outside to get out."
"Phew—"
Nick Fury and the others breathed a long sigh of relief upon hearing this. No one could have imagined that the self-detonation power of these Fire Lizard Warriors would be so terrifying.
If compared to the self-detonation power of an Extremis Warrior, it was simply child's play.
"Grimm, go help. Romanoff, Barton, Jonathan, the three of you are responsible for vigilance, to prevent any other Lizard Warrior and Extremis Warrior from launching a sneak attack."
Nick Fury wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. If Tony Stark and Captain America were injured or killed, it would be a devastating loss for both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers.
Because these two individuals were undoubtedly the core and soul of the entire Avengers team—the former providing technology and wisdom, the latter providing cohesion and execution.
Their roles were unparalleled and irreplaceable by other members.
Soon, with Thing's help, Tony Stark and Captain America, covered in dust, crawled out from under the ruins.
Human Torch, seeing this, shrank his neck somewhat guiltily. Luckily, nothing happened to the two this time, otherwise Black Widow would definitely have shot him.
Captain America, having survived the ordeal, was breathing heavily. After regulating his breathing, he contacted Nick Fury using his communicator.
"Fury, I'm afraid those two Fire Lizard Warriors just now weren't Aldrich Killian and Dr. Curt Connors."
"Why do you say that?"
Nick Fury frowned and asked, "Captain, what did you discover?"
"Tony and I had clearly knocked out those two Fire Lizard Warriors just now. Logically, they shouldn't have self-detonated."
Captain America then stated his conjecture, "So the biggest possibility right now is… Aldrich Killian, after realizing Maya Hansen's betrayal, anticipated that we would come here to apprehend him, and so he set a trap, playing along, waiting for us to walk into it."
"What? You're saying those two Fire Lizard Warriors were remotely detonated?!"
Nick Fury's face instantly darkened. Compared to Captain America's conjectured outcome, he actually preferred to believe it was simply a coincidence.
Because he stubbornly believed that the other party absolutely could not have made such a meticulous plan in just a few hours.
This was practically a public slap in the face to Nick Fury!
Could it be that after Karl Merks, another person specifically designed to "counter" me has popped up?
Impossible, I will absolutely not allow that to happen!
Aldrich Killian, you're dead, I said so…
However, despite his anger, Nick Fury, having calmed down, immediately focused his attention on the other party's whereabouts.
The thought that the other party might next use Lizard · Cross-Species Gene Serum and Extremis to create more Fire Lizard Warriors sent shivers down his spine.
He had just witnessed the power of the Fire Lizard Warrior's self-detonation; it was definitely a walking TNT.
If Aldrich Killian used Fire Lizard Warriors to deliberately create large-scale terrorist attacks, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Therefore, he must be captured as soon as possible, and then the formulas for Extremis and Lizard · Cross-Species Gene Serum must be extracted from him.
Such dangerous items that could jeopardize World peace must be controlled by S.H.I.E.L.D. itself!!
"Tony, have Jarvis help search for Aldrich Killian's whereabouts. We must completely crush the Ten Rings Gang before he starts mass-producing Fire Lizard Warriors."
"No problem."
Tony Stark then issued the relevant command to Jarvis, but who would have thought that the intelligent butler would reply the next second, "Sir, target individual Aldrich Killian has been found. He hijacked the President in New York, Queens a few minutes ago!"
"WTF???"
Tony Stark couldn't help but curse, then quickly opened the latest news Jarvis had searched from The Daily Bugle's official website.
Just now, a large number of Lizard Men appeared on the streets of New York, indiscriminately attacking pedestrians and causing massive chaos.
President Matthew Ellis, who was originally attending a charity gala, upon learning this news, for safety considerations, followed the advice of the Secret Service USSS, which is responsible for security, and ended the gala early to return to Washington D.C..
But who would have thought that an accident occurred halfway, and he was hijacked by Aldrich Killian's subordinates, his whereabouts still unknown!
Just as Tony Stark was about to inform Nick Fury of this news, the latter had already received a notification from his superior, Alexander Pierce.
The other party issued a death order over the phone: "No matter the cost, you must rescue the President immediately!!"
Rescuing the U.S. President was a great merit, so even if he didn't give the order, Nick Fury would absolutely not stand idly by.
After hanging up the phone, Nick Fury roared in surprise and anger, "Damn it, what does that bastard Aldrich Killian want to do? How dare he kidnap the President?!"
He then informed Captain America and the others of this news.
"What, the President was kidnapped?"
Captain America and the others were instantly shocked. This guy's audacity was simply too great, wasn't it?
"It seems Captain was right. That guy definitely deliberately set a trap here, waiting for us to walk into it."
Tony Stark used the holographic projection function to display the news content and related videos from The Daily Bugle in front of everyone.
The screen showed the streets of New York full of Lizard Men, and a convoy on the highway with many casualties.
"That guy first used Lizard Men to create chaos on the streets of New York, and then took the opportunity to hijack the President…"
Tony Stark said with a solemn expression, "The entire process is interconnected. It's even possible that Maya Hansen was a pawn he deliberately released."
At this point, Tony Stark could only speculate on the other party's intentions with the greatest malice.
Because everything was too coincidental.
From Maya Hansen appearing at his Villa, to the Ten Rings Gang's three armed helicopters attacking the Villa, and then their group rushing non-stop to Miami to apprehend Aldrich Killian… the entire process didn't even exceed 6 hours.
But Aldrich Killian not only left an ambush in the Base in advance, but also personally went to New York to create chaos and took the opportunity to hijack the President.
This truly makes it hard not to associate Maya Hansen as a pawn deliberately released by the other party to mislead their vision and divert them.
Tony Stark now truly regretted that he shouldn't have let that woman go so easily back then.
"I didn't expect Aldrich Killian to be so cunning?" Captain America frowned and said, "It seems we were all a bit too overconfident before… But right now, we must first figure out what he wants to do by kidnapping the President."
"Go ask Maya Hansen, she must know something."
Nick Fury said to Tony Stark through the communicator, "Tony, contact her immediately and tell her that if she refuses to cooperate, she will be imprisoned for life for treason."
"Damn it, she actually turned off her phone?!"
Tony Stark's face showed a hint of annoyance, and he immediately ordered Jarvis to locate the other party's phone signal source.
As long as Maya Hansen's phone was still intact, even if it was turned off, it could still be located via "remote Base station positioning" through the special signal emitted by its SIM card.
However, when Jarvis displayed the last location where the other party's phone signal appeared, Tony Stark almost broke down on the spot.
Because the location was actually near his Villa.
In other words, after leaving his Villa, the other party directly destroyed the phone and SIM card.
What this meant was already self-evident.
"That damned bitch dared to deceive me, and I trusted her so much because of a past one-night stand…"
Tony Stark said somewhat helplessly to everyone, "Maya Hansen is gone… Yes, literally gone… We've all been played by that bitch."
Black Widow immediately gave him a gloating, ambiguous look, "Tsk tsk, I told you long ago, if a man can't control his lower body, he'll suffer a big loss one day… See, isn't karma here?!"