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"You scared me to death! I thought it was some clueless little bitch."
In Jessica's view, although Skynet now had a body, it was still essentially a program, an AI.
Who would be jealous of a cleaning robot?
Wanda also patted her chest, her expression changing from cloudy to clear.
"That's great…it's Miss Skynet."
Wanda thought, Skynet was usually the best to her, always giving her special treatment and helping her choose clothes. Since it was her, there was absolutely no problem.
After all, how could an AI fall in love with a human?
Jessica and Wanda exchanged smiles, completely letting down their guard.
"Good heavens, Anthony." Tony put away his gloves and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Your joke was a bit too much. One day you'll scare me into a mental breakdown."
"Life needs a little surprise, doesn't it?"
"Come on, everyone, don't just stand there!"
Homelander, seeing the atmosphere lighten, immediately clapped his hands and called out.
"Keep the music playing, keep the dancing!"
"Alright, alright! A false alarm!"
Pietro, seeing the situation, immediately jumped out to liven up the atmosphere.
"Come on, everyone! To our new partner! To Miss Skynet! Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
The party atmosphere became lively again.
Everyone pulled Skynet aside, filled with curiosity.
"Hey, Skynet…" Tony leaned in, his eyes gleaming. "How does the tactile feedback system of this body work? I saw the skin changing color process just now; is it nanotechnology?"
"It is a combination of Dr. Helen Cho's Regeneration Cradle technology and the Mind Stone's energy, Mr. Stark," Skynet politely replied.
"Um… can you turn into a man?" Angela asked curiously. "I mean, like a muscular tough guy?"
"That is not possible," Skynet smiled. "The biological characteristics of this body are set as female. You can think of it as a semi-biological android."
"Okay…" Angela was a little disappointed.
The night was deep, and the revelry continued.
Homelander was very pleased with all of this, raising his glass in a distant salute to Skynet.
Skynet seemed to sense his gaze, turned her head, and gave a look that only the two of them understood… Time rewound to a few hours before the Ultron war erupted.
Grant Ward walked out of the restroom.
He splashed cold water on his face, and droplets dripped down his chin.
Just now, he had received that encrypted message from "The Clairvoyant" John Garrett.
"Target Locked: Nick Fury's whereabouts confirmed."
"Intelligence Update: Fury has acquired unknown alien technology and intends to use it to subvert the existing World order and counter HYDRA."
"Directive: He will conduct a secret handover tomorrow at coordinates (49.27.41.-80.3.40). You must intercept the technology sample at all costs and execute Fury."
"For the future of HYDRA. – Garrett."
Ward silently put his phone back in his pocket.
Alien technology? Subvert the order?
This sounded very much like something Fury would do.
That one-eyed man always kept things hidden, with countless trump cards up his sleeve.
However, he didn't care if HYDRA would be finished; he just wanted Garrett's approval.
"Hmph…"
Ward took a deep breath, adjusted his expression, and reverted to his loyal and reliable S.H.I.E.L.D. operations specialist persona before pushing the door open and walking back into the command module.
Inside the command module, Coulson was frowning, deep in thought.
Just now, a string of numbers lit up on his S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 7 Agent badge.
(49.27.41.-80.3.40)
It looked like a coordinate, and this string of coordinates suddenly appeared on his badge without any notification or explanation.
He looked up, meeting Melinda May's gaze.
Years of unspoken understanding between them meant a single glance was enough.
"It's his style," May walked over to him, lowering her voice. "Only he would do something like this."
"Nick Fury," Coulson murmured the name. "He's back. I knew it."
"I don't know," Coulson shook his head. "But this is the first time he's actively contacted us in a long time."
"Should we go?" May asked.
"Of course." Coulson didn't hesitate. "If Director Fury is calling, then something big must be happening."
He turned around and gave instructions to everyone.
"Attention everyone, mission change."
"We're temporarily not looking for the obelisk. Change course; we're going to these coordinates."
"Now?"
Skye's voice suddenly rang out.
"Coulson, Officer Rumlow's mission directive for us was to investigate the clues for that 084 item — the obelisk."
She stood up, with clear dissatisfaction in her tone.
"We've been tracking that clue for two weeks, and now that we've finally made some progress, you want to turn back for some unknown coordinates?"
"This isn't unknown," Coulson looked at Skye seriously. "That's Director Fury. If this is his order, it's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s highest priority."
"Fury isn't Director anymore!" Skye retorted. "The acting Director now is Rumlow! And… Fury is a wanted criminal!"
"That's HYDRA's slander!"
"How do you know it's slander?" Skye stood her ground. "Are those documents about him experimenting on children fake? Aren't those evidences sufficient?"
"Skye!" Coulson raised his voice. "Watch your attitude."
"I am watching my attitude, Officer," Skye looked directly at Coulson. "I'm just following orders. S.H.I.E.L.D. rule number one: obey the chain of command. Officer Rumlow is the current Commander."
Sparks seemed to fly between the two.
Fitz and Simmons sat by, exchanging glances, not daring to speak.
Skye's reasons for being so insistent were known only to herself.
First, Rumlow was Homelander's man, so he was one of them.
Then Rumlow had also told her that the obelisk was related to her origins, which she had been searching for.
That was her lifelong obsession; she couldn't give up clues to find her parents for a so-called "former Director."
Just then, Ward walked over.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Ward, you came at the right time." Skye looked like she had found a savior. "Coulson wants to defy Officer Rumlow's orders and go to some inexplicable coordinates. Do you think this is reasonable?"
She looked at Ward, her eyes full of expectation.
In her impression, Ward was a soldier who valued rules and obeyed orders.
And Ward was her supervising Officer, always on her side throughout their journey.
However, Ward glanced at the coordinates on the screen.
His pupils involuntarily contracted.
Those coordinates… were exactly the same as what "Garrett" had just sent him.