Wait a minute!"
Then, Tony Stark's eyes suddenly lit up, and he couldn't help but recall something.
The diary had mentioned that Spider-Man, that "little kid," had actively hung up on Nick Fury's call.
Could that incident have happened when they were dealing with the Elementals?
The Playboy naturally wouldn't know about such things, but Tony Stark increasingly felt that this Spider-Man was really to his liking.
He just didn't know how Spider-Man's superpowers came about?
Why did he possess such great power when he was still so young, in high school?
Moreover, judging by the diary's description of his strength, whether it was the comparison to Captain America's "several tons" of strength, or the descriptions of pulling cruise ships and high-speed trains, it seemed Spider-Man was following the same path as Captain America.
Most likely, he gained strength far beyond ordinary people through some kind of mutation.
This was completely different from his Tony's technological cheat, or Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange's magic.
So, the question arises.
If his guess was correct, which utterly heartless person would lay hands on such a young child for human experimentation?
"[The result? Spider-Man just hung up on Nick Fury's call, completely ignoring Nick Fury!]
"[Even when Nick Fury personally came to invite him, Spider-Man refused. In the end, it was only through a semi-coercive, semi-deceptive method that Spider-Man was persuaded to join.]"
"[Haha, Nick Fury probably has never been so humble in his life, right?]
"[No, that's not right. Nick Fury truly has never been so humble in his life, because at this time, Nick Fury was no longer Nick Fury.]"
"[Instead, he was impersonated by Skrulls!]"
"[Thinking about it, if it were the real Nick Fury, he shouldn't have been tricked so easily by Mysterio, right?]
"[But unfortunately, the real Nick Fury was far away on a space Base at this time.]"
Haha, it really was this time!
Tony Stark almost couldn't help but laugh out loud, and a strong light of gossip appeared in his eyes.
It wasn't that the Playboy had a wicked sense of humor, but for some reason, seeing Nick Fury get thwarted by a little kid made him feel genuinely satisfied!
Especially after seeing Nick Fury not only have his call rejected but also get rebuffed when he personally came to invite him, Tony Stark felt incredibly refreshed.
Spider-Man, well done!
This little kid was increasingly to his liking.
"Wait a minute, Skrulls?"
But soon, the Playboy's smiling face froze, replaced by an expression of surprise and astonishment.
At that time, Nick Fury was actually replaced by Skrulls?
Skrulls again!
The Playboy was not unfamiliar with this race, but he didn't know too much about them.
He only knew that they had fought a war with the Kree and were the main instigators of the Secret Invasion.
Even during the Secret Invasion, the Skrulls had targeted his good friend Rhodes.
However, the diary didn't reveal what exactly happened after they targeted Rhodes, so Tony wasn't very clear about it.
Oh, right, there was also one more thing: Nick Fury had a group of Skrull subordinates!
So, if Skrulls impersonated Nick Fury here, was it by Nick Fury's command?
Wait a minute!
This doesn't make sense!
Even if Nick Fury needed someone to impersonate him, why wouldn't he find S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents?
Shouldn't the methods of these spies be more suitable for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own spies to handle?
Entrusting this to an alien, what was he thinking?
The physiological structure and even the appearance of aliens are quite different from humans.
There might even be insurmountable gaps in their ways of thinking.
Why would Nick Fury choose to have an alien impersonate him?
This was simply absurd.
Could they impersonate him convincingly?
The Playboy truly found this somewhat incomprehensible.
But one thing was certain: since Nick Fury chose the Skrulls, it meant that the Skrulls must be capable of handling such work.
Not only capable, but even better than ordinary people!
Otherwise, why would Nick Fury abandon S.H.I.E.L.D. spies for something like this and choose aliens, who seemed unsuitable no matter how one looked at it?
So, if analyzed this way, do Skrulls have a special advantage in impersonating others that Earthlings don't possess?
After some thought, Tony came to this self-evident conclusion.
This also explained what the diary had mentioned earlier about the Skrulls targeting Rhodes.
The diary also said that the Skrulls were actually targeting the identity of War Machine!
What did it mean to target War Machine's identity?
At the time, Tony couldn't quite grasp it, but now, it seemed to mean impersonating Rhodes and then replacing War Machine, didn't it?
So this was the Skrulls' special method?
After understanding this point, the Playboy increasingly understood why those Skrulls held such great value to Nick Fury, even helping Nick Fury ascend to the position of Director.
If those Skrulls could truly impersonate anyone at will, it would indeed bring tremendous help to Nick Fury's various missions.
"Mysterio?"
Nick Fury, in front of another diary, slightly furrowed his brow.
Didn't the diary just mention that he contacted Spider-Man to deal with the threat of the Elementals?
Why was Mysterio suddenly appearing here?
Mysterio was mentioned for the first time in the diary, so Nick Fury naturally couldn't know him.
However, looking at his nickname, one could get a glimpse of this person's nature.
With "Mysterio" in his name, it seemed this person should be a profound and mysterious individual, right?
Is that why he tricked him? No, is that why he tricked those Skrulls?
Nick Fury naturally didn't know why Mysterio would deceive the "Skrull version" of himself.
However, he speculated that this person was very likely involved in the Elementals incident.
But what exactly happened during that time remained unknown.
But, did he actually go to space at that time?
???
A series of question marks couldn't help but appear on Nick Fury's forehead.
Space?
His future self was actually playing it so cool, going to space just like the Avengers?
It must be said, this step was indeed a bit too big.
After all, the current Nick Fury was still painstakingly battling HYDRA.
Yet, his future self was already gallivanting in space!
And it seemed that his "adventure into the Universe" was different from Stark and the others fighting aliens.
After all, before going into outer space, he had made full preparations, even having Skrulls impersonate him.
This indicated that Nick Fury already knew he would be staying in that space Base for a long time.
Moreover, Nick Fury had a very clear understanding of his own role.
He was a spy, a Commander, but not a field operative, much less an Avenger.
He wouldn't easily appear on the front lines of battle.
So, Nick Fury judged that his future trip to the space Base or similar places was very likely not a combat mission, but some other matter.
Otherwise, he wouldn't personally go.
However, what exactly it was, since the diary didn't reveal any related information, was beyond the current Nick Fury's imagination.
"[So, Nick Fury was born to be a spy.]"
"[On Earth, he started from nothing, clawing his way up, directly becoming the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.]"
"[Although he was always used by Alexander Pierce and almost killed by his good superior.]"
"[But honestly, it was already very impressive.]"
"[After S.H.I.E.L.D.'s demise, the "unemployed" Nick Fury transformed again, going to space to lead S.W.O.R.D.]"
"[It can only be said that Nick Fury is amazing. Although S.W.O.R.D. is similar in nature to S.H.I.E.L.D., it is a proper interstellar organization, dealing with interstellar conflicts!]
"[Even Captain Marvel is working for S.W.O.R.D.]"
Used by Pierce?
What did Satan mean?
Nick Fury's expression instantly became extremely solemn.
At the same time, a feeling of extreme unease couldn't help but arise in his heart.
After all, the diary's hints were actually quite obvious.
What did "used" mean?
After Alexander Pierce stepped down as the previous Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he had been serving as a minister in the World Security Council.
Although his position was higher than Nick Fury's, and he was also Nick Fury's superior.
But at this time, Pierce had already been separated from S.H.I.E.L.D.
In other words, all S.H.I.E.L.D. matters would be handled by Nick Fury, the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Pierce would not interfere in any way.
He merely served as a bridge for communication between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the World Security Council, nothing more!
Under these circumstances, how could Pierce use Nick Fury?
After all, Pierce had no right to interfere in what Nick Fury did!
Combining this with HYDRA's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., there was only one answer: Pierce was also HYDRA!
Since receiving the diary and learning about HYDRA's infiltration, Nick Fury had been clashing with HYDRA for a long time.
And the more he clashed, the more thrilling it became.
Because as the investigation deepened, as more and more secrets were unearthed.
Nick Fury increasingly felt how shocking HYDRA's infiltration was.
He was certain that there must be absolute high-ranking officials within S.H.I.E.L.D. who were also HYDRA!
With Nick Fury's usual character, he had long listed those few absolute high-ranking officials within S.H.I.E.L.D. as suspects.
His good superior, Pierce, was also on that suspect list.
However, because he had never found any concrete evidence, Nick Fury couldn't pinpoint who that "big ghost" was.
And this spoiler from the diary provided Nick Fury with strong evidence!
Pierce!
So, that "big ghost" of HYDRA, was it you?
Then, without a doubt, what the diary mentioned about him almost being killed by Pierce should refer to the Insight Project, where he was assassinated by the Winter Soldier, right?
And the Winter Soldier was the sharpest blade in HYDRA's hands!
Gathering all the information spoiled by the diary, and combining it with some information he had investigated, Nick Fury felt that the matter was almost certain.
"Pierce, I really hope that person isn't you!"
The look in his single eye sharpened slightly, and Nick Fury couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
This wasn't Nick Fury putting on an act, but his true feelings deep down.
After all, Nick Fury's rise through S.H.I.E.L.D. was inseparable from Pierce's appreciation.
One might even say it was due to Pierce's strong promotion.
This person had been kind to Nick Fury.
But business is business; no matter what relationship he and Pierce had in the past, or what kind of friendship they shared, when it was time to act, Nick Fury wouldn't hesitate!
Having made up his mind, Nick Fury put aside his thoughts and continued to focus on the diary.
His expression tightened again.
"S.W.O.R.D.!"
Nick Fury softly uttered the name.
He never would have thought that he would go deep into space, even having Skrulls impersonate him, just to lead S.W.O.R.D.?
The name S.W.O.R.D. also appeared for the first time in the diary, but looking at the diary's description, wasn't it just a space version of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
It seemed his future self was doing very well!
He had unknowingly become the head of an interstellar intelligence agency?
Awesome!
But honestly, the S.W.O.R.D. organization was indeed very suitable for him, Nick Fury.
Nick Fury even began to seriously consider it now.
If his future self really had the opportunity to work for this S.W.O.R.D., would he be willing?
Nick Fury felt that there was a high probability he would be willing.
Leaving aside his own factors, wasn't Captain Marvel also working in this organization?
So, this was why Captain Marvel had never returned to Earth?
Instead, she had been busy dealing with those interstellar conflicts?
"[It's just unknown when Nick Fury left Earth.]"
"[After all, he has a group of Skrull subordinates who can transform into him at any time.]"
"[The key is that Skrulls can not only perfectly change their appearance, but also possess the short-term memories of the person they transform into.]"
"[Then, the impersonation can be said to have no flaws whatsoever; no one can distinguish it except the person being impersonated.]"
"[During the Secret Invasion, Skrulls impersonated so many people, and they never revealed any flaws, did they?]
"[After all, no one can be sure that the person standing in front of you is the real Nick Fury!]"
So, this is what Skrulls are?
Tony Stark finally understood, and at the same time, a few more layers of vigilance appeared in his heart.
Capable of perfectly changing appearance and possessing the memories of the person they mimic, Skrulls were simply a race born for espionage!
They were natural spies!