Dex knelt on the ground, obediently handing over the Anomalocaris Memory, his face filled with terror as he looked at Pierce, who was transformed into the Weather Dopant.
This person was too terrifying, capable of controlling phenomena like fire, ice, thunder, and hurricanes... he was practically like a deity from myth who could summon the wind and rain.
After witnessing the formidable power of the Weather Memory, Dex felt that if he continued to resist, he would very likely lose his life, and he couldn't escape even if he tried.
So, he surrendered very compliantly and handed over the Anomalocaris Memory.
He also expressed his willingness to serve with great respect and promised to answer all of Pierce's questions without reservation.
"So, you completely don't know the specific details of the organization selling the Gaia Memories," Pierce was slightly disappointed, although he had somewhat anticipated this.
It was still a pity that he didn't receive any effective information.
Dex nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "They contacted me every time, and I've only dealt with the salespeople.
I tried to probe, but these salespeople never revealed any information. I suspect they actually don't know the specific situation of the organization behind them either.
They're just a bunch of errand runners.
I truly don't know the inside story of that organization."
"Then you are of no use," Pierce said flatly, looking at the Anomalocaris Memory in his hand.
Dex shouted internally that this was bad and stood up to flee.
However, just two steps after turning around, he was immediately frozen into an ice sculpture by the terrifying blast of cold air blowing from behind.
"The power to manipulate celestial phenomena, the Gaia Memory...
I really want to experience what kind of power those golden Gaia Memories, which are superior to the weather, possess?" Pierce's eyes were filled with ambition. He walked up and gently tapped Dex, who was frozen into an ice sculpture.
The ice sculpture instantly shattered, scattering into ice crystals all over the ground.
"What a beautiful sight," Pierce said in a captivated tone, looking at the ice crystals scattered on the ground.
At the factory, all the gang members were arrested.
Neither Hydra nor S.H.I.E.L.D., who were represented by Rumlow, were interested in these gang members, so all the captured individuals were handed over to the NYPD for processing.
Rumlow left immediately with his squad, returning to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
Gwen saw that the incident was over and there were no more surprises, so she immediately set off to return home, as she couldn't let George find out she had left.
"Escort all the captured individuals from the factory back to the police station for interrogation."
"Not only did the operation fail, but the police officers involved in the operation suffered heavy losses." George Stacy's expression was grim as he looked at his subordinates being carried out on stretchers.
"I didn't expect these dangerous, unknown items that have recently appeared to have such powerful strength, capable of turning people into impenetrable monsters.
Many officers will likely have to take leave to recover from their injuries this time. Manpower will be very tight for the foreseeable future," Crawley Areil, the Precinct Commander of the Manhattan District, stood beside George and lamented.
This operation took place in the Manhattan District, and the police force mobilized for the operation mainly came from Crawley's command.
George glanced at Crawley and said, "I will temporarily transfer some personnel from other district precincts to the Manhattan Precinct to fill the vacancies of the injured officers.
But I don't want to hear about a sudden increase in the crime rate in the Manhattan District!"
Crawley smiled slightly: "As long as Commissioner George can replenish the missing personnel, the Manhattan District absolutely won't have any problems."
"However,..."
Crawley changed the subject: "If situations like today's occur frequently in the future, ordinary police forces will likely find it very difficult to cope."
George frowned: "To deal with criminals who possess abilities beyond ordinary people, like today's, we definitely need more advanced equipment to protect and arm our officers.
We should establish a Special Operations Unit."
After a moment of thought, George continued, "Didn't Tony Stark create a fully covered powered exoskeleton battlesuit?"
Crawley's expression was strange upon hearing this: "Commissioner George, you're not suggesting that you want Stark to hand over his battlesuit technology, are you? That's simply impossible.
You know, even the Department of Defense wanted Tony Stark's battlesuit, and he flat-out refused.
That's why the DoD had to convene a hearing, trying to obtain the Iron Man battlesuit technology from him."
George shook his head and glanced at Crawley: "Of course, I don't want Tony Stark's Iron Man battlesuit.
Not only is the manufacturing cost of Tony Stark's battlesuit expensive, something we can't afford at all.
What the NYPD needs is armored equipment for urban counter-terrorism operations, capable of protecting officers when facing superhuman crimes like today's.
We don't need the kind of powerful firepower used in Tony Stark's battlesuit that can engage with the military, nor do we need to fly around.
After all, we are not fighting a war, but dealing with criminals."
Crawley realized the point: "You mean simplified version of the Iron Man battlesuit?"
George nodded slightly: "Strictly speaking, it's ordinary full-coverage powered exoskeleton assist combat gear, used to deal with special crimes and protect officers."
"If it's a 'degraded' version of the battlesuit, it would indeed perfectly meet our needs."
Crawley slapped his head and said with slight excitement: "It can maximize the safety of operational officers in special circumstances like today's.
And the cost won't be too high.
It can effectively combat criminals, and it won't involve the core technology of the Iron Man battlesuit, so there's a real chance of reaching an agreement.
Should we contact Stark Industries immediately when we get back?"
George sighed softly: "Who said we were going to purchase this equipment technology from Tony Stark?"
Crawley was a little confused: "If we don't talk to Tony Stark, where will we get the technology?"
George said meaningfully, "What kind of product do you think the Iron Man battlesuit created by Tony Stark is?"
Crawley replied without hesitation: "Although Stark Industries has announced the closure of its weapons manufacturing division.
Tony Stark's Iron Man battlesuit is definitely an unprecedented, powerful weapon capable of revolutionizing the future landscape of warfare."
"Exactly," George nodded. "So, what will be the reaction of other weapons manufacturing industrial groups to this unprecedented and powerful weapon?"
Crawley's eyes lit up: "I understand. Regarding this epoch-making weapon and equipment.
Other American weapons manufacturers will certainly try everything possible to imitate it immediately.
Perhaps they can't manufacture an Iron Man battlesuit comparable to Tony Stark's, but maybe there are some simplified versions of armored suits."
"So we can cooperate with other weapons manufacturers, such as the Osborn Group, Hammer Industries, or others."
George nodded and then said, "Under the premise of ensuring safety, we can help them test and develop the new armored battlesuit equipment.
If the negotiations go well, we might even save a large amount on procurement costs.
Furthermore, with the hearing about the Iron Man battlesuit about to be unveiled, Tony Stark will absolutely not allow any technology related to his battlesuit to leak out during this sensitive period.
So, we can't achieve cooperation with Tony Stark."
"I see. I will immediately contact these military equipment manufacturers.
We will closely monitor this area to see if they can research and manufacture suitable armored suits for urban counter-terrorism operations."
The NYPD's Intelligence Technology Division immediately began looking for information regarding powered exoskeleton armor.
At this time, the Green Goblin Battlesuit developed by the Osborn Group—the armored suit used by Norman Osborn after transforming into the Green Goblin—was only a half-finished product.
As for Hammer Industries, there's no need to mention them; a research experiment directly resulted in an accident, leading to the death of a soldier involved in the experiment. Later, at the Iron Man battlesuit hearing, Justin Hammer was publicly humiliated by Tony with the relevant video evidence.
So, they didn't have any presentable products or powered exoskeleton assist systems.
However...
"Commissioner George, the Tree of Life Foundation has announced the research and development of a fully covered exoskeleton system for urban counter-terrorism, which uses artificial intelligence to assist the wearer and enhance human functions.
Furthermore, the Tree of Life Foundation has contacted us, expressing interest in initial cooperation with the NYPD to conduct field testing of their product.
The specific official product will be officially exhibited at the upcoming Stark Expo, and they have invited us to send personnel to attend."
George quickly received the good news; not only was the technology settled, but the other party was also interested in cooperating with him.
"The Tree of Life Foundation? Is that the foundation that rapidly expanded over five or six years, becoming comparable to established corporations like the Osborn Group, spanning multiple fields like machinery, biology, and medical care?"
"That's right, it is the Tree of Life Foundation," the technical personnel replied.
"What is the name of this system? Are there any specific demonstration videos?" George asked the technical personnel with slight excitement.
"The official version of the armored system exhibited by the Tree of Life Foundation is named the G3 System.
[We are getting Agito boys, less goo]
We have received the demonstration video, and our technical staff have analyzed it. The G3 System indeed has considerable performance capabilities.
However, the specific situation still needs to be evaluated based on a physical demonstration."
"Good. It seems like we definitely need to go see the upcoming Stark Expo," George said with a slightly relaxed smile.