Nolan bent down and easily hoisted the Winter Soldier, who was rapidly sinking into a deep coma. The man was a mangled, bloody weight in his arms.
He stepped over the broken corpses and scattered rubble, walking without hesitation out into the intense, hot desert air.
The sophisticated thermostatic device sealed inside the Hunting Lord armor had already activated, maintaining a perfectly cool internal climate. Even if he were walking through a literal lava zone, Nolan could have easily persevered.
Ten minutes later, he reached the reverse side of a tall sand dune, approximately three kilometers from the site of the ambush.
There, a Valkyrie armed transport sat quietly, its dark camouflage-painted metal shell scorching under the unrelenting sun and reflecting a faint, shimmering light.
David was efficiently loading the specialized scientific research equipment salvaged from the underground laboratory into the Valkyrie's spacious cabin.
When Nolan carried the unconscious Winter Soldier into the cabin, David gently set down the piece of research equipment he was holding in his metal palm.
He walked over to Nolan.
He lowered his metallic head, examining the bloody, severely mangled human form with a clinical eye.
"My lord, have you acquired new manpower?"
"That's right... I also hope to extract some Hydra secrets from his brain."
Nolan gently placed the Winter Soldier down, letting him lie on the cold, sterile metal floor of the cabin.
He casually reached up and removed his sealed metal helmet, revealing his face and the gray hair tied back neatly.
Nolan blinked his cyan wolf eyes, looked at David, and asked, "Is the lab completely cleared?"
"My Lord, I was just about to report the situation to you..."
David slowly shook his metal head.
He raised his hand and gestured toward the scientific research equipment that now filled most of the cabin space.
"Excluding the heavy production equipment, the quantity of Compound V alone is close to one ton... In other words, if you desire it, you could quickly raise a huge army of metahumans."
"David, a group of metahumans with no true will to fight can't even compare to the organized gangs in a hive city. They are simply babies who have mastered lasguns. They may be destructive enough, but in the face of well-trained ordinary troops, or even more terrifying xenos, they won't be able to maintain basic combat capabilities."
The expressionless Nolan narrowed his cyan wolf eyes and said calmly.
"Moreover, Dr. Connors has not yet had the time to study the true, long-term effectiveness of these compounds. Unless we obtain a large number of orphans and nurtured them from childhood with intense training... otherwise, the secondary harm caused by human experiments is not the result I hope to achieve."
"The most important thing is that courage and will are the real soul of a mortal army. Madam Gao's gang members still need significant honing, but you can help her select suitable elite candidates from among them and temporarily form a rapid-response team. Aim for about five hundred people."
"My only core requirement for this team is that they are not afraid of death and are absolutely loyal. Since we will not start any large-scale war in the near future, for urban combat, this team, plus my leadership, will be sufficient to deal with fighting official forces."
Nolan lowered his head and considered the plan for a moment, then continued, "Remember to inform Reditus later. Let him find a way to copy the laser weapon technology. Even if the copycat version isn't as powerful as the original, as long as it's superior to the individual weapons in modern society, it can be updated bit by bit in the future. Of course, if the situation becomes urgent, I will also find a way to use... 'miracles' to acquire some."
Hearing Nolan's words, the blue light in David's eyes flashed rapidly.
He shook his metal head slightly in acknowledgment.
He quickly logged the complex tasks Nolan had issued into his internal memory.
"My lord... huh?"
However, just as David was about to offer a compliment on Nolan's strategic depth, the flashing blue light in his eyes paused slightly, locking onto new data.
He immediately turned back to Nolan and reported, "My Lord, another convoy is rapidly approaching the laboratory location. According to the vehicle markings and the detailed call analysis from their communication channel, it is S.H.I.E.L.D. manpower."
Hearing David's report, Nolan squinted his eyes and slowly twisted his neck from side to side, the joints making a faint clicking sound.
His fangs slowly became more visible as he smiled.
"They are all wild dogs that have tasted meat..."
"I plan to teach them a lesson they will never forget. It can also be considered a 'kind' reminder to Nick Fury."
Hearing Nolan's words, David suddenly raised his metal palm and pointed toward the Valkyrie's cockpit.
"My lord, the Valkyrie still has plenty of ammunition for its heavy weapons, but it is not as discreet as us..."
"No need... because I still have one small idea left."
Nolan put the metal helmet on again and turned his eyes slightly.
He stared down at the unconscious Winter Soldier lying on the cold metal floor, and the corners of his mouth, hidden inside the helmet, curved into a sharp, malicious grin.
Phil Coulson, sitting calmly in the passenger seat of his unmarked SUV, subconsciously touched the mobile phone tucked securely in his pocket. A slight, private smile touched his lips.
Sending private messages while on assignment was a clear violation of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s strict work protocols.
But as a seasoned Level 8 agent, he was generally afforded some small, earned privileges.
Not to mention, he was the sole commanding officer of this temporary team, which had been hastily pulled together from a nearby satellite base.
Perhaps the smile on Coulson's lips was too genuine or too obvious.
A nervous new agent, responsible for driving the vehicle, blinked his eyes quickly.
He asked cautiously, "Sir, you seem happy today?"
Hearing the unexpected question, Coulson immediately snapped back into his standard, expressionless agent demeanor.
He said with a straight face, "Greg, concentrate on driving."
But, not long after, Coulson couldn't suppress his mood and showed another irrepressible smile.
He turned his head to the rookie agent, who looked slightly uneasy, and said in a gentle, almost conversational tone, "It's a personal matter. My girlfriend just secured the qualification to hold a cello concert at Carnegie Hall..."
"Ah, that's a truly good thing, sir. Congratulations..."
The new agent nodded quickly, forcing a professional smile.
However, before the agent could finish his sentence, a deafening, reality-ripping explosion tore through the air directly in front of the convoy.
The lead cars driving ahead of them exploded instantly, one after another, erupting into fireballs!
Even the heavy vehicle Coulson was riding in was suddenly overturned, violently lifted and slammed onto its side by a huge, brutal impact force!
At the same time, a terrifying series of rapid bombardments, sounding like thunder from a clear sky, instantly resonated all around them.
After a brief, agonizing experience of severe dizziness and vertigo, Coulson forced his eyes to open.
At this moment, he was firmly suspended upside down, held fast to the seat by his seat belt.
Coulson managed to turn his head and looked desperately at the driver beside him.
He found that the rookie agent, who had apparently not fully secured his seat belt, was already dead.
His neck was twisted at a strange, unnatural angle.
Only his eyes, which had not yet closed, still held a lingering, horrified light that had not yet disappeared.
Coulson ruthlessly suppressed the surge of grief and shock in his heart; his rigorous agent training took immediate control.
He fumbled desperately to unbuckle the seat belt, and his back fell heavily onto the car's broken roof with a muffled thud.
Then, he pulled out his service pistol.
He awkwardly maneuvered his body out through the shattered window and crawled onto the sandy ground.
However, just as Coulson, lying prone on the ground, was struggling to get up and locate the hidden enemy, the sandy earth directly in front of him was suddenly enveloped by a massive, looming shadow.
At the same time, Coulson heard a terrifying, gravelly voice, one that seemed to belong in the deepest parts of a nightmare.
"Hail... HYDRA!!!"