"Where is Nick Fury? Why hasn't he shown himself yet?"
Lucas Reed glanced toward the Triskelion building with visible confusion.
By all logic, after causing this much chaos, Nick Fury should have appeared long ago.
Yet so far, Fury had shown no intention of meeting him.
Or perhaps—
"It seems they're not hurting badly enough yet."
With that thought, Lucas finally came to a stop.
Just as those nearby were puzzled by his sudden pause, he abruptly surged forward, leapt into the air, and appeared directly in front of a helicopter.
Crack!
The reinforced glass—dozens of millimeters thick—was pierced as easily as paper by Lucas's palm.
With a casual tug, he ripped off the entire cockpit canopy. Then, as if dismantling a toy, he tore the helicopter apart piece by piece in midair.
The remaining three armed helicopters froze in terror and immediately turned to flee.
Lucas shot them a cold glance, raised his hand, and fired several energy blasts in rapid succession.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three massive fireballs bloomed in the sky. Within seconds, all three helicopters were destroyed.
Every agent witnessing the scene felt as if they had seen a ghost.
Weapons that once provided an overwhelming sense of security now seemed no more useful than fire pokers.
Some agents had already begun praying silently—hoping God might strike down this demon with divine lightning.
At that moment, the ground at the Triskelion's main entrance suddenly split open.
A silver metallic sphere rapidly rose from underground. As it spun and reassembled, it transformed into a turret, its barrel locking directly onto Lucas.
"Damn it—are they trying to kill us along with him?!"
A Level Five agent recognized the weapon and cursed aloud as he turned and ran.
The surrounding personnel instantly reacted, scattering in panic.
The turret completed its charge in just two seconds. As it ejected a nearly molten metal plate, it fired violently at Lucas's position.
After firing, the cannon barrel glowed red-hot, becoming almost liquid-soft before being forcibly ejected from the mount.
A pale-blue sphere of energy shot out from the muzzle. As it traveled through the air, it twisted violently, crackling with arcs of electricity.
Lucas frowned slightly.
This energy round was clearly no ordinary weapon—but there was no time to evade.
He extended both hands.
"Trying to catch a high-energy plasma cannon barehanded? What an idiot—go die!"
The supervising technician laughed contemptuously.
Although this plasma cannon was nothing more than a crude experimental prototype, the projectile's core temperature still approached ten thousand degrees.
Most substances on Earth would be instantly ionized, with no chance of resistance.
But in the next instant, the man's smile froze.
The plasma round—capable of melting everything—was stopped cold in Lucas's hands.
Feeling the terrifying heat pouring into his palms, Lucas's expression finally grew serious.
He could ignore bullets and artillery shells. He could endure consecutive missile strikes.
But at his current level, he still could not withstand weapons comparable to magma—or ultimate human weapons such as nuclear arms.
This was precisely why Lucas had never allowed himself to be labeled a mass murderer or a world-ending madman.
The only reason he could hold back the plasma shell now was because he was forcibly wrapping it in his internal ki, preventing it from detonating completely.
"Hah!"
Lucas let out a sharp shout. His hands swung violently—
A brilliant flash erupted as the ki surrounding the shell transformed into a powerful energy shockwave, hurling the plasma round into the sky.
In the process, it clipped the side of the headquarters building.
The terrifying heat instantly vaporized a section of the structure before the projectile continued soaring upward.
Boom!
In the pitch-black night sky, a blinding sphere of light suddenly bloomed.
The explosion was visible across all of Washington—and even throughout much of the eastern United States.
People marveled at its brilliance, unaware that—
Had that explosion occurred at ground level, it would have melted and erased everything within a radius of over a thousand meters.
At the moment of detonation, Lucas's gaze sharpened.
He raised his palm and aimed it directly at the plasma turret near the entrance.
Light flickered in his hand as an energy blast rapidly condensed.
"Stop!"
A voice suddenly shouted.
But Lucas paid no attention.
The energy blast fired instantly, striking the turret dead-on and triggering a violent explosion.
The blast obliterated the entire entrance to headquarters.
The resulting shockwave tore massive cracks through the Triskelion structure, nearly melting a hole straight through the building's midsection.
"Motherfucker!"
Inside a helicopter that had just arrived, Nick Fury couldn't help but curse.
That turret had been one of their key pieces of evidence.
"Stop—now!"
An urgent, amplified voice echoed through the area.
Lucas turned his head and saw a nearby helicopter hovering closer.
A man holding a loudspeaker, hopping furiously in anger—
Nick Fury himself.
"Sir," Fury asked, doing his best to suppress his rage,
"may I ask what exactly you want?"
Inside the office of the S.H.I.E.L.D. New York branch, Nick Fury struggled to maintain his composure.
Lucas frowned.
"First, put away that attitude that makes me uncomfortable, Nick Fury. This situation exists because of you."
"And you can review the surveillance footage. From the beginning, I came with friendly intentions."
"The way S.H.I.E.L.D. handled this matter has already made me extremely dissatisfied. My patience is limited."
"The fact that I haven't flattened S.H.I.E.L.D. outright is already more than generous."
"So, Nick Fury—do not attempt to test my bottom line again."
Fury was momentarily speechless.
He had already reviewed the footage. The other party had indeed approached formally at first.
"Then, sir," Fury finally said, softening his tone,
"may I ask how exactly I offended you?"
"You can call your Agent Coulson. He'll explain everything clearly," Lucas replied, closing his eyes.
Fury frowned and took out his phone. He already had a rough idea of the situation.
"Understood. Redirect your teams to other assignments."
After ending the call, Fury sighed helplessly.
"I sincerely apologize for disturbing your life. So… this is you coming to hold us accountable, correct?"
Lucas opened his eyes and smiled.
"That's right, Nick Fury. Now tell me—what price are you willing to pay to quell my anger?"
The corner of Fury's mouth twitched.
Since when had the once-dominant S.H.I.E.L.D. been forced to bow its head to anyone?
But the situation spoke for itself.
Faced with a man who could catch a plasma cannon barehanded, Nick Fury had no choice but to lower his head.