"Absorbing the bloodline of its father, absorbing the power of its mother, oh child born here! I truly look forward to how you will grow in the future!"
Gaea had already woken up long before Artoria did. She didn't make a sound or try to keep Artoria there. After Artoria left, Gaea quietly opened her eyes and took the giant egg out from under the blankets. She spoke with a satisfied expression. Artoria's recent lack of energy was her doing. Every night, while Artoria was in a deep sleep, Gaea would secretly sneak into Artoria's room. Without being noticed, she would lie in Artoria's bed and gently hold her, starting to absorb and store a portion of Artoria's dragon blood. She then refined and purified it, perfectly preserving the dragon blood and using her own power to fuse with it.
This was what caused Artoria's lack of energy during the day. This time, by chance, she helped Artoria replenish her essence, and successfully allowed the 'child' to be born into this world. After her night of hard work, the little baby was very healthy. Gaea could already feel the life aura inside the giant egg; it was very stable and very strong.
"It will still take a long time to hatch successfully."
Gaea said with some regret. She had ways to make the Little guy be born earlier, but she still hoped the little one could be born naturally. Such a baby would be the healthiest. Thinking about it, Gaea held the giant egg in her arms and went back to sleep to replenish the power lost last night.
"I feel like I'm eating even more than usual today!"
After Artoria finished gnawing on the last piece of mutton, she looked at the mountain of plates being wheeled away by the maids and spoke with some emotion. This feeling reminded her of the time she ran out of mana on the battlefield and had to gnaw on bread to recover. But she hadn't been in a fight recently, so how could there be such a huge energy consumption? It was quite puzzling. But adhering to the principle that 'being able to eat is a blessing', Artoria continued to struggle with the steak that was brought out; she wasn't full yet.
"Master, those two have regained consciousness."
After Artoria had eaten and drunk her fill, Saturday reported on the status of the two individuals Artoria had brought to the lab. This gave Artoria a start; she had almost forgotten about them. She didn't expect it would take them so long to wake up—it had been three days. She wondered how their abilities had changed. Thinking of this, Artoria decided not to go to the company. Taking a long-overdue break was a good choice. She didn't plan to send a clone either; after all, they were all her. The memory of a pile of documents after dispelling a clone was a headache. So, Artoria decided to give herself a vacation.
Having decided, Artoria boarded her private jet, activated stealth mode, and flew toward the lab where the Wanda siblings were. she was looking forward to seeing what they would be like. After all, her surname was Stark, and she didn't know if her butterfly effect had stirred up a hurricane and skewed the plot.
"Peter, have you been lacking sleep lately?"
As a hero who was gradually being accepted by the public and named 'Captain Britain' by netizens, Brian looked at his good friend Spider-Woman with concern. After such a long period of working together and fighting crime, the two had privately exchanged names. Seeing his friend looking somewhat listless, Brian could only express his inner concern.
"It's nothing, my good friend. I'm fine."
At this moment, Spider-Woman also had dark circles under his eyes. There was no helping it; his rest time was too short. He had to go to school during the day and fight crime at night. Uncle Ben was still around, but to give Uncle Ben time to rest properly, Peter had started working odd jobs. Sometimes when funds were really tight, he could only secretly take photos of himself and his friend to sell to the newspaper for pocket money. To make a living, he was pushing himself toward Death by overwork.
"You don't look like you're fine. I think you should get some good rest today!"
Brian easily saw through Peter's bravado. Having spent so much time with Peter and fighting alongside him, Brian knew Peter's temperament. This was someone who, like him, would rather die than admit defeat. With no better option, Brian told Peter to go get some rest. After all, health was the most important thing. If his body broke down, how could he fight crime in the future?
"Thank you for your kindness, but since this is the path I chose, please don't stop me."
Although moved by his comrade and friend's kindness, Peter was very stubborn. Once he decided on something, ten oxen couldn't pull him back. Just like when he joined the Civil War and Tony told him to quit the fight, he wouldn't listen. When told to get off Thanos's ship, he wouldn't listen. He insisted on facing unknown dangers with Tony. Once this underage child set a goal, he wouldn't turn back even if he died.
"Alright, Peter. But if you fall behind, I won't stop."
Seeing Peter's stubborn look, Brian could only helplessly agree to Peter's wishes. However, he felt even more respect for this child who was several years younger than him. It seemed he couldn't underestimate this kid just because of his age; as a superhero, he had gone further than himself and was his senior.
"So it finally came to this?"
While Spider-Woman and Captain Britain were active, Nick was full of worry. He had indeed refused the orders from above, but the price was his position as Director. He had to appoint the next Director as soon as possible. In fact, he had long been mentally prepared and had a candidate for his successor, but he was always uneasy about the hidden hands within S.H.I.E.L.D.
What was most worrying was that the projects he had witnessed had been transferred from S.H.I.E.L.D. to the Military. The other side took over very readily, and Nick also met someone who left a deep impression on him: Major General Trask. This man's eyes were full of hatred. Although he didn't know why he should pay attention to this man, Nick felt he wasn't simple—he was a ruthless 'werewolf'. He had also heard of the Weapon X Project before, and it seemed this man was the one who created it.
"It seems the relationship between Mutants and humans has completely deteriorated."
Nick could only watch this happen. He couldn't stop it, and he couldn't prevent it. It was as if an invisible giant hand was pushing the entire matter forward, making it proceed far too smoothly. It was so smooth it felt unreal. Clearly, there were so many concerns before, so why start a complete purge of Mutants now?
"Hydra, could it be you?"
Although he had secretly purged many individuals internally, the more Nick Fury cleaned, the more incredible it felt, and the more he sensed the immense power of this behemoth. Unknowingly, so many excellent Special Agents had already been confirmed as Hydra members; even Level 5 Special Agents were under a certain degree of suspicion. Nick didn't dare to be certain if there were any above Level 5, so he had a real headache now. He couldn't leave a S.H.I.E.L.D. riddled with holes like a sieve—this mess—to the next successor.
"It seems a bait is needed to draw them out. It's time to learn from an old friend's methods—faking Death—to make these guys jump out. I'll use this as the bait!"
With an impassive face and a mind deep in thought, Nick turned his gaze toward a certain project. This project was called the 'Insight Project.' He planned to use it for fishing. As the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., as long as he moved fast enough and the action was big enough, he wasn't afraid the fish wouldn't bite.
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