A certain American comic book's secondary profession master

Chapter 153 The Hand's Surprise Attack
Late at night, in Hell's Kitchen.

Outside the Carter Group building, a small team of fully armed guards patrolled and guarded the park's gates as usual.

However, this team of guards was not actually employees of the Carter Group, but rather field agents from S.H.I.E.L.D.

In fact, among the security personnel in Hell's Kitchen, there are not many who actually belong to Carter's Group; most of them are agents from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Most of the employees of the Carter Group and Stark Group here are clerical staff and engineering construction workers.

The reason for this situation is quite simple: Carter's Group and Stark Group are, after all, commercial conglomerates, and their security personnel are professionals hired from various related fields.

However, in terms of elite status and professionalism, no matter how you compare them, they can never compare to the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

So Peggy Carter and Tony Stark simply left this matter to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Because they were confident that S.H.I.E.L.D. would not dare to do anything underhanded before the dragon bones were officially unearthed.

On the other hand, the Carter Group and the Stark Group have maintained the highest level of military force in Hell's Kitchen from the very beginning.

And this ultimate force is none other than Captain Britain, Peggy Carter himself.

With this configuration in place, Hell's Kitchen has been unusually peaceful for the past two years.

The neighborhood's safety has transformed from being the worst in Manhattan to being the safest place in all of New York.

However, it is clear that some people do not want things to remain so peaceful here.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on night watch were very vigilant, but they couldn't withstand the newcomer's special abilities.

Suddenly, dark figures emerged from among the guards' shadows, and with a slash of a sharp blade, the armed guards of S.H.I.E.L.D. were all killed.

Only after the guards at the gate died did the shadowy figures gather at the entrance, their forms becoming faintly visible.

They were none other than the ninjas of the Fourth Hand Association.

Judging from how easily they killed all the guards at the main gate, these Hand ninjas were clearly far stronger than the Hand ninjas that Peggy Carter had dealt with before.

They even possess the special ability to hide in the shadows.

Then, four figures of different shapes appeared in front of the four teams of ninjas.

If Li Wei were here, he would definitely recognize that these four people were none other than the four remaining fingers of the Hand Society besides the Gambler.

After the four people appeared.

Another petite figure appeared out of thin air directly in front of the Hand ninja legion.

"Welcome, Your Excellency!" Upon seeing this figure appear, Four Fingers and the ninjas all knelt down in unison.

Then the figure turned around, revealing a relatively youthful face.

It was Ava Starr, the host of the Black Sky who was the subject of a global manhunt by S.H.I.E.L.D. and who slaughtered an entire S.H.I.E.L.D. research facility!
Born in 1989, she is only 16 years old this year.

Having grown up under the surveillance of S.H.I.E.L.D. and now being the host of Black Sky, there is no trace of the innocence a young person should have on her face; all that remains is endless coldness.

"Is the perimeter all cleared?" Ava Starr asked.

“It’s all been cleared out, but the guards here have a strict response mechanism. They’ll discover the breach within three minutes at most,” replied Alexandra, the former leader of the Hand’s Five Fingers.

"Three minutes? That's enough. We must get the dragon bone today!" Ava Starr said coldly.

According to previously obtained intelligence, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s excavation of the dragon bone has entered its final stage, with only one last "Dragon Gate" blocking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s final excavation of the dragon bone.

This is why Ava Starr is here. She would never have appeared here if she hadn't known the dragon bones were about to appear.

Both she and the Black Void within her knew very well that S.H.I.E.L.D. was not to be trifled with—although she slaughtered an entire research base, it was largely because S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal defenses had a loophole, which allowed her to seize the opportunity.

So her ability to escape from the S.H.I.E.L.D. base doesn't mean she's become so arrogant as to think she can stand up to the entire S.H.I.E.L.D.

But for the sake of the dragon bone, she had to take the risk today.

Because the dragon bone can greatly enhance the power of the Black Sky, only by truly devouring this dragon bone underground in New York.

Only if Black Sky regains its full power will Ava Starr have the confidence to fight against S.H.I.E.L.D.

And let's not even talk about the four fingers of the hand.

Their keel inventory was already running low before the discovery of the keel in New York.

Then, under the guidance of Levi and Tony, they were subjected to a series of attacks by Peggy Carter and S.H.I.E.L.D.

The already scarce keel bones were further exacerbated.

The keel beneath New York City is their last hope.

If they cannot obtain the dragon bones, they will soon die of old age, just like ordinary humans.

So we have no choice but to fight!

Then, under Ava Starr's command, Four Fingers led the ninja army through the park's gates and stormed the Carter Corporation building.

The excavation site for the keel is located underground in the Carter Group building.

Faced with the sudden attack, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents responsible for the security of the entire excavation area finally reacted, analyzed that the attackers were the Hand, and immediately began to organize a counterattack.

However, just like the agents at the main gate before them, the agents in the excavation area were still stuck in the past regarding their intelligence on the Hand.

I never imagined that the Hand ninjas could attack using a person's shadow.

As a result, they suffered a great loss, and their defenses were quickly breached.

Moreover, during the battle, some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents discovered something even more devastating.

That is, those Hand ninjas who were clearly killed will soon stand up again and continue to fight.

Clearly, this, like their ability to move through shadows, is a new power bestowed upon these ninjas by the fully unsealed Black Sky.

Because underground is the keel excavation site where they have already dug very deep.

Therefore, to avoid accidents such as collapses, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents cannot use heavy weapons yet.

As a result, they became increasingly passive under the onslaught of the Hand ninjas.

Soon, the Hand's ninja army broke through several lines of defense and entered the depths of the underground excavation site.

It was here that the Hand's raid finally came to a brief halt.

Because among the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents' defense personnel, there was a rather special individual.

Hawkeye Patton!

(End of this chapter)