The Savior of American Comics? I'm the Subspace Evil God!

Chapters 522, 960, and 961: Fury: Actually, I'm a very nice person.
"Captain, you should have noticed by now, right?!"

Nick Fury had been observing Captain America's expression, and seeing that his anger had subsided slightly, he spoke at the opportune moment, his voice carrying a hint of helpless mockery:

"While I must admit that the accusations in this 'suicide note' about my 'coveting' of the PPDC's legacy and those Titan Hunter mechs, and my desire to bring them all under the control of S.H.I.E.L.D., are not entirely unfounded... I did submit related proposals to the Security Council, but in my opinion, there is nothing that cannot be admitted."

Then he changed the subject, his tone becoming as firm as Captain America's before, "But... as you just said, I absolutely do not believe that a man of such a strong character as Stark Pentecost would lose control of his emotions and choose to jump off a building to commit suicide just because of this!"

“This is definitely not his style, and the contents of this ‘suicide note’ ​​are far too deliberate, as if he is acting out a script that is aimed at me.”

"So?" Captain America put down the suicide note with a solemn expression. His suspicion of Nick Fury had lessened considerably, but a sense of unknown confusion had emerged in his eyes.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Are you saying that someone deliberately orchestrated this assassination? Trying to frame you and S.H.I.E.L.D. at this critical juncture?!"

"That's right!"

Nick Fury nodded heavily, a cold and dangerous glint in his single eye, and said with a sneer, "Although I don't yet have any concrete evidence or clues as to who is behind this..."

"But one thing I'm sure of is that the reason the other side chose to eliminate Stark Pentecost at this crucial time and in this way is to prevent S.H.I.E.L.D. from smoothly taking over the legacy of the PPDC."

"No, to be precise, they want to stop me from getting those six [Titan Hunter Mechs]!!"

He pointed to the 'suicide note': "Now, with the 'suicide' of Steker Pantecost and the exposure of this suicide note filled with accusations against me personally... you can imagine how the discussion will ferment next."

“Those Security Council members who were already wary of me, as well as the heads of other organizations, and the news media who love to stir up trouble... they will swarm this matter like sharks smelling blood.”

"Under these circumstances, I'm afraid that no matter how much the Security Council trusts me, they will no longer be able to approve my proposal to accept the PPDC organization..."

At this point, Nick Fury clenched his fist slightly, his voice carrying a hint of genuine anger: "I must say, the person who orchestrated this was truly cunning... no, I should say their methods were extremely despicable! But also extremely effective!!"

In fact, the moment Nick Fury learned of Strick Pantecost's death, his first suspects were Carl and the Subspace Corporation.

Because in his view, the other party must hate him just as much as he hates Karl, so naturally he wouldn't miss any opportunity to make him 'lose face'.

But once he calmed down, he quickly dismissed this absurd idea.

Although he was unwilling to admit it, based on his understanding of Karl, that man's style of doing things had always been 'upright and honest', as well as domineering and direct.

If the other party truly wanted to prevent him from receiving the legacy of the PPDC organization, the more likely way would be to use his unpredictable methods to make the six Titan Hunter mechs disappear into thin air, or to launch a strong propaganda offensive against S.H.I.E.L.D. through the Daily Bugle. He wouldn't stoop to such underhanded assassination and framing tactics.

It was precisely by ruling out this most likely option that Nick Fury felt even more troubled and wary.

This means that besides Karl, there is another ruthless and powerful enemy lurking in the shadows, unknown even to him.

Nick Fury hated this disadvantageous situation where the enemy was in the dark while he was in the light.

"..." Captain America fell silent upon hearing this.

He looked at Nick Fury.

With his intuition enhanced by the Super Soldier Serum and his years of experience in judging human nature, he could sense that Nick Fury was at least not lying about this matter.

At least he was honest about denying that he was the murderer.

However, Captain America felt an instinctive aversion and weariness towards the complex political games and power struggles described by Nick Fury.

This is not his area of ​​expertise, nor is it a vortex he wants to get involved in.

If he had known that becoming a hero would mean facing all this, perhaps he would have preferred to remain frozen at the bottom of the North Atlantic forever.

"Hey……"

Captain America sighed softly, placed the suicide note back on the table, and prepared to end the unpleasant conversation before turning to leave.

"team leader?!"

Just as he turned around, Nick Fury, who was behind the desk, called out to him.

Captain America stopped, but did not turn around.

Nick Fury's voice came from behind him, less cold and calculating than usual, and more with an indescribable, almost weary honesty.

"Captain, I know that we have huge differences in our beliefs on many things... You believe in being upright and honest, while I am used to being more efficient... even if it means walking in the shadows."

He paused slightly, seemingly considering his next words.

"But I hope you understand that I am not, as you or many others believe, a cold-blooded, ruthless dictator who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals!!"

"I'm actually... a very nice person."

It seemed that even Nick Fury himself felt a little awkward about that statement, so he quickly added a sentence to cover up his embarrassment.

"At least, there are some secrets, some truths... that I am willing, and only willing, to share with you."

Σ(°△°|||)︴

Captain America: Something's not right. Something's nine out of ten wrong. Is this guy trying to kill me?
The office fell silent.

The awkwardness from the conversation still lingered in the air.

Nick Fury's lips twitched slightly as he saw that Captain America wasn't responding. "Dude, I gave you a chance, but you still can't use it?"
Then he silently walked to a seemingly ordinary bookshelf wall on the inside of the office.

He made no unnecessary movements; he simply stood there quietly.

After the facial recognition device above the bookshelf wall verifies the identity, an almost inaudible mechanical sound comes from inside the bookshelf.

Immediately afterwards, the entire wall silently slid open to the side, revealing a private elevator hidden behind it.

"Come with me, Captain."

Nick Fury's voice broke the silence in the room as he stepped into the elevator first.

Captain America hesitated for a moment.

A hint of doubt flashed in his azure eyes, but he still took a step forward, his tall and muscular body entering the elevator, making the already cramped space seem even more confined.

"Head to [Insight Hangar]." Nick Fury commanded the air.

The next second, a cold, emotionless female synthesized voice came through the communicator in the elevator:

"Facial recognition confirmed, voiceprint recognition confirmed, command received, path being planned... Sorry, Director Fury, fellow traveler detected: Captain Steve Rogers... Captain Rogers' security clearance level is insufficient, he has not obtained the Level A access qualification for Project Insight, and cannot enter the Insight Hangar. Access request denied."

Nick Fury seemed to have anticipated this outcome. He glanced at Captain America with his one eye, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips. He enjoyed this feeling of being in control.

His voice wasn't loud, but it commanded with absolute authority: "Immediately rewrite the Director's privileges authorization, permission code: Zeta-9-9-9-Sigma. Authorize Steve Rogers to temporarily access all areas of the [Insight Hangar]."

The electronic voice spoke almost without hesitation: "Privilege code verification passed, Director's rewrite authorization confirmed! Security protocol Override... Elevator is about to start!"

The elevator then began to descend at an extremely fast speed, followed by a slight feeling of weightlessness.

On the way, seemingly trying to ease the awkward atmosphere from the office, Captain America looked around at the smooth, cold, undecorated metal box without even floor indicators, and as if remembering something, he quipped in a half-joking tone:

"I remember that... when the elevator was running, it would play some music, even if it was light music that wasn't very pleasant."

"Yes."

Nick Fury nodded slightly, his facial features seeming to soften a bit, and a hint of reminiscence appeared between his brows. As if he had opened a floodgate, he began to recount his story with a face full of reminiscence:

“My grandfather operated this thing for over forty years… Back then, the elevator he operated was in a high-end office building, and he earned a lot of tips every day. He supported our whole family with this.”

Nick Fury continued speaking at a steady pace, his voice carrying a rare warmth.

“Every day after he finishes get off work at midnight, when he walks home, he always puts a rolled-up one-yuan bill in his brown paper lunch bag.”

“When he meets neighbors on the street, he will greet them first, and then... everyone will respond with a smile.”

"But as time went by, the world slowly changed, and people's hearts changed as well... Neighbors were no longer as friendly as before."

"Later, when he greeted people, they would reply with 'Go your way, old man,' and from then on, my grandfather started to hold his lunch bag tighter and tighter."

Captain America listened quietly. Stories like these, about the past and the lives of ordinary people, always touched some of the emotions that had been sealed away deep within him.

It was an era he was more familiar with, simpler, but not entirely wonderful.

He tilted his head slightly to look at Nick Fury's profile and couldn't help but ask, "Has he ever been robbed?"

Clearly, Captain America was reminded of Brooklyn, where he grew up, and such things happened quite often in that era.

"hehe."

Nick Fury grinned smugly and shook his head, saying, "Almost every week, one or two clueless thugs, or drunkards, will stop him and ask, 'Old man, what's in that bag you're carrying? It's bulging!'"

"Guess what my grandfather did?"

Nick Fury paused, turned slightly to look at Captain America, but without waiting for a reply, continued meaningfully:
"He would stop, look at the other person, and then... slowly open the lunch bag and hand it to them."

He slowly opened the bag. "Inside, neatly stacked rolls of one-yuan bills were placed, and on top of these bills, a loaded .38 caliber revolver was steadily placed."

"The gun is pointed right at the person who asked the question!!"

Captain America seemed to realize something, and his gaze towards Nick Fury became more complex.

"My grandfather was kind to everyone throughout his life, and all the neighbors respected him."

Nick Fury said with a hint of smugness, "But he never completely and unreservedly trusts anyone."

"In this respect, I think... I'm just like my grandfather."

Upon hearing this, Captain America couldn't help but roll his eyes, making no attempt to hide his speechlessness.

Damn it, if you're going to tell a story, just tell it properly.

Is this some kind of opportunity to teach me a lesson?
Aren't you getting a little too carried away with your lecturing?
If you love taking classes so much, why don't you become a philosophy professor at a community college?

He silently complained in his heart, but on the surface he just pursed his lips and didn't say anything.

The elevator continued to descend for nearly a minute before its speed began to slow down.

Finally, with a 'ding', the elevator came to a smooth stop.

The cold metal doors slid silently to both sides like a stage curtain.

The sight outside the door made even Steve Rogers, who had experienced World War II, witnessed Hydra's superweapons, and faced the Chitauri alien army, hold his breath for a moment, his pupils slightly contracting.

Outside the elevator was an unimaginably huge underground hangar.

Its scale even surpasses that of the aircraft carrier docks he has seen in museums.

The dome is so high that it allows the hundreds-of-meters-tall Titan to walk upright.

The powerful lighting system illuminates the entire space as bright as day, but at the same time gives it a cold, impersonal industrial feel.

At the center of this enormous underground hangar, three colossal machines under construction are quietly placed.

They were none other than three [Sky Carriers]!!

But it was completely different from the one Captain America had seen or even fought on.

These three new-generation Sky Carriers are larger, have sharper lines, and are full of aggression.

The silver-gray hull is covered with densely packed weapon platforms, missile silos, and energy turrets, layered like a steel jungle, exuding a chilling aura of destruction.

Their sheer size is so immense that simply having them parked here creates an overwhelming sense of oppression.

They resembled three slumbering steel behemoths, poised to awaken at any moment, then soar into the sky and devour it...

(End of this chapter)