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

Chapters 525, 966, and 967: A Clash Between Two Old Schemers
"Property belonging to S.H.I.E.L.D."

Nick Fury's voice echoed softly in the office, his dark face filled with unwavering determination and a hint of obsessive possessiveness.

Alexander Pierce listened quietly the whole time, his politician-like expression remaining unchanged, though a fleeting, almost imperceptible glint of cunning triumph flashed in the depths of his eyes.

After Nick Fury finished speaking, he did not answer immediately, but deliberately pondered for a moment, as if he was having a fierce internal struggle, weighing the pros and cons and risks.

Finally, just as Nick Fury was about to lose his temper, Alexander Pierce slowly spoke, his voice returning to its previous gentleness, even carrying a hint of obvious loyalty between friends.

“Well, Fury, this is indeed a tricky matter, but... well, we've been friends for many years.”

He stood up, walked around the desk, went to Nick Fury, extended his hand, and readily agreed on the spot:
"I promise you, within my authority, I will do my best to ensure that those coveted [Titan Hunter Mechs] remain untouched by outsiders during the investigation."

"Consider this my personal explanation for our friendship over the years!"

Nick Fury looked at Alexander Pierce's outstretched hand, then at the man's eyes filled with 'sincerity' and 'true nature,' and a relieved, grateful smile immediately appeared on his face.

To be honest, he was genuinely moved by the other party's 'righteous act' this time, completely unaware that the old man in front of him was the culprit who had pushed him into the 'fire pit'.

He quickly reached out and firmly grasped Alexander Pierce's hands, his face filled with emotion as he thanked him, "Thank you, sir. Don't worry, I will remember this favor."

However, just as Nick Fury was about to let go, Alexander Pierce on the other side did not immediately release his grip. Instead, as if suddenly remembering something trivial, he said in a tone that was half-joking and half-serious:

"No, I don't need you to keep that in mind. We'd better keep clear accounts even between brothers... You can't fool me this time. You have to make sure that arrogant playboy in the tin can shows up at my nephew's birthday party right on time next weekend."

“That little guy is his biggest fan. I’ve already made a promise. You can’t let me, as his uncle, break my promise to the child again, no matter what. Otherwise, I might lose a little guy who loves me.”

Nick Fury was taken aback at first. "Oh, I knew it was because of this..."

He then put on a slightly strange expression, as if he wanted to laugh but forcibly held it back, and grinned as he asked:

"Sir, may I ask if I may? How many nephews do you have? If I remember correctly, you used the same reason last year..."

Alexander Pierce, without changing his expression, shook Nick Fury's hand firmly to interrupt him, and retorted in an unquestionable tone:

"You don't need to worry about that. You just need to make sure Tony Stark arrives on time and acts 'amiable,' deal?"

Nick Fury smiled helplessly, and finally nodded in agreement: "Deal. I'll definitely find a way to get that arrogant guy to spare some time."

They clenched their hands together again, as if they had reached some kind of solid alliance.

Nick Fury then turned and left the office in a cheerful mood, the heavy door closing gently behind him.

When Alexander Pierce was the only one left in the office, the gentle and righteous smile on his face vanished as quickly as the tide receded.

Instead, there was a cold, mocking, viper-like indifference and smugness.

Clearly, in this showdown between him and Nick Fury, these two cunning old foxes, the ultimate winner... is him!
He successfully manipulated Nick Fury.

The latter, even though he had already been tricked, still had to say "thank you" to him before leaving!
The joy of victory made Alexander Pierce quite happy.

He slowly walked back to the window, picked up the glass of whiskey, but didn't rush to drink it. Instead, he looked at the amber liquid in the glass and the oval ice cubes that had mostly melted, and began to make a 'post-war' summary.

“Nick Fury…”

A cold smile curved his lips, and he whispered in a voice so soft it was almost a murmur, a voice only he could hear:
"No matter how shrewd or calculating you are... you would never have imagined that the one who actually ordered the killing of Steker Pentecost, forged that 'last will and testament,' and fooled you and everyone else, was me, right?!"

"Heh, what's laughable is that you're still desperately searching for that 'mastermind' who doesn't even exist. How utterly foolish."

He gently swirled his wine glass, as if admiring his own masterpiece. "You think you can protect those Titan Hunter mechs?"

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of them for you... Once the storm has passed and everyone's attention has been diverted, those six Titan Hunter mechs will completely belong to us, Hydra!"

A glint of fervor flashed in Pierce's eyes, his facial muscles twitched slightly with extreme excitement, and he raised his arm slightly, raising his glass to his faint reflection in the glass, saying:

"Wishing my 'Insight Project' a complete success... Long live Hydra!!!"

A moment later, he quickly composed himself and returned to being the unfathomable chairman in the eyes of his subordinates.

He picked up the encrypted internal phone on the table and skillfully dialed a number.

The phone was answered almost instantly after it rang.

“Hitwell…”

Alexander Pierce coldly ordered, "Nick Fury just left. He's already sent people to investigate Stark Pentecost's death. To prevent them from discovering any clues beforehand, the Winter Soldier can intervene if necessary..."

A respectful yet slightly tense voice came from the other end of the phone: "Sir, should we have the Winter Soldier perform the elimination procedure on Nick Fury?"

"No, you brainless idiot, I didn't let the Winter Soldier kill Nick Fury!!" Alexander Pierce, enraged, shouted into the phone.
"Wouldn't killing him now just clear his name of all suspicion? Wouldn't it tell the whole world that he was innocent and that there's an even bigger conspiracy behind it all?"

"Is your brain filled with nothing but mush?!"

Hitwell on the other end of the phone was immediately silenced by the barrage of criticism.

After a moment's hesitation, Alexander Pierce lowered his voice and explained, "I'm asking you to activate the Winter Soldier if necessary, to 'take care of' the people Nick Fury sent out to investigate this case."

"Remember to do it cleanly and neatly, don't leave any clues, let that black bastard Nick Fury be suspicious all he wants... We should stir up this mess even more."

Hitterville's voice immediately rang out: "Yes, sir, fully understood, mission accomplished."

“Hmm.” Alexander Pierce responded coldly and hung up the phone.

He looked out the window again, gazing at the dazzling and bustling cityscape of New York.

Beneath this bustling facade, however, the unseen undercurrents are growing ever stronger.

Alexander Pierce, looking at his reflection in the glass with interest, raised his glass again, gesturing slightly, "Wishing you... all the best!!"

…………

……

【Stark Tower】.

In a private studio located on the top floor.

The night sky over New York City is like a huge black velvet curtain, studded with twinkling stars, streaming in through the studio's 270-degree panoramic bulletproof glass walls.

But such a beautiful view could not dispel the fatigue and anxiety that permeated the studio.

The air was filled with the rich aroma of roasted premium coffee beans.

Inside the studio, a 3D holographic projection device projected a huge blue light shadow, which was none other than the [Ultron System], which was still under development.

However, compared to three days ago, the projected [Ultron System] was significantly larger in scale and much more active.

Inside the blue, brain-shaped 3D model, countless fine blue light streams, as thin as hair, rapidly shuttle, intertwine, and converge, simulating the information transmission between neural synapses, just like a thinking 'human,' both beautiful and dangerous.

But Tony Stark, one of its creators, was in no mood to appreciate such a 'beautiful view' at that moment.

After three days and two nights of continuous work, he felt as if all the bones in his body had been removed. He slumped in a relatively comfortable position on the soft sofa, his expensive black silk shirt already wrinkled and looking like it hadn't been changed in the past few days.

Her caramel-colored eyes, which used to sparkle with wisdom and untamed spirit, were now bloodshot, and beneath them were two heavy dark circles, like smoky eye makeup.

A bluish stubble had sprouted on his chin, and he exuded a sense of weakness, as if his body had been completely drained after a continuous battle.

He glanced somewhat resentfully at the 'blue brain' projected by the 3D holographic projection device in his eye socket, and said with a look of utter despair:
"Damn it, Banner... Have we run into some kind of physical curse? Or are we missing something? Why is the progress stuck at 99% and we can't finish?!"

His voice, whether from too much coffee or a sore throat, had become quite hoarse, even nasal. He pointed weakly at the 'Blue Brain' and muttered irritably:

“Look at it, it looks even more perfect now... but it just won’t come back to life.”

"I'm not sure about this either."

Dr. Bruce Banner stood to the side, appearing more reserved and weary compared to Tony's manic behavior.

He was holding a steaming cup of black coffee in his hand, his eyes behind his glasses were bloodshot, and he shook his head with a wry smile, saying:
“Tony, calm down. We’ve checked all the logical loops, verified every piece of core code, and even repeatedly calibrated the perceptual integration module using your neural mapping… Theoretically, there really aren’t any structural or logical problems left.”

He took a sip of scalding coffee, trying to rouse his tired and numb brain. "Logically, this final step of debugging should be as simple as flipping a light switch, unless..."

After a slight hesitation, Bruce Banner glanced cautiously at Tony Stark across from him, "...Unless the part of your brain's neural circuit template that you uploaded generated some kind of 'variable'...or 'rejection reaction' during the mapping process, which we cannot understand?"

These words were like a needle, precisely pricking Tony Stark's sensitive nerves.

His face instantly turned ugly, looking as if he had swallowed a live cockroach.

"Variables? Rejection?"

Tony Stark sat bolt upright, scratching his already messy hair in frustration, before grumbling curtly:

"Hey Banner, you're not saying there's something wrong with my brain structure, are you?!"

"I'm warning you, watch your words... This is a top-tier brain worth hundreds of billions. Even if something goes wrong, it's because this broken system can't handle the computational rules of my brain!!"

Despite his habitual stubbornness, Tony Stark's mood became even more depressed.

His collaboration with Bruce Banner was originally considered a dream come true.

The intellectual exchange between these two top geniuses successfully advanced the [Ultron System] to 99% completion in less than two days, leaving only the final, simplest step: activation and testing.

For Tony Stark, this super AI peacekeeper, designed to integrate and optimize the Titan Hunter mech operating system, coordinate the global deployment of the PPDC organization, and potentially serve as the Avengers' rapid response force to global emergencies, is almost within his grasp.

But who could have imagined that this last simple activation and debugging step would become a stumbling block on their road to success, an insurmountable chasm!
Even though he and Bruce Banner exhausted all their efforts and tried every method they could think of, from reviewing the underlying code to calibrating the perception integration module and the logic module closed loop, etc...

The result is still stuck at 99% progress, as if an invisible chasm is blocking the remaining 1%, which can never be crossed.

What's most infuriating is that he and Bruce Banner couldn't even figure out where the problem lay.

Gradually, an unnamed fire began to burn in Tony Stark's chest.

He was so angry that he had an extremely violent impulse—to delete this torturous thing and start programming it from scratch again.

But his remaining rationality told him that it meant all the effort, computational power, and time he had invested had been completely wasted.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the studio became slightly oppressive...

(End of this chapter)