Marvel: I became an ancestor by sacrificing offerings.

The entire room fell silent for a moment.

"Just watching?" Tony couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "An alien army of twenty or thirty thousand is attacking our doorstep, and you're just standing there watching?"

"Otherwise what?" Peter shrugged matter-of-factly.

"If I go up there and finish the fight in three minutes, do you think you'll still have a chance to hone your skills?"

The entire conference room fell silent.

Boss, what you said makes so much sense, we're speechless...

"Don't worry, you just need to focus on fighting."

Peter, like a big shot, put his feet up on the conference table:

"I will intervene when you can no longer hold on, but before I do—"

He glanced at everyone present, his tone becoming serious.

"I want to see just how far you can go."

……

The first thing Peter did after the meeting was to call George.

On the other end of the phone, the President of the United States nearly fell off his chair.

However, he quickly accepted the outcome and, out of absolute trust in Peter, decisively stated that he would arrange the situation according to Peter's arrangements.

After notifying George to be ready, all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites adjusted their orbits, with all cameras pointing in the same direction—the outer reaches of the solar system.

At 1:03 PM, the first clear image was transmitted back to Earth.

Five enormous black silhouettes appeared near Jupiter's orbit. They resembled some kind of ancient sea creature, covered in metallic shells, their surfaces shimmering with dark red bands of light.

Chitauri whale ship.

When the image was projected onto the large screen in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s control room, everyone present stopped what they were doing.

Tony, as the technical advisor, was the first to speak:

"Based on their current speed, they will enter the Earth's atmosphere in 23 hours and 17 minutes. Their landing coordinates... cannot be predicted."

"There's no need for predictions anymore."

Peter sipped his cola and casually began to speak:

"If a force from far beyond the Milky Way suddenly arrives on Earth, it's highly likely they're after us."

"Us?" Everyone was taken aback.

"What do we have that they would covet?"

Peter didn't speak, but he and Tony exchanged a glance, both understanding each other without saying a word.

Which intelligent life wouldn't be tempted by the Cosmic Cube, a truly inexhaustible source of energy?

The message reached the White House within a minute.

Without further hesitation, George immediately activated the presidential emergency broadcast authority, and red alerts popped up simultaneously on televisions, cell phones, and outdoor screens throughout New York.

"Attention all New York City residents—"

George's voice came through every terminal; his expression was serious, but his tone was remarkably steady. This president, who had once remained unfazed by Iron Man's missiles, displayed the composure expected of a head of state at this critical moment.

"Intelligence has confirmed that an armed force from outer space is moving towards New York. It is expected to arrive tomorrow afternoon."

"Don't panic. I assure you, we are fully prepared for this day."

"All citizens are requested to follow the route guidance sent to their mobile phones and enter the nearest underground safe house in an orderly manner within the next twelve hours."

I'll say it again—don't panic.

Without prior experience, everyone would have thought it was an April Fool's joke, or that President George had gone mad.

However, after the previous successor incident, the public not only did not panic, but instead demonstrated an unprecedentedly rapid response.

Everyone followed the plan and assembled to head to the nearest shelter.

By noon the next day, there were no civilians to be seen on the streets.

The streets of Manhattan were deserted, and evacuation instructions were still playing on a loop on the giant screens in Times Square.

The superheroes were scattered in twos and threes on various high points throughout New York.

Captain America stands on the Brooklyn Bridge, shield slung over his back, gazing at the sky.

Tony hovered atop the Empire State Building, fully armed with a Mark 47, ready for action.

Gwen was squatting on the edge of an apartment building's rooftop, her toes dangling in mid-air, looking quite relaxed—but the "Shield of the Six Flowers" pinned to the end of her hair was already glowing faintly.

Felicia stood in the very center of Central Park, the ten rings on her fingers shimmering with a faint glow of energy.

Sif found a seat at the top of the Statue of Liberty's torch, her twin swords resting on her lap.

William and Alexei stood guard on both banks of the Hudson River.

Natasha and Hawkeye occupied the rooftop of the United Nations building.

Hulk paced back and forth on the streets of Lower Manhattan, the ground shaking with each step he took.

As for Peter himself?

He moved a chair and sat on the rooftop of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, holding a cup of coffee in his hand.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of the distant universe, on Thanos's floating throne, a giant holographic projection is displaying a real-time image of Earth.

Loki sat in the corner, gripping the armrests with both hands, without saying a word.

Ebony Maw stood respectfully behind Thanos: "My lord, the vanguard fleet has entered the gravitational range of the target star system and is expected to arrive at the surface in three hours."

Thanos didn't reply, but just stared coldly at the blue planet in the projection.

This time, he will use absolute force to make Loki understand that in front of Thanos, all living beings have no choice but to kneel down and submit, and accept the rules he has set!

……

3:17 PM.

A huge hole was torn in the clouds over New York.

Five Chitauri whale ships pierced the atmosphere, leaving long, fiery tails, and appeared directly above Manhattan.

The whale ship's hatch opened in mid-air.

Tens of thousands of Zeta Swiss soldiers, along with countless Leviathan behemoths, leaped from the mothership's exit, their metal armor reflecting a blinding gleam in the sunlight.

Armed with energy rifles, they began firing in all directions as they landed, shattering building facades, exploding vehicles, and blasting deep craters into the road surface.

Manhattan turned into a battlefield in three minutes.

But what puzzled these soldiers was that they did not find the intelligent life they had expected.

The streets were deserted.

After a brief moment of confusion, the Zeta Swiss soldiers hadn't had time to make a new judgment—

A round shield in red, white, and blue flew in from the direction of the Brooklyn Bridge and accurately shot a Zeta Swiss soldier in the head.

Following that, more and more figures appeared.

Their numbers were insignificant compared to the tens of thousands of Chitauri soldiers.

But the power they unleashed was astonishing, even to black dwarfs and supergiant stars!

Wherever they went, the Chitauri soldiers fell like wheat being harvested.

On the rooftop of S.H.I.E.L.D., Peter leisurely watched the battle while casually asking:

"Freddy, get real-time damage statistics! I need to know who the MVP will be before I even get to the field!"

"Received, sir. Current ranking: Mr. Stark: 53."

Ms. Felicia: 102.

"102?" Tony's eyes widened like saucers, and he couldn't help but shout into the intercom:

"Are you cheating?"

Click!

The moment the words left his mouth, a sudden blizzard appeared from afar, instantly freezing hundreds of Zeta Swiss soldiers into ice sculptures.

Immediately afterwards, Natasha's slightly tired but smiling voice came through the communication:

"Everyone, I'll be going now!"