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"I naturally can't guess Mr. Karl's true thoughts…"
Gamora didn't explain the 'magical' scene she saw after being rescued to Star-Lord and the others, because it would be pointless. So, with a solemn expression, she shook her head and said:
"However, I can be sure that his strength is absolutely much stronger than you guys imagine!"
Then, her gaze swept over the faces of Star-Lord and the others one by one, "If you don't have a better plan right now, then we'd best act quickly before Ronan launches a full-scale attack on Earth."
Star-Lord thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, I agree."
"Me too," Drax said blankly.
"I am Groot (I agree)," Treant Groot also expressed his approval.
"Shit."
Seeing that the suggestion to escape was rejected again, Rocket Raccoon spread his hands, somewhat annoyed and helpless, and said:
"I really can't do anything with you brainless lunatics… But Gamora, you'd better hope that Guardian you mentioned can really defeat Ronan, otherwise we are absolutely doomed this time!!"
Upon hearing this, Gamora confidently said, "Don't worry, this time, just trust my intuition."
Immediately, the milano went full throttle, heading towards Earth at top speed.
Meanwhile.
Tens of thousands of kilometers above the surface, the Sky Carrier, with its background reflection panels activated, merged completely into the surrounding sea of clouds like a ghost.
Just a few minutes ago, when the Dark Star emerged from the Jump Point, Nick Fury, using the coordinates provided by the Skrulls, successfully locked onto the Dark Star's position via satellite in the shortest possible time.
However, before Nick Fury could send an envoy for peace talks to the Dark Star as originally planned, he witnessed the terrifying scene on the large screen of Ronan instantly annihilating an entire Raiders fleet using the Power Stone.
To be honest, everyone present, including Nick Fury, was a bit startled by what had just happened.
They had previously imagined that Ronan's fleet would be very powerful, and might even use advanced long-range ballistic missiles or energy-amplified weapons to launch devastating attacks on important military facilities and landmark buildings on Earth after appearing.
Although such an attack would be hard to guard against, it was far from reaching the point of despair.
But now, having personally witnessed an entire well-equipped alien fleet being instantly and overwhelmingly destroyed by a mysterious purple ray before it could even get close to Ronan's ship, even the most resolute Tony Stark couldn't help but feel his resolve waver.
Can this battle even be fought?
This was like the immense psychological pressure a stumbling infant feels when facing a strong adult man.
Even if he racked his brains to scheme, in the face of absolute strength, he still had no chance of winning!
The massive Command Center immediately fell into a suffocatingly oppressive atmosphere.
Tony Stark pointed at the frozen image on the large screen and was the first to speak:
"I just had Jarvis analyze it, that purple ray doesn't belong to any energy currently existing on Earth…"
"If I'm not mistaken, it's most likely from the infinity stone in Ronan's hand!!"
"However, what's a bit puzzling is that the pulse frequency composition of this purple energy is somewhat similar to the core energy part of the loki's scepter we confiscated during the Battle of New York, and the energy released from the Tesseract!"
Reed Richards was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately reacted, saying with a hint of excitement:
"Tony, is there a possibility that the loki's scepter and the Tesseract also contain a super energy body similar to an infinity stone?"
Tony Stark glanced at him in surprise, then thoughtfully stroked the small mustache on his chin, pondered for a moment, and nodded:
"Hmm, that possibility does exist… No, it should be said that this possibility is extremely high. Perhaps that special substance called 'infinity stone' is not just one."
"And this way, it can also explain why the loki's scepter and the Tesseract possess such extraordinary and terrifying energy!"
"What did you say?"
Nick Fury's attention was instantly drawn to their conversation, especially when he heard them say that the loki's scepter and the Tesseract might also contain an infinity stone similar to the one in Ronan's hand. He almost regretted it to the point of turning green.
Damn it, I've said it before, all the treasures on Earth should belong to S.H.I.E.L.D., right?
Look, if the loki's scepter and the Tesseract were still in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands, couldn't they be used to deal with Ronan's fleet right now?
Eh?
Wait a minute!
The Tesseract was taken by Thor, that's true, but the loki's scepter should still be lying in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s storeroom, right?
Thinking of this, Nick Fury's face immediately lit up with joy, and he eagerly instructed Maria Hill:
"Hill, immediately contact the Logistics Management Department and have them go to the storeroom as quickly as possible to find the scepter confiscated from Loki during the Battle of New York!"
"Yes."
Although Maria Hill had no idea why her Director suddenly wanted that scepter at such a time, as a qualified subordinate and trusted confidante, she understood better than anyone when to ask questions and when not to.
This situation clearly belonged to the latter.
However, just as Nick Fury was eagerly hoping to overcome this difficulty with the loki's scepter, a shocking bad news came from logistics… The loki's scepter stored in the warehouse had disappeared without a trace!!
Upon investigation, it was discovered that the last person to have contact with the loki's scepter was a researcher from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Research and Development Department named Nicholas Cooper.
He was the primary person in charge of the loki's scepter project and died in a laboratory explosion accident two years ago, which is when the loki's scepter also went missing.
Along with the loki's scepter, another researcher named Mark Smith, a member of Nicholas Cooper's special team, also went missing and is still unaccounted for.
However, what truly alarmed Nick Fury was not the loss of the loki's scepter.
It was the fact that he, as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., had never heard of this matter in the past two years!
Whether it was the death of the main person in charge of the loki's scepter project, or the loss of loki's scepter itself, it should have been reported directly to him, yet he had been kept completely in the dark!
If he hadn't heard Tony Stark and Reed Richards mention the possible connection between the infinity stones and loki's scepter today, and thus impulsively decided to retrieve loki's scepter, he probably still wouldn't have known about this.
Damn it, there's an inside man!
There's definitely an inside man within S.H.I.E.L.D.!!
Nick Fury subconsciously cast a wary glance at Maria Hill, evidently already beginning to suspect his deputy.
If any link was most prone to error, it would certainly be her!
Because the vast majority of information collected by S.H.I.E.L.D. would almost all be sent to Maria Hill, his deputy, first, and then she would select important events to report to Nick Fury as a priority.
Therefore, for Maria Hill, it would be very easy to deliberately deceive Nick Fury.
Moreover, based on his trust in his deputy, Nick Fury would most likely not independently detect anomalies in events other than core classified information.
After all, at that time, he didn't understand the importance of loki's scepter!
"Officer, I just heard about this matter as well."
Maria Hill clearly understood the doubt and wariness in Nick Fury's eyes and quickly explained:
"I can guarantee on my honor that no one below has ever reported any information regarding the disappearance of loki's scepter or the death of the researchers…"
However, before she could finish speaking, Nick Fury put on a feigned expression and smiled, comforting her:
"Hill, say no more. We've worked together for many years; how could I not trust you? Someone below must be playing tricks, deliberately hiding this from us."
"Once this crisis is resolved, we must thoroughly investigate this matter and find out the whereabouts of loki's scepter!!"
"Yes."
Maria Hill let out a long sigh of relief inwardly, but what she didn't know was that Nick Fury's words of trust were merely lip service.
Going forward, unless strong evidence is found to prove Maria Hill's innocence in this matter, Nick Fury would absolutely not allow her to access any key information, even if only out of suspicion.
However, although Nick Fury suspected the existence of an inside man within S.H.I.E.L.D., he hadn't yet realized that S.H.I.E.L.D. had long been infiltrated by Hydra like a sieve, nor had he realized that the disappearance of loki's scepter was very close to the time of Karl's rise.
Just as Nick Fury was considering whether to use his Skrulls Agents to replace Maria Hill to ensure his own safety, Human Torch's voice suddenly rang out from the communicator.
Human Torch had previously been sent by Nick Fury to monitor the nearby airspace. "Officer Fury, I've detected a small aircraft heading towards the ground at full speed. Should I shoot it down now?"
"An aircraft?"
Nick Fury frowned deeply, then looked at the staff and ordered, "Bring up the corresponding footage immediately."
"Yes."
The staff quickly brought up the footage of Human Torch's area. In the footage, the milano, carrying Star-Lord and others, was breaking through the atmosphere and flying towards the ground at full speed.
"Officer, judging from its flight path, this aircraft is not coming from the direction of Ronan's fleet."
A staff member responsible for orbital analysis reported.
"So, the people on this ship are not Ronan's subordinates?"
Just as Nick Fury was hesitating whether to shoot down the milano or guide it to the Sky Carrier, Captain America, who was nearby, suddenly raised his hand and said:
"Fury, do you think… the people on this ship might be that Star-Lord who warned us earlier?"
"Hmm?"
Nick Fury nodded slightly upon hearing this, then gave an order to Human Torch: "Human Torch, don't engage yet. Go bring them to the Sky Carrier… If they refuse or fire upon you, you can shoot them down directly!!"
"Yes Sir!!"
Human Torch excitedly replied and then rapidly flew towards the milano.
Before long, the milano, following Human Torch, slowly docked on the Sky Carrier's deck. Then, Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax made their way to the Command Center where Nick Fury and the others were located.
As for Rocket Raccoon and Groot, they remained on the ship and did not disembark.
This was done for safety considerations, as it was their first official interaction with Earthlings, and who knew what might happen.
And if there was any internal or external disturbance, Rocket Raccoon and Groot could react immediately… they could 'advance' to rescue Star-Lord and the other two, or 'retreat' by piloting the ship to escape directly.
"Are you Ronan's envoys?"
Nick Fury's gaze cautiously swept over Star-Lord and the other two in front of him, asking knowingly.
"What?"
Star-Lord exchanged an exaggerated look with Gamora, then pointed at Nick Fury across from them and quipped, "This dark-skinned fellow actually thinks we're Ronan's subordinates?"
Drax patted Star-Lord's shoulder and said seriously, "Quill, I'm finally sure you're an Earthling now… because they're as foolish as you."
Star-Lord quickly retorted, "No, I'm actually not like them. I left here when I was very young… so, I'm a bit smarter than them!"
"Enough, both of you shut up."
After Gamora stopped their antics, she looked at Nick Fury with a stern expression and said, "My name is Gamora, and we are the G… *cough*… the Guardians of the Galaxy."
Even though Gamora had mentally prepared herself beforehand, when she actually uttered the group name that Star-Lord had come up with on a whim, it was still somewhat hard to say.
"If you received our warning earlier, you should understand that we are not Ronan's envoys, but people who have come to help you resist Ronan's invasion…"