Just as global public opinion completely reversed and everyone thought the crisis had been resolved, deep underground at a decommissioned nuclear power plant in Russia, a massive shadow loomed over the entire space.
Gravik, the new leader of the Skrulls, was currently staring intently at dozens of screens in front of him.
Each screen was playing either Peter's "performance" in the United Nations conference room or the overwhelming praise flooding the global internet.
Everything he had meticulously planned—his "Cuckoo's Nest" project, which was supposed to subvert the entire power structure of Earth—had become a total joke within a mere hour of Peter's return to Earth.
Those pawns he had planted in the high-level governments of various countries, nurtured with great effort, were being plucked out by Peter like radishes.
The warriors he was so proud of, capable of perfectly mimicking Superheroes, were as fragile as paper dolls before Peter.
"The Arbiter..."
Gravik's voice was hoarse, each word squeezed out from between his teeth.
He had lost, and he had lost utterly.
But he refused to accept it!
Beside him, a Skrull adjutant couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Officer, maybe... should we evacuate Earth first? Talos has been trying to contact us, saying he can help us coo—"
Bang!
Before he could finish his sentence, a burst of searing, lava-like energy blew the Skrull adjutant's head off.
"Evacuate?"
Veins bulged on Gravik's forehead, making him look as terrifying as a Beast ready to devour its prey.
He looked around the room with a sinister expression, addressing all the Skrulls present.
"Where else can we evacuate to? Leave Earth just to be hunted like dogs by those damn Kree? To live out our lives in the cracks between star systems?"
Hearing this, the Skrulls present all showed expressions of bitterness.
It was true; they had been failing for too many years. Even if they returned to space, they could no longer be a match for their eternal rivals.
After forcibly suppressing the stray thoughts in his subordinates' hearts,
Gravik stood up and reached out to stroke the massive, cold experimental apparatus behind him.
The Super Skrull Gene Fusion Chamber.
This device was his last hope for a comeback!
"Dr., how is the development of the new fusion device progressing?"
A hunched-over, big-headed Skrull scientist cautiously poked his head out from the crowd.
"Ninety-two percent... According to the original plan, we need at least three more days to complete the final—"
"We don't have three days," Gravik interrupted him.
"Activate the device immediately and summon all Skrulls for gene fusion."
"Now?!" The big-headed scientist was startled.
"Officer, a fusion process without full calibration will cause rejection reactions. The survival rate will be sixty percent at most! This means we will lose nearly two thousand warriors for nothing!
Even more terrifyingly, fusing the genes will cause issues in the genetic chain, which will likely affect the reproductive capabilities of our next generation.
Even if these people survive, they will completely lose the ability to produce offspring."
"Sixty percent is enough."
Gravik's answer was short and decisive.
"As for the fertility issue, leave 300 people as our pure gene bank. The rest will enter the fusion chambers for gene fusion as planned."
"But..."
"No buts!"
Gravik suddenly let out an angry roar. He slammed his fist onto the desk in front of him, smashing it to pieces.
"Did you not see what that damn human did at the United Nations?"
"In eight cities, eight first-generation Skrull fusion warriors were crushed by him like ants within a single minute."
"Without a team of super soldiers, do you think we can even survive for three days?"
"If we can't occupy Earth, we have no future to speak of!"
The scientist's mouth opened and closed, but in the end, he couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal.
"Start it," Gravik said with a light wave of his hand.
"I'd rather take a gamble than have us all die at the hands of that monster or be slowly phased out in the Universe."
"I understand!" The big-headed scientist sighed and pressed the activation button for the new generation gene fusion chamber.
With his action, the entire underground Base began to shake violently.
Inside the device, the fusion fluid containing gene samples from numerous Superheroes was rapidly prepared.
At the same time, a large number of unarmed Skrull civilians were escorted into the fusion chambers by Skrull soldiers holding energy guns, letting out bursts of heart-wrenching screams.
Deformed monsters from failed fusions were tossed out one by one like waste.
The Skrull soldiers who were lucky enough to succeed had faces full of excitement, enjoying a power they had never felt before.
About half an hour later, the fusion process was completely over.
Out of four thousand Skrulls, only over two thousand seven hundred survived.
Although the success rate was much lower than expected, the results of the fusion were surprising.
This was because each of the remaining Skrull warriors possessed at least three superpowers simultaneously!
The two Base abilities were Extremis and super soldier serum.
Extremis was a treasure Gravik had discovered while Peter was away.
He had unexpectedly found Killian and Maya Hansen, who were secretly developing this power in the Middle East.
After realizing how valuable this power was, he didn't hesitate for a second and chose to take over their operation.
He killed Killian and Maya Hansen and took the entire Extremis technology for himself.
Relying on the Skrulls' superior level of civilization, he successfully developed an even more advanced version of Extremis and the super soldier serum.
"Excellent!"
Looking at the army of Super Skrull Soldiers before him, their faces filled with obsession for power,
Gravik couldn't help but let out a smug and arrogant laugh.
"Arbiter, so what if you're strong? I don't believe you can handle over two thousand of my Super Skrull Soldiers all by yourself!"
At this thought, something else occurred to him, and he immediately looked at another trusted Skrull.
"Pass down my order: bring up my two distinguished guests. Tell them the moment to construct the New World has begun!"
Not long after, Wanda and Quicksilver were escorted before Gravik.
However, their eyes had now become as hollow as those of puppets.
Clearly, they had both been controlled by Gravik using a secret Skrull serum.
"Hands up." At Gravik's command, the two immediately raised their hands blankly.
"Sit down." The two obediently sat down.
Watching Wanda and Quicksilver, who were at his beck and call like marionettes, Gravik couldn't help but laugh even more heartily.
"Oh, Arbiter, I really want to see the look on your face when you see these two secret weapons of mine!"
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