Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Amidst the intense, dazzling light, the fighter jet was quickly cut open, creating a hole large enough for someone to enter.
Iron Man and the others around him, including Nick Fury, couldn't help but show expressions of excitement, eager to dive in and investigate.
However, just as Iron Man was about to take the lead and fly into the jet to check if Captain America was inside, something familiar happened.
Suddenly, everyone around froze, as if time had stopped.
"What the hell..."Nick Fury muttered, looking bewildered as he frowned.
But then, it suddenly occurred to him. He turned his single eye toward Iron Man and asked, "Stark, so... is that system about to appear?"
Black Widow looked equally surprised and confused.
Why was it that everyone around them had frozen as if petrified, yet she, Nick Fury, and Iron Man were unaffected?
Black Widow carefully surveyed the surroundings with great caution, then quickly walked up to Nick Fury. "Sir, do you know what's going on?"
"Take it easy, Agent." Before Nick Fury could speak, Iron Man waved his hand dismissively.
He briefly glanced at Black Widow and, with a touch of jealousy, said to Nick Fury, "Nick Fury, are all the female agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this beautiful?"
"Tony Stark, I'll remind you, Agent Romanoff is a rose with thorns. If you don't want your hands covered in blood, it's best not to provoke her."Nick Fury warned Iron Man.
"What a pity. I've dated so many beautiful girls, but I've never been on a date with a spy."Iron Man shrugged nonchalantly.
"Trust me, you wouldn't want to try."Black Widow replied casually, still keeping her guard up.
[A new round of questions has started. Please prepare to answer.]
At that moment, a high-tech, fluorescent screen suddenly appeared in front of them, hovering in mid-air.
Simultaneously, an electronic synthesized voice rang out.
"As expected, it's that answering system, just like Coulson said."Nick Fury looked up at the large screen, a look of immense interest and anticipation crossing his face.
He was genuinely eager to see what the answering system would show them next.
"Answering questions?"
Black Widow was increasingly confused.
No matter who was behind this, to create such a huge spectacle in the faraway Arctic Ocean just to make them answer questions? Was this for real?
"Agent Romanoff, don't think too much. Just focus on answering the questions,"Nick Fury said seriously, "You might even get an unexpected reward."
"Understood, sir!"Black Widow glanced at Nick Fury and responded casually.
Though she still didn't understand the exact situation, it was clear that Nick Fury was familiar with this strange scenario.
Since Nick Fury told her to focus on the questions, it meant he had some idea of what was going on, and Black Widow felt reassured.
[Please listen to the question: In the Battle of New York, who resolved the nuclear bomb crisis that threatened the entire city?]
[A. Thor]
[B. Iron Man Tony Stark]
[C. Black Widow Romanoff]
[D. Nick Fury]
[Friendly reminder: Correct answers will receive a random set of Mark battle armor blueprints as a reward; incorrect answers will result in a random deduction of personal attributes, including but not limited to knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc...]
The vein on Nick Fury's forehead twitched slightly. The phrase "nuclear bomb crisis" really struck a nerve with the usually calm director of S.H.I.E.L.D..
According to the intelligence Coulson provided, the information revealed by the answering system was likely from the future. At first, Nick Fury was skeptical about this information.
But when Black Widow found the fighter jet Captain America had been piloting, Nick Fury was already about seventy percent convinced.
In other words, he now believed that the answering system might truly be predicting the future.
Which meant that New York... was very likely to face a nuclear bomb crisis?
A nuclear bomb was no joke. Once detonated, an entire city would be leveled, and no one would survive.
It would be nothing short of a disaster.
"Alien invasion wasn't enough; now we've got a nuclear bomb crisis? Has God already abandoned us?"Iron Man's face was also grim.
Even though he was Iron Man, there was nothing he could do in the face of a nuclear bomb crisis.
The information revealed by this question wasn't exactly good news.
Only Black Widow looked puzzled.
She glanced at Nick Fury and then at Iron Man, unable to understand why these two were so serious. After all, it was just a question, right? Why did their expressions change so dramatically?
Moreover, the question itself was very strange—no introduction, no context, and the options didn't make much sense either. It was hard to wrap her head around.
And the reward of Mark battle armor blueprints... Was that for real?
"Romanoff, what do you think?"
Instead of answering immediately, Nick Fury turned his gaze to Black Widow. "If one day New York faces a nuclear bomb crisis, who do you think can solve it?"
"Sir, launching a nuclear bomb is a very complex process. Just the phrase 'nuclear bomb crisis' is too vague."
Black Widow pondered for a moment. "The information given by this phrase is too limited, and it's impossible to analyze effectively."
"Then analyze all the possibilities."Nick Fury nodded and took over Black Widow's thoughts.
"There are two possibilities for a nuclear bomb crisis. One is that the nuclear bomb enters the launch process, but the launch is interrupted, and the bomb isn't fired."
"The other possibility is that the nuclear bomb is successfully launched."
"Both situations could be considered a nuclear bomb crisis."
The difference between a launched and an unlaunched nuclear bomb was absolutely distinct.
If the bomb was still in the launch phase, there was a possibility that various factors could interrupt the process and prevent the launch.
Numerous movies had depicted scenarios where the launch was stopped in the final seconds of the countdown, saving all of humanity.
If this were the case, things would be much more complicated.
This would involve multiple parties in a struggle, and it wouldn't be something a few people standing here could easily figure out.
Once the bomb was launched, however, it would be nearly impossible to stop.
Although, theoretically, intercepting a launched nuclear bomb was possible, in practice, it was a whole different story.
In reality, intercepting a launched nuclear bomb was almost impossible.
Unless...
It involved a method far beyond current military technology—something on a much higher level!
(End of Chapter)