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Chapter 179 - Chapter 179 Loki: How did I die?

On the screen.

The camera then switched views.

On the road outside the Infectious Disease Research Institute, a large truck was speeding towards the institute's gate.

Normally, this wouldn't be anything, but the truck didn't slow down as it approached the institute.

Not only that, but the driver jumped out of the cab.

At this point, even an idiot would understand what was happening.

The guards at the institute's entrance were all startled, but it was too late; they couldn't do anything as the large truck slammed into the institute.

It crashed into the institute's barricades, then the entire truck flipped forward, smashing the institute's gate to smithereens.

It forcibly broke open a path into the institute.

Immediately after, several other box trucks drove through the broken entrance, their doors opening, and one after another, fully armed soldiers jumped out.

Bang bang bang!

Bang bang bang!

Intense gunfire immediately erupted, and the security personnel within the institute were ruthlessly gunned down.

Following that, the armed personnel fired several tear gas canisters into the institute, and the entire building was enveloped in pungent smoke, causing the staff inside to collapse to the ground.

The entire research institute was thus easily taken over.

Crossbones, wearing a gas mask, stormed through the institute, entered a laboratory, and took a biochemical agent.

"Rumlow is acting so brazenly; it seems this incident occurred after Romanoff destroyed Hydra."

Nick Fury spoke from the side, a basic assessment.

If Hydra hadn't been fully exposed, and Rumlow was still publicly part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rapid response team, he wouldn't dare to act so recklessly.

When Rumlow entered the institute to seize the biochemical agent, there was undoubtedly a team of heavily armed special forces personnel on alert in the institute's courtyard.

Suddenly.

One of the special forces members seemed to sense something; he sharply turned around and saw a figure falling directly towards him from the sky.

It was none other than Captain America.

At the same time, a winged person soared across the sky and flew into the distance – it was Falcon, Sam Wilson, who had clearly carried Captain America into the air.

Captain America held his shield in front of him, transforming himself into a meteor, and crashed heavily onto the special forces member.

He immediately knocked the opponent down.

The other special forces members reacted instantly, immediately pulling their triggers at Captain America, but undoubtedly, their bullets were blocked by his shield.

Following that, Captain America kicked the front of a box truck, causing it to shift sideways and directly knock down a special forces member on the opposite side.

It just goes to show how formidable a super soldier's methods are.

Whoosh!

Next, Captain America threw his shield, and the shield, as if it had eyes, bounced around on the ground, taking down all the special forces members.

Sam Wilson and Scarlet Witch then descended from the sky, flying over, and together, the group quickly subdued the special forces members in the courtyard.

--That's right, Scarlet Witch also flew.

It just goes to show how illogical magic can be.

Falcon used a small drone to scan the institute building and immediately reported to Captain America: "Rumlow is on the third floor."

"Wanda, just like we practiced," Captain America immediately ordered Scarlet Witch.

"What about the gas?" Scarlet Witch asked.

"Suck it all out!"

"Understood!"

Scarlet Witch spread her hands, and a ball of red energy lifted Captain America, who, like a cannonball, shot into the third floor of the institute.

Then, Scarlet Witch waved her hands repeatedly, and all the toxic gas in the institute was sucked out, as if absorbed by a giant range hood.

"There's such a powerful sorcerer on Midgard?" Loki couldn't help but say, somewhat surprised.

Captain America, Tony Stark, and the others were also astonished by the various abilities Scarlet Witch displayed.

Up to this point, this footage's greatest takeaway for everyone was a more comprehensive understanding of Scarlet Witch's power.

On the screen, the scene continued.

Although Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Falcon, and Black Widow were all incredibly powerful and almost completely wiped out Rumlow's men.

But Rumlow was no pushover; he eventually managed to escape with a few men, cleverly splitting into several groups to flee.

This forced the superheroes to also split up to pursue them.

Black Widow and Sam Wilson successfully snatched the biochemical agent from Rumlow's subordinates, while Captain America personally confronted Rumlow.

The outcome was, without a doubt, that Rumlow was quickly defeated.

"Who's your buyer?" Captain America began, grabbing Rumlow by the collar and demanding in a deep voice.

"He knows you!" Rumlow, however, said, "Your good friend, Bucky, he knows you!"

"What did you say?" Captain America suddenly became agitated.

"He recognized you; I was there. He even had tears in his eyes, and then they messed with his mind again."

"He told me, 'Please tell Rogers, 'When it's time to go, you have to go.' You have to come with me." After Rumlow finished this meaningful sentence, he immediately pressed the bomb button.

Boom!

He exploded directly.

Everyone in front of the screen couldn't help but hold their breath. Would Captain America be blown to death just like that?

Even if Captain America was a super soldier, he wouldn't survive such a close-range explosion, would he?

But the next moment.

A ball of red energy enveloped Rumlow, and the explosion's shockwave was forcibly contained.

Scarlet Witch made a dazzling entrance!

Everyone was once again amazed by Scarlet Witch's powerful abilities. To be able to do something so incredible, she truly lived up to her title as a witch.

After containing the explosion's shockwave, Scarlet Witch used magic to throw Rumlow high into the air, intending for him to explode there.

But what Scarlet Witch didn't expect was that Rumlow was too close to a building, and the violent explosion ignited the gas pipeline.

Boom!

Several rooms in the building also exploded violently.

Clearly, this explosion led to the deaths of 11 Wakandan citizens.

The camera on the screen now switched to an indoor scene.

Captain America was watching the TV news.

"Last month, in Lagos, Nigeria, 11 Wakandan citizens tragically died in a conflict between the Avengers and mercenaries."

"These isolated Wakandans were performing public service in Lagos when the attack occurred..."

As a female anchor reported, a large headline also appeared on the TV screen: "Sue the Avengers, Global Anti-Violence."

Next, an elder spoke righteously.

The TV screen also displayed a headline: "King T'Challa of Wakanda Demands Accountability from the Avengers."

"The blood of our people was spilled on foreign soil, not only because of criminal acts, but also because of the indifference of those who stopped the crime!"

"A victory achieved by sacrificing innocents is no victory at all!"

The 11 deceased Wakandan citizens were just ordinary citizens, not people of any important status, which was somewhat unexpected by everyone.

However, considering the background of "Global Anti-Violence, Sue the Avengers" in the footage, it seemed reasonable.

It appeared that the Avengers' previous series of actions had indeed caused considerable damage, repeatedly attracting high international attention, leading to this situation.

Captain America couldn't watch anymore and picked up the remote control to turn off the TV.

But the sound still came through.

"What right do enhanced individuals like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?"

Captain America turned his head and saw that Scarlet Witch was watching another TV. Captain America turned off that TV as well.

"It's all my fault," Scarlet Witch said, blaming herself.

"No, it's not your fault."

"Then turn on the TV; they're calling me out by name."

"I should have disarmed the bomb vest instead of making you have to act, but when he mentioned Bucky, I suddenly became that sixteen-year-old boy living in Brooklyn again..."

Captain America said, then sat beside Scarlet Witch, comforting her.

As the two were talking, suddenly, a person with a very peculiar appearance phased through the wall.

That's right, phased through the wall.

Their body seemed ethereal, unaffected by the wall, and simply passed through it.

It was none other than Vision.

Everyone was once again impressed by Vision's incredible ability, but considering it was Vision, anything amazing was reasonable.

"Viz! We talked about this!" Scarlet Witch said, looking at Vision with a hint of reproach.

From this address, it was clear that the relationship between Scarlet Witch and Vision was quite special.

"Yes, but the door was open, so I thought..." Vision explained, then seriously told Captain America, "Captain Rogers asked me to notify him when Mr. Stark returned."

"Thanks, I'll be right down," Captain America replied.

"Oh, and he brought a guest, the Secretary of State."

The scene then switched again.

It was in a conference room, where all the known enhanced individuals were gathered. It was noteworthy that Scarlet Witch and Vision were also present.

Their stances and relationship with the Avengers were finally completely clarified here.

At the conference table, the Avengers were seated, and Secretary of State Ross stood before them, speaking eloquently.

"General Ross? He'll become Secretary of State in the future?" Nick Fury said, somewhat surprised; this was something he hadn't expected.

"Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I collapsed while swinging a golf club, but it turned out to be the greatest blessing of my life."

"After thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I discovered something that forty years in the military hadn't taught me: foresight."

After Ross rambled for a while, he got to the point.

"The whole world owes the Avengers a debt. You fought for us, risked your lives to protect us."

"While many people consider you heroes, there are also some who prefer to call you 'vigilantes.'"

"And what about you, Mr. Secretary?" Black Widow asked.

"What about danger?" Ross said meaningfully. "How would you describe a group of enhanced individuals stationed in America?"

"They habitually disregard the borders of sovereign nations, going wherever and doing whatever they please, clearly unconcerned about the consequences."

At this point, Ross began to play some corresponding footage for everyone.

All of it was footage of the massive destruction caused by the Avengers during their operations.

Everyone's mood became very heavy as they watched.

"Alright, that's enough!" Captain America couldn't watch anymore and interrupted Ross.

Ross then paused the playback.

"For the past four years, your actions have had unlimited power and no oversight. Governments around the world have long detested this situation."

"But we have a solution."

At this point, Ross took out a thick stack of documents and placed them on the conference table.

"The Sokovia Accords, ratified by 117 nations, state that the Avengers will no longer be a private organization, but will operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, which will decide whether or not to deploy them."

Ross explained to everyone.

"The purpose of the Avengers is to make the world safer, and I believe we have," Captain America immediately stated, clearly expressing his stance.

"Captain, do you know where Banner and Thor went?" Ross asked instead.

Captain America was stunned by the question, clearly not knowing.

"If I lost two 30-megaton nuclear weapons, there would certainly be consequences," Ross said. "Compromise, assurance—that's how the world works. You all have a good talk."

At this, Ross turned and left, and the screen froze there.

Seeing this, everyone finally understood what the Sokovia Accords were all about.

"Operating under the supervision of a UN oversight panel, with them deciding whether or not to deploy? I would actually sign that?"

Tony Stark found it so unbelievable. Signing such an agreement would simply cause him trouble. He must have lost his mind in the future to actually sign it.

It seemed that something must have happened in the future to cause him to make such a huge change.

Moreover, it was even more surprising that Captain America, a military man whose duty was to obey orders, seemed so resistant to this agreement.

Shouldn't the roles of Captain America and Tony Stark be reversed to be more reasonable?

Everyone knew pretty much all there was to know about the Sokovia Accords, and there wasn't much left to summarize or discuss. The only value of this question, instead, was the confirmation of Scarlet Witch's stance.

And the display of Scarlet Witch's abilities.

After a few moments of discussion, a new question appeared.

[Please answer the question: Loki Odinson died in which of the following ways?]

[A. Killed by the Cursed Warrior in the Dark World while protecting Thor]

[B. Asgardian spaceship breached by Thanos, died at Thanos's hand]

[C. Died defending Asgard during the invasion by Hela, the Goddess of Death]

[D. Died at the hand of the fire giant Surtur during Ragnarok]

[Friendly Reminder: Correct answers will receive an E-11 blaster rifle as a reward; incorrect answers will result in a random deduction of one personal attribute, including but not limited to knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc...

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