Chapter 446: Reclamation, Control, and Public Opinion

Disassemble, capture nuclear weapons facilities?

Ai Ruike Shaweige was startled, but quickly recovered, realizing that the two giants standing before him not only disobeyed S. H. I. E. L. D., but also belonged to no government or army, and were instead opposing entities.

But Shaweige showed little resistance; after all, what can an astrophysicist—who also has a bit of fatty liver and is from the Mediterranean Sea—do?

Does he have to fight the two over‑four‑meter‑tall giants with his bare hands?

Isn't that courting death?

So Shaweige chose to stay put, offering no comment and remaining silent.

Having received Taibelos' orders, the veterans piloting the Centurion II ceased the blockade of the Space Gate and, using coordinates supplied by low‑intelligence AI, proceeded to dismantle and destroy Earth-05's nuclear weapons facilities.

However, one of the Centurion IIs, before departing, aimed the 200 mm pulse cannon it held in its "hand" toward the far side of the Space Gate and pulled the trigger.

"Tong~!!"

The 200 mm shell‑less pulse projectile shot out instantly, streaking through deep space with a bright trail that struck a mother ship anchored not far away in the void, its hull forming a hash shape that, by human standards, was grotesquely ugly.

"Swoosh~—!"

A flash of white light appeared.

"Boom~——Rumble~—!"

Immediately after came an extremely violent explosion with a TNT yield of about four million tons, which in the blink of an eye destroyed the Qitarui mother ship.

This also signified that the overt force led by Loki, attempting to invade Earth, was completely annihilated.

Meanwhile.

At the top of Taibelos' small building.

He Xulang's eyes fixed on the device opening the Space Gate, his gaze "locked" onto the Cosmic Cube at the center, emitting blue light and continuously releasing energy inward.

Then, he raised his Spiritual Energy claw, already crackling with golden lightning, and without hesitation, reached out to seize the Cosmic Cube.

"Pop~! Sizzle~!"

The Spiritual Energy‑infused sharp claw tip, upon contacting the protective field, instantly erupted in a blinding, violent energy reaction.

Immediately after, the Cosmic Cube, deeming the Spiritual Energy claw a threat, promptly weakened its protective field.

"Click!"

However, the claw blade, imbued with pure Spiritual Energy, still managed to pierce through.

Accompanied by a "crack!" the purely energetic protective field was outright shattered by He Xulang's claw, and He Xulang seized the opportunity, using the tip of his sharp claw to pry the Cosmic Cube, pulling it out from the device's center with all his might.

"Whoosh~…"

The beam stretching to the heavens vanished from top to bottom; finally, the Space Gate in the sky also faded away, leaving New York's lower atmosphere to return to tranquility.

Meanwhile, the observing Shi Tak wore a puzzled expression.

As a researcher, Shi Tak believed that only identical, original matter could pierce the protective field created by the Cosmic Cube, but Helusi personally staged a "hand‑tear" demonstration for him.

It truly made Shaweike completely give up on believing in life.

Instead, Helusi, who can perceive emotions and thoughts, didn't care what Shi Tak thought; his recent action was performed for Shi Tak's eyes, aiming to test whether pure Spiritual Energy or the Cosmic Cube was superior.

The result was obvious: the pure Spiritual Energy inherited from his father held an absolute advantage in the comparison.

Looking at the Cosmic Cube resting in the open seven‑fingered claw on his right palm, He Xulang couldn't help recalling his father, wondering just how far he had gone.

Although his father would discuss matters with him and his OriginalBody brothers in a truly meaningful way, for things they could comprehend at their age, the father would still diligently explain everything.

For example, his and his brothers' pure Spiritual Energy originated from their father.

Each brother's Spiritual Energy magnitude differed only marginally, and even though they had received the father's thorough instruction, they still tended to charge head‑first.

Regarding Spiritual Energy, He Xulang considered himself to be only a hundredth of his father's.

That was merely his "self‑assessment"; the true situation was known.

Once, when his father personally demonstrated Spiritual Release, He Xulang felt as if he were staring into an abyss.

As for Helusi himself, having inherited his father's physical body, he can, aside from continuous anti‑physics flight, kill gods and buddhas with his flesh alone.

If he employs Spiritual Energy, he can, with his own power, affect an entire star system, star region, even an entire sector.

Moreover, he also learned numerous "spells" from his father.

These include low‑efficiency Spiritual Energy teleportation—dragging a planet or star system into a unique space he creates, slowing time flow, or even retrogressively imprisoning it permanently, among other things.

This is still the extent He Xulang can achieve, far from reaching his potential limit.

By this reverse calculation, even though Helusi and his brothers, influenced by their father, are extremely fond of the term "god", the most fitting description of their father is "the sole deity in the real universe".

Therefore, upon noticing the yellow gem in Loki's scepter and that the Cosmic Cube could hardly be the weakest of the Zero‑Seven universe…

Yes—more precisely, before it became the pinnacle representation, Helusi had already conceived the idea of relying on the pure Spiritual Energy inherited from his father to try to counter it.

The result was obvious.

Staring at the Cosmic Cube, now seemingly quiet, even "obedient", emitting a faint blue glow in the open seven‑fingered claw of his right palm, He Xulang paused briefly before gripping it firmly.

"Kaba!!" a crisp sound.

When Helusi opened his right hand again, his palm held sparse, crystal fragments that had lost their luster and value.

Among those fragments lay another gem, similar to the yellow one but flashing blue.

"Energy diamond?" Shaweiges, also staring at the blue gem, let a hint of doubt slip into his tone.

"Its function is vague but specific; however, I suspect this blue one can enable instantaneous retrograde and ultra‑long‑distance teleportation," Helusi explained to Shaweiges while retrieving the yellow gem from an internal compartment with his left hand, continuing:

"And this one is unrelated to mind or intellect."

Speaking, Helusi placed both the yellow and blue gems together in his right palm, freed his left hand, retrieved the Myernir hammer hanging at his waist, and added:

"Camp commander, these are spoils I seized from the alien wreckage; they should be allocated by you."

"You were the first to stay on the shark?" Seeing Helusi being overly polite, Shaweiges replied with a hint of anger: "You killed, you stole, so these things are yours. Understand? Don't make me repeat this for the seventh time."

He heard this.

Helusi took a deep breath, shedding any pretense, immediately stored the two gems back into the internal compartment, re‑hung the Myernir hammer on his waist, and nodded:

"I understand, Battalion Commander. Regarding the purpose of those two gems, I think it's best to report to my father first. By the way, may I ask whether the upcoming action is to directly seize control of Zero Seven Earth and stabilize public sentiment?"

"Incorrect." Shaweige Si says, turning to stare at the blood‑stained Shark visible to ordinary eyes, opens a communication command and says:

"Notify Ye Lian Na (the ship‑borne high‑intelligence AI) to power up fully and take complete control of Zero Seven Earth's civilian and military networks, then proceed, and also inform the 'Big Sisters' so they can cooperate with the battalion headquarters to launch propaganda and assimilation measures on Zero Seven Earth."

After issuing the order, Shaweige Si reminds Helusi in front of him: "Return to the bridge and prepare for a retreat communication with father."

"Affirmative."

The words fall.

Two giants over seven meters tall are enveloped by a light sphere, complete the teleportation process, and vanish directly from the top of the Taibo Luo Small Building.

"…"

Shi Guo, staying on the scene and having listened the whole time, Eric Stark was completely stunned.

"Zero Seven Earth?"

"Could it be the seventh Earth?"

Compared with the genius Tony Xu Lang Cheng, as an authority in astrophysics, Stark seems to only recall topics related to parallel universes.

But Stark is now suddenly frantic; could those two giants be so worried as to leave him, the sole on‑scene observer, out here?

Normally, wouldn't that call for killing to silence him?

Yet just as Stark conjured such thoughts, a craft with side doors, resembling an old‑style medium helicopter—a low‑atmosphere assault boat—descended rapidly toward him.

Immediately after, the assault boat performed a graceful hover, turned around, and faced its right side toward the top of the Taibo Luo Small Building.

"Step! Step!"

Once the assault boat steadied, two support troops leapt from the cabin, planted their feet on the building's roof, and walked toward the stunned Stark.

One of the support troops spoke: "Dr. Eric Xu Lang Cheng, based on the data we have, you are considered a low‑value researcher on Zero Seven Earth; please come with us."

After speaking, the other support troop, waiting for Stark's response, roughly forced him away, then headed toward the assault boat already docked on the roof, preparing to board together.

As Stark's adrenaline rose, he excitedly asked: "May I ask, gentlemen, does the Zero Seven Universe you mention actually represent a real parallel universe? May I view the relevant data?"

"We have information to share," the support troop who spoke last replied.

"That means we can…"

"Dr. Xu Lang Cheng, our attitude is still friendly, but if you keep being silent, we may consider taking forceful measures to shut you up."

"."

As the dialogue continued, the two support troops led the bewildered but silenced Xu Lang Cheng back into the cabin.

Then the assault boat immediately lifted off, heading toward another target to "recover" Zero Seven Earth's research personnel.

Looking down at low altitude, one can spot an Achilles‑class vessel, and the Bloody Shark opening all its hangar doors, releasing a few assault boats, the Yuyou, and various transport ships, then proceeding to "recover" any usable people or objects everywhere.

After all, the Man‑Eating Shark Battalion's shipboard high‑intelligence AI has fully seized the civilian network, and the military side is only a "final blow" away from unimpeded operation, with nothing left to block it.

————————

…

The teleportation gate had been open for a long time before it closed.

Within the eighty minutes of the battle, the Man‑Eating Shark veterans piloting Centurion II completed their objectives, destroying all stored, on‑standby, and launched nuclear weapons.

Moreover, this event, deemed possible, was wildly reposted and publicized by media and the internet worldwide; governments and officials could not remove the related pictures, videos, and reports.

To this day, no government has held a press conference to explain what global catastrophe has occurred.

People are anxious.

To the west of New York State, about ten kilometers straight from Manhattan Island, lies a large town called Mount Oliver.

On the streets below, due to online and media reports of "war descending" and "the end of the world," people frantically stockpiled food, bottled water, drinks, and all daily supplies from supermarkets and convenience stores.

The turmoil had just begun, hence the term "panic buying"; only a small fraction of townsfolk were still willing to pay, but some…

Yes!

Some, a tiny minority with a rap‑like tone, saw this as a perfect chance to shoot, smash, and loot amid the chaos.

Because forty percent of the town's police force was dispatched to New York at the war's outset, either voluntarily or by order, Mount Oliver was left with its thinnest defensive strength.

In short, after the officers return, the town's unrest will persist for a long time.

And in a seven‑story residential house.

The window looks onto the street; beneath the east wall hang various sci‑fi and war posters, while the north‑side cabinets are filled with soldier and astronaut models, as well as related game discs, novels, and comics in the bedroom…

"My God… that's fucking cool!"

Sitting at the computer desk, his hair shaped like a pot‑lid, a seventeen‑year‑old stared at the old‑style computer screen, unable to contain his excitement and repeatedly exclaiming.

Focusing on the screen, he happened to see what looked like a farm edge in Kentucky or Illinois, where a farmer filmed with his phone a hidden launch silo about two miles from his farm suddenly opening and firing two intercontinental nuclear missiles.

But the two missiles, only two thousand meters after launch, were intercepted by a "white dot."

At the first sight of the "white dot," the farmer zoomed in with a phone he had bought from a small Asian country, revealing a gray‑painted Alpha‑class titanium‑alloy armored, adult‑sized, about seventeen meters tall Centurion II.

The Centurion II, to avoid the warhead and the U. S. government, chose to let the warhead "go down together" rather than using its cannons to destroy the missiles; instead it hung its cannon in front, freed both hands, and retrieved two "grenades" from its waist.

Then the Centurion II precisely threw the "grenades" at the two intercontinental missiles.

When the grenades contacted the missiles, instead of exploding or vanishing, they emitted a visible spherical field with blue‑green edges, instantly enveloping both missiles.

Whoosh~—!!!

Boom~—Rumble~—!!

Indeed, when the missiles were destroyed by the field, their warheads automatically triggered fuses, detonating two nuclear bombs each equivalent to about seven million tons of TNT.

But…

The nuclear blasts were confined within the two spherical fields.

———————

…

Note: The author's viewing of Marvel movies stopped at Spider-Man II; before, he also wanted to watch it again, but he instantly lost interest and instead came to dislike *White Robe* and Zack Snyder's cut of *Justice League*.

So the 07 Universe is equivalent to the universe after *Avengers Seven*; even if it involves Little Yuan, it is still related to Pym particles, as well as the author's seven settings.

(End of Chapter)