Chapter 4854

Steve and Frank came back with grim faces. One can easily imagine how Mephisto, using his superb excrement-stirring technique, thoroughly stirred up the area below, turning it from an outhouse into a public toilet. Frank's expression was especially grim; at the moment the bullet hit the fake Captain America, he had already scheduled his prison life for the next several decades.

Their relationship underwent a subtle change. Frank realized he could not oppose Captain America—not only because social rules forbade it, but also because if he simply shot an innocent good man like that, he would be no different from the thugs who killed his family years ago. He could not accept this from the bottom of his heart.

But this raised a question. Captain America is universally recognized as a good man; nobody in the world doubts his sense of justice, and Frank certainly thought so too. But what if it were someone else?

If a person looks like a villain, seems to have done evil deeds, and you kill him on that basis—what if he isn't? What if it's just a misunderstanding, or someone framed him?

Frank used not to worry about this; he also didn't know whether among the people he had killed before, there were any innocent victims wrongfully accused. But aiming that shot at Captain America was like a hanging executioner's blade suddenly falling. When a person is at death's door, they always reflect and feel a bit more deeply.

And Steve also noticed that Frank seemed to have suffered a great blow. However, he wasn't quite clear why Frank was like this. He still thought it was that shot that had frightened Frank, felt slightly guilty about it, and didn't want to go looking for trouble with him proactively.

The two were no longer at daggers drawn; they could barely coexist peacefully. Meanwhile, the situation below was truly in utter chaos, with no place to set foot, so they came back. However, Mephisto remained behind; he apparently still enjoyed playing Captain America.

To be frank, for now, Steve wanted to give this title to him. The devil is indeed very good at handling such matters—don't look at him stirring the situation into even greater chaos, but he can indeed fish in troubled waters in a seemingly just way. Steve, however, is not particularly good at this; he feels he still has much to learn.

As soon as Steve returned, he heard that another TV drama was to be filmed, because little Thomas came running to ask him: "Dad, why can't we film a 'Captain America'?"

"Er..." Steve thought for a moment and said, "I think you can just go watch WWII history. When I was Captain America, I only did two things: one was conscription propaganda, the other was going to the battlefield. Actually, there's not much worth filming."

"But you fought Hydra for a long time; surely there were many thrilling battles? Like, for example, the final showdown with the Red Skull?"

"The exciting parts were too brief," Steve continued, "most of the time I was just staying somewhere, investigating clues, or doing forced marches. Actual combat was rare; the time I spent fighting the Red Skull added up to less than an hour."

"But movies definitely wouldn't be filmed like that; they'd make it very dramatic, so everyone would know how awesome you are!"

"This is precisely why I don't want to make movies." Steve gently patted little Thomas's head, "The federal government and the military have always tried to exaggerate my achievements excessively, turning me into a turning point of WWII. I know I'm not. Doing this is also unfair to the ordinary soldiers who sacrificed on the front lines."

Little Thomas seemed to understand, yet also seemed not to. But children aren't usually interested in such heavy topics; after a short while, they started shouting again to go play.

"I can tell you don't like the spotlight," Greed said, "even deliberately avoiding it, unwilling to accept interviews."

"I've had enough of being used as a puppet for exaggerated propaganda." Steve said softly, he usually doesn't express extreme views on certain matters, except for what the military has done to him.

"When I had just become Captain America not long ago, they told me my duty was to embody a hero in line with the American spirit, to recruit more soldiers for them. I toured the country giving performances and speeches, becoming the combat hero in their mouths."

"But when I truly wanted to be a war hero, to genuinely end this war and prevent more people from suffering, they said I was daydreaming, that I couldn't possibly fight, and it would be better to just stay obediently in front of the camera, saying nice things for them."

"My resistance grew increasingly intense, until finally someone among them spoke their true mind. They didn't want the war to end; they wanted to keep sitting comfortably on the fishing platform, reaping the world's wealth and talent. It was because I had had enough of them that I went to Europe to carry out the mission."

"Do you think you made the right choice?" Greed asked, "If you hadn't gone, you wouldn't have been frozen, nor would you have missed so much."

"But I gained more," Steve said, "precisely because I was frozen, I am able to see you all today. Otherwise, my life's trajectory might have been completely different, or perhaps I would have become your enemy."

Greed thought for a moment. It's strangely easy to imagine an evil Superman, and there are indeed quite a few who truly are evil Supermen, but imagining an evil Captain America is somewhat difficult. Many people would think of Hydra's Captain America, or someone might imagine a villain accepting the super-soldier serum and then becoming a figure similar to a Motherland Person.

But in fact, the easiest evil Captain America to imagine should be the one who, back then, did not choose to truly participate in the war, but instead became a puppet of the military, even completely turning into a representative of the US military's will. That would be a disaster more terrifying than an evil Superman or Hydra's Captain America.

"I'm back." Wanda walked in through the front door, put down the bag in her hand, and then said, "I just came back from Flushing; the witches there are doing alright, a few have already rented apartments. I invited them to come to my place this weekend to hang out; are you guys coming?"

"No, ma'am, there's still a huge mess here." Greed shook his head and said, "Willing to rely on their own strength witches should have all left by now?"

"Yes. Besides those with little supernatural ability who can only go work to support themselves, there are also some with abilities who were taken in by S. H. I. E. L. D., and now they've all left."

Greed nodded: "The nobles are also approaching their limit; they'll soon be unable to bear it."

"I'm curious, how exactly will this be resolved?" Steve said, "Looking at it now, no side seems to have the upper hand; does it really require wearing everyone down?"

"Of course not; our goal has always been to resolve the so-called curse of Hampton. Although the spiritual energy has already been largely absorbed by Sarah, the illusion part remains unresolved."

"Then what do you plan to do?"

"The witches won't be able to hold out much longer; after they withdraw, the nobles will take action."

Indeed, as Greed said, the witches who wanted to rely on their own strength have all left, leaving few witches behind. Although there are quite a few skilled ones among them, they still can't withstand being beaten up by so many mercenaries together.

Money indeed can make most ghosts turn the millstone; in the end, even Spider-Men from other universes were brought in, so how could the witches possibly withstand such an onslaught? They suffered a crushing defeat. The seven-person group had three members killed by dark means, the remaining four scattered and fled, and Nicholas was also taken away by Strange and thrown into the seal of Kamar-Taj.

After expelling the third-party forces, the conflict between the locals and the alien nobles was exposed. The nobles of the Shi'ar Empire wanted to acquire land cheaply; they would certainly find ways to stir up trouble in the community, lower land prices, and the locals would definitely not agree. Thus, the mercenaries' focus shifted again, now targeting the nobles.

The nobles are more dangerous than the witches, because they have money and power, and also possess very formidable technology. Letting them rule Hampton would mean the locals would definitely be thoroughly suppressed. They want to use every means to drive out these alien monsters, and Earth certainly does not lack capable people.

Local tycoons issued a hero summoning; not to mention these New York heroes, members of the West Coast Avengers, Deadpool, and even Captain Marvel were all summoned, and they gave this bunch of Shi'ar Empire people a thorough beating.

The nobles of the Shi'ar Empire also discovered that playing violent games with humans is unwinnable. No matter how great your abilities, you can't beat this bunch of superhumans; doing so would not give you an advantage.

But these nobles' political minds are equally sharp. They also discovered that these hired mercenaries are not all ruthless killers; many are even famous superheroes. They would be willing to act against themselves, and it's not entirely because of money, but because they are aliens causing trouble locally, which is unjust. Those rich tycoons wailing a few sentences can then play the perfect victim of having their legitimate land invaded.

The Shi'ar nobles certainly wouldn't let them get away with it. They investigated and investigated, prepared for half a day, and finally found the most effective method—public opinion warfare.

Generally speaking, there wouldn't be so many media willing to expose such things; it's easy to get shot in the back eight times and die. But after all, Greed is still here tagging along in the chaos; he greeted Jarvis, and a web column titled "Christ Crown District Blood Case Investigation Report" was thus established.

Such a name sounds like the kind of interactive video detective case cooked up by self-media; at first it was indeed quite obscure. But as more and more real evidence was disclosed, netizens quickly realized that Christ Crown is an actual existing region in reality, and it's right in New York, USA. Not long after, Hampton's abnormalities were also exposed simultaneously, causing an uproar across the entire network.

No need to look back hundreds of years; just the past few decades, or even just these few years since the internet became widespread, there have been plenty of blood cases not thoroughly investigated. Police and the rich colluded, creating many wronged souls. After this matter was exposed online, attention reached terrifying levels.

The federal government certainly couldn't sit still, and the New York state government also found it hard to keep a straight face, urging investigation at the fastest speed. But however, the people previously sent in couldn't get in; this place has superpowered beings fighting chaotically, with no way out, so in the end they still had to appeal to S. H. I. E. L. D. headquarters.

The FBI is quite easy to bribe, and state police and the like are not difficult either. But S. H. I. E. L. D. is another matter altogether—Nick doesn't take much money, but he doesn't act.

Some people of course immediately went to Nick Fury, wanting him to help cover up the evidence. Nick verbally agrees nonstop, demands money quite harshly, almost squeezing everyone's psychological bottom line dry, wringing them out completely. Then he turns around and arrests everyone.

Some people, of course, immediately sought out Nick Fury, wanting him to help cover up the evidence. Nick readily agreed, demanding money quite ruthlessly, almost squeezing each person to their psychological limit, draining them dry. Then he turned around and arrested everyone.