S.P.E.A.R. was an organization in Chongguo similar to S.H.I.E.L.D. Its leader was Zheng Xian, and it boasted as many as 150,000 members, along with sixteen airships and a science division.
Their base was similar to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier. It was a hollow, circular mobile fortress, which was why it was referred to in English as "The Circle."
However, the difference was that in the main universe, S.H.I.E.L.D. was an international organization, unlike the cinematic and Ultimate universe versions where it solely belonged to America. Therefore, S.P.E.A.R. was considered an organization independently established by China.
Even more remarkably different was that the normal S.P.E.A.R. only appeared after the Infinity War. But Zod Heath had learned that S.P.E.A.R. already existed in the current Chongguo.
Of course, this S.P.E.A.R. was still operating on a relatively small scale at the moment, mainly because Chongguo had not discovered that many superheroes yet.
And the emergence of this S.P.E.A.R. was also because of Zod Heath.
He had created so many monsters to attack the entire world, leading Chongguo to feel that they also needed their own self-defense force. Thus, S.P.E.A.R. was born in response to the times.
This butterfly effect made Zod Heath believe all along that this S.P.E.A.R. was the exact same one he knew of.
While wondering if he had ended up in some abnormal universe, Zod Heath refrained from doing anything against Chongguo, primarily because he still held feelings from his past life.
...
"Director, this is what was captured last night."
Black Widow Natasha took out a stack of photos. Zod Heath looked at the blurry ball of flames in the pictures, as well as the numbers on the speed radar next to it.
Six hundred kilometers per hour!
Was this an airplane flying close to the ground?
"The traffic personnel on the scene said it was a flaming skull riding a motorcycle," Black Widow continued.
In the past, many people would have probably thought that the traffic officer had drunk too much or gotten too high.
But now, after various superheroes and monsters had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, it instead attracted a high level of attention. The police department was terrified that it might be a Demon-level disaster or even a Dragon-level disaster, so they hastily reported it to S.W.O.R.D., not daring to be the slightest bit careless.
Hearing Black Widow say this, Zod Heath instantly knew who it was.
Ghost Rider, most likely Johnny Blaze.
Did Mephisto go find him early?
In other words, this was very likely Mephisto's revenge against him?
In fact, Zod Heath guessed correctly.
Although Mephisto's projection had been destroyed by him using the power of the Divine Dragon, the scheming and extremely cunning Mephisto still obtained some information brought back by the projection.
This information was incomplete, but it did not prevent Mephisto from getting what he wanted.
For example, the aura of the Hell Dimension!
This represented an unfamiliar, masterless fragment of the Hell Dimension!
Mephisto was immediately tempted. Unfortunately, this was the only information he received. Therefore, Mephisto had no choice but to seek out Johnny Blaze early, awakening the Hellfire power within his body. He intended to use the Ghost Rider's sense of smell to help him track down the whereabouts of the informant who possessed the aura of the Hell Dimension.
After deducing that this was a possible scenario, Zod Heath chose to strike first rather than sit and wait for death.
Actually, finding someone was remarkably easy for Zod Heath, who possessed super vision and super hearing, not to mention having the Black Queen to assist him.
Johnny Blaze was a stunt performer who made a living on his motorcycle. As an amateur in the motorcycling world, he had completed many incredible jumps, and was revered as a god by many elites in the industry.
Because of this, Johnny also reaped wealth and status. He left the carnival, set up his own studio, and was frequently invited out for performances.
The Ghost Rider's source of power was indeed Heaven, and the fundamental Spirit of Vengeance was created by the hands of God Himself.
After the Great Flood of Noah's Ark, God realized that the original sinful nature of humanity remained unchanged. However, He had previously promised never to punish humanity with such a cruel method as a great flood again. Thus, He used the Spirits of Vengeance to monitor the sinful nature of humanity.
From then on, the Spirits of Vengeance descended upon the mortal realm in the form of fire, merging with human hosts to become Ghost Riders, utilized to cleanse earthly sins.
The Ghost Rider's primary duty was to oversee the sinful nature of humans in the world and avenge the innocent victims killed by sin, acting as the standard nemesis of evil.
Therefore, the true name of the Ghost Rider should actually be the "Wrath of God"!
As for why they fell to become Ghost Riders and were forced to work for Mephisto, it only proved that the Spirits of Vengeance were too unlucky, or that Mephisto was too clever.
Through brilliant decep... eloquence, Mephisto signed a contract with a Spirit of Vengeance, acquiring the ownership rights to its soul.
Hellfire was not bound by the laws of nature. Vacuums and aquatic environments could not extinguish it, and it could be controlled at will by the Ghost Rider, burning any substance according to his wishes, or leaving whatever he touched completely unharmed.
Besides the high temperature and intense heat directly used for attacks, Hellfire also possessed many other abilities, such as enchanting and reconstructing the Ghost Rider's body. Its ultimate application was the infamous "Penance Stare," which had the dual effects of telepathy and punishing the soul.
Transforming into the Ghost Rider for the first time last night, an uncontrollable Johnny ran off and completely slaughtered a mob gang. The setting of punishing evil was very normal for other Spirits of Vengeance, but it was abnormal for Johnny Blaze, because he was not a normal Spirit of Vengeance at all.
He was a Ghost Rider forged from the soul of the elemental demon lord Zarathos. Theoretically speaking, he could be considered the strongest Ghost Rider.
If he also had the Medallion of Power, then he would be invincible against anyone in the world... within his own solo comic universe, that is.
The souls of the sinners devoured by Johnny would actually all end up benefiting Mephisto in the end.
For demons and devils, the souls of these sinners were a source of power and highly nourishing items. This was especially true when throwing these souls into their own Hell Dimension, which could further enhance both the dimension's power and their own.
After slaughtering a gang, Johnny, in his Ghost Rider incarnation, went on a crazy speeding rampage through the city streets, destroying one road after another.
It was quite destructive. Sprinting at full speed down the main thoroughfare, burning up the greenbelts was one thing, but he also left behind a trench melted by intense heat.
The area was not large, but repairing it was extremely troublesome. Not only was it time-consuming and labor-intensive, but it also required closing off the roads.
At daybreak, Johnny bathed in the sunlight and exited his transformed state, falling into a coma due to excruciating pain.
Zod Heath found him with effortless ease. Killing Johnny during the day was actually quite meaningless, because once night fell, he would bathe in Hellfire and resurrect. He was considered one of the most incredibly difficult superheroes to deal with, albeit falling into the anti-hero camp.
Ah, the soul of Zarathos. Zod Heath took Johnny Blaze back with him, his inner researcher's soul burning fiercely.
/-\
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