Gravik's provocative live broadcast caused the V.G.D. public channel to explode once again.
"This green-skinned piece of trash actually dares to provoke all of us!"
"I'm going to Australia! I'm going to personally twist his head off and kick it like a ball!"
"Count me in! I'll use my spikes to turn him into a sieve!"
Voices requesting to join the battle rose one after another; everyone was eager to try, wishing they could fly to the Nullarbor Plain immediately to showcase their strength before the entire World.
Until Skynet's voice rang out in the channel.
"Everyone, stand by." Skynet's calm voice reached everyone's ears clearly.
"The government has made a decision."
"At nine o'clock tomorrow morning, they will implement a nuclear strike on the Nullarbor Plain."
A nuclear strike...
Hearing this news, the superheroes in the public channel calmed down.
Nuclear bombs, humanity's current ultimate weapon.
In their understanding, no carbon-based lifeform could survive the power of a nuclear explosion.
If there was one, it could only be Homelander.
"Looks like that arrogant alien is dead for sure!"
"What a pity, I still wanted to give him a beating myself."
"Don't be happy too soon," Steve said in the channel with a heavy expression. "If the nuke fails to kill him, according to his rules, humanity will lose a city."
"How could it possibly fail to kill him?" someone immediately retorted. "That's a nuke! What kind of thing can withstand that?"
Most heroes believed that at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, this absurd Skrull game would be declared over in a giant mushroom cloud.
...
Markvis, Markvis.
In the neon-lit Kabukicho, a corrupt World where prosperity and sin intertwined.
Frank, who had originally prepared to have a major showdown with Nick Fury in this city of sin, changed his plans because of a sudden transoceanic phone call.
After Frank hung up the phone, his face was terrifyingly gloomy.
"What's wrong?" Fury keenly noticed the change in Frank's mood.
"Microchip was kidnapped by Kingpin's people," Frank said through gritted teeth.
David Lieberman, nicknamed "Microchip," was Frank's friend and logistics technical director.
"Kingpin?" Fury frowned slightly. "That underground emperor of New York?"
"I must return to New York immediately." Frank turned and walked toward the motorcycle parked in the shadows. "I can't leave him there."
Fury didn't try to make him stay; he knew Frank's personality—once he set his mind on something, nine bulls couldn't pull him back.
Frank straddled the motorcycle and put on his helmet. Before leaving, he glanced at the electronic screen overhead, which was broadcasting news about the Skrull game.
"That green-skinned freak is too stupid," Frank sneered. "If he's really playing some arena trick, then the place where he's standing will be blasted until not even dregs remain by a nuke tomorrow. You don't need to worry about him at all, Fury."
"Maybe." Fury didn't argue, just quietly watched Frank disappear into the night.
But in his heart, Fury didn't think so.
Gravik had done a lot of dirty work for him over the years. That Skrull was cunning, insidious, and cruel, but definitely not stupid.
For him to dare to provoke so arrogantly in front of the whole World, even exposing his location without any hesitation, he definitely had something to fall back on.
"He won't die that easily," Fury calculated silently in his heart.
As night fell, the neon lights bloomed with a blurred brilliance, but in Fury's eyes, endless filth surged beneath the city.
"Tonight..." Two clumps of Hellfire ignited in Fury's pupils, "...is the moment of judgment."
That night, the underground World of Markvis welcomed a nightmare.
Wails and screams echoed throughout the dark corners of the city all night long.
...
The next morning, Australia, Nullarbor Plain.
In the center of this vast land, Gravik arrived early.
He stood with his hands behind his back, eyes closed, resting his mind.
Vought's latest developed Star-Ring Monitoring Satellite also focused its images here, conducting a real-time live broadcast.
Billions of pairs of eyes around the World were now nervously watching this moment that would decide the fate of humanity.
But at this time, what no one saw was...
Less than two meters away from Gravik, there was actually another person standing.
It was Homelander.
The Invisibility Cloak from the Deathly Hallows concealed his figure and aura completely; he was like a non-existent ghost, silently watching everything before him.
"The feeling of being the center of attention, it's really been a long time."
Homelander sneered inwardly.
This so-called "Skrull Game" was a script he had personally authorized. He certainly couldn't be absent.
The clock hands moved forward second by second.
Eight-fifty.
Eight-fifty-five.
Eight-fifty-nine.
Except for the sound of the wind, there was nothing.
Nine o'clock sharp.
Gravik suddenly opened his eyes, looking toward the horizon with a gaze like fire.
In the azure sky, a dazzling meteor pierced through the firmament, trailing a long wake, heading straight for the Nullarbor Plain at a terrifying speed exceeding Mach 25.
That was an intercontinental missile carrying a large-yield nuclear warhead.
Looking at the approaching nuclear missile, Gravik not only lacked the slightest fear, but instead revealed a contemptuous smile.
"Childish."
He coldly spat out those two words, neither dodging nor avoiding, standing proudly on the spot.
Homelander rolled his eyes hard, unable to resist complaining in his heart.
"Childish my ass! Without me here to cover for you, you wouldn't even know how you turned into ash today!"
Gravik had no idea that his so-called "perfect fusions" and the "Homelander's power" he thought he had obtained were all lies woven by Skynet.
The shapeshifting ability he was so proud of had been completely removed during that modification surgery long ago.
The strength, speed, and invulnerability he felt were all just hallucinations created at the neural level by the Mimetic Metal Cells integrated into his body.
Right now, he was just an ordinary goblin with no abilities at all, a pathetic creature immersed in an invincible fantasy.
However, since Gravik's part hadn't finished yet, Homelander couldn't let him die just yet.
With a thought from Homelander...
The majestic Force surged from his body, and an invisible power instantly formed a thin film around Gravik, wrapping him up tightly.
As the missile drew closer, the atmosphere in the live broadcast room instantly froze.
"It's coming!" In the White House war room, Ellis clenched his fists tightly, his eyes fixed on the screen.
The next second.
"BOOM————————————!!!"
A blinding light that couldn't be looked at directly instantly swallowed the Nullarbor Plain.
The live broadcast screen turned pure white at this moment, and all sound was stripped away.
A terrifying mushroom cloud rose into the air, piercing the clouds as if it were going to tear the entire sky apart.
The terrifying high temperature crystallized the surrounding sand, and the shockwave was like a violent tsunami, sweeping outward and destroying everything in its path.
The global audience trembled before their screens.
Even through the screen, they could feel that World-destroying, terrifying power.
"Is he dead?"
This was the only question in everyone's heart at this moment.