Sharon looked up at the large hole torn open above her, then at the brilliant sonic boom cloud in the sky, her expression once again somewhat dazed.
The next second!
Coming to her senses, Sharon, remembering what Hulk had just said, quickly took out her phone and called S.H.I.E.L.D.
At this moment, the alarm at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York Operations Command Center also blared the instant the sonic boom cloud appeared above Empire University.
"Satellite detected extraordinary energy fluctuations."
"Matching."
"It's Phoenix's."
"The footage is also out. Phoenix is breaking through the atmosphere."
"Is today the day he's supposed to fight Thor?"
"No, Thor is accompanying Jane Foster to some conference in New Mexico, isn't he?"
"Predicted path results are out."
"Where?"
"Africa, Wakanda!"
With the precise cooperation of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, the large screen in the command center quickly split into two. One half showed Hulk rapidly breaking through the atmosphere as seen by S.H.I.E.L.D. satellites, while the other half displayed a satellite map of Earth, with dashed lines connecting on it, ultimately pointing the destination towards Wakanda in Africa.
Commander Victoria Hand, with her arms crossed, raised an eyebrow as she looked at the destination of Hulk, predicted by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s latest research, the Insight Project, on the large screen.
Just then.
Sharon's call came in.
"Sharon, what happened at Empire University, Phoenix..."
"Commander, three people from Wakanda just tried to assassinate Gwen."
"..."
The calm on Commander Victoria Hand's face vanished. Hearing that someone had attempted to assassinate the Joker's shackles, she quickly pressed, "How is Gwen now? Is she injured?"
Sharon glanced at Gwen, who had run over with Mary to help Lightning Thompson, who had just been knocked flying, up. She said, "No."
Commander Victoria Hand at the Operations Command Center breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Then...
She remembered what Sharon had just reported.
"Wait, people from Wakanda?"
"Yes."
"Haven't their information and transportation been completely blockaded? How did they get out, and even make it to New York City?"
Victoria Hand now understood why Hulk had broken through the atmosphere and headed straight for Wakanda, but she still didn't understand how the people of Wakanda had managed to get to New York City.
And right under their noses.
One must know, the blockade of Wakanda was a joint effort by the Five Great Benefactors, a truly all-weather, 360-degree, no-dead-angle kind of blockade.
Even the Colonel back then didn't receive such treatment.
It had been almost a year and a month since Wakanda was exposed.
But in the past year, information about Wakanda had been tightly sealed.
In the past, Wakanda could still make an appearance when they went to the United Nations for relief food.
But now, Wakanda didn't even have a chance to show up. If you randomly grabbed someone on the street now, they might not even know there's a country called Wakanda in the World.
Yet, under the joint blockade of the Five Great Benefactors, three Wakandans actually appeared in New York City, right under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nose, and even attempted to assassinate Gwen, whom they called the Joker's shackles.
How could this be allowed?
"Investigate!"
"Immediately find out how those three got to New York City."
After Victoria Hand came to her senses, she immediately gave the order, then confirmed with Sharon, "Have their identities been confirmed?"
Sharon glanced at the three bodies that had fallen to the ground after Hulk left: "No mistake. Bald, built unlike women, dark skin, Vibranium weapons. Besides Wakanda, it couldn't be anyone else. And even if they weren't, it doesn't matter, because Hulk has already determined that Wakanda did it."
At this point, Sharon's pupils contracted as she remembered the urgent matter she needed to report. She quickly reported, "Commander, Hulk has already gone to Wakanda. Before he left, he told me to contact Commander Hill and said we should evacuate all our people currently in Wakanda."
Victoria, who was in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Command Center, trembled.
"Hulk said that?"
"Yes, he said, 'After this, there will be no more Wakanda in the World.'"
"Hiss!"
Victoria gasped, listening to Sharon relaying that sentence. She immediately looked up at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent: "Connect Commander Hill immediately. How long until Phoenix arrives in Wakanda?"
A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent quickly connected Maria Hill.
Another Agent quickly reported.
"Phoenix's speed has slowed down. At the current speed, he is expected to arrive over Wakanda in thirty minutes."
"He only gave us thirty minutes."
Victoria instantly understood that these thirty minutes were the time Hulk had given them, upon hearing the Agent report that Hulk's speed had slowed down.
After all...
Given Hulk's speed, which allowed him to travel to Mars and back in a single day, if he went at full speed, going to Wakanda wouldn't take anywhere near thirty minutes.
Clearly.
These thirty minutes were not for Wakanda, but for them.
"Officer, Commander Hill's communication is connected."
"Connect it quickly!"
"...Victoria?"
It was 7 AM in Wakanda. Maria Hill, who was already seated in the Wakandan conference hall, accompanying Security Council plenipotentiary Alexander Pierce and other Security Council members in the thirty-sixth negotiation, saw the communication with an emergency code, stood up, left the conference room, and went outside to answer the call.
"What happened?" Maria Hill's voice clearly came through to the New York S.H.I.E.L.D. Operations Command Center.
Victoria didn't waste words.
Time was short.
"Commander, Wakanda sent people to assassinate Gwen Stacy, but failed. Hulk is furious and is expected to arrive in Wakanda in thirty minutes. He told us to immediately withdraw our people and informed us that after this, there will be no more Wakanda in the World."
"???"
Question marks, one after another, kept popping up in Hill's mind as Victoria's urgent report came through.
But even with so many questions, now was not the time to ask them.
Almost the instant Victoria's words fell, Hill immediately whispered to her assistant, who had followed her out, "Notify everyone. S.H.I.E.L.D. transport planes are to be launched immediately. Also, notify all S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to immediately evacuate Wakanda and withdraw to... the Hell Passage."
The so-called Hell Passage was the bottomless pit that Hulk had created by fighting Hell Hulk on the grassland last year.
S.H.I.E.L.D. spent a full six months to hoist Hell Hulk's body out of that pit, hence the pit was named the Hell Passage.
The assistant nodded and left immediately upon hearing this.
After hanging up the phone, Hill also turned around immediately and re-entered the Wakandan palace conference room in front of her.
Her orders could only command Agents belonging to S.H.I.E.L.D.; she had no authority to command the soldiers of the joint forces, and those soldiers wouldn't listen to her.
This required Alexander Pierce to give the order.
In the conference room at this moment.
Wakanda's New King T'Challa, along with other Wakandan tribal chiefs, were arguing with Alexander Pierce and others for everything belonging to Wakanda.
It was one sentence.
The joint forces must immediately withdraw from Wakanda.
Wakanda was Wakanda for Wakandans, not some damn Wakanda for the whole World.
At the same time, New King T'Challa also demanded that the Security Council immediately hand over Hulk, the culprit who had brought chaos to Wakanda, and that Hulk must be held responsible for this incident.
Alexander Pierce, who was in charge of the negotiations, simply laughed at New King T'Challa's condition.
It proved that people do laugh when they are speechless.
Hand over Hulk.
Do you even hear the nonsense you're saying?
It was at this moment that Hill walked in from outside, sat down beside him, then turned sideways and put her mouth to his ear, ensuring only he could hear her voice.
"Wakanda sent people to assassinate Hulk's fiancée, Gwen, but failed. Hulk is on his way, and we only have twenty minutes to evacuate."
"Hiss!"
Alexander Pierce's pupils quickly constricted after Hill's words, and he gasped inwardly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at T'Challa, who was sitting opposite him in the Black Panther suit.
Good heavens.
He had originally thought that these black savages daring to brazenly attack the Security Council was the limit, but he never expected that these black savages would have an even more extreme move.
Whether it was Congress, or S.H.I.E.L.D., or even Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. and even the Security Council, they all knew one thing.
Gwen Stacy, code-named the Joker's shackles, was even more untouchable than the Joker, code-named Phoenix.
Yet these black savages not only wanted to touch her, but even intended to help the Joker, Phoenix, smash this shackle.
Jesus, God, Holy Mary!
You are so brave, do your ancestors know?
Alexander Pierce's heart was filled with a series of shouts at this moment, but as an excellent politician, even though his heart was experiencing a magnitude ten earthquake, his outward demeanor remained calm.
With his graying hair and glasses, he still maintained a very refined smile.
After Hill finished her report, Alexander subtly cleared his throat and swept his gaze across the Wakandans sitting opposite him, dressed in various strange costumes, some chiefs even with large rings hanging from their chins, looking like black monkeys or Jokers from the forest. He then focused his gaze on Black Panther T'Challa: "We need to consider your conditions this time."
With that.
He didn't give the Wakandans time to react, standing up directly and walking out of the conference room.
The other Security Council members participating in the negotiations were all stunned at this sight, then stood up one after another, closely following Alexander Pierce, and left the conference room in a rush.
"Go!"
"Hurry up, notify everyone, all personnel, immediately evacuate Wakanda and gather at the Hell Passage!"
"Understood!"
"..."
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