Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Great Lich King Is Gradually Losing Himself [New Book—Please Add to Favorites and Recommend]

Danny suddenly felt he might have spoken too much at once.
For a moment, the atmosphere turned awkward.
“Rogers, what I mean is, I need to pay attention to those details. Right now, those are things I must understand,” Nick Fury quickly explained.
“Just as we now need to find out why that skeletal dragon appeared, and what this ‘Iron Fist’ spoke of—the Seven Cities and the seven guardian beasts.”
“Director, when we found Matt’s group in the underground complex, they were under attack from some skeletal soldiers, just like the ones we first saw on Broadway. It seems this Spider Lady might have considerable knowledge about the Seven Cities. Moreover, there’s a chance she’s connected to Hydra—or at least, Hydra is searching for the location of the Seven Cities.”
“But we still haven’t found a trace of that skeletal dragon. After it entered the Atlantic, satellites completely lost track of it. If we don’t get to the bottom of this, a disaster like Manhattan could strike again.”
As he adjusted his smart computer, Coulson said, “As for how that dragon could have come back to life, I imagine Mr. Danny might have some intelligence to share.”
With Coulson’s question, Nick Fury also looked to Danny, his brow furrowed.
To bring back skeletons that have lain dead for a thousand years, and send them soaring through the sky—this suggested their opponents had mastered some kind of forbidden power.
Just imagine: if such ancient bones could be revived, what if Hydra’s fanatics awakened the ghosts of warriors from wars long past?
It would mean disaster for the living.
He considered this, then spoke.
“Mr. Danny, to continue our previous discussion—about the dragon, how exactly was it awakened? Is it some sort of technology, or is it magic, as described at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?”
“Monsters like that—one alone could destroy a city, perhaps even a nation. This is a calamity for humanity. If we don’t put a stop to it, Manhattan’s tragedy will happen again.”
“In the past, there might have been ways to stop it, but now it seems we can’t halt this process. The chi energy in the dragon’s bones has been completely activated. That dragon—by now it counts as a true living being. It’s intelligent, it knows how to hide, and technology may not be able to find it.”
“Chi energy?” Fury and Rogers exchanged a glance, then looked to Danny. “What is chi energy? Is it some kind of element or molecular compound?”
Nick Fury was deeply surprised by Danny’s explanation and made a mental note: Here is a new power, one that can bring the dead back to life—its value is immeasurable.
“You could call this force ‘Qi,’ originating from K’un-Lun—or rather, from some mysterious dimension. That’s all I know,” Danny replied.
Nick Fury fixed his gaze on Danny.
After a long pause, he extended his hand to Danny, then glanced at Matt and the others nearby.

“Everyone, I have a proposal.”
“Oh? I’m curious—which innocent children are you planning to swindle this time?”
As the alert sounded, a voice echoed through Nick Fury’s conference room; everyone looked toward the window.
A row of robots was flying in from the distance, their upraised palms glowing with energy.
“Jarvis, lock onto that Chocolate Bean.”
“Yes, sir. But Jarvis must inform you that your actions have seriously violated Federal Constitution Conventions Fourteen, Twenty-Three, and Fifty-Eight. You will face lawsuits and a series of—”
“Oh, don’t bother me with that. I’m about to give him something big.”
Before Tony finished speaking, a tremendous crash shattered the window of Nick Fury’s conference room. Tony Stark, clad in Iron Man armor, burst through the glass and flew inside, while the line of robots formed a vigilant perimeter outside.
“Everyone, I’m Stark. This is a private matter between Chocolate Bean and myself—please, nobody move.”
“Chocolate Bean…”
Matt and the others immediately whisked Danny aside, hiding behind an upturned bed board, struggling to suppress their laughter.
Coulson, for his part, had drawn his gun the moment the chaos erupted, but seeing Stark, he didn’t dare fire.
Fury, for his part, had ducked behind his desk before the window shattered. The desk, which looked wooden, was in fact made of special metal and instantly flipped up for cover.
He crouched behind his desk and drew his gun.
“That thing you’re holding is useless against me. This is my latest suit, tested by that scoundrel Wiccan. Your single-handed grip isn’t strong enough for a powerful shot—oh, and I suspect your marksmanship with one hand isn’t that great either.”
With a sharp hiss, a beam of energy shot out, blasting Fury’s gun from his hand. Tony ambled through the conference room in his armor, utterly unconcerned about SHIELD interference.
After all, Secretary Ross happened to be on the other side, conversing with Hill and Pierce.
“Tony Stark, what are you doing here?”
Rogers, shield in hand, demanded of Tony Stark.
“Oh, Captain, I’m here to collect something from you!” Tony replied flatly, instructing Jarvis to scan Fury’s office in search of where files might be stored.
“The Siberia division, December 16, 1992—certain files. I think you’ll be interested too, Captain.”

“What do you mean by that?”
“Bucky. Bucky Barnes—your old friend—and the man who murdered my parents.”
Back when he was frozen, Tony had been made to watch the tape Erica found, under Kel’Thuzad’s control. After he woke, he followed the clues, tracked down some information, and reconstructed the hidden contents of the tape.
Once he learned the truth, Tony rushed to SHIELD to find Fury, wanting to recover more of his parents’ belongings.
Those items had been stored by SHIELD for decades. If not for that tape, and for his own sharp mind, he doubted SHIELD would ever have revealed what happened to his parents.
“Your father’s belongings?” Fury muttered, as though he didn’t know what Tony was talking about.
“Oh, look at you, playing the elite agent!” Tony fired another energy blast, leaving a hole in Fury’s desk, then strode over and lifted Fury with one hand.
“Nick, what’s going on?”
Rogers looked to Fury, thinking Bucky was long dead.
“You kept the notes—that I can understand. But why did you hide the tapes? The more detailed footage you stashed away!”
Tony gritted his teeth at Fury. “I need it now.”
“That’s not for me to decide—SHIELD’s decisions aren’t mine alone. But we can talk. Everything is open for negotiation.”
“Of course, in the end I’ll hand those things over to you. But for now…”
Fury patted Tony’s armored hand. “And as for the footage of your parents’ deaths—I believe we can negotiate.”
“What the hell is happening?”
Rogers also looked to Fury.
While SHIELD was a cauldron of turmoil—
Elsewhere, Rold’s place was “as warm as spring.”
The great Lich King was gradually losing himself amid Sindragosa’s repeated laments: “Lich King, I’m hungry.”