Earth.
It was a scorching summer day, and the land felt as if it were being roasted by a furnace.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
Nick Fury, as usual, wore his black leather jacket and black eye patch.
But unlike before, Nick Fury now particularly enjoyed looking at the Sun, often for half a day at a time.
This was no longer a secret among the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents.
Perhaps he was frightened by the Earth's sudden drastic cooling not long ago!
Ring, ring, ring!
A phone rang, and when Nick Fury saw "Agent Romanoff" on the caller ID, he was instantly overjoyed.
Not knowing the true situation of Jotunheim and its attitude towards Earth, Nick Fury had truly been restless these past few days.
Thankfully, there was finally news!
After answering the phone, Nick Fury hadn't even had a chance to speak when he heard Natasha's slightly anxious voice.
"Director, I don't know if you are available now, but I have some urgent information to report to you. Barton, Stark, Rogers, and Banner will all be coming too!"
Hearing Natasha's words, Nick Fury's heart skipped a beat.
Nick Fury was the King of Agents, with extremely high psychological fortitude, but at this moment, he still couldn't quite control his emotions.
If they were all coming together, it meant the situation was extremely urgent.
Based on his understanding of them, they would never be so solemn unless it was a major event concerning life and death.
"I'm in the headquarters building right now, it's convenient, come over!"
"Okay!"
After hanging up the phone, a long silence fell over the office.
In that instant, he thought of many, many things, and his heart became uncontrollably anxious.
To be honest, the situation in recent years had truly been getting worse and worse.
Facing an endless stream of unexpected incidents, S.H.I.E.L.D. was truly becoming more and more powerless.
For this, he had specially created the Avengers.
But what he hadn't expected was that the Avengers, immediately after being formed, had their first mission involve observing a "God War" in outer space.
A God War!
And the second mission was to attend a ceremony in a cosmic nation!
Such an Avengers was not the heroic group Nick Fury had envisioned.
The incidents were getting bigger and bigger, and he, as Director, was truly having a difficult time!
Hopefully, the Tesseract development would proceed smoothly; it would be even better if it could replicate the miracle of Project Pegasus.
If only there could be a few more Captain Marvels... Unfortunately, this was just wishful thinking!
Looking at the pager on the table, Nick Fury's heart finally calmed down a lot.
Knock, knock, knock!
A knock on the door pulled Nick Fury out of his reverie. Nick Fury rubbed his cheeks, and his expression quickly became calm.
"Come in!"
Seeing the few people who entered one after another, Nick Fury said, "You've worked hard on this trip. Would you like anything to drink?"
They all shook their heads, indicating no need.
Nick Fury's heart sank. "It seems this trip to Jotunheim wasn't very smooth. Has the gap between us and the other nations of the Nine Realms become so large that we can't even sit down and talk?"
A weak nation has no diplomacy; a dragon does not live with snakes.
This was like humans never sitting down for equal dialogue with apes or monkeys!
Natasha shook her head. "It's not that bad. The other nations of the Nine Realms not only didn't look down on us, but they actually paid exceptional attention to us."
"Exceptional attention? Oh?"
Nick Fury was surprised and immediately curious.
Not being taken seriously wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but being taken seriously wasn't necessarily a good thing either.
Seeing Agent Romanoff and the others so anxious, was it because too much attention had caused trouble?
"Tell me the details!"
"Although our Earth doesn't have the capability for space combat, and our individual combat abilities are very poor, completely incomparable to other cosmic nations, our Earth possesses two great powerhouses that make other nations extremely wary."
Natasha meticulously recounted everything she saw and heard during this trip to Jotunheim.
The more Nick Fury listened, the darker his face became.
Sending a city of flowers was still acceptable; it could be considered a peculiarity of the magic side, and the science side just had a different field of study.
But sending a volcano, who could tolerate that?
If a few mountains from space were to crash down, an entire city on Earth would be instantly destroyed.
When he heard that Rimuru had effortlessly taken down that active volcano, Nick Fury was even more astonished and speechless for a long time.
Had Rimuru grown to such an extent?
How much time had passed?
Could Captain Marvel achieve such a feat?
When he heard Natasha and the others relay their experiences and interactions with Rimuru, Nick Fury became confused instead.
Rimuru was still the same Rimuru, her original intention unchanged, and her goodwill towards Earth as strong as ever. This should be a good thing, right?
Nick Fury was very patient, listening carefully to all the information they had gathered. The concept of the Nine Realms also became increasingly clear to him.
But the more he listened, the more confused Nick Fury became.
According to Natasha and the others, Rimuru was not only powerful but also very trustworthy.
So, the root cause of their solemnity was not the Nine Realms and Rimuru.
Natasha solemnly said, "Director, I guarantee on my personal credibility that what I just said was basically a truthful account, without too much personal emotion mixed in. Stark, Barton, and Rogers can all testify for me!"
"I testify!"
"I testify!"
"I testify too!"
Seeing them all confirm her statement, Nick Fury's expression grew even more solemn.
"I believe it, Agent Agent Romanoff. Don't beat around the bush; report directly!"
Natasha solemnly said, "Director, the cosmic Bandits, the Chitauri, are going to attack Earth. The landing site is very likely New York, and they are expected to arrive within the next week. Director, please quickly prepare for combat and civilian evacuation!"
"What?!"
Nick Fury stood up from his chair in shock, his face no longer able to maintain its composure.
A massive alien invasion?
What a joke?
If this news hadn't been brought to him by Natasha and the Avengers members, Nick Fury would have even wondered if it was April Fool's Day.
"So, this information came from Rimuru?"
Nick Fury rubbed his forehead. At this point, he finally understood why Natasha and the others had been beating around the bush, constantly telling him that Rimuru was still the same Rimuru, and that she still held great goodwill towards Earth.
"Yes. Director, do you remember the mission report I submitted to you last time when I returned from Asgard?"
Nick Fury nodded.
How could he not remember?
After all, it was Earth's first close observation of alien life, and it was even a war. How could he not take it seriously?
He had set that report to Level Ten clearance, reading it over and over again. He could recite many of the details by heart.
Natasha said earnestly, "Then Director, you must not forget that I specifically emphasized that before leaving Asgard, Odin's raven specifically brought a treasure called agamotto's orb, and Rimuru's distraction and loss of composure at that time!"
"agamotto's orb can peer into dangers in the Universe. At that time, Rimuru had already sensed it?"
Nick Fury suddenly felt a toothache.
Nearly half a month! If they had told them earlier, Earth could have made so many more preparations!
Nick Fury never easily trusted others, but at this moment, he believed it.
For such a major matter concerning the survival of Earth, it was better to believe it than not!
When he learned that Tony Stark had borrowed an army from Rimuru, Nick Fury had another headache and didn't know what to say.
"You've all worked hard. Get some rest first. I'll try to persuade the Council!"
"Okay!"
The group immediately left the space to Nick Fury, each going home to prepare.
Half a day later.
In the video conference with the Council.
"Alien invasion? Evidence! Where's the evidence? Don't tell me your so-called evidence is just the verbal account of that Avengers you drummed up!"
"Evacuate civilians? That's easy to say! On what grounds do we evacuate civilians? Do you know how much panic and upheaval that would cause?"
Facing the barrage of questions from the Council representative, Nick Fury's expression remained unchanged as he said, "It's better to believe it than not. Rimuru is worth the risk."
"Risk? Nick Fury, I seriously suspect you have a mental illness. If so, I suggest you go to the hospital for treatment from a psychologist as soon as possible!"
Nick Fury: "What if there really is an invasion? Who will be responsible?"
The Council representative fell silent for a moment.
"Making preparations isn't impossible, but how can you so easily trust the words of the Jotunheim people?"
Nick Fury argued, "Rimuru is not only a Jotunheim person, she is also an Earthling!"
"Hahahaha, Rimuru is also an Earthling? That's the funniest joke I've heard all year!"
"I don't care about the past; I only know that Rimuru is currently the King of Jotunheim!"
"There's an Eastern proverb that says, 'It's easy to invite a god, but hard to send one away.' What if the real invaders are the Jotunheim people?"
"Are you planning to open the door to Bandits?"
Nick Fury: "..."
"Nick Fury, if you are so naive about matters concerning Earth's safety, I question whether you are qualified to continue leading S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
"Making preparations is fine, but borrowing troops from Jotunheim is absolutely not!"
"Agreed!"
"Seconded!"