Chapter Thirty-Three: Goodwill from Asgard

When Yang Xin and his party took the elevator up to the surface, they found the entire military base on high alert, bristling with tension and ready for battle. Coulson had already donned his Warrior of the Era persona, standing off against... a spaceship hovering in the sky.

“Coulson, didn’t you send a distress signal to the military?” Yang Xin asked.

Hill and the others, not knowing friend from foe, instinctively put on the Iron Man armor Yang Xin handed out. Any extra protection was better than none.

“Sir, our signals are completely jammed. Not only can we not send anything out, I doubt even a mosquito could escape,” Coulson replied.

“I ordered May to take the Dino Express Kexai out to seek help, but she hit an energy shield and couldn’t break through. I tried sending a police dog out, but it bounced off the shield as well. To prevent escalation and avoid provoking the other side, I didn’t have our agents attack the energy barrier,” Coulson continued.

As soon as he finished, a dazzling beam of light shot down from the spaceship above, and a figure slowly materialized.

“Sif!”

“Stand down,” Yang Xin ordered Nick Fury to have the agents lower their weapons. It wasn’t that Yang Xin was careless, but if a battle of this magnitude broke out, these agents would be of no use—they didn’t even qualify as cannon fodder.

“Lady Sif, what brings you to Midgard? By the way, your acting regent Loki just left, not only stealing the Cosmic Cube but also taking our Dr. Selvig. You Asgardians have repeatedly entered and exited Midgard without prior diplomatic notification. Are you trying to start a war?” Yang Xin said, establishing his legal ground before anything else.

“It’s not Asgard that seeks war—it’s Loki,” Sif hurried to explain.

“Loki is your Asgardian prince.”

“He isn’t anymore. Loki has fled Asgard.”

“Then what business brings you to Midgard, Lady Sif?” Yang Xin didn’t press the Loki issue. They were both old foxes; there was no need for idle chatter. He was eager to know Sif’s true purpose.

“I come to fulfill my promise, and on behalf of the Queen of Asgard, I bring a mother’s request to Midgard’s protector.” As she spoke, Sif raised her hand, and the Asgardian warships above revealed themselves one after another.

“This cloaking technology is far superior to the Helicarrier’s,” Yang Xin remarked, blinking. He had just scanned the sky thoroughly with his Iron Man suit’s sensors, but nothing had shown up.

Nick Fury rolled his eyes, speechless. These were interstellar battleships, capable of faster-than-light travel. Their warp engines alone outstripped Earth’s technology by centuries. Competing in stealth tech was pointless.

“These are twenty Asgardian interstellar carrier battle groups. Each group includes one carrier, two cruisers, three destroyers, two main battleships, one frigate, and one supply ship. Ten ships per group, two hundred in total. All are equipped with AI to help with management and operation. The highest command of these ships is now bound to you,” Sif said, pointing at Yang Xin.

Yang Xin exchanged a glance with Nick Fury—this was a massive windfall!

No matter how many single capital ships they had, they couldn’t compare to organized carrier battle groups. If they could master this technology, Earth’s civilization would leap straight into the interstellar age.

“Is this Queen Frigga’s will?” Yang Xin suddenly asked.

Sif’s eyes narrowed. She hadn’t expected Yang Xin to know the queen’s name. “This is the joint will of King Odin and Queen Frigga! As Midgard’s protector, I trust you understand the weight of their will.”

Sif emphasized the word “will.” As soon as she finished, a rainbow bridge flashed, and her figure vanished.

Her words carried a subtle, ambiguous weight—Yang Xin understood it was both a warning and an apology. The gift of these organized warships was meant to compensate Earth for its losses and, perhaps more importantly, to strengthen its power.

“I understand. Loki will only be handed over to Thor. I just hope the two Asgardian princes won’t go too far,” Yang Xin mused. Anything and anyone in the Nine Realms could be seen by Heimdall; Loki included. For Heimdall, what he saw was as good as Odin seeing it.

“Loki, may you fully experience the iron fist of your father’s love and justice,” Yang Xin thought, offering Loki a brief moment of silence before quickly pulling out his dimensional pocket to stow away the warships.

“Leave half,” Nick Fury said quickly.

“These were given to me by Asgard,” Yang Xin immediately countered.

“That’s too much for you alone. You need S.H.I.E.L.D. to shield you from the storm. Give me half, and no matter who asks—be it the Security Council or the President—they’ll only know that Asgard, to thank S.H.I.E.L.D. for guiding Thor, gifted ten carrier battle groups to the agency.”

Yang Xin hesitated. He understood the lesson of the tall tree attracting the wind. To possess such tempting power without absolute strength was like a toddler carrying gold through a bustling market.

“With these, I could dominate Earth,” Yang Xin said, pointing at the ships above.

“As your people say: open threats are easy to guard against; hidden ones are not,” Fury replied coldly.

“I could set them to self-destruct if I die,” Yang Xin said, eyes locked on Fury’s stern face. It was a fat prize and he was loath to give it up.

“Again, as your people say: some will always find a way to make you wish for death without granting it. Give me half, and S.H.I.E.L.D. will shelter you. No one will dare covet them,” Fury pressed.

After a long silence, Yang Xin realized caution was best. As Fury said, open threats can be avoided, but hidden ones are hard to guard against. The temptation was simply too great.

He spoke at last: “Can you guarantee tonight’s events won’t leak?”

“If you don’t trust me, trust this eye. Under its watch, no one here tonight will remember you. If they do, it’ll be Tony Stark they recall.” Fury pointed to his crimson Sharingan eye, then to Yang Xin’s never-removed, never-unmasked Mark V Iron Man suit.

“Damn! He’s the true master of passing the buck! If Danzo had Fury’s skills, he’d have unified the ninja world ages ago,” Yang Xin muttered.

“I’d better call Tony Stark.”

“Of course. I can only guarantee the people here tonight won’t talk. As for the tech, you’ll need Tony’s help. He’s the expert. Now, hand over command of ten carrier battle groups,” Fury urged.

After transferring command of ten groups to Fury, Yang Xin quickly stored the remaining ten in his dimensional pocket. As Fury sent out shadow clones to begin erasing the agents’ memories, Yang Xin called Tony Stark.

“Damn! I was just with a new model and hadn’t even—what? Asgardian warships? I’m on my way!”