#131 - A city hostage

In the outskirts of Sokovia, the mountains were shattered, and the earth was scarred with ravines, all caused by the Primal Core Golem's destruction.

Among the most terrifying was the massive crater left by the nuclear energy blast, a hemispherical pit with a radius of a hundred meters. Regardless of the original terrain, it had now become a basin.

This was only because the Primal Core Golem had controlled the power of the energy blast. If it had been like the 'Little Boy' bomb, Sokovia might have been erased from the map.

However, the most frightening aspect of 'Little Boy' was its aftereffects, which the Primal Core Golem didn't need to worry about. It perfectly controlled nuclear energy, leaving no radiation.

Aliens, aren't they fascinating?

The Primal Core Golem flew over the crater and slowly descended. At the center of the bottom, Ultron's vibranium body had melted into liquid metal.

But Ultron was definitely not dead. He had probably already transferred to another body. If the vibranium body hadn't been so precious, he probably wouldn't have even bothered to run and would have abandoned it directly.

The Primal Core Golem was clearly not here to examine the corpse but to collect it. The vibranium at the bottom of the pit had begun to solidify. Picking up a puddle of vibranium from the ground, the Primal Core Golem increased the temperature of its hands and began to knead the vibranium.

Vibranium, like a certain Mr. Eat who has been humiliated too many times and kicked out of the quintet, is a well-known Marvel strength quality inspection unit.

Basically, any major event involves either tearing apart a vibranium shield or killing a Mr. Eat who prefers not to be named.

Due to its awkward endurance issues, the Primal Core Golem, while struggling to kill a Mr. Eat, could easily tear apart vibranium.

Soon, the vibranium, which had just been rough, was kneaded by the Primal Core Golem into a very smooth sphere, about half a person's height.

The Primal Core Golem looked at the vibranium sphere in its hands with satisfaction, holding it up and flying towards Steve and the others.

Steve and the others were hiding behind Diamond Warrior's barrier. The Primal Core Golem's battle was too intense, so it was better to hide to avoid being caught in it.

"Welcome back, buddy," Diamond Warrior greeted the returning Primal Core Golem.

"You helped us solve a big problem."

"Easy peasy." The Primal Core Golem put down the vibranium sphere in its hand. The heavy metal sphere sank into the thick snow upon landing.

"Let's save the small talk for later. We have a lot of things to do."

"You're right." Steve nodded. Ultron was still alive, so although he found it strange that the Four-Armed Tyrant had changed, he didn't ask much.

"We need to find Ultron now. Shapeshifter?"

"I'm already searching for him in the network," Shapeshifter said, now transformed into a giant computer case, speaking through an extended speaker.

"I can't find him. Ultron must be in his own network. Otherwise, I would be able to detect him as soon as he appeared."

Shapeshifter wasn't lying. Regardless of whether I can catch up, I can definitely find him.

"Wasn't your body built by Ultron's soldiers? Can't you enter Ultron's network?" Diamond Warrior asked, puzzled.

"Don't waste your effort." Ultron's voice came from a distance.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. A robot, though damaged, was standing not far away, watching them. Clearly, Ultron was now inside it.

"Don't worry, I'm here to negotiate," Ultron said, looking at the wary crowd.

"Negotiate? What's there to talk about with a loser?" Thor laughed in anger.

"Don't worry, I'll give you a reason," Ultron said calmly, without getting angry.

"I want you to let me go."

"Did I hear that right?" Thor pretended to be surprised.

"Didn't you just say you were going to kill us? And that you were going to destroy all of humanity? Now you're asking us to let you go? I preferred your previous attitude. Can you go back to that?"

"Thor is right," Steve echoed. "I don't think we have anything to talk about."

"Don't worry, let's look at my bargaining chip first." Ultron's eyes glowed red, making Steve feel uneasy.

"Actually, I planted a bomb in Sokovia, one that could turn the whole city upside down."

"Are you kidding me?" Steve looked at Ultron with suspicion.

"Think what you want," Ultron said ambiguously.

Steve pressed the communication device to confirm with Tony whether any nuclear bombs had been lost recently. After all, ordinary bombs can't do that.

"If you want to ask if it's a nuclear bomb, don't bother," Ultron saw through Steve's thoughts. "My bomb is made with local specialties I took from you."

"Local specialties?" Steve frowned at first, but he quickly realized what Ultron was talking about.

"The Mind Stone!?"

The latest novels are first published at Six Nine Book Bar!

"Bingo, you got it, but no prize." Ultron clapped his hands, then said regretfully.

"What a perfect source of energy. If it weren't for being cautious, I really wouldn't want to use it in this place. But it's precisely its almost infinite energy that makes it the perfect 'gunpowder'."

"Oh, right!" Ultron seemed to have thought of something.

"Why don't you ask that Sonic to see how his mission is going?"

"Pietro! Pietro!" Steve called Quicksilver's name through the communicator.

"Hoo~ I'm here, Captain, hoo~" Pietro's voice rang in the channel, sounding like he was running.

"How is the evacuation going?"

"The evacuation is still in progress. It was a bit difficult at first, but after that earth-shattering event, everyone is cooperating," Pietro said.

"How long will it take to evacuate everyone?" Steve asked anxiously.

"It will take a long time. Even with the help of the SHIELD transport planes, the evacuation speed isn't very fast. After all, there are too many people. What's wrong, Captain?"

"Pietro…" Steve frowned, saying with difficulty.

"There's a bomb under Sokovia that can blow the whole city into the sky."

"What!?" Pietro staggered to a halt, almost falling.

Pietro looked at the ground beneath his feet in shock. He couldn't help but recall when he and Wanda were next to Stark's missile as children, the feeling that their lives could disappear at any moment, surging into his heart along with his memories. Pietro couldn't breathe, as if he were drowning.

Pietro was silent for a moment, and then he started running like his life depended on it. He had only one thought in his mind, and that was to save as many people as possible.

"How is it, Captain?" Ultron looked at the silent crowd, his tone becoming gentle again, as if he had everything under control.