#548 - Caught in an ambush

“Natasha, Barton seems to have accidentally activated something!”

Steve explained to Natasha, who was rushing over from behind, and the latter rolled her eyes.

“I saw it.” Natasha bypassed the old, weak, and disabled group and walked to the huge computer, examining it briefly before saying.

“Obviously, this is some kind of emergency program. As long as you press the pre-set button, the computer will send something like a distress signal to a certain target. Barton must have accidentally pressed that set button.”

“As long as it's not a self-destruct button.” Clint looked embarrassed, momentarily forgetting to stand still and constantly needing Steve to support him.

“Does this mean we can contact the so-called Heavenly Craftsmen through this?”

Falcon, who arrived last, asked after listening to the whole process. Hearing this, both Steve and Clint perked up a bit.

“Is it true? Natasha?” Steve asked.

“Theoretically, it's possible.” Natasha nodded, but there was a hint of worry on her face that she couldn't shake off.

“But I'm afraid that Thanos's army will intercept this signal before the Heavenly Craftsmen do.”

As soon as Natasha finished speaking, everyone else in the base stopped talking, and even the joy they had just felt disappeared from their faces. Sam even showed a hint of fear.

“Those alien bastards!” Falcon's face was full of resentment, and his right hand unconsciously touched his waist.

Steve, of course, noticed the abnormality of his comrade beside him. He put his right hand on Clint's shoulder, comforting him while saying, “In that case, we shouldn't stay here for long. If the Heavenly Craftsmen come, that's fine, but if Thanos's army comes…”

The rest of the words didn't need to be said. Everyone understood that if Thanos's army came, then this group of them would definitely die here. Those soldiers were like cockroaches hidden in the corners, impossible to kill completely, and fearless of death. Their group would definitely be piled to death by the sea of people.

Everyone felt that Steve was right, and they hurriedly picked up the supplies they were about to move. Natasha took out a square block smaller than the palm of her hand from her waist bag, tapped it a few times, and then placed the block on the console.

“This is from Shuri.” Natasha noticed Steve's gaze and explained randomly. “A small, multi-functional robot that can hide in the dark and monitor the situation here regularly, and then upload it to the computer. This way, we don't have to send someone over to check.”

“That's great.” Steve nodded. He had originally planned to come and check alone in a few days. Although they didn't have many people now, all the resources in the Heavenly Craftsmen base were what they needed, and it was worth risking danger for these things.

After solving the trivial matters, the few people stopped communicating and began to work hard to move things onto the ship. While moving, Clint suddenly stopped, making Falcon beside him curious.

“What's wrong, Mr. Clint?”

But Clint didn't answer him, but quietly made a gesture to shut him up. Although Falcon didn't understand what was happening, he did as he was told.

After a little more time, maybe a second or two, Clint made a move. His hand reached for his waist at some point, and then he threw it out in a lightning-like manner in one direction.

A dark afterimage shot towards the empty wall, and then stopped in mid-air. Only then did Falcon see clearly what Clint had thrown out. It was actually a strangely shaped dart.

“Crackling!”

The dart stopped in mid-air and then released a current. With a burst of illusion, a figure gradually solidified and appeared in front of everyone. It turned out to be a humanoid creature.

The thing had pure black skin, with gray-white patterns evenly distributed on its body. A flying knife was inserted into its smooth head, and its terrifying fangs were completely exposed because it had no lips. Its slender arms were tightly grasping the wall to keep it steady on it.

“It's an Outrider!” Falcon's pupils shrank, and the wings behind him suddenly opened, protecting himself and Clint.

Steve and Natasha also noticed the movement over there. The former took the shield behind him and hung it on his arm, while the latter pulled out her dual guns and vigilantly observed the surroundings.

Clint took out more darts from his waist. Just then, the Outrider hit by the dart also lost its life and slid weakly from the wall. The moment it landed, the dart inserted into the top of its head suddenly burst out with a more powerful current, surging in all directions.

“Holy shit!” Falcon couldn't help but utter a curse, because he saw a very terrifying scene. Where the current spread, the Outriders who were originally hidden revealed their true forms, but the number was too terrifying.

They were everywhere. These Outriders were all over the ceiling, walls, and there were one or two standing on various instruments. In short…

“We're surrounded, Captain.” Falcon's voice was a little distorted. He didn't know when these things had come. If it weren't for Clint, they might have died here without knowing it.

“I see it, Sam.” Steve tightened the straps of the shield on his arm. “This is a tough battle. I only have one order, and that is to survive, or don't let them catch anyone alive!”

“Roger!” ×3

This response seemed to be the signal to start the war. The Outriders who had been waiting for a long time rushed towards the Avengers in the center. The latter naturally couldn't sit still and launched a counterattack.

Falcon also pulled out the gun from his waist and began to strafe the surrounding Outriders. With the cooperation of the wings behind him, he cleared a safe area in a short time. The others were also veterans, and they knew that they couldn't be separated at this time without being commanded, and they all spontaneously moved slowly closer to Sam's vicinity.

Clint was originally very close to Falcon, or rather, he was under Falcon's protection, but he was obviously not a character to be protected. He grabbed a few darts in one hand, and pulled out the katana from his waist with the other.

As soon as the knife was unsheathed, the cold light shone, and the sharp blade cut through an Outrider who was attacking, cutting it in half. It was nothing more than blowing hair and breaking hair. Before he had time to think too much, Clint threw all the darts in his hand to the side.

“Thud! Thud! Thud!”

Three sounds came almost at the same time, and each flying knife was accurately inserted into the top of an Outrider soldier's head, and in a blink of an eye, three more enemies' lives were harvested.

“Whoosh!”

A red and blue afterimage hit an Outrider who broke through Falcon's defense line, and the huge force even smashed the Outrider's head in.