In the skies above Queens.
The roar of massive engines drowned out the howling of the flames.
A black Quinjet broke through the clouds, the bomb bay doors beneath its fuselage slowly sliding open.
“Target locked!
Vacuum fire-extinguishing bomb is ready!” The pilot’s voice crackled over the SHIELD communication channel.
“Drop it!” Nick Fury commanded coldly.
A missile painted with a striking yellow marker shrieked downward, precisely diving into the sea of fire that was closing in on the oil tanks.
The Burning Man seemed to sense the threat from above.
It raised its flaming head and let out an angry roar, attempting to intercept the missile with fire.
But it was too late.
BOOM!!!
The missile detonated at a low altitude of ten meters.
In that instant, it felt as if the air in the entire space was violently sucked away by an invisible, giant hand.
A visible white shockwave expanded outward.
Wherever it passed, the originally rampaging flames were snuffed out as if they had been strangled.
Even the Burning Man, situated at the core, saw the dazzling golden flames on its body rapidly dim in the suffocating vacuum.
Finally, only a charred, glowing red skeleton remained, kneeling on the ground, swaying precariously.
“Target hit!
Fire extinguished!” The pilot reported excitedly.
“Confirming target activity has ceased!” On the ground, Rumlow—who had been hiding behind cover—sighed in relief and wiped the soot from his gas mask.
“Seems like high-tech works after all.” Inside SHIELD Headquarters, Fury’s tensed nerves also relaxed slightly.
However, back at the Site Base, Levi looked at the screen and sighed softly.
“3…
2…
1…” As Levi’s countdown hit zero.
At the abandoned industrial park.
The vacuum state lasted only for a few seconds.
As the shockwave dissipated, the surrounding fresh, oxygen-rich air rushed back into the low-pressure center like a flood breaking through a dam.
The air rubbed and mixed violently against the high-temperature objects on the ground that hadn’t fully cooled.
Deep inside the chest of that charred skeleton kneeling on the ground, a piercing white light suddenly flared.
“Ugh…
AAAAAHHH!!!” An even more terrifying, even more hysterical roar pierced the sky.
RUMBLE—!!!
An explosion ten times more violent than the previous one occurred.
This wasn’t just the fire reigniting; it was a horrifying deflagration.
A massive red-and-black mushroom cloud rose into the air.
The wild atmospheric pressure wave tossed the low-flying Quinjet like a falling leaf.
The pilot exerted every ounce of effort to barely maintain control and avoid a crash.
On the ground, Rumlow and his team were sent flying by the air pressure, slamming hard against a distant wall.
“Dammit!
What is happening?!” Rumlow spat out a mouthful of blood, staring in horror at the monster as it stood back up.
At this moment, the Burning Man’s form had expanded to five meters tall!
It was no longer made of simple fire; it was wreathed in thick black smoke and high-temperature plasma.
Its arms had transformed into two massive whips of fire, frantically lashing out at everything in its surroundings.
“Pain!
It hurts more!
All of you…
must burn!” It took massive strides.
This time, without the slightest hesitation, it charged directly toward the largest oil storage tank.
The distance was less than fifty meters!
“Sir!
Mission failure!
Target is out of control!
Repeat, target is completely out of control!” Rumlow shouted in desperation.
“We can’t stop it!” At SHIELD Headquarters, Fury’s lone eye widened, his face pale.
Once that oil tank exploded, the chain reaction would destroy the entire industrial park and potentially affect residential areas over ten kilometers away.
The casualties would be in the hundreds of thousands.
“Retreat…” Fury forced the word out with difficulty.
“Have the local police evacuate the crowds.
We…
did our best.” In that moment of despair.
the low, powerful thrum of heavy engines suddenly approached from the perimeter of the fire.
SCREECH—!!!
The sound of harsh braking rang out.
Three heavy special-operations armored vehicles, devoid of any markings, resembled black steel beasts as they ruthlessly smashed through the burning debris and drove directly into that hellscape.
The roof hatch of the lead vehicle opened, and a soldier clad in black combat gear, holding a strange, heavy weapon, emerged.
“Who are they?!” Rumlow struggled to lift his head.
“They are…
the ones we saw at the hospital,” Phil Coulson suddenly said over the comms, having remained silent until now.
At the scene.
Levi sat inside the command vehicle, calmly watching the massive fire giant not far away.
“All units, attention.
Initiating Fire-Eater tactics.” “We don’t need to destroy it.
What we need to do is deprive it of its fuel and oxygen.” “Move!” At Levi’s command.
the Class C personnel on top of the first vehicle pulled the trigger.
Thwip—!
It wasn’t bullets, but a blue, viscous gel-like substance that erupted from the muzzle.
That was the [High-Efficiency Flame-Retardant Gel] exchanged for 50 Containment Points.
The moment the gel touched the air, it rapidly expanded and hardened, forming an indestructible fire-wall that precisely coated the surface of the massive oil tanks and the path the Burning Man had to take.
The Burning Man swung its fire whips, lashing them heavily against the layer of blue gel.
Sizzle— The high temperatures that were sufficient to melt steel only produced a wisp of green smoke upon contact with the gel; it didn’t even leave a mark.
“What…
what kind of material is that?!” Rumlow, watching from a distance, was dumbstruck.
But that wasn’t all.
On the second armored vehicle, Ada Wong personally operated a device that looked like a radar—the [Portable Oxygen-Stripping Field Generator].
“Field activated.
Range lock: thirty meters around the target.” Hummm— An invisible ripple instantly enveloped the Burning Man.
The originally aggressive and arrogant fire giant looked as if someone had suddenly yanked out its spine.
The flames on its body began to flicker violently and shrink.
The black smoke and high-temperature plasma dissipated rapidly.
“No…
Air…
My air…” The Burning Man let out a terrified wail.
Its size shrank from five meters back down to two meters before the eyes of everyone present, and it continued to diminish.
Without fuel, without oxygen.
Even an avatar of destruction could only rage impotently within the cage of science.
“This is the difference.” Levi stepped down from the armored vehicle, still in his black trench coat and sunglasses.
Against the backdrop of the sky full of fire, he looked entirely out of place yet exerted an overwhelming presence.
He walked up to the stunned Rumlow, looking down at SHIELD’s ace agent.
“Tell your Director that some things cannot be solved with missiles.” “Next time you encounter a situation like this, remember to call the professionals.” Having said that, Levi turned to look at the Burning Man, which had already been suppressed into a small ball of fire, his lips curling upward slightly.
“Containment, begin.”