"Bang!"
A muffled gunshot rang out. The completely unprepared Ulysses Klaue was hit directly in the back, collapsing to the ground. The vibranium weapon in his hand flew from his grasp, landing nearby.
Watching the motionless Ulysses Klaue lying on the ground, Erik Killmonger didn't relax his guard one bit. He knew Ulysses Klaue very well. With his cunning, he might very well be playing dead, preparing to counterattack.
Almost the instant he fell, Erik continued pulling the trigger. Two more shots rang out. This time, Ulysses Klaue seemed completely dead, his body lying limply on the ground. Blood red as wine slowly seeped from the bullet holes, spreading across his back, quickly staining a large area crimson.
Erik approached Ulysses Klaue cautiously, gun held in both hands. If he made any movement, Erik could quickly fire, giving him no chance to retaliate.
The facts proved Erik's caution wasn't misplaced.
Ulysses Klaue truly deserved to be the villain who'd stolen vibranium from Wakanda and escaped with his life. Three shots to the back hadn't directly killed him.
He'd actually been playing dead all along, preparing to seize an opportunity to strike back.
The moment Erik approached and stopped beside him, Ulysses Klaue—lying on the ground like a corpse—suddenly flipped over, a handgun somehow already gripped in his hand.
Unfortunately, not only had he already taken three shots and was at his limit, Erik Killmonger had been carefully guarding against him. How could he possibly succeed with a sneak attack?
The instant Ulysses Klaue's body suddenly moved, Erik's gun quickly fired.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Ulysses Klaue's body had just turned over. Before he could raise his gun to aim, his ribs and chest were hit several more times. Already at his limit, holding on by his last breath, Ulysses Klaue instantly lost all strength. The gun in his hand drooped powerlessly.
But his gaze at Erik Killmonger remained fierce and ruthless.
"You want it all for yourself?!"
Ulysses Klaue looked at Erik through gritted teeth, asking. He thought Erik had struck at him for the priceless vibranium in his possession.
Erik Killmonger held the gun pointed at him, gently shaking his head.
"I want you dead!"
After speaking, Erik said nothing more, directly pulling the trigger. The bullet entered Ulysses Klaue's chest, shooting straight through his heart. His fierce gaze immediately dimmed completely.
Kicking away Ulysses Klaue's handgun that had fallen beside him, Erik crouched down to confirm he was truly dead before standing up.
A notorious villain, internationally known vibranium and arms dealer, Ulysses Klaue who'd caused tremendous destruction and casualties in Wakanda years ago and successfully evaded the Wakandan kingdom's guardian Black Panther's pursuit for decades, ultimately died at the hands of the nephew abandoned by Black Panther.
Having eliminated Ulysses Klaue, Erik stood up and turned to look in the direction they'd come from. Two black SUVs identical to the one he'd driven earlier were speeding toward him.
Those were Ulysses Klaue's subordinates. After receiving the mission, Erik had imperceptibly accelerated to shake off the two vehicles, arriving at their base first. Not until he'd eliminated Ulysses Klaue did the two vehicles finally catch up.
Erik Killmonger watched the two vehicles rapidly approaching, cold light flashing in his eyes.
Holstering his gun at his waist, Erik's face full of cold determination walked to the car's rear, opened the trunk, and pulled out an automatic rifle with a scope, a grenade launcher mounted below the barrel.
Erik Killmonger gripped the rifle, pulled the bolt with a sharp "click," his thick, powerful arms holding the rifle steady before him. The stock pressed firmly against his broad, solid shoulder, the barrel slowly moving, firmly locking onto the two approaching SUVs.
In the front SUV, one of Ulysses Klaue's subordinates driving looked at their temporary refuge ahead, the parked vehicle before the warehouse. While pressing the gas pedal forward, he complained.
"Damn Erik Killmonger! Leaving us so far behind! He definitely did it on purpose!"
His companion in the passenger seat heard the complaint and laughed.
"Hey! Keep your voice down. If Killmonger hears you, watch out for your life!"
"Uh..."
The driving subordinate's expression changed slightly. Thinking of Erik Killmonger's ferocity and ruthlessness, compared to the killing-machine "Killmonger," these subordinates following Ulysses Klaue in smuggling arms could only be considered small fry.
But unwilling to lose face before his companion, he stubbornly said.
"With the boss around, he wouldn't dare mess around!"
The companion beside him was about to continue teasing when he suddenly noticed something seemed wrong. Eyes widening, he looked carefully into the distance, then urgently shouted at his driving companion.
"Something's wrong! Look—is that a person lying on the ground by that car?"
Hearing this, the driver also looked over, discovering there was indeed someone lying on the ground. Judging by the person's clothes, it seemed to be their boss, Ulysses Klaue!
"It's the boss!"
"Damn it! Killmonger betrayed the boss!"
The two quickly notified their companions in the vehicle behind via walkie-talkie of what they'd discovered. Both vehicles simultaneously accelerated, charging toward Erik Killmonger.
Just as they noticed something wrong and began accelerating, in their view, Erik Killmonger opened the car's trunk, pulled out an automatic rifle, turned and pointed it at them.
"Watch out! He's going to shoot!"
"That bastard!"
"Prepare to return fire, take out this traitor!"
Before they could react, Erik Killmonger aimed and quickly pulled the trigger. But what they received wasn't bullets—it was a rifle grenade.
The frontmost SUV was instantly hit by the grenade. The explosion's force directly sent the vehicle tumbling forward, blazing flames bursting from the shattered windows. The entire vehicle became a massive fireball, all of Ulysses Klaue's subordinates inside perishing within.
The SUV behind immediately slammed on the brakes. The four of Ulysses Klaue's subordinates in the vehicle quickly rushed out, taking cover behind the vehicle, pulling out weapons and returning fire at Erik Killmonger.
After taking out one vehicle with a single grenade, Erik didn't take cover. He remained standing in place, quickly aiming at the several people emerging from the vehicle through the rifle scope, pulling the trigger.
At this distance of over a hundred meters, the four of Ulysses Klaue's subordinates behind the vehicle fired wildly in panic, all their bullets landing far from Erik Killmonger, posing no threat to him whatsoever.
Even the occasional bullet that passed near him didn't affect him in the slightest. His hands gripping the rifle remained steady as rock, the cold, severe expression on his face unchanging. But his bullets quickly claimed the lives on the other side, one by one.
The battle ended quickly. Before even finishing a magazine, all four on the other side had been eliminated by Erik Killmonger.
Casually tossing the rifle to the ground, Erik returned to Ulysses Klaue's corpse, picked up the fallen vibranium weapon, then dragged the body back to the vehicle.
Throwing Ulysses Klaue's corpse into the trunk, Erik started the car, turned around, and followed the map appearing on his phone.
Several dozen minutes later, when local police—who'd tracked them through surveillance and followed their trail—arrived, they only found two severely damaged SUVs and several corpses lying in pools of blood. As for the several people in the first vehicle, they'd long been burned to ash.
While these tardy police began searching the gunfight scene, Erik Killmonger had already driven into an even more desolate, uninhabited mountain region.
Rounding a mountain base, Erik turned into a small valley surrounded by several hills.
A sleek black aircraft with a sci-fi design lay quietly crouched in the valley's center, waiting for his arrival.
Looking at this advanced aircraft that clearly surpassed this era, Erik Killmonger's eyes flashed with excitement. He knew where this aircraft would take him. This meant his trial was complete. He'd gained qualification to enter Hydra headquarters, the Zero Top-Secret Base.
There, he'd officially become an internal Hydra member. For external Hydra preparatory members cultivated from childhood like him, this held extraordinary significance, like a pilgrimage.
With an excited heart, Erik Killmonger exited the SUV, shouldered Ulysses Klaue's corpse from the trunk, and strode toward the aircraft ahead.
As he approached, a section at the rear belly of the aircraft opened downward, forming a ramp. Erik, carrying Ulysses Klaue's corpse, stepped onto the ramp and walked into the aircraft interior.
After Erik Killmonger completely entered the aircraft, the ramp behind him slowly retracted and closed.
Then the energy engine beneath the aircraft activated. Intense blue flames sprayed from the engine. The aircraft slowly lifted from the ground, then suddenly accelerated under the rear engine's propulsion, speeding rapidly into the distance, soon disappearing into the sky.
...
Northwestern Norway, deep in the Scandinavian Mountains.
A sleek black aircraft with astonishing speed, brilliant blue flames spraying from its tail, flew rapidly through the deep fjords, charging toward a tall peak covered in ice and snow.
As the aircraft approached, a passage suddenly split open in the mountainside. The black aircraft dove through the passage and disappeared. The split mountainside then slowly closed, returning to its original state.