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However, upon closer thought, this was quite normal; after all, over a dozen cities, including Washington D.C., were almost entirely devastated in this disaster.
President Ellis's order, made for the consideration of rapid post-war reconstruction, was indeed understandable.
Who wouldn't want to seize the opportunity to profit?
Although Nick Fury was very dissatisfied with President Ellis's barbaric method of 'forcible seizure,' it was useless!
Let alone him, a mere Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., even his direct superior, Security Council Minister Alexander Pierce, had no face in front of President Ellis.
Therefore, the plan to build a 'Mechanical Behemoth Army,' which Nick Fury had just regarded as the 'best strategy,' had to undergo certain necessary adjustments.
Because with the increased cost of acquiring those Titan corpses, if they wanted to maintain the scale envisioned before, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funds would inevitably face a huge shortfall.
And after a series of previous financial cuts, neither S.H.I.E.L.D. nor Nick Fury's private coffers could afford this astronomical sum.
So, either Nick Fury had to actively reduce the number of the 'Mechanical Behemoth Army,' or he had to quickly find one or more rich and foolish benefactors for external investment...
However, just as Nick Fury was considering whether to call Alexander Pierce first to see if he could apply for a special fund to purchase some Titan corpses, Maria Hill's next words directly broke him again.
"Ahem, well... Director, the funds from the Titan corpse auction aren't for post-war reconstruction; they're for Ka... ahem, I mean, at the request of the Hyperspace Group, those Titan corpses are being publicly auctioned as their private property!"
Bang—!!!
Nick Fury suddenly stood up, all his beautiful fantasies shattered, his dark jaw trembling uncontrollably from extreme anger, and after a moment, he finally shrieked the name of the man he regarded as his archenemy.
"Karl Merks... I'm not done with you!!!"
...
In a warehouse at a certain dock near Mara Island.
"My friend, I've never felt the World so beautiful as I do now!"
A fisherman wearing a faded T-shirt and a dark green soft leather waterproof apron around his waist led Allen Jonah deeper into the cold storage, muttering complaints:
"I saw on the news that those Titan corpses will be publicly auctioned in a few days, and I'm sure this kind of thing will become an extremely rare resource in the future..."
"But you don't have to worry at all, I'm not a greedy person, and my demands aren't many. It's just that due to the influence of that damned Oxygen Destroyer, the sea area my subordinates and I rely on for survival can no longer be fished, because all the marine life has died..."
"So as long as you can pay enough for us to move and start a new life, this thing is yours!"
As he spoke, the fisherman stopped in front of a pitch-black cold storage, raised his hand and pulled down the circuit breaker on one side, and the lights inside the cold storage immediately lit up.
Immediately, a dragon head as massive as a small mountain was displayed before Allen Jonah and the others.
It was precisely the head that Ghidorah had lost when Godzilla bit it off underwater during their second battle.
After these fishermen saw the news on TV that the Titan corpses were going to be publicly auctioned, they immediately realized that this was an excellent opportunity to turn their lives around.
So they spontaneously banded together and salvaged this head of Ghidorah, hoping to exchange it for the capital to start a new life!
However, because the news stated that the ownership of all Titan corpses belonged to the Hyperspace Group, the fishermen could not publicly auction this dragon head.
They could only privately find interested buyers through connections.
And Allen Jonah rushed over immediately after receiving the news; no one understood the value of this dragon head better than him, so he said without hesitation:
"Deal, this... we'll take it!!!"
.....
...
London.
"Viewers, as you have just seen, this unprecedented Titan Cataclysm, which swept across over a dozen countries and cities worldwide, has finally officially concluded with the fall of the last Titan."
"A well-known economist has made a rough estimate, and the direct economic losses caused by this disaster will be as high as over 3 trillion, while the global death toll due to Titans is at least around 700,000. The number of injured is too numerous to be precisely counted yet, but it is estimated to be at least over 3 million..."
"In addition, according to information just obtained by our reporter from The Daily Bugle, the cause of this incident has been confirmed to be related to Dr. Emma Russell, a former high-ranking member of the Monarch Organization..."
"The United Nations called for an emergency meeting of World nations a few hours ago to jointly discuss post-disaster reconstruction issues, as well as risk assessment issues brought about by the increasing number of Titans held by Sokovia and the Hyperspace Group..."
Inside an apartment, a girl with short golden hair, whose figure looked no different from a child in her teens, pointed at the news being broadcast on TV and excitedly said to a woman beside her, who looked to be in her thirties, had long brown curly hair, and an Asian face:
"Wow, Sersi, did you see that? The human who can control King Kong is so handsome."
"But speaking of it, these Titans from the Inner Earth seem to have great similarities in some abilities with the Deviants we eliminated before. Do you think... they might be new mutated forms evolved from the Deviants?"
The woman called Sersi smiled and shook her head, "Sprite, don't worry, these Titans are just some primitive Earth species that underwent specific mutations due to the energy radiation overflowing from the Inner Earth Cradle. They are not mutated forms of the Deviants..."
"But speaking of it, the original purpose for which the Deviants were first placed on Earth by the God was to deal with these apex predators!"
"What?" Sprite immediately became interested, cupping her chin with both hands, and asked curiously, "Quick, tell me what happened? Why have I never heard this story before?"
"This is not a story, you know."
Sersi pursed her lips and smiled, then slowly recounted, "Actually, long before Arishem the Judge sent us Eternal to Earth, the first to be dispatched were the Deviants... Their mission was to use violence to eliminate those apex predators that underwent abnormal changes due to the energy overflowing from the Inner Earth Cradle, thereby ensuring the normal development of intelligent life on Earth... which is humanity. And among those apex predators, naturally, these Titans were included!"
"However, during this long process, while eliminating those apex predators, the Deviants gradually developed their own thoughts through devouring evolution.
They betrayed the God, betrayed their mission, and began to hunt and attempt to eliminate weak humans. So Arishem the Judge sent us Eternal over seven thousand years ago to stop their actions and protect humanity from these Deviants."
"So that's how it is?"
Sprite showed a look of sudden realization, but then asked somewhat confusedly, "But we already killed all the Deviants five centuries ago, so why hasn't Arishem the Judge allowed us to return to Olympia yet?"
Sersi shook her head helplessly at the remark, "We can only go back if Arishem the Judge notifies us... But I'm afraid even Leader Ajak doesn't know when that day will come."
"Alright."
Sprite said with a bitter face, "I'm really tired of being treated like a child by those foolish humans... But it looks like my wish to 'become' an adult probably won't come true for a long time... I truly look forward to the day our mission is completed arriving soon."
"But Sersi, do you know what's inside the Inner Earth Cradle? Also, why did Arishem the Judge require us to protect humans from Deviant attacks? Is there anything different about humans compared to other races?"
Sersi smiled and spread her hands, "I don't know that. Perhaps only Leader Ajak knows?"
"Alright." Sprite suddenly looked at Sersi with a mischievous smile and said, "By the way, you've been getting very close to that history Professor Whitman recently, haven't you two... already gone to a hotel?"
"Ahem..."
Sersi's face immediately showed a hint of panic, and she said, both shy and angry, "No, I haven't, we haven't reached that stage yet!"
"Tsk, I don't believe you." Sprite pouted, but then asked somewhat curiously, "What does love feel like?"
"Why ask that?" Sersi giggled evasively, "You're still young, these aren't things you should know."
Sprite puffed out her chest angrily, but finding it still as flat as an airport runway, she immediately shouted, somewhat deflated:
"Hmph, don't give me that. My mental age is clearly over seven thousand years old, how am I young?"
"But I advise you to tell that man the truth as soon as possible. After all, human life is limited and cannot be as long as ours, so... you absolutely don't have to consider me, just move out and live with him!"
Sersi said somewhat awkwardly, "Ahem... I'll think about that, but Sprite, don't you think that disasters on Earth seem to have become more frequent recently? I feel this shouldn't be a simple coincidence!"
Sprite apparently also sensed something abnormal and tilted her head, asking, "Then should we go find Leader Ajak now to report this situation?"
"This..."
Sersi looked at Karl's fleeting figure in the news and said thoughtfully, "Let's wait a bit. I want to observe for a while longer to see if I can find any other evidence."
.....
...
As night fell, after successfully establishing contracts with Mothra and Muto Queen, who had newly joined the Titan Security Team, Karl temporarily sent all four Titans, including King Kong and Godzilla, to Celestial Dimension One.
After all, Sokovia's land area is limited, and if King Kong wanted to lead the Security Team for drills on a normal day, there simply wouldn't be enough space to fully maneuver.
Although the area of Celestial Dimension One is not too large, its population density is far lower than Sokovia's, and coupled with the vast desert outside Sun City, it is simply the best place for the Titan Security Team's daily training.
However, Karl naturally could not let the Titan Security Team be stationed in Celestial Dimension One for a long time, because he had already prepared to take the Security Team directly to the Inner Earth after obtaining the Space Stone.
That is their true home, a true Titan paradise!
As long as King Kong and the others ruled there, Karl would effectively have a powerful Titan Legion at his disposal in the future!
After dealing with all the miscellaneous tasks at hand, Karl finally ended his busy day and returned to his room, escorted by two First Generation Thunder Warriors.
Lying on the soft, large bed, Karl finally had time to start inventorying the rich gains the Titan Cataclysm had brought him.
Undoubtedly, this time's harvest far exceeded any previous one!
First, regarding the souls of ordinary humans, a total of over 800,000 souls were harvested this time!
This was still because Ghidorah and the other Titans were quickly eliminated by King Kong; otherwise, this number could very well have risen to over a million.
But even so, the number of souls harvested this time was more than double the total Karl had harvested in the entire previous year!
In addition to the vast number of ordinary souls, there were also the souls of a total of 11 Titans, including Ghidorah.
For Karl and the Warp, these special creature souls, comparable to Shou Lao and Amit, were the real main event!
After certain modifications, these Titans would certainly shine in the upcoming Dimensional War, fighting for Karl across the heavens and becoming the nightmare of those who self-proclaimed themselves as Gods!
Besides that, the most pleasing gain for Karl was naturally the addition of three Titans, including Godzilla!
This undoubtedly further enhanced the Hyperspace Group's ostensible strength, and in the next phase of the plan, these Titans could also be used to explore and conquer the entire Inner Earth.
Not to mention the countless Titan resources there, just those clean and efficient Inner Earth energy crystals alone would bring Karl immeasurable, sky-high profits...
In addition, Karl also gained nearly 140 million in massive Prestige value!