Wolverine is still alive!

Chapter 44 Wolverine is still alive!

Outside the hotel, white sheets covered corpses, the bloodstains seeping from the body parts staining the sheets red and white.

Bloodstains covered the bluestone floor, and bits of meat that couldn't be completely cleaned attracted a swarm of greenbottle flies.

The strong smell of blood could be detected even across the street, and the horrific scene made even seasoned detectives nauseous.

"My God, what on earth happened?"

Steve Rogers lifted a white sheet, and the gruesome corpse made his pupils shrink.

Such a scene was rare even during World War II. Of the more than thirty corpses, none were intact; they were either cut in half or blasted into a pile of minced meat.

"The hotel was in disrepair, and the surveillance equipment had been out of use for a long time, so we don't know what happened."

One of the agents spoke up helplessly.

The police initially received reports from local residents, who also called the police multiple times, that a fierce fight had broken out. By the time they arrived, all that remained were corpses scattered on the ground.

Local police understood that this could not be a typical gang fight, and preliminary investigations confirmed that supernatural forces were involved.

The report was quickly relayed up the chain of command and soon alerted S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are currently investigating all the details.

"The deceased were all mercenaries, but one of them was a bit special."

Natasha walked over and scrolled through the information on the tablet in her hand, which displayed the details of the bodies. She selected one of the files: "Donald Pierce, head of a security company, currently working for Project X's laboratory."

"X-Lab?"

Steve was puzzled.

"A biological laboratory."

Natasha paused, glanced up at Steve, swallowed the words she was about to say, and changed her words to, "I don't know exactly what they do; Fury might need to look it up."

"Based on preliminary investigation, it may have been done by mutants, as many of the body parts were cut in places that were already cooked through."

Natasha looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, the smell of some of the charred bodies lingering for a long time.

"Mutants?"

This unfamiliar term once again took Steve by surprise.

Frozen for seventy years, he missed the most glorious period of mutants, and in his time, the concept of mutants had not yet become popular.

"A human being with superpowers due to a genetic mutation."

Natasha shrugged. "But they're almost extinct; it's rare to see them around now."

"Before I was frozen, I knew some humans with superpowers."

Steve nodded in understanding, squatted down, and carefully examined the corpses. After a while, he said, "It seems that the murderer was quite strong. Dozens of elite mercenaries seemed to have no chance against him."

Steve is a highly experienced combatant; he can clearly deduce the strength of his opponents simply by observing the state of their corpses at the time of death.

"Captain Rogers, Chris Lawrence has confessed."

Suddenly, a secret agent came running up.

"Finally willing to confess?"

Steve stood up with a look of surprise on his face.

In reality, the hotel massacre was just an interlude in his trip to Santa Fe; his real mission was still to acquire the Chitauri weapons.

Several days earlier, after Stark's surveillance devices issued an alert, they located the Lawrence family's logistics warehouse and found the weapons there. They immediately arrested the warehouse manager, Chris Lawrence.

However, while the arrest went smoothly, the interrogation process was fraught with obstacles.

Steve had never seen anyone withstand so many days of interrogation by S.H.I.E.L.D.

After several days, they still couldn't get any information out of him.

They still don't know the source of the weapons, or whether they have any other equipment besides this shipment.

This is understandable, though. After all, that guy is the local tyrant of Santa Fe City, used to having absolute power there. He probably believes his father, the local emperor, has the ability to get people out of S.H.I.E.L.D., so it's normal for him to be a bit stubborn based on that belief.

What he didn't know was that the Lawrence family was also facing numerous crises.

When their original partners saw that they had gotten involved with a special organization, they all turned against them, withdrawing their investment, withdrawing their shares, and causing financial disputes, keeping Mr. Lawrence extremely busy and overwhelmed, leaving him no time to bail them out.

Of course, even if he had the time, he wouldn't be able to take anyone away from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Chris's willpower had clearly collapsed completely under the continuous torment.

"This is temporarily under the jurisdiction of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Steve spoke to an agent, then quickly returned to headquarters with Natasha.

In the dimly lit interrogation room, Chris had lost his former radiance. Covered in bruises, he slumped in a chair, looking utterly dejected from days of torture, his eyes dull and lifeless, as if he had lost all hope for life.

Steve walked into the interrogation room, looked at Chris who was covered in injuries, and muttered to himself, "Testimony obtained under torture cannot be used in court."

Natasha shrugged. "Anyway, we weren't planning on going through legal proceedings."

Steve was somewhat speechless, and waved for an agent to come forward and bandage Chris's wound.

This is a key figure in this incident; he can't die.

After the bandaging was finished, Natasha slammed her hand on the table and demanded, "Tell me, where did the weapon come from? Do you have any more?"

Chris looked up weakly, his face showing signs of exhaustion. "It was obtained by the Juarez family. After I received the intelligence, I sent people to intercept the shipment. Just those two boxes. As for whether the Juarez family has any more, we'll have to ask them."

Natasha rolled her eyes, speechless. "If you'd said that earlier, none of this would have happened."

Something that could be resolved in a single sentence has been dragged on for so many days.

Chris did not respond.

In reality, he didn't want to expose the Juarez family, not because he had a good relationship with them, but because the Juarez family had channels for smuggling those weapons.

He knew that those weapons were powerful, and as long as the Juarez family was not exposed, he could still intercept goods from Juarez in the future.

But these agents' methods were simply too terrifying; if he continued to resist, he might really die on the interrogation table…

After letting out a helpless sigh, Chris struggled to ask, "Can you let me go now?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible yet."

Steve shook his head with a stern face. "You've committed far more crimes than these."

He had read Chris's file. As the local prince of Santa Fe City, this guy's behavior was notorious. Every page he turned to contained serious crimes punishable by death.

For example, in order to open a factory, they killed all the residents of the selected site; they lent money at exorbitant interest rates, driving countless families to ruin and suicide; they opened underground casinos; they engaged in organ trafficking; they trafficked women, and so on. Their crimes are too numerous to list.

"You're in trouble."

Natasha shrugged at Chris.

S.H.I.E.L.D. might ignore these so-called mob bosses, but Steve wouldn't; he has no tolerance for evil.

"Let me go, please. You should know that the Lawrence family has a very strong foundation. As long as you let me go, you can have any amount of money you want, and you can have the entire Lawrence family business."

Hearing this, Chris panicked completely and begged desperately. He didn't want to stay in this hellhole for even a day longer. The torment from those crazy people at S.H.I.E.L.D. made even death a luxury!

Steve ignored these words, but one question lingered in his mind, so he asked again, "I have another question. Among those people who intercepted the cargo at the New York docks more than ten days ago, who was that guy with steel claws?"

"Steel claws?"

Chris was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and, as if grasping at a lifeline, quickly said, "It's Wolverine, Logan Howlett, alias James!"

"impossible!"

Upon hearing the name Wolverine, Natasha immediately retorted, "He's dead!"

Since the establishment of S.H.I.E.L.D., they have been very interested in Wolverine, who was famous in the last century, but they have not been able to find him.

In these worlds, the only ones who can escape S.H.I.E.L.D. are the dead!

"It really is him!"

Chris said with absolute certainty, "There's no way I could be wrong. That guy may be a bit old, but he's definitely Wolverine!"

"Logan?"

As Steve recalled, the familiar face gradually became clear in his mind, "Seventy years have passed, and he's still alive."

"Alive, truly alive!"

Chris nodded repeatedly, then quickly added, "By the way, I know where he lives. I'll take you there!"

(End of this chapter)