Chapter 53: The Mysterious Slumber Incident in Queens

"I need an explanation!" Fury's face darkened with anger.

He and his agents had been rendered unconscious without even realizing it. If word got out, the embarrassment for S.H.I.E.L.D. would be minor compared to what concerned him more: whether Luke had done something. He couldn't fathom why, when negotiations had been progressing smoothly, Luke would pull such a stunt.

What on earth was this kid trying to do?

Everyone else waited warily for the confrontation between Fury and Luke, each sensing a lapse in their memory.

Black Widow and the others couldn't comprehend Luke's motives either. This was borderline provocation.

Black Widow was particularly puzzled. Based on her observations over the past ten days, this didn't match Luke's usual behavior. He might be audacious, but every action he'd taken revealed clear intent and purpose.

She couldn't see how such an incident would benefit him.

"What are you talking about?" Luke replied with a look of genuine confusion. "I have no idea what just happened. I fell asleep myself. Isn't this something S.H.I.E.L.D. did?"

A hint of displeasure crossed Luke's face as he added, "You weren't trying to knock me out and abduct me, were you?"

Fury frowned, suspicion in his voice, "This wasn't your doing?"

"Of course not!"

Luke denied it with righteous indignation. "Why would I do this? How does knocking you out help me?"

He would never admit anything!

Unable to expose Lotus, he simply played dumb, claiming he'd been affected as well.

Fury stared at Luke for a long moment, unable to detect any hint of deceit.

Was it truly not him?

Fury wavered.

Just then, Black Widow pressed her earpiece and listened intently, her expression shifting to one of astonishment.

She turned to Fury, surprised.

"What happened?" Fury asked.

Black Widow replied gravely, "Agent Hill has just reported—moments ago, one fifth of New York's population fell unconscious at the same time. The timing matches exactly when we blacked out."

Fury's single eye widened. "What did you say? It wasn't just us? You're saying one fifth of New York fell unconscious?"

"Yes. Agent Hill says it's mainly in Queens. The cause is unknown," Black Widow answered.

Hearing this, Luke's jaw dropped in shock. Lotus...

Fury, stunned, immediately realized the gravity of the situation.

New York had ten million residents; that meant two million people had lost consciousness simultaneously!

What on earth had happened?

Fury no longer suspected Luke—it was impossible for Luke to pull off something of this scale.

His mind raced through possible explanations.

The two most likely were: terrorist attack, or a superpowered individual.

"Any word from the mutants?" Fury asked, unusually grave.

"No news yet," Black Widow shook her head.

Fury pondered grimly.

He planned to consult Professor Charles for answers. Such powerful psychic control could only be accomplished by the most elite mutants. Perhaps Charles himself was involved.

Poor Professor X, unsuspectingly caught in the crossfire while resting at home in his wheelchair.

But this had nothing to do with the mutants!

With such a massive incident unfolding, Fury had no patience left for further bargaining with Luke.

They finalized the deal: fifty kilograms of adamantium would be delivered within a week.

Fury's demand was that, in the future, he could call upon Luke to assist S.H.I.E.L.D. in three missions. Luke retained the right to refuse.

However, refusing more than once would end any further cooperation.

If the partnership proved fruitful, more adamantium would be supplied to Luke.

The message was clear: Fury was hiring Luke.

This was the outcome Luke had fought for.

When Fury subtly suggested he consider joining S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke responded with equal subtlety, saying he’d think about it.

But when the offer of employment was laid out, Luke agreed without hesitation.

To Fury, Luke’s attitude reflected youthful rebellion and resistance to authority—much like the unruly Tony Stark.

Fortunately, Luke was open to paid work, in stark contrast to Tony, who was wealthy beyond measure.

Tony was utterly impossible to persuade, much to Fury’s frustration.

Not even adamantium could sway Tony; he had his own channels.

Although Luke hadn’t been directly recruited, Fury felt satisfied—it was a promising beginning.

"By the way, in the fifty kilograms, don’t mix in too much secondary adamantium. Or I’ll lose my temper," Luke warned.

Only pure adamantium was truly indestructible.

Secondary adamantium, developed as a more affordable synthetic formula, compromised the metal’s strength for the sake of mass production.

Even the inferior version far surpassed titanium in density.

Secondary adamantium could withstand most attacks, but extreme force could still bend or destroy it.

It was secondary adamantium that Hulk and Thor had destroyed—not the real thing.

Fury, about to leave, nearly stumbled.

How did this kid know even that? Where did he get all this information?

Fury felt a pang of distress.

After watching the S.H.I.E.L.D. team depart in their vehicles, Luke immediately returned to the warehouse.

"Christina, I want the latest news."

Seeing the updates his assistant handed him, Luke was fully convinced.

Lotus... you really stir things up.

Outside, the world was in chaos.

The bizarre incident, where nearly all of Queens suddenly fainted, was spreading like wildfire online.

The media dubbed it "The Queens Mysterious Slumber."

An estimated two million people lost consciousness for four minutes.

This resulted in tens of thousands of traffic accidents and a flood of other incidents within that brief window. Hospitals around New York immediately filled to capacity.

Shaken citizens marched to City Hall to protest, demanding answers.

Countless reporters descended—local and out-of-town media rushed to cover the strange event.

New York’s police were overwhelmed. The government remained silent. Public hospitals overflowed.

Preliminary statistics showed that, in the four-minute blackout, traffic accidents alone caused injuries to one hundred thousand people, with exact figures still being tallied.

The economic losses were incalculable.

What had caused this mass sleep?

Speculation ran wild.

Conspiracy theories claimed the U.S. military was testing a new weapon.

Others suspected aliens—abducting humans en masse by rendering the local population unconscious.

One African-American woman confidently told reporters her cousin’s second aunt’s third uncle had already been taken by aliens.

A group of hackers released a statement, blaming mutants.

They asserted the U.S. government had always dealt with mutants, hiding greater truths from the public.

These hackers claimed their organization was dedicated to exposing the truth and protesting government deception.

They called themselves the Rising Tide.