American comic book: An aging Wolverine, doing whatever he wants.

Chapter 130 Rescue from the Fire, Scarlet Witch

The nights in the Middle East are chilly, with cold winds blowing and carrying some dust.

On a relatively bustling street, people are enjoying this rare moment of peace and quiet.

Suddenly, a dark figure darted out from the crowd, violently shoving aside passersby who were chatting, and knocking over many roadside stalls, scattering the fruits and vegetables all over the ground.

"Hey!"

The stall owner stood up, about to chase after the shadowy figure to demand compensation, when a series of powerful voices came from behind him.

"Stop!"

"If you don't stop, we're going to open fire!"

The patrol officers followed closely behind the shadowy figure, pistols in hand. Due to the long chase, the officers were all red-faced and out of breath.

Pedestrians stopped and stared in astonishment at the chase, but no one dared to step forward to help the police stop the man in black.

boom!

The patrolman raised his gun into the air and fired a warning shot, startling the pedestrians around him, who quickly crouched down.

In the Middle East, almost everyone experiences an instinctive panic when faced with gunfire, even if they know the gun isn't pointed at them.

But the figure shrouded in a black robe, his face completely obscured by a hood, was clearly an exception. He seemed unfazed by the bullets in the gun, weaving nimbly through the crowd with extraordinary speed, leaving the patrol officers far behind.

The patrol officers had no choice but to give chase again. After all, this was a busy area, surrounded by civilians. They couldn't possibly shoot at the suspect in such a place; otherwise, it might not be the suspect who fell, but an ordinary citizen.

They followed the man in black robes relentlessly, shouting useless cries of "Stop!"

After a chase, the man in black robes ran out of the bustling city streets and into a less populated area. On the vast street, there were only a few figures chatting together in the distance.

The patrol officers behind them had a good opportunity and were about to raise their guns and fire.

However, just as they were about to pull the trigger, the man in black suddenly dodged to the left and darted into a dark alley.

"Damn it, hurry and chase him! We can't let that guy get away!"

The patrolman put down his gun, cursed, and quickly gave chase again.

As soon as they entered the alley, the patrol officers couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The man in the black robe stood silently with his back to them in the alley, at the end of which was a high wall.

Seeing that the black-robed man had nowhere to go, the patrolmen were finally able to stop and gasp for breath.

"Hand over the antiques, or don't blame us for shooting!"

As he caught his breath, a patrolman raised his pistol, the dark muzzle pointed at the man in the black robe.

The man in black robes sighed slowly and turned around.

The loose black robe almost completely concealed him, making it impossible to see his face.

"If you want it, come and take it yourself."

A hoarse voice came from beneath the black robe. He slowly raised a withered hand, holding an exquisitely crafted yellowish-brown box.

"Put your things down and put your hands behind your head!"

The patrolman stared intently at the box and roared.

But the man in black robes remained unmoved, his eyes beneath the robes staring at them with a mocking gaze.

"Damn it, fire!"

The patrol officers were furious at the black-robed man's indifferent attitude, but no one dared to actually step forward and take the item back. No one knew whether paying the money would make them a hostage of the black-robed man.

However, just as their fingers were on the trigger to fire, they suddenly found that they couldn't pull the trigger no matter what they did.

Just when the patrol officers thought they had forgotten to open their insurance policy...

hum!

Several pistols suddenly emitted a series of buzzing sounds, and then began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

The patrol officers stared wide-eyed at the scene, gripping their pistols tightly to prevent them from slipping from their hands.

But a powerful force emanated from the pistol.

Hu Chi.

click!

The pistol broke free from their grasp, slowly hovering in mid-air, its muzzle turned, aimed at the trembling police officers.

Looking at the pistol floating in mid-air, staring at the dark muzzle, all the patrol officers' faces were filled with terror.

"The devil... they're right, the man in the black robe is the devil!"

The police officers trembled, staring intently at the man in black robes, almost waking up in fear. They turned and ran out of the alley in a panic, disappearing in the blink of an eye, shouting things like "Devil...help!"

"Cough cough cough."

Seeing the patrolmen flee in disarray, the man in the black robe finally couldn't help but cough violently, his hands forced to loosen and tightly clench his mouth.

Click!

All the hovering pistols landed and lay scattered haphazardly on the ground.

The man in black robes seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He staggered back two steps and leaned against the wall of the alley, gasping for breath and coughing violently as if he were about to cough up his lungs.

After calming down for a while, the man in black glanced warily outside the alley, clutched the stolen antiques tightly to his body, and quickly leaped over the high wall of the alley, disappearing into the night.

...

...

...

Akree

Inside a hotel of fairly good standard.

Logan and the others gathered in a hotel room, where Melanie was explaining the plan for the rescue mission to everyone.

"I've found out that Hydra is lurking in Akre, but unfortunately, I don't know the exact location of their base."

Melanie sat on the sofa and told everyone what she knew, but this information was obviously not very helpful. After all, although Akre was not a big city, it would be very difficult for just a few of them to find a base.

Sitting on the other sofa, Lorna frowned. "You don't mean for us to go and find out where Hydra is, do you? Those guys are hard to find, and the few of us aren't enough."

Finding a base in an entire city, especially a Hydra base, would be like finding a needle in a haystack; it could take months.

Logan and the others nodded in agreement, indicating that Lorna was right.

None of them have any reconnaissance skills. They might be good at fighting, but finding people is out of the question.

Melanie smiled and shook her head. "You don't need to worry about that. I know a Hydra guy named Loyt. I have his picture. As long as we find him, we can find Hydra's branch stationed in Akre City. And that guy often wanders around the nearby West City. It won't be difficult to locate him."

Hearing this, Logan nodded in relief. As long as there were clues, things would be easier.

Melanie continued, "I will take responsibility for this. I will let you know once I find him. In the meantime, we will probably have to stay here for a while."

Logan had no objection to this.

The professor and his team have now settled in. During last night's call, the professor also mentioned that the shelter is getting back on track. While building the shelter, the members are also trying to earn money to support it. He is even looking for a good location to resume teaching.

For the time being, Logan doesn't need to worry about the shelter.

As for Hank, he has his three sons protecting him, so he shouldn't be in any danger.

So it wouldn't be a problem for Logan to stay in the Middle East for a while.

"Since we don't have any plans for the time being, I suggest we go out for a walk first."

Logan looked at Melanie and said, "We're all a bit unfamiliar with this area. Let's go out for a walk to familiarize ourselves with the terrain, so that if anything unexpected happens, it won't be difficult to evacuate."

He did this mainly for Clarice's sake, since Clarice's skill is teleportation, and being familiar with the surrounding terrain would allow her to better utilize her abilities.

Otherwise, if something really happens later and she needs to teleport them, it would be terrible if she accidentally teleported them to a dead end in a panic.

Melanie had no objection to this, "Okay, but be careful in everything you do, and it's best not to let anyone recognize you."

While people in the Middle East are unlikely to know Wolverine, those within Hydra might.

Moreover, because of Logan, Hydra lost a base in Canada, a fact that may have already spread within Hydra. Perhaps the list and photos of the key members at McCain's Farm have already circulated among Hydra members.

If Hydra discovers that Logan and his team are in the Middle East, it will have a very negative impact on this mission.

"Don't worry, we'll be careful."

Logan smiled and was about to stand up to take Lorna and the others for a walk.

"etc."

Melanie spoke again, taking out her phone as she said, "I'll send you Loyt's picture; keep an eye out for him when you're out."

As she spoke, the cell phones in Logan's and the other three's pockets all vibrated.

Logan took out his phone, glanced at the photos Melanie had sent, nodded, and then left the hotel with Lorna and the other two without saying anything more.

Outside, the sun was blazing. As soon as I stepped out of the hotel, a wave of heat hit me, accompanied by gusts of sand in the hot wind.

That's how it is in the Middle East. Daytime is like midsummer, and nighttime is like winter. Everywhere is yellow sand and desert, and the living environment is extremely harsh.

There were many people setting up stalls on both sides of the street. Apart from local fruits and vegetables, most of the stalls sold handicrafts. There were no relatively expensive items, and even butcher shops were rare. It is evident that the quality of life for the people here is not very good. In fact, this can be seen from the houses on both sides of the street.

Most of the houses were old and simply decorated. Some windows didn't even have glass; they were just boarded up. Some walls still had bullet holes and shrapnel marks. Some houses in the corners had long been bombarded into ruins, but they looked like they had happened a long time ago.

Cars and motorcycles occasionally drive by on the road. Most of these vehicles are very old, and some even have bullet holes.

Many people dressed in white robes wandered the streets. Every now and then, a curse would be heard from one street, followed by a chase scene. The person in front would clutch the stolen wallet tightly, while the person behind would shout and chase after them, while the people around would ignore them.

This is Akre, a city with a soaring crime rate, especially after the war, when law enforcement became even more chaotic. The police department was only recently established, and the so-called police officers were actually soldiers left over from the war.

Some militiamen, who didn't even have proper military uniforms, roamed the streets carrying AKs. Under the guise of maintaining order, they would occasionally steal a few pieces of fruit from some vendors' stalls and eat them heartily. They would turn a blind eye to theft or robbery, instead watching the spectacle with an air of schadenfreude. The people were angry but dared not speak out.

Logan and his group clearly didn't care about the situation and walked indifferently down the street. Most of the locals were very curious about them, since foreign faces were rarely seen in a place where war had just ended.

Some children buying cigarettes or vendors selling candy mustered up their courage and came up, each with an open box hanging around their neck, indicating that Logan and his friends could buy something.

Logan chased away most of the children, but he patronized a little newspaper vendor on his own initiative, wanting to learn more about the local situation through the newspaper.

Fortunately, the newspapers here even have an English version, which is probably specifically prepared for some of the mercenaries stationed here, since the war here has just ended and some foreign mercenaries have not yet left.

The newspaper didn't contain anything of interest to Logan; a large portion of it focused on the government's plans to rebuild the city, the responses of some politicians to the citizens, and the situation of the war in the surrounding countries.

Just as Logan was losing interest, a news item in the corner of the newspaper piqued his interest.

The news report mentioned that a museum unaffected by the war was thefted, but according to the police, the theft was not committed by humans, but by the devil himself, who could not only fly but also retrieve objects from a distance.

Logan couldn't help but laugh as he read the obviously exaggerated report. "Satan actually gets interested in human antiques and even sent a devil to steal them?"

Upon hearing this, Lorna leaned closer to the newspaper and glanced at the report. She shook her head and said, "It could be a superhuman or a mutant. People here probably mistake mutant abilities for the devil's magic."

Marcus also came over, glanced at it, and suddenly smiled at Lorna, saying, "This looks exactly like something you made."

Lorna can also fly and retrieve objects remotely. By controlling the metal plate to step on the ground, she can briefly stay in the air and move. Retrieving objects remotely is even simpler; as long as the item has metal parts attached, she can control it.

Lorna rolled her eyes at him.

Clarice, however, naively said, "Impossible. If it were Lorna who did it, the reports would call her an angel, not a devil."

These words made Lorna smile and affectionately pat the girl's head.

Logan couldn't help but chuckle, putting away the newspaper and remarking, "Looks like there are quite a few mutants or superhumans in the Middle East too."

This reminded him of the guys he had met in the Middle East last time.

Those masked guys were clearly an organization, and quite powerful; they were very difficult to deal with.

But thinking about it, it's normal. After all, the Middle East is a very chaotic place, with warlords, frequent wars, and various forces and countries causing trouble every few days, creating a life-or-death situation.

In such places, mutants are actually more suitable to hide. After all, the government is already overwhelmed with the chaos and has no time to care about mutants.

Peng!

Just as Logan was pondering, a sudden explosion in the distance pulled him back to reality.

The deafening explosions shook the streets, causing panic among pedestrians who rushed home in a panic. Some vendors were even so frightened that they lost their belongings.

The ground trembled, and the surrounding houses were affected by the shockwave of the explosion, causing them to shake. Loess was falling off the walls, and sand and dust were rising.

Along with the explosion came screams of panic from the crowd.

"They've started fighting again?"

Marcos looked in the direction of the explosion, his brow furrowed.

It's not surprising that war breaks out suddenly in such places. Remnants of hostile governments will occasionally manufacture suicide bombers, car bombs, and other explosives to storm government buildings and detonate them.

"Let's go take a look."

Logan was somewhat interested. Although he didn't want to get involved in the fight, he was eager to join in the fun, mainly because he was curious.

Lorna and the others had no objections, and the group headed towards the direction of the explosion.

Fortunately, there was only an explosion; no gunshots were heard.

The explosion site wasn't far from Logan and his group; they could see it just around the corner.

It was a building that exploded, thick dust billowed up, the ground was covered with shards of glass, and the entire building was engulfed in intense flames, with towering flames spreading throughout the building. Fortunately, the building was still relatively sturdy and did not collapse due to the explosion.

The streets were filled with terrified pedestrians, some of whom were pointing anxiously at the building.

"Fire! Fire! Help!"

"There are still people inside! They're still alive! Please save them!"

"Oh my god, how could there be an explosion? Help!"

……

Inside the building, some people screamed in agony amidst the flames, while others rushed out despite the terror of the fire, only to be engulfed in flames in an instant. When they emerged from the building, their bodies were completely engulfed in the terrifying flames, turning them into human torches, and they collapsed in agony.

In some high-rise buildings that were not affected by the fire, people stood by their windows, pleading for help.

Logan frowned, surrounded by the panicked cries of passersby. Some had already run out of their homes, carrying buckets of water to pour onto the building, but that amount of water was nothing compared to the raging fire.

The fire intensified over time and gradually spread to the buildings on both sides.

Upon seeing this, Lorna frowned, immediately spread her hands, and green light appeared in her palms. She was about to rush forward to try to save the person.

"etc."

Marcus reacted quickly, grabbing Lorna in one swift motion. Just as Lorna frowned, he pointed into the distance and said, "Don't worry, they'll make their move."

The group looked in that direction.

"the Avengers?"

Logan looked at the several figures walking towards them, with Steve leading the way.

He was rushing over with several people, his eyes fixed on the towering building engulfed in flames.

What are the Avengers doing here?

Upon seeing Steve, Logan couldn't help but furrow his brow.

Just as he was wondering, a hot figure wearing a scarlet trench coat suddenly flew out from behind Steve, surrounded by bursts of red light as she floated in the air.

His gaze fell on the two water pipes on either side of the building. He suddenly raised his hands, and red light instantly radiated out, enveloping the water pipes.

With a forceful pull, the sturdy water pipe burst, and water gushed out.

Peng... Tch!

Under the control of the red light, the water pipe sprayed into the raging flames, washing away every ignition point and extinguishing the flames completely in no time.

"That's... Scarlet Witch."

Logan recognized the figure enveloped in red light as Wanda, whom he had encountered before.

Meanwhile, Steve, seeing the fire extinguished, breathed a sigh of relief. When he looked around, he spotted Logan in the crowd and was clearly taken aback.

Logan didn't want to get entangled with them any longer. Seeing that Steve was paying attention to him, he turned around without a word and said, "Let's go!"

After saying that, he was about to leave quickly with his men.

Steve quickly caught up with them.

"Logan, wait."

He shouted at Logan from behind, saying, "We need to talk."

(End of this chapter)