Chương 116: Chapter 116: The United Earth Federation 

Luke stepped through a portal, arriving back on the deserted island where he had previously gathered the Earth delegations before traveling to Asgard. Behind him, Shadow Ninjas continuously materialized, unceremoniously dragging and dropping the captured operatives and military officers onto the sand. 

Only after the final few high-ranking officers were dumped into the growing crowd did Luke finally turn around. 

Looking at the mass of bruised, terrified spies and military personnel, Luke offered a cold, humorless smile. "There are always absolute idiots in this world who desperately try to control and monitor everything they don't understand. But sometimes, they end up hitting a reinforced brick wall. Clearly, you all just slammed face-first into me." 

Luke observed the crowd. Some were completely silent, relying on their training, while others were visibly trembling in terror. 

"Naturally, most of you here are quite intelligent. The truly stupid ones are the politicians and directors hiding behind desks giving you orders," Luke continued casually. "So, I am going to give you a single opportunity. Tell me exactly which country, agency, or organization you work for, and I will let you walk away unharmed." 

A portion of the captured operatives shot their heads up, staring at Luke in sheer disbelief. It was that easy? 

Luke smiled warmly. "Relax. I am a man of my word. As long as you honestly disclose your backing faction, you will leave here safely. However..." 

Luke paused, letting the silence stretch as the operatives held their breath. 

"...I sincerely hope you choose to tell the absolute truth, rather than desperately blurting out some random country to deceive me. Of course, I highly doubt my personal charisma alone is enough to compel your absolute honesty. Therefore, I am going to let you briefly experience the consequences of lying to me." 

Before the operatives could even process the threat, Luke aggressively stomped his foot onto the sand. 

A terrifying wave of pitch-black Dark Energy violently erupted from the ground beneath them! The corrosive energy instantly wrapped around their bodies like thousands of tiny, biting vipers, actively corroding and burning their flesh! 

Instantly, the agonizing, irrepressible screams of over a hundred highly trained operatives echoed across the desolate island. 

However, the dark energy didn't completely melt them. It was a mere taste. It quickly receded, leaving behind hideous, painful, jagged scars across their faces and exposed skin. 

"That is the absolute minimum price for lying to me," Luke said coldly, his voice easily cutting through the groans of pain. "But believe me, that was not even one-tenth of what you will experience if I catch you in a lie. Now, I am going to give you a little time to think it over. I will be back shortly to question you one by one." 

With that, Luke turned, drew a Sling Ring portal, and stepped through, casually returning to his apartment to grab an ice-cold Coke. 

Stretching lazily on his sofa, Luke sighed. He had just spent thirty minutes actively forcing himself to maintain that terrifying, intimidating posture just to leave a lasting, horrific impression on those operatives. He sincerely hoped the psychological conditioning was effective. 

Luke nodded to himself, taking a sip of soda. 

While the Shadowkhan had been busy rounding up the surveillance teams, Luke had been actively brainstorming exactly how to handle the national governments backing them. 

Simply eradicating the hostile nations was far too much administrative work and would cause global chaos. But if he didn't teach them a permanent lesson, they would absolutely continue to harass and test his boundaries. Remembering the political dynamics of the Nine Realms, Luke suddenly had a brilliant idea. 

Fear alone won't force these greedy politicians to obey me without resentment. But unimaginable profit will. 

He could establish a highly exclusive, massively beneficial global organization. However, only nations and factions that he personally approved of would be allowed to join. Anyone else would be permanently locked out, forced to watch from the sidelines. To avoid being economically and technologically exiled, the nations of Earth would absolutely fall in line. 

But what exactly do I have that they want? 

Right now, they were spying on him purely because his title as the 'Lord of the Earth' represented an unknown, cosmic variable. 

So, I'll leverage that exact title! I will establish an exclusive, interstellar trade hub right here on Earth! 

Within this trade hub, his approved nations could actively trade and interact with advanced civilizations like Asgard! They would gain unprecedented access to highly advanced alien technology, magic, and cosmic knowledge. That would absolutely make the global superpowers foam at the mouth with greed! 

Luke chuckled darkly. This strategy would effectively ignite a massive, global technological arms race. Any nation excluded from his trade hub would be completely unable to access the alien tech and would be rapidly, permanently left behind by their rivals. 

Furthermore, feeding them advanced technology would rapidly accelerate humanity's progression into a true space-faring civilization. Once they had their own interstellar ships, he could just kick them off the planet to go explore the universe, finally getting them out of his hair! 

Just as he finalized his grand scheme, his phone began ringing again. Thankfully, this time, the caller ID wasn't a blocked number. 

"Hey, Luke! You're back on Earth?" Tony Stark's surprised voice echoed through the speaker. "I honestly thought you'd be partying in Asgard for at least a few more days." 

"I couldn't get used to the overly formal atmosphere up there, so I decided to come home early," Luke replied, sinking comfortably into his sofa as a Shadow Ninja silently materialized beside him to feed him a peeled, frozen grape. 

"Alright, fair enough. So, what's the occasion for the call?" Tony asked. The rhythmic clanging of a hammer could be heard in the background; he was clearly already back in his lab building something. 

Hearing his friend's voice, Luke smiled. A significant portion of the dark, murderous mood he had built up on the island dissipated. 

"I need you to utilize your international connections to formally contact every single recognized national government on Earth. I am hosting a mandatory global summit on a deserted island in the Pacific tomorrow to officially establish the 'United Earth Federation.' I need to clearly outline my plans and regulations for this planet moving forward." 

"Whoa!" Tony paused his hammering, genuinely shocked. "I honestly assumed you were just going to tell me to broadcast a message saying 'Leave me alone and govern yourselves.' You actually want to host a global political summit?!" 

Luke shrugged helplessly, realizing Tony couldn't see him. "Honestly, that was my exact original plan. But immediately upon returning to my apartment, I experienced a few... highly unpleasant incidents that made me realize I desperately need to have a 'proper chat' with these politicians." 

Tony nodded slowly on the other end, easily guessing exactly what kind of 'unpleasant incidents' the new Lord of the Earth had encountered upon returning home. 

"Understood. I will immediately draft the summons and notify the UN and the global superpowers. I'll let you get back to it; I imagine you have a lot of... 'administrative cleanup' to handle right now," Tony said, quickly hanging up. 

Placing the phone down, Luke's relaxed expression instantly vanished, replaced by an incredibly cold, dark glare. 

Indeed. I still have some unfinished business to attend to. 

Stepping back through a portal to the deserted island, Luke observed the operatives. The Shadow Ninjas had lowered them from their suspended positions. Some were huddled together, while others stood isolated. 

Luke aggressively stomped his foot again. Another burst of dark energy rippled through the sand, violently startling the crowd and forcing them to scramble back. 

Looking at their terrified, traumatized eyes, Luke offered a chilling smile completely devoid of warmth. "So. Have you all carefully considered your answers?" 

A large group of operatives immediately raised their hands, frantically signaling their compliance. Luke, happy to save time, simply ordered the Shadow Ninjas to record their confessions and affiliations. Once recorded, the ninjas opened portals and unceremoniously shoved the operatives through, sending them back to their respective countries. 

"Excellent. The highly pragmatic, intelligent individuals have safely departed," Luke said, turning to the remaining operatives who had stayed silent. "Now, let's see what the rest of you are thinking." 

"I WANT TO SPEAK!" a high-ranking military officer suddenly screamed in terror. He had actually raised his hand during the first wave, but the Shadow Ninjas had explicitly, deliberately ignored him. 

"You don't need to speak," Luke rolled his eyes in profound annoyance. "I am not an idiot. Do you honestly think I don't know exactly which country you belong to after capturing you inside a black-site military base?" 

"The United States is already fully registered on my list. Every single American operative present, step forward right now. I will allow you to leave together," Luke commanded loudly. 

Several operatives hesitated, exchanging nervous glances, but eventually, they broke rank and walked over to stand beside the terrified officer. 

Luke nodded slowly. He raised his hand, and a massive Sling Ring portal sparked into existence behind them. 

Just as the American operatives sighed in profound relief, preparing to step through, Luke suddenly spoke again, his voice dropping to a freezing whisper. 

"You were given the opportunity to leave during the first wave. You chose not to step forward then. Therefore... you must be penalized for your hesitation." 

Dozens of Shadow Ninjas silently surrounded the group. With terrifying, synchronized precision, the ninjas drew their katanas. Blinding flashes of cold steel illuminated the beach. 

Aside from the commanding officer, every single American operative instantly had both of their hands violently severed at the wrists! 

Agonizing, blood-curdling screams erupted across the beach. 

"This is your penalty for crossing my boundaries and failing to respect the rules of my game," Luke stated with absolute, emotionless apathy. He waved his hand. 

Wisps of corrosive dark energy instantly engulfed the severed hands scattered across the sand, completely devouring them so they couldn't be surgically reattached. The Shadow Ninjas then ruthlessly grabbed the screaming, bleeding operatives and violently hurled them through the portal. 

Luke turned his cold gaze to the few remaining, deathly pale operatives. 

"Now. Is anyone willing to step forward in the second wave to share the name of their generous benefactors? Just a friendly reminder: the penalty for this wave was merely losing your hands. The third wave will not be nearly as merciful." 

Under Luke's terrifying, absolute threat, a small fraction of the remaining holdouts gritted their teeth and stepped forward. True to his word, they left their hands on the beach and were sent through the portal. 

Luke looked at the final, stubborn loyalists who absolutely refused to break. 

He smiled. It was a terrifying, demonic expression. 

The Shadow Ninjas aggressively swarmed the remaining operatives. Despite their desperate, frantic struggles, the operatives were effortlessly overpowered by the ninjas' supernatural strength. 

Dozens of heavy, wooden crosses were rapidly constructed and driven deep into the sand. 

The Shadow Ninjas violently hoisted the operatives up and mercilessly drove long, jagged swords directly through their wrists and calves, brutally crucifying them to the wood. 

Luke had completely lost interest in playing games. Thin, venomous tendrils of pure dark energy slowly seeped from his body, creeping across the sand and tightly wrapping around the crucified spies, ensuring their agonizing torment would last for a very, very long time. 

Completely ignoring the horrifying, endless symphony of agonizing screams echoing behind him, Luke signaled his Shadowkhan and casually stepped through a portal, leaving the deserted island behind. 

Returning to the quiet comfort of his apartment, Luke took a long drink of Coke, actively suppressing his boiling killing intent. Within minutes, his aura shifted, and he returned to his usual, lazy self. 

However, looking back on it, that blood-soaked deserted island was no longer a suitable venue for a formal global diplomatic summit. 

Lying back on his sofa, Luke opened a telepathic link to Megatron and the Decepticons. 

I need you to design and construct a massive, incredibly imposing, and terrifyingly authoritative architectural structure for tomorrow's summit. Make it absolutely badass. 

(Author's Note: I have revised and modified the content of this chapter to better fit the tone. Readers on Fanqie, please refresh to see the updated version!)