Texas — Johnny Blaze, whom Chen Ang and Steve were looking for, was performing stunts here. Today, Johnny Blaze's performance was in the countryside of Texas. The red necks here were conservative, which made the traditional circus more popular. It was conservative, rural, backward, and the Texans were ignorant and grumpy.
This was the Lone Star Republic of red necks, racists, and the KKK.
"This should be the best place to preserve the American tradition!" Chen Ang leaned against the stands with a bottle of beer in his hand, ignoring the fiery circus in front of him. He asked Rogers next to him, "Do you feel a familiar smell?"
"I'm a Northerner!" Steve said, "Although the Federation has been bridging the conflict between the North and the South after the Civil War, a Northerner can never truly agree with the spirit of the South … I prefer an open America, not a puritanical conservative country … So, yes, I'm not interested."
Chen Ang raised his beer, clinked glasses with Steve, and drank.
"One last question … What's the real reason you've been letting Ebony Throat do what he wants?" Steve asked.
Chen Ang silently tapped his finger on the railing in front of him. After thinking for a long time, he told Steve, "You saw through it! Yes, whether it's me or Cyclops, the forces behind us … The Revolutionary Alliance and S.H.I.E.L.D. have been letting Ebony Throat do what he wants. Otherwise, we'd have to deal with him first, not those who have been bewitched by him. "
"But at the same time, we also need him!"
"What do you need him to do?" Steve suppressed his dissatisfaction and asked, "I don't understand why you always use this and that?"
"This is politics …" Chen Ang smiled helplessly and said, "We need to use him to muddy the waters, and then after it settles down, we can see more clearly … To put it bluntly, we want to use him to vet some forces that are outside the mainstream. Earth is too complicated! Before we have a showdown with Apocalypse, we need to know the attitudes of those forces. "
"So, Ebony Throat is a fuse, a sign of judgment, a test for other forces, other people, superheroes or villains."
"We need him to stir up trouble on Earth, stir up those who are hiding in the mud, and let us know their attitudes and positions!"
"Standpoint … standpoint is very important. They have always avoided establishing their own position, but as a diplomat of the HRL, I and Nick Fury need to determine their position, and then decide who to befriend and who to eradicate. "
"You're treating him like a touchstone!" Steve could not tell if he was happy or angry. He just said calmly, "You want him to help you find the enemies you need to eliminate one by one?"
"Before the final battle, we can't allow their faces to be blurred!" Chen Ang nodded.
"For example, Johnny Blaze … He's actually Ghost Rider's representative. We need to find out Ghost Rider's stance through him. Was he a chess piece completely under the control of that demon, Mephistos? Furthermore, it was a party with its own will. Their attitude, their stance, their … affiliation! "Chen Ang pointed at Johnny Blaze, who had attracted a lot of cheers when he appeared.
"This is the tacit understanding between me and Nick!"
"So we're here to test his stance?" Steve asked.
"A better way to put it is … to assess his threat!" Chen Ang said softly, then put down the bottle and applauded loudly in the direction of Johnny Blaze, who was about to cross the ring of fire and the high platform. Steve wanted to ask more clearly, but he was interrupted by the surrounding crowd. In the midst of the cheers, Johnny Blaze jumped up, crossed the huge barrier between the high platforms, and landed successfully. The atmosphere at the scene became even more enthusiastic.
The audience shouted excitedly at Johnny Blaze. Watching Johnny Blaze leave the stage surrounded by the staff, Chen Ang and Steve had to get up and quietly walk backstage …
"Sorry … This is not allowed …" Before the staff could finish, he was forced back by two special IDs with eagle emblems.
"We have some things to ask Johnny Blaze!" Steve said.
"Please … please come in!" The staff was a little hesitant and stammered. He stepped aside and emphasized, "Johnny Blaze is a popular stunt driver here … He didn't cause any trouble, did he?"
"We just have some things to ask him alone!" Steve had to comfort him. "It's nothing serious!"
After getting off the racing track, Johnny Blaze sat alone backstage, reading a religious book. Chen Ang walked up to him, glanced at the title of the book, then sat opposite him and said, "You can't find out the true nature of God by reading this kind of book!"
Johnny raised his head and looked at him in surprise. Chen Ang continued, "You have to talk to him personally!"
"You have something to talk to me about?" Johnny put down the book, glanced at him, and then turned to look at Steve, who was wearing a cowboy hat and leaning against the side with his head lowered. Because Steve was too well-known, or in other words, there were very few people in the United States who did not know him, so it was Chen Ang who was talking to him.
"Let's talk!" Chen Ang put a bottle of wine on the table. "Let's talk about Mephitos!"
Johnny Blaze was instantly alerted, and a strong sense of vigilance rose in his heart towards Chen Ang. He whispered, "Why did you mention this demon?"
"For someone who had just experienced a thrilling performance, and when he stopped, he was still holding 'Faust' in his arms. Isn't it natural to talk about this topic?"
"What's more … Only by coming into contact with the demon can one get closer to God!" Chen Ang's words had a double meaning.
"Are you really so free that you don't watch the circus outside and talk about religion with people in the middle of the night?" Johnny Blaze questioned. "What's more, God is getting further and further away from me … I can't see him for a long time."
"Believe me … You've never been so close to him!" Chen Ang said calmly.
"Then what is Mephitos?" Johnny asked.
"The question that God uses to test people … is also the weapon that God uses to test humans. Legend has it that ancient Babylon once built the Tower of Babel in an attempt to ascend to heaven on its own. God made it so that people could not speak and could not unite. Probably from that time, there were demons. So Babylon fell under the hands of the demons … "
"From this, we can see that angels and demons are both God's creations."
Chen Ang looked at Johnny Blaze's slightly more serious expression and chose to continue.
"I also know a little more. In some absurd legends, the Creator will give people all kinds of tests to determine if they are his most perfect creations. Thus, when every civilization develops to its most prosperous stage, it will face challenges. When the humans on earth built the Tower of Babel, the Creator's adopted son, the Messiah, came to the world."
"He collected the darkest part of human souls and ignited it with fire. The burning soul became the Spirit of Vengeance. They swept the earth and interrogated the souls of humans. Thus, the Tower of Babel collapsed, the tribulation fire fell from the sky, and the Raging Waves of Nabistin came! Babylon perished … "
"The Spirit of Vengeance burned the sins of humans. From the original sins of humans, seven powerful Spirits of Vengeance were born. They sank into the abyss and burned into a hell of fire. They far surpassed their own kind, so they were given an identity by the Messiah. They judged the souls of sinners on his behalf and interrogated the original sins of humans. They were called demons and devils! "
"Mephithos was one of them!"
"But interestingly, demons were once a test for humans, but they were also the creations of the Creator … Then, here's the interesting thing. According to the rules, when demons are strong enough to attract the attention of the Creator, they … also have to face their own test. So … the demons that were created to test humans also had to accept the test. This is truly an interesting irony. "
"But the demons didn't think this was an irony … On the contrary, they were very afraid."
"Mephithos was the same. Thus, an internal war between them occurred. Every demon and devil wanted to seize power from their own kind and at the same time reduce the overall strength of the demons and devils to delay the arrival of the test. After the war, some demons and devils failed, while others became stronger. "
"But they were still afraid … So they wanted to explore the secret of the Messiah's creation, the original secret of the demons, in case the Messiah took away their power with a wave of his hand. Thus, they chose to search again — the Spirit of Vengeance. Some unfortunate humans were chosen as the carriers of the Spirit of Vengeance because of the characteristics of their souls. These humans were called — Ghost Riders! "
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