Threat Theory

Although it looked like a pile of shattered meat, the mass still showed signs of life. It kept gathering itself together, forming a human shape complete with limbs and facial features.

With a little more work on the details and a layer of skinlike material covering its body, this life-form would be indistinguishable from a human.

But just then, a blinding white light flashed. The human-shaped life-form was scattered once more, its flesh smeared across the inside of the sealed device.

Whether the scattered flesh had any awareness of its own was unclear. After experiencing another failure, it began gathering itself together again, trying to form a human shape. But just as it was about to succeed, another flash of white light struck. Like Sisyphus in Greek mythology, he had angered the gods and been condemned to push a boulder up a mountain. Each time he neared the summit, the boulder rolled back to the bottom, forcing him to repeat an effort that was doomed to fail.

By the time Wei Xiuming arrived, the life-form had already repeated the process countless times. Nick Fury watched its failures without pity, like a god on Mount Olympus.

Nick Fury pointed to the coffin in front of them. "This device is a failure. The beam it produces is extremely lethal to living things. Even a beam activated with a tiny amount of energy can tear an adult blue whale apart in an instant. But its applications are very limited. Its effective range is too short for it to be weaponized, and the scattering of the beam through the atmosphere would harm the user. At this stage, all we can do is conduct experimental tests in a sealed environment. That makes this device a cage for the creature. It's exposed to the beam about once a minute, but that can't kill it outright. It only delays its recovery to its original form."

The folder Nick Fury had given him contained the analysis results for the mass of flesh, but many of the entries were marked with question marks. Wei Xiuming, however, could tell what it was. After all, he had made the so-called Amazon Cells himself. He had extracted the part of his own cells that contained Deathbird's X Gene and induced it to mutate. That was how the Amazon Cells had come about.

And this mass of flesh had been a human—or rather, a vampire—using Amazon Cells. It was one of the two doses specifically prepared for Victor. Combined with the vampires' own regenerative abilities, it could restore the body as if time itself had turned back. Even Wei Xiuming, its creator, was taken aback.

"Where did you capture it?" Wei Xiuming asked, looking at Nick Fury's face—which was as black as ever—with suspicion. "Don't tell me you found the Fang Vampires' base. With this level of regenerative ability, it should be an officer-class vampire."

The vampires really were useless. A creature this powerful could come and go as it pleased from even a lower-level military base, yet it had somehow fallen into the hands of ordinary people.

"What?" Nick Fury turned and looked up at Wei Xiuming. "This creature is one of those Fang Vampires you mentioned?"

"It's more than that. It's even more terrifying." Wei Xiuming took a deep breath, pulled several pages from the folder, and handed them to Nick Fury.

Nick Fury looked at the pages of data, most of which he couldn't understand, and felt a headache coming on. Most of the report consisted of question marks where technical limitations had made it impossible to reach a conclusion.

Wei Xiuming said, "You've seen this Fang Vampire's regenerative abilities. As far as I remember, even the noble-class Fang Vampires aren't this powerful. And some things in this analysis of its cells point very clearly to something you should recognize."

"This creature's life state is highly unusual. Half of it has the traits of vampires in our database." Nick Fury pointed to the analysis charts on a few pages. "The cell samples also show that another part of it has extensive similarities to your genetic test results. We can't analyze the exact structure, but we can make a basic assessment. If you hadn't introduced yourself beforehand, then given the technology you've demonstrated, there would've been a good chance I'd suspect you created these so-called Fang Vampires."

"War and reproduction are major drivers of human technological progress. As we fight HYDRA and other threats, we learn from their strengths. I'm proof of that—I was created as a weapon." Wei Xiuming spoke slowly. "The reason this Fang Vampire is so powerful is the Amazon Cells, which I thought would be almost impossible to encounter. Contact the World Security Council as soon as possible. We're in serious trouble."

Wei Xiuming's admission didn't surprise Nick Fury. After a long period of analysis, he had built a complete psychological model of Wei Xiuming, allowing him to predict Wei Xiuming's behavior with eighty percent accuracy.

"Whether vampires will transform into Fang Vampires is an uncertain possibility. But compared to a disaster that could devour the entire planet, the overall threat isn't all that high. Humans are the best at destruction. As long as we're willing to pay the necessary price, dealing with Fang Vampires would actually be easy. But once Amazon Cells are involved, the situation becomes unpredictable. The worst-case scenario is that the Amazon Cells mutate inside the Fang Vampires and become contagious. Humans are fragile, but we have unlimited potential to evolve. Once Amazon Cells invade, they'll rapidly transform us into some unknown form of life."

Wei Xiuming looked at Nick Fury. "Can you tell me where this Fang Vampire was found?"

"In the wreckage of the Parker couple's crashed plane. It was constantly having its tissues destroyed and regenerated due to the high-altitude fall, the fuel leak, and the fire. That consumed a great deal of its resources and slowed its recovery, which gave S.H.I.E.L.D. agents a chance to capture it," Nick Fury said. "During transport, it killed and ate several agents, and its regenerative ability quickly recovered."

Wei Xiuming didn't ask how they had managed to capture the Fang Vampire again and lock it inside this coffin-like device. That was one of Black Eggplant's secrets.

Now, he was more concerned with whether the threat theory he'd been promoting about Amazon Cells had made an impression on Nick Fury—and whether it would trigger a worldwide vampire purge led by the five major powers.

Heroes were made in troubled times.

Only if things became chaotic could he profit from the situation, test the weapons that had remained in the lab, and verify the data.

Wei Xiuming struck a thoughtful pose, then said, "As I remember it, Fang Vampires have a core inside them that stores most of their abilities. They can't be killed as long as the core isn't destroyed and their energy isn't depleted. Once the core is destroyed, their cells rapidly break down and dissolve. Whether to get rid of this problem or keep it for research is up to you. I need to get back to the lab as soon as possible. Developing the new Knight System can't wait."

"Hold on. I need you to come with me to meet someone. He's the only one who can really persuade the World Security Council."