Chapters 24-25

After defeating all the zombies, Guan Heng and Spider-Man looked at each other and laughed. "Peter, you've grown up. You're playing Spider-Man pretty convincingly now." Guan Heng wiped away tears of laughter and patted him on the shoulder. "You've really gotten stronger."

Spider-Man awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, when I first saw that Green Goblin guy, I was still a little nervous. I wasn't sure if I should rush out right away. But when that guy's bomb nearly hurt Mary, I got so angry that I didn't think twice—I put on my Spider-Man suit and charged out."

Guan Heng laughed. "A man's greatest motivation is always the woman in his heart." He thought, Now's the time to strike while the iron's hot and encourage him to confess. Otherwise, he might miss out on true love and regret it for the rest of his life.

So Guan Heng continued, "Peter, I think Mary Jane is interested in you. You're just too much of a blockhead to have any confidence. If you ask me, you should hurry up and confess. If you wait too long, she might lose patience and fall into someone else's arms. By then, it'll be too late to regret it."

Peter Parker pondered for a long while, then said quietly, "Maybe you're right, Guan Heng. I should tell her how I feel. Whatever the result, I'll face it calmly. See you." With that, he waved to Guan Heng, shot a web from his wrist, and swung away.

Watching him disappear into the distance, Guan Heng smiled. "Good luck, buddy. Bring your girlfriend over to hang out sometime."

While he had the chance, Guan Heng patted the newly acquired Corpse Storage Bag and tested whether it could retrieve the four Corpse Soldiers on the ground. Three of them were successfully sucked into the bag. Delighted, he thought, This Corpse Storage Bag is a little better than the last one. It can hold at least three. That means I can catch two more Super Zombies, in addition to Jiang Dabao.

With a thought, he tossed the three ordinary Corpse Soldiers back out. Guan Heng had no use for such junk anymore. He knocked out the fangs and claws of all four zombies, rendering them completely harmless. They could no longer bite or scratch anyone.

By then, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vehicles had arrived at the carnival grounds.

"Agent Guan, what can we do for you?" One of the agents, dressed in black and wearing dark sunglasses, came over and asked respectfully. He knew Guan Heng was an expert at dealing with zombies, so he wanted to know what needed doing.

"Oh, you're just in time. Collect these zombies and incinerate them at high heat. They're safer now that they have no teeth or claws." Guan Heng gave the other agents careful instructions. "Also, check whether any civilians were injured in zombie attacks. Agent Hill has an antidote for Corpse Poison. Just ask her for it."

After giving them all the necessary instructions, Guan Heng climbed onto his motorcycle, said goodbye, and rode off.

He headed to his apartment. Once inside, he went straight to his room, locked the door, and ground all the zombie teeth and fingernails he'd obtained that day into powder, then stored it away carefully. He muttered, "At least until I get my hands on the Metal Gear, Fury can't know that zombie teeth and fingernail powder can be used to cure the poison. Once I have what I want, it won't matter if I tell him."

Just as he stepped out of his room, he saw Simon come home looking dejected, a bouquet of Red Roses in his hand, their petals scattered and drooping.

He's as downcast as those flowers. Guan Heng rubbed his chin. Needless to say, Simon had gone to confess his feelings to that TV host and failed. Poor guy. "Hey, Simon, how did it go?" Guan Heng asked, greeting him out of concern—and curiosity.

"Ugh, don't ask." Simon sighed. "At first, we were getting along really well. But then we started talking about the texture of food..." He rubbed his head and smiled bitterly. "I offered a few of my little theories, and I might have upset her. In the end, she smacked a plate of spaghetti right into my face."

"Poor guy." Guan Heng gave him a hug, then brought out a plate. "You must be hungry. Here, turn your sorrow into an appetite and eat this sandwich."

"What... what's between these two slices of bread?" Simon stared at the green fingers inside, his face full of bewilderment, and asked Guan Heng.

"Don't ask too many questions, or you'll be even less willing to eat it," Guan Heng muttered. Then he raised his voice. "Come on, buddy. Do me a little favor. Just take a small bite. I want to know where the owner of these fingers has been lately. Hurry!"

Simon knew there was no point refusing. He picked up the sandwich and took a bite. In an instant, the Food Spirit User's ability to trace a food's history activated. Simon's head began to feel heavy, and he murmured, "I... I see a green monster. His laugh is terrifying. He's making a deal with someone, handing over a whole box of money to a bald man."

Guan Heng quickly asked, "Are there any distinctive features nearby? Can you tell where it is?"

Simon clutched his head, the veins in his forehead bulging. "It's a presidential suite. There's an ocean view from the open-air balcony. The green monster is turning the doorknob, and there's a lion-shaped decoration on it. That's all... Ahhh, my head hurts! It hurts so much!"

Simon suddenly collapsed and writhed on the floor, his head splitting with pain. Guan Heng was startled. Simon's head had hurt before whenever he activated his ability, but never this badly. Without hesitation, Guan Heng took him straight to the hospital.

"Well, the examination showed that Mr. Simon's headache was caused by overexertion," the doctor said after giving Simon a thorough checkup. "He just needs plenty of rest and should avoid taxing his brain."

Guan Heng felt deeply remorseful for causing Simon to end up in such a serious state. Simon's Food Spirit User ability was helpful for investigating cases, but that didn't mean Guan Heng could disregard his well-being and keep making him work through the headaches.

Standing beside Simon's hospital bed, Guan Heng sighed. "I'm sorry, Simon. I shouldn't have kept using your ability and making your head hurt. I really am sorry."

Simon smiled faintly from the bed. "It's okay, buddy. Aren't you always telling me to cheer up? Being down in the dumps isn't like you. I'm happy I could help you a little. You know I don't have many friends, and you're one of the few. I know all those threats you made were just to scare me. I never took them seriously. Besides, you've given me so many models and photo albums. I'd never gotten this many presents before."

"And I know that once, you almost got into a fight with someone trying to get me that limited-edition aircraft carrier model. Thanks a lot." Simon sounded completely sincere.

"Anyway, the side effects of your ability are too dangerous. To avoid them, you should use it as little as possible from now on," Guan Heng said after a moment's thought. "I won't ask you for help unless it's absolutely necessary."

Leaving Simon's hospital room, Guan Heng sighed. "I never thought overusing Simon's ability would have such a negative effect on him. Forget it—I'll have to be more careful from now on. Still, I did get some useful clues this time."

He rode his motorcycle to S.H.I.E.L.D. and searched through the computers in the archives, looking up every hotel in New York City with an ocean view, focusing on those with presidential suites. He also drew the lion-shaped doorknob Simon had described, scanned it into the computer, and searched for a match.

More than an hour later.

Smack! Guan Heng slammed his fist on the desk. "Ha! That's it! The presidential suite at the Patu Crown Hotel, Room 3015. It has an ocean view, and the doorknob has a lion-shaped decoration. It's an exact match!"

"Simon, I won't let all that pain you went through this time go to waste," Guan Heng murmured. He immediately began making preparations, bringing along his usual gear as well as the Chengying Sword.

After nine that night, in Room 3015 on the top floor of the Patu Crown Hotel.

"Damn it. I just asked the front desk manager and the bellhop, and they said the guests checked out three hours ago." Guan Heng stood with his hands on his hips, cursing his bad luck. The lights were off. He had snuck in and didn't want to alert anyone—not even S.H.I.E.L.D. or the police.

"Did I really come all this way for nothing?" Guan Heng scowled, about to switch on a light and continue searching, when he suddenly heard footsteps and men talking outside the door.

The moment the door opened, Guan Heng swiftly rolled aside and slipped beneath the bedroom bed.

Two men entered the presidential suite and turned on the lights, then began searching everywhere.

"Unbelievable. Mr. Sam got drunk again last night," one of them complained. "He lost something himself, but now he's making us come back to look for it. What a pain. I even had to tip the bellhop fifty bucks to get in."

"Quit complaining, buddy," the other man said. "Let's find it and get back to the base. Mr. Sam's got a short temper. Don't give him a chance to blow up." Then he added, "That thing's an important symbol of the organization. We can't lose it. Hurry up and look."

As Guan Heng listened to them talk, he suddenly noticed something poking into his back from beneath the bed. He reached over and felt around. It was a badge with a skull on top and a serpent below. He immediately recalled the famous slogan of a certain organization: "Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place."

These two are Hydra's lackeys! Guan Heng was not alarmed; he was delighted. He'd come alone to look for clues about Hydra and had thought the trip would be a waste. He hadn't expected that, even though the cat had left, it would leave him two mice to lead the way.

While the two men outside remained unaware, he gently pushed the badge out from under the bed and squeezed farther back beneath it.

Sure enough, barely ten seconds later, one of them called out, "Great, we found it!" He picked up the badge and wiped it off. "Yes, it's Mr. Sam's badge."

"Now that we've got it, let's hurry back to the base," the other man said. "The way Mr. Sam flies into a rage gives me the chills. He's just as vicious and cruel to his own men as he is to his enemies. I don't want to suffer for it."

The two men put away the badge and headed out, never realizing that Guan Heng was already following them.

Outside the hotel, they started a Black Sedan and drove southeast. Guan Heng got on his motorcycle and followed at a leisurely pace.

The Black Sedan left the city and wound through a mountain highway. It eventually reached a vast, open area. From a distance, Guan Heng could see gravestones and crosses all around. It was an abandoned Old Cemetery.

The two men had already gotten out and were heading toward the far end of the cemetery. Guan Heng stashed his motorcycle and followed close behind, bent low. The place was eerie and sinister, but as an exorcist, he wasn't afraid of such places.

The two men walked ahead. They often came here, but even they couldn't help shivering as gusts of cold wind swept past.

"Seriously, I don't understand why the higher-ups chose a place like this for a base. It's creepy. It gives me goosebumps," one of them complained.

"The other man replied, 'Because no one would notice it here. It's secluded and quiet. Even we get scared living here, so outsiders won't dare come near.'" Guan Heng followed close behind them, drawing nearer and nearer. He held his breath and moved as quietly as a cat; they didn't notice him at all.

The men finally stopped in front of a gravestone about a person's height. They turned a mechanism, and the gravestone slowly swung open with a creak, revealing stairs leading down into an underground crypt.

Holding an oil lamp to light their way, the two men slowly made their way down. A gust of wind swept through the crypt and blew out the candle in the lamp.

One of them muttered, "If the flashlight weren't broken, I wouldn't want to use this junk." While they lit the candle with a lighter, neither man noticed Guan Heng silently slip into the stairwell behind them. After descending hundreds of steps, the two men reached level ground. A bare-chested giant stood in front of them, his bulging muscles making him look imposing and fierce.

"Joe Ethan, did you two find my badge?" the bare-chested man asked.

"It's right here, Mr. Sam." Joe respectfully handed him the badge. "Ethan and I found it in the presidential suite and brought it back to you, just as ordered."

"Well done! I'll reward you properly. You can go now." Sam praised them and waved them away.

Sam seemed to be the leader of this base. He was directing seven or eight subordinates as they carried a specially made metal case.

Suddenly, one of them slipped and almost caused the others to fall. The case lurched, and everyone immediately stopped and reached out to steady it.

Sam roared, "Careful, you clumsy fools! Don't you know how valuable the test subject in that case is?" Then he waved a hand. "Open it and check whether she's showing any signs of waking up. If anything seems wrong, give her another injection right away. I'm warning you—once her molecular phasing ability activates, she might be able to slip out of even the most tightly sealed container. If she escapes again, we won't be able to catch her!"

Everyone panicked, clearly frightened by Sam's warning. They quickly opened the case. From a shadowed corner nearby, Guan Heng watched. Inside was a Brown-haired Girl. She was no ordinary person: her ghastly pale complexion, fangs protruding past her lips, and long fingernails had already exposed her identity as a zombie.