Duncan's clear, logical words made him seem like an honest man to people accustomed to hearing America's politicians talk in circles. His words were full of sincerity and conviction.
The police officer who had been worked up was much calmer now. He stared hard at Duncan and warned, "Fine. I'll remember what you said today!"
Duncan still wore a solemn expression. He nodded and said, "I'll fulfill the promise I made, because I'm not one of those hypocritical politicians! And Umbrella Corporation is doing everything it can to stop the crisis from spreading. The security department is already clearing out the infected. I'm heading to the front lines myself to do my part in stopping the crisis from getting worse. Until next time!"
With that, Duncan climbed over the barricade under the complicated gazes of the police officers and headed deeper into the city.
Only after they disappeared around the corner did Sam finally let his guard down. He complained to Duncan, "Shit, businessmen are just as ridiculous as politicians! I bet you've deceived other people, too."
Duncan, walking ahead, replied unhappily, "How can you make baseless accusations against me? Once I take over Umbrella Corporation, I'll definitely make good on my promise. Don't lump me in with those politicians!"
The members of James Squad kept their eyes to themselves and didn't offer any opinions.
By then, Steve and Natasha had also arrived at the mansion on the outskirts of town, having driven to the entrance to The Hive.
Tony had flown there ahead of them and already located the entrance. Without waiting for Steve, he had gone down to the train entrance to the underground Hive.° 🎀 🎀 °
Steve and Natasha cautiously entered the mansion. When they didn't see Tony, Steve asked over the comms, "Tony? Have you gone in already?"
"Yeah. I left markers for you. Just follow them and you'll find the entrance."
Tony was at the control panel beside the train, connecting to the network and trying to access information about the underground Hive through its local network.
But he found it difficult to break into The Hive's internal network. It wasn't impossible; it would just take some time.
By the time Steve and Natasha made it underground and found Tony, he still hadn't managed to gain control of the facility's network.
"What are you doing, Tony?" Natasha asked curiously. She watched him with a finger plugged into an interface, standing there without moving.
Tony sounded a little frustrated. "I'm trying to take control of the base. It might take a while. That artificial intelligence is giving me a hard time. What was it called again? Oh, Red Queen! They actually have an AI this sophisticated. Too bad it's still not as good as my Jarvis!"
As a genius in computer technology, Tony had always wanted to recreate an artificial intelligence like Jarvis, but had never succeeded. He had a large collection of weak AIs, and when it came to AI research, he could claim to be the best in the world, whether in Marvel or in this world!
Red Queen was just a piece of junk that could be shut down by a lousy laptop. Give it another half-minute and it would be toast.🎉✌ 👻💲
But then things took an unexpected turn. Red Queen couldn't resist Tony's forced intrusion, but it could forcibly cut off the network!
With a snap, a glaring "Connection Lost" notification appeared inside his helmet. Tony shouted angrily, "It actually cut the network! What a sneaky, nasty girl! She must never have had Uncle Tony teach her, or she wouldn't dare get away with such a cheap trick!"
"Come on, Tony. We need to get inside," Steve said with a small sigh. If Tony hadn't been so helpful with the assets S.H.I.E.L.D. had undercover, Steve would already have rushed underground and punched those capitalists a couple of times.
As for computer stuff, he might never get the hang of it in his whole life.
This time, Tony didn't object. Red Queen had forcibly cut the network, but Tony had already gained control of most of The Hive's smart devices. He could even open the cryogenic pods deeper inside The Hive, so he immediately boarded the waiting train down.
The three rode the train down toward the underground Hive.
The train was still functional, with only a little damage and some traces of blood left behind, apparently by the victims who had entered The Hive earlier.
Gurgle!
The train consisted of two locomotives and one carriage. They were in the locomotive section, while the middle carriage was locked behind an electronic metal door with no windows.
Unable to sit still, Tony went to pick the lock. He fired a repulsor blast at the lock and pulled the carriage door open.
Before he could step inside, a hideous monster suddenly lunged out of the carriage and knocked him to the ground. Its huge mouth, packed with jagged teeth, snapped open wide enough to swallow Tony's entire head.
Crack!
Just as the monster's jaws were about to close on Tony's head, he raised his hand and blocked the bite.
The other two, still in the train, only reacted then. When they saw the monster pinning Tony down, their hearts lurched.
Its body was covered in exposed tissue resembling human muscle. Its brain had taken the place of its eyes, ears, and nose, occupying two-thirds of its head. Its reptilian limbs were thick and long, and it had a pair of terrifying, razor-sharp claws. It looked like a person who had been skinned badly, with their brain left exposed.
The information Duncan had provided mentioned this monster: a Licker. The three of them were seeing one for the first time.
After the initial shock, Steve swung his shield hard into the Licker's face, knocking it off Tony and sending it crashing into the wall of the carriage.
Natasha aimed her small pistol at the Licker's exposed brain and fired continuously. She emptied the magazine in less than two seconds, but still didn't manage to kill it.
The exposed brain wasn't a vulnerable weak point. The bullets that struck it only made the Licker even more vicious.
With a nimble flip, the Licker opened its mouth and lunged at Natasha. Its pinkish-white fangs clattered, and a fierce gust of wind swept toward her with its terrifying momentum.
Clang!
Tony thrust both palms toward the metal carriage and fired the energy jets at the bottoms of his limbs. He leaped like a fish in the sea and slammed the Licker, which was flying through the air, into the roof of the carriage.
The Licker struggled wildly after being smashed against the roof, its huge claws scraping across Tony's back with a grating shriek.
Vrrrm!
The reactor in his chest suddenly released a burst of energy. Tony's rarely used chest beam punched through the Licker's chest at close range.
He had thought that a hole through its chest would be enough to kill the Licker after a little struggling. But even after he held the monster down for half a minute, it was still struggling just as fiercely.
Tony fired another repulsor blast at the Licker's head, and only then did the monster stop moving.
Splut!
The Licker's corpse dropped inside the carriage. The three stared at the dead creature, marveling at its strength.
The Super Soldier Serum had altered Steve's body. At his strongest, he could lift steel beams weighing dozens of tons. If an ordinary person took a hit from his shield, they'd almost certainly end up with broken bones and damaged internal organs.
Yet when the shield struck this grotesque Licker, it hadn't even broken a bone. The blow had done nothing to hinder it.
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