The Anonymous Sender's Second Warning

The night was deep, and the distant city lights blurred into a hazy glow against the darkness.

Lin Xiao stood before the technical room window, looking at the completely shut-down mainframe in front of Nightingale. The hard drive formatting indicator had gone dark, and the last trace of fan noise faded into the air. Only the low hum of cooling server racks remained in the room, along with the occasional cry of a night bird outside.

"All relay servers have been confirmed formatted." Nightingale removed her glasses and rubbed her sore eyes. "The public WiFi node at Berlin Central Station automatically rebooted three minutes after transmission was completed, and all cache data was wiped. The transmission channel... has been permanently closed."

Lin Xiao nodded slightly without speaking at once.

He walked to the workbench and picked up the printed copy of the information. Just a few short lines, yet they contained all the secrets Aldrich Killian would not expose until years later.

Aldrich Killian, actual controller of A.I.M.

Research objective: Extremis Virus—creating unstable super-soldiers through extreme genetic modification.

Potential threat level: city-level.

Critical weakness: his craving for recognition and revenge, directed at Tony Stark.

Recent activity: actively recruiting injured and disabled veterans as test subjects.

Evidence lead: Malibu villa party footage, 1999; Mandarin is a smokescreen.

Lin Xiao's fingertip traced across the words "Mandarin is a smokescreen."

In his previous life, this truth would not be exposed until 2013. Now, he had moved it forward by a full two years.

He placed the paper back on the table and turned to Nightingale. "Did the transmission trigger any alerts?"

"No." Nightingale put her glasses back on and opened another laptop. "I used a backup port on Level B3 of Stark Tower, disguised it as a gene sequencing report from the Swiss Institute of Biotechnology, and used their outdated encryption algorithm that was made public three years ago. It won't draw excessive attention."

She pulled up the transmission log.

"The information remained at the Berlin WiFi node for 1.7 seconds, passed through seven relay servers, and stayed at each node for no more than 0.5 seconds. It took only 0.03 seconds to reach Stark Tower, and the packet size was entirely normal."

"JARVIS will scan it," Lin Xiao reminded her.

"I know." Nightingale answered calmly. "But the disguise is convincing enough. He'll classify the file as 'external cooperation data.' According to procedure, it won't be reviewed by technical personnel for another twenty-four to forty-eight hours."

"What if he detects something unusual?"

"He'll isolate it and raise an alarm immediately, but the odds are low. I used the real institute's communication templates. Over the past six months, more than thirty similar files have come in every day."

Lin Xiao nodded gently. "Get some rest. You've worked hard."

After Nightingale left, Lin Xiao was alone in the technical room.

He picked up the warning again. The paper was slightly cool, its ink scent mingling with the ozone smell of electronic equipment to create a scent unique to this era.

He closed his eyes, and fragments of memories from his previous life surfaced once more—

The rooftop in Bern, Switzerland, in 1999. Killian waiting in the cold wind, only to be completely forgotten by Stark amid the night.

That resentment born of being dismissed had eventually fermented into twisted hatred, giving rise to the Extremis Virus, countless explosions, and countless deaths.

Lin Xiao opened his eyes and went to the coffee machine for a cup of black coffee. The scalding bitterness slid down his throat and drove away the exhaustion of staying up all night.

He picked up the encrypted communicator and connected to Su Ying's channel.

"The information has been sent." His voice was steady. "Everyone is to enter Level Two alert. For the next forty-eight hours, suspend all nonessential communications. Use backup encrypted channels for outside contact."

"Understood." Su Ying's voice was clear and calm. "Perimeter surveillance has been strengthened. Drones will patrol once every hour. Grey Falcon and Black Bear are standing by in the duty room."

"I'll be right there."

At the same time—New York, Stark Tower.

3:27 a.m.

Tony Stark sat in the center of the laboratory. Three holographic screens operated before him at once: the Arc Reactor output curve on the left, structural simulations for the next-generation armor in the middle, and a report on nanomaterial self-repair on the right.

The lab smelled of motor oil, solder, and faint cologne. Cold white lights made everything look like an operating room.

"Sir." JARVIS's voice came from the ceiling. "A server on Level B3 has received a file from the Swiss Institute of Biotechnology. 2.1 MB, encrypted using the 2010 version of the Stark Industries algorithm."

Stark did not even raise his head. "Contents?"

"On the surface, it is a gene sequencing report, but it contains a layer of encrypted text."

Stark paused, setting down his soldering tool. "Bring it up."

The holographic display changed, and the hidden layer beneath the standard report template was rapidly decrypted.

Lines of text appeared in the air.

Stark's expression shifted from casual indifference to gravity, then froze completely.

"Aldrich Killian..." he quietly said the name.

His memories were instantly dragged back to 1999—the cold wind on a rooftop in Bern, Switzerland, and a young man clutching a business card, his eyes full of longing.

He had forgotten that man completely.

"JARVIS, pull up the Malibu party surveillance footage from 1999."

The surveillance footage lit up.

In a corner of the rooftop, the figure in an ill-fitting suit, waiting awkwardly, was enlarged.

"Facial match: Aldrich Killian, founder of A.I.M.," JARVIS reported calmly.

Stark's Adam's apple moved as a chill rose from his spine.

The anonymous sender not only knew about the Extremis Virus, but also knew about one of the mistakes he least wanted to mention.

"Conduct a deep search on Killian and A.I.M.," he said tensely. "Focus on human experimentation, veterans, and secret bases."

Fifteen minutes later, JARVIS delivered the results.

Three abandoned military bases had been secretly converted.

Killian had met with twenty-seven injured and disabled veterans in recent years.

A S.H.I.E.L.D. investigation report codenamed BIO-447 was highly consistent with the Extremis Virus, but it had been suspended due to "insufficient evidence."

Every clue corroborated the anonymous warning.

"Can the sender be traced?" Stark asked.

"All seven relay servers were automatically formatted. The trail leads only as far as public WiFi in Berlin," JARVIS replied. "The other party possesses A-level intrusion capabilities and is extremely familiar with Stark Industries' network structure."

Stark walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at Manhattan before dawn.

Traffic flowed like a river of light, skyscrapers stood like a forest, and a revenge plot aimed at him had long been brewing in the shadows.

"JARVIS, execute three orders."

His gaze was sharp as a blade.

"First, place Killian and A.I.M. under full surveillance. Activate satellites, wiretaps, and informants.

Second, reopen that S.H.I.E.L.D. Extremis report and find out why it was suspended back then.

Third, continue tracing the anonymous sender. Include former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, top hackers, and Hydra remnants."

"Understood."

Stark lifted his glass but did not drink.

He looked at his distorted reflection in the liquor and muttered softly.

"Whoever you are... thank you for the warning."

"But if you think this means you can control me..."

"...then you're dead wrong."

A small town on the Eastern European border—4:00 a.m.

Lin Xiao sat before the surveillance screens, twelve split displays illuminating the side of his face.

The infrared footage was a dim green. The mountains and forests swayed softly in the night wind like a slumbering beast.

The office door opened, and Su Ying walked in with two steaming cups of spiced tea.

The scents of cinnamon and cloves instantly filled the room.

"What's the situation outside?" Lin Xiao asked.

"Quiet." Su Ying sat down beside him. "Three rounds of drone patrols found nothing unusual. Grey Falcon is guarding communications, and Black Bear is conducting fixed-point perimeter patrols. Everything is normal."

"Normal doesn't mean safe." Lin Xiao shook his head gently. "It's been six hours since the information was sent. If Stark believes it, he has already begun investigating Killian. If he doesn't—or worse, if he investigates us first..."

"Then we prepare to evacuate," Su Ying said calmly.

Lin Xiao looked at her. Dawn was beginning to brighten, casting soft yet resolute contours across her face.

"I had Nightingale prepare three emergency plans. Evacuate everyone within fifteen minutes, destroy all materials, and relocate separately."

"Do you think he'll investigate us?" Su Ying asked.

"He will," Lin Xiao said bluntly. "Stark's need for control is extremely strong. He won't tolerate being kept in the dark. But he's smarter than that, and he understands priorities—Killian is a genuine threat to lives, while we are, at least for now, on his side."

"So this is a gamble."

"Yes." Lin Xiao nodded, a quiet glimmer in his eyes.

"A gamble on his intelligence, on the sense of responsibility he hasn't completely lost. A gamble that he'll stop the disaster first instead of settling accounts with the 'warning sender' first."

Su Ying looked at him in silence for a moment, then smiled faintly.

"Sometimes, you're crazy. But more often than not... you're right."

Outside the window, the sky brightened completely.

The first ray of dawn crossed the mountains and fell upon the steeple of the town church, gilding it with a golden edge.

In the distance came the sound of an early bus engine, while flocks of birds chirped from the branches.

A new day had begun.

And the storm had only just raised its curtain.

Killian still did not know that his trump card had been exposed.

Stark still did not know that he was about to face a monster born from his own actions.

Lin Xiao sat in the morning light, holding a slightly cool cup of tea as he waited quietly.

Waiting for the storm to arrive, waiting for the moment the world would change.