The surveillance indicator lights in the corridor glowed steadily against the dim walls like congealed drops of blood. The footsteps of Lin Xiao, Su Ying, and Wolf echoed through the empty underground space as they headed toward the barracks, every step seeming to tread upon some invisible pressure.
By the time they returned to the barracks, Venomous Scorpion's bunk was already empty.
Grey Falcon sat by his bed, wiping the old Makarov pistol with an oilcloth. Hearing the door open, he looked up, his single eye particularly sharp in the shadows.
"You're back," he said, with no emotion in his voice.
Lin Xiao nodded and sat down beside his bunk. The metal-frame bed gave a faint creak, painfully loud in the silent barracks. He took off his tactical vest, his fingers brushing against the dust and sweat stains on the fabric. The rough texture kept him awake.
Su Ying sat on the opposite bunk and began inspecting her gear. With practiced movements, she removed the magazines one by one, checked the springs, and wiped down the casings. The crisp, rhythmic clink of metal filled the room. Wolf, meanwhile, curled up on the top bunk with his knees hugged to his chest, staring at the ceiling.
"Tomorrow night, eight o'clock." Grey Falcon suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. "Captain Fletcher is holding a meeting."
Lin Xiao looked up.
"About that shipment of supplies?" he asked.
Grey Falcon nodded, raising the barrel toward the light and narrowing his one eye as he inspected the rifling. The barrel reflected a cold gleam, casting a long, thin shadow across the wall.
"The base is about to change," he said quietly, as if speaking to himself. "Those things... some say they're remnants of a former Soviet Union biological weapons program. Others say they're alien metal. Whatever they are, whoever gets them will gain the upper hand in the coming power reshuffle."
Lin Xiao said nothing. Memories surged through his mind—former Soviet facilities, biotechnology, rare metals. Those keywords pieced together a blurry image in his head. He recalled scattered records he had seen in S.H.I.E.L.D. archives in his previous life: during the Cold War, the Soviet Union had conducted a series of biological enhancement experiments codenamed "Red Snow." They had been forced to stop after the Chernobyl disaster, and all data and samples had been sealed away in an underground facility somewhere in Eastern Europe.
If this shipment was truly connected to the Red Snow Project...
"What does Captain Fletcher need us to do?" Su Ying asked. She had finished checking all her magazines and lined them up neatly on the bedsheet.
Grey Falcon set down his pistol, pulled a tin box out from under the bed, and opened it. Inside were several cheap cigarettes. He took one out, lit it, and drew deeply. Smoke slowly rose through the dim light.
"Make sure the supplies get safely into the warehouse," he said. "Then... find a way to keep the Radical Faction from getting their hands on them."
Smoke spread through the air, mingling with the smells of engine oil and mildew to create a suffocating atmosphere. Wolf coughed twice from the top bunk.
"Blood Axe will come in person," Grey Falcon continued, his single eye fixed on Lin Xiao. "He has at least twenty men under him, all of them among the Radical Faction's best. On our side... Captain Fletcher can mobilize no more than fifteen."
"The difference isn't that big," Su Ying said.
"The difference is huge." Grey Falcon shook his head. "Blood Axe's people are combat veterans. On our side..." He glanced at Wolf, then at Lin Xiao. "We have newcomers."
The room fell silent. Only the soft crackle of burning tobacco as Grey Falcon smoked and the continuous hum of the ventilation ducts remained.
Lin Xiao stood and walked to the window. Beyond it lay the corridor, and farther still, darker regions deep within the base. He could feel a storm brewing in this underground world, and they stood at the edge of its eye.
"We need a plan," he said calmly.
Grey Falcon looked up, and a strange glint flashed through his one eye.
Four o'clock the next afternoon, the armory.
The air was thick with the mixed smells of gun oil, leather, and rusted metal. Lin Xiao stood before a row of weapon racks, his fingers brushing over cold barrels. Sweat from the previous user still clung to the grip of an AK-74U assault rifle, and the sticky feel made him frown.
Su Ying stood beside him, inspecting a tactical vest. She pressed her fingers over every inch of the Kevlar fibers, searching for possible tears. Wolf stood in the communications equipment section, staring intently at the old radio transceivers.
"Once you've collected your gear, assemble in the warehouse district at six." Fletcher's voice came from behind them.
Lin Xiao turned around. Fletcher stood at the armory entrance with two trusted men behind him. He wore full combat gear today, and his usual mildness had been replaced by taut seriousness.
"Captain." Lin Xiao nodded in greeting.
Fletcher walked up to him, his gaze sweeping across the weapon racks before returning to Lin Xiao's face.
"Grey Falcon told me about your performance," he said. "You handled the Venomous Scorpion matter well."
"Thank you, Captain."
"But tonight is different." Fletcher lowered his voice. "Tonight isn't some minor scuffle. Blood Axe will lead the operation himself. His goal is clear—take that shipment, or at least destroy it so we can't have it either."
Lin Xiao could smell the faint scent of tobacco on Fletcher, along with something else... anxiety.
"What exactly are the supplies?" he asked.
Fletcher was silent for several seconds.
"We don't know completely," he finally said. "The manifest lists 'biological samples,' 'experimental data,' 'rare metals,' and several 'unidentified items.' But according to intelligence analysis, there may be... dangerous things among them."
"How dangerous?"
"Dangerous enough to cripple a city." Fletcher's voice carried a heavy undertone. "That's why we have to get them. We can't let the Radical Faction gain that kind of power."
Lin Xiao's heart jolted. Cripple a city—those words reminded him of something. A precursor to the Extremis Virus? Or some even older biological weapon?
"I understand," he said.
Fletcher patted his shoulder with considerable force.
"Do a good job," he said. "After tonight, the balance of power at this base will change completely. I hope... we'll be standing on the right side once it does."
With that, he turned and left, his footsteps echoing through the empty armory.
Lin Xiao remained where he was, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the rifle grip. Cold metal pressed through his gloves, keeping him clear-headed. He could feel that tonight's mission was far more than simple "security."
Six o'clock in the evening, warehouse district.
This was a massive space in the deepest part of the base. Its ceiling rose twenty meters high, hung with old industrial lamps that gave off a buzzing electric hum and dim yellow light. The air was full of dust, engine oil, and the pungent odor of some chemical substance. Wooden crates and metal containers were piled across the floor, all covered by thick tarps blanketed in dust.
Lin Xiao, Su Ying, and Wolf stood at a guard post to the left of the warehouse entrance. Behind them were another twelve members of Fletcher's faction, spread around the entrance in a loose defensive line.
Wolf held a modified radio monitoring device—something he had "borrowed" from the communications room. Its casing was already rusted, but its circuit board had been resoldered. It now emitted a faint electrical hiss.
"Can you hear anything?" Lin Xiao asked quietly.
Wolf wore headphones as he carefully adjusted the frequency dial. A few seconds later, he nodded.
"Three channels are active," he said, his voice trembling slightly from tension. "One is our internal channel, one belongs to base control, and the other... uses a different encryption method. It should belong to the Radical Faction."
"Can you crack it?"
"I need time," Wolf said. "But I can monitor signal strength. They're... very close to us."
Lin Xiao looked toward the shadows on the right side of the warehouse entrance. Several abandoned containers were stacked there, and the darkness was too thick to see inside. Yet he could feel someone watching from that direction.
Su Ying stood beside him with her hands hanging naturally at her sides, but Lin Xiao knew her fingers were only three centimeters from the dagger at her waist. Her breathing was steady, her gaze sharp, like a cheetah ready to pounce.
Time passed second by second.
The warehouse lights flickered irregularly, while the electric buzzing rose and fell. Dust drifted slowly through the beams of light like tiny suspended lifeforms. Lin Xiao could hear his own heartbeat, steady and powerful, startlingly clear in the silent space.
At seven thirty, the roar of machinery came from deep inside the warehouse.
A heavy transport truck slowly drove into the warehouse, its tires grinding across the concrete with a heavy rasp. Camouflage tarps covered the vehicle, concealing several reinforced metal containers beneath them. Faded Russian lettering and hazardous-material symbols were printed on the containers' surfaces.
The transport truck stopped in the middle of the warehouse, and its engine shut off.
Two technicians in protective suits jumped out of the cab. They quickly set up warning tape around the truck, then began operating the hydraulic mechanism at the rear. The container doors slowly opened, revealing neatly arranged metal cases inside.
Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes. Those metal cases had a distinctive design—silver-gray shells, thick seals around the edges, and no markings on their surfaces. But on the sides of several cases was a blurred red snowflake emblem.
The Red Snow Project.
His memories stirred. He had seen that symbol in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s classified archives in his previous life. It was the emblem of the Soviet Union's Red Snow Project, a biological weapons program intended to create super soldiers. It had later been shut down after its test subjects lost control. All related materials and samples should have been destroyed...
Unless someone had secretly hidden a portion of them.
"Watch the right side," Su Ying suddenly said under her breath.
Lin Xiao turned.
Figures began emerging from the shadows.
The first to step out was Blood Axe.
He was even larger than Lin Xiao had imagined, over six feet three inches tall, with shoulders as broad as a wall. He wore a black tactical vest, and the exposed muscles of his arms were knotted and covered in scars. Most striking was his face—a vicious scar slashed diagonally from his forehead to his chin, leaving his expression permanently twisted into something savage.
More than twenty Radical Faction soldiers filed out behind him. They were well-equipped and moved in perfect order, clearly veterans who had undergone rigorous training. Blood Axe walked to the center of the warehouse and stopped ten meters from the transport truck. He crossed his arms and swept his gaze over Fletcher's people before it settled on Fletcher himself.
Fletcher emerged from the warehouse entrance with Grey Falcon and three other trusted men behind him.
The two men stared at each other across twenty meters.
The air suddenly grew heavy. The warehouse lights seemed to dim further, and shadows writhed across the walls like living creatures. Dust floated in the space between them, forming a blurry barrier.
"Fletcher." Blood Axe spoke in a hoarse voice, like sandpaper scraping metal. "Take your people and get out."
"You're the one who should get out, Blood Axe." Fletcher's voice was calm, but Lin Xiao could hear the strain in it. "I'm responsible for receiving this shipment. Those are orders from above."
"From above?" Blood Axe sneered. "Which superior? Your Conservative Faction masters who are about to lose power?"
Fletcher did not respond. He merely stood there with his hands at his sides, but Lin Xiao noticed that the index finger of his right hand was slightly curled—the posture of a man ready to draw his weapon at any moment.
Both sides began to move.
Fletcher's fifteen men pressed forward half a step, forming a tighter formation. The more than twenty Radical Faction soldiers moved forward as well, reducing the distance between them to fifteen meters.
Wolf's fingers worked rapidly over the monitoring device, fine sweat beading on his forehead. The electrical hiss in his headphones suddenly grew urgent, mixed with muffled voices.
"They're changing frequencies..." Wolf said quietly. "Getting ready to move..."
Lin Xiao gripped his rifle tightly, his finger resting on the trigger guard. He could smell an increasingly thick scent of gunpowder in the air—not actual gunpowder, but the hair-trigger tension of imminent violence, like the low pressure before a storm that made it hard to breathe.
Su Ying leaned slightly forward, shifting her weight onto the balls of her feet. It was the posture she took before sprinting.
Blood Axe's gaze swept over the scene before finally settling on Lin Xiao. A cruel smile flashed in his eyes, like a cat's teasing amusement before it toyed with a mouse.
"Newcomer," he said. His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly through the silent warehouse. "I heard you're quite capable."
Lin Xiao did not answer. He merely looked at Blood Axe with calm eyes.
"I'll let you know," Blood Axe continued, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the handle of the axe at his waist, "that in Hydra, being too capable... gets you killed quickly."
The handle was made of some dark red wood, polished smooth. Yet beneath the light, black stains could be seen deeply soaked into the grain—it was dried blood.
Fletcher stepped forward.
"Blood Axe, take your people and leave," he said, his voice carrying one final warning. "This is the last time I'll say it."
"Leave?" Blood Axe laughed, the sound hoarse and unpleasant. "Why should I leave? That shipment... should have been ours from the start."
The Radical Faction soldiers behind him raised their weapons in unison. The clacking sound of firearms being chambered echoed through the warehouse like a string of death's countdowns.
Fletcher's faction raised their guns as well.
The two sides faced off across fifteen meters, their muzzles aimed at one another. The air froze. Dust stopped drifting, the lights stopped flickering, and even the hum of the ventilation ducts seemed to vanish. Only breathing remained—heavy, rapid, suppressed breathing.
Wolf's fingers trembled. A clear order came through the monitoring device: "...wait for the signal... prepare to force an assault..."
Lin Xiao took a deep breath. He felt sweat slide down from his temple and into his collar. The cool sensation kept him absolutely alert. His gaze swept every corner of the warehouse—the stacked wooden crates, abandoned containers, ventilation ducts overhead, oil stains on the floor...
Then he saw it.
Deep in the warehouse, behind the transport truck, the seal on one metal case... was slowly bulging.
As though something inside was expanding.
"Wolf," Lin Xiao said in an extremely low voice. "Monitor the warehouse's internal channel."
Wolf froze for a moment, then quickly adjusted the frequency. A few seconds later, his face changed.
"There's... static..." he said. "Like... like gas leaking..."
Lin Xiao's heart clenched.
He remembered a report from his previous life about how Soviet Red Snow Project samples were stored. To prevent them from becoming inactive, the biological containers were filled with high-pressure inert gas mixed with trace amounts of neural suppressant, preventing the samples from "waking up" during transportation.
If the seal was damaged...
"Everyone, fall back!" he suddenly shouted.
His voice exploded through the warehouse.
Fletcher and Blood Axe turned toward him at the same time. The soldiers on both sides let their gun barrels waver slightly, but no one lowered their weapons.
"What did you say?" Blood Axe narrowed his eyes.
Lin Xiao had no time to explain. He pointed behind the transport truck. "That case! The seal is damaged!"
Everyone's eyes turned toward the metal case.
The seal was indeed bulging, and it was expanding faster and faster. Fine cracks began appearing across the case's surface, leaking pale green... mist.
Time seemed to stretch.
Lin Xiao could see the shock flash across Fletcher's face, the instant bewilderment in Blood Axe's eyes, and Su Ying already turning toward the case, her body taut as a drawn bow.
Then—
Boom!
A muffled explosion came from inside the case. It did not sound like explosives, but rather the thunderous release of high-pressure gas. The lid blew off and slammed into the ceiling with a screech of twisting metal.
Pale green gas erupted outward, spreading rapidly as though alive.
The first technician to touch the gas let out a shrill scream. Smoke began rising from his protective suit, the material dissolving within seconds and exposing the rapidly ulcerating skin beneath. He fell to the floor and clawed at his face, his nails digging into flesh as blood mixed with green mucus poured from between his fingers.
Panic spread like a plague.
"Poison gas!"
"Fall back! Fall back now!"
"Don't breathe!"
The warehouse instantly descended into chaos. Fletcher's faction began retreating, while the Radical Faction soldiers scattered in every direction. But the green gas spread too quickly, already engulfing a large section of the warehouse's center.
Blood Axe stood where he was, staring at the ever-expanding green mist. The scar on his face looked even more vicious beneath his distorted expression. Rather than retreating, he took a step forward.
"Useless trash!" he roared. "You're scared of a little poison gas?!"
He raised the axe in his hand—a specially made tactical axe whose blade reflected a cold gleam beneath the lights.
"Take the cases!" he ordered. "Put on gas masks! Move!"
Several people among the Radical Faction did have gas masks. They quickly put them on and charged toward the transport truck. But the green gas had already covered a five-meter radius around the vehicle. The moment they rushed in, the lenses of their gas masks began to cloud over—the gas was corrosive.
Fletcher was issuing orders as well. "Set up a quarantine line! Don't let the gas spread outside the warehouse!"
But his commands seemed weak and powerless amid the panic. Soldiers fled and shoved one another. Some fell and were trampled by those behind them. Screams, roars, and the clatter of dropped weapons blended into one.
Lin Xiao stood still, his mind racing.
Green gas—corrosive, neurotoxic, rapidly spreading. This was not a lethal poison. If it had been, that technician would already be dead instead of struggling painfully on the floor. This was... some powerful mixture of tear gas and corrosive agent, intended to create chaos.
Then the truly important thing in the case...
His gaze passed through the green mist and into the transport truck. The other metal cases remained intact. On the side of one of them, the red snowflake emblem appeared and vanished beneath the dim yellow lights.
"Su Ying," he said quietly.
Su Ying turned to look at him, her eyes sharp.
"That isn't poison gas," Lin Xiao said. "It's a diversion."
Su Ying narrowed her eyes and looked toward the technician struggling on the ground. It was true. Though his ulcerated skin looked terrifying, he was still moving, still screaming—if it had been lethal nerve gas, he should have stopped breathing already.
"What do you want to do?" she asked.
Lin Xiao looked toward the side of the warehouse. There was a narrow maintenance passage there, its entrance partially hidden behind several abandoned wooden crates. It led directly into the depths of the warehouse, bypassing the chaotic central area.
"The real danger, or the real valuables, are still in the cases," he said. "Want to gamble?"
Su Ying stared at him for two seconds. Then the corner of her mouth curved upward ever so slightly.
"Lead the way."
Lin Xiao turned and patted Wolf on the shoulder. Wolf was still staring at the monitoring device, his face pale.
"Stay close," Lin Xiao said. "We need your ears."
Rather than retreating with the crowd, the three moved against the flow of people toward the side of the warehouse. In the chaos, no one noticed them. Everyone's attention was focused on the green mist and the screams at the center.
They arrived at the entrance to the maintenance passage. Lin Xiao pushed aside a half-covered wooden crate. Rough splinters on its surface pierced his gloves. With a hard shove, he moved the crate aside, revealing the pitch-black entrance behind it.
The passage was narrow, only wide enough for one person. There were no lights inside, only a faint current of air from deeper within, carrying the smell of rust and dust.
Lin Xiao crawled in first. The passage was completely dark, and he could only feel his way forward. The walls were rough concrete, slick with moisture and covered in moss. Beneath his feet were waterlogged iron grates that gave off hollow echoes with every step.
Su Ying followed behind him, with Wolf bringing up the rear.
After they had walked roughly twenty meters, the passage began to slope upward. A faint glow appeared ahead—it was an emergency light on the other side of the warehouse interior.
Lin Xiao quickened his pace.
When he crawled out through the exit at the other end of the passage, he found himself standing on a maintenance platform deep inside the warehouse. The platform stood three meters above the ground, with the transport vehicles and metal crates directly below.
From this angle, he could clearly see the chaos at the center of the warehouse.
The green gas had already spread through half the warehouse. Fletcher's men and Blood Axe's men were both retreating in panic, but the two sides still faced off—Fletcher's people were trying to establish a containment line, while Blood Axe's men wanted to take advantage of the chaos to approach the transport vehicles. Sporadic gunfire rang out, but no one dared charge into the gas.
Beside the transport vehicle, the damaged metal crate was still spewing green gas. But Lin Xiao noticed that the crate's internal structure... was strange.
It was not an ordinary storage crate. Its interior contained complex compartments. Only the outer gas-storage chamber had been damaged; inside it was a smaller metal container, completely intact and sealed.
A clear symbol was printed on the container's surface—the letter A pierced by three bolts of lightning.
A.I.M.
A.I.M.
Lin Xiao's heart jolted. In the memories of his previous life, A.I.M. had indeed dabbled in biological enhancement technology early on. Their Extremis Virus project had been built on the foundation of the Soviet Union's "Red Snow" program. If this shipment contained A.I.M.'s early experimental data...
"Down there," Su Ying said softly.
Lin Xiao followed her gaze.
Beneath the transport vehicle, something was moving in the shadows.
Before you continue