A Choice in Crisis

Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the shape in the shadows.

The emergency lights beneath the maintenance platform were badly angled, casting vast, bottomless darkness between the transport vehicle's chassis and the stacked cargo crates. But the sound was clear—not rats, not wind stirring the tarps, but rhythmic, cautious movement, as though someone were crawling forward.

Su Ying's hand was already on the hilt of her dagger. She had lowered her breathing so much it was nearly inaudible.

"One person," she whispered, her voice almost drowned out by the noise from the far end of the warehouse. "Or... a not-too-large humanoid creature."

Wolf lay at the edge of the platform, his listening device pressed to his ear. His face looked deathly pale beneath the cold emergency lights.

"Fletcher and Blood Axe... are still arguing," he reported shakily. "But someone mentioned... bringing in heavy equipment... to clear the area..."

Clear the area.

Those words tightened Lin Xiao's nerves. If the base decided to use flamethrowers or high-pressure water cannons on the green gas zone, the three of them on the platform would become sitting ducks.

He looked at Su Ying, and Su Ying looked back at him.

Their gazes met in the dim light. No words were needed, but the meaning was clear—go down now, before greater chaos erupted.

Lin Xiao nodded and began unfastening the rope at his waist.

The green gas had already spread across half the warehouse.

From the three-meter-high maintenance platform, the area below resembled a slowly writhing toxic swamp. The gas was an eerie pale green, gleaming like ink beneath the emergency lighting. It hugged the floor as it spread, swallowing cargo crates, tires, scattered tools, and... people.

Several soldiers closest to the damaged metal crate had already collapsed.

Lin Xiao saw one of them curled into a ball, both hands clamped around his own throat. A wheezing rasp like a bellows came from his windpipe. His combat suit had been corroded black across the chest, and the exposed skin was covered in red blotches, as though scalded by boiling water. He rolled across the floor, and every roll kicked up more dust, which mixed with the green gas to form an even murkier cloud.

Another soldier was trying to crawl out of the gas. His gas mask hung crookedly from his face, its filter canister already dead—Lin Xiao could see faint white smoke seeping from the connection point. The soldier coughed violently with every step, blood-streaked saliva splattering onto the concrete and leaving dark red spots.

"Not lethal poison gas," Lin Xiao said quietly.

Su Ying was tightening her rope. She looked up at his words.

"What?"

"Look at how they're moving." Lin Xiao pointed below. "If it were nerve gas, their breathing would be paralyzed within thirty seconds. If it were cyanide, they should already be convulsing and dead. But they're still moving, still struggling—this is a powerful tear gas mixed with some sort of corrosive chemical agent. It's meant to create chaos, not kill."

His voice was calm, but his mind was racing.

During his past life's S.H.I.E.L.D. training, he had encountered similar cases. In 1995, a terrorist organization had released a similar mixed gas in the Moscow Metro—tear gas combined with a weak acidic corrosive agent. More than three hundred people had been injured in that attack, but only twelve had died, all from secondary injuries caused by trampling and panic.

A truly lethal weapon would not be so "gentle."

"A diversion." Su Ying understood.

Lin Xiao nodded.

His gaze returned to the damaged metal crate. The outer gas storage chamber was still spewing gas, but the flow was slowing—the supply was limited. Inside the damaged shell, however, the sealed container bearing the A.I.M. logo remained intact.

The container reflected the emergency lights, like a silent eye in the green fog.

"There may be something inside that we need," Lin Xiao said in a low voice, audible only to the three of them on the platform. "Or it could be a bigger trap."

He paused and looked at Su Ying.

"Willing to gamble?"

Su Ying stared at him for two seconds.

Her face was half-lit and half-shadowed beneath the cold emergency lights, but her eyes shone brilliantly. There was no hesitation, no doubt—only an almost instinctive trust. That trust made Lin Xiao's heart tighten as the image of Su Ying blocking Thanos's attack for him in his past life flashed through his mind.

"Lead the way," she said.

Two words, clean and decisive.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath and turned to Wolf.

Wolf was still lying at the platform's edge with the listening device pressed to his ear, but his body trembled faintly. The gunfire in the distance was becoming more intense—Fletcher's men and Blood Axe's men had begun exchanging fire. Stray bullets occasionally struck the warehouse's steel beams, throwing up blinding sparks as metallic impacts echoed through the vast space.

"Wolf," Lin Xiao said.

Wolf jerked his head up, his eyes full of fear.

"I... I'll stay here and cover you?" he asked tentatively, pleading in his voice.

Lin Xiao shook his head.

"We need your ears," he said. "There may be electronic locks, alarm systems, or... other things that need monitoring down there. Stay close. Don't fall behind."

Wolf's face turned even whiter, but he gritted his teeth and began gathering his listening equipment.

Lin Xiao said no more. He checked the rope at his waist—it was a standard rappelling rope issued with a Hydra tactical vest, five meters long, enough to reach the floor. He grabbed the rope and swung himself over the platform railing.

The moment his body hung in midair, a wave of weightlessness hit him.

Three meters below lay the edge of the green gas. It writhed as if alive, and occasional currents exposed spent shell casings scattered across the concrete, shattered gas mask filters, and a pool of dark red liquid—whether blood or something else, he could not tell.

Lin Xiao let go.

The rope scraped against his gloves with a faint rustle. He controlled his descent, lightly kicked off when his feet were half a meter from the ground, swung forward, and landed steadily on the concrete outside the gas zone.

The instant he landed, he crouched, braced the AK-74U against his shoulder, and swept the muzzle across the surroundings.

Visibility was limited.

The green gas stood before him like a wall, reducing visibility to less than three meters. It carried a pungent smell—like chili powder mixed with bleach, tinged with the sickly sweetness of scorched metal. The odor stung his nose. Even through his gas mask, Lin Xiao could feel his eyes starting to burn.

From deep within the gas, he heard coughing, groaning, and metal clanging—the sounds of fallen soldiers kicking cargo crates as they struggled.

"Clear," he murmured into the communicator.

Su Ying and Wolf began descending from the platform.

Su Ying moved more lightly than Lin Xiao. She did not even use the rope to slow herself. She flipped over the railing, twisted in midair, kicked off the wall with both feet, and landed silently like a cat. She dropped to one knee, her dagger already drawn, its point aimed toward the densest part of the gas.

Wolf's descent was far more awkward.

His hands trembled on the rope, and he could not control his speed. When he landed, his feet slipped and he pitched forward. Lin Xiao caught his tactical vest and pulled him upright. Wolf panted heavily, the lenses of his gas mask fogging from his rapid breathing.

"Stay close," Lin Xiao said.

He turned toward the side of the warehouse.

Memories churned in his mind.

In his past life, he had participated in S.H.I.E.L.D. operations to eliminate similar Hydra bases. Most of those bases had been built during the Cold War and followed similar layouts—a central warehouse, side maintenance passages, and passages connecting to backup generator rooms and ventilation control rooms.

If this base followed the standard layout...

Lin Xiao began moving.

He advanced along the wall, avoiding the chaos in the center. The wall was rough concrete, coated in peeling green paint. His fingers could feel the gritty texture exposed beneath the flaking paint, as well as faint vibrations coming from deep within the wall—the shockwaves from the distant firefight.

After walking about fifteen meters, he found a door in the wall.

No, not a door, but the entrance to a passage half-hidden behind several abandoned wooden crates. The entrance was narrow, less than sixty centimeters wide and barely tall enough for an adult to crawl through bent over. There were no lights inside, only pitch-black darkness like a mouth waiting to swallow them.

Lin Xiao stopped.

He signaled Su Ying and Wolf to stay alert, then stepped forward to inspect the crates.

The crates were made of pine, their surfaces rotten and covered in dark green mold. The mold glistened wetly beneath the emergency lights, giving off the sour stench of damp wood mixed with fungus. Lin Xiao reached out and pushed the top crate.

It was heavy.

He had no idea what was inside, but it took considerable effort to move. Lin Xiao braced his shoulder against it and shoved—

The crate shifted half a meter.

The rotten wood cracked apart, and splinters pierced his tactical gloves. Lin Xiao felt the sting but did not stop. He continued pushing—the second crate, then the third... until the passage entrance gradually emerged.

Beyond the entrance was a downward slope.

The slope was poured concrete, its surface covered in dust. The dust was thick, and Lin Xiao could see several fresh drag marks across it—messy tracks, as though someone had dragged something heavy inside, or... dragged it out.

"Someone came through here," Su Ying whispered.

Lin Xiao nodded.

He crouched and touched one of the marks with his finger. The dust had been swept aside, revealing cleaner concrete beneath. The edges of the mark were sharp, with no signs of weathering. It had been left recently.

"Inside," Lin Xiao said.

He crawled into the passage first.

The passage was pitch-black.

The lenses of his gas mask weakened what little light remained. Lin Xiao could only move by touch. He extended a hand and pressed his palm against the wall—the wall was cold, slick, and covered in moss. The moss felt like a damp sponge, and water seeped out beneath his fingers when he pressed it.

An iron grate lay beneath his feet.

Every step made the grate produce a hollow echo. The sound amplified through the narrow passage, as though countless people were walking beneath them. Lin Xiao lightened his steps, but the grate still inevitably made noise—creak, creak, creak.

There was a smell in the air.

Not the chemical odor from outside, but a more complicated mixture—the metallic stink of rust, the sharp tang of evaporating engine oil, and... a faint sweetness. That sweetness was familiar. Lin Xiao searched his memory, then remembered.

He had smelled something similar in a S.H.I.E.L.D. biological laboratory during his past life.

It was the smell of culture medium.

"Careful," he said quietly, his voice echoing through the passage.

Behind him came Su Ying's and Wolf's footsteps. Su Ying's steps were so light they were nearly silent; Wolf's were heavy and uneven, occasionally kicking the edge of the iron grating and producing harsh metallic scrapes.

The passage began sloping downward.

The incline was slight, but he could clearly feel them descending. Lin Xiao estimated the distance—they had walked roughly twenty meters. At this incline, they should now be about five meters underground.

A faint glow appeared ahead.

Not a lamp, but some sort of cold light source—an LED indicator or an electronic display. The light was weak, yet glaringly conspicuous in the absolute darkness.

Lin Xiao quickened his pace.

When he crawled out the other end of the passage, he found himself standing in an entirely different space.

This was not a warehouse.

It was a small laboratory.

The room was around thirty square meters. Its walls were coated in white antibacterial paint, though much of the coating had peeled away to reveal rusted steel plates beneath. Several emergency lights hung from the ceiling; two were still working, casting a ghastly white light.

The light illuminated the sight at the center of the room.

Three people in white hazmat suits lay on the floor.

The hazmat suits were standard Class A protection—fully sealed, with independent breathing systems. But all three suits had been damaged. One person's visor had shattered, revealing the face of a middle-aged man beneath it. His eyes were wide open, his pupils already dilated, and white foam hung from the corners of his mouth. Blood streaked the foam, making it resemble some grotesque decoration beneath the pale lights.

The other two had intact visors, but the backs of their hazmat suits had been torn open.

The tears were clean, as if made by a blade. Lin Xiao could see that the fibers at the edges had been neatly severed—cuts only professional tools could make.

"Dead," Su Ying said coldly as she crouched to inspect them.

Lin Xiao nodded.

His gaze passed over the bodies and settled on the back of the room.

There was a workbench there.

It was made of steel and covered with an anti-static mat. Various instruments were scattered across it—a centrifuge, microscope, electronic scale, and several devices Lin Xiao could not identify. Most had lost power, but one screen remained lit.

Data scrolled across the display.

Lin Xiao approached.

The screen showed an analysis report for some kind of biological sample. The report was highly technical, filled with terminology and charts Lin Xiao did not understand, but several keywords stood out:

Sample Number: RS-7

Source: Red Snow Project remains

Activity: Stable

Toxicity Assessment: Level III (contact corrosion, neural irritation)

Notes: A.I.M. preliminary assessment complete. Further development recommended.

Red Snow Project.

Lin Xiao's heart jolted.

In the memories of his past life, that name had appeared only in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top-secret files. According to those files, the Soviet Union had launched the "Red Snow Project" in the 1970s, aiming to develop a biological agent capable of enhancing soldiers' physical abilities. The project had been forcibly terminated after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, and all data and samples had been sealed away.

But the files also contained a note: in 1998, part of the Red Snow samples and data had disappeared, suspected to have been acquired by a private military company or terrorist organization.

Now, the things that had disappeared in 1998 had surfaced in a Hydra base in 2001.

And they bore the A.I.M. logo.

"Lin Xiao." Su Ying's voice came from nearby.

Lin Xiao looked up.

Su Ying stood on the other side of the room before a reinforced transparent container.

The container was roughly half a meter tall and cylindrical, with walls at least five centimeters thick. It was filled with pale blue liquid, within which three vials floated. The vials were glass, long and slender, each filled with liquid that flickered with an eerie blue glow.

That blue light was unnatural.

It was not reflected light. The liquid itself was glowing. The radiance was faint, but in the dim laboratory, the three vials resembled blue stars suspended quietly in the pale blue fluid.

Several documents lay scattered on the floor beside the container.

The documents had been stored in plastic folders, but the folders had split open and the papers spilled out. The heading on the top page was clearly visible:

A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics)

Preliminary Assessment Report

Project: Red Snow Derivative-7

Security Classification: Top Secret

Lin Xiao walked over, crouched, and picked up one of the pages.

The paper was new, and the printed ink was sharp. It contained the toxicity test results for the "RS-7" sample. The table detailed its corrosive and irritant effects on different biological tissues—skin, mucous membranes, neural tissue. Handwritten notes followed the data:

"Effect far exceeds expectations, but stability remains insufficient. Recommend combining with the Extremis Virus precursor; possible synergistic effects."

Extremis Virus.

Lin Xiao's fingers tightened, creasing the edge of the paper.

In his past life, the Extremis Virus had been a technology A.I.M. only officially unveiled around 2010. But now, in 2001, they were already researching the Extremis Virus precursor and attempting to combine it with Soviet Union Red Snow samples.

What did this mean?

It meant the Extremis Virus development timeline was nearly ten years ahead of what he remembered from his past life.

It meant A.I.M.'s technological foundation ran far deeper than expected.

It meant... if this batch of samples fell into the hands of the radicals, they might create some terrifying biological weapon in a short time.

"Lin Xiao." Wolf's voice suddenly rang out, trembling.

Lin Xiao looked up.

Wolf stood at the passage entrance, his listening device pressed to his ear, his face even paler than the dead men's.

"Outside... they've started fighting," he stammered. "Blood Axe's people are forcing their way in, and Fletcher's people opened fire... lots of people are dead... and... and..."

He swallowed.

"The base alarm has gone off. Heavy equipment is being mobilized. They said... they'll clear the area within ten minutes."

Ten minutes.

Lin Xiao looked at the blue reagent vials in the container, then at the scattered A.I.M. documents.

He had to make a choice.

Leave now, and they would be safe, but they would lose these samples and documents. The files might contain crucial Extremis Virus technology, giving him an advantage against A.I.M. in the future.

Stay and try to take the samples and documents, but the risks were immense—heavy equipment would arrive within ten minutes. Flamethrowers, high-pressure water cannons, perhaps something even more extreme. And Blood Axe's people could break through the line at any moment and storm into the depths of the warehouse.

"Lin Xiao." Su Ying looked at him.

Her gaze was calm. She offered no urging, no advice. She simply waited for his decision.

Lin Xiao drew a deep breath.

The air filtered through his gas mask carried the smell of rubber and activated carbon, leaving a heavy sensation in his lungs. He could hear his own heartbeat, the faint gunfire in the distance, and the subtle electrical hum of the emergency lights in the laboratory.

Time was passing.

Every second brought them closer to that ten-minute deadline.

He looked at the container.

There was an emergency manual valve on the side of the transparent container. The brass valve was oxidized, but its structure remained intact. A label beside it bore instructions in both Russian and English:

Emergency opening procedure:

1. Turn the valve counterclockwise three times

2. Wait for the internal pressure to equalize, approximately 30 seconds

3. Remove the top cover

The container had no electronic lock, no password, only a simple manual valve.

That meant that as long as he found the right tool, he could open it in a few minutes.

Lin Xiao's gaze swept over the laboratory.

There was a tool cabinet beneath the workbench. Its door was half open, revealing neatly arranged tools inside—wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers...

He rose to his feet.

"Wolf, keep monitoring," he said steadily. "Report any changes immediately."

Wolf nodded, his fingers clenched tightly around the monitoring device.

"Su Ying." Lin Xiao looked at her. "Cover me. If anyone comes in..."

"I know." Su Ying spun the dagger in her hand, its blade reflecting a cold gleam.

Lin Xiao hesitated no longer.

He walked to the tool cabinet and pulled open the door. The hinges let out a harsh creak, painfully loud in the silent laboratory. The cabinet was well stocked, and he quickly found a wrench of the right size.

The wrench was made of chrome vanadium steel, its handle wrapped in non-slip rubber. Lin Xiao picked it up, tightening his fingers around it as he felt the rough texture of the rubber.

He walked toward the container.

The container stood on a steel base in the middle of the room. The base was welded firmly to the floor. Lin Xiao crouched and fitted the wrench over the emergency manual valve.

The valve was tight.

He exerted force, the muscles in his arms tensing. The wrench bit into the valve with a sharp metallic scrape. On the first turn, the valve did not budge. Lin Xiao adjusted his stance and pressed down with his full body weight—

The valve loosened.

Counterclockwise. One turn, two turns, three turns.

As the third turn ended, a faint hiss came from inside the container—the sound of pressure equalizing. Lin Xiao released the wrench and stepped back.

He stared at the container.

Thirty seconds.

Time passed in silence. The only sounds in the laboratory were the hum of the emergency lights, Wolf's tense breathing, and the distant gunfire growing increasingly intense.

Twenty seconds.

A crack opened automatically in the container's top cover. Pale blue mist spilled from it, carrying that familiar sweet scent—the smell of culture fluid, only stronger and more pungent.

Ten seconds.

Lin Xiao stepped forward again and gripped the edge of the cover with both hands. It was heavy, at least twenty kilograms. He heaved upward—

The cover opened.

The inside of the container lay fully exposed before him.

The pale blue liquid glimmered softly beneath the emergency lights. Three reagent vials floated within it, their blue radiance now clearer—it was not merely light, but a faint chemical reaction occurring within the liquid, releasing photons.

Lin Xiao reached in.

His fingers passed through the liquid. It was cool, with the feel of diluted glycerin, viscous and slick. He grasped the first reagent vial and carefully removed it.

The vial felt heavy in his hand.

Its glass walls were thick, its mouth sealed with a rubber stopper pressed beneath an aluminum cap. A serial number was printed on the label: RS-7-α.

Lin Xiao carefully placed the vial into an empty magazine pouch on his tactical vest. The pouch had foam padding to absorb impacts. He took out the second vial, then the third...

All three reagent vials were safely stowed.

He turned and began gathering the scattered documents.

There were many documents, at least thirty pages. Lin Xiao flipped through them rapidly, selecting the key material—experimental data, molecular formulas, synthesis procedures, toxicity reports... He folded the dozen or so most important pages and stuffed them into an inner pocket of his combat uniform. He hesitated over the rest, then left them behind.

He could not take everything.

If he took everything, both A.I.M. and Hydra would realize someone had stolen the core documents. Leaving behind some less important files could create the illusion that part of the material had been destroyed in the chaos.

"Lin Xiao." Su Ying suddenly spoke.

Her voice was soft, but Lin Xiao heard the warning in it.

He looked up.

Su Ying stood beside the passage entrance, leaning forward slightly, her dagger held in a reverse grip behind her back. Her eyes were fixed on the depths of the passage, where footsteps could be heard.

It was not one person.

It was many.

The footsteps were chaotic and heavy, accompanied by labored breathing and the clatter of metal—the sound of equipment rubbing together.

"Blood Axe's people have broken in," Wolf said, his voice trembling. "They... they're wearing gas masks and forced their way through the gas zone... Five died, but the rest... there are still eight of them... They're coming this way..."

Lin Xiao's heart sank.

Eight people, fully armed, and they had already crossed the most dangerous green gas zone.

They were in the laboratory now, with only one passage leading in or out. If Blood Axe's people blocked that passage...

"Prepare to withdraw," Lin Xiao said, sounding so calm that even he was surprised.

He quickly checked his equipment—the reagent vials were secure, the documents were secure, and he had sufficient weapons and ammunition. Then he looked at Su Ying. She nodded, having already switched her dagger to a forward grip.

Wolf hugged the monitoring device as he crouched in the corner, his eyes full of terror.

"Wolf," Lin Xiao said. "Stay close to me. If you fall behind, I won't turn back to save you."

Wolf nodded forcefully, biting his lips until they turned white.

The footsteps drew closer and closer.

Lin Xiao could hear someone shouting in the passage, their voice muffled and distorted by a gas mask:

"They're right ahead! The laboratory! Move!"

"That batch of stuff has to be inside!"

"Fletcher's people are still outside! We only have three minutes!"

Three minutes.

Lin Xiao drew a deep breath and raised his AK-74U.

The muzzle pointed at the passage entrance.

In the darkness, the first figure appeared.