The instant Lin Xiao's fingers touched the reagent vial, an icy chill spread up from his fingertips.
It was not a physical cold—the bottle itself was merely cool to the touch—but an instinctive warning. Fragments of memories from his previous life surged through his mind: the Extremis Virus, A.I.M.'s orange flames, soldiers reduced to ashes in explosions...
This was not some rare metal.
This was something a hundred times more dangerous than metal.
He swiftly scanned the scattered documents, their pages reflecting a deathly pale light beneath the emergency lamps. A.I.M.'s emblem—the insignia formed by gears and an atomic symbol—was clearly visible in the header of every page. Russian and English technical terms leaped into view: "thermodynamic instability," "cell-level energy release," "Red Snow Project derivative sample RS-7"...
Lin Xiao's heart clenched.
The Red Snow Project. He knew that codename. In S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top-secret files in his previous life, those words had appeared only once, marked: "Soviet Union biological weapons research, terminated in the 1980s." But the documents before him were dated 2001—A.I.M. had not merely restarted the research; it had pushed it to a stage even the Soviet Union had never reached.
"Lin Xiao." Su Ying's voice came from the passage entrance, kept very low. "The gunfire outside is getting closer."
The firefight deep in the warehouse was indeed moving. Short bursts from AK-74Us, pistol return fire, Russian curses and screams—those sounds surged from the warehouse entrance toward the interior like a tide. Fletcher and Blood Axe's men were fighting as they retreated, and the battlefield was shifting toward them.
Lin Xiao assessed the situation quickly.
The green gas had spread through a third of the warehouse, but its concentration was dropping. Some of the fallen soldiers were beginning to struggle back to their feet, coughing as they tore off their useless gas masks. The gas was not lethal—confirming his judgment—but it was enough to create plenty of chaos.
Chaos was both opportunity and danger.
"Wolf." Lin Xiao turned toward the scrawny man huddled in the corner. "Monitor Fletcher and Blood Axe's communications. I need to know how long before they charge in here."
Wolf nodded shakily and put the headphones back on. His fingers worked rapidly over the surveillance device, its blue screen lighting his bloodless face.
Lin Xiao crouched down and began examining the three technicians lying on the floor.
The first was a middle-aged man with a stray bullet wound in his forehead. Blood had already congealed on the metal floor. His pupils were dilated, and he had no pulse.
The second was a young woman with a shrapnel wound across her neck, cut so deeply that bone was visible. Lin Xiao pressed his fingers against her carotid artery—nothing.
The third...
Lin Xiao's fingers stopped.
A faint pulse. Extremely faint, like a candle flame in the wind, but it was there.
She looked to be in her early thirties. Her short blond hair was stuck to her forehead with blood, and she wore thick black-framed glasses—both lenses were shattered, though the frames still hung crookedly on her nose. She wore a white lab coat, and her badge read: Anna Koch, Level Three Researcher, Biological Laboratory.
"Doctor," Lin Xiao murmured, reading the name on her badge.
He quickly checked her injuries. A bullet had passed through her left shoulder without hitting any major blood vessels. She had a head injury, likely from striking equipment when she fell. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, but steady.
She was alive.
"Wolf," Lin Xiao said. "Come over and try to wake her."
Wolf froze for a moment, but when he saw Lin Xiao's gaze, he shuffled over while clutching his equipment. He crouched beside Anna Koch, hesitantly reached out, and gently patted her cheek.
"Ma'am... ma'am? Can you hear me?"
No response.
Lin Xiao had already risen and started gathering the scattered papers. He moved swiftly but methodically: first picking up pages marked with the A.I.M. emblem and keywords such as "Red Snow Project" and "RS-7," skimming them, then folding them and stuffing them into the inner pockets of his tactical vest. Molecular structure diagrams, toxicity test data, stability reports... every document confirmed his suspicions.
These blue reagents were precursors to the Extremis Virus.
They were not a mature version—A.I.M. would not develop stable Extremis Virus until more than a decade later—but a more primitive and far more dangerous prototype. The data in the files showed that RS-7 samples possessed only 17% of the energy-release efficiency of mature Extremis, but their stability was appalling: if stored above 25 degrees Celsius for more than forty-eight hours, the chance of spontaneous explosion reached 43%.
"Lin Xiao." Su Ying's voice grew tighter. "The gunfire stopped in the middle of the warehouse. They may be regrouping."
Lin Xiao looked up.
Su Ying stood in the shadows at the passage entrance, her body leaning slightly forward like a cheetah ready to pounce. Her ears twitched faintly—that was her habitual motion whenever she focused on listening to distant sounds. Lin Xiao could see the fingers around her dagger tightening, her knuckles turning white.
"How long?" Lin Xiao asked Wolf.
Cold sweat beaded on Wolf's forehead. "Fletcher... Fletcher is calling for reinforcements. He said... said Blood Axe's people have gone crazy and they're bringing in heavy equipment to clear the area... Blood Axe is cursing, saying Fletcher hid something... They're arguing..."
"Specific time."
"Fletcher said... it'll take eight minutes to bring the heavy equipment from Warehouse Three... Four minutes have passed already."
Four minutes.
Lin Xiao's mind raced.
In four minutes, whether they brought flamethrowers or high-pressure water cannons, this area would become hell. They had to get the reagents and retreat to a safe zone within four minutes.
But the reinforced container in front of them was still locked.
It was a waist-high metal case with a shell of alloy steel plates two centimeters thick. Its front had both a combination lock and a physical lock. The combination lock's screen had gone dark—either from a power failure or a stray bullet. The physical lock was a standard cross-cylinder lock, requiring a key.
Su Ying had already moved to the container. She crouched down, examined the lock's structure, then pulled a thin metal wire from her waist—a lockpick.
"It'll take time," she said, her voice terrifyingly calm. "This kind of lock has anti-pry protection. At least three minutes."
"We don't have three minutes," Lin Xiao said.
His gaze swept rapidly through the laboratory. The emergency lights cast wavering shadows across the walls, while the faint glow from equipment screens outlined the shapes of various instruments. His eyes finally settled on the side of the container—on an inconspicuous circular valve about ten centimeters in diameter, fitted with a manual turning handle.
An emergency manual pressure-release valve.
Lin Xiao had seen a similar design in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s equipment depot in his previous life. When internal pressure became too high or an electronic lock failed, a manual valve could be used to open a maintenance hatch on the side. But the valve required a special tool—a slotted wrench capable of turning the heavy internal gears.
A tool...
An image flashed through Lin Xiao's mind from when they had infiltrated the laboratory.
They had descended from the maintenance platform, passed through the edge of the green gas, and moved along the gaps between cargo crates. Along the way, they had passed a half-open tool cabinet, its door hanging crookedly, packed with repair tools: wrenches, screwdrivers, hydraulic cutters...
That tool cabinet was about fifteen meters from the laboratory entrance.
At the edge of the green gas zone.
"Su Ying," Lin Xiao said. "Cover me. I'm going to get the tool."
Su Ying turned to look at him. A flicker of doubt crossed her eyes, but it quickly turned into understanding. She nodded, rose to her feet, and switched her dagger into a forward grip.
"Wolf." Lin Xiao looked at the scrawny man still trying to wake Anna Koch. "Keep trying to wake her. If she comes around, tell her we're here to save her and make her stay quiet."
Wolf nodded forcefully, his movements becoming more vigorous.
Lin Xiao took a deep breath and adjusted his tactical vest—the three reagent vials were safely secured in the inner pocket, and the documents had been stowed away. He checked his AK-74U's ammunition: around twenty rounds remaining, plus two spare magazines.
Enough.
He rushed toward the passage entrance.
The air in the warehouse was so murky it was suffocating.
Though the green gas had thinned, it still hovered about a meter above the ground like a layer of poisonous mist. Lin Xiao lowered his body and crawled forward almost flat against the floor. The cold of the concrete seeped through his tactical gear, mixed with the smell of rusted metal and chemical reagents.
His eyes scanned rapidly behind the lenses of his gas mask.
Fifteen meters ahead, the tool cabinet leaned crookedly between two cargo crates. Its door stood half-open, and the interior was pitch-black, making it impossible to see exactly what was inside.
But there was movement closer by—about seven or eight meters away.
Lin Xiao stopped and held his breath.
A soldier was struggling to get up from the floor. The man had torn off his useless gas mask, his face covered in red blotches, his eyes swollen so badly he could barely open them. He coughed up a bloody mouthful of spit, then swayed to his feet and looked around in confusion.
He was still holding an AK-74U.
Lin Xiao calculated the distance, angle, and timing.
If the soldier spotted him and fired, the gunshots would reveal his position, and Blood Axe's men would rush over immediately.
If he went around him, it would cost at least twenty seconds—and they had less than four minutes in total.
Lin Xiao's finger settled on the trigger.
But just as he was about to fire, an explosion sounded deep within the warehouse.
It was not a grenade—the sound was duller, like a pressure vessel bursting. Then came a shriek of tearing metal, followed by the thunderous collapse of a large number of cargo crates. The entire warehouse floor trembled, and dust sifted down from the ceiling.
The soldier turned toward the source of the blast.
Lin Xiao moved.
He sprang up from the ground like a shadow, crossed the distance in three steps, covered the soldier's mouth with his left hand, and drove his tactical knife between the ribs with his Right Hand, precisely piercing the man's heart. The soldier's body convulsed violently once, then went limp. Lin Xiao gently lowered the corpse, pulled out the knife, and wiped the blood clean on the man's tactical uniform.
The entire process took less than five seconds and made no sound.
He continued forward.
The tool cabinet was right in front of him.
Lin Xiao pulled open the crooked cabinet door, which gave off a harsh metallic scrape. He quickly scanned its contents. Various wrenches were piled together in disarray, most already rusted. His eyes locked onto a large adjustable wrench—the width of its jaws was exactly right for the manual valve's handle.
He grabbed the wrench and turned around.
At that very instant, gunfire erupted again in the middle of the warehouse.
This time, it was not scattered gunfire, but a dense barrage. The full-auto fire of AK-series rifles tore through the air like ripping cloth, mixed with pistol shots and furious Russian shouting.
"They're over there!"
"Block the exit!"
"Fletcher! You fucking dare stab me in the back?!"
Blood Axe's voice was hoarse and crazed.
Lin Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
The firefight was shifting toward the laboratory. Blood Axe's men might have been retreating while fighting, or perhaps... they were deliberately advancing on the laboratory.
He quickened his pace and nearly ran back toward the passage.
The green gas stung his eyes—even through the gas mask, those chemical particles still caused irritation. His throat began to itch, and he wanted to cough, but he forced it down. His lungs burned as though they were on fire.
He covered the fifteen meters in six seconds.
The moment he rushed into the passage, Su Ying's figure flashed out of the shadows, her dagger already raised. She lowered it only after recognizing him.
"The tool." Lin Xiao panted as he handed over the wrench.
Su Ying took the wrench without wasting a word and rushed to the side of the container. She crouched, fitted the wrench over the manual valve handle, and pulled with both hands—
The wrench slipped loose.
The valve handle had a textured anti-slip surface, but the grooves were worn down. Combined with Su Ying's gloves, there was not enough friction.
"I'll do it," Lin Xiao said.
He took back the wrench and removed the glove from his Right Hand. His palm made direct contact with the icy metal, and he could feel the fine ridges and grooves on the valve handle. He adjusted his stance, planted his feet, and exerted force through his waist and abdomen—
The wrench turned.
It was heavy. The gears inside the valve had clearly gone without maintenance for a long time, producing a harsh metallic grinding sound as they turned, like a rusty hinge groaning. Lin Xiao gritted his teeth, the muscles in his arms tensing to their limit as veins bulged on his forehead.
One turn.
Two turns.
Three turns.
With every rotation, the valve made a soft click—the sound of the gears engaging. Lin Xiao could feel the resistance gradually weakening. The mechanical structure inside was activating.
On the fifth turn, a soft hiss came from the side of the container.
A gap appeared.
It was a circular maintenance hatch about twenty centimeters in diameter, originally sealed by internal pressure. Now that the valve had released the pressure, the sealing ring loosened, and the cover sprang outward by about a centimeter.
Su Ying immediately stepped forward, gripped the edge of the cover with both hands, and pulled hard—
The cover came fully open.
Cold air poured out of the container, carrying a strong chemical odor. Lin Xiao leaned in to look. Inside were three tiers of foam brackets, each with three recessed slots. Six of the slots were empty, while the remaining three each held a blue reagent vial.
They were identical to the ones in his tactical vest.
RS-7 samples.
"Take them all," Lin Xiao said.
Su Ying reached in, her movements precise and swift. She removed the first vial and inspected it—the bottle was intact, without any cracks, and the blue glow within the liquid pulsed steadily. She handed it to Lin Xiao, who carefully placed it into another empty magazine pouch on his tactical vest.
The second vial.
The third vial.
All of them were safely stored away.
The moment Su Ying removed the third vial, a faint groan came from Wolf's side.
Anna Koch had awakened.
Her eyes slowly opened. Her gaze was unfocused for several seconds before rapidly sharpening. She saw Wolf's terrified face, saw Lin Xiao and Su Ying, saw the open container and the empty slots—
"No..." Her voice was hoarse like sandpaper. "You can't... you can't take them..."
She tried to sit up, but the wound in her left shoulder made her suck in a sharp breath of pain before she fell back to the floor.
Lin Xiao walked over and crouched beside her.
"Doctor Anna Koch," he said in Russian, his voice calm. "We're here to save you. There has been a rebellion within the base. You have to come with us."
Confusion flashed through Anna Koch's eyes, followed by fear, then wariness.
"Who... are you?" she asked between breaths. "Those samples... RS-7... cannot leave the laboratory... If the temperature exceeds twenty-five degrees, they will..."
"We know," Lin Xiao interrupted. "That's why we have to take them. If they stay here, either the rebels will seize them, or they'll be detonated during the cleanup. Which outcome would you prefer?"
Anna Koch froze.
Her gaze rested on Lin Xiao's face for several seconds, as though judging the credibility of the man behind the gas mask. Then she looked around the laboratory—her fallen colleagues, the scattered documents, the damaged equipment...
Her eyes dimmed.
"Leonid is dead," she whispered, her voice catching. "Irina too... They're all dead..."
"If you want to live, get up now," Lin Xiao said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Wolf, help her up."
Wolf hurriedly reached out and supported Anna Koch's right arm. The female researcher gritted her teeth, endured the agony in her left shoulder, and shakily rose to her feet. Her white lab coat was soaked through with blood, and her face was as pale as paper.
At that moment, the gunfire deep in the warehouse abruptly stopped.
It did not fade away gradually. It simply cut off.
As if someone had pressed a mute button.
Lin Xiao's heart sank.
That kind of sudden silence usually meant one of two things: either one side had been wiped out, or... both sides had reached some kind of temporary agreement.
And in this base, there was only one thing capable of making Fletcher and Blood Axe stop fighting at the same time—
A greater shared threat.
Or a greater shared interest.
"Move," Lin Xiao said, keeping his voice low. "Su Ying, take point. Wolf, support the doctor and stay close. I'll cover the rear."
Su Ying nodded, switched her dagger to a reverse grip, lowered her body, and slipped silently toward the passage entrance like a cat. Her ears twitched faintly as she listened to the sounds outside.
Wolf supported Anna Koch as they staggered after her. The female researcher sucked in a breath with every step, but she bit her lip and made no sound.
Lin Xiao brought up the rear, his AK-74U raised to his shoulder, its muzzle following his gaze. His eyes swept rapidly over the shadows on both sides of the passage, his finger resting inside the trigger guard, ready to fire at any moment.
They reached the passage entrance.
Su Ying stopped at the edge of the entrance, pressed herself against the wall, and cautiously leaned out to look outside.
Her body suddenly went rigid.
Lin Xiao saw the muscles in her shoulders tighten. It was a reaction of extreme tension.
"How many?" he asked softly.
"Eight." Su Ying's voice was icy. "Fully armed, wearing gas masks. The leader... is Blood Axe."
Lin Xiao's heart sank to the bottom.
He quietly shifted to the other side of the passage and looked outside from a different angle.
In the warehouse's main area, the green gas had thinned until it was nearly invisible. The emergency lights illuminated a large section of the space—and the eight people within it.
They stood twenty meters from the passage entrance, spread out in a fan formation. Each wore Hydra's standard black combat uniform and the latest gas mask models—the filter canisters were intact. They held AK-74Us or shotguns, their muzzles lowered, but every finger rested on a trigger.
The man in the lead was especially large.
Even from twenty meters away, Lin Xiao recognized that build—shoulders as broad as a door, a thick neck, and that signature motion: his Right Hand gripping the AK-74U's handguard, his left hanging at his side, its fingers twitching unconsciously.
That was Blood Axe's habitual movement before he killed.
In his previous life, Lin Xiao had seen this detail in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. Blood Axe's real name was Vasily Petrov, a former Soviet Union special forces captain who joined Hydra after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. He liked executing prisoners with an axe—not by beheading them, but by cleaving diagonally down from the collarbone and splitting open their chests, letting them slowly die in unbearable agony. That was how he earned the nickname "Blood Axe."
And now, the man's gaze was fixed firmly on the passage entrance.
He had seen half of Su Ying's head sticking out.
He had also seen the faint silhouettes inside the passage.
Blood Axe raised his left hand and made a gesture.
The seven people behind him raised their guns at the same time, aiming at the passage entrance.
Then Blood Axe spoke.
His voice came through the gas mask's speaker, muffled and distorted, like an Echo from a deep well:
"People inside, come out."
"Put down what you're holding, and I'll spare your lives."
"I'll count to three."
"One."
Before you continue