Manhattan Lower Manhattan's underground sewage pipe network is an intricate maze.
There is no daylight here all year round, and the air is filled with the pungent smell of ammonia and the stench of rotting garbage.
A group of three people wearing orange municipal maintenance uniforms were stepping on ankle-deep sewage and carefully groping in the darkness.
The person walking at the front was a lean man.
He did not wear a gas mask, but kept twitching his nose in this harsh environment, like a Hound sniffing prey.
His original code name was Hound, and he was a marginal Superpower person under the name Vought International who received a basic salary.
His ability is not destructive, but his sense of smell is dozens of times more sensitive than that of a professionally trained police dog.
Following him are Rock, who can temporarily harden skin into rock, and Electric Eel, who can release weak bioelectricity.
This is also the most reasonable choice that Stan Edgar can make without knowing how to use John.
Since Soldier Boy disappeared in Nicaragua in 1984, Vought International's former ace "Payback" team has existed in name only.
At this point in time, the company is in a transitional period.
Edgar's "The Seven" plan is still on the drawing board. Currently, most of the adult Superheroess under the company's name are in disarray.
A private job like Sewer Drilling looking for Chimpanzee, which is dirty, smelly and must never be exposed to the light, can naturally only be left to Hound, a few fringe characters who can be used as consumables at any time.
"This work really isn't done by humans."
Hound covered his nose and sneezed so loudly that his tears almost came out.
Using Super Smell in a place full of excrement and chemical cleaners is simply an indescribable torture.
"Stop complaining, Public Relations Department's supervisor Carter said that as long as we catch the orangutan who took away the company's property, we will not only be promoted, but also receive a generous hush money."
Rock said in a deep voice, his big thick hands raised in front of his chest vigilantly.
"What if it has swam down the drain into the Hudson River?"
Electric Eel held a strong flashlight in his hand, swinging it around on the moss-covered brick wall.
"Impossible."
Hound sniffed and reached out to touch a rusty iron pipe nearby. By the flashlight, there were several clear scratches on the iron pipe. "That monkey is very smart. It knows that the river water will dilute the smell on it, but the river water will also make it freeze. It keeps walking along the place with the heating pipe."
The three people followed the scratch marks and continued to dig deeper into the abandoned subway pipeline.
At this time, in Long Island Estate, which is far away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, there is a completely different leisure scene.
In the bright open kitchen, Lynn is pouring cut fresh orange pieces into the juicer.
Accompanied by the buzzing sound of the machine, the fresh citrus aroma quickly overcame the smell of oil smoke left by frying bacon in the morning.
The color TV in the living room is on, playing the New York morning news.
"Dear citizens, please note that due to the sudden leakage of the aging natural gas pipeline in Lower Manhattan, the municipal department has blocked part of the road section from Fifth Avenue to Ninth Avenue. Citizens commuting to work are asked to detour in advance..."
The female host's voice was clear and clear, and several live scenes were shown on the screen.
Several workers wearing reflective vests were holding a yellow cordon, and Vought International's large construction vehicle was parked very conspicuously at the intersection.
John is sitting on the sofa, holding a Rubik's Cube in his hand and turning it with one hand out of boredom.
Hearing the news on TV, the blond boy Azure glanced at the screen, and then curled his lips in disgust.
"Their lying skills are getting worse and worse."
John muttered softly.
He knew with his toes that it must be Vought International wiping the butt of the escaped monkey.
"Don't worry about whether they lie or not. Just drink this glass of orange juice and replenish your vitamins."
Lynn came over with two glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice, handed one cup to John, and placed one cup in front of Annie, who was holding a pillow and watching cartoons.
"Thank you Lynn Director."
Annie smiled sweetly, picked up the cup and took a big sip, and the corners of his mouth were immediately covered with an orange juice beard.
Lynn took out a tissue and wiped the corners of the little girl's mouth naturally.
John put down the Rubik's Cube and took the glass.
He had no objection to this sweet juice, but he still looked at the TV with some uneasiness.
"Lynn, that monkey took something very important from the company. The person they sent seems to be very weak. What if it is not caught in the sewer and it goes somewhere else?"
John took a sip of orange juice and asked seriously.
In his opinion, anything that makes Lynn bored should not exist in this world.
Since Lynn went to evaluate the monkey yesterday and thought it was a failure, then it should die.
Lynn sat down on the sofa next to John, with a very relaxed posture.
"That's a headache for the big boss, not us."
Lynn looked at the pretentious blockade on the TV and said, "A monkey is still a monkey after all. Even if it understands human philosophy and has intelligence beyond ordinary people, if it escapes from the cage, even the most basic food acquisition will become a problem. It will not be easy for it to gain a foothold in this steel jungle."
Lynn is not worried that Charlie will come to Long Island.
Because Charlie is a creature that knows how to analyze pros and cons.
In Observation Room, it has experienced the absolutely crushing and terrifying pressure of Lynn when it opened its "boundary". As long as its brain is not short-circuited due to escape, it will classify Long Island as an absolute restricted area in its life.
While Lynn was watching cartoons with his children, Manhattan's underground manhunt operation got into huge trouble.
Hound led the other two people through an abandoned tunnel full of water and came to a huge underground interchange pumping station.
"The smell has become stronger."
Hound stopped and gestured, "It's right inside."
The beam of a strong flashlight swept through the empty pumping station, illuminating the huge rusty gears and the moss-covered reservoir.
Suddenly, Electric Eel's flashlight was fixed in a corner.
There was a Vought International constant-temperature storage box thrown there, and the box had been violently smashed open.
"Found it!"
Electric Eel shouted excitedly and ran over quickly.
But as soon as he took two steps, Hound grabbed his shoulder.
Hound's face instantly turned pale, he covered his nose tightly, and his body trembled slightly due to the sudden fear.
"No... the smell is wrong."
Hound's voice contained a hint of desperate crying.
At the edge of the bright flashlight, a heart-wrenching rustling sound suddenly came from the originally quiet reservoir.
Then, pairs of small scarlet eyes lit up in the dark corner.
That's not that Chimpanzee in a hoodie.
They were dozens of huge sewer rats with bloodshot eyes.
The mice in the front row have even swelled to the size of adult wild cats. Their mutated muscles have burst their original fur, revealing blood-red tissue. Their teeth protrude outward like saw teeth, and sticky saliva is dripping from the corners of their mouths.
Next to the smashed incubator, there were five or six empty glass test tubes scattered.
Charlie not only escaped, it even knew how to dilute those high concentrations of Animal-Type Compound and used them as bait to feed to the largest and greediest aborigines in the sewer.
Super intelligence, coupled with the monster defense line created by Compound V.
The group of mutated rats made a shrill cry, and like a gray tide, they rushed towards the three Vought International fringe heroes along the pipes and walls of the pump station.