Hill's report concluded, followed by a deathly silence in the hangar.
Fury was still in shock, clutching the communicator. Natasha was tending to his abdominal wound, while Clint stood by, his gaze blank.
Two thousand one hundred and thirty-seven people.
They were all dead within a single second.
This goes far beyond their understanding of individual power.
The airflow from the armor's thrusters swept across the ground, and Tony landed in the hangar.
The red and gold mask was pulled up, revealing a face with a complex expression.
" JARVIS, double-check the data."
"Sir, this is the fourth time you have made the same request."
"Then let's check a fifth time. My armor was severely damaged just now, and it feels very insecure."
JARVIS paused for a second.
"Sorry, sir, your armor does not have an emotion module installed."
So the problem lies with me?
Based on your heart rate changes, this is highly likely.
After landing, Tony exchanged a few words with JARVIS.
Clint glanced at the incredibly expensive suit of armor and earnestly suggested, "Why don't we have it apply for workers' compensation? We can go through the process together."
"Good idea. I'll have my lawyer contact you once this place reopens."
Thanks to their banter, the tense atmosphere in the hangar finally dissipated somewhat.
However, Chen Mo had no interest in arguing with them to ease the tension. He walked straight up to Fury and extended his hand.
" Nick Fury, hurry up and pay the bill."
Fury looked at the outstretched palm in front of him.
Just now, this person, with a mere wave of his hand, wiped out two-thirds of the lives in the entire building right in front of him.
" Agent Romanoff, help me up."
Natasha took his arm and helped Fury up from beside the car.
The cloth strip around Nick Fury's abdomen was soaked with blood, but his steps did not falter. One-Eyed scanned the hangar's perimeter and gave the order, " Clint, you stay here. Contact Hill, and keep an eye on the armory, communications center, and all entrances and exits."
"Clear."
Clint put away his compound bow and glanced at Chen Mo again.
"I can also take this opportunity to count how many of our endangered species are left."
Fury's single eye swept coldly over them.
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. are not an endangered species."
Clinton waved his hand.
"Chief, out of more than 2,700 people at headquarters, only about 600 of our own are still alive. At this rate, we'll be receiving animal feed from animal protection organizations tomorrow."
Natasha held the elevator button for Fury, and without turning around, said, "Remember to get yourself a separate cage."
"Thanks for the reminder, Natasha."
The elevator doors slowly opened.
Chen Mo went in first, followed by Fury and Natasha. Tony stood there for two seconds before his armor mask fell back down.
"Wait, I'm going too."
Fury turned around. " Stark, this is top secret from S.H.I.E.L.D.."
" S.H.I.E.L.D.. Top Secret? I think it's Hydra's secret!"
Tony stepped into the elevator and pointed at Chen Mo.
"Besides, you're planning to hand that thing over to a tourist who can crush two thousand people with a flick of his wrist, yet you think you can stop me from entering? Don't even think about it!"
Fury remained silent for a moment, then refrained from urging Tony to follow.
The group walked through the emergency exit at the back of the hangar.
Red warning lights illuminated the corridor, where corpses lay staggering on the floor. Some were still gripping their guns, while others were slumped over control panels. No bullet holes, burns, or signs of impact were visible on their bodies.
Natasha paused half a step beside a corpse.
The deceased's pupils were dilated, and there was no fear on her face; she did not seem to realize that death was imminent. She then scanned the other people in the corridor; all the corpses were in almost the same condition.
In other words, death comes in an instant, so that these people's bodies don't even have time to react.
What exactly did he do?
Tony slowed his pace, the data inside the mask constantly updating.
" JARVIS, scan results."
"All targets lost vital signs in the same millisecond; their brains had been damaged."
Inside the brain?
"Yes, sir."
Tony looked at Chen Mo was walking at the front.
"What exactly did you use?"
"What, you want to know my skill set? That's a paid service."
Tony resorted to his tried-and-true pay-to-win strategy.
"Don't worry, I can pay."
Chen Mo walked ahead without turning his head, saying, "You can't afford it."
"I like that line. The last person who said that to me is now using Stark Industries equipment every year."
Chen Mo scoffed.
"Then you can call him over and have him collect these bodies."
Tony was silent for two seconds.
" JARVIS, write this down. Once I find a countermeasure, I'll return it to him verbatim."
"It's been recorded, sir."
At the end of the corridor was an unremarkable wall.
Fury aimed his right eye at a detector under a vase, and blue light slowly swept across his face.
"Retina detection successful."
"Level 1 bioinformatics approved."
He reached out and pressed the sensor area, and another digital panel popped up inside the elevator. After Fury entered three sets of keys, the metal doors disguised as walls opened to both sides.
"Is your work process this complicated every day?" Tony asked.
"I'm not going to come here every day, and besides, the things stored here aren't worth the trouble."
The group entered the elevator, and the car began to descend.
The numbers on the screen kept changing before going completely off. Only the low hum of the mechanical operation remained all around. After a full half minute, the elevator gave a slight jolt.
Outside the door was a silver-white passageway.
Fury walked to the end and completed the iris, palm print, and dynamic password verification again. The heavy alloy door shrank inward layer by layer, and cold white mist seeped out through the gaps.
Tony's armor immediately issued a warning.
"Low temperature environment detected; unknown energy field ahead."
Chen Mo walked through the fog, his gaze landing on the center of the room.
Inside a glass shield platform pulsating with blue energy, lay a skeleton nearly four meters long. Grayish-brown bones protruded from the broken tissue, the chest cavity was disproportionate to the limbs, and several joints were covered with horizontal bone spurs.
Dozens of probes were inserted into various parts of the remains, and the instruments beside them showed faint fluctuations; the creature was not completely dead yet.
Natasha looked at Fury.
"This thing has been stuck under our butts the whole time?"
Fury approached the remains and introduced them to everyone.
"It was transferred here several years ago. Only successive directors have access to the complete transfer records."
He leaned against the alloy wall, his breathing becoming heavier.
"We've tried gene sequencing and tissue sampling. But all the experiments failed."
Chen Mo walked up to the remains, and fine, dark red lines appeared in his eyes.
Chaotic and incomplete, yet bearing ancient traces far exceeding the level of life on Earth. It can evolve to adapt to various environments and continuously grow stronger.
As expected, Deviants.
The tools created by the Celestials to eliminate predators, as is typical in movies, eventually slip out of control and become a failed creation that devours everything.
A hint of interest appeared on Chen Mo's face.
A mutilated Deviants corpse is certainly not precious, but what it represents is very valuable.
Chen Mo placed his palm on the force field, and dark red blood vessels slowly traveled along the transparent barrier. The curves on the instrument fluctuated violently, and the cells that had been dormant for many years in the remains began to stir.
Tony moved aside a bit.
"You're not planning to just eat it, are you? That's such a waste!"
" Tony, this is my payment. I can eat it whenever I want."
Chen Mo walked around the metal platform, confirming that every piece of remaining tissue was intact, and then looked back at Fury and Tony with satisfaction.
He patted the force field shield with a smile.
" Fury, I'm very satisfied with your payment."
Fury raised a question at this moment.
"You seem to know what this is?"