Recycling and the Aftermath

For an instant, Zhao Fan thought he was dead for sure.

The chest plate of his protective suit burned through in a fraction of a second, and the scalding green liquid touched his skin directly.

Agonizing pain?

No, it wasn't agonizing pain.

It was an indescribable shudder, as though his soul were being torn apart and reassembled.

[Warning! High-risk energy intrusion!]

[Passive skill: Weak Energy Perception activated!]

[Constitution trait: Extremis Virus activated!]

[Attempting analysis...]

Zhao Fan's body shook violently. In Evelyn's surveillance feed, he looked as though he were enduring immense pain, using his last ounce of strength to fight death.

In reality, however, Zhao Fan was undergoing a transformation.

The Extremis Virus cells inside him were like sharks scenting blood, lunging madly at the green energy invading his body. Under the system's guidance, the toxic liquid that should have corroded his flesh was actually converted into a pure bioelectric current.

The wound on his chest rotted at a visible rate, then rapidly healed amid golden-red light. This cycle of destruction and regeneration happened extremely quickly on a microscopic level, releasing tremendous heat.

"Now."

Zhao Fan realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He used his body to block the miniature camera on him-the one Evelyn had installed on his shoulder-and pressed himself almost flush against the valve.

System, absorb! he roared inwardly.

[Relic Recycling System activated.]

[C+ grade energy source detected: Hydra life-support nutrient solution (high concentration, high radiation).]

[Absorbing...]

Zhao Fan's hands clamped tightly around the valve. To anyone watching, he was desperately trying to seal the leak. In reality, however, a tiny vortex was forming in his palms, greedily devouring the green liquid gushing out.

Zhao Fan felt a warm current flow up his arms into his heart before being pumped throughout his body. His muscles, aching from overuse, instantly filled with strength. Even the exhaustion seeping from his marrow was swept away.

"Just... close!"

Zhao Fan roared, the muscles in his arms bulging as golden-red light flowed beneath his skin.

Accompanied by a piercing metallic screech, he forced the massive wheel through three full turns.

The leaking crack slowly closed, and the gushing green liquid finally stopped.

[Absorption interrupted.]

[Temporary status acquired: Extreme cellular activity (duration: 24 hours; grants heightened excitement and increases all attributes by 10%). After the status ends, 50% of the attribute increase will be retained.]

Zhao Fan let out a relieved breath and slid down into the pool, which was no longer boiling, as though completely drained.

"Zhao Fan! Zhao Fan!" Old Dog and Benjamin called through his earpiece.

"I'm... fine." Zhao Fan panted, looking at the completely carbonized patch of protective suit over his chest and the unscathed skin beneath it, now even fairer and tougher.

"Mission... accomplished."

The comms channel fell silent for several seconds.

"Unbelievable." Evelyn's voice came through, this time filled with undisguised admiration. "Zhao Fan, your physical readings just exceeded the theoretical limit. This is simply... art."

"Cut the crap, Doctor." Zhao Fan struggled to his feet, took a specially made sample bottle from his waist, and filled it with the remaining green liquid. "Remember my payment."

He raised the sample bottle and waved it at the camera.

Dim green light shone through the glass bottle, illuminating his eyes, which were still full of wildness.

In the monitoring room, Evelyn watched the man on the screen, a meaningful smile curving her lips.

"Passed." She stamped Zhao Fan's electronic file. "Welcome officially to S.C.U., Captain Zhao."

By the time they returned to the surface, it was already dark.

Queens was as lifeless as ever, but to Zhao Fan, the air's mixture of rust and dust smelled exceptionally fresh.

An ambulance and a cleanup team were already waiting beside the manhole cover. A group of technicians in full isolation suits rushed forward, doused Zhao Fan and Old Dog with disinfectant, then scanned him all over with various instruments.

"So this is your so-called 'thorough medical examination'?" Old Dog complained as he was shoved into an ambulance. "I just want a drink to calm my nerves."

"Cooperate, Old Dog." Zhao Fan lay on a stretcher, letting them treat his surface wounds.

Evelyn approached. She had changed into a clean white lab coat and held a tablet.

"The readings are perfect." She looked down at Zhao Fan as though examining a precious specimen. "Your healing ability is even stronger than I imagined. Even one drop of that corrosive liquid could cost an ordinary person a limb, yet you only suffered superficial burns."

"Maybe I've got thick skin," Zhao Fan said with his eyes closed.

"Perhaps." Evelyn neither agreed nor disagreed. "I've already had the sample sent to the lab. If we can extract effective regeneration factors from it, it will be a major medical breakthrough. Naturally, as a contributor, you'll receive a substantial share of the profits."

"I'm not interested in profit shares. Just don't send me into another hellhole like that."

"That won't do." Evelyn smiled. "S.C.U. exists to deal with precisely those 'hellholes.' Besides, I think you actually enjoy the feeling, don't you, Zhao Fan?"

Zhao Fan opened his eyes and looked at this clever woman. She had probably seen through part of it.

"Think whatever you like." Zhao Fan rolled over on the stretcher. "Right now, I'm going to sleep."

The next day, when Zhao Fan woke in his luxurious room, there was another fifty thousand dollars in his account.

To his former self, that sum would have been astronomical. To him now, it was merely the fee for one outside engagement.

Benjamin knocked on his door, sporting two enormous dark circles under his eyes.

"Boss, I cleaned up last night's data." The fat man handed Zhao Fan a tablet, keeping his voice very low. "I gave the footage of you closing the valve a little 'artistic treatment.' It looks like you blocked the leak with your body instead of... well, absorbing it."

Zhao Fan patted Ben's shoulder approvingly. "Nice work. Did Evelyn notice?"

"No. I used the signal fluctuations caused by the radiation interference to hide the skipped frames perfectly, but I suspect Evelyn noticed something anyway." Ben pushed up his glasses with a faintly smug smile. "But, boss, how did you do that? Your energy readings at that instant looked practically like a nuclear reactor."

"Everyone has secrets, Ben." Zhao Fan didn't explain. "You know the rules."

"Got it, got it. Don't ask what I shouldn't." Ben nodded quickly. "Oh, there's something you need to see. I found this last night while hacking into that air-raid shelter's old files."

He opened a blurry old photograph. It showed a World War II military truck carrying several enormous metal crates, each marked with Hydra's emblem.

"This is a transport record from back then," Ben said, pointing at the photograph. "That lab wasn't just researching biological weapons. They were also making some kind of... container. Something for holding something 'extremely unstable.'"

"Is that thing still there?" Zhao Fan asked.

"No. The files show that a transport truck left before the lab was abandoned." Ben swiped across the screen, bringing up a modern satellite map marked with a red route. "The interesting part is that this route ended right here in New York."

Something stirred in Zhao Fan's mind.

Just then, the disposable phone he had left on the table vibrated.

It was the dedicated means of contact Shadow had given him.

Zhao Fan picked up the phone. There was only one brief message on the screen:

[Tonight, ten o'clock. Wreckage bar. Need a little favor.-Y]

Zhao Fan looked at the message, then at the route on Benjamin's map, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Looks like we're not the only ones interested in those antiques."

He stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down over the city built atop ruins. Stark Tower glittered in the sunlight, but countless greedy gazes stirred in its shadow.

"Ben, get ready to work."

"Huh? Are we crawling through sewers again?"

"No." Zhao Fan tossed the phone into his pocket, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. "This time, we're delivering a package."

The nights in Hell's Kitchen always carried a dangerous intoxication.

The Wreckage bar was as noisy as ever. Most of its patrons were scavengers, black-market merchants, and information brokers operating in gray areas.

Zhao Fan made his way through the crowded dance floor with practiced ease and entered the VIP room accessible to only a select few.

Shadow still wore that deep-purple qipao slit to the top of her thigh. A slender women's cigarette rested between her fingers as she reclined languidly on the leather sofa. A silver metal briefcase sat before her.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Captain Zhao." Shadow blew a smoke ring, her gaze seductive and dangerous. "I heard you pulled off something big yesterday. Even those academic nerds are looking at you in a new light."

"News travels fast." Zhao Fan sat opposite her and poured himself a drink without ceremony. "Go on, then. What's the business this time?"

Shadow smiled faintly and tapped the briefcase with a slender finger.

Click.

The case sprang open, revealing its contents.

It was a device resembling an oversized battery pack, its matte-black metal casing fitted with complex circuit connectors.

"What is this?" Zhao Fan frowned.

"A... fuse," Shadow said casually. "Or, as your technicians would call it, a 'frequency inducer.'"

Zhao Fan said nothing, merely watching her quietly.

"Next Tuesday, D.O.D.C. is transporting a shipment of special cargo from Jersey City to the containment center at headquarters." Shadow lowered her voice slightly. "One of the armored transports, code-named 'Fortress,' is carrying what we're looking for."

"You want me to hijack it?" Zhao Fan sneered. "That's suicide. D.O.D.C.'s convoys have Stark Industries security drones and former Federal Security Bureau agents escorting them."

"No, no, no. How could I bear to send you to your death?" Shadow shook her head. "I only need you to use your authority to install this little thing... on that vehicle's undercarriage. Preferably slipped in as a 'backup power module.'"

"And then?"

"Then you don't need to worry about it." Shadow narrowed her eyes. "This device will transmit a special signal at a specific time. Humans can't hear it, and radar can't detect it, but to certain... particular beings, it's an irresistible mating pheromone."

Zhao Fan's heart gave a sudden thump.

A frequency inducer. A special signal. Particular beings.

He immediately thought of the rumors Old Dog had mentioned and the mutated creatures he had encountered in the air-raid shelter.

"You want to lure monsters into attacking the transport?" Zhao Fan stared into Shadow's eyes. "You're creating chaos."

"Chaos is a ladder, darling." Shadow leaned closer, her breath fragrant. "Only when things get chaotic do little people like us have a chance to get a slice of the cake on the table. Well? This is what the job pays."

She held up five fingers.

Five hundred thousand.

That was enough for Zhao Fan to buy a decent apartment in this city and leave the slums behind for good.

But Zhao Fan hesitated.

This wasn't just about money. It was about a bottom line. Luring monsters into attacking the transport could cause heavy casualties and even affect civilians.

"I know what you're worried about, big boy." Shadow seemed to see through his thoughts. "Relax. The stretch we've chosen is in an abandoned industrial district. There won't be any civilians. As for the security personnel... that's the risk they have to take for those high salaries."

Zhao Fan fell silent for a moment, then reached out and placed his hand on the metal device.

"I want to take a look."

"Be my guest."

Zhao Fan's fingers brushed over the device's surface with apparent casualness. In reality, the [Relic Recycling] system's analysis function had already activated silently.

[Analyzing...]

[Analysis successful!]

[Item name: Chitauri-Stark hybrid signal amplifier (disguised version)]

[Functions: 1. Simulates the Chitauri Mothership's recall frequency; 2. Blocks all radio communications within 50 meters.]

[Hidden function: Built-in self-destruct program, with power equivalent to a miniature tactical nuclear bomb (inactive).]

Zhao Fan's pupils abruptly contracted.

This lunatic.

She didn't merely want to lure monsters. She also wanted to destroy all the evidence after succeeding, including the "installer" if he happened to be present!

If Zhao Fan hadn't known about this hidden function and foolishly installed it, once the mission was complete, Shadow would only need to press a button to turn him into ash.

"Well? Pretty good workmanship, isn't it?" Shadow asked with a bright smile.

Zhao Fan withdrew his hand. His expression didn't change, but inside, he had turned ice-cold.

He finally understood why Old Dog had privately told him that Shadow "devoured people without spitting out the bones." In the black market, there were no partners, only pawns.

"The workmanship is crude, but I can tidy it up," Zhao Fan said flatly. "But the price doubles. Because once I install this thing, I'll be risking my neck."

"Greed is a good thing." Shadow wasn't angry. Instead, she seemed delighted. "One million. Once it's done, I'll transfer it to your offshore account."

"Deal."

Zhao Fan shut the case, picked it up, and stood.

"But I need some time to... fine-tune it, make it look more like a legitimate D.O.D.C. component."

"Oh, right. Here's what you ordered from me last time." A security guard beside Shadow handed over another black briefcase.

"You have two days." Shadow waved a hand. "Don't disappoint me, Zhao Fan. You're the most talented of the lot."

Zhao Fan walked out of the private room carrying both cases.

The dim corridor lights stretched his shadow long.

"Ben." He pressed his earpiece, his voice frighteningly cold.

"Boss, I'm here."

"Get your toolbox ready." Zhao Fan looked at the heavy silver case in his hand as though it were a heart that could explode at any moment. "We're going to add a little something of our own to this 'Trojan horse.'"

He wouldn't turn down this job. In this world, there was no such thing as too much money, and he also needed to delve deeper into this conspiracy.

But he would never follow Shadow's script. Since you want to play with fire, I'll make sure it singes your own eyebrows.

As for what he had ordered previously, after learning Shadow's true nature, Zhao Fan didn't dare use it at all. Besides, D.O.O.C.'s equipment and intelligence were much better now.