Training and plans

D.O.D.C., third basement level, S.C.U. dedicated comprehensive training room.

This had originally been a sparring arena designed by Stark Industries for security personnel. High-strength sound-absorbing materials lined the walls, and several titanium-alloy test dummies stood in the center.

Now, the training room was deathly silent, broken only by the occasional explosive crack in the air.

Zhao Fan stood bare-chested in the center of the room. His muscles were sleek and firm, and the faint golden glow unique to the Extremis Virus flowed beneath his skin. But his attention was not on that scorching viral energy. Instead, he focused on the surface of his skin-the new ability the system had analyzed from the mutated beetle in the air-raid shelter yesterday.

System, bring up the detailed parameters for [Hard Carapace], Zhao Fan said silently.

Several lines of pale blue data cascaded rapidly across his retinas.

[Ability name: Hard Carapace (source: D-rank remnant: Hydra Parasitic Guard)]

[Current status: Assimilated (original biological rejection eliminated; physical defensive properties retained)]

[Defense rating: D+ (can withstand slashes from conventional melee weapons and direct hits from small-caliber kinetic projectiles)]

[Energy consumption: Low (passive activation), moderate (active hardening)]

[Description: Simulates the defensive effects of a carapace by altering the arrangement of epidermal cells and forming a high-density biological keratin membrane beneath the dermis.]

"Just a simulation?" Zhao Fan looked at his arm, his gaze sharpening slightly.

If he actually grew a black carapace and became a monster like that insect, he would no longer be able to get by in human society. Fortunately, the system seemed to understand his concern, or perhaps the powerful repair and reconstruction capabilities of the [Extremis Virus] had taken effect. This "carapace" had not changed his appearance, existing in a more concealed form instead.

He walked over to the weapons rack and picked up a tactical dagger specially issued by D.O.D.C. It used Stark Industries' edge-cutting technology and was sharp enough to slice easily through a Kevlar vest.

Zhao Fan took a deep breath. Without the slightest hesitation, he held the dagger in a reverse grip and slashed hard across his left forearm.

Scrape-

The torn flesh and flowing blood he had expected never appeared.

The instant the blade touched his skin, Zhao Fan distinctly felt the subcutaneous tissue at the point of attack contract. An invisible bioelectric signal traveled to the impact point at tremendous speed, and his previously soft skin became as tough as iron within a tenth of a second.

With a grating screech like metal scraping against metal, the dagger's edge left a white mark on Zhao Fan's arm, as though it had scraped across tough old cowhide or hard rubber.

"Interesting."

Zhao Fan increased the force. This time, instead of a tentative slash, he stabbed with thirty percent of his strength.

Thud!

His arm dipped slightly. Pain came, but it was a dull ache rather than a sharp sting. The tip pierced his skin, drawing a tiny bead of blood, but that was all. The invisible "biological membrane" clamped tightly around the blade's tip. No matter how hard Zhao Fan pushed, it would not advance another fraction of an inch.

With a thought, golden-red light flashed at the wound. The intense heat of the [Extremis Virus] instantly seared it shut, and the tiny trace of broken skin vanished in the blink of an eye.

The defensive strength alone is roughly equivalent to wearing an invisible lightweight bulletproof vest. Zhao Fan tossed the dagger aside and looked at his completely unharmed arm, calculating rapidly. But what if I combine it with [Kinetic Repulsion]?

He walked over to the titanium-alloy test dummy.

In his previous battles, he had mainly attacked through bursts of repulsion and his own fighting skills. Although the repulsion was powerful, it was a pushing force, like hitting someone with an air cannon. It could blast people away, but lacked the destructive power to "penetrate the body."

"If I concentrate the carapace's hardness on my knuckles..."

Zhao Fan closed his eyes and guided the biological energy within him. He could feel the defensive mechanism that originally covered his entire body flowing under his conscious control. It converged on his right hand, then compressed furiously around his finger bones and knuckles.

His right fist began to darken slightly, taking on a dull metallic sheen. An extremely faint pattern resembling a honeycomb structure even emerged on the surface of his skin.

"Hah!"

Zhao Fan threw a sudden punch. He used no repulsion, only raw physical strength combined with the localized hardening of [Hard Carapace].

Clang!!!

A deafening crash echoed through the training room.

A fist-shaped dent three inches deep instantly appeared in the titanium-alloy dummy's chest. It no longer felt like the pain of striking iron with bare flesh. Instead, it felt like smashing an iron plate with a hammer. The hardened keratin layer perfectly absorbed and dispersed the recoil.

"Not finished yet."

The instant his fist sank into the dummy's chest, Zhao Fan willed another change. The defensive energy that had been drawing inward instantly transformed into an outward burst of repulsion.

Boom!

A second explosion erupted inside the dent in the dummy's chest. The compressed [Kinetic Repulsion] detonated within the narrow contact area, blasting the titanium-alloy dummy straight off its stand. It slammed into the sound-absorbing wall more than ten meters away, a gaping hole blasted clean through its chest.

Zhao Fan withdrew his fist. As he looked at the dummy, still trailing wisps of smoke, a satisfied smile curved his lips.

"Offense and defense in one."

That was what made the system so powerful. It did not simply stack abilities together. Instead, it perfectly integrated every collected "component" into the precision war machine that was Zhao Fan. If that mutated beetle were alive to see its carapace ability used this way, it would probably die of shame all over again.

But this evolution was not without a price.

A fierce wave of hunger swept over Zhao Fan, the protest of cells that had been intensely active. As his abilities accumulated, his energy requirements were also growing exponentially. Ordinary food could barely satisfy him anymore. This was also why he craved that "Heart of Leviathan" so much. He had discovered that the system generated abilities based on the properties of the items it analyzed. As the core that supplied energy to an entire Leviathan, it would surely yield a related ability.

He walked to the rest area beside him, picked up a bottle of highly concentrated glucose solution, and drained it in one gulp. He felt the cloyingly sweet liquid turn into a warm current that eased the spasms in his stomach.

"Looks like I'm getting further and further away from being 'human.'"

Zhao Fan looked at himself in the mirror. Outwardly, he was still that black-haired, dark-eyed young man of Chinese descent, somewhat lean and even scholarly-looking. But beneath that human skin, the Extremis Virus, mutated carapace, kinetic system... countless dangerous elements were building an entirely new monster.

But he did not care.

In a world where gods and aliens filled the skies, being human was too dangerous. Being a monster was safer.

As long as he could survive, as long as he could grow stronger, he would gladly become even a demon.

With the simple tests finished, Zhao Fan put on his grease-stained work jacket and once again became the ordinary-looking cleanup crew leader.

He pushed open the training room door and headed toward the technical laboratory next door.

D.O.D.C., third basement level, S.C.U. dedicated technical laboratory.

The smell of scorched rosin and the cloying sweetness of some energy drink filled the air. Benjamin Lee was hunched over the workbench, holding a laser screwdriver no bigger than a toothpick. Beads of sweat gathered into rivulets on his forehead and dripped from his rounded nose.

"Don't shake, Ben. What you're holding is a miniature nuclear bomb that could flatten an entire block." Zhao Fan leaned against a server cabinet nearby, toying with the black metal case he had brought back from the Wreckage bar. His tone was as relaxed as if he were discussing tomorrow's weather.

"Boss, I'm not shaking. This is... this is a physiological tremor!" Benjamin's voice trembled, his eyes as wide as saucers behind his goggles. "Is this woman insane? Stuffing explosives like these into a Stark Industries signal amplifier? Is she trying to launch another terrorist attack in New York?"

"She's not insane. She's a businesswoman. The most ruthless kind." Zhao Fan's gaze cooled slightly. "To her, both I and that convoy are disposable consumables. As long as she gets what's inside Fortress, she doesn't care how many people get blown up. The more people die, the better she can conceal her movements."

"Enough. Cut the chatter." Old Dog sat in an ergonomic chair, sharpening the military spike that had been with him for years, producing a grating rasp. "Fatty, you've been fiddling with it forever. What exactly is going on with this thing? Can we disarm it?"

"That's the problem!" Benjamin straightened up and pointed at the complex wiring diagram on the holographic screen, the internal structure he had just analyzed using a high-frequency scanner. "This self-destruct program has multiple locked-in triggers. A countdown, remote control, even vital-sign monitoring-it'll explode when time runs out. If nearby organisms' hearts stop after you install this thing, boss, it'll explode too. If you try to dismantle it by force, it'll also explode. This thing was never meant to be disarmed!"

"I was only asking. Looks like Shadow really wouldn't make such a basic mistake. I don't need you to disarm it." Zhao Fan walked over to the workbench and tapped the black metal casing lightly.

In his field of vision, the system's pale blue screen overlaid the device.

[Item name: Chitauri-Stark hybrid signal amplifier (modified · high-risk trap)]

[Analysis progress: 100%]

[Structural weakness: The energy bypass system has a 0.03-second delay vulnerability.]

"I need you to... rewrite it." A playful smile curved Zhao Fan's lips. "Shadow wants chaos, so we'll give her chaos. But we have to be the ones directing it."

"Rewrite it?" Benjamin froze for a moment.

"Keep the signal amplification function. Strengthen it, even." Zhao Fan gave his instructions. "Turn the signal that simulates the Chitauri Mothership's summoning frequency up to maximum power. I want every alien remnant creature within five kilometers to go berserk. As for that 'explosion'..."

Zhao Fan paused, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Graft the detonation circuit onto the signal transmitter. Once the device activates, its energy won't detonate the core. Instead, after three minutes, it'll instantly burn out every circuit board and release one final powerful electromagnetic pulse-an EMP."

"You want to turn this into a disposable super-lure, then have it automatically destroy the evidence once its job is done?" Benjamin's eyes lit up. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant! That way, even if the Security Department investigates afterward, they'll only find a pile of scorched scrap metal. They won't trace it back to us."

"Also, block the remote-control receiver module," Zhao Fan added. "That button should be in my hands now, not that viper's."

"Give me three hours." Benjamin put his goggles back on, the fervor unique to a tech geek burning in his eyes. "I'll turn this thing into a work of art. But boss, what exactly is that Fortress transport carrying? What makes it worth this much investment from Shadow?"

Zhao Fan did not answer. He looked at an encrypted logistics message someone had just sent to his wristband.

[Cargo code name: Heart of Leviathan (active sample)]

[Danger rating: A+]

[Note: This sample emits extremely strong biological radiation and must be transported under liquid-nitrogen freezing conditions throughout.]

"A living heart," Zhao Fan said softly, his voice so low that only he could hear it. "An opportunity for S.C.U. to establish a firm foothold."

Late at night two days later, on an abandoned industrial highway leading from New Jersey to New York.

The streetlights here had long since broken down. Only moonlight fell across the cracked asphalt. In the distance, the faint sound of waves on the Hudson River masked certain unknown movements.

An unmarked heavy armored truck sped along the road. It was entirely black, its body covered in thick composite armor. Six enormous off-road tires rolled over the gravel on the road with a dull crunch. A Humvee mounted with a heavy machine gun escorted it at either end. Two security drones manufactured by Stark Industries circled overhead, their red scanning lasers weaving a net across the ground.

This was Fortress, D.O.D.C.'s highest-grade transport vehicle.

On an abandoned water tower five hundred meters from the highway, Zhao Fan lay in the shadows, watching the convoy through tactical binoculars.

"Target entering the designated area," Zhao Fan said quietly, pressing his earpiece. "Old Dog, position."

"I'm in place." Old Dog's voice came through with the sound of wind. "In the drainage ditch up ahead. This damned place reeks of sewage. Smells even worse than that air-raid shelter."

"Ben, get the interference ready."

"Ready whenever you are. I've hacked into both drones' video transmission systems. I can feed them a ten-second loop of false footage." Benjamin sounded particularly tense over the channel. "Boss, you only have ten seconds. That truck's undercarriage sensors are extremely sensitive. If your weight stays on it for more than two seconds, the defense system will roast you."

"Ten seconds is enough."

Zhao Fan took a deep breath. The [Extremis Virus] cells within him became active, and a warm current surged into his limbs.

[Kinetic Repulsion] was primed and ready.

When the convoy reached a sharp bend below the water tower and had to slow down, Zhao Fan moved.

Like a black night owl, he leaped from the water tower dozens of meters above the ground. Just before landing, he released an invisible wave of repulsion downward from his palms. His body traced a light arc through the air and slid precisely beneath the heavy truck's chassis.

A tremendous roar filled his ears, and the scorching exhaust pipe radiated astonishing heat. Zhao Fan hung upside down from the driveshaft, both hands clamped like iron pincers around the chassis crossbeam.

"Ben, now!"

"Interference started! Footage looping!"

The drones overhead continued to circle, but on the control center's screens, everything here looked normal.

Zhao Fan swiftly took the modified "black box" from his tactical backpack and attached it inside a concealed recess beside the fuel tank. This was the optimal position Benjamin had calculated-it could use the vehicle's vibrations to mask the device's operating noise while using the fuel line as an antenna to amplify the signal.

Click.

Magnetic attachment complete.

Without pausing, Zhao Fan let go a second before the truck left the bend and began accelerating. His body slid close along the ground as he released repulsion again, pushing himself toward the roadside grass.

The entire process flowed smoothly, without a single wasted movement.

The convoy roared past, the dust it stirred up concealing Zhao Fan's figure.

"Mission complete." Zhao Fan stood up from the grass and brushed the dust off himself. "Device activated. Showtime."

On his retinas, a new countdown appeared on the system interface:

[Signal lure activated: 00:02:59]

[High-energy biological responses detected nearby... Quantity: Extremely numerous.]

Zhao Fan looked in the direction the convoy had gone. It was the only route to Queens, New York-and an old factory district abandoned because of the alien invasion.

"Shadow," Zhao Fan murmured to himself, "I hope you're ready for this generous gift."