A Feast in the Dark

Nights in the abandoned industrial district should have been deathly silent. But tonight, an unsettling frequency stirred in the air.

Inside the Fortress transport, the driver, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent with ten years of military service, gripped the steering wheel tightly, his wary gaze scanning the thermal imager.

"Command, this is Fortress. We're passing through sector D-7. All clear."

"Copy, Fortress. Drone feed shows clear roads ahead. Stay alert."

The driver let out a breath and was just reaching for his coffee when the radar on the dashboard suddenly began flashing frantically.

"Beep, beep, beep-!!!"

"What's going on? A malfunction?" The security captain in the passenger seat immediately raised his rifle.

"No... it's not a malfunction." The driver's voice distorted as he pointed at the densely packed red dots surging across the screen like a red tide. "Those are... biological signatures! God, there are too many! They're coming out of the ground!"

The next second, a teeth-grating screech of tearing metal came from beneath the vehicle.

Boom!

The entire twenty-ton armored vehicle lurched violently as if it had struck an invisible wall, its front end rearing high before crashing back down.

"We're under attack! Under attack!"

Terrified shouts filled the communications channel.

In the pale headlights, the asphalt ahead abruptly exploded. More than a dozen monstrous insects, each the size of a German shepherd and covered in chitinous armor, burrowed out of the ground. They had sharp mouthparts and faintly glowing compound eyes-evolved versions of the Hydra Parasitic Beetles Zhao Fan had encountered in the air-raid shelter.

But those were not the most terrifying things.

Behind the beetles, several larger figures slowly emerged from the shadows of the abandoned factory. They were humanoid monsters over three meters tall, wearing battered Chitauri infantry armor, their bodies haphazardly covered in all sorts of tentacles and strange tumors. Although the energy spears in their hands were mottled with rust, their tips still flickered with dangerous purple light.

"Are those... Chitauri? Weren't they all killed in the Battle of New York?" the security captain shouted in disbelief.

"They weren't completely dead! Or something woke them up!"

The device Zhao Fan had installed beneath the vehicle was broadcasting a "brood nest" summons at a frequency humans could not hear, but which held a fatal attraction for alien creatures. For these alien remnants barely surviving on Earth without their command system, it was nothing less than a beacon in the dark, a horn calling them home.

"Open fire! Everyone, open fire!"

The heavy machine guns mounted on the two escort Humvees instantly spat flames, bullets pouring out like torrential rain.

However, the Chitauri moved with astonishing speed. They even used abandoned shipping containers and broken walls as cover, returning precise fire with their energy weapons. Purple energy beams sliced through the night, instantly blasting one Humvee into a ball of fire.

"We need air support! Repeat, we need..."

"Bzzzt-"

Communications cut out.

"Nice work, Ben." Concealed atop distant ruins, Zhao Fan watched the battlefield below descend into chaos, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. The virus Benjamin had written had infiltrated D.O.D.C.'s encrypted channel in reverse the instant the signal erupted, temporarily blocking all external communications throughout the area.

Now, this place was an isolated island.

"Old Dog, we're up." Zhao Fan put on his specially made tactical mask, his voice cold. "Remember, we're 'good Samaritans passing through.' Don't use S.C.U. standard-issue weapons. Use those guns we picked up on the black market."

"Understood, boss." Old Dog stepped out of the shadows carrying a modified heavy shotgun. "It's been a long time since I had a fight this satisfying."

Zhao Fan leaped down from above. This time, he held nothing back.

His figure swept along the edge of the battlefield like a phantom. A mutated beetle trying to flank the transport had barely opened its mouth before Zhao Fan shattered its head with a heavy punch wrapped in [Kinetic Repulsion]. Green fluid splashed, only to bounce away when it touched the faint energy shield covering his body.

Bang!

Old Dog's shotgun fired as well. A specially made tungsten-steel slug blasted a gaping hole through a Chitauri grunt's chest armor.

"Hey! Our D.O.D.C. brothers over there! Looks like you've run into a little trouble!" Old Dog shouted in an exceptionally obnoxious tone as he fired.

The security captain inside the transport was already overwhelmed. Seeing two formidable fighters suddenly charge into the fray, he had no time to verify their identities. "Whoever you are! Help us hold the left flank! Damn it, these monsters are trying to tear the cargo compartment open!"

"That costs extra!" Zhao Fan replied coldly. The two specially made stun batons in his hands instantly extended into long spears crackling with blue arcs.

He charged into the horde.

It was an outright slaughter-or rather, a dazzling one-man show.

After his modification by the [Extremis Virus] and his earlier absorption of Hydra's energy fluid, Zhao Fan's physical abilities now surpassed human limits in every respect. His dynamic vision tracked the trajectory of every energy beam, every dodge perfectly timed.

A Chitauri grunt roared and thrust its spear at him. Instead of retreating, Zhao Fan advanced, his left hand snapping around its wrist. [Weak Energy Perception] activated instantly, locating a node in the energy flow of its armor.

"Break."

With a low shout, Zhao Fan tightened his fingers and crushed the node outright. The alien weapon instantly went dead, and his right knee slammed into its jaw.

Crack!

The sound of shattering bones remained clear even amid the noisy battlefield.

[Analyzing Chitauri infantryman (incomplete specimen). Ability fragment acquired: biological muscle fiber (1/50).]

Zhao Fan's gaze sharpened.

By then, Old Dog and the transport's security personnel were drawing most of the fire. The largest mutated beetle was frantically gnawing at the transport's rear doors, and cracks had already appeared in the thick alloy steel beneath its acid and enormous mandibles.

"Now."

Zhao Fan darted forward, using a monster's corpse as a springboard to leap onto the transport's roof.

Of course, he had not come to save anyone. He had come to collect his "payment."

Just as the enormous beetle was about to bite through the doors, Zhao Fan dropped from above, driving his stun spear precisely into a gap in the armor on its back.

Bzzzt-

High-voltage current instantly tore through the beetle's central nervous system. The enormous creature spasmed once before collapsing in front of the doors. Its corpse happened to block the hole it had bitten open, obscuring the other monsters' view from outside.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Fan slipped through the hole into the cargo compartment.

The temperature inside was extremely low, white mist filling the compartment. A transparent cryogenic containment tank was secured in its center.

Through the white mist, Zhao Fan saw the thing.

It was no ordinary heart. As large as a bucket, it was an eerie blue-purple all over, its surface covered in golden patterns resembling a circuit board. Despite having been separated from its original body for so long, it still beat powerfully. Every beat stirred a ripple in the air visible to the naked eye.

[Item name: Heart of Leviathan (active core)]

[Grade: A-]

[Description: The biological nerve center of the Chitauri behemoth "Leviathan," containing immense bioelectric energy and a mental-link network.]

[System assessment: Perfect evolution material.]

Zhao Fan's breathing quickened. He could feel the system inside him rumbling with desire.

But he did not act immediately.

"Come out," Zhao Fan said to the shadow in the corner of the compartment. "I know you're there."

The shadow writhed, revealing a figure in a black bodysuit. It was a woman holding two unusually shaped daggers, her face covered by a half-face tactical mask.

"One of Shadow's people?" Zhao Fan asked.

The woman said nothing and attacked immediately. She was extremely fast, like a venomous snake, her dagger aimed straight at Zhao Fan's throat.

"Looks like Shadow really doesn't trust me." Zhao Fan shook his head.

He did not use a weapon. Instead, he simply reached out.

Just as the dagger was about to strike him, the air around Zhao Fan's palm distorted. [Kinetic Repulsion] formed a small vortex, diverting the dagger's trajectory.

Then Zhao Fan's hand clamped around the woman's neck.

"Too slow."

Zhao Fan slammed her against the compartment wall, the tremendous force denting even the alloy.

"Tell Shadow I've signed for the delivery." Zhao Fan leaned close to the woman's ear, his voice like a demon's. "As for the remaining payment... I'll collect it myself."

The woman's eyes widened. Just as she was about to say something, Zhao Fan tightened his fingers slightly, compressing her carotid arteries. Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out.

Zhao Fan released her, letting her slide to the floor.

He turned toward the enormous heart.

"System, can you absorb only the energy without damaging its appearance?"

[Response to host: "Deep extraction" is possible. Its internal high-energy bioelectricity and active factors will be absorbed, leaving only its physical shell. Its appearance will remain unchanged, but it will effectively become an empty husk.]

"Perfect."

Zhao Fan pressed both hands against the cold glass tank.

"Start feeding."

In an instant, brilliant blue-purple light flooded the entire compartment, only to be rapidly swallowed up by Zhao Fan's body.

The battle outside continued. No one knew that within this steel fortress, an evolution capable of changing a mortal's destiny was quietly reaching completion.

It felt like sticking his fingers into a high-voltage socket while someone simultaneously injected lava into his veins.

Zhao Fan clenched his teeth, refusing to let himself scream. His body trembled violently, the veins beneath his skin bulging like earthworms and taking on an eerie golden-red hue.

[Analyzing Leviathan biological code...]

[Integrating Chitauri neural-link network...]

[Warning: Excessive mental load! Immediate interruption recommended!]

No... keep going! Zhao Fan roared inwardly.

He could feel the immense will within that heart-a fragment of the Chitauri hive mind, brutal, obedient, destructive. That will tried to assault Zhao Fan's brain and turn him into a new puppet.

But deep within Zhao Fan's consciousness, the mysterious "system" displayed absolute supremacy. Like a merciless butcher, it chopped apart that alien will, cleansed it, reassembled it, and finally fed it to Zhao Fan as pure nourishment.

Ten minutes? Or ten seconds?

When the light faded, Zhao Fan fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

The Heart of Leviathan, which had originally given off a dim glow, had now gone dark. Though it still beat mechanically, its unnerving energy fluctuations had vanished completely. It truly was nothing more than an expensive lump of rotten meat now.

As for Zhao Fan...

He slowly stood and clenched his fists.

If his previous enhancement had turned a sedan into an armored vehicle, that armored vehicle had now been fitted with an antigravity engine.

His sensory world had undergone a seismic change. Even through the thick armored compartment, he could clearly "feel" the location of every Chitauri creature outside. He could even vaguely sense their simple emotions-fear, hunger, anger.

[New ability acquired: Mental Pressure (low-level)-you can release mental shocks to briefly intimidate or control creatures of low intelligence.]

[New ability acquired: Bioelectric Burst-you can convert the biological energy within your body into high-voltage electrical arcs and release them.]

"So this is... power."

Zhao Fan raised his hand, blue electrical arcs dancing at his fingertips.

Suddenly, Benjamin's anxious voice came through his earpiece. "Boss! Are you done? D.O.D.C.'s air support will arrive in two minutes! Colonel Rhodes, War Machine, is leading them! If you don't want to get shot down as villains, you'd better get out now!"

"War Machine?" Zhao Fan raised an eyebrow. It seemed this had caused a bigger stir than he had imagined.

"Old Dog, escape route."

"The sewer!" Old Dog shouted outside. "I blasted open a manhole five meters behind the vehicle!"

Zhao Fan glanced at the unconscious female assassin on the floor, then at the heart he had drained dry.

He took a small signal transmitter from his pocket and attached it to the bottom of the heart's container. It was another of Benjamin's little gadgets, capable of simulating the original energy readings well enough to fool an initial inspection.

Once he was done, he grabbed the female assassin and kicked open the rear doors.

The battle outside was nearing its end. Having lost the "bait" signal-the device Zhao Fan had installed beneath the vehicle had self-destructed as planned-the Chitauri monsters had become as disorganized as headless flies, attacking everywhere.

"Go!"

Carrying his captive, Zhao Fan shot out of the compartment like a cannonball, grabbed Old Dog, who was changing magazines, with one hand, and jumped straight into the open manhole nearby.

The instant they replaced the cover, the roar of jet engines came from the sky.

A dazzling repulsor beam descended from above, blasting an enormous beetle attempting to pursue them into pieces.

"This is War Machine. The situation is under control." Colonel Rhodes's voice echoed over the battlefield through a loudspeaker. "Cleanup teams, move in. All unrelated personnel, evacuate immediately."

In the sewer.

Zhao Fan leaned against the damp wall, listened to the sounds overhead, and let out a long breath.

"Strange. Why do the sewers feel more and more reassuring?"

"Captain, who's this woman?" Old Dog shone his flashlight on the female assassin dumped on the ground. "Nice figure, but she doesn't look easy to talk to."

"A bargaining chip delivered to our door." Zhao Fan looked at her coldly. "Take her back."

"So this job's finished?" Old Dog wiped the blood from his face.

"No." A dangerous gleam flickered in Zhao Fan's eyes. "This was just the deposit. Now we're going to collect that million in outstanding payment, plus 'emotional distress damages' for the past few days."

He raised his wrist and looked at the map on his terminal. It showed Shadow's current location, which Benjamin had just tracked down.

She was neither overseas nor inside some secure fortress.

She was in a luxury hotel near Stark Tower, waiting to watch these "fireworks."

"Tonight isn't over yet, Old Dog." Zhao Fan bared his white teeth in the darkness. "We're going to see a lady off to her death."