The beginning of chaos

Evelyn's voice sounded slightly distorted over the comms, with shrill alarms and a jumble of footsteps in the background.

"Bring your people. Bring your gear."

Zhao Fan immediately shook off his languor, his muscles tightening in an instant. "What happened? If the aliens are back, I'll have to think about it even with extra pay."

"Worse than that." Evelyn spoke rapidly. "Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury has been assassinated. Ten minutes ago, Captain United States, Steve Rogers, was declared a defector. S.H.I.E.L.D. special forces are conducting a citywide manhunt in Washington, D.C."

Zhao Fan exchanged a look with Old Dog. The bottle in Old Dog's hand hit the table with a clank.

"That one-eyed bastard's dead?" Old Dog's eyes widened in disbelief. "Then that ship of ours..."

"Shut up," Zhao Fan snapped at Old Dog before asking into his headset in a low voice, "What does this have to do with us? We're in New York, hundreds of kilometers from Washington."

"Nothing, originally. Now it does." Evelyn's voice was cold as ice. "Just now, Secretary Alexander Pierce assumed supreme command of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the D.O.D.C. He ordered all supply warehouses locked down and 'loyalty screenings' for core personnel. But I discovered that most of the people on the screening list are technical specialists originally stationed here by Stark Industries, along with the regular cleaners, including the S.C.U."

"A purge."

Zhao Fan murmured the words. Beside him, Benjamin hammered away at his keyboard as red warning windows popped up across the holographic screen. "Boss! I just tried accessing the internal network, and my clearance is locked! And that's not all-a fully armed tactical squad is approaching the administration building. They aren't wearing D.O.D.C. insignia. Judging by their gear... they're S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rapid response force!"

Zhao Fan's gaze instantly sharpened. This wasn't screening. This was silencing witnesses.

Hydra intended to exploit the chaos within S.H.I.E.L.D. to seize complete control of the enormous resource stockpile that was the D.O.D.C., while eliminating every "rat" who might know the inside story.

"Where are you?" Zhao Fan asked as he quickly put on the experimental lightweight exoskeleton.

"Sublevel three, the data center," Evelyn said. "I'm trying to physically sever the servers' external connections. I can't let them get Stark Industries' core data. There's also some data I already physically disconnected from the network... your 'special file.'"

Something stirred in Zhao Fan. Even at a time like this, this woman was still thinking about protecting his secrets? Or rather, protecting her own research results?

"Hold on." Zhao Fan slid the two modified energy pistols into his thigh holsters and finished putting on his tactical gear. "Old Dog, drive. Ben, activate the jammer on that transport truck. I want this building blind and deaf."

"We're going to rescue the she-devil?" Old Dog grumbled, but he moved faster than anyone, grabbing his modified shotgun and stuffing his pockets with specially made slugs.

"We're rescuing our 'ATM.'" Zhao Fan pulled down his tactical mask, his voice turning deep and raspy through the voice changer. "Besides, it looks like Hydra doesn't want us collecting that retirement fund."

The rolling shutter thundered upward. Like a beast released from its cage, the black armored SUV roared into New York's rainy night.

The administration building at the D.O.D.C.'s New York headquarters was ablaze with light, but it wasn't the light of people working overtime. It was the red glow of rotating emergency beacons.

A cordon had already been set up outside the building. Several black SUVs blocked the road, while soldiers in black combat uniforms carrying automatic rifles drove away nearby civilians.

"No insignia, no announcements. Just a straight lockdown." Sitting in the passenger seat, Old Dog spat. "These bastards aren't even pretending anymore."

"Ben, has the jamming started?" Zhao Fan asked coldly from the back seat.

"Stand by. Three, two, one... jamming is active."

As Benjamin pressed Enter, every communications device at the blockade ahead instantly emitted a piercing screech. The soldiers covered their ears and slapped frantically at their headsets.

"Hang on!" Old Dog slammed his foot on the accelerator. Rather than slowing, the SUV accelerated toward the barricade.

Ratatatat-

The soldiers barely managed to react. Bullets struck the bulletproof glass, throwing up a string of sparks.

Boom!

The modified heavy-duty bumper sent an SUV flying. Like a tank, their vehicle smashed its way into the entrance to the building's underground parking garage.

The moment the vehicle stopped, Zhao Fan jumped out.

"Old Dog, guard the vehicle. Ben, find me a route to sublevel three that avoids the main force."

"Understood! Boss, take the freight elevator shaft in Section B. I've hacked the surveillance there, and... uh, the elevator seems to be broken. You'll have to climb down yourself."

Zhao Fan wasted no words. His figure flashed as he darted into the shadows.

The building's interior had descended into complete chaos. Gunfire and screams rang out one after another. Zhao Fan activated [Weak Energy Perception], and dozens of moving red dots appeared in his vision-the energy signatures of the Hydra soldiers' energy weapons.

Like a black ghost, he slipped through ventilation ducts and maintenance passages.

Passing the second-floor office area, he looked through the blinds and saw the logistics supervisor who had once made things difficult for them kneeling on the floor, begging for mercy, while a Hydra soldier coldly raised his gun.

Zhao Fan didn't stop, drawing his energy pistol as he went. But he couldn't save everyone. Time was limited.

Zap!

He left the sound of an energy shot behind him.

At last, he reached the freight elevator shaft. The elevator car was stopped on the top floor, with seemingly bottomless darkness below.

Zhao Fan took a deep breath and leaped.

Wind howled past his ears. The weightlessness of the fall instantly stirred the Extremis Virus cells within him into activity. Just before landing, he thrust both hands downward.

[Kinetic Repulsion: Burst]!

A powerful counterforce erupted from his palms, producing a dull boom in the air. Zhao Fan's fall abruptly checked, and he landed lightly on the buffer springs at the bottom of the shaft.

Ten points. He gave himself a score.

He pushed open the elevator doors. The smell of gun smoke filled the corridor on sublevel three.

Outside Evelyn's laboratory, four fully armed Hydra soldiers were installing breaching charges.

"Hail Hydra," one of them said quietly, about to press the detonator.

"Hail Hydra."

An amused voice sounded behind them.

All four whipped around, only to see a silver arc of light.

The alloy dagger in Zhao Fan's hand traced a perfect semicircle beneath the dim lights. The weapons in the four soldiers' hands split in two, followed immediately by clean cuts through the joints of their armor.

Thud.

All four fell almost simultaneously, unable to fight.

Zhao Fan put away his blade, walked to the door, and knocked on the blast-resistant glass.

"I'm here, Doctor."

The door opened. Evelyn still wore her white lab coat and even held a cup of coffee, though that hand was trembling slightly.

"You're three minutes late." She looked at Zhao Fan, a barely perceptible trace of relief flashing in her eyes.

"Traffic was blocked too. It took a little time." Zhao Fan stepped over the Hydra soldiers on the floor and entered the laboratory. "Everything packed?"

"The data has been destroyed. The core samples are all in this case." Evelyn pointed at a silver briefcase by her feet, then at a complex schematic on the holographic screen. "But before we leave, there's something you need to see."

Zhao Fan leaned closer, his pupils contracting slightly.

It was an enormous schematic, marked with three massive flying warships and... countless red target locks.

"What is this?"

"Project Insight." Evelyn's voice was filled with a chill. "Three suborbital helicarriers linked to a spy satellite network. They were originally scheduled to launch tomorrow. Once connected, they can eliminate tens of thousands of 'potential threats' in a single instant."

"Potential threats?"

"Anyone the Zola Algorithm predicts might obstruct Hydra's rule in the future." Evelyn tapped the screen several times. A dense mass of red boxes appeared, with Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and senior officials from many countries beside them.

Evelyn closed the computer. "If we don't stop these things from launching or destroy their fire-control systems, even if we flee to the ends of the earth, the satellites overhead will blast us to pieces."

"This should be Captain United States's job." Zhao Fan frowned. "I'm just a cleaner."

"Captain United States can barely protect himself right now." Evelyn looked at him. "Besides, if you want to escape Hydra's pursuit for good and establish a foothold in these chaotic times, you need bargaining chips. Those three carriers contain Stark Industries' most advanced repulsion engine cores."

[System notification: Information on extremely high-value targets detected.]

[S-rank quest triggered: Throne in the Ruins.]

[Quest objective: Amid the chaos of Project Insight's collapse, recover at least one "Next-Generation Repulsor Engine Core" and the "Zola Algorithm motherboard."]

[Reward: Unlock ability enhancement; open System Space (1 cubic meter).]

Zhao Fan's breathing instantly grew heavier. System Space! This was the ability he had dreamed of. With it, he would never have to lug bags around on future "supply runs."

"All right, Doctor." Zhao Fan picked up the silver briefcase. "Looks like we're taking a business trip to Washington. But before that, we need to fight our way out."

Boom!

A tremendous explosion sounded outside the laboratory, shaking the entire floor.

"Ben! What's the situation?" Zhao Fan pressed his headset.

"Boss! Not good! There's a helicopter hovering outside the building, aiming straight at your floor! That's... that's a S.H.I.E.L.D. team!"

"Damn it." Zhao Fan grabbed Evelyn and pulled her behind him.

The next second, a missile blasted apart the laboratory's exterior wall. Rubble and glass flew at them like a torrential downpour.

The [Hard Carapace] on Zhao Fan's back instantly hardened to its limit. Its black keratin layer gleamed like metal in the firelight as it took the full force of the impact.

"Move!"

With smoke and dust filling the air, Zhao Fan scooped Evelyn up and jumped straight through the blasted opening.

They were on sublevel three, but because the building had been built into a hillside, a massive sunken plaza lay outside.

In midair, Zhao Fan thrust his right hand backward, unleashing a repulsion wave. Using the counterforce, the two traced an arc through the air and landed hard on the plaza's lawn.

"Cough, cough..." Evelyn scrambled to her feet in a disheveled state. Her shoes had long since come off during their escape, and her white lab coat was covered in mud.

"Looks like you're particularly popular, Doctor." Zhao Fan pulled her up and ran toward Old Dog, who was already waiting there to pick them up.

Behind them, the helicopter's autocannon began to roar, sending dirt flying wildly around their feet.