Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

Chapter 68 Return to the Hive

Inside the Stark Tower's underground laboratory, the enhanced white mouse continued to dart about in its specially designed isolation chamber, displaying vitality and agility far surpassing its peers, silently proclaiming the initial success of the new enhancement agent. A peculiar atmosphere, a mixture of excitement and urgency, permeated the air.

"The data records are complete, the subject's condition remains stable, and no adverse reactions or signs of ability decline have been found." Jarvis's voice echoed in the laboratory, marking a temporary end to this milestone test.

Tony Stark stood before the holographic projection, hands on his hips. The complex data stream on the screen had converged, finally settling on a series of exhilarating green indicators. "Perfect! Even better than I expected!" He turned around, his face radiating the pure joy of a scientist conquering a difficult problem, but a new flame had ignited deep within his eyes. "The basic verification is complete, Haotian. Now, what we need isn't to celebrate with champagne, but more and more advanced 'raw materials' and 'recipes'."

Chen Haotian leaned against the edge of the cold metal control panel, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the surface, producing a rhythmic, soft sound. His gaze passed over the excited Tony and landed on the interdimensional teleportation rune floating and slowly rotating in the center of the laboratory. The symbol representing the Resident Evil world still emitted an ominous yet alluring dark red glow.

"The Hive." Chen Haotian slowly uttered two words, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable determination. "We've only explored the tip of the iceberg, and what we took was just the most basic T-virus stock solution. The Red Queen's database, William Birkin's G-virus, and other shady research projects of the Umbrella Corporation... everything we need is there."

"Exactly!" Tony snapped his fingers and strode to the equipment storage area. "Last time, we were caught off guard by that little girl in the red dress during a rushed infiltration. This time, we need to be fully prepared." As he spoke, he began to expertly inspect and upgrade his portable armor components. Having been tested in the worlds of The Walking Dead and Resident Evil, he had made some minor adjustments to this non-full-body armor, which emphasized flexibility and environmental adaptability, adding specific sensors and non-lethal control mechanisms to counter biological threats.

Chen Haotian then walked to the weapon rack on the other side. He didn't choose any of Tony's high-tech gadgets, but instead picked up a longsword with an ancient design, yet subtly shimmering with a dark luster. This was a weapon he had forged privately using special materials he had collected from the Marvel universe, combined with forging techniques from his memory. After witnessing the clash of forces from different worlds, he realized that sometimes, this "low-tech" approach, originating from one's own power system, might be more adaptable than high-tech equipment that heavily relies on specific physical laws.

"Jarvis," Tony ordered without turning around, "while we're gone, raise the lab's access level to the highest level, continue analyzing the fusion enhancer data, and simulate the next phase of optimization. Also, closely monitor any anomalous biosignals within the New York area. I don't want any 'souvenirs' we bring back to cause trouble outside."

"Instructions confirmed, Mr. Stark. Best of luck on your mission."

Preparations were completed efficiently and silently. Tony donned his upgraded lightweight armor, its streamlined silver-red shell gleaming coldly under the laboratory lights. Chen Haotian slung his ancient longsword over his shoulder, his expression calm, as if he were simply going for a casual stroll.

The two stood before the floating teleportation rune once more.

"Last time it was a forced teleportation, with a random landing point." Chen Haotian stretched out his right hand, a faint but condensed energy swirling around his fingertips, establishing a connection with the runes. "This time, we'll actively locate the target—the Hive underground base, as close as possible to the core data area."

The dark red runes suddenly lit up, their light flowing faster, and the lines that made up the runes seemed to come alive, beginning to recombine and reposition themselves. An invisible spatial fluctuation spread out from the runes, distorting the light in the laboratory and blurring the outlines of the equipment.

Tony took a deep breath, his armor visor snapped shut, and his electronic eyes glowed blue. "Ready. This time, I won't be chased by an AI."

Chen Haotian's lips curled into a cold smile. "Perhaps it's our turn to 'talk' to her this time."

As soon as the words were spoken, a dark red light suddenly erupted, instantly engulfing the two figures. The space in the center of the laboratory seemed to be violently twisted and folded by an invisible hand, before snapping back to its original state.

As the intense light faded, only the slowly rotating runes remained, along with a faint, lingering ripple in the air.

……

The feeling of weightlessness and the distortion of space lasted only a brief moment.

As the solid sensation returned to my feet, a rush of cold air, a mixture of disinfectant, rust, and some indescribable stench of decaying organic matter, instantly filled my nostrils. In my ears was the low, continuous hum of machinery and the hollow echo of liquid dripping from distant pipes.

Chen Haotian and Tony quickly looked around.

They were in a wide metal corridor, with neat rows of cold white LED lights overhead, but many of the tubes were broken and flickering, casting dim, eerie shadows that made the corridor seem particularly sinister. The walls were made of cold alloy, emblazoned with the Umbrella Corporation's red and white logo, and in some places, obvious claw marks, bullet holes, and even dried, blackened bloodstains were visible. The floor was covered with a thin layer of dust, but haphazard footprints and a dark red drag mark could be faintly seen, extending into the depths of the corridor.

"The accuracy of the teleportation landing point has improved a lot," Tony said, scanning the environment through the sensors on his mask. "According to the building structure diagram and energy signal analysis, we are currently located in the backup energy supply channel on the third basement level of the Hive, about 800 meters away from the main data center in a straight line, and about 1.5 kilometers away from the virus repository we broke into last time."

Chen Haotian nodded, his senses spreading outwards like invisible tentacles. Besides the noise of the machines, he also caught some subtle, irregular friction sounds and low growls coming from the depths of several branching paths in the passage, faint and indistinct.

"It seems that the 'ecosystem' inside the hive has become even more 'rich' while we were away," Chen Haotian said with a hint of sarcasm. He could sense a strong aura of death and mutation permeating the base, even more unsettling than when he last left.

"Jarvis, try to connect to the Hive's internal network. Keep it low-key, don't try to force your way in like last time and alert Red Queen," Tony whispered the order. A small holographic interface was projected from the armor on his arm, with data streaming rapidly.

"Attempting... Multiple firewalls and proactive defenses detected. The network protocol differs significantly from standard Earth networks, and an unknown encryption layer exists. Access is blocked; higher privileges or a physical connection interface are required."

"As expected, they've increased security." Tony wasn't surprised. "That Red Queen must have put us on her list of top threats."

Just then, about fifty meters ahead in the passage, a ventilation shaft fence suddenly made a muffled "bang," as if something inside had struck it hard. Immediately following was a sickening metallic twisting sound—the fence had been ripped open from the inside!

A twisted figure crawled out of the ventilation duct and crashed to the ground. It had once worn the white lab coat of an Umbrella Corporation researcher, but now it was tattered, its exposed skin an unhealthy grayish-white, covered with bulging bluish-black veins. Its eyes were cloudy and lifeless, its mouth torn, drooling thick saliva, and it emitted a low, hoarse growl. It struggled to its feet, staggered to its feet, and then abruptly turned its head, its empty eyes instantly locking onto Chen Haotian and Tony standing in the corridor!

"Awooo—!" It let out a roar that was not human, and on all fours, it pounced straight at the two of them with a speed that did not match its stiff appearance!

"Welcome back," Chen Haotian said coldly, his longsword still sheathed.

Tony raised his arm, and the pulse cannon in his palm instantly charged, emitting a faint hum. "Looks like the 'cleaning operation' is about to begin."

A blue-white pulsed energy beam precisely struck the head of the charging zombie. The powerful kinetic energy instantly shattered its skull, and the headless corpse, propelled forward a few more steps by inertia, finally collapsed limply to the ground, dark red blood and brain tissue splattering onto the cold metal wall.

"One hit, one kill. The energy output was adjusted properly, without causing unnecessary structural damage." Tony lowered his arm, his tone relaxed, as if he had just swatted a fly.

Chen Haotian walked to the corpse, squatted down, and carefully examined the wounds and the zombie's condition. "Its speed and strength are better than the ordinary zombies we encountered on the streets of Raccoon City. It seems the virus concentration or mutation level inside the Hive is higher."

He stood up, his gaze fixed on the rustling sounds and growls emanating from the darkness deep within the passage.

"Hurry up, Tony. I bet there will be a lot more 'welcome ceremonies' like this to come."