Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

Chapter 62 Dual-Line Research

Inside the laboratory atop Stark Tower, the atmosphere was so tense it seemed almost palpable. Within the isolation enclosure, microliters of the T-virus stock solution and an equal volume of diluted Extremis virus, in a miniature reaction chamber with a high vacuum and energy shield, slowly approached and made contact, like two venomous snakes poised to strike.

There was no violent explosion or energy eruption as expected. In the initial moment, there was a deathly stillness. The two liquids were clearly distinct: the T-virus was a strange, almost blackish dark red, while the Extremis virus radiated a lava-like orange-red glow, probing and resisting each other.

However, this calm lasted for less than 0.5 seconds.

The next moment, something unexpected happened!

At the contact surface, an extremely blinding and unstable pale white light burst forth, accompanied by a teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound, as if glass were shattering from high-frequency sound waves. The energy shielding field surrounding the reaction chamber instantly overloaded, and the value representing the stability of the energy layer on the virtual interface plummeted like an avalanche.

"Warning! Energy reaction has increased dramatically! Shielding field efficiency has dropped to 47%!" Jarvis's calm alarm echoed in the laboratory.

Tony stared intently at the real-time data stream on the holographic screen, his fingers moving so fast on the virtual keyboard they almost left afterimages. "Damn it! Their energy spectra are repelling each other, yet trying to devour one another! The alien energy of the T-virus is eroding the stable structure of the Extremis virus, while the Extremis virus's high-temperature properties are conversely stimulating the T-virus's mutational activity!"

Chen Haotian's eyes sharpened, and his internal energy involuntarily accelerated, his perception amplified to its limit. What he "saw" was not merely a physical reaction; deep within that pale light, two completely different "Dao"—representing the underlying rules of their respective worlds—were colliding and tearing apart. One was a violent vitality filled with destruction and regeneration (T-virus), while the other contained the collapse and reshaping of energy under extreme order (Extinction Virus). They were fundamentally contradictory, and their contact at this moment was more like a microscopic war of rules.

"Energy dissipation rate exceeds safety threshold! Chamber pressure rises sharply!" Jarvis warned again.

The miniature reaction chamber began to vibrate violently. The originally transparent outer shell was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks. The pale white light inside grew brighter and brighter, and the central area even began to show an ominous darkness that devoured all light.

"We can't wait any longer! Jarvis, activate emergency procedures..." Tony made a decisive move, preparing to order the activation of the freeze-annihilation program.

"Wait!" Chen Haotian suddenly shouted, his gaze piercing through the chaotic energy, catching a very subtle change. "Look there! The singularity of the energy collision!"

At the very core of that pale light intertwined with darkness, an extremely tiny, almost imperceptible pale purple dot flashed by. The instant that dot appeared, the two violently conflicting energies around them experienced a brief and slight respite, which was immediately overwhelmed by the even more intense conflict. However, Chen Haotian keenly caught that fleeting sign of "balance".

"Is that... a brief 'vacuum' zone due to a conflict of rules? Or..." A thought flashed through Chen Haotian's mind, as if he had realized something, but the situation was critical at the moment, and he could not think about it in detail.

"Emergency freeze procedure activated!" Tony issued the order without hesitation.

A stream of cryogenic liquid helium at absolute zero was instantly injected into the outer interlayer of the reaction chamber, while a powerful directional electromagnetic pulse was generated inside, attempting to forcibly terminate the reaction.

"Bang--!"

With a muffled thud, the miniature reaction chamber finally succumbed to the pressure and shattered completely. However, the anticipated scenario of virus leakage and energy explosion did not occur. All the reactants and energy were forcibly constrained, frozen, and ultimately annihilated into a wisp of insignificant smoke under the combined effects of the ultra-low temperature and electromagnetic pulse, which was instantly drawn away by the highly efficient filtration system.

A faint, strange smell, a mixture of ozone and some kind of burnt organic matter, filled the laboratory.

Inside the isolation enclosure, only a scene of devastation remained.

Tony let out a long breath, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead. He removed his protective mask, wiped his face, and said with lingering fear, "Damn, that was close! Just a hair's breadth away!"

Chen Haotian also deactivated his protective gear, his brow furrowed as he stared at the pile of wreckage, the brief appearance of the pale purple light replaying in his mind. "Tony, during the most intense energy conflict just now, did you observe a...pale purple energy flash? It was very brief."

Tony paused for a moment, then pulled up the high-speed photography and full-spectrum energy monitoring data he had just recorded. The images were slowed down frame by frame, and the energy spectrum was continuously magnified and analyzed. Finally, just before the energy curve soared to its peak, the monitoring equipment captured an extremely faint energy fluctuation with a peculiar frequency, its color being pale purple.

"Yes!" Tony pointed to the almost negligible signal peak on the screen. "It's definitely there! The duration is less than a picosecond, and the energy level is extremely low, but... its appearance seems to have caused an extremely small, instantaneous decrease in the energy repulsion coefficient between the T-virus and the Extremis virus!"

He abruptly looked up at Chen Haotian, his eyes gleaming with renewed excitement. His previous fear was replaced by a strong desire to explore: "You've discovered the key! What is this pale purple energy? It seems to be able to, to some extent, buffer or... 'lubricate' the conflicts between the rules of different worlds?"

Chen Haotian walked to the control panel and pulled up the known energy spectrum database of the Marvel Universe for comparison. The result came back quickly—no match. This pale purple energy signal did not belong to any known form of energy in this world, whether it was the nuclear energy of the Arc Reactor, the spatial energy of the Tesseract, or the lightning power of Thor's hammer.

"It's not from our world," Chen Haotian mused, his gaze deepening. "nor does it belong to the Resident Evil world. The alien energy carried by the T-virus is dark red, full of aggressive life mutation characteristics. But this pale purple... feels more... neutral, more... fundamental, as if it's a more basic 'medium' or... 'platform' capable of carrying different rules."

"A platform? You mean, it might be a kind of 'universal energy' or 'universal adhesive' that can be compatible with the rules of different worlds?" Tony's mind immediately started racing. "If we can find this energy, or figure out how it's generated, wouldn't it be possible to solve the problem of the mutual exclusion of different world power systems?"

"That's how it is in theory." Chen Haotian nodded, but his expression remained serious. "But we don't even know what it is or where it came from. It was just a product that was born by chance in the instant when two extreme viral rules clashed violently. It was extremely unstable and vanished instantly."

"A product born by chance..." Tony stroked his chin, lost in thought. "Or rather, when the conflict of rules reached a certain critical point, it tore apart something... something we haven't yet come to know? Just as the annihilation of matter and antimatter releases photons, could the annihilation of rules from different worlds also release some kind of 'information' or 'energy' that we've never understood?"

This conjecture sent a chill down their spines. If it were true, then what they had touched upon might not just be the technical challenge of viral fusion, but rather a deeper mystery involving the multiverse.

"Jarvis," Chen Haotian ordered, "conduct a high-priority in-depth analysis of all the data we just captured regarding the pale purple energy, including its spatial coordinates (relative to the reaction chamber), energy spectrum, duration, and all related environmental parameters. Establish an independent research project, codenamed... 'Bridge'."

"The 'bridge' of the project has been built, and data analysis is underway," Jarvis responded.

"At the same time," Tony interjected, his eyes gleaming with a defiant light, "this in vitro fusion experiment, though unsuccessful, provided valuable data. We've identified the problem—mutually exclusive rules. Before finding a stable 'bridge,' we need to adjust our strategy. Perhaps we shouldn't pursue fusion in one step; we could try indirect influence first, or find an entry point with relatively less energy conflict."

He retrieved the genetic maps of the T-virus and the Extremis virus, as well as the relatively "mild" virus sample data brought back from the world of The Walking Dead.

"We can focus our efforts on studying the characteristics of these three viruses in depth. The forced evolution and mutation of the T-virus, the potential activation and energy manipulation of the Extremis virus, and the neural parasitism and bodily 'pseudo-activation' of the Zombie virus... each of them has enormous research value. In particular, the T-virus and the Zombie virus both come from different alien worlds. Comparing the differences between them may help us understand the biological manifestation of the so-called 'world rules' more quickly."

Chen Haotian agreed: "That's right, we have to take things one step at a time. Let's solidify our foundation first. The Hive's data is enormous, and it might hold clues about the source of that dark red alien energy of the T-virus. And finding the 'Bridge' energy will also take time."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity and determination in each other's eyes. This failure, far from discouraging them, had instead pointed them toward a deeper and more dangerous direction of research. They not only had to confront Umbrella and Hydra technologically, but also explore the underlying rules of the multiverse on a cognitive level.

In the top-floor laboratory of Stark Tower, the lights blazed all night once again. This time, their research goal was no longer merely to create more powerful weapons or enhancement agents, but to attempt to touch that ethereal yet potentially real "bridge" that connects countless worlds.