Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

The metal door of the cold storage room blocked out most of the outside noise, leaving only a dull, unsettling background hum, like countless fingernails scraping the ground in a distant place. The icy air, carrying the acrid stench of rotting food, seeped into his nostrils relentlessly. Tony Stark leaned against the biting metal wall, his heavy breathing gradually subsiding, but each breath of frigid air a stark reminder of the absurdity and peril he found himself in.

He raised his hand, stained with dirt and dried, dark red blood, and wiped his face, trying to shake off his exhaustion. But the cold touch on his fingertips only made him more alert. His gaze fell on Chen Haotian, who was also leaning back opposite him. In the darkness, only a blurry outline could be seen, but those eyes, which remained frighteningly calm even in dire straits, seemed to pierce through the darkness, accurately assessing the situation.

"So," Tony began, his voice hoarse from the earlier exertion and inhaling smoke, "what are the brilliant ideas our 'erudite' director has for this upcoming 'survival reality show'? We can't just stay cooped up in this freezer reeking of expired yogurt and dead rats, can we?"

His tone carried his usual sarcasm, but it lacked the pure skepticism of before, instead revealing a resigned acceptance of reality and a subtle, almost imperceptible, inquiry into the next move. Last night's shared experience of fighting side-by-side had acted like rough sandpaper, smoothing away some of the initial barriers and wariness.

Chen Haotian didn't answer immediately. He tilted his head slightly, seemingly listening to the subtle sounds outside the door. After a few seconds, he spoke slowly, his voice steady, revealing little emotional fluctuation: "This is just a temporary shelter; it's not safe, and resources are limited. We need information—about this city, about the scale of this disaster, and… possible escape routes, or at least a more secure base."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "It's almost dawn. During the day, their activity level usually decreases, and they become more visually dependent, making them the best window for our actions." The "them" he was referring to were, of course, those wandering undead.

Tony raised an eyebrow: "So? The plan is to go for a drive and check out which properties offer better value for money?" He habitually used a joke to mask his seriousness about the unknown dangers.

"Reconnaissance," Chen Haotian said succinctly. "We need to understand the surrounding environment, find useful supply points, and ideally, find a map or any information left behind by the authorities. I remember there's a community police station two streets east of the supermarket; maybe we can find something there."

"Police station? Hopefully, the officers inside haven't become members of our 'Welcome Committee.'" Tony shrugged, but had already started moving his somewhat stiff hands and feet, checking the fire axe beside him, which was already a bit dull. "Weapons need an upgrade. This thing is too inefficient at chopping bones, and it makes my hands numb from the vibrations."

"Agreed. The police station is the first target." Chen Haotian stood up, walked to the door of the cold storage, and listened carefully to the sounds outside again. "Get ready, we're leaving in five minutes. Keep quiet and move quickly."

Five minutes later, Chen Haotian carefully pushed open the heavy door of the cold storage room a crack. The pale morning light, mixed with dust, filtered in. Outside, all was deathly silent, a stark contrast to the noisy and terrifying scene of the previous night. Only the occasional faint roar from afar proved that the world had not yet returned to normal.

The two men slipped silently out of the cold storage and back into the chaotic main sales area of ​​the supermarket. The traces of last night's battle were horrifying—charred shelves, scattered limbs, congealed blackened blood, and the lingering stench of burnt and rotting flesh in the air. Carefully avoiding the debris on the floor, they quickly crossed the sales area and left this makeshift, perilous hideout through a side door they had cleared earlier.

The streets were bathed in an eerie stillness. Abandoned vehicles haphazardly blocked the roads, windows shattered, doors gaping open, some bearing dried bloody handprints and dents from collisions. Newspapers and plastic bags swirled in the breeze, dancing in the empty streets. Most of the buildings on either side had broken doors and windows, and some balconies still hung rotting, decaying clothes. The entire city resembled a gigantic, recently dead body, exuding an aura of decay.

Chen Haotian led the way, moving nimbly and cautiously, making full use of the cover of street corners, abandoned vehicles, and the shadows of shops to move. His eyes were sharp, constantly scanning the windows of buildings ahead and to the sides, alleyways, and other places where danger might be hiding. Tony followed closely behind. Although he didn't seem as experienced as Chen Haotian, his extremely high intelligence and observation skills allowed him to quickly adapt to this stealth mode, learning to judge safe routes and potential threats.

They successfully avoided several small groups of zombies wandering aimlessly through the streets. These zombies were indeed much slower during the day, relying mainly on hearing and blurry vision. As long as they maintained a sufficient distance and quiet, they were not difficult to avoid.

The community police station was just two blocks away, in an unassuming two-story brick-and-mortar building. The glass doors were long since broken, and the inside was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything.

"I'll go in first, you keep watch on the rear and flanks," Chen Haotian said to Tony in a low voice, then bent down and crawled through the broken door.

Tony stood guard outside the door, fire axe held horizontally in front of him, vigilantly watching both ends of the street. A few minutes later, Chen Haotian's deep voice came from inside: "Safety, come in."

The police station was in chaos. Documents were scattered all over the floor, desks and chairs were overturned, and there were dark brown bloodstains on the ground. Behind the duty desk, a skeleton wearing a police uniform, only half of its body remained, lay slumped on the ground, with an empty holster lying next to it.

Chen Haotian had quickly checked several rooms on the first floor, mainly the reception area and a few offices, but found very little, only a few half-used batons and a few boxes of damp bullets (incompatible with their existing weapons).

"Go upstairs and take a look. The archives or command center might be on the second floor," Chen Haotian said, pointing to the stairs.

The stairwell was dimly lit, and the two walked one after the other, their footsteps extremely light. As soon as they stepped onto the second-floor corridor, an even stronger stench of decay assaulted their senses. At the end of the corridor, a door marked "Archives" was ajar, and a highly decomposed corpse lay sprawled in front of it; judging from its clothing, it appeared to be a police officer.

Chen Haotian gestured for Tony to watch out for any activity at the other end of the corridor, while he cautiously approached the archives. He gently moved the body aside with a steel bar, and after confirming there was no danger, he pushed open the door.

The archives room was equally chaotic, with most of the filing cabinets pulled open and papers scattered everywhere. But what caught Chen Haotian's attention was a metal cabinet in the corner that had been pried open halfway, with some map tubes lying around it.

He strode over, picked up one of the canvas map tubes, unscrewed the cap, and pulled out the map inside. Unfolding it, he found a detailed city map of the area, marked with numerous symbols and regions in different colored pens.

What truly caught his eye was a circle drawn in bold red marker along the edge of the map, next to which were hastily handwritten words, seemingly left in a moment of panic:

[Emergency Shelter - Armory of the Former Military Base in the West of the City - Reinforced structure, stockpiled supplies, may have independent power generation equipment - Entrance located at...]

The exact location of the entrance appears to be partially obscured by bloodstains, but the general location and keywords such as "armory," "storage supplies," and "independent power generation" are still clearly visible.

Just then, Tony's voice came from the doorway, tinged with nervousness: "Hey, genius, I think we have some good news and some bad news to share."

Chen Haotian quickly rolled up the map and stuffed it into the map tube, then turned to look at the doorway. Tony was staring sideways at the other end of the corridor, gripping the fire axe in his hand even tighter.

"What's the good news?" Chen Haotian asked as he quickly moved to the door.

"The good news is, I found what might be the police station's kitchenette, and there might still be some unopened cans of food inside," Tony said quickly. "The bad news is, in a room downstairs that we didn't notice earlier, there seem to be a lot of 'old friends' locked up. They seem to have smelled us and are having a big party in there. And I think I can hear sounds coming from across the street."

Following Tony's direction, Chen Haotian glanced at the tightly closed iron door at the other end of the corridor, marked "Detention Cell." Behind the door, increasingly clear sounds of banging and screaming could be heard. At the same time, he also heard approaching, dragging footsteps coming from the broken windows downstairs.

"Map in hand, target confirmed." Chen Haotian brandished the map tube in his hand, his eyes sharp. "This place is not safe to linger. Retreat along the original route back to the supermarket base to rest, and then plan the next move."

Without the slightest hesitation, he decisively issued the order. The objective of obtaining crucial information had been achieved; lingering would only increase unnecessary risks.

Tony nodded, and the two immediately and silently retreated towards the stairwell along the route they had come from. The sounds of impact behind them and the distant roars seemed to be a farewell accompaniment, foreshadowing that countless unknown dangers still lurked deep within this desolate city, and that their path to survival had only just begun to find a possible direction.