Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

After navigating the last street clogged with abandoned vehicles, Chen Haotian and Tony finally arrived at their destination marked on the map—the old military base in the west of the city. Contrary to their expectations of a heavily guarded area with high walls and electric fences, all they found before them was a ruin half-hidden by weeds and rubble. The rusted barbed wire hung limply, and the symbolic guard post at the entrance had long since collapsed, leaving only a few twisted metal frames.

"This is the 'Armory' you were talking about?" Tony stopped, wiping the sweat and dust from his forehead with the back of his hand, his tone filled with undisguised disappointment. "It looks more like some abandoned landfill. I'm starting to doubt the authenticity of that map; maybe it's just some unlucky soldier's doodle prank."

Chen Haotian didn't answer immediately; his sharp gaze swept across the area. His brilliant mind raced, analyzing the map, the surrounding terrain, and the typical layout of a military base. He noticed that although the surface structures were dilapidated, the scale of the foundations far exceeded what was visible. Furthermore, several patches of weeds grew unnaturally, as if deliberately concealing something.

"The surface is a disguise, or rather, natural decay after abandonment," Chen Haotian said slowly, his voice steady. "The real core facilities are most likely underground. A military base's armory wouldn't be left out in the open like this."

He pointed to a concrete structure not far away, half-buried in the ground and almost completely covered by vines, resembling the remains of a large ventilation shaft. "The entrance should be near this kind of structure. Let's split up and look for signs of human repair, or... more recent tire tracks," he added. Although the apocalypse had been going on for a while, if any survivors or something else had arrived first, they might have left clues.

Tony raised an eyebrow, still skeptical, but did as instructed. He relied more on intuition and observing inconsistencies. A few minutes later, he whispered from behind a collapsed wall, "Hey! Mr. Encyclopedia, maybe you should take a look at this."

Chen Haotian rushed over upon hearing the sound. He saw Tony push aside a clump of dense weeds, revealing a heavy, rusted metal door behind it. The door almost blended into the surrounding concrete wall, its color so well disguised that it would have been difficult to spot without Tony's sharp eyes. The door was tightly closed, and next to it was a similarly heavily rusted numeric keypad, which appeared to have long since stopped working.

"Looks like we've found the right place." Chen Haotian crouched down, carefully examining the door seams and keyhole structure. "Mechanical lock cylinder, the structure is old, but sturdy enough. Forcible damage would require tools and time, and might trigger unknown alarms or self-destruct mechanisms."

"Make way, let the professionals handle this." Tony pushed Chen Haotian aside, a "finally, it's my turn" expression on his face. He took off the "tool bag" that he had made from a tattered backpack and pulled out a few simple metal pieces and wires—simple lock-picking tools and circuit detectors that he had made by hand using materials he could find in an abandoned supermarket.

"When did you become a locksmith professional?" Chen Haotian watched him work with great interest.

"When a genius billionaire is unfortunately stranded in the apocalypse, he always unlocks some unexpected skill trees." Tony didn't look up, carefully probing the internal structure of the keyhole with his homemade tools, while placing the probe of a circuit detector near the digital panel. "The main principle is the same. Any lock, whether mechanical or electronic, is essentially a kind of intricate 'puzzle.' And what I'm best at is solving puzzles... Hmm, this panel is completely de-energized. Good news, at least I don't have to worry about electric shock or alarms."

He was focused on his work, his fingers deftly manipulating the homemade metal hook, his ear pressed against the crack in the door, listening intently to the subtle sounds of the internal mechanisms. Chen Haotian, meanwhile, stood guard nearby with a steel pick, ensuring the safety of the surroundings.

About ten minutes later, with a dull "click," Tony's face broke into a triumphant smile. "Done." He gave it a hard push, and the heavy metal door, emitting a teeth-grinding scraping sound, slowly opened inward, kicking up a cloud of years of accumulated dust.

Behind the door was a downward-sloping passage, pitch black and bottomless, with a stuffy smell of metal corrosion, machine oil and dust wafting out.

Tony pulled out his last "masterpiece" from his tool bag—a makeshift lamp made from discarded flashlight parts and several battery packs salvaged from electronic products. The light wasn't very bright, but it was enough to illuminate a few meters ahead.

"Ready, little brother?" Tony took a deep breath, holding the lamp, and stepped into the passage first. Chen Haotian followed closely behind, gripping the steel shovel in his hand even tighter.

The passageway was long, descending gently. The walls were rough cement, and there were lamp holders at intervals along the ceiling, but the bulbs were long gone. Apart from the sound of their footsteps and breathing, there was only deathly silence.

After walking for about five minutes, the view suddenly opened up ahead. The beams of the lights stretched forward, vaguely illuminating the outline of a huge space.

When the light finally stabilized and illuminated the central area of ​​the underground space, even the usually composed Chen Haotian couldn't help but widen his pupils slightly. Tony, on the other hand, let out a soft whistle, his face filled with amazement.

This is an astonishingly large underground armory, with a ceiling at least ten meters high and an area comparable to several basketball courts. Rows of heavy metal shelves are neatly arranged, like a silent steel forest. Most of the shelves are covered with thick dust cloths, but from some lifted corners or scattered areas, it can be seen that the underneath are boxes of rifles, ammunition, and even several heavy machine guns and their corresponding ammunition boxes. Against the wall, several military jeeps covered with canvas and a wheeled armored personnel carrier are parked.

"Wow..." Tony strode to the nearest shelf, lifted the dust cover, and picked up a well-maintained standard-issue rifle with a cold blue sheen. He expertly inspected the weapon's condition. "M4A1, standard quality, but the quantity... is astonishing." His gaze swept over the endless shelves, then over the vehicles. "This is a treasure trove!"

Chen Haotian, however, paid more attention to the overall environment and details. He noticed that the underground space had an independent air circulation system outlet (although it was no longer in operation), remnants of emergency lighting wiring, and most importantly, at the deepest part of the armory, there was a separate area separated by reinforced glass, which appeared to contain several large pieces of equipment.

"It seems our long-term base plan has a solid material foundation." Chen Haotian walked to the isolated area and looked inside through the dusty glass. Inside were several diesel generator sets and several huge fuel storage tanks. He tentatively pushed the door; it was locked, but the lock looked much simpler than the main gate.

"The energy problem can also be solved," Chen Haotian judged. "As long as these devices are not seriously damaged, there is a high probability of them being repaired."

Tony put down his rifle and walked over, looking at the generator sets with excitement in his eyes. "Electricity... With electricity, many things can begin." His thoughts had clearly already drifted to how to utilize these resources, and the idea of ​​"armor" that had arisen during the attack by the mutated zombies had become even clearer and more urgent.

This long-sealed underground armory not only provided them with the weapons and supplies they needed to survive, but more importantly, it offered Tony Stark's ingenuity and technology a stage to turn his ideas into reality. From this moment on, the struggle for survival in the apocalypse may be entering a completely new phase.