Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

The heavy metal door groaned groaning under the relentless pounding of the zombies, dust and rust constantly falling from the frame. The howls and scratches outside merged into an unsettling cacophony, seemingly endless. Inside, the building was dimly lit, with only a few rays of sunlight slanting in through the broken windows, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.

Chen Haotian and Tony leaned against the cold, rough wall, slightly out of breath, quickly assessing their current predicament.

"How much ammunition do we have left?" Chen Haotian asked in a low voice, his sharp gaze sweeping over the interior of the building. It was an old-style office building with a fairly spacious lobby that connected several deep corridors and a staircase leading upstairs.

Tony quickly checked the magazines and his spare ammunition. "Two and a half rifle magazines left, one full pistol magazine. The sonic device has about 55% power, but it's less effective against these 'smart' guys." He pointed to the door, still being pounded on. "This door won't hold for much longer. There are too many of them, and they're under command."

"Command is key." Chen Haotian's eyes were cold as his mind raced. Combining the information he had observed earlier with his understanding of The Walking Dead and other more complex zombie themes from his original world, he concluded, "Those two mutants hiding in the back possess intelligence beyond instinct, at least at the tactical level. They know how to ambush, flank, and coordinate attacks. Taking them out will at least throw the horde into short-term chaos, and that will be our opportunity."

"Easy for you to say, but how do we take them down?" Tony frowned. "We're trapped here, and they're hiding behind the horde. Charge out? That's suicide."

"So, we need to either let them come to us, or create a window to attack them." Chen Haotian's lips curled into a cold smile, the kind of excitement that only top students and highly intelligent people have when facing a difficult problem. "They have wisdom, but wisdom also brings weaknesses, such as... curiosity, or obsession with a specific goal."

He quickly explained his plan in a low voice: "This building has a complex structure, making it a usable environment. We need to create noise to attract the main force of the zombie horde, especially the two commanders, into the building. Use the staircases and corridors to create narrow spaces and divide them. Your sonic device needs to be adjusted in frequency—not wide-area interference, but concentrated, high-intensity, targeted pulses—to try and directly impact the brains of the two commanders. Their brain structures are certainly different from ordinary zombies; they are more complex and possibly more vulnerable. I will handle the ordinary zombies that are brought in and create attack windows for you."

Tony immediately understood Chen Haotian's intention, his eyes brightening slightly: "Sound wave focusing... requires modifying the transmitter to increase instantaneous power, but this will consume energy rapidly, and there might only be one or two chances. Moreover, how can we ensure they come in and enter the effective range?"

"The bait," Chen Haotian said succinctly. "We are the best bait. They're after us. We feign weakness, retreat, and lure them deeper into the building. Choose a room on the second or third floor as the final ambush point; the smaller space there will make it easier for your focused sound waves to take effect. Along the way, we can set up some simple obstacles and traps to slow down the ordinary zombies and buy you time."

The plan was risky, but undoubtedly the only chance of survival in their current desperate situation. Tony quickly pulled a small screwdriver and pliers from his toolbox and began disassembling and adjusting the internal structure of the sonic device. His fingers were nimble and precise, his face full of focus. "Give me five minutes... no, three minutes! I need to rewind a small coil and overload some of the capacitor."

"As soon as possible." Chen Haotian nodded and began to act. He pushed over some abandoned desks and filing cabinets in the hall, not completely blocking the passage, but creating a messy effect that required detours, which would slightly slow down the zombies' advance. He also found some scattered wires and set up a few simple tripwire traps.

The banging outside the door grew louder and louder, and the metal latch began to bend and deform.

"Alright!" Tony exclaimed, lifting the modified sonic device. The transmitter now looked more compact, with a horn-like focusing device added to the front. "Now it's a 'noise cannon,' with a range reduced to about fifteen meters, but the instantaneous impact should be enough to 'shut down' any brain-driven creature for a moment. The energy... is only enough for two shots, each lasting no more than three seconds."

"Twice is enough." Chen Haotian checked the rifle, loaded the last full magazine, and said, "Go upstairs to the room at the end of the second-floor corridor that looks like a conference room. There's only one door there, and the space is relatively enclosed."

Just then, with a loud crash, the metal latch finally gave way and broke! The heavy door was smashed open, and the hideous zombies poured in like a flood bursting its banks!

"Go!" Chen Haotian shouted, raising his hand to fire several precise shots, taking down the first few zombies and briefly halting the horde's advance.

Tony followed closely behind, and the two quickly retreated up the stairs to the second floor. The zombies roared and chased after them, their figures swaying and twisting terrifyingly in the dim stairwell.

Retreating to the second-floor corridor, Chen Haotian continued firing as he went, precisely eliminating the closest zombies while conserving ammunition. Tony, on the other hand, was responsible for guarding the flanks and rear, preventing zombies from flanking from other directions.

The corridor wasn't long, but the piled-up clutter and the makeshift obstacles Chen Haotian had set up did have some effect, slightly slowing down the advance of the horde of zombies. The two quickly retreated to the doorway of the conference room at the end of the corridor.

Chen Haotian entered first, quickly scanning the surroundings. The room was not small, with a huge oval conference table in the center, covered in dust, surrounded by chairs. The windows were covered by heavy curtains, making the room dimly lit. There was only one door as the entrance, just as he had expected.

"Ready!" Chen Haotian leaned against the wall, standing guard by the door, and gave Tony a hand signal.

Tony took a deep breath, raised the modified "noise cannon," aimed it at the door, placed his finger on the trigger button, and looked focused and sharp.

The howls and footsteps of the zombies grew closer as they surged into the second-floor corridor, heading towards the conference room. Through the crack in the door, one could see indistinct figures and swaying limbs.

The first few ordinary zombies to rush in were quickly taken out by Chen Haotian with precise close-range headshots, their corpses blocking the entrance and slightly hindering the entry of subsequent zombies. But this was only temporary; more zombies were pressing in.

Amidst the chaos, Chen Haotian keenly noticed the figures of the two command-type mutants appearing at the rear of the horde! They were taller than the other zombies, their limbs twisted even more grotesquely, and their murky eyes seemed to gleam with a cunning and cruel light. They didn't rush forward, but instead remained in the corridor, surrounded by the horde, observing the situation in the conference room.

"They're here!" Chen Haotian whispered. "In the corridor, about ten meters from the door!"

Tony perked up, adjusted the angle of the "noise cannon," aimed it at the direction outside the door, and calculated the trajectory of the two mutants that might enter the firing range.

"We need to lure them in a bit!" Chen Haotian judged. He deliberately slowed down his firing rate, even letting a zombie rush to the vicinity of the conference table before taking it down with a single shot, creating the illusion that he was running out of ammunition or struggling to cope.

This tactic seemed to work. The two commanding mutants let out a series of rapid howls, and the horde's attack became even more frenzied. They began frantically clearing away the corpses blocking the doorway, attempting to force their way in. Simultaneously, the two mutants moved forward a few meters with the advancing horde, venturing deeper into the corridor and getting closer to the conference room door!

"Now! The one on the left!" Chen Haotian shouted suddenly.

Without hesitation, Tony pulled the trigger!

"Buzz—!!!"

A ripple of distorted air, almost invisible to the naked eye, burst forth from the front of the "noise cannon" like an invisible cannonball, instantly traversing a short distance and accurately striking the head of the command-type mutant on the left!

The mutant's body suddenly stiffened, letting out a shrill, piercing cry unlike its previous sharp screech. It clutched its head, its body convulsing violently. Its previously coordinated movements instantly went out of control, even knocking over several ordinary zombies nearby!

The zombie horde's offensive stalled, and obvious chaos ensued. Many zombies lost clear commands and became somewhat bewildered, their attacks becoming less organized.

"It worked!" Tony was overjoyed, but he didn't dare to relax. He immediately adjusted his angle and prepared to launch a second attack on the mutant on the right.

However, the mutant on the right seemed to sense the danger. It let out an angry roar and instead of retreating, it drove the zombies around it to charge forward even more frantically. At the same time, it also mingled with the zombie horde, trying to get closer under cover!

"It learns even faster!" Chen Haotian's eyes narrowed, and he fired several shots, knocking down the zombies that rushed in, but the pressure increased sharply. More and more corpses piled up at the door, but the zombies continued to surge in fearlessly.

The mutant on the right, using the horde of zombies as cover, had already rushed to the vicinity of the door. Its twisted and powerful arm even reached in and grabbed at Tony, who was closer to the door!

"Tony!" Chen Haotian shouted.

"I saw it!" Tony remained unusually calm and pulled the trigger again at the critical moment!

The second focused acoustic pulse was fired! This time, because the distance was closer, the effect was even more significant!

With a muffled thud, the mutant's head on the right side seemed to have been struck by an invisible hammer, causing it to tilt backward. Dark, viscous liquid instantly seeped from its mouth, nose, and eyes. Its howl abruptly stopped, and its body staggered backward, crashing into the corridor wall, temporarily losing its ability to move.

With both command-type mutants injured at the same time, the horde of zombies descended into complete chaos! They lost their unified command; some continued to charge forward instinctively, while others began to spin in place, and some even pushed and bit each other.

Stress greatly reduced!

"Now! Counterattack! Clear the entrance!" Chen Haotian shouted, his rifle spitting fire as he headshot the zombies blocking the entrance and trying to rush in.

Tony also put down his depleted "noise cannon," drew his pistol, and joined Chen Haotian in precise firing. Their teamwork reached its peak at that moment; the bullets, like the Grim Reaper's call, efficiently cleared out the disorganized zombies.

Soon, the zombies at the conference room entrance and in the nearby corridor were cleared away. Of the two injured command-type mutants, one was still twitching in place, while the other struggled to get up, but its movements were extremely slow.

Without hesitation, Chen Haotian stepped forward and fired a shot into each of their heads, completely ending their threat.

With their leader gone, the remaining zombies lost their leader. Although their numbers remained considerable, their threat level had significantly decreased. They no longer attacked in an organized manner, instead wandering aimlessly and launching sporadic, instinctive attacks.

Chen Haotian and Tony leaned against the door frame of the conference room, slightly out of breath, watching the horde of corpses gradually disperse in the corridor and the piles of bodies on the ground. They both breathed a sigh of relief.

The comeback was a success.

"Your 'noise cannon' has done a great job, Mr. Stark." Chen Haotian looked at Tony, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible praise.

Tony wiped his sweat, exhausted but with a gleam of excitement at his invention being validated. "The temporary modification worked alright. However, the energy's depleted; this thing's just scrap metal now." He weighed the device in his hand. "But these guys... their intelligence is beyond imagination. There's definitely something fishy going on."

Chen Haotian nodded, his gaze fixed on the corpses of the two command-type mutants, his eyes deep. "The problem is significant. However, the most pressing issue is that we are temporarily safe, and... the water problem remains unresolved."

The crisis has temporarily subsided, but their goal has not yet been achieved. The outside world remains fraught with danger.