Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

Under the greyish-white sky, the thick smoke rising from the armory resembled an ugly scar, with distorted light and shadow occasionally flickering within the smoke column—the aftershocks of the spatial structure not yet fully subsided. The air was filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder, the burnt smell of burning plastic, and an indescribable, strange odor, as if ozone had been ionized.

Tony Stark stood at the edge of the abandoned weapons testing range, staring at the ruins, his face so grim it could drip water. The makeshift base he had painstakingly built using the remaining equipment from the armory and his own ingenuity, along with the many valuable data and samples within it that hadn't yet been fully analyzed, had vanished into thin air. What infuriated him even more was that the cause of all this was the uncontrollable monster inside his adopted brother and a broken piece of metal from an unknown world.

"Jarvis, reconnect, status report," he said to the rudimentary, flickering blue miniature interface on his arm, his voice filled with suppressed anger and exhaustion.

After a brief static noise, Jarvis's voice rang out, clearer and more stable than before, but still carrying a damaged mechanical quality: "Sir, a stable low-bandwidth connection has been re-established. The main computing core and data backup modules were successfully moved to independent server clusters before the explosion, physically located in the periphery of the base that has not completely collapsed, and are currently in an offline, safe state. Preliminary damage assessment: 90% of the facilities in the core laboratory and the connected energy zone and main living area are destroyed and permanently rendered inoperable. Regarding personnel, Mr. Stark, Mr. Chen, Dr. Wesker, and their research team of seven have been confirmed to have evacuated safely."

Tony breathed a slight sigh of relief; at least the most crucial data was saved, and everyone was safe. He turned to look in the other direction.

Chen Haotian leaned against a rusty shipping container, his face still somewhat pale, but his breathing was steady. His eyes were closed, as if he were sensing something, his right hand unconsciously pressed against his chest. Dr. Wesker and his team members, some sitting and some standing, had expressions of shock and bewilderment on their faces, the several silver briefcases and backpacks they had salvaged scattered haphazardly at their feet.

"Has the energy fluctuation stabilized?" Tony walked up to Chen Haotian, his tone not exactly friendly, but less sharp and questioning than before, and more pragmatic in his assessment of the current situation.

Chen Haotian opened his eyes, a trace of weariness deep within them quickly replaced by his usual calm and calculating demeanor. "It's temporarily stable. That fragment... it's like some kind of 'catalyst' or 'key,' violently stimulating the runes, but it consumed my own energy reserves and... it seems to have also consumed some fundamental rule of this world." He frowned slightly, his scholarly mind beginning to analyze the breathtaking scene just now. "The explosion wasn't just a physical event; it also involved disturbances at the level of rules. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to cause such a large-scale structural collapse."

"A disturbance at the rule level?" Tony caught this key phrase. His scientist's instincts allowed him to temporarily suppress his dissatisfaction with Chen Haotian for "causing trouble." "You mean, the energy or information contained in that fragment is fundamentally in conflict with our universe, or even with the system represented by your runes?"

"It's more like... a 'rejection reaction' triggered by the injection of high-dimensional information into a low-dimensional world." Chen Haotian carefully chose his words, trying to explain in a way that Tony could understand. "That metal fragment doesn't belong here; its very existence distorts the local laws of physics. When my runes were analyzing it, they inadvertently amplified or triggered this distortion, leading to energy overload and spatial instability."

Tony stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment. If what Chen Haotian said was true, then the scientific value of this fragment might far exceed his previous estimates, as would the danger it represented.

"This is not the time to discuss academic matters," Dr. Wesker approached, interrupting their conversation. His voice was hoarse from the ordeal, but his eyes had regained the sharpness of a researcher. "Mr. Stark, Mr. Chen, our base is gone, and most of our supplies are buried underground. The most urgent matters are survival, and... how to leave this world." His gaze finally settled on Chen Haotian, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Chen Haotian nodded, straightening his body. Although still somewhat weak, the composure of a carefree rogue and the aura of a cunning mastermind had returned to him. "Dr. Wesker is right. We need to prepare for our return." He looked at Tony. "Jarvis, could you try remotely connecting to those offline servers to perform the final data packaging? We need all the analysis data about the virus samples, the energy crystal, and... that fragment."

"We can try, sir," Jarvis replied, "but the connection process may be risky, and data transfer speeds will be limited by the current harsh conditions."

"Go do it," Tony ordered decisively. "Prioritize transmitting core data, especially all observation records and energy spectrum analysis of that fragment."

"Understood, mission established."

Chen Haotian then looked at the boxes and backpacks that Wesker's team had salvaged: "Doctor, the samples and equipment you've salvaged need to be inventoried and given initial maintenance immediately. How long can the power supply to the cryopreservation chamber last?"

Wesker immediately instructed his team to begin the inspection. The results came back quickly: "Most samples were well preserved, but the cryo-chamber's backup battery can only last for a maximum of twelve hours. Some delicate instruments sustained minor damage during the evacuation and require calibration."

"Twelve hours..." Chen Haotian did a quick mental calculation. "Time is a bit tight, but it should be enough." He turned to Tony. "We need a temporary, relatively safe location to make final preparations before our return. This place is too open and not concealed enough; the explosion and the previous commotion could easily attract unnecessary 'attention'."

Tony agreed with this view and looked around. While the weapons testing range was spacious and easy to defend, it also offered no natural defenses. If surrounded by a horde of zombies, the consequences would be unimaginable. "Jarvis, scan the surrounding area and find suitable buildings for a short-term hold. They should be structurally sound, easy to defend, and preferably have some roof or underground space."

"Scanning... Target detected: An abandoned air defense command post is located 1.5 kilometers southeast. The main structure is reinforced with reinforced concrete, part of which is buried underground. It has an independent emergency power generation system (status unknown). The entrance is narrow, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"There," Tony decided. "Everyone, check your gear, we're moving. Quickly!"

The team sprang into action again, their fatigue and tension dispelled by the will to survive and the anticipation of returning. Tony and Chen Haotian led the way, Wesker's team followed in the middle, and two other researchers equipped with energy pistols brought up the rear, quickly advancing in the direction Jarvis had indicated.

A distance of 1.5 kilometers wouldn't be much under normal circumstances, but in this perilous post-apocalyptic world, every step required utmost caution. They tried to choose routes with plenty of ruins and cover, avoiding the scattered wandering zombies. Fortunately, perhaps due to the shockwave from the previous explosion, no large hordes of zombies appeared nearby.

More than half an hour later, they arrived at their destination. It was a concrete building partially buried underground, with a heavy, downward-sloping metal door at the entrance, now rusted and mottled, but the structure still appeared intact. Scattered around the entrance were some discarded sandbags and barbed wire, indicating that the place had once been reinforced.

Tony checked the lock; it was broken. He and the others pushed the heavy metal door open a crack large enough for a person to pass through. A rush of air, a mixture of dust, mold, and a faint smell of rust, escaped.

Inside was a dimly lit, downward-facing corridor, the emergency lights long since off. Tony's arm lamp and several flashlights provided illumination. Several rooms lined both sides of the corridor, their doors open, containing piles of discarded tables, chairs, and filing cabinets. At the far end was a relatively spacious main hall, furnished with old communication equipment and control consoles, covered in dust. In a corner stood a small, aged diesel generator.

"Check every room to make sure it's safe," Tony ordered. "Jarvis, scan the building for structural integrity and signs of life."

"Scan complete. The main structure of the building is intact, and no large-scale structural damage was found. Life signs scan... No heat source signals were detected other than ours."

Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief. Wesker's team quickly began clearing a corner of the main hall, carefully placing the salvaged equipment and samples, and began inspecting the old generator.

Chen Haotian found a relatively clean corner to sit down, closed his eyes again, and focused his mind on sensing the runes within his body. After the previous rampage and exhaustion, the runes' light had dimmed considerably, but the immense power they contained remained. He needed to quickly regain control of them and begin accumulating energy for his return to the Marvel universe, while also dealing with the interference from the void energy crystal and the DC metal fragment. This required precise calculations and careful operation; a single mistake could trigger another disaster or cause a significant deviation from his return coordinates.

After assigning the guard duties, Tony walked over to Chen Haotian and handed him a bottle of water and an energy bar. "How's it going? How long does it take to recharge your 'home' key?"

Chen Haotian took the water and energy bar, thanked them, took a bite of the energy bar, and replied while chewing, "Energy recovery takes time; the key is calibration. The disturbances in the rules caused by the explosion and debris have subtly affected the spatial coordinates of this world. If we activate it directly, we might be thrown into some unknown spacetime rift." He glanced at Wesker's team, who were busy trying to start the generator, and at the precious samples and data. "And, we have to bring the 'local specialties' back safely."

Tony followed his gaze and nodded. The data and samples from this post-apocalyptic world were crucial for his future research, for understanding Chen Haotian's strange abilities, and even for dealing with potential interdimensional threats similar to that fragment.

"What do you need?" Tony asked directly.

"A relatively stable environment allows me to concentrate on coordinate calculations and energy guidance. In addition," Chen Haotian looked at the generator that Wesker's team was messing with, "if that old relic is still usable, a stable power supply would be very helpful. It can run some basic equipment, assist Jarvis in data analysis and simulation calculations, and reduce my workload."

Just then, the old diesel generator suddenly emitted a muffled roar, then the sound of its operation became steady, and the indicator light on top lit up with a dim yellow light.

"It's started!" a researcher shouted excitedly.

The few hanging lamps on the ceiling of the main hall flickered a few times before finally emitting a steady, though not very bright, light that dispelled much of the darkness.

"Very good." Chen Haotian's lips curled into a smile, a smile that belonged to a top student who had found a solution to the problem, mixed with a subtle smile of a playboy's plan succeeding. "Well then, let's get back to preparations and officially begin."