Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

Inside the Hive's main control room, the atmosphere was so tense it seemed like it could be squeezed dry. Chen Haotian and Tony stood side by side in front of a huge holographic projection. On the screen, Umbrella Corporation's internal communication data streams, deeply decoded and analyzed by Jarvis, were scrolling at an astonishing speed. Those secret communications, originally encrypted and hidden beneath normal business dealings and scientific exchanges, were now revealed like venomous snakes stripped of their disguise, exposing their hideous true nature.

"Ninety-one hundred percent similarity..." Tony repeated the number in a low voice, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the edge of the console, making a crisp clicking sound. "This can no longer be explained by coincidence or technological borrowing. Hydra, they really are here, parasitizing inside Umbrella like a virus."

Chen Haotian remained silent, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, rapidly scanning the key information nodes highlighted on the screen. His brain raced, cross-referencing and logically connecting these fragmented pieces of information with his memories of Hydra's modus operandi, technological preferences, and long-term goals.

“It’s not just existence,” Chen Haotian finally spoke, his voice calm and even, yet carrying a penetrating power that seemed to see through everything. “Look here, Tony.” He gestured to highlight several key areas on the holographic projection. “These communications were initiated by a ‘compliance officer’ at Umbrella’s European branch, but the recipients went through seven or eight steps, ultimately pointing to a shell company we’ve marked as a ‘Hydra funding hub’ in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database. The communications are ostensibly about ‘compliance review of the procurement of a new disinfectant,’ but the embedded code, deciphered by Jarvis, actually inquires about the ‘latest progress’ regarding the stability of the neural connection between the parasite and the control unit in Project Nemesis (i.e., Project Tracker).

He then pointed to another set of data: "And this one, an email from a 'Human Resources Director' at Umbrella Corporation headquarters, addressed to several inconspicuous research institute heads in Asia. Ostensibly, it's about conducting an 'employee satisfaction survey,' but the hidden payload in the attachment, after analysis, is a 'data request list' about the aerosol transmission efficiency of the T-virus under different climatic conditions. And the format and encryption method of this list are almost identical to the template we intercepted three years ago when Hydra attempted to steal Stark Industries' 'cutting-edge biometric technology.'"

Tony's face grew increasingly grim: "Damn it! They're not only stealing technology, but they're also using Umbrella Corporation's established business processes as cover, disguising their intelligence gathering as normal internal company communication! This tactic... it's all too familiar, typical Hydra style, hiding in the shadows, using other people's systems to serve their own purposes."

"That's not all," Chen Haotian's lips curled into a cold smile, the expression of a hunter locking onto his prey. "Their infiltration level is much deeper than we initially anticipated. Jarvis, retrieve the personnel authority change records within Umbrella Corporation marked as 'Alpha,' as well as the core project approval process logs for the past six months."

"Retrieving, sir," Jarvis's voice rang out calmly.

A new data stream unfolded on the screen. Chen Haotian's fingers, like precise scalpels, highlighted several records.

"Look at this. Three months ago, the Umbrella Corporation board of directors suddenly approved a 'special talent recruitment program,' exceptionally promoting five 'experts' from different fields with seemingly clean backgrounds to core management or key research positions. Three of these five had obvious, carefully crafted gaps in their previous resumes. As for the other two, their early publications that established their academic standing, including several key papers, showed a high degree of overlap in research direction and experimental methods with unpublished research reports from several secret biological laboratories funded by Hydra."

Tony gasped. "You mean...their people have already infiltrated Umbrella's decision-making and core technology circles?"

"The probability is over 80%," Chen Haotian affirmed, his eyes sharp. "Look at these project approval records. Several radical research projects that were originally shelved for a long time due to ethical issues or excessively high technical risks, such as 'targeted gene weapons based on viral vectors' and 'feasibility study on large-scale rapid deployment of biological weapons,' have been restarted in the past four months under the pretext of 'strategic needs' and 'technological breakthrough windows,' and have received far more resources than usual. And the key signatories who pushed for the restart of these projects... happen to be three of those five 'special talents.'"

He paused, his tone tinged with a cold sarcasm: "Hydra is never satisfied with small-scale theft. Their ultimate goal is likely to use Umbrella Corporation's mature research platform, vast resources, and relatively lax (or even negligent) ethical oversight to directly develop weapons of mass destruction for them. Umbrella thinks it's playing with fire, but it doesn't realize it's letting the wolf into the house, becoming Hydra's breeding ground and tool for achieving its insane goals."

A brief silence fell over the control room, broken only by the faint hum of the servers. Tony processed the information, his expression shifting between different states, finally settling into a low curse: "These lunatics! Are they trying to combine the disasters of two worlds to create a real hell on earth?"

"Obviously, yes." Chen Haotian calmly confirmed, "Therefore, the 'bait' we deployed earlier is even more significant. This is not just a technical misdirection, but a sniper attack targeting their core strategy. We must ensure that what they receive from their protector is not a sharp blade that fuels their ambitions, but rather poison that will backfire on them."

He operated the console again and brought up the "data trap" monitoring interface that he had set up earlier.

"Jarvis, increase monitoring of all 'bait' packets, especially the source of access, download activity, and subsequent data flow. Issue a highest-priority alert immediately if anything triggers our pre-defined conditions."

"The surveillance has been strengthened, Mr. Chen. All the 'poisoned bait' is in place, waiting for the prey to take the bait."

Chen Haotian turned around and looked at Tony, his deep eyes flashing with a calm and determined light.

"The infiltration has been confirmed, Tony. This is not a chance encounter, but a planned deep infiltration. What we need to do now is use the trap we've set to lead them step by step into the abyss we've laid out for them, in their self-perceived success of the theft. This game of chess spanning the universe has only just begun, and we've already seen our opponent's moves."

Tony took a deep breath, nodded, and the confidence and fighting spirit of Iron Man returned to his face: "Understood. Then let's give these uninvited 'guests' a good 'welcome.' Jarvis, stay on high alert. I need to know exactly when those bastards will bite!"

"Ready to serve at any time, sir."