Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

Outside the isolation laboratory on the seventh basement level of the Hive, Chen Haotian observed the disheveled middle-aged man inside through bulletproof glass. William Birkin was intently focused on the microscope, completely unaware of the commotion outside.

"Is it him?" Tony stood next to Chen Haotian, swiping his finger on the tablet to bring up the information provided by Red Queen. "One of Umbrella Corporation's top researchers, the main developer of the G-virus. Looks like an ordinary mad scientist."

Chen Haotian's lips curled into a meaningful smile: "An ordinary Frankenstein's monster? Tony, you underestimate him. In the original storyline, this 'ordinary' Frankenstein's monster was one of the culprits behind the destruction of Raccoon City."

Tony raised an eyebrow: "That sounds like something one of my competitors would do."

"But right now, he's key to us," Chen Haotian said, quickly typing a string of code onto the control panel by the door. Although Red Queen had reached an agreement with them, the Umbrella Corporation's surveillance system was still operational, so they had to proceed with caution.

The laboratory door slid open silently. William jerked his head up, a flicker of panic crossing his eyes behind his glasses, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Who are you? This is a designated research area. Unauthorized entry is prohibited." William's voice carried the coldness and aloofness typical of researchers.

Chen Haotian didn't answer directly. Instead, he slowly walked to the lab bench, his gaze sweeping over the densely packed research notes and petri dishes. "The G virus has a 37% higher mutation rate than the T virus, but its stability is only one-twelfth. You're trying to use reverse transcriptase to stabilize the gene sequence, right?"

William's pupils contracted slightly, and his fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on the electronic pen: "How did you know...?"

"Not only that, you've also tried to embed telomerase activation genes into the G virus to extend the lifespan of host cells. The idea is good, but the direction is wrong." Chen Haotian casually picked up a test tube containing a pale blue liquid and gently shook it. "Telomerase can indeed slow down cell aging, but it also accelerates the erosion of host DNA by the G virus. The results of your three most recent experiments show that the host's survival time is getting shorter each time, isn't that right?"

William's face turned pale: "This data is top secret in the company; even the Red Queen doesn't have a complete record of it... Just who are you people?"

Tony leaned against the doorframe, casually fiddling with a miniature reactor. "Relax, Doctor. We're just interested in the...potential commercial value of your research."

"Commercial value?" William sneered. "The G-virus isn't a tool for making money; it's a miracle of bioengineering! It will change the trajectory of human evolution!"

Chen Haotian and Tony exchanged a glance. Excellent, William's reaction was exactly as they expected—a brilliant scientist obsessed with research, with limited loyalty to the Umbrella Corporation.

"A miracle?" Chen Haotian chuckled. "A 'miracle' that can't even guarantee stability? Doctor, if I may be frank, your research direction has a fundamental flaw."

William's face flushed red: "What do you know? The research on the G-virus has surpassed the limits of the T-virus; it can..."

"It allows the host to continuously evolve, yes, I know," Chen Haotian interrupted him, "but this evolution is uncontrollable. What will the host eventually become? A constantly multiplying mass of flesh? Or a monster that only knows how to devour?"

Chen Haotian's words struck William like a hammer blow. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Tony chimed in at the opportune moment: "We have a proposal, Doctor. We can provide a... special catalyst to solve the stability problem of the G-virus. In exchange, we want complete research data and some samples."

William looked at them warily: "Which department are you from? I've never seen you in the company before."

"We are not affiliated with Umbrella Corporation," Chen Haotian said calmly. "But that's not important. What's important is that we can help you complete your G-virus research. Think about it, Doctor, what kind of leap forward in human evolution would a completely stable and controllable G-virus bring?"

William's eyes flickered, clearly weighing the pros and cons. Chen Haotian knew that for a research fanatic like William, scientific breakthroughs were far more important than loyalty to the company.

"Why should I believe you?" William finally asked, a hint of wavering in his voice.

Chen Haotian took a small, transparent container from his pocket, containing several tiny purple crystals. "Do you recognize these?"

William leaned closer for a closer look, then gasped, "This is...impossible! This crystal structure, these energy characteristics...it shouldn't exist in this world!"

"Void energy crystals," Chen Haotian explained, "matter from another dimension. Our preliminary experiments show that it can balance the genetic conflicts in the G virus, increasing its stability by at least five times."

William's breathing quickened noticeably; his scientist's instincts had piqued his interest in this unknown material. But he maintained a final shred of caution: "I need to verify this."

"Of course." Chen Haotian handed the container to William. "You can take a small portion for testing. But we have limited time; we can only give you twenty minutes."

William practically snatched the container and immediately turned to prepare the experimental equipment. Tony walked over to Chen Haotian and whispered, "Are you sure he'll cooperate?"

Chen Haotian smiled as he watched William's busy figure disappear into the distance. "He had no choice. A 'patron' who could provide materials he'd never seen before is more valuable than anything to a scientist. Besides..."

"What else?"

"Moreover, I've already checked with the Red Queen. The Umbrella Corporation's top management is currently considering cutting funding for the G-virus project and instead supporting research into improving the T-virus. William isn't having an easy time."

Tony whistled: "So you not only provided the carrots, but also reminded him of the stick? How cunning."

Twenty minutes later, William turned around, his face filled with shock and excitement: "Incredible! Just 0.1 milligrams of crystals completely suppressed the random mutations in the G virus sample! How did you do that?"

"That involves trade secrets, Doctor," Chen Haotian said. "Now, can we talk about the specifics of the deal?"

William took a deep breath and nodded: "I need more of these crystals. As long as you can provide enough for research, I can give you all the research data on the G virus and three different batches of samples."

Chen Haotian pretended to think for a moment, then said, "We can provide ten grams of crystals, delivered in two installments. The first five grams will be delivered after we receive the data and samples; the remaining five grams will be delivered after we verify the authenticity of the data."

"Ten grams?!" William's eyes lit up. "That's enough! More than enough!"

He strode to a hidden safe, entered the password and fingerprint, and took out three sealed metal boxes and a data storage device.

"Here are all the research data on the G virus and three samples of different purities." William handed the items to Chen Haotian, his eyes showing both reluctance and eagerness for the research materials he was about to receive.

Chen Haotian took the box and memory device and handed them to Tony for confirmation. Tony quickly checked them and nodded.

"It's a pleasure working with you, Doctor." Chen Haotian handed half of the crystal to William. "We'll send the rest after we've verified the data."

William accepted the crystal as if it were a treasure, immediately turned around and returned to the experimental table, seemingly having completely forgotten about Chen Haotian and Tony's presence.

After leaving the lab, Tony asked softly, "Are you really going to give him the rest of the crystals?"

Chen Haotian smiled. "Of course I will. Only a satisfied partner will continue to provide valuable resources. And..." A sly glint flashed in his eyes, "With the complete data on the G-virus, we can further refine our enhancer. This deal is a sure win for us."

Tony shook his head: "Sometimes I'm really glad we're on the same side."

The two walked down the corridor towards the hive's exit, carrying boxes containing G-virus samples. Chen Haotian was already considering how to combine this newly acquired data with information he had previously gathered from the Walking Dead world and the T-virus research.

"What's next?" Tony asked.

Chen Haotian glanced at his watch: "Our next step is to leave this dangerous place before Red Queen completely breaks free from Umbrella Corporation's control. I feel that the conflicts between the rules of this world are becoming increasingly apparent."

Tony nodded, and the two quickened their pace, disappearing into the intricate network of passageways within the Hive.