Marvel: Starting with Iron Man in the Apocalypse

On the top floor of Stark Tower, Chen Haotian had just finished a call with Nick Fury when Tony's Iron Man suit burst through the glass curtain wall and flew in, its surface covered in an unknown slime.

"The situation is worse than we thought." Tony's visor opened, revealing a grave expression. "The New Age Corporation's lab has completely spiraled out of control. I had no choice but to activate the emergency lockdown procedure, sealing off the entire building with a nano-barrier."

Chen Haotian strode towards the control panel: "Furry has agreed to cooperate, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are on their way. But we need to contain the spread of the virus before they arrive."

On the holographic screen, Jarvis brought up a real-time map of New York City, with dozens of red dots flashing continuously.

"Based on the analysis of the infected individuals' movements and the virus's transmission patterns, 37 people have been confirmed infected so far, and more than 200 others may have been exposed to the virus in the environment," Jarvis reported. "The virus spreads through the air and bodily fluids, and has an extremely short incubation period; infected individuals will develop symptoms within 30 minutes."

Tony took off his heavy suit and walked to the control panel: "I've collected some samples. The virus is indeed based on the false data we gave Hydra, but the mutation rate is higher than expected. Without stabilizers, it becomes extremely unstable, and the host will completely disintegrate within 24 hours."

"Disintegration?" Chen Haotian frowned.

"Literal meaning." Tony pulled up a disturbing video. "In the later stages of infection, the host's cells rapidly break down into a puddle of...mucus-like substance. During this process, they will frantically attack any living thing, attempting to spread the virus by biting."

Chen Haotian stared coldly at the infected person in the video, who was gradually melting but still struggling to move forward: "Hydra has gone too far this time. Jarvis, track the movement paths of all infected persons and predict the next direction of the virus's spread."

The holographic map updated rapidly, and the red dots connected to form clear trajectory lines.

"Most infected individuals are moving towards densely populated areas, but one group is showing unusual signs." Jarvis marked three red dots that were moving rapidly. "They seem to have a specific destination and are moving much faster than the other infected individuals."

Tony amplified the signal: "An enhanced infected? Or..."

"They're Hydra agents," Chen Haotian suddenly said. "They were probably in the lab when the virus leaked, infected, but retained some consciousness and purpose. Look at their route—"

The three red lines are moving straight toward Stark Tower.

"They're after us," Tony realized. "Hydra agents controlled by the virus are instinctively trying to find the source of the virus..."

Chen Haotian had already gotten up and was heading towards the armory: "This saves us the trouble of going looking for them. Tony, you stay in the lab to analyze the samples and develop the antidote. I'll go and deal with these uninvited guests."

Tony grabbed his arm: "Wait, it's too dangerous for you to be alone. These aren't ordinary infected; they're highly trained agents who retain their fighting instincts even when infected."

Chen Haotian gave a confident smile: "Believe me, I'm more dangerous than them."

Ten minutes later, Chen Haotian stood on the street outside Stark Tower, watching three staggering figures approach rapidly. Just as he expected, they were three Hydra agents. Their uniforms were tattered, their exposed skin was an unhealthy grayish-white, their eyes were bloodshot, but they still gripped their weapons tightly.

"Put down your weapons and stop advancing," Chen Haotian said calmly, pointing his specially made firearm at the leader.

The infected let out a low growl that sounded inhuman, and fired a burst of bullets from its submachine gun. Chen Haotian easily dodged, and simultaneously returned fire with a stun grenade, but the infected only staggered slightly and continued forward.

"Partial resistance..." Chen Haotian muttered to himself, quickly changing tactics. He no longer tried to subdue them, but instead aimed at their legs.

The precise shot shattered the knees of the three infected men, who collapsed to their knees but continued to struggle forward, uttering unintelligible roars.

Chen Haotian cautiously approached and noticed that they all had the same mark on the back of their necks—a chip that emitted a faint glow.

"Tony, I've found something interesting," he said through the communicator. "The infected person has an implant in the back of their neck, possibly a control chip."

Tony's voice came from the other end: "Control chips? Hydra is experimenting on its own agents?"

"It seems so." Chen Haotian crouched down and carefully removed a chip. "These agents may have been intentionally infected, and the chip was used to control their behavior. But now the virus mutation has exceeded controllable limits, and the chip has malfunctioned."

At that moment, the three infected individuals suddenly stiffened simultaneously, then began to convulse violently, their bodies melting at a visible speed.

"Damn it!" Chen Haotian quickly retreated, activating the fully enclosed mode of his protective suit at the same time.

Within seconds, the three infected individuals turned into three puddles of steaming, viscous liquid, leaving no trace of their bones.

"Tony, the virus's danger level needs to be reassessed. It not only makes the host more aggressive, but it will eventually completely decompose the host and turn it into... this stuff." Chen Haotian looked at the still wriggling slime on the ground and felt a wave of nausea.

Tony's voice turned serious: "Jarvis has just completed the preliminary analysis. This defective virus doesn't die after being broken down by the host; the residue remains infectious and is much harder to eliminate."

Chen Haotian stared at the slime slowly moving towards the drain and immediately realized the seriousness of the problem: "If they get into New York's sewer system..."

"The entire city's water supply will be contaminated," Tony continued. "God, that would be catastrophic."

Without hesitation, Chen Haotian activated his special ability—a faint wisp of void energy surged from his hand, precisely covering the three pools of slime. Under the influence of the void energy, the slime rapidly evaporated, disappearing without a trace.

"What did you do?" Tony asked in surprise after seeing the scene on the monitor.

"Just a little trick," Chen Haotian said casually. "Now is not the time to explain. We must act immediately to stop other infected people from spreading the virus, especially those who have already entered densely populated areas."

Back on the top floor of Stark Tower, Chen Haotian and Tony began to track the virus's spread. Using Jarvis's supercomputing capabilities, they quickly identified several key points of virus transmission.

"Brooklyn Bridge Park, Times Square, Grand Central Station..." Tony looked at the list, his face growing increasingly grim. "These are the places with the highest foot traffic."

Chen Haotian had already prepared his equipment: "We'll split up. You're in charge of Times Square and Grand Central Station, I'll go to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Remember, don't try to capture the infected alive, just eliminate them directly, using high temperatures or the Void Energy Crystals I gave you."

Tony nodded. "Where are the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents?"

"Fury said they would cooperate with us, but I have more faith in ourselves." Chen Haotian handed Tony a small device. "This is a signal jammer, which can temporarily block any commands Hydra might issue to the infected."

An hour later, Chen Haotian stood at the entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the scene before him made his heart sink. At least twenty infected people were indiscriminately attacking tourists inside the park. The police had cordoned off the area, but were clearly unable to control the situation.

Worse still, some of the infected have begun to decompose, and several puddles of moving slime have appeared on the ground.

"Tony, the situation is more serious than expected," Chen Haotian said through the communicator. "There are at least twenty infected people here, and some have already begun to decompose."

The background noise from Tony's end was a cacophony of gunfire and screams: "The same goes for Times Square! These infected seem to be receiving some kind of instruction, and they're systematically gathering in densely populated areas."

Chen Haotian's eyes narrowed: "Hydra is still controlling them! Even though the virus is out of control, they are still trying to maximize the damage."

Without hesitation, he rushed into the park, his specially made weapon precisely striking the vitals of each infected person. But unlike before, he held back; each strike was enough to be instantly fatal, preventing them from entering the decomposition stage.

However, four infected individuals completely decomposed before he arrived. The four puddles of slime were rapidly moving in different directions, one of which was already approaching the park's fountain.

"Don't even think about it." Chen Haotian snorted coldly, and the void energy crystal in his hand emitted a faint light. Four invisible energy waves accurately struck the slime, completely purifying it.

In just ten minutes, all threats within the park were eliminated. Standing amidst the chaos, Chen Haotian looked at the panicked crowd and the reporters being kept outside by the police, knowing that this matter could no longer be handled discreetly.

"Tony, how's it going on your end?" he asked through the communicator.

"Cleanup done, but the media has already swarmed in." Tony's voice was weary. "We're definitely going to be on the front page tomorrow."

Chen Haotian chuckled: "Perhaps it's not a bad thing. At least, Hydra will realize they've messed with the wrong people."

Back at Stark Tower, the two began analyzing the data they had collected that day. A preliminary antidote for Tony had been developed, but further testing was still needed.

"What's most worrying is that Hydra seems to be able to remotely control the infected." Chen Haotian pulled up the infected's behavior patterns for analysis. "Look at this—all the infected changed direction at the same time, moving towards densely populated areas. This is no coincidence."

Tony nodded: "And those control chips, I analyzed the samples you brought back, the technology is quite advanced, not at Hydra's usual level."

Chen Haotian pondered: "Someone is helping them...or rather, someone is using Hydra for experiments."

A brief silence fell over the lab as both realized the complexity of the matter far exceeded their expectations.

Tony finally broke the silence: "In any case, we've stopped the virus from spreading further. At least we have that confidence when we face Fury and the media tomorrow."

Chen Haotian looked out the window at the New York night view and said softly, "This is just the beginning, Tony. Hydra, or rather the forces behind them, will not stop here."

Night had fallen, but the lights on the top floor of Stark Tower remained bright. In another shadow of the city, a much larger storm was brewing.