A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ “T-virus Enhancement?” Black Widow stared at the fluorescent vial.
The item she had glimpsed was the same kind of reward Tony had received.
The power of the T-virus had already been proven.
It had let Tony beat down a Tyrant with raw physical force and steal the first-place reward she had been aiming for.
Natasha would be lying if she said she did not want that kind of strength.
[T-virus Enhancement] [Derived from an improved Umbrella Corporation T-virus strain.
It strengthens and reorganizes biological genetic traits, reshaping genes to produce tremendous physical power.
The cerebral cortex necrosis side effect has been removed.] [Price: 500 points.] [Note: Special item.
Exchange requires C-rank Evaluation Medal x1.] “Still short by a little over a hundred points.” Natasha frowned and did the math quickly.
Second place had given her 200 points.
The side mission and zombie kills had filled in much of the gap.
The C-rank medal she needed was already in her hands.
Another mission, and she could afford it.
The thought made heat rise in her chest.
“T-virus Enhancement…” “I could have that power too?” A body strengthened by the T-virus, combined with Rokushiki.
Natasha could barely imagine how strong she would become.
Then she looked toward Tony and felt the knot in her chest tighten again.
If second place could offer this, what had first place received?
As if answering her curiosity, the mechanical voice rang out.
[Ding.] [Congratulations, Iron Man.
You have placed first on the Speedrun Ranking.] [Reward: 500 points.] [Reward: B-rank Evaluation Medal x1.] [Note: Higher-rank Evaluation Medals may be exchanged for three medals of the next lower rank.
Lower-rank medals cannot be combined upward.] “Five hundred points?
A higher-rank medal?” With the scattered points Tony had already earned, he could afford two vials of T-virus Enhancement.
Natasha nearly saw red.
Those should have been her rewards.
She had been one step away.
“Acceptable.” The word came out through clenched teeth.
It was only double the reward.
Next time, she would earn the difference back.
Then the system continued.
[Congratulations, Iron Man.
You have placed first on the Speedrun Ranking.] [Special reward received: Bio-Organic Weapon Development Technology – B.O.W.] [Unlocked templates: Cerberus, Neptune, Licker…] “Fuck.” Natasha almost lost her restraint on the spot.
The point gap and the medal gap were one thing.
She could accept those.
But what was this?
Bio-Organic Weapon Development Technology?
Unlocked templates?
Cerberus, Neptune, Licker?
Could Tony use that technology to create the same bio-organic weapons they had just fought?
“No way.” Natasha went very still.
In other words, the apocalypse they had just survived could be recreated in minutes if Tony wanted it.
And this time, it would happen in their world.
Her expression sharpened.
She moved to stop it at any cost.
Then time froze.
The entire world seemed trapped in amber, caught by an invisible force.
[Ding.] [Invasion settlement complete.] [Main Mission complete.
Return channel opening.] [Countdown…] [3…
2…
1…] Golden beams descended from above and wrapped around the summoned participants.
Just like their arrival, their departure allowed no refusal.
When the countdown ended, the beams flashed and the figures vanished from the underground base.
The empty facility was left behind, broken and silent.
The ruined battlefield looked like the final shot of a movie.
For the outside world, however, the ending did not feel peaceful at all.
“What the hell?” “How could he do that?” “Is the entity behind this insane?” “How can technology like that be opened to people and brought back to our world?” “I don’t want to become a zombie!” The viewers descended into panic.
They had only been watching the spectacle.
Now the spectacle had reached back toward them.
An apocalypse-grade technology had been handed out as a reward.
That was not a prize.
It was a threat.
…
At the military command center, the atmosphere was no better.
The silence was so heavy that a pin could have been heard hitting the floor.
The faces around the room were grim.
After a long silence, someone finally spoke.
“Anything that threatens global stability belongs under our protection.” “He calls himself a superhero.
We can use public pressure and make him hand over the technology.” “Iron Man may compromise for the greater good…” The suggestion was rotten the moment it left his mouth.
Ross cut him off with a cold laugh.
“Hero?
Greater good?” “What happened when we pressured him to hand over the Mark armor technology?” “Our hero announced his identity as Iron Man at a press conference.” Tony had not accepted threats when he held the armor technology.
Would he bend now that he held B.O.W.
technology?
Naive did not begin to cover it.
Tony Stark did not kneel to the greater good.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS AuroraVale Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you a little deeper into the story.
Stay close, because things are only getting more interesting.