A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ “No.” “Absolutely not.” Shade refused without hesitation.
He did not feel the quiet threat building beneath the surface.
To him, Black Widow’s request sounded ridiculous.
A group of intelligence liaisons wanted to follow his team into the lower levels of the base and move through a horde of infected?
Was this supposed to be a game?
This was a full-blown apocalyptic crisis.
“My God.” “Are you people out of your minds?
The lower levels are packed with monsters infected by the virus.” “I do not have spare manpower to protect you.” “People like you…” The mercenaries behind Shade broke into a noisy uproar.
Their expressions turned exaggerated, their gestures openly mocking.
“Come on.
Stay where you are.
Zombies don’t stop eating just because someone looks good.” “Support staff should know when to stay support staff.” “You planning to go down there and die?” The mercenaries traded smirks, and their mocking laughter grew louder.
In their eyes, these people were nothing more than office personnel who would slow the operation down.
“Heh.” “Looks like we’re being underestimated.” Natasha’s mouth curved slightly.
Behind that faint smile, Natasha went perfectly still.
Her blade shifted with lethal calm.
Just as she was about to move, a mechanical chime rang beside her ear.
[Ding.] [Side Mission Triggered: Zombie Assault!] [A small pack of Lickers has heard the noise and is leading a large horde of zombies toward your position.
Eliminate all incoming hostiles.] [Reward: Unknown.] “A mission?” Natasha looked up in surprise.
Almost at the same time, her eyes met Tony’s.
Both of them went still.
They saw the same shift in each other’s gaze.
“Looks like…” “We have to force our way through.” Natasha’s eyes flickered, and she abandoned the idea of staying low-key.
Whatever this system truly was, S.H.I.E.L.D.
needed it.
Tony’s eyes lifted as well, curiosity brightening his gaze.
Anything capable of dragging him into a place this strange was powerful, if nothing else.
“Rewards?
Missions?” “That actually sounds fun.” Tony’s mouth curved.
With the Iron Man armor fully armed around him, clearing crowds was exactly what he did best.
Firepower had a way of settling arguments.
No matter what these monsters were, he refused to believe they could survive a proper barrage.
This was his stage.
“Ha…” “Looks like I’m up.” Tony laughed and stepped forward.
Facing the zombie horde in the distance, he showed no fear at all.
If anything, he looked eager.
Shade stared at him.
“Hey, hey, hey!” “Don’t do anything stupid.
Those aren’t fresh infected.
Those are Lickers.
Lickers!” “The T-virus turned them into bio-organic weapons with insane burst speed.
A pretty boy like you charging in is just suicide.” “Everyone cover each other.
Prepare to fall back!” Shade’s eyes sharpened, and his expression tightened.
The Lickers charging toward them were not one or two isolated targets.
They were coming with packs of zombies behind them, and even Shade did not want to meet that head-on.
He tried to withdraw and avoid the worst of the impact.
As for Tony, who was still walking forward?
“He’s dead.” One of the mercenaries sneered behind Shade, already writing Tony off.
A soft-looking rich boy in a metal suit thought he could beat zombies and become invincible?
Dream on.
A Licker’s tongue could shatter steel.
Tony ignored the disdain behind him.
He only murmured to himself, “Lickers?” “So that’s what these things are called.” Disgust flickered through his eyes.
Their twisted, mutated flesh reminded him of rumors he had heard about military human experimentation.
And frankly, they were hideous.
“JARVIS.” “Send these brainless things where they belong.” Tony’s helmet sealed over his face.
“Yes, sir.” The armor shifted with a mechanical hiss.
Heavy weapons unfolded across the Iron Man suit in rapid succession.
The next instant, everything fired.
Bullets, missiles, and micro-munitions filled the corridor in a storm of metal.
Shells screamed down the corridor.
The explosions were deafening.
The front of the corridor became a ruin under continuous fire.
Heat rolled back in heavy waves.
The retreating mercenaries did not even have time to find cover before the blast pressure left them stunned in place.
What shocked them even more was the sight ahead.
Tony flew forward in the Iron Man armor, pouring out every kind of weapon they recognized and several they did not.
The terrifying Lickers barely had time to move before countless rounds punched through them.
The metal storm pinned mutated flesh to the floor and tore it apart.
Blood and meat scattered across the corridor.
The violence left everyone dry-mouthed and speechless.
Only one word remained in their minds.
Brutal.
Completely brutal.
One man was suppressing an entire pack of Lickers until they could not fight back at all.
The scene was almost too much to watch.
The mercenaries who had mocked him stood frozen in place.
Humiliation burned across their faces.
For a moment, the humiliation hit harder than the bombardment.
“I’m dying.
Did you see those mercenaries’ faces?
They look like stunned mannequins.” “They really underestimated Iron Man.
Nothing like a metal storm to teach some manners.” “One-man army.
Iron Man is ridiculous.” “Lickers?
Weren’t those supposed to be scary?” “Did you see Shade’s face?
He looked like his soul left his body.” Across the live broadcast, unrestrained laughter rang out in every corner of the world.
One second earlier, the Lickers had been described as an unstoppable threat.
The next, Iron Man had turned them into target practice.
The contrast was too funny for viewers to ignore.
The outside world’s reaction had nothing to do with Tony.
His attention was fixed on the virtual panel in front of him.
[Licker killed x1.] [Biohazard Surge: Speedrun Ranking has opened.]
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.