SHIELD’s Nightmare!
18: Chapter 18: Successful Containment of the Reptile!
SHIELD’s Nightmare!
New York, Sector 7 sewer exit.
The late-night streets had been cordoned off.
Several heavy trucks bearing “New York City Maintenance” logos were parked by the roadside, their bright floodlights illuminating the area as if it were day.
Accompanied by the heavy grinding of a winch, a massive metal vat emitting thick white vapor was slowly hoisted from the ground by a crane.
Even from dozens of meters away, the C-Class personnel on guard duty could feel the bone-chilling cold.
That was the low temperature of leaking liquid nitrogen, and also the aura of death emanating from the monster sealed within.
“Steady!
Don’t let it swing!” Hank stood atop a truck, directing the crane operator to lower the vat precisely into a specialized transport cradle.
“Secure!
Activate the Level 2 cryogenic circulation system!” With the metallic clacks of several mechanical locks, the vat was firmly fixed to the truck bed.
The side panels of the trailer rose slowly, concealing the unsettling behemoth and revealing a prominent yellow biohazard symbol painted on the exterior.
“Pack up.
Clean the area.
Don’t leave a single scrap of anomalous tissue behind.” Hank jumped down from the truck, pulled off his mud-caked gas mask, and took a deep breath of the surface air.
…
On the rooftop of a high-rise building several hundred meters away.
Natasha leaned over the railing and lowered her thermal imaging binoculars.
“Coulson, you’ll never guess what I just saw.” Natasha’s voice was a bit dry.
“They fished a big one out of the sewers.
That metal vat must weigh at least ten tons, and…
my thermal imager shows the internal temperature is near absolute zero.” “Absolute zero?” On the other end of the comms, Coulson’s voice was filled with shock.
“What are they transporting?
An alien corpse?
Or some kind of radioactive core?” “I’m not sure.
But I saw that captain named Hank covered in blood, his body armor was in pieces.
Whatever can injure a killing machine like him…
if the thing in that vat is alive, it’s a total nightmare.” Natasha watched the black motorcade slowly drive away, a sense of unprecedented crisis rising in her heart.
“The Foundation…
just how many secrets are they hiding beneath New York?” “Keep monitoring, Natasha.
But whatever you do, don’t get close,” Coulson warned.
“The Director is right; we can’t afford to provoke them yet.” …
Hell’s Kitchen, Site Base, Level B2 Containment Zone.
This was no longer the empty hall it once was; it had been transformed into a steel fortress of industrial design.
At the deepest end of the corridor, a lead-lined isolation door half a meter thick slowly slid open.
Behind it was a sunken, specialized containment chamber.
The four walls of the room were constructed entirely of acid-resistant specialty glass and reinforced alloys.
In the center of the room was a pit that seemed bottomless.
Yellowish-green liquid churned within the pit, and the pungent acid mist was constantly being drawn out by powerful overhead fans.
This was the “new home” Levi had prepared for the Reptile—the Acid Containment Pool.
“Filling complete.
Hydrochloric acid concentration at 98%.
All metrics nominal.” Inside the control room, Ada Wong reported while monitoring the dashboard.
“Very good.
Bring the guest in.” Levi stood before the one-way observation window, a glass of red wine in hand, his gaze cold.
Rumble— The massive metal vat was moved directly over the acid pool by a ceiling-mounted gantry rail.
As the bottom hatch opened, a massive “hunk of meat” encased in a thick layer of ice crashed into the acid pool.
Splash!
Strong acid splashed everywhere, and a massive cloud of white mist instantly billowed up.
Under the dual effects of the acid and the ambient temperature, the ice layer melted rapidly, revealing the hideous monster within.
“Roar…” As the effects of the liquid nitrogen faded, the Reptile gradually woke up.
Intense pain immediately flooded its nerves.
The agony of having one’s skin, muscle, and even bone corroded inch by inch by strong acid was enough to drive any living thing insane.
But the Reptile merely let out a low growl.
It thrashed in the acid, attempting to climb the walls of the pool.
“Sizzle…” The moment its claws touched the pool walls, the specialized coating caused them to slide off smoothly.
Furthermore, the upper walls were electrified with high voltage.
Crack-crackle!
A blue arc of electricity flashed, and the Reptile fell back into the acid pool, twitching.
The bit of new flesh it had just grown was instantly corroded away again.
Corrosion, regeneration.
Corrosion, regeneration again.
It was an endless cycle of punishment.
“Disgusting…
tricks…” The Reptile lay at the bottom of the pool, only half of its hideously rotted head exposed.
Its eyes, filled with venomous spite, stared fixedly at Levi behind the observation window.
“You…
cannot kill me…” “I know.” Levi turned on the internal intercom, his voice echoing in the containment chamber.
“We don’t want to kill you.
We just want to…
contain you.” “Here, you will enjoy eternal pain and solitude.
Until you learn to behave.” With that, Levi switched off the intercom, ignoring the Reptile’s futile roars.
[Ding!
Congratulations to the Host for successfully containing the 682 Larva!] [Reward obtained: 5000 Containment Points!] [Reward obtained: Special building blueprint—Biomass Conversion Power Plant (Uses the rapidly regenerating flesh of the Hard-to-Destroy Reptile to generate electricity).] [Reward obtained: K-Class Personnel Authorization Card ×1 (Allows recruitment of one senior researcher).] “Pfft…” Seeing the second reward, Levi nearly spat out his wine.
A Biomass Conversion Power Plant?
Using the Reptile’s regenerating flesh to generate power?
Who the hell came up with this brilliant idea?
This was…
so capitalist!
So perfectly in line with the Foundation’s style!
“Oh, 682…
it looks like you’re not just here for a soak; you’re going to have to work a job on the side.” Levi looked at the monster regrowing its flesh in the acid pool, his expression turning somewhat strange.
With this, combined with Stark’s reactor, the base’s energy supply would be practically overflowing.
“System, use the K-Class Personnel Authorization Card.” Levi rubbed his hands together.
He had Hank for combat and Ada Wong for intelligence, but he lacked a mad scientist who could handle R&D—especially someone to study these anomalous organisms.
A flash of light occurred.
A man appeared in the room wearing a white lab coat and thick-rimmed glasses, his hair a mess, holding a lollipop in his hand.
He looked somewhat decadent, but his eyes held a feverish passion for the unknown and a total disregard for morality.
[Congratulations to the Host for recruiting: Dr.
Jack Bright!] [Note: Current summon is a consciousness projection of the original body not wearing SCP-963.
He possesses all of Dr.
Bright’s knowledge and madness but does not possess immortality.] “Oh?
Where’s this?” Dr.
Bright glanced around, and then his gaze was instantly drawn to the Hard-to-Destroy Reptile outside the observation window.
“Is that…
682?
So small?” Bright pressed himself against the glass, practically drooling.
“Fantastic!
Such a small Hard-to-Destroy Reptile…
I wonder if I can try putting it in a centrifuge to see it spin?
Or…
could we try using it to make infinite steak burgers?” Levi: “…” He suddenly felt a twinge of regret for recruiting this maniac.
“Doctor, while I appreciate your creativity, before that, could you help me set up this Biomass Power Plant first?” Levi pointed to the blueprint.
“We need power.
Lots of it.” “No problem, Boss!” Bright stuck the lollipop back in his mouth and flashed a brilliant smile.
“As long as you let me conduct a few little experiments during my break…
like using the Plague Doctor’s scalpel to slice the Reptile’s tail for sashimi.” “…As long as it doesn’t cause a containment breach, do whatever you want.” With the addition of Dr.
Bright, the Site Base finally had its last missing piece.
Containment, security, research, and intelligence.
A true prototype of the Foundation had completely taken shape deep beneath Hell’s Kitchen.
And meanwhile, the Marvel world outside had no idea what kind of storm it was about to face.