“This isn’t good!” Levi’s expression shifted.
He hadn’t expected an interloper to drop in out of nowhere.
The Plague Doctor’s usual movements were slow and elegant, but once he entered an aggressive state, his speed and strength were purely superhuman.
“Stop him!” Levi roared.
Ada Wong reacted instantly.
She raised her weapon and fired twice, her bullets accurately striking the robes on 049’s back.
However, it was as if they hit a mass of black mist; the impact only caused his figure to falter for a split second.
In the next moment, 049 tore through the wire mesh of the ventilation duct and vanished inside.
*** Inside the ventilation duct.
Daredevil, who was just about to retreat, felt a suffocating chill surge from behind.
His super-senses screamed a frantic alarm!
“What is that?” Matt didn’t even have time to look back.
He swung his cane behind him with a violent snap.
*Clang!* The metal cane struck something as hard as solid rock, the vibration numbing Matt’s grip.
A black-gloved hand had somehow caught the other end of the cane.
“Your heartbeat…
is erratic,” a voice as deep as a cello echoed through the narrow duct.
“You are sick.
Gravely ill.” To his horror, Matt found that the strength he took so much pride in was as useless as an infant’s against this foe.
The power radiating from that black hand was staggering; it yanked him and his cane clean out of the duct, slamming him toward the floor.
*Boom!* Matt crashed heavily onto an operating table in the morgue, the flimsy surface shattering under his weight.
The agonizing pain forced a muffled groan from Matt, but he was a superhero trained by Stick, after all.
The moment he hit the ground, he rolled to his feet and put distance between them.
He gripped his cane tight, warily “staring” at the black figure slowly floating down from the ceiling.
“Who are you?” Matt asked in a low, gravelly voice.
In his sensory world, the “person” before him was incredibly eerie.
There was no heartbeat, no body heat, and even the sound of his breathing was like the wind whistling through dry bones.
If not for his radar sense, Matt would have thought he was talking to a corpse.
“I am a doctor.” 049 approached one step at a time, his fingers splayed slightly in a grasping motion.
“Do not struggle.
The treatment will be over soon…
it only takes a moment.” That intense premonition of death enveloped Matt once again.
His instinct told him that he absolutely could not let that hand touch him.
If it did—he was dead!
*Swish!* Matt threw his cane, attempting to trip 049’s legs.
But with a casual wave of his hand, 049 batted the reinforced alloy cane aside, sending it embedding deep into the wall.
“Pointless resistance.” 049 suddenly accelerated, his black robes billowing like the wings of a reaper.
His lethal palm lunged straight for Matt’s throat.
In that split second, a red laser dot appeared on 049’s mask.
“That’s enough, Plague Doctor!” Levi’s cold voice rang out.
The muzzles of dozens of assault rifles locked onto 049 simultaneously.
“If you delay your containment any further, all the research resources promised to you by the Foundation will be revoked.” Levi stood behind a shield wall formed by C-class personnel, his gaze sharp.
“Furthermore, that man in the spandex is not your patient.
He is a subject of observation.” At the mention of losing his research resources, 049’s hand stopped mid-air, inches from Matt’s throat.
It was less than a centimeter away.
Matt could actually feel the deathly, soul-freezing aura emanating from those fingertips.
Cold sweat instantly soaked through Daredevil’s suit.
“That is…
truly a pity,” 049 said, slowly withdrawing his hand, his tone filled with genuine regret.
“His physical condition is excellent.
He would have made a perfect specimen.” With that, 049 turned around, no longer paying any mind to the frozen Matt, and walked toward Levi.
“Remember your promise, Archon.
I require a clean laboratory and fresh samples.” “As you wish.” Levi snapped his fingers.
Two C-class personnel immediately brought forward a specialized heavy-duty containment crate and opened the lid.
049 stepped inside cooperatively, even taking a moment to straighten the hem of his robes.
*Click.* The containment box sealed, and the indicator light turned green.
[Ding!
Congratulations to the host for successfully containing the Plague Doctor!] [Reward Obtained: 500 Containment Points.] [Reward Obtained: Junior Bio-lab Blueprint × 1.] [Reward Obtained: Special Item — Panacea (Single Tablet) × 1.] Hearing the prompts in his mind, Levi was internally ecstatic, but he maintained his enigmatic facade.
He turned his head to look at Daredevil, who was still in a state of shock and high alert.
“Mr.
Matt Murdock, Attorney at Law.” Levi called out the man’s identity directly.
Matt stiffened, his fists clenching.
“Who are you people?
That monster…
what was that thing?” “We are the reverse side of the world, the maintainers of normalcy.” Levi walked up to Matt.
With his back to the light, his shadow stretched long, making him look like a monarch emerging from the darkness.
“What you saw tonight is merely the tip of the iceberg of the abyss.” “That doctor—if we hadn’t contained him, by tomorrow morning, the entirety of Hell’s Kitchen would have become a city of the dead.
The fighting skills you pride yourself on are meaningless in the face of a true anomaly.” Matt fell silent.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, the man was telling the truth.
That momentary fear of death was something he had never experienced before.
“Considering you came here tonight to protect this place as well, I won’t wipe your memory.” Levi pulled a blank black business card from his coat and flicked it.
The card flew like a shuriken, embedding itself precisely into the floorboards by Matt’s feet.
“But remember, curiosity killed the cat.
Forget everything you saw tonight.
It’s for your own good.” “Move out!” With a flourish of his trench coat, Levi turned to leave.
Ada Wong and the C-class personnel followed immediately, taking the containment crate holding 049 with them.
They receded like a tide, leaving behind a mess of ruins and the burning corpses of zombies.
Only when the sound of the armored vehicle’s engine had completely faded did Matt slowly bend down and pull out the black card.
On it, there was nothing but a strange logo consisting of three inward-pointing arrows.
“The Foundation…” Matt muttered to himself.
In those “eyes” that could see nothing yet perceived everything, there was a deep, lingering sense of dread.
*** Site-01 Base, Command Center.
Having just returned to the base, Levi slumped into his command chair, discarding his stoic image.
“Whew…
acting cool is exhausting.” Though the process had been a bit harrowing, the result was perfect.
Not only had he successfully contained the Plague Doctor, but he had also made a significant impression on Daredevil.
“System, open the shop.
I want to spend!” With 500 Containment Points, Levi felt like a rich man.
Just then, a red light suddenly flashed on the holographic screen of the console.
[Warning!
SHIELD satellite scan detected in this sector!] [Warning!
High-energy reaction detected approaching New York airspace!] Levi blinked, then looked at the footage displayed on the screen.
It was a humanoid object engulfed in flames, falling from high altitude.
“Is that…
the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four?” “No, wait.
At this point in time…” Levi narrowed his eyes, tracking the trajectory of the falling object.
A playful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“It looks like the chaos in the Marvel world is just getting started.”