Chapter 46: Shadow in the Light

A few mornings later.

New York City was as bustling as ever. Whether in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Staten Island, people's lives had to go on regardless.

Lately, life in New York had not been very peaceful. All kinds of terrible events followed one after another, making it a truly eventful autumn. No one was going to foot the bill for the destruction caused by the Gamma monsters, and most people simply had to bear the consequences themselves.

The military declared the neighborhood in Brooklyn where the Gamma monster incident occurred as a quarantined restricted zone, forbidding ordinary people from entering. This prompted quite a few local residents to hold up protest signs.

However, the impact of these protests was negligible.

Nick Fury, on the other hand, had no time to consider the gains and losses of ordinary people. He stared at the report submitted by Agent Hill, looking deeply troubled. He had been keeping a close eye on the situation regarding Bruce Banner, but he had never expected Hulk to spawn such a massive crisis.

Not to mention that amidst this accidental man-made and natural disaster, Nick Fury seemed to perceive even more troublesome matters. Thanks to Hill's investigation and debriefing, as well as the few surviving video clips from the scene, Fury felt that the current situation was far more complex than he had imagined.

The military did not cover up the incident at all. On the contrary, Thaddeus E. Ross faced unprecedented impeachment. With this Gamma monster incident, news reports broadcasting the appearance of the Gamma monsters spread everywhere like a tidal wave.

Along with the tragic plights of the victims, it was clear this would cause major problems for the current president's and the New York mayor's polling numbers. Yet, Fury's primary concern right now was not politics; what he cared about was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reaction time.

It was not fast enough, not swift enough.

"Is he here?"

"The Captain went to visit Ms. Peggy, Director. It's not the scheduled time yet."

While the two were speaking, the door to Fury's office opened, and Steve walked in. Evidently, he had also seen the recent news. After all, unlike S.H.I.E.L.D., the military preferred to keep various incidents concealed beneath a veil of secrecy.

"What is going on with the Brooklyn incident, Fury?"

"That is why I brought you here today, Captain. Have a seat."

With that, Fury nodded toward Agent Hill, and the Director's capable assistant immediately closed the door before pulling up a report.

The video clearly displayed an image of Jaktuol. The instant his bio-thermal beam cannon fired, it lit up the entire screen—clearly one of the few preserved videos from the battlefield, though the footage cut out entirely right after that moment.

"I think I've seen this thing before. The footage you had me look at previously contained data on it, and now it has appeared again."

"Indeed. But the situation isn't that simple. You saw them attacking the military in the video, right?"

"It certainly looked that way."

"In fact, we found something else on the ground."

Saying this, Fury retrieved a weapon from beneath his desk—a weapon with a rather unusual design. This assault rifle was identical to the one used by the mysterious faction that had rescued Samuel Sterns from Lynn's grasp. It seemed Fury had found a way to gather evidence within the military's restricted zone.

"What is this?"

"This is a firearm unregistered on the commercial market, using 9x39mm ammunition. The mold bears no internal factory identification marks, and its technical parameters far exceed all assault rifles currently available on the market. It was recovered at the scene of the incident.

At the same time, several corpses were found with disfigured faces. Based on biometric data, they appear to originate from Colombia, Madripoor, or various African nations—a rather complex demographic. Without exception, they all died in the area surrounding the Gamma monster."

As she spoke, Agent Hill marked several small red crosses on the illuminated big screen, stretching all the way from 43rd Street to the incident site.

Hearing this, Steve seemed to realize something, but he did not interrupt Hill's report. He was familiar with this kind of operation and could tell the intent behind the intelligence Agent Hill was presenting to him.

"Additionally, some unclaimed combat equipment was left at the scene, including assault rifles and body armor. Although many of these items bore bullet holes, no DNA information could be extracted from the inside of those garments. Nothing was left behind except ash.

This scattered equipment was also quite miscellaneous, originating not only from obsolete goods phased out by the Russian Federation, but also from standard automatic weapons circulating on the black market.

Both of these strange phenomena occurred without exception in the exact same place."

Once Hill finished her report, Fury looked at Steve and asked aloud,

"What do you think, Captain?"

"It sounds like someone outside your control, another faction, plus the involvement of vampires. The briefing you gave me mentioned vampires, and that is what they look like after they die.

Moreover, judging from the scene..."

Steve took the remote control from Hill and fumbled with it for a moment. Just as Hill was about to say something, Steve pressed a button and gave Agent Hill a knowing smile.

"Don't underestimate a centenarian." After saying that, he skillfully began operating the AR screen using the remote.

He connected the red crosses Hill had drawn on the map into a string, and eventually, all the trajectories pointed directly to Samuel's laboratory. That was the epicenter of the incident, the place where everything had happened.

"Judging from the incident locations you've mapped out, the firefight between these two factions forms a web-like structure. Whether radiating outward or contracting, the origin of this monster is clearly an inescapable link, isn't it?"

"Well said, Captain."

Fury nodded as he spoke.

"That's why we found bullet holes and footprints in the nearby sewers, as well as this abandoned weapon and a severed hand at the end of a drainage ditch.

It was torn apart by brute force, not by edged weapons or firearms."

As Fury spoke, the display switched scenes. Several Greg-type Zoanoids were suppressing a giant Gamma monster. With their towering physiques and thick arms, they matched the physical strength of the Gamma monster blow for blow, making the tearing off of a human arm a trivial matter for them.

"You want to investigate the origins and connections of those two factions?"

"I don't have the right personnel."

"Aren't your strike teams suitable?"

"They have... certain institutional issues that make them unsuited for this kind of mission." Fury handed a file to Steve as he spoke. "I have an idea, a prototype. I want you to take a look."

Taking the file, Steve looked at Fury in puzzlement.

"Avengers?"

"The Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

"To be honest, it sounds a bit cliché."

Hill covered her mouth nearby. After Fury gave her a blank stare, she sniffed and immediately snapped back to a position of attention.

Fury then looked back at Steve.

"Did you really have to say it out loud? Couldn't you spare me a little dignity?"

---

The Kronos Charity Hospital, underground laboratory.

At that moment, Lynn had no idea that Fury had already tipped off Steve about his earth-shattering brainstorm. He was currently standing in his underground lab, listening to Karla's report.

"The lost personnel have been replenished, the vehicles have been scrapped, and they have all entered radio silence after handing over the cargo..."

Through this period of tempering, the purple beauty's abilities had been thoroughly honed, and she handled these matters with considerable ease.

Lynn listened to Karla's report with his eyes closed. The instruments throughout the biochemical laboratory were operating normally. Tissues collected from the Gamma monsters lay quietly inside the biochemical reactors, and Lynn was in the process of gathering data from them.

"All remnants have been recovered, Doctor. After this incident, we probably need to maintain radio silence for a while to avoid drawing too much attention."

As Karla's debriefing came to a close, Lynn terminated his operation. Evidently, the harvest had been bountiful; after all, the data obtained from Hulk might not be as intuitive as that from these Gamma monsters.

"Well said. For now, we do need to lie low for a period."

At that moment, the lights in the biochemical laboratory were finally turned back on by Lynn, who had been engrossed in data collection. The illumination revealed the chunks of flesh and bone slowly writhing inside the vast laboratory, occasionally bubbling with signs of metabolic activity.

Right in the center of the laboratory, the most eye-catching sight was the Abomination. His massive physique was housed in the largest biochemical reactor, secured at his elbows and limbs by specially forged black magic restraints, which bound him while constantly draining the Gamma energy he continuously regenerated.

Large quantities of sedatives and anesthetics were pumped into the reactor to keep the Abomination asleep and unconscious.

Lynn walked with Karla to the base of the biochemical reactor, gazing at the Abomination's colossal body, lost in thought.

"Doctor, should we activate this specimen now?"

"This one?"

Lynn looked at the Abomination and shook his head. In terms of pure combat capability, the Abomination was not far behind the Mega-Zoanoids, but this was not yet the best time to modify him—especially since Lynn had just harvested so many tissue samples from the Gamma monsters.

He was more eager to test some of his new ideas on those tissue samples.

"Not for now. By the way, how is the operational status of the Kronos Hospital recently?"

"During the time you've spent in the underground lab, the hospital's operations have been exceptionally smooth. Dr. Connors has completely mastered the operation of the gene therapy device, and we recruited a batch of graduates based on his recommendations.

Recently, the stock price fluctuations of Stark and Osborn have affected many things, making it hard for them to find jobs. Maria's HR team has recruited them into the hospital.

Their performance has been good so far. Aside from that..."

Karla was also fully versed in the operational status of the Kronos Charity Hospital and quickly updated Lynn on the daily affairs here.

After treating the vampirized little boy, Kronos Charity Hospital seemed to have finally transformed into a local rumor, or rather, a piece of folklore.

While it hadn't yet attracted the attention of major figures, those who had been affected by vampires and wished to cure themselves—

Or those who had undergone Lizard transformation under Lynn's previous arrangements, whose bodies were cured of stubborn ailments, but who were left with post-Lizard transformation sequelae due to Peter's hastily brewed antidote—

People whose bodies or personalities bore some incurable mutation had also heard of Kronos Charity Hospital.

They had finally found their lifeline.

All over the streets and alleys, rumors spread that right next to Hell's Kitchen, there was such a place capable of resolving their terrible afflictions.

"We are indeed gradually making a name for ourselves."

"Just as I anticipated. But that vampire firefight also helped us further boost the utility of the gene therapy device. In that sense, I suppose I have those vampires to thank."

Karla did not reply to this; she knew Lynn disliked unnecessary flattery and simply stood silently by his side.

"Moreover, regarding Maria, she seems to have encountered some resistance. Moolah and the Keepers seem frightened by the offensive launched by the Blade Claws, and now they dare not hold large gatherings."

"Oh?"

"According to Maria's report, the Blade Claws disrupted some kind of agreement they had with humans, triggering an unprecedented purge of New York's vampires. Therefore, it is best for the Blood Covenant not to launch large-scale gatherings right now."

As she spoke, Karla began brewing coffee. Pouring hot water over the grounds, an enticing aroma began to drift through the air.

When she picked up the coffee cup, a faint purple glow enveloped the cup and its contents. Lynn used his psionics to levitate the coffee over to his side before picking up the cup by hand.

Karla watched the scene with keen interest.

"The Doctor's abilities seem to be growing stronger; he used to pick it up with his hand."

A trace of an imperceptible smile played on the corners of her mouth as Karla continued, "The vampires seem to have been scared out of their wits, Doctor."

"Vampires, when compared as a collective, are not particularly noteworthy opponents. The relationship between humans and vampires can change at any time, but now that they've gone into hiding, it does cause a bit of trouble for my subsequent plans," Lynn said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"We need to find a way to flush them out."

"If we press them too hard, won't they experience a backlash? That might not be a good idea."

"Hmm? There's no need for us to make a move, Karla. Don't we still have a friend? He always brings just the right amount of pressure to the vampires. Maria must have gathered enough intelligence by now."

Lynn said with a smile.

"When attacking Nosferatu's underground palace, although Blade told his friends not to meddle in his affairs, human virtues and goodwill can indeed prevail at certain times."

The spies we planted and the surviving Nosferatu vampires have indeed harvested some interesting intelligence for us.

"You mean his vampire partner?"

Lynn smiled and looked at Karla, clearly showing that his capable assistant had grasped his thoughts.

"Give Blade's friend an offer she can't refuse, and naturally, she will take the risk. Bonds and goodwill are always the easiest things to exploit..."

Just as Lynn was speaking, he suddenly tapped the empty space beside him. Jessica flicked into view, clutching her head and looking at Lynn with an aggrieved expression.

"Was it really necessary to knock on my head?"

As the Guyver armor disengaged, retreating into her skin as control cells, Jessica's figure was fully revealed.

"Next time, don't turn invisible and eavesdrop nearby. You can knock and walk in openly."

"Fine..."