287: Chapter 287 A Blackmail Video from the Past

The transport plane flew steadily through the stratosphere, the cabin so quiet that only the low hum of equipment remained.

Chen Feng had just finished his call with Clark and casually set the screenshot of the one-trillion-dollar "Volcano Clearing Fee" invoice as Clark's caller ID avatar.

"Boss, that's just too savage," Sarah said, watching his actions with a twitching lip. She had just changed into a clean tactical suit, but the fatigue between her brows had not yet fully faded.

"This is called corporate culture," Chen Feng replied, leaning back on the sofa. He picked up a can of ice-cold cola and tossed it to Mia, who was still savoring the taste of the lava cake. "Besides, one trillion—I didn't even charge him interest. That's generous enough."

Mia caught the cola, skillfully popped the tab with her fingernail, and gulped down half the can before letting out a satisfied burp. "Ice-cold is still the best. The volcanic flavor is too heating."

Just then, Zero's blue geometric projection suddenly flickered in front of Chen Feng at an extremely high frequency.

"Sir, a video call request has been received via an unknown quantum channel, bypassing all conventional firewalls. The signal source... has been locked. It originates from Queens, New York, from a personal terminal belonging to Ms. Amy Mitchell."

Sarah stood up abruptly, her expression changing instantly.

Chen Feng's eyes also turned cold. Amy was Sarah's sister, a formal researcher for Umbrella Corporation, and one of the few special individuals capable of making a bio-weapon like "Big Black" docile. How could her terminal send a communication request of this level?

"Put it through," Chen Feng said, his voice calm.

The next second, a holographic projection unfolded before the three of them.

The background of the image was an abandoned factory covered in cobwebs and dust, with rusty iron chains hanging from the ceiling.

Amy was hanging in mid-air.

Her intern's lab coat was filthy, and there were obvious bruises on her face, with a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth—clearly, she had put up a struggle. But there was no fear in her eyes, only anger, as she glared fiercely at someone off-camera.

Sarah's body instantly tensed. Beneath the skin of her right arm, the black patterns of the Ouroboros Virus began to spread uncontrollably, and a few thin black tentacles protruded from her cuff, trembling slightly in the air.

"Sarah, calm down." Chen Feng's voice was not loud, but it acted like a command, causing Sarah's rampaging aura to instantly recede.

The camera shook, and a cold, twisted face leaned into the screen.

The man was wearing a tattered lab coat. Half of his face looked like it had been corroded by strong acid, pitted and uneven, and one of his eyes was a murky gray.

"Chen Feng... long time no see." The man bared his yellow teeth, his voice raspy like sandpaper rubbing together. "Do you still remember me? I'm a... survivor from the Maida Group's Prometheus base."

Chen Feng searched his mind for a tenth of a second and retrieved this person's file from the trash heap of his memory. He was a researcher under Victor Hamon, a fish that had slipped through the net and managed to escape the "accident" in New Jersey that he had personally orchestrated.

A ghost living in the past.

"So it's you," Chen Feng said, shifting into a more comfortable position. "You're quite the survivor. What's the matter, looking to apply for a cleaning position at Umbrella? We don't take out the trash."

The muscles on the man's face twitched, seemingly stung by those words. "Cut the crap! Your sister is in my hands now!" He grabbed Amy by the hair, forcing her to face the camera.

"She is not my sister," Chen Feng corrected him indifferently.

"What?" The man was stunned for a moment.

"She is the sister of my employee," Chen Feng added. "You kidnapped the wrong person."

The man: "..."

Sarah: "..."

Amy rolled her eyes while hanging in mid-air.

"You f*cking playing with me!" The man, enraged by embarrassment, snatched up a rusty iron rod from the side, making a move to strike Amy with it.

"I advise you not to move." Chen Feng's voice remained flat, but the atmosphere in the cabin turned abruptly icy. "If that iron rod touches her even once, I guarantee that your genetic sequence will be completely erased from Blue Star's database, and not a single cell will be left."

That bone-chilling murderous intent, even through the screen, made the man shudder, and the iron rod he held high froze in mid-air.

He gritted his teeth, seemingly remembering the bargaining chip in his hands, and regained his confidence.

"Hmph, still running your mouth when you're about to die!" He threw down the iron rod and shifted the camera to a massive machine in the corner of the factory. It was an industrial meat grinder with an inlet a meter in diameter, its huge spiral blades gleaming coldly under the dim light.

"See this?" The man laughed sinisterly. "I prepared it especially for you. One hour, just one hour. You, come alone to the abandoned Astoria meatpacking plant in Queens. If I see any police, or those damn Soldiers of yours, I'll throw your 'employee's sister' in there and turn her into the purest minced meat!"

"Oh, right," he added, "don't try any tricks. I've attached a heartbeat-sensing bomb to this young lady, and the signal is bound to my terminal. If I die, she won't survive either."

With that, he hung up the video call.

The holographic projection vanished.

"Boss!" Sarah could no longer remain calm. She rushed to Chen Feng in one step, the anxiety and murderous intent in her eyes almost overflowing. "I..."

"I'm going to twist that bastard's head off and kick it like a ball!" Mia had already stood up, her pink twin-tails swaying without wind, her dark green slit pupils filled with rage. Someone wanted to hurt her friend—this made her even angrier than having her snacks stolen.

"Sit down, all of you."

Chen Feng's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority.

Sarah and Mia froze simultaneously and subconsciously sat back down.

"Zero, mark the biological characteristics and thermal signal of that guy just now." Chen Feng stood up and began unbuttoning his suit jacket.

"Marked, sir. Traces of T-Virus derivatives have been detected in the target's body, and vital signs are extremely unstable. There are a total of thirty-seven heat sources in the factory, equipped with conventional light weapons; no heavy weaponry. The 'heartbeat-sensing bomb' you mentioned was not detected." Zero's analysis report was concise and clear.

"As expected, he's bluffing." Chen Feng took off his jacket, tossed it onto the sofa, and began rolling up his shirt sleeves.

"Boss, you're going yourself?" Sarah asked anxiously. "Let me go! Or let Hunk lead a team; we can raze that factory to the ground in ten minutes!"

"No." Chen Feng shook his head. He twisted his neck, producing a series of crisp bone cracks.

There was not a hint of tension or anger on his face; instead, he wore a playful smile, like a waking lion seeing a few hyenas that had ignorantly trespassed into its territory.

"Just finished fighting aliens, and I was worrying that life had been a bit boring lately, with nowhere to grind for experience."

"Now someone is rushing to stick their face out for me to slap."

He walked to the rear of the cabin, and the hatch slowly opened, revealing the deep night sky and the twinkling lights of New York City below.

"Sarah, you and Mia stay here and monitor the movements of the other four 'blind boxes' globally. Don't let the aliens' 'takeout' actually get delivered to our doorstep."

"Hunk," he said without looking back.

Hunk, who had been standing silently in the shadows, stepped forward. "Sir."

"Get my 'delivery' ready. I'm going to sign for it personally."

Hunk had no questions; he turned and walked toward a special compartment deep in the cabin. A moment later, he pushed out a huge metal cabinet.

The cabinet door opened. Inside was not a weapon, but a set of dark gold exoskeleton armor with smooth lines and a metallic sheen. On the chest of the armor, a miniature carbon-silicon fusion engine was emitting a faint, eerie blue light.

It was the one and only "Interstellar Tyrant Prototype".

Chen Feng stepped into the armor, and the mechanical structure closed automatically, fitting perfectly onto his body.

The second before the helmet visor closed, he looked back at Sarah.

"Don't worry, I guarantee that Amy won't lose a single hair."

"As for that ignorant fellow..."

Chen Feng smiled cruelly.

"I will make him understand what it means to experience... despair from the past."

As his words fell, the engine behind the prototype ignited instantly, blasting out a dazzling blue flame.

The next second, like a golden meteor, he plummeted from ten thousand meters high, instantly disappearing into the night of New York.

Inside the cabin, Sarah watched that rapidly receding light, her clenched fists slowly relaxing. She knew that when the boss put on that "toy," the game was already over.

And for the idiot who kidnapped Amy, a nightmare he couldn't even imagine had just begun.