288: Chapter 288 Arrival at the Scene, The Kidnappers' Desperate Countdown

Ten thousand meters in the air, Chen Feng was in freefall.

Or rather, he was in freefall while wearing the Interstellar Tyrant prototype.

The sound of the wind was completely cut off, and on his helmet's tactical visor, a deep blue data stream refreshed like a waterfall.

"Altitude: 7,341 meters, Speed: Mach 2.1, Estimated arrival over target in 37 seconds."

"Connected to the New York City traffic monitoring system, planning the optimal entry route, avoiding all civilian facilities."

"Route planning complete, optimal solution: vertical entry from the top of the abandoned cold storage on the west side of the target building."

"Zero, project the factory's 3D structural map and all heat source distributions to the left side of my field of view." Chen Feng's voice sounded in the communication channel, as calm as if he were ordering takeout.

"Understood, sir."

The next second, a translucent 3D architectural model appeared before his eyes, with thirty-eight red humanoid light points clearly visible. Thirty-seven of them were distributed throughout the factory in a loose perimeter, while in the very center, one red light point and one green light point representing neutral were pressed closely together.

"Thirty-seven grunts, one boss, and one... hostage." Chen Feng whispered to himself.

He raised his hand encased in dark golden armor, slowly clenched his five fingers, and felt the surging power from the carbon-silicon fusion engine.

"An hour? Too long."

"Five minutes should do, and that includes finding a parking spot."

Queens, Astoria abandoned meatpacking plant.

In the air filled with the smell of rust and rot, a man whose half-face was pitted and corroded was pacing back and forth irritably.

His name was Krueger, once a researcher at the Maida Group's Prometheus base, and one of the very few survivors of that T-Virus leak accident.

He survived, but he had forever lost the chance to return to being a normal person. A derivative of the T-Virus had taken root in his body, giving him superhuman strength, but also constant pain and a face that was neither human nor ghost.

He hated, he hated the culprit who had ruined everything for him—Chen Feng.

"Damn it, why isn't he here yet!" Krueger glanced at the crude timer strapped to his wrist; ten minutes had already passed since the one-hour mark he had set.

In the shadows behind him, more than thirty mercenaries holding automatic rifles leaned lazily against the wall, whispering to each other, clearly not taking this mission seriously.

Kidnapping an unarmed little girl and then waiting for her "brother," who was a boss, to deliver the money—this job could not be easier.

"You brat, has your boss brother abandoned you?" Krueger walked up to Amy, who was hanging in mid-air, grinned, reached out, and patted her dusty face.

Amy turned her head away in disgust, not saying a word, but her clear eyes burned with fearless rage.

"Hey, quite a stubborn temper." Krueger felt a burst of anger from her gaze and was about to teach her another lesson when a faint muffled sound suddenly came from the ceiling above.

"What was that sound?" A mercenary looked up vigilantly.

"Probably a rat, this dump..." another mercenary said dismissively.

Before he could finish speaking.

"BOOM!!!"

A deafening roar, as if a meteorite had smashed into the factory!

The entire meatpacking plant shook violently, and countless dust and rust fell from the ceiling. In everyone's horrified gaze, the thick reinforced concrete wall on the west side of the factory, along with the metal door of the cold storage, was smashed into a huge hole over five meters in diameter by a dark shadow descending from the sky!

Dust filled the air, and gravel splattered everywhere.

A piercing alarm instantly resounded throughout the factory. All the mercenaries were stunned, scrambling to raise their guns and aim at the hole that was still emitting smoke.

"What is that?!"

"Is it the police? How could they come from the sky..."

In the dust, a tall humanoid silhouette slowly stood up straight.

It was an existence they had never seen before.

The dark golden streamlined full-body armor was full of the aesthetic and power of future technology. On the chest, a deep blue micro-engine was emitting a steady and profound light. Behind it, several vector nozzles still retained a high-temperature red glow.

He stood there quietly, like a god of slaughter who had walked out of a science fiction movie.

"I'm here to pick up a package."

A calm, slightly playful voice came through the armor's loudspeaker, ringing clearly in everyone's ears.

"Where is the package?"

Krueger's pupils shrank sharply.

This voice... it's Chen Feng!

How could he... how could he possibly appear in this way?!

"Fire! Turn him into a sieve for me!!" Krueger's fear was instantly replaced by boundless rage, and he roared hysterically.

The mercenaries snapped out of their stupor and pulled the triggers.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!"

Over thirty tongues of fire instantly erupted, and a rain of bullets constructed an airtight metal storm, pouring toward the dark golden figure.

However, the scene that followed completely shattered their perception.

"Clang, clang, clang—!"

The crisp sound of bullets ricocheting was endless.

Those rifle bullets capable of tearing through steel plates hit the dark golden armor, but apart from splashing a series of powerless sparks, they couldn't even leave a white mark.

"This... what kind of monster is this?!" A mercenary's voice went out of tune due to fear.

Chen Feng couldn't even be bothered to dodge, just walking out of the hole step by step while facing the hail of bullets.

"Threat level assessment: Low."

"Recommended action: Physical elimination."

"Estimated time: 30 seconds."

Zero's voice sounded in the communication channel.

"Too long," Chen Feng replied indifferently.

The moment the words fell, he moved.

No warning, no unnecessary movements.

His whole body seemed to vanish from the spot, a dark golden afterimage instantly stretched out, cutting directly into the mercenaries' densest formation.

"Puchi!"

Before a mercenary could react, he felt a chill in his chest; looking down, he saw a fist encased in armor had already punched through his chest.

Fast, too fast!

So fast that his nerves couldn't even transmit the signal of pain to his brain in time.

Chen Feng threw the corpse aside casually, and his figure flickered again.

Like a ghost, he weaved through the crowd. Every pause was accompanied by the crisp sound of shattering bones and the dull thud of tearing flesh.

Fist, elbow, knee, leg.

The simplest, most direct methods of attack had now turned into the most efficient art of killing.

He didn't even use any weapons, relying solely on the terrifying power and speed granted by the prototype, turning this battle into a one-sided slaughter.

"Ah—!"

A mercenary tried to smash his gun butt into Chen Feng's helmet, but his arm was grabbed by a large hand like an iron pincer just as it was raised halfway.

"Crack!"

The entire arm was twisted into a pretzel.

Another mercenary lunged from behind; Chen Feng didn't even turn his head, delivering a clean and sharp backward elbow strike that hit the opponent squarely in the heart. The mercenary's chest caved in at a visible rate, and he flew backward like a kite with a broken string, hitting the wall, sliding down, and falling silent.

The entire process was clean and crisp, filled with a cruel sense of beauty.

Zero's voice reported the count calmly in the communication channel:

"Eliminated: 5... 13... 28..."

Krueger was completely dumbfounded.

He stood there blankly, watching the dark golden demon stroll leisurely among his men, each strike taking away a living life.

That wasn't a battle; that was a harvest.

"Eliminated: 37."

"Threat eliminated, time taken: 27 seconds."

When Zero's voice sounded for the last time, the entire factory had fallen into a dead silence.

Thirty-seven fully armed mercenaries lay in the pool of blood, strewn about, with not a single one left alive.

And that dark golden figure was standing quietly in the center of the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, with not even a trace of blood on his armor.

He turned around slowly, his deep blue visor locking onto the only living person still standing in the center of the factory.

Krueger shivered, suddenly reacting—he still had one final trump card!

He pulled a crude detonator with wires attached from his pocket, grabbed Amy's neck tightly with his other hand, shielded himself with her, and roared hysterically, emboldened by fear:

"Don't come over! Don't come over! I have a bomb strapped to me! If you take one more step, I'll take this girl down with me!"

Chen Feng stopped and tilted his head, as if sizing him up.

"Oh? A bomb?"

There was no trace of tension in his tone.

"That's right! I knew you'd pull some tricks!" Krueger thought he had subdued the opponent, and a crazy, ferocious grin reappeared on his face, "Aren't you very concerned about this girl? Now, immediately, take off that damn suit of iron! Then kneel on the ground! Otherwise..."

"Is this the bomb you're talking about?"

Chen Feng interrupted him.

He raised his left hand and opened his palm.

In his palm, an equally crude device with wires attached was lying there quietly.

It was exactly the same as the one in Krueger's hand.

The smile on Krueger's face froze instantly, and he subconsciously looked down at his chest.

Empty.

In his hand, he was left with nothing but a piece of broken wire.

"Wh... when?!" Krueger's brain went blank, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He hadn't seen the opponent's movement at all!

"While you were babbling." Chen Feng casually crumpled the so-called "bomb" into a ball of scrap metal and threw it on the ground.

He took a step forward.

Krueger backed away in terror, only to find that his arm holding Amy had somehow been clamped by a massive force, unable to move.

"As for taking her down with you?"

Chen Feng's helmet slowly approached, and Krueger's face, twisted by extreme fear, was reflected in the deep blue visor.

"Do you deserve it?"

As the words fell, Krueger felt a pain in his wrist, and an irresistible force came over him.

"Crack!"

His arm was snapped off, and Amy was taken from his control by a gentle force, landing steadily on Chen Feng's other arm.

The whole process took less than 0.1 seconds.

Krueger clutched his broken arm and let out a pig-like wail.

His last hope, his final bargaining chip, had been easily shattered by the opponent in a way that was almost humiliating.

"Alright, little girl, it's okay now." Chen Feng looked down at Amy in his arms, his voice returning to a gentle tone.

Amy looked up at this dark golden giant who had saved her from hell, her large eyes filled with shock and curiosity, and for a moment, she even forgot to be afraid.

She asked in a small voice: "Brother Chen Feng... is this suit of yours a new Gundam model? So cool..."

Chen Feng: "..."

He decided not to answer this technical question for the time being.

He gently set Amy on the ground, then turned around and walked step by step toward Krueger, who was still wailing on the ground.

"Now, it's our turn." Chen Feng looked down at him, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.

"Mr. Ghost from the past, you seem to be... quite interested in my company?"

"I just happen to be lacking some new experimental materials to test the resistance of the T-Virus."

"Welcome, and thank you for contributing your final light and heat to Umbrella's scientific research career."