"I am Dr. Charles. Do you have access to the surveillance system in the city?" Dr. Charles asked nervously, his voice trembling with urgency. His daughter was still trapped in Raccoon City, and without Tony's help, he feared he wouldn't be able to rescue her.
Tony glanced at the screen, his expression unreadable, and then addressed Jarvis. "Jarvis, run a reverse intrusion. Let's see what we're working with."
[Affirmative. You are currently being monitored, and the monitoring source is located very close to you.]
As the information flashed across the screen, Alice and the others exchanged uneasy glances. It became clear that whether they could leave the area would depend heavily on Dr. Charles and his request.
After a brief moment, a side mission was officially activated.
Mission: Finding Angel
Mission Description: Dr. Charles's daughter, Angel, was supposed to evacuate with the Umbrella forces, but an accident left her stranded at the school. To rescue her, Dr. Charles has asked for your help.
Mission Information: Find and protect Angel until you can safely leave Raccoon City.
Mission Reward: 1000 Main God Points, 1 Merit Point
After reviewing the details of the mission, Tony ended his conversation with Dr. Charles. "Looks like we have a destination," Tony said, looking toward the others.
Jarvis had mapped out two possible routes from the church to the school. One route was safer, suitable for walking, while the other was better for driving and less congested. The decision was clear.
They opted for the second, faster route.
In the car, Jill and the others bombarded Alice with questions about their current plans. After all, Alice seemed far easier to approach than Tony, whose demeanor was cold and detached.
"Why don't we find a safe place to hide instead? I don't want to take on the doctor's mission at all," Peyton muttered, his voice tinged with frustration.
"A safe place?" Tony replied without turning his head. "Do you think a solid building could stop a nuclear strike?"
"What are you talking about?" Peyton asked, confused.
"A nuclear weapon, with the equivalent power of five thousand tons of TNT, is scheduled to strike Raccoon City before dawn," Alice explained, her voice steady despite the gravity of the situation. "Once it lands, the zombies, the virus, and all the evidence will be wiped out."
Peyton's eyes widened in disbelief. "How dare they! The reporters will expose them! There's no way they'll get away with this!"
The reporter sitting next to them shook her head, her face pale with fear. "They'll find an excuse. There's a nuclear power plant nearby... they'll say it was an accident."
"Dammit!" Peyton slammed his fist against the car door in anger, but his face twisted in pain as his wound flared up.
Suddenly, Alice's gun was aimed directly at Peyton, and Jill followed suit, raising her weapon at Alice. Tension thickened in the car as both sides stood at odds.
"You were bitten?" Alice asked, her tone hard.
Peyton hesitated, clearly debating whether to lie, but ultimately he nodded in defeat.
Jill's gun moved closer to Alice's face. "What do you intend to do?" she asked, her voice filled with suspicion.
"If you don't deal with it now, he'll turn into one of those things. It'll be more dangerous later on," Alice explained calmly.
Jill lowered her gun, but her gaze remained icy. She walked over to Alice and said, "If it comes to that, I'll handle it."
The two women locked eyes for a long moment, sizing each other up. Finally, Alice lowered her weapon, saying, "As you wish."
Turning to Peyton, Alice's voice softened slightly. "I'm sorry, but in an hour or two, you'll be just like them."
Tony, who had been silent up until now, glanced over at them briefly but said nothing. He was too focused on communicating with Jarvis, trying to find a way to contact the Red Queen. If they could get the Red Queen's help, they might be able to rescue more people.
However, there was no response from the Red Queen's systems, as though the AI had been completely severed from the network here.
"We'll wait here while I check the first floor. Everyone else will move in pairs and clear the other floors. If you find anything, shoot to kill. I'll be there as soon as I hear anything," Tony instructed as they arrived at the school.
The school was old but had a strong reputation for its educational quality. Unfortunately, the building wasn't very modernized, which meant there were plenty of blind spots in the surveillance systems. Tony could only get limited visibility through Jarvis' cameras, and even those were too obscured to locate Angel immediately.
They split into teams: Jill led one group, and Alice took charge of the other. With Tony in his armor, they had a significant advantage in combing through the building quickly.
It didn't take long before Alice found Angel hiding in a cabinet, trembling but alive.
The two women connected almost immediately, perhaps because of their shared experiences with trauma. Similar struggles had created a bond between them.
"Can I see your bag?" Alice asked, noticing how tightly Angel gripped her backpack.
Angel hesitated, uncertain. She had been told that her father had sent them, but trust was a fragile thing in a world like this.
"You know I won't hurt you," Alice said softly, trying to reassure her.
After a long pause, Angel finally handed the bag over.
Inside, there was a temperature-controlled alloy container. Alice opened it to find several green vials.
"What is this?" Alice asked, her voice filled with surprise.
"The antidote," Angel whispered. "The antidote to the T-Virus."
"How did you get this?" Alice asked, astonished.
"My father gave it to me... to cure my sickness," Angel replied, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
Just then, Jill entered, supporting Peyton, who had collapsed against her. The virus was spreading rapidly through his system.
Alice walked over to them, placing a hand on Peyton's shoulder. "You're lucky this time," she said, her voice cold but not unkind.
"What?" Peyton lifted his head weakly, confused.
Alice pulled out a syringe filled with the antidote and quickly administered it to Peyton. "This is the antidote to the T-Virus, but it's been too long since your infection. I don't know if it'll work."
"Thank you," Peyton muttered, sinking back into the chair, his voice strained.
Tony, observing the situation, crouched down and stared at the antidote, lost in thought. As one of the most brilliant minds in the Marvel Universe, Tony's expertise extended beyond just technology—he had extensive knowledge of biology as well.
In Tony's mind, the T-Virus and its antidote were among the most valuable discoveries in the world, more so than artificial intelligence.
Once Angel was safe, Tony contacted Dr. Charles again. They communicated seamlessly, their understanding of each other's work immediate and clear.
During their exchange, Dr. Charles provided Tony with his internal network credentials.
Using the access, Tony quickly entered the Umbrella Corporation's internal network, bypassing several layers of security. Dr. Charles's authority was still intact, and Tony exploited it to find critical information about the T-Virus.
After downloading the data, Tony stored it in Jarvis's system, securing it with multiple layers of encryption. If this information ever leaked, it could trigger another global biological disaster.
As he thought about the implications, Tony couldn't help but shudder at the possibility of a Hulk Zombie. The idea of the T-Virus infecting the Hulk was terrifying—if the virus could truly do that, the world would be facing an unimaginable threat.