Chapter 42: Sudden Explosion

Jiang Chen sat watching the Mandarin's broadcast, his face cold and expressionless. As the video concluded, his thoughts began racing. "The next warning will appear soon," he muttered to himself.

His mind was on Killian's plan, which had been unfolding step by step. First, the attack on Iron Man's home, a move designed to make the world believe Tony Stark was dead. Killian's ultimate goal was clear: to eliminate President Matthew Ellis and replace him with Vice President Rodriguez, who would act as Killian's puppet.

Lost in thought, Jiang Chen's focus was abruptly broken by the sound of a massive explosion.

Boom!

The blast shook Jiang Chen's house slightly, and he immediately got up to investigate. Just as he reached the door, two more explosions echoed through the neighborhood.

Boom! Boom!

These were even closer. Jiang Chen's frown deepened as he stepped outside. A thick cloud of smoke filled the air, the heat from the blasts palpable. Chaos had erupted in the street, the sounds of panic filling his ears.

"Run! Hurry, take the children!"

"What is that? Is that an exploding man? Oh my God, it's Pyro! And... more Pyros?!"

Screams of terror mixed with the confusion. The explosions were spreading, and in the midst of the chaos, seven or eight figures in military-like uniforms appeared in the street, standing eerily calm amid the destruction. They didn't look like victims or civilians—they were clearly extremists, wielding something far more dangerous.

Injecting themselves with syringes, their faces contorted with pain as their bodies began to change. Five or six of them stumbled into the crowd, causing yet another explosion.

Boom!

Blood and body parts were scattered across the street, the carnage horrifying to witness. The extremists had become human bombs, detonating themselves without a second thought.

Jiang Chen's mind raced. This wasn't just random chaos—it had to be part of Killian's larger plan. But why blow up the streets like this? To terrorize the people? To make them beg for someone like Killian to take control?

As the chaos unfolded, desperate cries for help reached Jiang Chen's ears:

"Iron Man, please! We know you're not dead!"

"Where are the heroes? Please, save us!"

But Iron Man wasn't there to save them, and for many, it was already too late. The neighborhood was in ruins—bodies and blood everywhere, people trapped under debris, or left mangled by the blast. The scene was one of devastation.

Among the chaos, Jiang Chen noticed something peculiar. Two of the extremists who had injected themselves with Extremis weren't exploding. Instead, they had adapted, surviving the injection and gaining enhanced abilities. Had Killian perfected the Extremis formula?

Suddenly, the cry of a small boy pierced through the noise. The child had wandered into the middle of the street, frozen in fear, calling for his mother. Two of the Extremis-adapted individuals were approaching him, one of them beginning to glow as if preparing to release flames.

Jiang Chen moved quickly, dashing towards the boy and scooping him up just as an explosion erupted behind them.

Boom!

Jiang Chen set the child down in a safe spot, but before he could catch his breath, a group of black-clad agents arrived, led by Maria Hill from S.H.I.E.L.D. Without hesitation, Hill fired at one of the Extremis adaptors, causing yet another explosion.

As the smoke cleared, the surrounding civilians expressed their relief, many in tears. "Thank you! You saved us! Heroes, thank you!"

Hill seemed satisfied with the results as she reported into her headset, "Block A has been cleared."

But Jiang Chen wasn't convinced. "It's not that simple," he said coldly, watching the flames where the Extremis-adapted individuals had fallen.

Hill shot him a dismissive look, clearly not taking him seriously. One of the agents echoed her confidence, saying, "No way they survived that. They were burned to a crisp."

But even as they spoke, the flames began to flicker strangely, and two figures emerged from the inferno. The Extremis adaptors were still alive, their bodies glowing with residual heat as they regenerated before everyone's eyes.

Maria Hill stared in disbelief as the adaptors roared in anger, their bodies engulfed in fire. Within minutes, their flames began to die down, and they returned to their normal appearance as if nothing had happened.

Hill, visibly shaken, spoke into her headset again. "We're dealing with something new. Extremis patients are showing rapid regeneration capabilities."

Before she could finish, one of the Extremis adaptors launched a stream of fire toward her. Hill barely managed to dodge in time, but the rest of her team wasn't so lucky—most of them were consumed by the flames.

The female Extremis adaptor, brimming with arrogance, taunted the survivors. "Iron Man is dead, S.H.I.E.L.D. is useless. Who will you turn to now?"

Before she could bask in her perceived victory, a voice rang out from behind her.

"I will."

Jiang Chen stepped forward, ready for the next battle.