1 The Collapse

A/N:- Btw, the mc is not an SI, meaning he won't have any knowledge regarding Marvel or such. Also, no harem, only one love interest.

***

Sirens blared behind Ronald. He tucked his cap and slipped his hand into his pocket. The cold metal of the handgun calmed his heart, contrary to his hulking physique shivered with every gale passing by.

The weapon wasn't given to him to fight someone. Far from it; the gun was his last chance to redeem himself by boring a hole through his death. In his line of work, getting arrested was worse than meeting Hades. The organization he worked for had its reach to the top echelon of every country. Not only will they kill him inside the prison to silence him, his wife and kids will also go missing before a week.

A terrifying group controlled the world from the shadows.

Ronald stopped near a dark alley and observed the surroundings for any stalkers. Finding no one, he sighed, puffing white smoke in the night, and jogged into the alley. He knocked on a house looking like any other on this street, which was far from the truth.

"It's Ron."

Another burly man opened the door, smoking a cigar. The guards changed every day, so Ronald was unfamiliar with this guy. "Pass?"

Ronald whipped out a dollar note from his pocket. The man checked the number and nodded his head.

"You can go in."

Ronald headed to the elevator marked with a huge green skull with six tentacle arms. Another guard barred his passage and asked a few simple questions. Once convinced, the guard handed a pair of glasses and let Ronald in the elevator.

Ronald wore the glasses as the elevator opened. A blue neon light flickered in the hallway filled with surveillance cameras, giving a sci-fi atmosphere.

"Master Ron."

His co-workers greeted him and stood from their seats. Ronald nodded politely and squinted at the blue chart showing in display on the wall.

"What?"

Ronald's eyes grew wide. He slapped the table and turned around, his fierce gaze clashing with the co-workers' awkward gaze.

"His heartbeat is 380. That's a hundred above his normal. What's he doing now?"

"Master, he has been playing… Pacman for twenty-two hours."

Ronald couldn't believe his ears. "Why didn't you put him to sleep? You know how precious he is."

Ronald regretted going on a vacation. These incompetent bastards were untrustable.

"We tried, but his body is resisting every drug we gave him."

"His frail physique made us hesitate on knocking him out."

"Why didn't you call me?"

"You bunch of idiots," Ronald cursed and hastened to the chamber. He scanned his eyes and thumb on the scanner, and entered the password. His eyes landed on the man so thin, every bone of his body could be counted. It made one wonder how he was still alive. Was it because of his flesh and blood possessing the power to cure diseases deemed 'incurable' by science? His body rejected every supplement, even the ones injected in his blood.

His blood was truly unique in a sense, allowing Ronald's organization, Hydra, to fulfill their long dream of creating artificially enhanced humans.

Right now, his thin fingers joyfully danced on the controller.

Ronald's eyes turned cold. "Number zero, stop this."

Ronald closed the distance and reached out for the controller. Number Zero paused the game and turned his head. The frost in his murky gray eyes made Ronald flinch and step back.

"Not now, doc. Lemme beat the highest score. I was so close last time."

Ronald couldn't hide his surprise at the voice brimming with energy. The gaze and voice of the man formerly known as the 'Shadow' twisted Ronald's heart in fear.

Number Zero smiled and returned to playing the game.

"S-Stop this, you'll die if you keep this up."

"You think I care about that, huh?" he snarled. "I could never fight your organization when you guys sucked me dry for your profit… to make what actually? I never got to know that... Hey, doc, where do you think I got the will to live on this boundary for years?"

The boundary between life and death. Ronald's hands trembled as he realized the meaning behind Number Zero's words. He rushed to shut the power down the console.

"Done! I finally broke the record! I'm the best Pacman gamer of this century..."

Ronald was too late. The controller slipped from Number Zero's hands and his body slumped on the ground.

Ronald also slumped and rested his head in his hands. He could do nothing but send his body to his superior, letting them rip out his organs to find the reason for his superhuman blood.

This wasn't the end.

Number Zero's body floated. Ronald saw the man creating a slowly expanding black hole. He tried to escape, yet the ever so increasing black hole consumed him and boomed.

The reality collapsed.