Chapter 61: "Superhero"

If it weren't for Atlas or the arrival of Samuel Young, the electronic and communication technologies of the main universe in the 1990s would have followed their original trajectory of development.

However, now Vought Corporation, to avoid and defend against cyberattacks, has never used products from Atlas or any other companies for their hardware infrastructure, such as data storage and servers. Instead, they rely entirely on their own subsidiaries for these needs.

But no matter how much they prepare, they cannot defend against a physical invasion.

At this moment.

In the basement level of the Sage Grove Research Center, where the lighting is dim and the air conditioning maintains a temperature between 20 to 24 degrees Celsius, lies a local database. This room contains two rows of hard drives that are magnetically shielded and fireproof, along with the terminal consoles connected to these drives.

Thud… thud…

Suddenly, faint tremors could be felt coming from above.

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, the ceiling was forcibly kicked in, and Tyrant 002 made its entrance into the database through this unconventional "door."

Kneeling on the shattered floor, 002 freed up its left hand, gently taking out a device resembling a USB drive from a large storage compartment on its side. Extending its left arm, it inserted the device into the control console's port.

All 002 had to do now was wait.

Meanwhile, Tyrant 001...

It stood outside the research facility, holding a 20mm triple-barreled rotary cannon with one hand, its blood-red, pupil-less eyes scanning the surrounding night sky.

It appeared that the Tyrant's scanning function could even zoom in and out, providing the pilot with a more comprehensive view of the battlefield.

From orbital drop to breaking through the interception net to 002 beginning the hardware infiltration, the entire process took less than twenty minutes.

The U.S. military, mistaking the situation as an attack on their territory, was in an uproar. The Pentagon convened an emergency meeting to analyze what exactly the "meteorites" were and why they exploded en masse after breaking through the defense network.

However, Pentagon personnel quickly identified the landing site of the last "meteorite," which was at the Sage Grove Psychiatric Center.

The U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), upon receiving this accurate intelligence, immediately responded by dispatching the rapid reaction force from the Holman Air Force Base in Philadelphia.

Yet, the distance between Philadelphia and Sage Grove was over 200 kilometers. Additionally, Sage Grove's location, chosen by Vought for human experimentation, was far from any city, effectively preventing any police intervention.

Vought International also became aware of the situation at Sage Grove at the same time. As an unwilling participant, Vought had access to even more detailed intelligence than the U.S. military.

The most crucial point was that Vought didn't need to go through cumbersome procedures or mobilize aerial and ground transport units. They simply needed to send a flying "superhero" to the site.

Not long after the hardware infiltration began.

001, standing guard outside, seemed to sense something. It raised its cannon, aiming at the southeastern sky.

With its finger on the trigger, the barrels began to rotate.

"Ri~ Whirr Whirr Whirr!!!!"

The "melodious" sound of gunfire rang out.

With every five rounds, one was a tracer, one an armor-piercing, and three high-explosive. This configuration formed a green "arc" that shot towards the southeastern sky.

Boom! Boom!

Fireworks burst in the night sky.

The target seemed to be a small "object," which, despite being hit, was only knocked off course rather than destroyed.

Boom! Boom!

Moreover, this small "object" was capable of generating lightning, accelerating its original flight speed, making it impossible for Tyrant 001 to maintain a lock on the target.

As it rapidly closed the distance and was about to reach Sage Grove, the small "object"... or rather, "person," fired a burst of lightning at 001.

Zap!!

Tyrant 001, suffering from extreme heat burns and electric shock, ceased its cannon fire.

Although the lightning caused significant trouble, it wasn't enough to prevent it from pulling the trigger. In reality, the high firing rate of the rotary cannon had simply exhausted the 2,000 rounds in its ammo box.

Thud!

001 immediately discarded the empty cannon and ammo box.

Thud! Thud!

Then it raised its left arm to block and began charging at the "person." As it neared, it swung its right fist at the target.

Whoosh!

The punch swept through the air, narrowly missing the target. But in that split second, 001 used its momentum to twist around, swinging its left fist towards the opponent.

?!

The "person" hadn't anticipated that Tyrant 001 could perform such a complex maneuver.

Bam~!!!

The back of its left fist made intimate contact with the target's face.

Swish!!

The "person" was sent flying by the sheer brute force of the backhand punch, their body uncontrollably bouncing back more than ten meters.

Boom!!

The "object" finally crashed through a guard tower, halting its uncontrollable flight and becoming buried under the building's rubble.

Thud, thud!

But the soldier piloting 001 was not about to relax. He chose to have Tyrant pursue the victory.

Boom!!

However, a burst of pale purple lightning, mixed with debris, exploded outwards from beneath the rubble.

At the same time, Tyrant 001's monitor clearly captured the appearance of the "person."

She was a "female superhero" wearing a black bodysuit, with a dark brown cape, and shoulder-length short hair—

Stormfront.

But now, Stormfront looked disheveled, her face smeared with soot, and large portions of her bodysuit torn, though no substantial injuries had yet appeared.

Her unexpected state of disarray left Stormfront fuming with anger. Raising her hands, she unleashed another burst of high-energy lightning at 001.

!

This time, the electricity started to overwhelm Tyrant 001, making its movements sluggish.

"Heh!"

Seeing this, Stormfront couldn't help but sneer, seemingly beginning to enjoy the process of tormenting her opponent.

However;

Bang~! Bang~!

Amid the sound of snapping buttons, 001 quickly shed its external armor, special combat suit, and helmet, revealing its skin, which had turned a pale grayish-blue.

?

Before Stormfront could grasp the situation, 001's body began to swell, and its skin rapidly hardened, forming a biological exoskeleton.

In just a few seconds.

Tyrant 001 expanded from its original 4.3 meters to about 4.7 meters, its arms growing even thicker, and its body proportions becoming less bulky.

In fact, the bulletproof clothing and modular external armor developed by Atlas for the Tyrants served not only to resist external attacks but also to restrain the true form of these biological weapons.

"…"

The scene before her clearly exceeded Stormfront's understanding.

At this moment, 001 chose to withstand the lightning assault as it charged forward again, this time spreading its left hand, attempting to grab the somewhat stunned Stormfront.

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