Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Assimilation

A towering figure stood in front of Fu Qinghai, staring down at him with a cold, unyielding gaze. The massive, menacing metal mask of its helmet was surrounded by thick, black, braid-like tendrils. Its armor—shoulder plates, chest plate, arm guards, leg guards, and groin protection—was made of a dark, alien metal with an eerie, otherworldly design. The skin exposed between the armor pieces was rough and scaly, like the hide of a crocodile.

'A Predator!'

Fu Qinghai finally understood what he had seen earlier—a Predator, cloaked and infiltrating Stark Tower.

The terrifying alien warrior extended two slender, razor-sharp wrist blades from the gauntlet on its arm. The tips of the blades dripped with fresh blood.

Fu Qinghai's eyes widened, but before he could react, a tremendous force yanked him up by his collar. He felt himself being lifted into the air, the world spinning around him. Then, with a loud 'thud', he was slammed onto the floor, the gun in his hand skittering away.

The Predator had grabbed Fu Qinghai with one hand and hurled him into the center of the room.

The loud impact startled everyone in the room, and all eyes turned to Fu Qinghai, now lying on the floor.

Ignoring the pain in his back, Fu Qinghai quickly assessed the situation.

Tony Stark, clad in his Iron Man armor, sat slumped against a shattered liquor cabinet. His red-and-gold suit was cracked, with thick fissures running through it, sparks flickering within. His helmet was completely destroyed, revealing his face.

Not far from Tony sat James Rhodes, the War Machine, in his silver-and-black armor. His condition was similar to Tony's, but a strange, alien spear had pierced through a crack in his shoulder armor, pinning him to the wall behind him. He was barely conscious.

'So that's where the Predator's iconic Combistick went—it's lodged in poor Colonel Rhodes.'

Fu Qinghai turned his attention to the other side of the room. A black-haired woman in a black tank top and camouflage pants held a classic silver Desert Eagle to the head of a terrified Pepper Potts.

In the center of the room, a young man with white hair floated in mid-air. He was strikingly handsome, with a mixed-race appearance, wearing white trousers and no shirt, revealing a muscular torso covered in strange black markings. His eyes were rimmed with an unnatural red, giving him a deranged look.

On the other side stood a bald, burly white man holding a bulky M32 grenade launcher. Seeing the weapon, Fu Qinghai realized where the explosions and shattered stairwell doors had come from.

Not counting the other bodies on the floor and Fu Qinghai himself, there were currently four villains and three heroes in the room.

"What's going on?" The white-haired man frowned, looking at the Predator. "Musa, who is this?" He was clearly annoyed by the unexpected interruption during his monologue.

"An eavesdropper," came the deep, mechanical voice from the Predator's disproportionately large helmet. A red beam of light shot out from the side of the helmet, scanning Fu Qinghai from head to toe.

"A normal human," the Predator concluded after the scan.

"A normal human? Here to die?" The white-haired man glanced at Fu Qinghai, puzzled. The heroes were equally confused.

'This… this is awkward… What do I do? What do I do?' Fu Qinghai's mind raced, desperately recalling movies, anime, and novels he had seen or read. How did the weak protagonists turn the tide in impossible situations?

'Talk no Jutsu! That's it—they always relied on their words.'

"Ahem!" Fu Qinghai coughed lightly, still lying on the floor. "Gentlemen, may I have a word?"

"No," the white-haired man replied bluntly.

'Bang!'

"Ahhh!" Fu Qinghai screamed as a bullet tore through his thigh, sending a spray of blood into the air.

The black-haired woman blew the smoke from the barrel of her Desert Eagle and calmly pointed it back at Pepper's head. "When Lord Murakami is speaking, no one interrupts. Consider this your first lesson in the Reincarnation World, rookie."

The reincarnators in the room had already labeled Fu Qinghai as one of their own—otherwise, his inexplicable actions made no sense.

'Ahhh… damn it! He said no, so why did you shoot me? Are you his lapdog or something?' Fu Qinghai writhed in agony, clutching his shattered thigh as blood pooled beneath him.

With the meddlesome interloper temporarily silenced, the room's attention returned to the standoff.

Unnoticed by anyone, a large black bird seemed to flash past the blue sky outside the glass wall.

"Just get it over with… I've seen enough death in Vietnam to last a lifetime. I'm not afraid of some damn mutant pansy… 'ptui!'" Colonel Rhodes, barely conscious, spat a mouthful of blood at the white-haired man.

Fu Qinghai's interruption seemed to have drained the white-haired man's patience. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Tony Stark's, but Iron Man met his gaze with equal coldness and defiance.

"Fine, very well…" The white-haired man sneered. "Such bravery!"

With that, he took a deep breath and waved his hand. A dark ripple appeared in the air, spreading toward the fallen Iron Man.

But just then, Fu Qinghai, lying in a pool of blood and curled up like a shrimp, suddenly lunged forward with the last of his strength, throwing himself in front of the dark ripple.

'Thud!' Fu Qinghai's body stiffened mid-air before collapsing like a ragdoll in front of Tony Stark. He felt his chest shatter, his organs turning to pulp. Waves of pain washed over him, leaving him unable to even scream.

Tony Stark, who had been ready to die, stared in shock at the scene before him. Everyone in the room was stunned.

"Damn it, you self-righteous ant… your life is truly worthless!"

Seeing that even some random fool dared to block his attack, the white-haired man was furious. Perhaps the earlier battle with the two armored heroes had drained him, as he panted heavily, unable to launch another attack.

''{You have saved Tony Stark's life, achieving a milestone event!}''

The cold voice suddenly echoed in Fu Qinghai's mind.

''{Calculating Assimilation Points… 7,136 points.}''

''{Warning: Reincarnator is nearing death. Preparing for soul retrieval. Please select an item or ability within your control to begin assimilation.}''

"Control… item…"

Fu Qinghai's consciousness was fading, his vision blurring from the overwhelming pain. Yet the voice in his mind remained clear and unaffected. Gurgling blood and chunks of flesh, he weakly extended his right hand, desperately grasping at anything within reach.

Tony Stark stared in shock at the bloodied figure before him, reaching out to grab a large hard drive plugged into a nearby electronic device.

''{Selection confirmed. Assimilation will consume 7,012 points. Beginning assimilation… 1%… 15%… 30%…}''

Suddenly, a pale hand gently plucked the hard drive from Fu Qinghai's grasp.

''{Assimilation halted.}''

"So…" The white-haired man floated in the air, examining the hard drive. "You threw your life away for this?"

He chuckled. "Here, have it back." With that, he forcefully jammed the hard drive's connector into Fu Qinghai's skull.

'Squelch!' The hard drive's metal interface pierced deep into Fu Qinghai's brainstem. His body twitched once before going still.

The white-haired man stood up, shaking the blood from his hands and smoothing his sweat-drenched hair.

"Now that the interruption is over… it's time to send you on your way, Mr. Stark."

Before he could act, the floor-to-ceiling window shattered. A figure with folded metal wings crashed through the glass, slamming into the white-haired man and sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Before they could recover Falcon shouted into his comms, "Now!"

From behind the door, a muscular man in blue charged forward, his Vibranium shield spinning in his hand. The sharp edge of the shield struck the Predator, catching it off guard. The alien warrior raised its arms to block, but the relentless barrage of punches from Captain America forced it back.

The black-haired woman, seeing this, screamed in rage and raised her gun, only for an arrow to pierce her temple.

Her hand holding the Desert Eagle went limp, and Pepper quickly broke free, scrambling toward Tony.

The bald man with the grenade launcher dove behind the bar, trying to avoid the arrows. Crouching in the wreckage, he ripped off his earpiece and shouted into the mic, "Banks! I thought you were supposed to keep Captain America busy!"

There was silence on the other end, followed by a mocking laugh. "Sorry, Grant. I was never on your side."

"You traitor! You son of a—"

'Thwip!' Another arrow struck the bald man's head.

"Enough!"

'Boom!' A massive blue-white beam erupted from the floor, sending Falcon, Captain America, and the Predator flying.

As the light faded, the white-haired man floated in the air, his muscles now withered, black markings spreading up his neck. He seemed to be draining his own life force.

Captain America stood up silently. Without a word, he hurled his shield at the white-haired man. The shield spun through the air, but the man teleported a short distance, dodging it. However, he was met with a powerful punch from Steve.

'Bam! Bam! Bam!' Captain America's fists rained down, each strike landing with precision, giving the white-haired man no chance to counter.

The man raised his hands, summoning a hexagonal shield of blue-white light to block the attacks. But he failed to notice the Vibranium shield, which had flown out the window, now spinning back toward him.

'Thud!' The shield struck the man in the side, and the power he had drawn from his life force faltered. He spat a mouthful of black blood and collapsed.

Seeing this, the Predator, who had retreated to the doorway, gave the room one last glance before its form faded into invisibility.

No one noticed the small arcs of electricity flickering between the hard drive and Fu Qinghai's brainstem.

''{Control reestablished. Resuming assimilation… 78%… 99%… Assimilation complete. Retrieving reincarnator's soul.}''

''{Reincarnation Lives -1.}''

***

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