TN: Here your Chapter Guys 6 for missing Thursday and Friday and 3 for today from now on I'll be doing 1 chapter a day instead of 3, 5 time a week.
The Rhino stopped.
The massive and seemingly invincible Rhino armor came to a halt, something the members of the Demon Gang found incomprehensible.
Leo hadn't even left many marks on the armor, and the only wound was blocked by a mechanical claw.
Even after pulling the claw away, only a small crack was visible.
Technology is the downfall of many, but not Leo.
He turned his expertise into a weapon, and the quieter his moves, the more professional and incomprehensible they seemed.
Leo retracted his arm and glanced around.
The Demon Gang retreated quickly. Across the street, Leo and Martin exchanged a silent look.
Martin was likely close to losing control of his powers and self-destructing—when that happened, Leo could explore whether negative energy could cure his own issues.
Though it wasn't exactly a disease, so the results would be uncertain.
Turning back to the Rhino, Leo noticed that its armor was, in fact, a kind of neural-linked exoskeleton, though the exoskeletal parts were minimal, mostly covered by the heavy armor.
The core was still a brain-computer interface, which allowed the biological armor to function normally.
For this version of Marvel, neural interfaces and brain-computer connections were still new technologies. Hacking through them to burn circuits or even nerves was only theoretically possible.
After all, only a few test subjects had emerged. Who would have thought Leo would already be so adept in this field?
The Rhino's behavior was close to cyber psychosis—but the pilot was a maniac to begin with, so it wasn't as obvious.
In other words, a junior version of Adam Smasher.
He was the second cyber-psychopath in this world, with Scorpion being the first.
As to why they weren't true cyber-psychopaths—it was because the prosthetics and neural gear they used were incomplete, essentially experimental, or in a sense, mutated.
Gwen landed nearby, marveling at Leo's exoskeleton.
"That's amazing. Where did you get it?"
"I've got some talented friends. The armor's unlocked now, but we'll need some muscle to pull the guy out. We should hurry, or he might suffocate in there."
Upon hearing that, Gwen quickly jumped up and began prying at the armor.
Due to the need for flexibility, there were gaps between the Rhino's outer armor plates to allow for joint movement.
With the power control system destroyed and the hydraulics relaxed, Gwen's strength made prying the armor open manageable.
It was like peeling an onion—except Gwen wasn't brought to tears by fumes, but instead got burned by the hot armor.
Once the armor shut down, the heat from the engine, power system, and burnt circuits wasn't vented out, causing it to become dangerously hot.
Finally, Gwen used her webs to pull open the cockpit, revealing the unconscious pilot inside.
His clothes had been burned through, exposing charred skin.
Leo grabbed a hose from a nearby fire truck and sprayed water inside, releasing a cloud of steam.
Gwen asked anxiously, "Is he still alive?"
"Hard to say, but he's probably not dead. At least, not yet."
When Leo hacked the Rhino, he encountered extremely robust network defenses.
The battle was swift. Leo threw everything he had into the attack and decisively gained the upper hand, though that didn't mean his opponent was weak.
If his adversary had been slightly more focused, Leo might have had to increase the dosage of his Lizard Serum, which would've caused complications.
The brief confrontation didn't significantly harm either side, but the Rhino, as the battlefield, was ruined. The armor was burnt, the systems crashed, and the pilot's nervous system was attacked.
Even if he woke up, he'd likely suffer severe brain damage—either losing his speech or his motor abilities.
From a network warfare perspective, the enemy's defense was formidable, at least for this world.
But wireless-controlled firewalls are inherently at a disadvantage in cyber combat.
The moment Leo accessed the system, he locked onto the wireless modem and transmitted a malware daemon before the enemy could react.
Once the daemon finished transmitting, it would take over the enemy's servers and launch a counterattack. Though not highly intelligent, it was perfect for a blitzkrieg.
After this blackout, Leo identified who had been aiding Oscorp with their network defense and monitoring the NYPD.
It was Dr. Zola, Hydra's top scientist from World War II, who had transferred his consciousness into electronic devices after surrendering to join a research project.
He had been secretly operating Hydra's global surveillance network from a hidden military base.
After confirming it was Zola, Leo didn't press further. He simply located Oscorp's internal wireless modem and completed the hack, severing their connection.
They could reconnect through the internet later.
But Leo didn't think he could defeat Zola head-on in a network duel. However, using the internet to deal with him would be more manageable.
Hydra was a staple villain in the Marvel universe.
But honestly, Hydra shouldn't have the financial resources to be dabbling in so many things.
Leo was quite sensitive to the funding of large organizations.
Many people don't understand the finances involved in such operations—like how a $1 donation from everyone on Earth would generate $7 billion, a massive sum for individuals.
But for a massive organization, it's a drop in the bucket.
Hydra had many assets—hospitals, mines, factories, banks, high-tech industries—but they also had a vast network spanning the globe, not just the U.S. government, but also the U.N., U.N.-affiliated organizations, and even some terrorist groups.
Military and political investments are extremely costly, and this spending is vastly different from productive investments—very, very different.
Hydra's brazen activities seemed strange.
They must have powerful, wealthy partners.
But whatever the case, Oscorp had to be dealt with first.
Once Oscorp was handled, the International Gene Cooperation Company could shake off much of its negative publicity and emerge into the public eye.
Leo looked towards the nearby hospital.
Was it finally over?
Whoosh!
The wind howled as a massive bird-like figure soared overhead!
Twenty minutes earlier.
In Adrian's underground lab, Norman was deep in thought.
"Dr. Toomes, I can't believe you would go this far for someone weighed down by morality."
The installation of the Vulture suit was lengthy.
Compared to the experimental Scorpion suit and the overly mechanized Rhino armor, the Vulture suit balanced external prosthetics with body modification, making it the most perfect design of the three.
The wings were covered in lightweight bionic material, with sharp metal blades to enhance firepower. Norman had also added his own turbine engine design.
The entire flight apparatus was operated through a neural-linked exoskeleton, allowing the pilot to swoop down on ground targets like a true eagle.
Plus, his partner helped perfect the electronic control system.
In theory, the pilot would become a mindless daemon under the control of electronic signals.
This was technology born for war, designed to create the perfect soldier.
Adrian's few remaining hairs began falling out, his eyebrows turning white. The neural interface on his back started to swell, with flesh merging into the machinery.
Man and machine became one.
"Remote control system… activated."
Norman pressed the button, and Adrian's eyes shot open under the surge of electricity.
His corneas dilated, pupils expanded, and lenses swelled.
Like a real eagle awakening.
"Now, go kill that damn old lizard, then fly high. Let our friends see what you're capable of."
Zzzz—
Electric currents crackled, sending unstable signals throughout the Vulture's equipment, frying the lab's circuits.
The underground lab plunged into darkness.
In the blackness, Adrian's eyes locked onto Norman, unmoving.
"What the—"
Norman took two steps back.
The system was out of control. What was going on?
The soldiers instinctively raised their arms.
The turbine engine roared to life, and with one powerful flap of his wings, the Vulture pierced a cultivation tank.
A fierce wind whipped through the room!
Boom!
An explosion rocked the underground lab as the Vulture seized Norman and shot into the sky!
TN: What a dumbass what did he expect to happen when he forced the man to weaponize his invention after he tried to stop them smh.