"I want to complete the Extremis Virus, and I also want to prove my ability."
Maya said dejectedly, "But thirteen years ago, Tony saw my research, read the research report, and the next day he left this for me."
She took out a business card from her pocket; it was Killian's card, with a formula written in the blank space.
"I worked hard," Maya said. "I never thought that my results would be used as weapons for terrorists. Killian needed military orders, so he recruited retired disabled soldiers to be subjects for the Extremis Virus experiments."
"Some of those people couldn't withstand the explosion and died, while others passed the test of the Extremis Virus and regained healthy bodies."
Speaking of this, Maya's face showed a kind of happiness for her invention benefiting humanity.
That happiness was fleeting. She said, "Many people died."
"All those declared terrorist attacks were the results of failed experiments."
Maya looked up at John. "Your father was his initial confidant."
"But Killian started to change. He was full of fear towards your Father, afraid of being sought out and stripped of everything."
"In order to completely own this company, his relationship with your Father got worse and worse."
John listened, rubbing the ring on his right hand, thinking about something.
Perhaps Killian didn't intend to assassinate his father at first, but as the power and money he controlled increased, his desires also grew, nurtured by them.
A limping, down-and-out scientist met his most important investor.
Either they became close friends who could talk about anything, or the one who was helped would come to resent his benefactor, wanting to eliminate them quickly.
Clearly, Killian was the latter.
Everything he had was given by Watson Wick. He also feared being stripped of everything, just like he was once a useless person who could be toyed with by Tony.
Driven by such emotions, he chose to cooperate with Fisk and kill his benefactor.
To completely possess all of this for himself.
Even without the original Extremis Virus incident, Killian wouldn't have let Watson Wick go.
Sometimes, the reason a person needs isn't to convince others, but to convince himself.
John looked up at Maya Hansen. "Is your honesty an act of atonement?"
"Sort of," Maya Hansen spread her hands. "I don't know either, and I can't do anything about it."
She looked back at Hattie.
Hattie had already blocked the retreat.
Unless Maya could defeat a mysterious and unfathomable Wizard, her chance of successfully escaping was one in ten thousand.
"You're wrong about one thing," John opened his pocket watch and glanced at it. "You are very smart."
"Thank you for the compliment," Maya said. "If you mean that not resisting in front of you is a wise thing to do."
"What I mean is," John looked at Maya, a slight smile on his lips, "you successfully saved your own life."
***
An Extremis Soldier was on the run.
The figure behind him was in hot pursuit, at a speed that broke the world sprint record.
He chased, he fled; he couldn't escape even if he had wings.
The Extremis Soldier broke into a closed shop and hid himself behind a stainless steel table.
He held his breath, listening as the footsteps walked through the empty room step by step.
In the silent space, even his heartbeat became deafeningly loud.
He clutched his heart.
He had been sent to capture Pepper, but as soon as he left the house, he ran into that ghostly presence.
With just one encounter, he had almost died right there.
The healing ability of the Extremis Virus had saved his life, and he ran with all his might.
A large area of orange-red light glowed on his body.
"Calm down, calm down!" He hit his head hard.
Feeling his temperature rise, he almost went frantic.
He didn't want to die. He wanted to live.
He didn't want to become the payload for another bomb.
For this reason, he fought desperately.
When he finally came back to his senses, the sound of footsteps was gone.
He wasn't sure if the other party had left.
Cautiously, he poked his head out from behind the table.
He saw that it was very quiet outside.
The crisis seemed to have passed, making him let out a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a face appeared right in front of him.
On the blue suit, the night vision goggles clearly showed his terrified expression.
Immediately after, his arm, along with the stainless steel table he was hiding behind, was sliced clean through.
That blade, in just three seconds, could reduce a person with all their limbs to a mere limbless torso.
Even the healing speed of the Extremis Virus couldn't keep up with the speed at which his hands and feet were severed.
A heavy boot stepped on his ribs, and a voice sounded, "Tell me, where is your base?"
A chilling sound emanated as his ribs gradually bent under the foot. A large patch of orange-red light covered his body, and his terror reached its peak.
"In Miami!"
He was scared, completely scared.
He was a soldier, injured on the battlefield.
But he was not a warrior.
Facing the relentless pursuit, he finally broke down and cried loudly.
"Please let me go, I'm just…"
He begged for mercy, hoping to evoke a shred of pity from the person in front of him.
But he was wrong; a hunter does not feel sympathy for its prey.
A silver light pierced through his head and then through his heart.
He was completely dead.
And Dax, who did all this, was very calm. Stained with blood, he crossed off the name on his list.
Dax really liked this game where life could be disregarded.
The killing made him start to become calmer from his initial excitement and frenzy.
The monster inside him told him that there were already enough sacrifices to please it.
Now, Dax was the calmest killer in the world.
This was the last of Killian's forces in New York.
He was going to Miami to complete the job John had given him.
***
On the plane.
The man who was hung up was being punched in the abdomen, one blow after another.
After one round, the person was still tough and didn't speak.
Wenwu sat there calmly, his expression as still as an ancient well.
"Tell me, who is impersonating me?"
He stood up and stopped in front of the man.
The bruised and swollen man slurred, "Who are you?"
Wenwu found it amusing. "You're using my name to create chaos in this place, yet you don't even know my name."
He raised his right hand, placed it on the side of the man's ribs, purple energy covering his hand and penetrating the bones.
The bones being crushed inch by inch made the man break out in a cold sweat, and his bones let out a mournful cry.
Wenwu stared into the man's eyes. "You took a ridiculous name."
"Mandarin?"
"You used a citrus fruit as my code name."
The gradually increasing energy made the man almost faint.
But Wenwu wouldn't let him off so easily. The power brought by the Ten Rings was not just destruction, but also the ability to make people wish they were dead.
"Your ridiculous actions made me lose face in front of John." Wenwu's face carried a fierce expression. The king of a thousand years of warfare exuded an oppressive aura that made commoners tremble.
The man couldn't hold on any longer.
He compromised in front of Wenwu.
His ribs were almost all broken.
Wenwu released his hand and watched the man spill everything he knew like pouring beans.
That guy named the Mandarin was hiding in a manor in Miami.
The ridiculous game was about to end.
Wenwu ordered, "Head to Miami."
Xu Xialing stared at the man who was about to die. Wenwu's words from just now replayed in her mind.
"That person named John, is he very important to Father?"
It was the first time the young Xu Xialing had seen such obvious emotions in her father.
After her mother passed away, Wenwu had rarely shown much emotion.
Even if he did smile, he would smile at Shang-Chi.
But this was different.
Perhaps girls are more sensitive; she could feel the equality Wenwu had towards John, which was different from how he treated his own children.
She had never seen her father show this kind of equality towards anyone other than her mother.
Regarding the John that Wenwu spoke of, Xu Xialing developed a desire to understand him more.
Unfortunately, she couldn't do that now.
The seed of escaping her home had already been planted in her heart. She was waiting for an opportunity to break free from her family's control, just like Shang-Chi.
She also wanted freedom, and she also wanted her Father to acknowledge her instead of just focusing on Shang-Chi.
The girl, who had made up her mind, looked outside.
Having gotten the answer, Wenwu no longer needed the man.
So that person was thrown off the plane, free-falling through the air.
The process of falling was the countdown to death.
Wenwu showed a smile. "This game, I will win."
***********
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