Boom.
The retreat convoy had just set off when it was ambushed, not by biochemical weapons, but by human attackers. The casualties were heavy.
"Watch out," Jill warned as she led others to counterattack while ensuring the biochemical experts were evacuated. The BSAA's task force, battle-hardened from years of fighting bioterrorism, quickly eliminated the attackers.
"It's those Greyhound bastards," Jill and her team were filled with anger upon seeing the attackers' bodies. Greyhound was a bioterrorist organization and an old nemesis of the BSAA.
"Rebecca, are you okay?" Daniel Davis was on the phone with Rebecca. Unlike Daniel's lab, which was located far from the city on Terragrigia Island, Rebecca's lab was in the city.
This difference existed because Daniel's lab housed various bioweapons samples captured by the BSAA, making it too dangerous to be located in a city. In contrast, Rebecca's lab only analyzed viruses and had sufficient defensive measures to ensure safety even within the city.
"I'm fine, but we're evacuating," Rebecca said, just before gunshots were heard over the phone and the line went dead.
"Rebecca, Rebecca, someone's looking for trouble," Daniel muttered, immediately informing Jill of the situation.
"I'll notify Chris," Jill said, contacting Chris right away. In such chaos, Chris and his team's quarantine was inevitably cut short.
"I'll go check myself," Daniel said, about to pick up a weapon from one of the fallen Greyhound members, but Jill stopped him.
Jill advised Daniel against picking up terrorist weapons, similar to how one shouldn't pick up enemy weapons on a battlefield. Daniel finally understood why movie protagonists often didn't take their enemies' weapons—for safety.
Terrorists were desperate people who might grip a primed grenade or wear a bomb vest, even in death. Although such instances were rare, each occurrence led to additional casualties.
"Chris is on his way. Rebecca will be fine."
"Got it." Realizing Jill wouldn't let him act alone, Daniel pretended to comply. He knew that by the time Chris arrived, it might be too late, especially with the city's bioweapon-infested state, which would take considerable time to navigate.
But for Daniel, this wasn't a problem. While Jill was occupied, he grabbed his suitcase, got into a car, and drove off. Once he found a deserted spot, he used his suspended ring to open a mirrored space, parked the car inside, and retrieved a small cabinet from his suitcase. The cabinet expanded, revealing various weapons.
Pym Particles allowed enclosed spaces to shrink, so shrinking the cabinet meant he didn't need to shrink each weapon individually.
"Magic combined with modern technology is the way to go," Daniel mused, considering the Ant-Man suit and darts inside but decided against using them due to their sensitivity.
He packed up, reduced the suitcase to a trinket size, and clipped it to his waist. The car was stored in the mirrored space.
"This is grim," Daniel muttered, arriving near Rebecca's lab and hearing gunfire, roars, and cries in the distance. It reminded him of Raccoon City. Back then, he struggled to survive, but now he could observe detachedly.
Daniel had no intention of saving strangers; he wasn't like Iron Man or Spider-Man. If Rebecca weren't in trouble, he would have left with Jill and the others, watching events unfold from a safe distance.
"It looks like she's gone," Daniel noted, finding only fallen guards and researchers' corpses in Rebecca's lab.
"Such valuable equipment, S.H.I.E.L.D. really is lavish," he remarked, resisting the urge to take the lab's equipment.
Finding Rebecca was the priority. Equipment wasn't more important than her life.
"It seems the military has issues too, or they would've intervened by now," Daniel thought. The island housed a military garrison since its construction.
"Maybe I can get a few tanks later," he mused, remembering Hank Pym's tank keychain he always wanted. Tanks weren't easy to acquire, but this chaos might present an opportunity.
"Found her," Daniel spotted Rebecca on a rooftop with about fifty armed men escorting scientists to a helicopter. The mirrored space made it easier to locate Rebecca amidst the city's chaos.
"This is tricky," he muttered, noting the armed guards' positions. Rescuing Rebecca without revealing his abilities seemed impossible.
"No choice," he decided, entering the mirrored space beneath Rebecca's location and activating his surgical fruit ability.
"Room, Slaughterhouse," he created a hemispherical space encompassing Rebecca and her guards, swapped three grenades for Rebecca, and pulled her to safety as they exploded, creating a three-meter hole in the ceiling.
The explosions alerted the guards, who moved to intercept.
"We can't let them leave. They've taken a lot of viruses," Rebecca informed Daniel, who handed her another gun.
"Stay hidden," he instructed, charging out with his Desert Eagles. His enhanced physique made it possible to take down the fifty guards without using his abilities or magic.
Bang, bang, bang.
One precise shot after another took out the guards as they descended the stairs or jumped through the hole.
Bang, bang, bang.
However, as Daniel moved towards the rooftop, he was pinned down by heavy fire.
"Captain America's combat style makes sense now. I could use his shield right now," Daniel thought, realizing its bulletproof capabilities.
"Think I can't deal with you?" He hurled grenades upwards, reducing the gunfire. Climbing to the rooftop, he found many scientists already taken away in helicopters, the remaining ones executed, and the virus containers gone.
Standing by a familiar corpse, Rebecca was saddened but quickly composed herself, drawing from her experiences in the training facility, the mansion, and Raccoon City.
"Who are they?" Daniel asked.
"Not sure, but they were after the viruses and experts," Rebecca replied. The abundance of labs here made it likely all known viruses were present.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. can investigate later. Let's get out of here," Daniel said, calling Jill.
Following Jill's directions, they moved to rendezvous with Chris and the others.
"Bastards," the BSAA, FBC, and even a certain one-eyed black man at the Triskelion headquarters in Washington cursed in unison, watching the Greyhound leader claim responsibility for the incident on video.
Unlike the hidden truth of the Raccoon City incident, Greyhound openly declared their involvement this time. This sparked a debate on whether to nuke Terragrigia. The U.S. military strongly opposed this, not just to nukes but also to using the solar matrix satellite as suggested by a UN official, Morgan.
Terragrigia wasn't U.S. territory, but it housed U.S. troops. The military's strong opposition, coupled with their promise to eradicate the island's monsters and their swift action, quashed the idea of destroying the island.
However, the military's stance aroused suspicion in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s one-eyed director. The military's unusually large response suggested hidden motives.
"What the hell is this?" Daniel, having infiltrated a military base to acquire some items, was stunned by what he saw inside.
___________________
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"Umbrella Corporation aside, now there's this thing. The world is getting more and more interesting," Daniel Davis muttered with a helpless smile as he looked at the massive glowing circle in front of him. It was about ten meters in diameter, resembling countless sparkling, transparent glass shards, constantly flickering with a strange light.
Although it was his first time seeing this, Daniel recognized it immediately. It was an anomaly point, a remnant of an ancient invasion. If it were just the glowing circle, he might not have been sure, but with the underground base holding dinosaurs, there was no doubt.
"So this is how Umbrella's zombie dinosaurs came about," Daniel thought. Initially, he believed the zombie dinosaurs in Raccoon City were created using genetic engineering by Umbrella. However, the appearance of the anomaly point made him reconsider.
"Anomaly points are portals to another world. Judging by the military base's state, this anomaly must have been here for a long time. Maybe this entire island was built because of it," Daniel speculated, feeling his theory made sense. It was unlikely they'd build an artificial island here without a good reason.
"Room." After a moment of contemplation, Daniel approached the anomaly point and activated his surgical fruit ability, combining it with his magic.
Half an hour later, he withdrew his surgical fruit ability. Clasping his hands together, a massive golden three-dimensional magic array appeared around the anomaly point. As the golden array shrank, the anomaly point also slowly diminished until both vanished.
"This troublesome thing can't be allowed to exist," Daniel muttered to himself. Suddenly, he sensed a change in his surroundings. He quickly moved aside, only to see a person in a yellow robe, even the head covered by a yellow hood, standing where he had been.
"The Sorcerer Supreme," Daniel immediately brought a hand to his chest and bowed respectfully.
Despite his calm appearance, Daniel's heart was pounding. Why had the Ancient One shown up? He feared she might take back his suspended ring, thinking he was up to no good with all the times he'd used portal and mirror magic.
Daniel knew well that using magic on Earth without the Ancient One noticing was impossible. The magical barrier from the three Sanctums covered the entire planet, not only defending against dimensional invasions but also monitoring magical activities on Earth. The Ancient One could detect any significant magical energy fluctuations if she wished.
Usually, she wouldn't concern herself with minor matters, much like a nation's leader wouldn't worry about petty crimes in a small village. Otherwise, she'd be overwhelmed. That's why Daniel dared to use portal and mirror magic.
"Do you know what that is?" the Ancient One asked softly as she walked to Daniel's side.
Although she didn't specify, Daniel knew what she was referring to.
"It looks like a portal, possibly to another world," he replied. Daniel couldn't reveal his full knowledge about the anomaly point but could explain its nature. For a Kamar-Taj sorcerer skilled in portal magic, analyzing the anomaly's nature was straightforward.
"Take a look at this," the Ancient One said, handing him a book.
Seeing the book's title, Daniel was momentarily stunned. After a brief pause, he accepted the book.
The Book of Cagliostro. It was the only book at Kamar-Taj Daniel hadn't read. Knowing he'd eventually leave Kamar-Taj, he had copied many books onto his computer for future study, especially those involving spells used by the future Sorcerer Supreme, such as the Form of the Icon and the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak.
He didn't have Strange's photographic memory, after all.
The Ancient One hadn't stopped him. Many of her magical books were also available online, like the Key of Solomon, the Grimoire, and the Infernal Dictionary. However, the Book of Cagliostro was different; it was about time magic and was securely locked in the library. Those chains were enchanted by the Ancient One, making it impossible to access without her consent.
This confirmed Daniel's suspicion that the Ancient One's death was intentional. Otherwise, Kaecilius could never have accessed the book's dark ritual to summon Dormammu.
Seeing the Ancient One's calm demeanor, Daniel began reading the Book of Cagliostro. He had always been curious about it.
Kaecilius wanted to save his wife, but instead of using the Time Stone to reverse time, he sought more complex means.
When Daniel reached the middle of the book, he found two pages stuck together. Understanding this was the Ancient One's way of preventing him from seeing the dark summoning ritual, he continued reading after a brief pause.
"Am I taking Doctor Strange's job?" The Book of Cagliostro wasn't thick. With the Ancient One not rushing him, Daniel finished reading and began contemplating its contents.
Daniel couldn't deny his interest in the Time Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones, but the dangers associated with it made him hesitant.
"Thank you, Sorcerer Supreme." The Book of Cagliostro was indeed remarkable. Even after a quick read, Daniel felt he had a deeper understanding of Kamar-Taj's magical system.
"You're welcome. If you encounter such anomalies in the future, just close them," the Ancient One said before undoing the mirror space and disappearing herself.
"This is time," Daniel murmured, watching his barely moved watch. The Ancient One's mastery of time, even without the Eye of Agamotto, was impressive. He had spent considerable time reading the book within the mirror space.
"It's nothing compared to when the Ancient One stopped all of New York."
The greatest benefit Daniel gained from the Book of Cagliostro wasn't knowledge of time magic. For now, he couldn't use it. Using time magic required one of two conditions: possessing the Eye of Agamotto or having immense power like the Ancient One to fuel time magic, though it would still be inferior to the Eye of Agamotto.
"I have another task now. Luckily, the Ancient One only asked me to close anomalies when encountered, not actively search for them," Daniel realized the reason behind the Ancient One showing him the Book of Cagliostro. Anomalies were caused by the Eye of Agamotto, or rather, the Time Stone.
Time shouldn't be manipulated lightly. The Ancient One didn't use the Time Stone to save Kaecilius' wife for this reason. Generally, dimensions could heal themselves from minor time magic uses, like the time stop spell she used earlier, which would naturally dissipate. But the Time Stone's power was different, having the potential for significant disruptions.
Only Daniel and the Ancient One could close anomalies. Most Kamar-Taj sorcerers weren't powerful enough for this task. Daniel's ability to close anomalies stemmed from his combination of the surgical fruit ability and magical skills.
"Take it one step at a time. Most anomalies are short-lived and disappear before being noticed, and many occur over oceans, given Earth's large water coverage," Daniel thought, beginning to loot the military base. He took tanks, helicopters, fighter jets, armored vehicles, missiles, various firearms, and ammunition, along with research equipment.
He had to stop only because he ran out of Pym Particles.
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