Marvel's Death Merchant

Jack forcefully hurled the piranha on his alloy claws at the creature behind him, which had evolved from a zombie dog into a hellhound. Then, Jack swung his elbow and slammed it into the piranha that had crashed into the wall on the left, killing it instantly.

Knowing the passageway was narrow, Jack let the hellhound fall in, and it sank just as it hit the water. He heard a few pitiful cries immediately after it fell in, then silence, and he lost control of the C-virus.

To put it in a more exaggerated way, the moment Jack's hellhound fell into the water, it was immediately bitten by countless piranhas, and in an instant, only bones remained. This shows how terrifying and swift piranhas are. Generally speaking, piranhas, like zombies, gain an advantage through sheer numbers. If it were a creature like King Kong, neither Godzilla nor piranhas could handle it.

Chapter 305 Marcus Reappears

Jack hadn't expected the bioweapons to be so helpful, but he immediately had an idea. He would make good use of his men, lure out those damned piranhas one by one, and then kill them. Anyway, Jack could control quite a few bioweapons now.

This situation would certainly not work on a normal, open plain, because the swarm attack power of biological weapons is extremely strong; twenty Lickers are equivalent to one Hunter. There are at least twenty Lickers here, and the total number hidden elsewhere is probably no less than thirty. And the number of Hunters is likely quite large, after all, this was once an Umbrella Corporation research base, and it is not lacking in various forms of biological weapons.

So thankfully, the piranhas didn't swarm at once, otherwise even if Jack were more powerful, he probably wouldn't have been able to handle it.

Fortunately, they were in a narrow passageway, where the piranhas, though numerous, were packed one after another. All the biological weapons were being used to deal with the piranhas, and the flashlights for illumination couldn't be held in their hands, so they had to be placed on their pistols. Although the light was dim, Jack's eyesight was good enough that even a sliver of light was enough to clearly see and dodge the piranhas' attacks.

Looking into the distance, Jack saw the piranha army stretching more than ten meters away, seemingly endless, possibly extending all the way to the exit. The ground was also covered with various creatures; the radiation-induced super-mutated creatures and the T-virus creatures were engaged in a fierce battle, neither side willing to stop fighting, not only due to Jack's actions but also because of the inherent conflict between the two species.

Jack glanced at the swarm of piranhas opposite him. He had stopped firing and even put his pistol away, clearly out of ammunition. Jack wasn't about to give up easily; if the piranhas dared to lunge even slightly, they would be torn to pieces by his adamantium claws and turned into energy for the ever-growing array of bio-weapons around them.

Jack only glanced at them briefly before several piranhas were captured by the zombie bats. The zombie bats were incredibly fast and powerful, like eagles, and many piranhas were killed by them.

Piranhas were originally carnivorous fish, but under the stimulation of radiation, their DNA and cells mutated, making them the most dangerous fish in the ocean. They devour everything in the ocean to increase their numbers, but none of them are as powerful as the danger they face.

Jack wasn't worried about the quantity of bioweapons. While there weren't as many here as outside, there were still enough for his needs. He didn't need to worry about it. Jack was starting to enjoy controlling the bioweapons; the ability to control everything was very satisfying. The bioweapons helped him eliminate the troublesome piranhas, and Jack would reciprocate by providing them with food—a benefit a master would give to his subordinates.

For Jack, an individual piranha wasn't scary; what was terrifying was a swarm of piranhas. And now, because of the terrain, the piranhas couldn't utilize their numerical advantage at all. Jack leisurely leaned against his alloy claws. In the blink of an eye, the piranhas that had leaped out of the water were all rendered incapable of fighting, becoming supplementary food for the biological weapon.

Tang Tian had also investigated the piranhas here. Their large-scale appearance had led to resource scarcity. Therefore, whenever it rained, the piranhas would choose new places to live and increase their numbers.

Even if the piranhas Jack attacked didn't die instantly, they were immediately rendered incapable of fighting. They were pulled out of the water without any resistance. The piranhas varied in size; some were even larger than Jack, but with the combined efforts of Jack and the bio-weapons, those that emerged were eliminated.

Jack darted back and forth between the two passageways on either side of the ditch, advancing nearly ten meters in a short time. This meant he had killed approximately twenty piranhas. Such efficiency and destructive power didn't deter the piranhas. Jack, without hesitation, revealed his G5 form, his countless tentacles drawing the piranhas from the ground into G5's massive mouth. The primary reason for eating the piranhas was to replenish his biological energy; other factors were secondary.

Jack stretched out his left hand and stabbed a piranha that was trying to attack him to death on the ground. Then he shrugged off a piranha that lunged at him by moving to the side of the passage wall. With a swift upward thrust of his right claw, the alloy claw pierced the piranha's mouth and emerged from its spine. Following this, part of Jack's body mutated, absorbing the piranha's energy and regaining some of his strength.

After instantly killing that one piranha, no other piranhas dared to swarm forward like before. Because their numbers had been greatly reduced by the biological weapons and Jack's efforts, Jack finally let out a long sigh of relief. He knew the situation was settled, and he was finally safe.

Just then, a whole string of leeches leaped out of the ditch, just like the piranhas that had attacked Jack earlier. However, they didn't attack him; instead, they devoured all the remaining piranhas, leaving no piranhas in the water.

Then the leech slowly rose to the surface and gradually took shape. Although the light from Jack's flashlight was dim, he could still see clearly that this thing was completely different from the mutated creatures he had seen here before. It seemed that something extraordinary was about to gather.

The leech doesn't look like a person at all, at least not superficially. The leech's form constantly changes.

The leech began to develop a head, neck, and torso, with facial features and even hair. At least it looked very much like one, and its body was covered in a layer of glossy black mucus, like a thin film, constantly changing color—from black to white, then from white to gray, continuously shifting between the two. The appearance of the leech was not something ordinary people could understand; Tang Tian knew without being told who had created it.

Later, the originally thin film-like mucus actually simulated a set of clothes. The suit, shirt, and tie were simulated very similarly, and no one would be able to tell that it was real unless they were paying attention.

Jack involuntarily gasped in surprise, and before he knew it, the flashlight he was biting fell out of his mouth. Jack was startled; if the flashlight broke, it would be pitch black inside, and he wouldn't be able to see anything, which would be advantageous to the newly appeared special human.

T-virus organisms can still distinguish objects and determine directions in the dark; the T-virus even grants some organisms that ability. Jack's eyes, however, do not have this function.

However, Jack reacted very quickly. He reached out and caught the flashlight, continuing to point the beam at the peculiar leech.

The leech was still changing; its originally blurry face gradually became clearer.

Although the face was so unfamiliar, the feeling was that of someone who was also a virus carrier. Jack slowly got to know and understand this person because Tang Tian had shown him the face. Yes, that person was Marcus.

Chapter 306 The Secret of King Kong's Birth

After learning about Marcus, Jack couldn't help but admire his intelligence; he had come here solely for his own purposes. Jack saw through the situation immediately. The Arklay Mountains base was so large that if it were destroyed, Umbrella would lose control, rendering them blind, and news of Marcus would cease to emerge for the time being.

That way, Marcus could leisurely walk up there without worrying about his whereabouts being discovered. What he feared most was Tang Tian using space-based orbital weapons; otherwise, even hundreds of Hydra bases wouldn't withstand a precision strike, and Marcus could imagine that they would be annihilated.

This is indeed a good plan, extremely advantageous to Marcus and obviously extremely disadvantageous to Umbrella Corporation. It is also obviously extremely disadvantageous to Jack, since Jack is an Umbrella employee and it's understandable that he would be attacked by Marcus.

Because once the base here is destroyed in the cleansing operation, the power will be cut off, and all facilities at the Arklay research base, except those that can supply their own power, will become ineffective. Furthermore, although Umbrella has abandoned this place, as long as there is electricity here, the Umbrella Corporation will certainly not forget about it.

Although the base's power supply will not be affected and it will not be forced to shut down, if the monitoring equipment in various places becomes inoperable, Umbrella's base in the Arklay Mountains will face difficulties and will not pay attention to the development here. After all, Marcus has encountered many such situations before, otherwise he would not be so cautious.

Fortunately, the Umbrella Corporation's purge operation had an impact, so Marcus didn't need to send other troops to sabotage the operation; Marcus alone would never have done it.

"Hello, Jack, I've been looking for you for a long time!" Marcus said, feigning surprise and delight.

Marcus, clearly unable to guess what Jack was thinking, said with satisfaction, "Although you are my disciple, the son of that traitor, I have discovered your difference."

Jack didn't react to these words. He understood that his father, Wesker, must have had a conflict with Wesker. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken like that; he might have killed him outright.

"You're Marcus, I know you. So many attacks on the company's bases, all because of you?" Jack exclaimed. "That proves your abilities are great, but you haven't used them for good?"

“Abilities?” Marcus paused, then said with a wry smile, “What abilities? My abilities and talents were obtained by Umbrella Corporation because they were outstanding. The T-virus is mine.”

Marcus chuckled dryly and said calmly, "The T-virus is incredibly powerful, and so is the G-virus. I've already obtained William's G-virus. I will make good use of my power."

Jack spoke up at this moment: "You make it sound so easy, why don't you go and release the T-virus yourself, causing the infection here, and then create an even more dangerous mutated biota after the nuclear bomb cleansing?" At this moment, Jack's words were still so clear and to the point.

Marcus wasn't angry this time. He said, "Umbrella Corporation has a complex network of mechanisms and comprehensive control systems. If I show myself, Wesker will find out. At that point, Umbrella's high-tech weapons might be enough to take me down. So I need to be careful. Attacking and releasing the virus is the best way."

He paused briefly, then continued, "But you are different. They use you as guinea pigs to test the combat capabilities of various biological weapons. Where you go, they generally won't interfere. You must remember that Donas is extremely dangerous; I only know the extent of his danger from Hydra spies."

That's true," Jack nodded and continued, "You destroyed Umbrella Corporation's research base and released the T-virus. It's convenient for you to take revenge, but what benefit do I get? You know about the mutated creatures here, and all sorts of other mutated things, which are extremely dangerous."

Jack's words hit the nail on the head, so Marcus nodded repeatedly in agreement. In his own words, this directness was essential; there was no need to beat around the bush to get to the point.

Marcus's eyes darted around, his normally sclera-filled pupils suddenly gleaming with a sharp light as he slowly swept his gaze across Jack's face.

Jack still harbored some reservations, knowing Marcus was a ruthless man. Jack simply stared coldly at Marcus, showing no fear whatsoever. This impressed and surprised Marcus. After all, Jack was a well-trained and battle-hardened mercenary, and after gaining his powers, he was no longer afraid of Marcus.

“Benefits?” Marcus said. “The benefit is that I can get you out of the Arklay Mountains alive!”

Jack sneered, "This is what you call a benefit? Let me tell you, I can leave this Arklay Mountains alive without you. I came here to evolve, and the various mutated creatures here are enough to achieve my goal."

“Really?” Marcus deliberately dragged out his words, then added, “Do you know what that creature guarding outside is?”

That King Kong Jack knew about it. Judging from his sixth sense, that guy was obviously not a creature formed by DNA mutation caused by the T-virus. King Kong didn't have the aura of the T-virus at all.

"What kind of creature is it?" This question had been lingering in Jack's mind. Now, hearing Marcus's explanation, he clearly knew the creature's origin and couldn't help but ask, "What kind of creature is it?"

Marcus nodded, then replied, seemingly unrelated to the question, "Decades ago, after a long ten-year wait, I finally fully awakened. The first thing I did after waking up was to seek revenge, to make Spencer regret his actions, and to make William pay a heavy price."

“However, revenge is not such a simple matter. After all, I have been asleep for ten years, and a great deal has changed in those ten years. First of all, the person in charge of the Arklay Mountains research base and Umbrella Corporation has been replaced by someone I don’t recognize at all, who is now your chairman, Donald.”

"Speaking of which, the monster's growth is also related to him. Decades ago, Donus discovered an intelligent ape somewhere. They possessed human intelligence and speech abilities, but he experimented on those creatures. Most of the apes died, and only a few survived to this day," Marcus recalled.

"Those apes, after several generations of experiments by Donalds, had excellent physical qualities. And they were lucky enough to be implanted with the superhuman serum. The white mice were also the best raw materials for Donalds' experiments. Until only the last ape was left, Donalds finally got the result he wanted." Marcus paused and said, "That creature was a mutation of that ape. The power of the serum, combined with the mutation from radiation, made that creature no weaker than a tyrant."

“Hmm, that sounds very interesting. You’ve let me know some things that no one else knows.” Jack shook his head, his eyes resolute.

Chapter 307 The Flaws of Viruses

James Marcus was one of the more outstanding biological scientists at Umbrella Corporation, initially focusing on the research of progenitor viruses. He dedicated himself to synthesizing the T-virus, and after numerous experiments, Marcus finally combined the early T-virus with leech DNA to create the mildly evolved leech virus.

In the Resident Evil games, Marcus only appears in the mansion, much like in the Marvel universe. He releases the virus after attacking the Umbrella Corporation. Originally, Marcus and the Umbrella Corporation didn't exist in the Marvel Universe; they were created through the influence of the Seven Reincarnation Devices.

Jack chuckled inwardly at Marcus's words, then asked, "What's the connection between that monster King Kong and the chairman? Did he create it?"

Marcus didn't answer Jack directly, but continued, "At least half of Umbrella's core personnel were trained by me, and the other half had some connection with me. Obviously, the chairman you mentioned is a newcomer who suddenly appeared after my death. And the fact that he has made Umbrella grow so rapidly in just a few years proves his terrifying strength."

"Donnas's ability to elevate a small company to the level of a super-world conglomerate is something most people can't match, and Donnas himself certainly has real talent. The purge of Tokyo was an operation planned by Donnas and the military, which can be said to have completely ruined my plans." Speaking of his rival, Umbrella Corporation, besides the deep-seated hatred, there was also an incomprehensible astonishment, which was an affirmation of Tang Tian's abilities.

In essence, Marcus and Tang Tian are no different. If you switched their positions, the situation wouldn't change much. They are essentially the same kind of people, acting solely for their own purposes.

"My disciple William Boken developed a new virus based on the T virus, which he named the G virus."

Before Marcus could finish speaking, Jack interrupted, "What do you mean by all this? I didn't use the G virus."

Marcus nodded and said, "That's right. You didn't use the G-virus. Compared to the T-virus, the G-virus is more dangerous and has a stronger evolutionary potential. Using the T-virus to cultivate biological weapons, whether human or animal, if it's injected midway through the cultivation process, more than 90% of the test subjects will be infected and die, eventually turning into zombies. Only by directly fusing the virus with DNA can relatively complete biological weapons be cultivated, such as the Hunter and Tyrant. But even so, biological weapons based on the T-virus still have significant flaws, namely, they are difficult to control, have almost zero intelligence, and their activities are basically driven by life instincts to meet their survival needs. The G-virus has the strongest evolutionary attack power. Speaking of which, the C-virus in your body is a product of fusing with a special virus."

Marcus's words gave him a basic understanding of the C-virus. He didn't know what improvements the G-virus could make to match the C-virus within him. Since T-virus bioweapons were essentially devoid of intelligence, it was likely that G-virus bioweapons wouldn't possess any significant intelligence either. Of course, what Jack didn't know was that Tang Tian had already developed numerous biological weapons across various viral domains.

Jack couldn't help but think of the ruthless tyrant in New York City; that guy was clearly intelligent, not lacking in common sense. According to Umbrella's AI, he was personally trained by Tang Tian, ​​which clearly indicated that Umbrella Corporation had indeed conducted extensive research on various biological weapons.

Jack could sense the T-virus emanating from Marcus. There was also something similar to the virus on him. Jack still didn't know what was going on.

Marcus continued, "Donnas continued his research and development of the T-virus, making improvements in its stability. After I stopped researching, another scientist took my place. At Umbrella Corporation, he was known as Dr. Charles, and he was also a senior researcher on the T-virus. Furthermore, the survival rate of life forms injected with the modified T-virus, whether human or animal, has greatly increased, to about 50%. And although those infected with the modified T-virus and dying will become zombies, this type of zombie is far more aggressive than ordinary T-virus zombies. Umbrella's zombie dog weapons are made from this type of zombie, and their attack power has been greatly enhanced."

But what Jack sensed was wrong was that he could clearly detect an aura on Marcus that was different from the T-virus.

Jack wanted to voice his doubts; he was about to speak out. He wanted to know what kind of virus Marcus had.

"Dr. Marcus, can you tell me what virus you have? I can feel that it's familiar," Jack said to Marcus with a puzzled look.

"Of course, what I carry is the G virus. Of course, it can't be considered a pure G virus. Animals with special genes are the same; they naturally carry multiple viruses. The virus I carry is a fusion of the G virus and the T-leech virus."

"T-leech virus? Isn't the leech virus the same as the T-virus?" Jack asked, somewhat confused.

Because of the instability of the T-virus, Marcus devoted himself to the study of leeches and spent many years developing a stable T-series virus, namely the leech virus. This research was carried out in secret, and even Spencer was kept in the dark at the beginning.

But the truth always comes out eventually. After Marcus's death, William and Wesker seized the research data on the leech virus, and the subsequent research was based on the leech virus.

"T-viruses originate from progenitor viruses. Compared to the progenitor viruses' strong destructive effect on cells and tissues, T-viruses are relatively mild, but they still have significant drawbacks. Leech virus is a T-virus that I have perfectly combined with leech DNA. It has made great progress in stability, but its plasticity is not strong."

"Although the t-leech virus was developed based on the leech virus, it is quite different from the t-virus. It has higher stability and flexibility. When I was revived, I obtained a relatively complete t-leech virus."

"That King Kong outside is a byproduct of nuclear radiation and the solar staircase, a naturally cultivated biological weapon. Therefore, it does not carry the T-virus or G-virus, and its attack power is terrifying. Even with my strength, I cannot effectively deal with it."

King Kong's fighting prowess is no joke; he surpasses several Tyrants in strength and is not easy to deal with. If Jack were to engage in a deadly battle with King Kong, the outcome would certainly be dire. While Adamantium makes Jack virtually indestructible, his C-virus-enhanced body clearly doesn't reach that level of strength.

Chapter 308 Make amends

Jack then realized why King Kong was so powerful and possessed such an unusual aura: it was because the byproducts of the Solar Staircase differed from the T-virus. In other words, the T-virus developed by Marcus, like the G-virus developed by William Parken, originated from the T-virus but was different from it. The leech virus, however, was still the T-virus, only it had perfectly fused with leech DNA. King Kong was an unexpected pet, impossible to replicate again.

After sorting through his chaotic thoughts, Jack gradually came to understand them.

The Progenitor Virus, T-virus, G-virus, Veronica Virus, and the C-virus on him are all part of Umbrella Corporation's virus system, and all developed in a gradual manner.

Just when things were finally getting organized, Marcus abruptly changed the subject, saying, "What you have is the C-virus developed by Donalds. In terms of stability and adaptability, it is a significant improvement over the leech virus. Furthermore, you can control many biological weapons, making them easy to manage, which is exactly what Tang Tian has been dreaming of."

Marcus paused, staring intently at Jack, and said excitedly, "The C-virus also has a major flaw, much more serious than the T-virus. From what I know from the raid on the Umbrella Corporation's base, the C-virus has not yet successfully developed any weapons. If you want to successfully integrate it, you need the genes of most powerful organisms to compensate for the DNA deficiency."

Marcus's two pupil-less eyes stared intently at Jack, like a lab rat.

At this moment, Marcus smiled sinisterly and said, "Do you know why I explained the defects of the C-virus in your body so clearly?"

"I think you should be clear that you are the perfect infected person of the C virus, or rather, you are the basis for the creation of the C virus, because the C virus also has special components in your blood."

"Heh. The fused C-virus is truly perfect." Marcus sized up Jack, looking at him like he was a lab rat. "If it weren't for the inherent flaws in the C-virus itself, you would be a perfect warrior. The C-virus requires a large amount of DNA to complete its recombination."

“It was Donald who created the C-virus, making you who you are.” Marcus continued without waiting for Jack’s reply. “Donald was truly a remarkable person, managing to allow you to integrate the C-virus so perfectly. It’s just a pity…”

"What's a pity?" Jack remained expressionless, his face still serious. He wasn't affected at all by Marcus's words.