Chapter 5: Whose Man Is He?
Author: Great Demon Spirit
Du Wa made no effort to hide his joy as he carefully observed the Xenomorph that possessed vampire genes, naming it the Blood Xenomorph.
Compared to names like "Neomorph," this one was unremarkable, but it was passable when compared to specialized Xenomorphs like the "Cryo-Xenomorph."
The Blood Xenomorph had the standard appearance of a Drone Xenomorph: it walked upright, stood about 2.5 meters tall, and had a slender, smooth head. Many inexplicable dorsal tubes grew from its back, which at first glance resembled tech interfaces for large-scale equipment. Its entire body was encased in an exoskeleton with high impact resistance. It was certain that ordinary large-caliber firearms would have a hard time inflicting any damage on it.
This was because even a Drone Xenomorph born from parasitizing an ordinary human would not suffer a fatal wound if hit by large-caliber firearms.
Moreover, the Blood Xenomorph could obtain more energy through blood.
Ordinary Xenomorphs could only maintain their stamina by consuming large amounts of flesh and blood.
"In terms of functional division, the Blood Xenomorph is definitely the Drone Xenomorph that appeared in *Alien 1*, one social level higher than a Runner."
Du Wa admired the creation before him, while the other vampires were scared witless.
"Wh-wh-what in the world is this thing!"
"Parasitism?"
A Facehugger emerged from an egg, then the creature inexplicably died, the human fainted, and then a rapidly growing, man-shaped behemoth burst out of the person's chest.
This combination of events seemed to have a linear logic, a cause-and-effect relationship, but upon closer thought, it was so damn unscientific.
The vampires finally understood why this human was so concerned about whether they lived or died.
But unfortunately, it was too late.
Confirming that the implantation was effective, the remaining two alien eggs bloomed one after another, completing the parasitic process.
Dennis still wanted to try and salvage the situation. He pointed out that Du Wa had three eggs and could only parasitize three vampires, so what would happen to the rest of them?
Surely they weren't food?
Du Wa kindly soothed him, saying he couldn't bear to turn them into food, but they could rest assured that not a single one of them would escape.
Then, in the deepest part of the cave, a being that had remained silent and motionless—the Xenomorph Queen—stirred. In front of everyone, after a moment of gestation, it laid an egg on the spot through its incubation tube.
"So that's how this tube is used."
Dennis broke down. Staring at the Facehugger leaping toward him, he lost consciousness in despair.
Before long, six Blood Xenomorphs, far more powerful than their vampire hosts, stood obediently before Du Wa.
They were all ravenous. After receiving Du Wa's permission, they began to tear into the remains of their hosts.
"The small animals nearby have all been eaten. It seems I'll have to find another way to secure a food supply…"
Several food companies in New York City received food orders.
The next few days were unusually calm. No vampires came knocking, perhaps because their initial judgment was that the missing vampires had all been chopped up by Blade.
However, a group of people did arrive at the abandoned building next door during the day and opened a meat shop on the spot.
This kind of behavior, which was too lazy to even bother with a disguise, successfully earned Du Wa's admiration.
Was surveillance really this open and honest these days?
"Fellas, you know these two buildings are slated for demolition, right? I heard they're building a large office building here?" Du Wa shouted over to them.
"We know, but before the official demolition, doing a cooked meat business here seems very profitable."
Du Wa nodded repeatedly, expressing his agreement. "Why does your cooked meat shop only sell raw meat?"
This time, the agent didn't respond.
Du Wa deduced that cooking raw food would increase costs, which was a matter of reputation. But saying you sell cooked meat while actually selling raw meat was about money, making it easier to scam funds from their superiors.
The owner of the meat shop also felt extremely unlucky.
He, an inexpensive clone of Dum Dum Dugan, was merely imitating the style of a certain level-eight agent: telling everyone he was with the FBI, telling the FBI he was with the CIA, and telling the CIA he was with the FBI. When the two agencies compared notes and started fighting, and he couldn't keep the lie going any longer, only then would he admit he was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
Anyway, no one would remember S.H.I.E.L.D.'s full name, let alone know what it actually did.
But of all people, he had to run into a serious guy with some influence—George Stacy.
Damn it, he was just handling things routinely, justifiably arranging for the local police department to conduct a preliminary investigation.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel had to investigate every single suspected superhuman event in the world, they would have died of exhaustion long ago. Even if his main body could split into a whole bunch of clones with memory cloud sharing, he'd still be too busy!
Now there was no other way. It was his job, his mess, so he had to show up in person.
The only saving grace was that the target, vouched for by Blade, was confirmed not to be a villain who killed indiscriminately and possessed basic principles.
"What level agent are you?"
Look at that, the target who could command strange creatures was leaning out of the dilapidated, drafty window again, shouting at him.
"I was level three yesterday, now I'm level two," he replied, not knowing whether this mission counted as a success or not.
Anyway, he was just a worthless clone.
At least things were progressing in an orderly manner, not yet at the point of calling for backup. That was fine. It would also help his main body scam some funds from that stingy bald guy.
Du Wa stared at the guy across the way. He was now completely certain that this man was from S.H.I.E.L.D.
As a special agency that monitored global superhuman events, S.H.I.E.L.D. had the backing of the five great powers. Keeping an eye on special individuals was their duty.
But Du Wa was quite surprised that the person sent to watch him was so honest.
"Even if Blade hasn't formed the Howling Commandos yet, he must have established contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. Maybe he's already a high-level agent for them."
In the future, Blade would become a level-ten agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It was perfectly normal for S.H.I.E.L.D. to find out about Du Wa's dealings with Blade. The existence of the Xenomorphs would be exposed sooner or later anyway; it was impossible to hide. It was precisely because of this behavior that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assessment of him was not that of a high-risk individual—at least not for now. And "now" was exactly what Du Wa needed.
Du Wa liked honest people. It meant he didn't have to waste too many brain cells.
Especially when he learned the person monitoring him was named Dum Dum Dugan, Du Wa understood his identity.
Dum Dum Dugan was also a level-ten agent, possessing the ability to share a memory archive with his clones. This ability had the good fortune of making Dum Dum Dugan S.H.I.E.L.D.'s workhorse.
Du Wa didn't show any stressed reaction to this up-close observation. In an era where superhumans were not uncommon, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s job was to investigate and evaluate every single superhuman individual.
If the target was confirmed to be harmless and their special ability wasn't particularly strong, S.H.I.E.L.D. would log the relevant information and withdraw its personnel. As long as he didn't commit a crime, they wouldn't pay him too much attention.
...
Nick Fury stared at the report in his hands with a deadpan expression.
"The target is suspected of secretly conducting a biochemical experiment and is obtaining R&D funds through Blade?"
"Yes, according to those police officers, he can command strange but powerful creatures and has captured several vampires alive."
"No, that's not what I'm emphasizing." Fury rapped on the table, raising his voice. "I'm saying, a guy like this registered a Weyland Corporation and is conducting legal biochemical experiments?"
He heavily emphasized the word "legal."
Those strange creatures were worthy of attention. In this world crawling with madmen, anyone who dared to stick their neck out had a few tricks up their sleeve.
Fury's meaning was crystal clear. He glared at his old partner, Dum Dum Dugan, and asked, "This guy named Du Wa, whose man is he?"
(end of chapter)