[37] The Apex (Patreon)

WHOOSH! 

The cold, unfeeling bitter wind whistled aggressively past Joe's form as he steadily walked on the frozen tundra. Despite the severely low temperatures, Joe's expression within the Predator Killer armor remained expressionless. The chilly environment was a far cry from making him experience hypothermia. Prior to his arrival in Siberia, he had incorporated a fully functioning thermal-regulatory subsystem that could adapt to extreme changes in temperatures. Joe even had a ridiculous thought that with how he had tinkered with the PK armor; even the blistering heat of the Phoenix Force won't do shit to him. Just the thought alone was laughable and childish, however, only Joe could joke like that. Well, at the expense of being completely erased from existence. 

"Minerva, scan for any signs of life signatures within a two-mile radius. Keep constant surveillance," Joe ordered as his gaze, unobstructed by the turbulent tiny snowflakes, traversed to the inconspicuous Hydra base. It was hidden by a thick layer of relentless snow and ice, however, his amplified vision could make out the scenic imbalance. Someone with an exemplary vision could easily locate the seemingly ancient metallic door. 

"Joe, there are no signs of life within a two-mile radius. It seems this base is exceptionally well-hidden. Unless interested parties have the definite location marked or possess advanced tracking technology, then this base would have continued being buried," Minerva replied after a few seconds. 

"Well, even if other people know about this place, at least we are the first ones— wait, I better not jinx anything at this moment," Joe muttered under his breath as his metallic hands latched onto the wheel. Subtly, with minimal strength, he opened the ancient door. The hinges creaked in defiance, clearly having experienced the vicissitudes of time. Thankfully, the teeth-gritting noise was masked by the howls of the icy winds. 

"Minerva, be on the lookout for any surveillance system in place. Hijack anything electronic that might compromise our operation." Joe slightly furrowed his brows as he gestured his hand forward. An invisible wave from the motion sensor silently scanned the whole infrastructure and the results were immediately relayed on the HUD. 

"Hmm, only five motionless beings captured from thermal imaging. The heat signatures are significantly low," Joe pondered silently, having a concrete idea behind those beings. However, he didn't loosen his vigilance even when perfectly knowing that his goal had been half accomplished. 

The shoulder-mounted plasma canons eerily stood up, ready to incinerate any camouflaged hostiles. 

Joe's unhurried steps softly echoed in the abandoned facility as he moved past abandoned rooms. Just a little bit of lighting and he saw old blood smeared all over the walls. Whatever happened in those rooms hadn't been anything good. 

Reaching toward the power source, Joe powered the generators, turning on the lights inside. It was horrifyingly dark so there was no need to be completely submerged in darkness. 

Soon, with his surroundings fully illuminated, Joe stepped into a spacious chamber. 

"Thank God. Everything's totally legit." Joe exposed a small smile as he surveyed the five cryostasis pods. In each of those cryostasis pods, there was a cloudy yellow fluid that obscured the beings inside. The figures inside were clearly in suspended animation. It reminded Joe of the old monsters in cultivation novels when they reached the end of their lifespans. Not wanting to die and desperately wanting to survive for another epoch, these ancestors would choose to hibernate. 

"Super soldiers." Joe narrowed his gaze as he studied the cryogenized super soldiers who had chosen to do so for whatever reasons. Their muscular frames were intimidating, easily exuding the aura of ferocious beasts. 

"Minerva, how are these soldiers' vitals?" Joe nonchalantly asked, the mask on his face slowly de-materializing. Ah, the beauty of nanotechnology. 

"They are stable...for now." Minerva had already accessed the archaic systems in the facility and looked into everything. 

"For now? Does it have to do with their survival if I decide to go ahead with the serum extraction experiment?" Joe calmly placed his hands behind his back as he drew near to the cryopod's glass. 

"For maximum efficiency in the serum extraction, the recommended sites are deep tissue and marrow regions. The survivability rate of the suspended soldiers is less than 1%." 

"Hmm." Joe thoughtfully nodded as his finger hovered over a button that could immediately drain the yellow formalin-like solution out of the cryopod. 

"Well, It doesn't matter. If they die, they die. If I was in dire need of super soldiers, then I would just manufacture my own pawns. I don't have the energy to deal with rebellious and uncontrollable elements like the buddies here." 

"Certainly. If we crack and upgrade Dr. Erskine's original formula, we could very well create something powerful. The potential is limitless. I share your own opinion about these 'hounds' being virtually useless, their purpose only to clear the fog in our research endeavors." 

"Minerva, when did you become this cruel?" Joe chuckled softly. 

"I'm learning from the best." 

"But I'm a softie." 

"Stop being deluded." 

"Alright, girlie, bring me up a 3D hologram of our first subject. It's time to play surgeon." Joe concentrated on the matter at hand. 

A live reading of the vitals of the male subject was displayed in front of him, including his name, age, blood group, and so on. In the grand scheme of things, these people had no concrete identities, having served as hunting hounds of the Hydra organization. They were brainwashed, primed for a path laden with bones and blood. Unless they break out of Hydra's tight control like Bucky Barnes, they would just remain soulless existences. 

'But where is Bucky currently?' Joe thought in passing as a series of long micro syringes retracted from his armguard. Unhesitatingly, he inserted them into the tubular insertion connected directly to the subject. The microneedles effortlessly dug deep into the femur, greedily siphoning the bloody marrow. Within several seconds, Joe filled a couple of vials with viscous marrow and tissue extracts. As unlucky as the bloody hounds were, not one survived the invasive procedure as they enjoyed their cryogenic sleep. If Snow White was determined to remain sleeping, why bother waking her? At least, their deaths were peaceful and served a greater purpose. 

Joe examined each vial individually, a satisfied smile spreading on his handsome face.

"What will we do with the corpses?" Minerva dutifully asked. 

"I wish I had gone for the Pym Particle Technology first which can easily solve our current storage problems. It would be extremely convenient if we had a portable makeshift laboratory." Joe spoke in an ambitious voice before shaking his head. 

"It's a pity I can't do anything about it, but I can't say after this." 

"You just want to rob Hank Pym," Minerva blandly stated. 

"It's called safekeeping, Minerva. Safekeeping, you get that? And I've always been interested in the Quantum Realm. It's currently a myth to many, but to me, it's an incontrovertible proof of life beyond our physical dimension." 

"Why don't we try bridging the gap between bioengineering and quantum physics?" Minerva suddenly suggested. 

Joe arched his brows, his eyes enlightened by Minerva's crazy input. 'The idea is feasible as insane as it is. Only through such crazy thoughts can one deem themselves a genius scientist.' 

"Minerva, let's go home or else I fear I might choose to hole up here..." 

The sheer urge to immediately begin the super soldier serum research and revolutionize Erskine's original formula had started burning deep within him. 

Before augmenting his frail humanity, his next steps had to be carefully thought out and perfected. 

Joe aimed to be superior to your typical Captain America. He had to be more. He had to be the upgrade—the apex. 

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