Stryker remembered Alex all too well—painfully well.
Even now, he still hadn't recovered from what that "monster" had done to him.
It was this man who had ruined Stryker's plans again and again, becoming a relentless thorn in his side.
Worse still, he had thoroughly humiliated Stryker in the process.
Victor, Zero, Wade… three of his most trusted enforcers, gone.
Over twenty special operatives, all dead.
All at Alex's hands.
Even for someone as cold and calculating as Stryker, that level of loss made him grind his teeth.
Victor and Wade especially—both were ideal candidates for Weapon X experimentation.
And now? Dead.
God knew how much time, money, and effort it had taken just to find replacements.
The thought of it made Stryker's blood boil.
He wanted nothing more than to tear Alex into pieces and scatter the remains.
But…
"How did he find this place?"
Stryker's brow furrowed deeply, shock flickering in his eyes.
He had underestimated this kid—again.
There had to be a powerful organization backing him.
There was no way Alex could've found the base otherwise.
The realization made Stryker's stomach turn.
If Alex had tracked them here, then this base—one he had painstakingly built—was likely compromised.
The only consolation?
Weapon X-11 was almost ready.
It would be the most perfect creation of the Weapon X program to date.
Stryker would not—could not—allow anything to ruin it now.
"Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie Teams! An intruder is in the base—eliminate him immediately!"
"All remaining units—full alert!"
Wasting no time, Stryker grabbed the radio and barked orders into it. His voice echoed throughout the compound.
Soldiers responded without hesitation, swarming from every corridor toward Alex like a tidal wave.
---
[New Mission Generated]
Objective: Destroy William Stryker's Mutant Research Base!
Reward: 1,500 Origin Points
At that exact moment, a familiar voice echoed inside Alex's mind.
His eyes lit up, a glint of excitement sparking within.
Just as he'd predicted—the system had issued a new mission.
And it was another hefty one—1,500 Origin points.
That alone could unlock another 15% of progress.
A full-blown jackpot.
Alex's whole body surged with fresh energy.
---
"There he is!"
"Quick! Block the passage!"
"Orders are to kill on sight!"
Footsteps thundered through the base, shouts overlapping as fully armed soldiers burst into view.
The hallway ahead was suddenly swarming with gunmen, all leveling their weapons at him.
Ratatatat!
Ratatatat!
Without hesitation, the soldiers opened fire, bullets streaming through the corridor.
"Walking into hell on your own… you've got guts, I'll give you that."
Watching through surveillance, Stryker sneered.
"You just saved me the trouble of coming to kill you."
Sure, Alex had taken out Wade and an entire elite unit—but this was different.
A tight corridor, nowhere to dodge.
He'd be shredded to bits by the sheer volume of gunfire.
Unless this kid's body was made of solid metal, there was no way he was surviving this.
But then—
BOOM!
A deafening sonic blast rang through the hall.
In an instant, Alex vanished.
And before the soldiers could even react—
—they were all sent flying, slammed into walls and floors like rag dolls.
Not one of them got back up.
---
"…What just happened?!"
Stryker was frozen in front of the monitor.
He stared blankly at the footage, unable to make sense of what he'd just seen.
Surveillance tech at the time was primitive—certainly not fast enough to capture someone moving at supersonic speed.
From his point of view, Alex simply disappeared—
—and a second later, every soldier was down.
Just like that.
Stryker had no idea what he was dealing with anymore.
But he did know one thing:
He had completely underestimated Alex's power.
The young man's strength was miles beyond his calculations.
"ALL UNITS! I REPEAT, ALL UNITS! FULL MOBILIZATION! STOP THE INTRUDER AT ANY COST!"
Stryker's calm exterior cracked, panic bleeding into his voice.
Everyone—no matter their role—abandoned their posts and grabbed whatever weapons they could find.
The entire base mobilized.
"Activate X-11!"
"But sir, X-11 isn't fully stabilized yet—"
"Do it!"
Stryker barked, eyes bloodshot.
He knew X-11 wasn't ready. But Alex was too dangerous.
There was no more time.
---
His fears were instantly validated.
One by one, the monitors flickered and glitched—each showing blurry footage of soldiers collapsing like dominos.
It wasn't just one hallway.
It was every hallway.
Every screen.
One after another.
Unit after unit—gone.
Two minutes.
That was all it took.
Two minutes later, not a single soldier was standing.
Only one figure remained across all the cameras—
That young man.
That monster.
Alex.
GULP.
Stryker swallowed hard, cold sweat running down his spine.
No way.
This isn't possible…
Two minutes.
In just two minutes, Alex had singlehandedly torn through the entire base.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Stryker would've laughed anyone out of the room for suggesting something so absurd.
But this wasn't absurd.
This was real.
This was a nightmare.
And as soon as he finished shouting out his last round of orders, Stryker bolted out of the control room—
Heading straight for a different section of the base.
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