It could change a man into a god, if only he could harness its power and filter out the negative effects. But his handlers within a small, but powerful cell of the Chinese government were short-sighted and ignorant. They didn’t care about furthering that line of research at the moment. They were preoccupied with the concept of an indestructible army of monsters that could crush their enemies. What they refused to consider is that countries and borders come and go, but with his serum, he could be eternal. He could be like the first emperor. He could become a dragon, figuratively speaking, and ascend to heaven.
He had been briefed on their ultimate plan. First, they would smuggle his super soldiers into the United States and position them at strategic locations across the country. Then they would strike from within and cripple the superpower. While the majority of the Chinese government, controlled by cultural elitists who viewed anything non-Chinese as barbaric, was satisfied with simply maintaining control of China, the splinter group he worked for saw things differently. They didn’t just want to expand Chinese control of other nations; they wanted to destroy those nations, claiming their land, resources and wealth for the exclusive use of the ever growing Chinese population. That Chinese laborers working for American corporations couldn’t even afford proper housing was infuriating enough. But when their own government loaned the United States $1 trillion dollars, the group saw this as a grave betrayal—one that required a bold response. Once the war began, the rest of the government would fall in line and the Chinese people—all of them—would benefit from the reclamation of the wealth they were now giving away.
Once their biggest barrier was eliminated and America was reduced to rubble, they would sweep over the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. At which time, their ultimate goal of a one-world communist government would be complete.
And, of course, Cho would have his pick as to where he wished to be regional governor. He would be a king. But somehow, that just wasn’t enough for him. Why be a king when you can be a god?
But he would also need an army to enforce his will, and before they would provide him with the resources necessary to birth his children, they wanted an insurance policy. They were afraid of what could happen if they built an indestructible army, even they had no method of combating. It was sound thinking, and Cho couldn’t mount any argument against it. He wondered if they suspected his true motivations.
Either way, he had no intention of developing their anti-serum that would halt the rejuvenating capabilities of his soldiers. Instead, he had focused all of his time and energy on creating a new serum that would transform his weak, mortal body.
He knew that Salvatori held the key, but the old man was too stubborn. Although, Cho had already considered a few methods that he could employ to open the old man’s mind and make him more cooperative.
He looked to the clock and wondered how long it had been since he had slept. He supposed that it didn’t really matter. The moment for resting was long past. Time was against him now, and he couldn’t allow it defeat him. He couldn’t allow himself to fail when he was so close.
Almost with a mind of its own, his hand shot out to his desk drawer and retrieved his supplies. He laid the mirror on the workstation and dumped out the white powder. Then he sliced it into neat lines and snorted it up one nostril. He dabbed the excess onto his finger and rubbed it into his gums. His head dropped back against his chair, and his eyes fell shut. He sat there for a moment and let his medicine do its job.
When his eyes opened, he felt much better. He felt ready to take on the world. With the press of a few keys, the images on his bank of monitors changed to views of the empty streets of the city. He pressed another string of keys to bring up Huangdi’s location using his GPS tag. The screen showed that no signal was being received from Huangdi’s tracker.
Unfortunately, he had been unable to find a way to create indestructible communication hardware for use with his indestructible monster. Although Huangdi’s flesh would heal, any radio or tracking devices could easily be destroyed.
He dialed up the recordings for the areas surrounding the SAS camp. A click of the mouse and the images spun backward in high speed. Another click and the screen showed Huangdi’s attack on the British encampment. Cho marveled at the creature’s abilities and its brutality. It was truly an efficient killing machine. Maybe he could find a way to leave intact some of the Hydra DNA code that related to strength and agility in the final serum.
He watched on the recording as a small group escaped from Huangdi’s grasp and made their way into the sewer system. It was hardly of any concern. Huangdi would hunt them down and finish his mission. Cho had no doubts about that. It was what the creature had been conditioned to do: complete the mission at all costs.