Chapter 97 Air Force One

After successfully dealing with the Shoggoth, Tony landed on the ground and instructed the others to board their aircraft and evacuate immediately. He, however, intended to see if he could resolve the issues plaguing the city.

Corruption continued to spread throughout the urban landscape. Although Tony did not know exactly what had caused it, he noted that these events began immediately after the divine envoy summoned the Source of Corruption. Consequently, he resolved to track it down.

He ordered JARVIS to access satellite data, identify the locations where the corruption first appeared, and continuously filter and screen the results. Tony realized that the flower had undoubtedly been a diversion by the envoy. Though he did not know what methods the entity had used to swap the Source of Corruption right under his nose, he was confident he could find it.

Meanwhile, Tang Chuan and his entourage were escorted onto a plane, preparing to head to a military airfield to board Air Force One. The Vice President had been waiting there for some time.

A tsunami was approaching the American coastline, necessitating the immediate establishment of a new energy core. The problem was that the protocol for this was as sensitive as nuclear launch codes; it required the President's authorization to open the case containing the construction schematics. Once the group boarded the plane, they immediately contacted Air Force One and informed them of the situation.

Upon learning that Tang Chuan had fallen into a coma, the high-ranking officials felt a suffocating sense of dread. According to calculations by the Academy of Sciences, the tsunami would make landfall in less than two hours, and rebuilding the energy core would take time—meaning they desperately needed a President. However, because Tang Chuan's condition remained uncertain, even the Vice President, who had already been given the hint, had to hold back. What if he swore the oath to become the new President, only for Tang Chuan to wake up a moment later?

Before long, Stark’s plane arrived at the suburban military airfield, and Tang Chuan’s group was successfully transferred to the U.S. military. The medical team immediately diagnosed the unconscious leader, but no amount of stimulation could wake him in the short term. Thus, the Presidential Succession Act was invoked. Due to Tang Chuan’s unexpected coma and the impending catastrophic tsunami, the Vice President was tasked with the duty, assuming the role of the new President of the United States.

However, just as the Vice President finished reciting the oath with his hand on the Bible, Tang Chuan suddenly woke up. The people present stared at each other in stunned silence.

*Didn’t the medical team say it was impossible for him to wake up within a day? How long has it been? Did he wake up just because he was stimulated by the prospect of losing his position?*

As soon as Tang Chuan regained consciousness, he heard his Vice President finishing the final line of the familiar oath. Seeing the man’s posture, he understood everything.

"Splendid, Peio. I didn't expect you to be so impatient. I haven't even stepped down yet! What do you think you are doing? I declare your oath null and void!" Tang Chuan glared at the embarrassed crowd. He had been racking his brains in this position, and he had not expected that someone would be so eager to usurp his power after only a few minutes of unconsciousness.

"Er, Mr. President, I think there has been a misunderstanding. We were just..." a White House secretary stammered, offering hollow words. He had not expected Tang Chuan to wake up so quickly.

"Cough, Mr. President," Peio said, recovering from his shock and clearing his throat to adjust his collar. "It is all a misunderstanding. The doctors told us you had fallen into a coma." But inwardly, he muttered, *If you were in a coma, why did you have to wake up?*

"Heh." Tang Chuan would naturally not believe a word they said. To him, this was a clear attempt to seize power the moment he lost consciousness. If he hadn't woken up when he did, he might never have woken up at all.

"Alright, Mr. President, now is not the time to discuss these issues. We need to..." the Secretary of Defense hurriedly changed the subject. Now was not the time for power struggles; rebuilding the energy core was the most critical task.

"I..." As soon as Tang Chuan spoke, he felt a severe discomfort in his throat. He doubled over and began to retch. Seeing this reaction, the others immediately called for the doctors.

When the doctors arrived, they ordered the onlookers to move away. They suspected Tang Chuan might have motion sickness, and in the cramped space of the aircraft, the gathering crowd was causing poor air circulation.

Tang Chuan felt an intense, sickening sensation in his stomach, as if something were crawling around inside. He felt an urgent need to expel it. As his retching intensified, the medical staff could not get close enough to examine him, missing the best opportunity to flee the scene.

Tang Chuan could feel the foreign object moving through his esophagus, and his dry heaving grew more violent. Unfortunately, when he finally vomited the object out, he was terrified to his core.

What he spat out was a pulsating mass of flesh, covered in gore and fragments of viscera. As the mass hit the floor, it began to mutate, eventually transforming into a clump of writhing tentacles.

"What is that!" Tang Chuan’s scream and the shrieks of the medical staff shattered the solemn atmosphere of Air Force One, bringing something far more horrific in its wake.

The mass was a clone of the Shoggoth. It had consumed a significant portion of Tang Chuan’s internal organs and flesh while inside him, replacing his vitals with its own substance. When it finally exited his body, Tang Chuan felt the agony of being torn apart, and within a few breaths, he lost his life.

Vice President Peio did not even have a moment to savor the "joy" of Tang Chuan’s death. The monster, having just killed the President, extended its tentacles and pierced everyone in the room. As a group of pampered high-ranking officials, they lacked the agility of soldiers and could only die as fuel for the creature’s tentacles.

"It’s that monster! Contact Iron Man!" A soldier who heard the screams forced his way into the sealed room. Having been kept outside during the meeting, he recognized the monster that had fought Iron Man. He did not hesitate, sounding the alarm while opening fire on the Shoggoth. Unfortunately, his attacks were like tickling the beast; even a Shoggoth that had just detached from a host would not be killed by pistol fire.

The soldiers who drew the creature's attention soon met the same fate as Tang Chuan and the others. Other security personnel who responded to the alarm were no match for the Shoggoth. In the end, every passenger on Air Force One perished, and the plane plummeted from the sky shortly after taking off.

The crash of Air Force One naturally caused turmoil within the U.S. leadership. Tony, having received the distress call, flew immediately to the crash site, but he arrived a step too late, finding nothing but the wreckage of the plane.