Red Skull didn't know where Stryker got this thing from, but he knew it was very useful. The Death Spore Virus could instantly kill most infected people, not even needing the time it takes to breathe.
It spreads through the air, and the lethal range of this small vial is about dozens of meters square.
Although the area is a bit small, it excels in controllability, won't cause major chaos, and is potent enough.
It can't kill Modified People, Superpower Users, Mutants, or other Extraordinary Creatures, but it can greatly weaken them. Even if Red Skull is poisoned, he would immediately become an Ordinary person.
.............
On Earth, currently only Su Ming knows what the source of the Death Spores is.
Originally, it wasn't in this form, but was a kind of black flower called the Death Spore Flower, which grows in the Nine Realms, specifically in Helheim, the Netherworld.
Warriors who worship the Nordic Gods, if they die in a gloriously honorable manner that is enough for future generations to sing their praises, Odin would send someone to receive the soul of the deceased and send them to his manufactured Heaven—Valhalla, the Heroic Spirit Hall.
This place is located atop a hidden mountain peak in Asgard.
Honorable souls can wrestle, drink, sing loudly, and enjoy everything they can think of there.
But if a believer calls themselves a warrior, yet dies not so honorably, like dying of old age or disease in bed, or drunkenly falling off a ship and drowning, then sorry, there's no place for you in the Heroic Spirit Hall.
You can only go to Helheim, to accompany Hel.
Anyway, Hel was secretly sealed in Helheim by Odin, she can't come out, so he also threw the rubbish he holds in contempt there.
These tragic souls accumulated more and more in Helheim, stacking on top of each other falling from the sky, forming the mountains and rivers of the Netherworld, and Hel could only accompany these Undead day after day.
Their souls, under the unique climate of Helheim and the strong resentment of Hel, spawned a kind of black flower that can spread Death and Despair.
It is the Death Spore Flower.
Hel really likes this stuff, she often uses it to decorate her boudoir.
Of course, Helheim is always a place of Darkness; everything is black, the black flowers don't really have any beauty, Hel can't leave Helheim, so this terrifying plant doesn't have any other use in her hands.
It's as common as weeds all over the mountains and fields in the Netherworld.
But Loki is different... He mastered many small spatial paths, allowing him to travel freely between the Nine Realms without going through the Rainbow Bridge, without being discovered.
He didn't know Hel was imprisoned in Helheim, because it's a pitch-black world, the two didn't coincidentally meet there.
He thought it was a dumping ground for the Nine Realms, a place to discard waste, an eternal night world with no scenery to speak of.
But he knew there was a very special plant there, very fun, capable of turning mortals into a pile of black ash and dying, making members of the Divine Race become useless for a short time.
So, he sneaked some flowers back to Asgard, intending to prank Thor, making him embarrass himself in front of everyone, like wetting himself in front of Sif...
In the end, the plot was discovered by Odin, who yelled at Loki and put him in solitary confinement.
How could solitary confinement hold Loki? So he quickly escaped and brought his Death Spore Flowers to Midgard, Earth.
He handed the flowers to Baron Stryker, inciting him to launch a massacre, while he watched the spectacle. But Stryker expressed that flower-shaped poisons weren't easy to use, so he needed some time to turn them into Venom.
Unfortunately, Loki didn't get to see the power of this thing with his own eyes; he was captured by Heimdall and brought back, scolded fiercely by Odin, confined for a few years...
But both Odin and Heimdall forgot about the Death Spore Virus in its liquid state. Stryker also didn't know where the 'mysterious black-haired youth' went, but the Virus was indeed useful, so he's been modifying this thing.
Enhancing volatility, increasing spreading speed, artificial replication, and so on, he's been trying to scientifically strengthen this thing. These years, he's been in Japan, spending all his time on this research.
That's the origin of the Death Spore Bomb.
Of course, every world's development is a bit different, for example, Stryker from Earth-12591, after obtaining the poison flower, directly gave it to Xiaohuzi, deceiving him by saying that eating it could grant Immortality.
He intended to poison Xiaohuzi to take the highest throne himself, but Xiaohuzi, after eating it, directly turned into a zombie, infecting the German Army into zombies, occupying the world.
Stryker is still a grunt, and also turned into a zombie, ending in vain.
..........
"Look, Doctor, isn't it a beautiful color?" Red Skull pushed Zola's shoulder, bringing him close to the Virus as they both leaned in closely to watch the row of test tubes.
Red Skull had spies among Stryker's men, and a loyal subordinate risked their life to steal some samples and was turned into dust by Stryker in his fury.
But Red Skull's goal was achieved; hand over some samples, replace those who died, that's all.
Dr. Zola, pushed forward strongly, his shoe soles almost sparking, really didn't want to look at this stuff.
'You, Red Skull, aren't afraid, you're a Modified Person, sniff a bit and you'll recover in a few days, but I'm an Ordinary person! If I inhale even a little bit, I'll die immediately!'
But this thought, he dared not speak out, he could only grin, letting Red Skull press on his shoulder, sticking their heads together.
"Yes, Schmidt, I see it, my nearsightedness isn't that bad..."
"Ah, that's good, you have twenty minutes to load the Death Spore Virus into my Clone's body. I want this thing to be remotely triggered outside the spreading range, yes, paired with some of my Cosmic Rubik's Cube Batteries, the explosion power must be strong enough."
Red Skull released his hand, turned, and left; Zemo's appointment had already been decided to send a self-exploding clone.
"Good luck, Doctor, don't be too stressed, but if you don't do it well, I'll be very disappointed, very... disappointed."
Red Skull glanced at him once more, his big eyes giving him a 'you know' expression, before he quickly departed.
He had planned it, at that time, after Zemo and the clone battle side by side and entangle Captain America, he will trigger the bomb from afar, eliminating both Zemo and Captain America, these two annoying pests...
Listening to the increasingly distant footsteps, Anim Zola lifted his glasses, wiped his face hard with a handkerchief, soaking the entire cloth.
No way, Red Skull's orders must be executed, otherwise, it will be his death.
Zola carefully took out a vial of dark liquid from the rack, holding it in both hands, rushing towards his lab.
He must simultaneously thaw the clone, debug the Cosmic Rubik's Cube Battery, modify the Death Spore Bomb, install remote control, and brainwash the clone.
Even for a world-class physicist, this time is a bit tight, he must race against the clock.
Red Skull never speaks empty words.
Especially this kind of implicit death threat, Zola has seen him say many times before, and those who disappointed him died miserably every time.
Zola doesn't believe in the 'True God's Paradise', he's a scientist, one who originally just wanted enough funding and experimental materials.
Before joining Hydra, outsiders will never know how crazy this organization is, and once you join, you can never leave alive...
"At this rate, someday I will die by his hands, I must hurry in preparing my backup plan, transferring my consciousness to something Red Skull can't destroy..."
Zola, holding the test tube, sprinted along the hallway, starting to plan how to escape Red Skull's grasp.