I'm having a blast in Marvel!

Page 55

He turned on his computer and connected to the infuriatingly slow dial-up network; the shrill dial tone sounded like a call from ancient times. He began searching through the vast sea of ​​early internet information.

His search terms were strange, seemingly unrelated to ordinary people: "genetic mutation," "special abilities," "unexplainable miracles," "super healing abilities," and so on.

The search results were mostly filled with boring urban legends, sensationalist scams, and baseless rumors. But with the enhanced memory and analytical abilities granted by the Super Soldier Serum, he was like a highly efficient gold prospector, precisely sifting through the massive amount of information garbage to find some truly valuable clues.

For example, a paper published in an extremely obscure medical journal detailed an incredibly rare case: a girl was born with the ability to pass through walls, but because she couldn't control it effectively, it ultimately led to serious physical complications. (Phantom Cat, Katie Pride)

For example, a local tabloid reported on a private school in Westchester County, New York, called "Xavier School for Gifted Children." The school's slogan was that it specifically recruits students with "special talents" and helps them integrate into society.

Upon seeing this, Chu Hang's lips involuntarily curled into a slight smile.

Professor X. He found it.

Then, he changed the direction of his search. He began searching for clues related to his vague and distant memories.

"Canada", "bar", "fight", "bone claw"...

Finally, amidst a jumble of messy search results, he stumbled upon an inconspicuous news item. It was a short news report from a local news website in a remote Canadian town a few years ago, lost among countless other community trivia.

The news headline reads: "Bar brawl sparks riot, mysterious man overturns truck with bare hands."

The news report was simple, using rather exaggerated language: a truck driver and a local lumberjack got into a fight in a bar after a verbal altercation, which escalated into a brawl. After being surrounded and beaten by several people, and even shot with a hunting rifle, the lumberjack, instead of falling, became like a wildly enraged beast, extending strange bone claws from his fists and smashing the entire bar to pieces. Finally, in full view of everyone, he overturned an 18-wheeler truck with his bare hands before disappearing into the vast forest.

The news article concluded with an extremely blurry black-and-white photograph. In the photo, a man wearing a plaid shirt, a cigar dangling from his mouth, is turning back to stare coldly at the camera. Even across nearly fifty years and with the blurry pixels, Chu Hang recognized that sharply defined face and that defiant, seemingly hostile gaze at the world.

Chu Hang leaned back in the cold chair, quietly looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face on the screen, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He remembered the comrade who fought alongside him in the muddy trenches of World War II, who had pretended to be shot and fall dead amidst a hail of bullets. He remembered that bastard who was always cursing and swearing, but would always be behind you, silently taking a fatal bullet for you.

Chu Hang's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, making a tapping sound.

Go tell him that we were once comrades-in-arms? Tell him that he was frozen for fifty years, and that he has just woken up?

No. Chu Hang quickly dismissed this impulsive idea. From the news reports, he could clearly deduce that Logan had likely experienced the inhumane Weapon X program and lost most of his memories. His sudden appearance would not only fail to awaken Logan's memories but would also likely lead Logan to see him as yet another Stryker lackey sent to cause him trouble.

But we must not give up on this clue.

Chu Hang saved the URL of that news article, along with the address of Xavier's Gifted Youth Academy, in a multi-layered encrypted document. This was his treasure map to the future.

He shut down his computer, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack to let in the slightly cool air. He looked out at the gray sky and down at the city below, which resembled a complex anthill.

A completely new world is slowly unfolding before him, its magnificent yet perilous tapestry unfolding before him. And he, Anthony Chen, will no longer be a passive observer, a survivor hiding in the shadows.

He wants to be a hunter.

A hunter who hunts for "superpowers".

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Chapter 66 System Restart

On the day Yahoo went public, Chu Hang sat in his cheap apartment, like any ordinary stock investor, staring at his computer screen. The Nasdaq index on the screen jumped wildly, each flash signifying the flow of astronomical wealth. He remained calm, neither excited nor nervous. For him, this was never a gamble, but simply a math problem whose answer he already knew.

When the stock price climbed to the peak he remembered, he gently pressed the Enter key.

The transaction was complete. The familiar six-digit number in his securities account had transformed into a brand-new eight-digit number: twelve million US dollars. This sum would have driven any ordinary person in the world mad, but Chu Hang simply shut down his computer, went into the kitchen, and poured himself a glass of cold water. For him, money was always just a tool, a means to allow him to accomplish something else more freely.

He didn't move, didn't buy a sports car, and continued living in that dilapidated apartment where he could hear his neighbors arguing. He divided the money into several smaller portions and quietly invested them in a few fledgling internet companies that were still operating from their garages. One was called Amazon, the other Google. He knew exactly what kind of towering tree these unassuming seeds would grow into in the future, a massive sum he himself couldn't be bothered to calculate. But that no longer mattered.

He needed something else. The hunting season had arrived.

His first stop was New York. He didn't go to the glitz and glamour of Manhattan, but instead rented an unassuming Ford and drove straight north to Westchester County. Deep in that vast forest, he found the legendary "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters." He didn't approach rashly. Even from dozens of kilometers away, he could feel a vast spiritual force, like an invisible dome, gently yet firmly enveloping the estate. He knew that any lie would be exposed before that force.

He needed the perfect opportunity, a moment that wouldn't raise any alarm.

He found a motel in a nearby town and spent his days driving to observe the mountain roads near the school. Using his newly acquired telepathic abilities, he cautiously "listened" like a clumsy thief to the occasional, fragmented mental noises emanating from the manor: children's laughter, teachers' instruction, and some deeper, more complex thoughts. Finally, he got his chance. The school organized an outing, and several yellow school buses lined up and drove out of the manor gate.

Chu Hang started his car and followed at the back of the convoy at a leisurely pace. At a perfectly timed bend, he lightly pressed the accelerator, creating a minor, impeccable rear-end collision, the bumper precisely kissing the rear of the last school bus.

No one was injured, and there was barely any tremor. He immediately got out of the bus, his face showing the panic and apology expected of an ordinary driver. He apologized repeatedly and offered to pay full compensation. The bus door opened, and a strikingly elegant Black woman stepped out to handle the situation—it was Storm Ororo. Just as she approached and asked him with concern if he was injured, Chu Hang's body made brief, almost imperceptible contact with her.

[Copy successful. Acquired ability: Basic Atmospheric Control.]

At that moment, Ororo was unconsciously maintaining the bright and sunny weather around her, making this force the easiest target for "copying".

He took out several hundred dollars in cash from his wallet as compensation, handed it to the other party, and then drove away from New York in his Ford with its front bumper bent, without looking back.

He didn't stop walking.

Next, he went to the Louisiana swamps to find the legendary Gypsies who could turn playing cards into deadly bombs. He dressed as a hiker, posing as a lost tourist, and by the campfire, traded a bottle of fine whiskey for a drink with one of them. In the crisp clinking of their glasses, the copy was silently completed.

[Copy successful. Gained ability: Kinetic Energy Injection.]

He went to Chicago again. In a dimly lit, damp underground boxing ring filled with the smell of sweat and hormones, he saw the "beast" covered in blue fur, as agile as an ape. He didn't choose to awkwardly find an excuse to hug him backstage; that would be too deliberate. He simply bought the cheapest standing ticket and, after the boxing match, mingled in the noisy, chaotic crowd, brushed past the figure dragging his weary body backstage in a perfectly natural exchange.

[Copy successful. Gained ability: Superhuman senses and physical abilities (Beast Version).]

He became increasingly skilled, like a top hunter lurking in the shadows of the city. He no longer focused on the most advanced, core strategic capabilities, but instead began to piece together a giant jigsaw puzzle, gradually gathering abilities that would make him more well-rounded, harder to track, and better at hiding.

The most crucial hunt during this period took place in Baltimore. He spent three months tracking a long-standing legend circulating in the mutant underground—a "ghost" who could transform into anyone. Finally, in an abandoned port warehouse, he cornered a blue-skinned, red-haired woman with eyes as wary as a wildcat.

Mystique Raven.

It was a real, unpretentious battle. Raven's fighting skills far exceeded Chu Hang's expectations; every strike went straight for vital points, and her flexibility and agility were almost inhuman. Chu Hang had to use almost all the fighting instincts he had honed on the battlefield to manage to grab her wrist in a thrilling close-quarters grappling match.

[Copy successful. Gained ability: Morphological Mimicry.]

This was the most valuable ability he had gained in the years since his awakening. Without the slightest hesitation, he transformed into Raven's likeness right there in the moment, to Raven's utterly horrified gaze, then calmly turned and disappeared into the shadows of the warehouse. From that day on, he truly possessed the means to perfectly conceal himself in this world. He could be a homeless man on a street corner, a hurried Wall Street white-collar worker, or even a blonde, blue-eyed, stunningly beautiful woman. Even if Nick Fury turned S.H.I.E.L.D. upside down, he wouldn't find a single hair on his head.

Six years passed quietly in these repeated hunts.

Over the course of six years, he traveled to many places, met many extraordinary people, and collected a large number of strange and unusual abilities. For example, a girl who could talk to squirrels, and a man whose fingernails could grow at a visible speed. These abilities seemed useless, but Chu Hang accepted them all. He had a vague premonition that the accumulation of quantity would eventually lead to a qualitative transformation.

His system remained dormant. The panel labeled "Super Copier" was always grayed out deep within his consciousness. However, the weekly copying ability seemed etched into his soul, becoming an irresistible instinct. He didn't need the system's reminders; every seven days, a "hunger" from the depths of his soul would descend upon him, driving him to seek his next target.

He grew stronger and stronger, but also more and more lonely.

Until that late night in 2001.

Los Angeles, the cheap apartment he never moved to.

Chu Hang sat cross-legged on the cold floor, his eyes closed. He wasn't meditating; he was simply emptying his mind. In the past six years, he had accumulated too many abilities. His body was like a crowded warehouse, piled high with all sorts of tools. He needed time to organize them, to familiarize himself with the usage and characteristics of each tool.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide.

It wasn't about hearing or seeing anything. It was an undeniable resonance originating from the deepest part of his bloodline. The cosmic energy within him, dormant for six years and long since tamed by him, suddenly and completely boiled over without warning at this moment.

Like a pot of water suddenly boiling, violent energy surged through his veins, bringing a burning yet familiar stinging sensation. He would never forget this feeling. Six years ago, in the hangar at the Pegasus Project base, it was the same feeling he experienced when the light-speed engine exploded.

He immediately stood up and strode to the window. He didn't look down at the deserted street below, but instead raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the apartment ceiling, through the thick atmosphere, and reaching the endless starry sky.

His energy perception was pushed to an unprecedented limit at this moment.

He "saw" it.

Against the pitch-black backdrop of space, a dazzling golden point of light forcefully crashed into Earth's gravitational pull in an extremely savage and unreasonable manner. It was no ordinary spacecraft; it was a pure, violent aggregate of energy, filled with rage and confusion.

The frequency of that energy fluctuation was exactly the same as the power within his body.

Carol Danvers.

Chu Hang's face remained expressionless. Six years of solitude and reflection were enough to smooth over many things. He simply watched silently as the golden shooting star traced a brilliant yet deadly trajectory across the night sky, plummeting in a direction he knew all too well.

The Mojave Desert. The ruins of the Pegasus Project base.

He knew she had come back looking for answers.

And he, too, needs an answer.

He slowly extended his right hand, palm open. A golden light quietly shone in his hand, stable, refined, and pure, forming a stark contrast to the raging energy entity in space.

“Welcome home, Captain,” he murmured to himself.

The next second, the air around him distorted slightly, and he vanished into thin air, like a sugar cube thrown into water.

The nights in the Mojave Desert are cold and silent.

The once heavily guarded Pegasus Project base is now nothing but a vast expanse of ruins. Under the cold moonlight, the twisted steel bars and broken concrete, like a massive abandoned skeleton, silently recount its former glory.

A golden meteor, carrying a devastating force, crashed heavily into the central plaza of the base. The immense impact unleashed a violent sandstorm, hurling countless pebbles and sand hundreds of meters into the air before raining down again.

In the heart of the billowing smoke, in a crater several meters deep, Carol Danvers slowly rose to her feet. She wore a blue-green Kree Starfleet uniform, her long golden hair dancing wildly in the surging energy ripples. Her eyes were filled with chaos, anger, and a trace of sadness she herself couldn't perceive.

She looked around at the familiar yet unfamiliar ruins, countless fragmented memories flashing wildly in her mind, like sharp knives stabbing at her head, causing her excruciating pain.

She couldn't remember anything.

All she knew was that this place was important to her. She had lost some things here, and she had gained some things as well.

"who are you?"

Just then, an unfamiliar voice came from the shadows not far away. The voice was calm and emotionless, as if asking, "How's the weather today?"

Carol whirled around, her fists instantly enveloped in blazing golden energy. Her body instinctively went into battle mode, her eyes wary like a lioness protecting her cubs.

"Come out!" she shouted sharply, her voice echoing across the empty ruins.

From the shadows, a man in a black trench coat slowly emerged. He looked young, with black hair, black eyes, and a distinctly Eastern face. He emanated no energy, appearing like an ordinary person who had stumbled upon this place by chance.

But Carol's fighting instincts were screaming wildly. She could sense that this seemingly harmless man was an extremely dangerous being. His calmness itself was a silent threat.

"Who are you?" Carol asked again, her voice filled with wariness. "Did the Kree send you? Or the Skrulls?"

The man shook his head. He looked at Carol, a faint smile even appearing on his face.

“Neither,” he said. “I’m just... one of my kind who’s passing by.”

"The same kind?" Carol frowned, completely baffled as to what the other person was talking about.

The man offered no further explanation. He simply extended his right hand slowly, palm open.

The next second, a ball of equally brilliant and dazzling golden light quietly bloomed in his palm. The energy fluctuations, the pure aura originating from the Cosmic Cube, were exactly the same as the surging power within Carol. The only difference was that the energy sphere in his hand was as stable as a miniature star, while the energy within Carol was like a supernova about to explode, violent and uncontrollable.

The moment Carol saw that ball of energy, her pupils contracted to their maximum size. For the first time, an expression of utter shock appeared on her face.

How can this be? !

How could there possibly be another person in this world who possesses the exact same power as her?!

The memories forcibly implanted in her mind by the Kree, the claims that she was a unique, empowered superhero, collapsed at this moment, along with the light before her.

Just as the two cosmic energy entities of the same origin confronted each other, their forces resonated more and more intensely in the air.

Deep within Chu Hang's consciousness, the gray panel that had been dormant for six years suddenly flickered violently.

[High-intensity resonance of the same source energy detected...]