Chapter 291: Endless War II (Part 4)
[Tony Stark and Winston had already injected the Super Soldier Serum before, but this new serum still worked on them, because it was enhanced with Wakanda's Heart-Shaped Herb and the serum of the Sentry, Robert Reynolds. If the Wakandan king, Black Panther, hadn't been tricked into joining the Dark Avengers, you would never have imagined such a thing existed. The plant enzymes in the Heart-Shaped Herb happened to neutralize the berserk power of the Sentry Serum, while granting strength, speed, endurance, and reflexes far beyond human limits—and even a degree of resistance against magical attacks. Tony Stark was certain: this serum was already the peak of what human ingenuity could achieve. (You have gained the achievement: The End of Wisdom)]
[During this time, the other two supervillain organizations did not give up targeting the Caribou Gang. Perhaps villainous thinking is simply that erratic—they fought each other while also cooperating. First, "Mr. Negative" Martin Li and "Shocker" Herman Schultz led men to destroy one of the Caribou Gang's settlements. Then, "Lizard Shooter" Hawkeye attacked your research base. Meanwhile, they waged war in the Salt River area of Arizona, battling over the control of a military factory.]
[July 8, 2031. After injecting the Super Soldier Serum and being subjected to gamma radiation, you felt incredible. Your already above-average strength and agility rose to 6.25 times the experimental average. Tony Stark only reached 3.9. Spider-Man, who also underwent the injection, was 3.5. And you still had room for growth. Perhaps this is what people mean when they say, "With no woman in his heart, a man draws the blade and becomes divine." You wondered what it would be like to fight against Captain America, now called the Injustice Superman.]
[Beyond that, your mental capacity reached a new height. On Mensa tests, you scored a total of 172. Excluding Tony Stark, whose brain contained the Mind Stone, you could now be considered the second smartest person in the world.]
[July 11, 2031. To test your abilities, you fought once again against "Shocker" Herman Schultz, who came to stir trouble with the Caribou Gang. As a Spider-Man villain, he wielded a pair of high-frequency vibration gauntlets capable of unleashing air explosions that generated devastating shockwaves—much like Whitebeard's power. The outcome stunned everyone. You grabbed Schultz's gauntlet with one hand, ripped it off, and sent him flying with a single punch. The two villains accompanying him—Destructor and Bulldozer—were also one-punched into oblivion. Their magic attacks had no effect on you at all! (You have gained an Epic Item: High-Frequency Vibration Gauntlets.)]
[July 2031 – September 2031. Though the Heart-Shaped Herb of this world had not been destroyed, it was sacred to Wakanda, and its supply was extremely limited. You had Peter Parker continue leading the original research team to produce and study the new serum. Though a chatterbox, as a top graduate of Empire University and an OG rapper, Peter's research skills were formidable enough to shoulder the responsibility. Meanwhile, you, Tony Stark, Winston, and Black Panther's sister Shuri devoted yourselves to studying a new mech, aiming to create one that surpassed the limits of existing human technology.]
[As your technological tree advanced, the Caribou Gang under your leadership also grew stronger. With the Sentry Reynolds, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and others, you began absorbing medium and small survivor groups around New York. After the nuclear strikes, the world was riddled with irradiated settlements. Although Tony Stark and others had already developed a super-compression method to remove nuclear radiation, most survivor groups fought only for resources. The two supervillain alliances had even developed shoulder-mounted nuclear warheads, deploying them frequently in their wars. As Tony Stark put it, that kind of tactic "had no technical merit." As Doctor Strange said, saving the world under such conditions was truly not easy.]
[September 2031 – June 2032. During this time, your research into the new mech gradually took shape. The Mind Stone truly gave Tony Stark limitless potential for invention and innovation, and you learned much from him. Under his lead, you worked on a battle suit that could freely change form: into Hulkbuster armor against the Hulk, into Capbuster armor against Steve Rogers, and into other specialized modes for various opponents. The design left you deeply impressed, though Tony's "anti-" series of armors always felt unreliable. You learned a new skill: Precision Machinery Crafting (Master Level).]
[November 2032. Everything seemed to be flourishing—even Doctor Strange said all was moving along the right track. The new battle suit was more than halfway complete, with nearly all functions ready. Yet the project was forced to pause. Its greatest problem was energy. The new element was insufficient to power the suit. Like Ultraman fighting on Earth, it could only last 5 minutes before the chest timer turned red. Developing a newer element required massive electricity and a superconducting collider over 8 km long. Conservatively, it would consume over 200 megawatts of power. But in this age of energy scarcity, the world's total annual electricity output was only 84 megawatts. With your current resources, it was impossible!]
[But this didn't mean you were ready to give up. If energy was insufficient, it had to be seized. In New York State, there were 6 large survivor groups and over 20 medium and small ones, most of them the remnants of pre-war corporate giants. Though they clashed frequently, your core strength far outmatched theirs. The Caribou Gang, standing against both the Joker Gang and the Illuminati, succeeded in absorbing three large survivor groups led by Oscorp, Hammer Industries, and Pym Technologies. Oscorp's serum research and Pym Tech's mech studies greatly aided your work.]
[March 2033. Your forces expanded rapidly. With a steady supply of fourth- and fifth-generation Super Soldier Serums, you brought nearly half of America under your control. This included the Daguli Hydropower Station, the seventh largest in the world. Yet prosperity often sows the seeds of downfall. Just as you prepared to restart your research, the Daguli Dam was struck by the Cosmic Cube. A white flash, and the dam instantly vaporized. Torrents of floodwater roared forth.]
[At the same time, all your territories came under joint attack from the Joker Gang and the Illuminati. Waves of mutants and Iron Legion suits drowned your defenders. Even the Hulk and Steve Rogers personally joined the assault. Despite Robert Reynolds giving his all, he was overwhelmed by the mutant army.]
[Under their onslaught, Oscorp and Hammer Industries quickly betrayed you, turning their forces against you. In barely a month, all your efforts were wiped out!]
[At last, before you stood the Hulk, the Injustice Superman Steve Rogers, Venomized Black Widow, Lizardman Hawkeye, and countless other villains. Tony Stark and Spider-Man had already fallen in battle… "Earth is finished," you heard Doctor Strange murmur. You gave a faint smile, silver-white armor swiftly covering your body. Summoning the last of your strength, you charged into the sea of enemies. Time froze at that very moment!]