"I gave you S.H.I.E.L.D. clearance so you could cause me trouble!"
"In the past two weeks I've received sixteen complaints from the World Security Council, all from the Military accusing you of overstepping authority and assaulting a general!"
Nick Fury grumbled to Fang Yuan over the phone.
"Two hundred vials of Awakening Serum for you guys." Fang Yuan cut to the chase.
"A thousand!"
"Three hundred!"
"Five hundred!"
"Send the money!"
"It's transferred!" Fury was afraid Fang Yuan would back out.
"So those complaints?"
"Just spam mail."
Fury couldn't care less—what did Ross's complaints have to do with him?
Ross's own house wasn't clean; the origin of Abomination was enough to land him in hot water, not to mention all the victims left in the aftermath.
So Ross and S.H.I.E.L.D. reached an unspoken agreement.
Ross would stop chasing Banner, and S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't kick Abomination while he was down.
Speaking of which, Fury suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Ross has been frantically searching for a missing university Professor—Samuel Sterns. Any idea where he is?"
"University Professor?" Fang Yuan flat-out denied it. "How would I know?"
"Hmm."
Fury didn't press, but before hanging up he said meaningfully, "Just don't let him fall into Ross's hands."
"I don't have any Samuel Sterns here." Fang Yuan reiterated, yet after ending the call he added in his mind, "Only a Leader."
Leader is one of the Hulk's arch-villains; he also appears in The Incredible Hulk. After completing Abomination's transformation he bumps his head, and the wound is infected by a serum laced with Banner's blood, turning him into a little green man with a huge brain.
In The Incredible Hulk, Leader's last shot freezes on his grin mid-mutation—one grin that lasted over a decade; he never shows up again in the later Marvel films.
The only news is that he'll appear in Captain America 4, alongside Betty Ross, Abomination and company.
Hmm… are we sure this is Captain America 4 and not Hulk 3?
So we've got Hulk's girlfriend, father-in-law, and old foe, but no Hulk himself?
Though Fang Yuan knows Captain Speedster can't carry the box office, dragging in so many unrelated characters does feel forced.
Most likely, Hulk's girlfriend will become the She-Hulk, Ross will become the Red Hulk, and Abomination will be the Grey Hulk. Unless Captain Speedster ends up as the Black Hulk, Fang Yuan thinks the new Cap is pretty dispensable.
Leader, though green after mutation, isn't in the same league as the Hulks above—his mutation is all in the head.
Exposed to gamma rays, Leader's cerebral capacity skyrocketed a thousandfold, making him a walking super-computer with unmatched information processing and logical calculation.
Fang Yuan certainly wasn't going to let such a powerhouse slip by.
So right after Abomination's upgrade succeeded, he used Telepathy to make Sterns acknowledge him as master.
During the half-month while Thor was active, Fang Yuan successfully merged the Charles Template and the White Queen Template into the brand-new Professor X Template (Grade A+), 20% developed.
His rank stayed the same, but his Telepathy leapt forward, and his Spirit stat finally rose from D- to D—enough to keep the master–servant bond intact after Sterns mutated.
Now Leader has been shipped to Talokan to oversee Awakening Serum affairs and to research compound v on the side.
The Awakening Serum isn't that valuable; Talokanians may be a bit dim, but they make decent construction workers. Once the under-sea factory was finished and mass production rolled out, the cost of the serum hit rock-bottom.
The only real expense left is distribution.
Fang Yuan has set up redemption points in every major city, exclusively for Outer Disciples to pop the pills.
compound v, however, is a different story. Cost-wise Fang Yuan doesn't even bat an eye, yet compound v is the real key to Awakening Serum activation.
Leader has to monitor the detection devices to see which Awakening Serum users pass the test; then Fang Yuan picks the lucky ones and covertly swaps their vials so they actually awaken super-powers.
Only when someone truly manifests a super-power will public pursuit of the Awakening Serum reach the next level.
And as for who gets to be the lucky one?
That's for Fang Yuan to decide—whoever has more "Yuan-connection."
Whoever serves best as a dog gets to be the lucky one.
So far, over five thousand Outer Disciples on the Kamar-Taj website have received the Awakening Serum.
After drinking it, these disciples find their backs no longer ache, their legs no longer hurt, and even their bedroom antics gain stamina.
Once they experience the serum's wonders, it becomes all the rage among high society; those not yet in want to become Outer Disciples, and those already in want to rank up.
So they're assigned all kinds of tasks.
"Make Thor the brand ambassador?"
"Write a hundred puff pieces praising the Ancient One?"
"Help the Chief Sorcerer find ten beauties—cough, cough—this one stays off the record."
In short, anyone who covets the Awakening Serum becomes Fang Yuan's tool; in return, his employees' fame keeps climbing.
[Name: Fang Yuan]
[Rank: C+]
[Fame: 72 (Well-known far and wide)]
[Unlocked Reward: Tier-Two Reward (Claimable)]
[Tier-Two Reward: Host uses multiple identities to plunder resources wildly, gains Clone Halo (Grade B)]
[Clone Halo (B-Rank): Creates a clone controlled by the host; the clone possesses 50% of the host's original strength.]
Fang Yuan was thrilled with the Tier-Two Reward he'd unlocked.
Back in The Boys World he'd already noticed how troublesome it was to switch identities. There, the power level was so low he could get away with Telepathy, but in other Worlds it wouldn't be so easy.
Now, this [Clone Halo] solved that headache perfectly—Fang Yuan only had to split his focus.
With Telepathy, that wasn't hard for him.
Next came the three newly added members.
[Name: Tony Stark]
[Rank: C+]
[Reputation: 124 (Famous)]
[Unlock Reward: Tony Stark Template (C+-Rank, 75% Development)]
Tony has no super-powers, so his personal rank isn't high, but as the protagonist of the Marvel Cinematic Universe his template works much like the [Steve Template].
Once equipped with the [Tony Stark Template], Fang Yuan found his mind razor-sharp—whether learning Kryptonian tech or inventing new tech, everything clicked.
Sure enough, that's the Iron Man boost.
So Tony's template is extremely useful—and best of all, Fang Yuan doesn't have to grind reputation for him.
Of course, the same goes for the other Stark.
[Name: Howard Stark]
[Rank: C+]
[Reputation: 141 (Famous)]
[Unlock Reward: Howard Stark Template (C+-Rank, 88% Development)]
Howard's standing in the scientific community is lofty, so his reputation is higher than Tony's. Fang Yuan suspects that's also because news of Howard's resurrection hasn't spread widely—there's still room to grow.
Fang Yuan plans to fuse Tony's and Howard's templates into a dedicated scientific template; it'll be a big help.
The most recent employee Fang Yuan signed, however, is rather pitiful.
[Name: Bruce Banner]
[Rank: A+]
[Reputation: 40 (Slightly Known)]
[Unlock Reward: Rage Elixir Blueprint (C-Rank)]
[Rage Elixir (C-Rank): Grants a 5-minute empowered state—+30% strength, +30% constitution.]
Thor's reputation has already passed 90, but Banner's remains stubbornly low.
Fang Yuan booked him for shows and events, yet Banner is introverted and loathes turning into the Hulk, so his popularity stays tepid.
The little reputation he has comes from his seven doctorates.
But seven PhDs can't match the buzz Thor drums up by simply twirling his hammer on a football field.
It's Banner's nature; Fang Yuan doesn't force him. With so many Marvel events ahead, the Hulk's fame will rise sooner or later.
Someone else's reputation, though, does need Fang Yuan's attention—
Ancient One!
The Sorcerer Supreme already has vast latent reputation, but Fang Yuan has kept her hidden, so none of it has solidified.
With everything going smoothly, Fang Yuan is ready to launch her debut.
He found Thor shooting a commercial.
"Thor Craft Lager—The Choice of the God of Thunder!"
Thor hoisted a can, delivered the line, then chugged the beer glug-glug-glug.
"Buuurp!"
The director applauded. "OK, perfect!"
He showered Thor with praise; though the god only took a sip, the director was effusive.
Then he told the crew, "Change the set—next up, the Asgard Heavenly Palace Tour!"
Vought Corporation from The Boys is a gold mine; Fang Yuan transplanted its Superhero-marketing machine wholesale into the Marvel World.
Vought quickly branched into daily goods, food, tourism—
Every product is tied to its signed celebrities. Thor-brand beer, for instance, has Thor's half-torso photo dominating the label.
Unlike the original Vought, Fang Yuan offers retailers eye-popping margins—sales contracts are signed long before production lines are ready.
After all, Fang Yuan isn't in it for money.
Selling products is fake; publicity is real.
"Thor, enjoying Earth so far?" Fang Yuan asked, walking over.
Thor's grin was brilliant. "Fantastic! Asgard was never this fun!"
"I bought Jane tons of lab equipment—she was over the moon!"
"And everywhere I go people ask for autographs—even more enthusiastic than Asgardians," Thor rattled on.
"If you could return to Asgard right now, would you?" Fang Yuan asked.
"You know I can't," Thor sighed. "But if I could, I'd visit Mother and Loki—then come right back to be with Jane!"
Between Earth and Asgard, Thor has clearly chosen Earth. Jane's lifespan is mere decades, whereas Asgardians live for millennia.
Fang Yuan nodded, satisfied.
With Thor too enamored to miss the Heavenly Palace, Fang Yuan can move to the next phase.
He flicked his fingers; a Portal snapped shut, finally releasing the four Asgardians who had been falling inside it for over four hundred hours.
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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