Chapter 004: All Fear Stems from a Lack of Firepower.
Dakka!
"For someone who only awakened now, you understand the big picture very well." Ororo spoke, testing him again.
"The problem with telepaths, my dear, is that they think they know everything just because they can read a mind. Who said there can't be someone who can hide their mutation? Who said there aren't even stranger powers out there?"
"As my old friend Socrates once said: I only know that I know nothing. By recognizing your stupidity with humility, you evolve from a primitive and become human. A privilege few have, unfortunately." He shook his head in pity for society in general.
"You speak as if a philosopher from Ancient Greece were your friend." She snorted.
"Everyone who gives me valuable knowledge is my friend." Adrian smiled.
"Even Magneto?"
"Ah, especially Magneto. I bet he has many stories from the days when he was treated like cattle by the Nazis… I wonder how he'll react when he finds out that group is still alive."
The clinical, scientific, and uninterested tone with which he said everything made everyone around him shiver.
This man is dangerous! He's really provoking Magneto like that!
That feeling was even stronger for Raven, who knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Consider that free knowledge proof of my capabilities." Adrian smiled at Raven. "I bet there are many 'sleeping snakes' among your own people. Look for the ones who are especially quiet."
"We're leaving!" She practically rushed out of the room, dragging the hot-headed man with her.
Ororo, Jean, and Scott only looked at Adrian with caution now. They weren't stupid. They didn't know exactly what Adrian had hinted at to make Raven react like that, but it certainly wasn't something insignificant.
"Now, I can't let you leave empty-handed either. I'd be a terrible host if I didn't satisfy all the sordid desires of my guests."
Adrian took another notebook from his bag and handed it to Jean.
Opening the notebook, Jean's eyes widened at what was written there.
"This… Is this true?"
"You should ask that to your dear, beloved, and diligent professor. I'm sure that in his infinite wisdom, he would never commit such a mistake, right?" He laughed as if he had told a joke to himself.
"A very intentional mistake." He snorted. "Of course, I recommend you investigate first. A telepath of your caliber is very competent, right?"
"I'm leaving!"
"W-Wait, Jean!" With a mix of emotions, Scott ran after Jean like a lost puppy.
"My number is in the service notebook I gave you. Enjoy the problems that are coming! I'll accept orders anytime you want! Don't be stingy!"
"You're enjoying this way too much, aren't you?" Ororo narrowed her eyes.
"Yes." He didn't deny it.
Ororo stared at him for a few more seconds, then snorted and stood up like a queen before walking out with heavy steps.
Adrian kept the smile on his face, but when he looked at the coffee cups the members had drunk from, touched, when he looked at the white and red strands of hair from Ororo and Jean on the floor with his enhanced vision…
He couldn't hold it in.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
He had just dropped a nuke on the X-Men, a nuke called the Phoenix Force. And then he dropped another nuke on the Brotherhood of Mutants, a nuke called Hydra.
'Let them fight each other! Let them burn among themselves! In that chaos, I'll have my money, resources, and their genes!'
HAHAHAHA!
…
Despite his speech worthy of a caricature Disney villain in the previous chapter, the reality is that he didn't drop a nuclear bomb—he just lit the fuse of a bomb that already existed.
Now, when that bomb will explode so he can claim his reward, he still doesn't know!
Which means it's a race against time!
'First, let's solve the money problem! Even if I can't grab an absurd amount for my plans, I don't want to live in a decrepit apartment! Another thing… I need a better house! Especially one far away from New York!'
He looked at the clock and saw that it was dawn.
'… I need to sleep… This is so inefficient! One of the things I'll fix with my new body.'
He likes sleeping, but "needing" and "liking" are two different things. He prefers to have a body that doesn't need sleep to function. That way, even if he wants to sleep for the pleasure of his mind, he can sleep.
…
7 a.m.
At a public library.
Adrian was using one of the computers to study. Learning from the previous lesson, he didn't overload the system and was systematically studying chemistry and its derivatives.
It was slow work in his opinion, but it was the best he could do now without causing chaos. After leaving the hotel yesterday, he had to spend his saved money to pay for that damn old computer. Therefore, his bank statement now only had a miserable 300 dollars!
Just enough for him to eat. As for his previous job? Meh, who needs a job when you're an imperial genius!
"Umu." He nodded in satisfaction after finishing all college-level chemistry content. Now he was moving to specialized fields, and that was when he decided to stop. He was only reviewing knowledge from his past life to see if it was the same.
And what he discovered was that it was indeed the same. In fact, the content from his past life might be a little more advanced than the current Marvel era.
'That makes sense. In my past life, the year was 2169. Although some knowledge was lost because of the Third World War, learning in general was more advanced… But Marvel has an advantage: super geniuses.'
He read articles about Pym Particles, and all he was left with were question marks in his head for a full five minutes! Considering his intellect, that was a lot!
'Ignore Pym Particles and gamma for now. Especially the latter—I don't even want to appear in the big guy's field of vision down there.'
"I should finish programming by the end of the afternoon…" In his past life, he had never been interested in programming. So he had to start from the beginning, which was boring because the learning was very slow!
All because of this stupid machine!
'I urgently need a better computer. I think I'll learn to build one later.'
'Priorities, priorities, baby steps… First, learn monster-level programming by the end of the afternoon!'
…
Hours passed, and Adrian kept studying. He didn't care about anything. He only stopped when he needed to eat or take care of physical necessities. Other than that, he was like a machine absorbing all the content.
His learning level could only be described as monstrous. He would look at content, visualize it, register it with his perfect memory, and then learn it. The entire process happened in less than a millisecond.
If you looked behind Adrian's chair, you would only see several Google pages open, and him scrolling down rapidly.
His brain automatically filtered useless things like advertisements, taking only the essential parts and storing them.
Since he was outside, Adrian didn't use his eyes, because when his eyes are activated, magic circles sprout outward. If he did that here, the whole place would light up like a low-tier nightclub.
Not to mention he wants to keep a low profile for now… At least as low as possible. He knows he won't be able to stay that way thanks to the two meddling groups from yesterday. Even if the hypothetical scenario was just a prediction, it still irritated him to deal with both groups.
Let him get stronger first! Bunch of busybodies!
'Good thing my gaslighting worked yesterday.' Adrian thought, satisfied, then laughed a little. 'Not lie? Pfft, humanity's best quality is the ability to lie. Not using that would make me a fool.' Even though he knows he must maintain the "arrogant" persona. After all, that very personality will make enemy groups think they know him.
Adrian is not Lucifer, a being so powerful that he can afford the luxury of not lying. He is someone who knows very well what kind of game he's playing. He's just an ant living in the same city as a bipolar idiot who houses within himself the power of one million exploding suns!
Lie, deceive, give false information—it doesn't matter! He will do everything to become stronger. He can act like an untouchable idiot after he has enough power!
'I need to get out of this damn universe! The pressure of knowledge is horrible. Thanos was right! This curse is extremely annoying!'
Study, study, study!
…
Worthy of a record that could be placed in the Guinness Book, Adrian went from a clueless amateur to a top-tier hacker in less than six hours!
He doesn't know if he's the best hacker in the world, after all, he doesn't possess all the knowledge of the current world. Not to mention, as his philosopher friends said: Don't be arrogant like a young master; be humble like a sect elder. – Sun Tzu.
Did Sun Tzu say that? Probably not! But he's his friend, therefore he did! Let's steal money!
Adrian raised his hand like the conductor of an orchestra about to begin, and when he lowered it, he started typing at a ridiculous speed.
…
Adrian left the library with a silly smile on his face. In his banking app, 200 thousand dollars from various accounts of contributors eager for his progress.
Don't worry! He made sure to steal only from criminals. After all, whoever steals from criminals has moral superiority if discovered! He is the new Robin Hood! Rejoice, mortal!
'Is it just me, or am I getting more unbalanced…?' Adrian thought seriously about it, but after two seconds of checking his inner monologue and thoughts, he saw there was nothing wrong. He was completely fine and sane!
"Umu, I'm amazing, believe it."
Taking his phone, he typed: Helen Cho.
'Heh, Helen-noona, my hot Korean hasn't progressed on her project yet.' That means Ultron hasn't been initiated yet.
'But with the Sentry present among the Avengers, will Ultron even have room? Meh, what a confusing universe! Who cares? What matters is that noona hasn't finished her project yet, which gives me time to progress.'
'Before creating my companion's body, I need to strengthen my own!' Adrian looked at the Oscorp building. For a moment, he started salivating.
Spider-Man serum, Lizard serum, defective super-soldier serum, and a bunch of data that can't be accessed through the internet!
Damn! It was like standing next to a very delicious piece of Wagyu and not being able to eat it.
'Ugh, I can't hold back. I'll become the best thief in the world and steal from Oscorp… Wait a second.'
He typed: Life Foundation.
And just as expected, the company appeared.
'Venom, my love, I will save you!!!'
…
If a journalist with worse luck than a Fate lancer managed to invade a multi-billion-dollar company and accidentally steal its most important assets, then I, THE UNRIVALED ADRIAN D. WALKER, CAN DO THE SAME!
Motivation! Vergil, give me strength!
Wearing completely black clothes with a black hat and hood, Adrian looked at the building—the same building Eddie invaded alone.
'Now, realistically, how am I going to do this?' Adrian only wanted Venom. After all, among all the Klyntar, he was the most unique, and he wasn't connected to their god.
Therefore, Venom is the priority, and the rest is just food for him. Riot should be with the company's CEO.
These are the moments when Adrian gets confused, because in the comics Venom appeared when Spider-Man went to space. But in this chaotic universe that's a mix of everything, Venom is still the virgin Venom who wasn't abandoned by Spider-Man like a mistreated ex-girlfriend.
… That got weird fast.
.......
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