Chapter 81 – Facing Yourself
Zhou Ning couldn't help but freeze for a moment—he had gotten his hands on the super serum this quickly? He vaguely remembered that even the Legendary Vampire, strong as he was, had laid out plans for a long time before obtaining it.
He hadn't expected that the Mad Clown template, whose abilities seemed rather ordinary on paper, would prove so effective in practice.
To be honest, he was actually quite looking forward to seeing a showdown between the Mad Clown and the Legendary Vampire.
Continue simulation.
[July 2006. You acquired a total of three vials of super serum. You watched as Electro, Max Dillon, received an injection of the enhanced serum—his strength and agility increased by roughly 60%. Quite interesting. But what truly shocked everyone was that you gave away all the serum to your subordinates and didn't keep a single vial for yourself. When asked why, you simply shrugged, smiled, and said you didn't need to become more dangerous—because you were danger itself.]
[August 2006. Perhaps because you'd blown up several elite agents recently, S.H.I.E.L.D. was pestering you like an ex-wife with two kids and a beer belly trying to win you back—boring and annoying. But you stayed calm. It was Electro who handled the kidnapping, and Sandman, William Baker, who planted the bombs. What did any of that have to do with you?]
[You also stumbled upon something interesting. In the slums, you spotted Bruce Banner. He seemed to have just gone through a traumatic ordeal—turning into the Hulk had cost him his job, his love, and made him a wanted man. People like him were the easiest to manipulate. After all, madness is like gravity—sometimes all it takes is a little push.]
[September 2006. Everything unfolded exactly as you planned. You used hypnotic suggestion on Bruce Banner, then deliberately leaked his location to the military. What followed was quite the spectacle—you didn't even need to lift a finger to control the situation. The enraged Hulk slaughtered all the pursuers, including General Ross, the father of his girlfriend. There was no going back. When Bruce finally came to, he was overwhelmed with guilt—he even believed that your hypnosis was just a manifestation of his own subconscious.]
[A few days later, you found Bruce Banner and had a heart-to-heart talk with him. Before long, he started laughing with you. With mere words, you had twisted his mind, dragging him down into villainy. As the saying goes—heroes either die as heroes or live long enough to see themselves become villains.]
[October 2006. Bruce Banner was, after all, one of the smartest people on Earth. With his help, you rebuilt and improved the Joker toxin—a gas that induces fear, madness, and self-destruction. Not long after he joined the Joker Gang, Dr. Curt Connors also came into your fold. A former army medic and a biology PhD, Connors had lost his right arm in the war and had been researching limb regeneration ever since. You weren't interested in his goal—but his Lizard Formula? Now that sounded fun. Supposedly it could turn ordinary people into lizards? Intriguing. Even more fascinating, during this time you discovered a Skrull named Henrietta and successfully took control of her. She claimed to be an anomaly among Skrulls—capable of transforming into any creature, including humans. That surprised you in a good way.]
[By late October, your enhanced subordinates were incredibly active—especially Electro, who had become a real force. Under your orders, they took down the Irish Gang, the Hines Gang, and the Demon Gang in Hell's Kitchen. The Joker Gang had quietly become the new rulers of the area—and even Kingpin tacitly acknowledged it.]
[December 2006. Tony Stark, whom you'd been watching closely, went missing during a business negotiation. In his absence, Obadiah Stane took over as CEO of Stark Industries. Acting on your orders, Henrietta took on the appearance of Tony Stark and signed off on a stock transfer agreement. Just like that, you became the true power behind Stark Industries. At the end of December, when Tony Stark returned and tried to confront Obadiah, he found that his company was gone and he was flat broke. That night, you watched as the guards threw him out and burst into maniacal laughter. Ruining a billionaire and turning him into a penniless nobody—wasn't that just delightful? (Family Background +12)]
[January 2007. After taking full control of Stark Industries, you discovered several encrypted folders in its data vault. With Bruce Banner's help, you cracked them and found the complete formula for the superpower serum. You also found several more advanced prototypes in Tony Stark's lab. You had to give Tony credit—he had succeeded in making danger even more dangerous. You obtained an epic-grade item: Tony Stark's Super Soldier Serum.]
[January to June 2007. Using Stark Industries' wealth, you rapidly expanded your influence. More villains were drawn in by your money and malevolent charisma, joining the Joker Gang—including "Mr. Negative" Martin Li and "Shocker" Herman Schultz. On the flip side, after losing everything, Tony Stark chose to join S.H.I.E.L.D. By this point, both sides had openly declared war, and sporadic conflicts frequently broke out.]
[Isn't that even better? As a refined criminal, you found joy in stirring up a bit of chaos—disrupting the status quo was your favorite pastime. But one thing did tick you off. Starting in March, a gorilla in a suit of Iron Man armor began appearing on the streets of New York. Your trusted subordinate, the Vulture, was killed by it. Don't think you hadn't watched Marvel before crossing over—was this not mecha descent from the heavens?]
[July 5, 2007. Dr. Connors informed you that his Lizard Formula was finally complete. You decided to initiate a rather fun plan.]
[July 13, 2007. You sent Electro to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Triskelion headquarters and release gas made from a concentrated version of the Lizard Formula. The result exceeded your expectations—numerous S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, including top-level ones like Hawkeye, were transformed into lizard people.]
[As you predicted, S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly focused their attention on you. Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter led a massive force of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in a raid on Stark Industries. But thanks to the Joker toxin you had prepared in advance, they soon descended into terror, madness, and self-slaughter. You had the upper hand—or so you thought. What happened next caught you completely off guard. Among the crowd, you saw yourself—a version of you from this world, strangely immune to the Joker toxin. The two of you locked eyes, frozen for a brief moment, then attacked each other without hesitation. You pulled out your gun and fired at him, but to your shock, even after taking three bullets, he kept charging as if nothing had happened. One punch later, there was a sickening crack—and your right arm was broken.]
[It was only then that you finally understood the cryptic message you received when you first crossed over: Beware of the other you who also crossed over.]