For the next stretch of time, Rowan spent most of his days in the Swallowed Star world, immersing himself in cultivation.
About half a month passed.
His movement technique finally reached Perfection at the Basic Level, just one step away from breaking through to Subtlety Level.
Once he reached Subtlety, even in the Elite Training Camp his footwork would rank solidly among the middle tier.
His blade techniques were also progressing rapidly. According to Friday's evaluation, he had reached Advanced at the Basic Level. With another week or so of practice, he should be able to reach Perfection.
As for the second stage of the Ninefold Thunder Blade, Rowan had begun to grasp the fundamentals. With steady training, in about half a month he expected to unleash the second form's hidden force in full.
His mastery of Thunderclap Draw Slash had also grown fluent. By the stages of Initiation – Minor Success – Great Success – Perfection, he was at the stage of Minor Success.
Recently, Rowan had been working to fuse the explosive power of the Ninefold Thunder Blade into his Thunderclap Draw Slash.
He had just barely managed an initial integration.
It wouldn't be long before he could fully command the technique.
Once that happened, he would truly possess the ability to fight beyond his current level.
"Rowan, in three days it will be October 1st. Don't forget to meet with your swordsmanship instructor then."
As he finished a day of training and stepped out of the shower, Rowan received a message from Howard Zhou.
Clearly, Howard had been keeping track of the date for him.
"Got it." Rowan quickly replied.
He dried his hair and shifted back into the Marvel world.
Back in his office, Rowan switched his status to online.
It was a new system he had set up:
Gray meant offline.
Green meant online.
This way, no one would come looking for him when he was away in the Swallowed Star world.
The moment his status turned green, two messages popped up simultaneously one from Shuri, the other from Dr. Helen Zhao.
"Did you synthesize the Heart-Shaped Herb?"
Rowan's eyes lit up as he read Shuri's message.
He had expected the research to take much longer since she wasn't working under the same life-and-death pressure as in Wakanda.
Yet in only half a month, she had succeeded.
It seemed he had underestimated her brilliance.
He glanced at Helen Zhao's message. She had finished forging several suits of Nano-Vibranium Armor that he had requested earlier.
Rowan left his office and walked toward Shuri's lab.
"You're all here?"
Stepping inside, he found Helen Zhao and Maya Hansen already with Shuri.
"Boss, the fusion experiment between the Extremis Virus and the Heart-Shaped Herb is complete!" Helen said excitedly.
"Completed?" Rowan raised an eyebrow, his gaze drifting toward the holographic projection behind them.
On the display was a spiral DNA structure, intertwined with glowing strands of red and blue.
Rowan didn't fully grasp the complex sequences, but the successful compatibility mark was all he needed to see.
"Boss, after strengthening the human DNA with the Heart-Shaped Herb serum, the structure becomes more stable, even cleansing out defective genetic material. With that, the Extremis Virus can safely rewrite human genes without risking the catastrophic collapses that used to cause subjects to explode!"
Maya Hansen explained eagerly.
She had spent years agonizing over the flaws of the Extremis Virus, never imagining that the answer would come from combining it with the Heart-Shaped Herb.
Now, instead of a flaw, the serum amplified human physiology and stabilized genetic editing.
In other words, her Extremis research had reached perfection.
But Maya's vision didn't stop there. The Heart-Shaped Herb had broadened her horizons.
If the part of the brain controlling self-healing could be enhanced through gene editing, what about other aspects?
Memory. Reflexes. Perhaps even psychic potential, like Rowan's telekinesis.
Rowan was unaware that Maya's ambitions were already stretching far beyond this project.
"Excellent. Shuri, can your Heart-Shaped Herb be mass-produced?" Rowan asked, turning to her.
"No problem, boss." Shuri grinned, showing her teeth.
"Good. Then inform Sharon to start recruiting volunteers for human trials. I want data from live experiments, not just simulations."
Rowan's tone was calm, decisive.
"Wait, boss!" Shuri suddenly raised her hand.
"What is it?" Rowan asked.
"Can I be the first?" Her voice carried both caution and eagerness.
"You want to be the test subject?" Rowan arched a brow.
"Yes…" Shuri hesitated, her voice softening.
By tradition, only Wakanda's Black Panther was allowed to ingest the Heart-Shaped Herb.
But Rowan had already chosen to break that rule. If experiments were inevitable, why couldn't she, as a descendant of royal blood, claim the power?
Surely her father would forgive her.
A thrill of excitement stirred in her chest.
After all, before this, she had never dreamed of wielding the Black Panther's strength.
"…Alright." Rowan thought for a moment, then nodded.
Strictly speaking, he shouldn't let her take the risk. If something went wrong, all of Wakanda's technological secrets inside her mind would be lost.
But test runs had already shown that warriors with enhanced physiques could safely withstand the Extremis Virus. The simulations had also succeeded. The risk of failure was low.
Besides, with Maya Hansen standing by, even if complications arose, her stabilizing serums could minimize the danger.
So Rowan agreed to Shuri's request.
"Yeah! Thanks, boss!"
Shuri cheered excitedly.
At Rowan's signal, Helen Zhao and Maya Hansen quickly arranged an experimental bed for her.
Helen carried the emerald-green liquid brewed from the crushed heart-shaped herb and poured it carefully into Shuri's mouth.
Almost instantly, Shuri's closed eyes began to twitch violently.
After seven or eight seconds, her body calmed again, though her expression flickered with emotion, and she mumbled in her sleep.
Rowan knew this was the herb's hallucinogenic effect.
During the process of transformation, one would often encounter visions of people closely tied to them.
To him, it was most likely a dream-like hallucination.
After all, in the movie, Shuri had seen her cousin not her father or brother.
"I wonder who she's seeing in her dream now," Rowan thought with a faint smile.
About twenty minutes later, Shuri's breathing grew rapid. Suddenly, she jolted awake and sat upright.
Her strength was so great that she tore the tubes and monitoring wires connected to her body apart.
"Boss? Sister Helen, Sister Maya?"
Her dazed expression softened when she saw the familiar faces around her, and she slowly regained her composure.
"Shuri, it looks like you succeeded," Rowan said. He didn't bother asking who she had seen in her vision he wasn't interested.
"Succeeded?"
Shuri widened her eyes, staring down at her hands.
She could definitely feel it something was different.
Her body felt lighter, stronger!
"Boss, Shuri's cell activity has multiplied several times. Her muscle and bone density are also several times stronger than before!" Helen reported, glancing at the readings on the monitor.
Rowan nodded.
"Shuri, let's run some tests."
Under Rowan's instructions, Shuri went through a round of basic physical testing.
Punching power: 1,421 kg.
Speed: 33 m/s.
Vertical jump: 512 cm.
From the results, it was clear Shuri had reached the level of a junior warrior, with exceptional speed and agility.
"If everyone in Wakanda took the heart-shaped herb, I might not be able to defeat them," Rowan thought to himself.
The truth was, Wakanda had the ability to cultivate the herb on a large scale.
But the royal family monopolized it to preserve their own power.
The same was true for vibranium suits. Outside of the king, no one was allowed to wear one.
Yet with their vast resources, Wakanda could have easily equipped every citizen with vibranium armor.
But they never chose to.
Which worked out quite nicely for Rowan.
"Heh, if my brother knew I got the Black Panther's power before him, he'd be furious!"
Finishing her test, Shuri grinned and punched the air in excitement, muttering to herself.
Rowan ignored her gloating and said, "Shuri, let's move to the next step."
"Alright!"
Shuri nodded immediately, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
She couldn't wait to see what powers the Extremis virus would grant her.
A mischievous smile tugged at her lips.
She was imagining her brother's face when he discovered that even with the Black Panther's power he still couldn't defeat her.
Soon after, Maya Hansen picked up a syringe filled with the crimson Extremis serum and injected it into Shuri's arm.
Her body began to glow with a red light.
Rowan wasn't surprised. He had already seen the Extremis virus at work many times.
To be honest, he deeply admired its extraordinary regenerative abilities.
But he wasn't willing to take the risk of injecting it himself.
Who knew if the Extremis would interfere with future growth?
If it blocked him from breaking through to the planetary level, that would be a disaster with no remedy.
About ten minutes later, Shuri's transformation was complete.
She stepped down from the table, her skin glowing with a molten, ember-like radiance, radiating waves of heat.
Shuri laughed in delight as she played with her reddened arm.
She found the fiery power of the Extremis even more fun than the strength of the Black Panther.
"Boss, Shuri shows no signs of rejection after the Extremis injection," Maya reported, keeping her eyes fixed on the monitor.
"I see that," Rowan nodded.
Shuri's expression showed not the slightest discomfort.
"Looks like it's time to start a Super Soldier Corps project," Rowan thought to himself.
"Shuri, I have a task for you. Work together with Helen to develop a subdermal nano self-destruct collar," Rowan said to them.
"A nano self-destruct collar?"
Shuri looked at him curiously, not understanding what he wanted it for.
Then her head shrank back slightly.
Wait this collar isn't meant for me, is it?
Rowan caught her uneasy look and smirked.
Truthfully, at first he really had considered putting a slave collar on Shuri, or perhaps using some kind of slow poison.
But since she had recently been performing well, even showing signs of acting like a loyal henchwoman, he dismissed the idea.
"Just focus on making it. I'll find a use for it. Be quick about it preferably have it done within a week," Rowan ordered.
"Understood," Helen nodded immediately.
"Oh right, boss the combat suit you asked me to design is ready," Helen suddenly remembered. She pulled out a briefcase, which contained an armored forearm guard, a necklace, and a bracelet.
"Hm? You changed the form factor?" Rowan asked, slightly surprised at the necklace and bracelet.
"Yes, boss. Shuri suggested some improvements, so I modified the compact mode of the suit," Helen explained with a smile.
Rowan nodded. The necklace and bracelet were indeed more practical and discreet.
"Good. I'll take them."
He accepted the case, said a few words, and left.
…
Back in his office, Rowan summoned Sharon.
"Sharon, I want you to set up a PMC under our company."
"PMC?" Sharon was taken aback.
A PMC Private Military Company was a formalized mercenary organization. They could provide military support like mercenaries, but also offer security services.
Sharon was puzzled. Normally, forming an in-house security firm would be enough.
Sensing her confusion, Rowan explained, "Shuri recently developed synthetic Heart-Shaped Herbs. Anyone who takes one gains the physique of a super soldier. And once they have that enhanced body, the Extremis Virus can be introduced with nearly a one-hundred percent success rate."
Rowan paused.
Sharon was sharp enough to instantly grasp the meaning.
This meant they now had the ability to mass-produce super soldiers!
And not just ordinary ones these were enhanced warriors with extreme regenerative abilities, practically unkillable.
"Boss… does that mean we…" Sharon stammered slightly. The revelation was just too staggering.
In a sense, given enough time, Crowe Industries could dominate the entire world.
After all, both the Heart-Shaped Herb and Extremis could be manufactured in unlimited quantities.
"Sharon, what do you think the future of our company looks like?" Rowan suddenly asked.
"The future?" Sharon thought for a while. "Perhaps something like Stark Industries…"
But she stopped mid-sentence.
She had wanted to say Crowe Industries would become a massive conglomerate on par with Stark Industries, but thinking further, that seemed far too small a vision.
After all, they were already close to Stark's scale.
Once Volvo's electric cars launched, they would dominate the entire automotive industry.
And the boss had vast reserves of Vibranium, along with Heart-Shaped Herb and Extremis technology.
Compared to that, Stark Industries was nothing.
Far, far beneath Crowe Industries…
Sharon felt a chill down her spine. She had never truly thought about it until now.
Looking at it carefully, the implications were terrifying.
The future of Crowe Industries was monstrous "wealth to rival nations" was no exaggeration.
"Boss… it should become an unprecedented transnational super-conglomerate," Sharon said, her voice a little uncertain.
Rowan nodded.
If he really wanted to, he could churn out armies of super soldiers and unify the globe.
But that would be messy, and likely unite the whole world against him.
It wasn't of much benefit to him anyway.
At this stage, unifying the world would bring more harm than good.
However, once his strength reached the level of a stellar being, cosmic being, or even domain master, then perhaps he could unify Earth just for the fun of being the "Lord of Earth" in the Marvel universe.
"Since we're talking about a super multinational corporation," Rowan said, looking at Sharon, "shouldn't we also have our own multinational security force? You should know that once wealth reaches a certain level, it attracts a lot of vultures."
Sharon nodded.
She immediately understood what Rowan meant.
Tony Stark had drawn countless powerful factions to his doorstep just for owning a single Iron Man suit. Naturally, Crowe Industries would one day face the same kind of pressure.
But with a team of super-soldiers as their private security force, things would be far easier to handle.
"Boss, I know what to do."
Rowan smiled faintly. He liked Sharon's perceptiveness and her ability to get things done.
Compared to her, Pepper fell short both in capability and emotional intelligence.
"Sharon, when you're recruiting, make sure you screen carefully. Don't choose ambitious schemers. They can be mediocre in ability, but they must be obedient. Also, I've instructed Shuri and Helen to create a type of nano-collar with a self-destruct function. Once it's ready, every single member of the PMC must have one implanted. We must ensure that every blade we forge only strikes outward never back at us. Understand?"
"I understand, Boss!"
Sharon nodded repeatedly, fully aware of how important this was.
Rowan, seeing this, gave a satisfied nod.
"Oh, and Boss, um… could I also use the Heart-Shaped Herb?"
She asked the question carefully, almost nervously.
Rowan couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"Of course. Go to Shuri and Maya when you're ready. You're the CEO, after all you're entitled to this little privilege."
"Hehe, thank you, Boss!"
Sharon's face lit up with pure joy.
She had been trained as an agent since childhood and was already skilled in combat. Naturally, she dreamed of becoming a dazzling female superhero. She never expected that one day this fantasy would truly become reality.
"Oh, right, Sharon take this."
Rowan pulled a vibranium necklace from the case and placed it on the table.
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