Chapter 55: He Was Patient with High-Quality Enforcers; He'd Simply Kidnap Them.
At the mention of that, Du Wa was suddenly wide awake.
He had come specifically for this serum.
However, the super-soldier responsible for making contact with Du Wa had clearly misunderstood his intentions, thinking that Du Wa's scientific instincts were kicking in and that he wanted to research this Super Serum.
"Mr. Du Wa, Colonel Stryker said that as long as you agree and offer up your Xenomorphs, he is willing to reboot the project to research the Super Serum," the soldier said.
"You mean it hasn't been rebooted yet?"
"Correct. The effects of this Super Serum are too potent. Back in the last century, after repeated failed experiments, this serum was sealed away and has remained so to this day."
Du Wa looked down and quickly scanned the document again. With his enhanced brain, he had a photographic memory and could firmly commit these words to his mind.
"In that case, I seriously doubt Stryker's sincerity. He wants me to hand over my Xenomorphs, but will only give me something so ambiguous? Is he provoking me?" Du Wa ripped the document in half and threw it in the super-soldier's face.
The Super Serum, touted as having one hundred thousand times the effect of Captain America's, could, in fact, be far more effective if used on a specific person—exceeding one hundred thousand times, perhaps even a million or ten million times!
The true name of this serum was—the Sentry Serum!
The Sentry here was not the Sentinel robots that had brought about the extinction of mutants in many universes.
Rather, it was the Sentry regarded as one of Marvel's Supermen, who was said to possess the power of a million stars.
Du Wa was also very surprised. He hadn't expected the Sentry to exist in this universe. Across the countless universes of the Multiverse, the Sentry was a rare character, with a limited total number.
The Sentry had two different origins, and his feats were also wildly inconsistent.
There was only one Sentry who was the most powerful of all: the Sentry of Universe 616. He defeated Molecule Man Owen's variant, was resurrected by Apocalypse as the Death Knight, one of the Four Horsemen, after his death, was ultimately insta-killed by Knull, the god of the Symbiotes, had his soul imprisoned by the Celestials, his corpse turned into a zombie, and was finally defeated by a version of Doctor Strange. This Sentry was the pinnacle of all Sentries. With his three personalities united as one, he might have possessed the power of "single-universe omnipotence"—that is, having top-tier strength within a single universe, far surpassing the typical universal-level being.
The second most powerful Sentry was the one from the Green Scar universe, who was slightly outmatched in his final battle against the Green Scar Hulk.
These were the relatively strong ones.
Then there were the relatively weaker Sentries, such as the Zombie Universe Sentry, who confidently confronted the Zombie Banner, was taken down on the spot, and became a zombie; or the one from the 'What If...?' universe who was insta-killed by Black Bolt, among others.
These were still the more famous Sentries. It was hard to say how high their upper limit was, but their lower limit was definitely not low.
And the Sentry in Du Wa's current universe, no matter how disappointing he might be, was enough to attract Du Wa's attention.
He wasn't afraid of this universe's Sentry being a weakling. As long as he sent a Xenomorph to pounce and successfully parasitize him, it would grow stronger in sync. The Xenomorph would absorb the premium genes from the Sentry's body, bearing the energy from the Super Serum as well as the power from some pocket universe.
The Xenomorph itself wasn't strong, but after absorbing the Sentry's genes and becoming a mortal version of Sentry-PLUS, things would be different when it embraced the changes brought by the Super Serum.
If the Sentry could transform from a mortal into a Marvel Superman after drinking the serum, a Xenomorph that parasitized the Sentry during his mortal phase could, at the very least, be put to good use.
Most importantly, during his mortal phase, the Sentry was a complete drug addict with persistent mental issues. Acts like theft were commonplace for him.
Following the normal course of events, this guy would break into a secret laboratory during a drug-fueled episode and drink the Super Serum in a delirious and frenzied state, transforming into the Sentry.
Du Wa felt no psychological burden whatsoever in dealing with such a character.
Du Wa suddenly thought, if he hadn't appeared, would the Sentry of this universe have never emerged?
It was a real possibility.
"William Stryker, I know you're listening. I want to know, when did the development of this Super Serum you mentioned begin?" Du Wa said, looking at the super-soldier before him.
The soldier was silent for a moment, then an insidious voice came from the communication device clipped to his collar: "1947."
A look of realization dawned on Du Wa's face. "The Super Serum developed by Department K and the Rebirth Project in 1947 to replicate Steve's miracle?"
"You actually know? Who told you, Nick Fury? Or Zheng Xian?"
Stryker paused for a moment before saying, "This project was terminated decades ago. Even the claim of it having one hundred thousand times the effect was just a guess, an excuse those scientists gave to avoid being disbanded and abandoned by the government. But they could never prove it, because everyone who tried to utilize the serum's effects died."
It was less a Super Serum and more a super poison. Even today, no one could figure out how this thing was supposed to be used.
"So it was sealed? And never activated until now?"
"Correct. As long as you hand the Xenomorph over to me, I can apply to have this project rebooted and bring out the serum. Don't you need powerful hosts? Don't you need a greater number of warriors to participate in the war in Asgard? Think about it, I'll break down the serum into countless drops and use them to cultivate super-soldiers—soldiers even more powerful than the man standing before you. They will all be your hosts."
"Good, now I believe you've come to talk with a little bit of sincerity."
"Because you said before entering the conference hall that you like people who are logical. Well, nothing is more logical than facts." Stryker let out a low laugh. Even through the signal, one could sense the man's pathological nature.
Du Wa pondered, feeling that this Stryker wasn't in a normal state either. He had probably gone a bit mad after realizing he couldn't actually kill all the mutants to avenge his tragically deceased wife and shattered family.
Magneto alone was an insurmountable chasm that Stryker could not overcome. Forget long-range metal manipulation, if the Old Man simply created an energy field on the spot, he could withstand a nuclear bomb blast.
This was a level of power that Stryker could not touch.
Stryker, fervent in his heart, had set his sights on Du Wa, whom he also saw as somewhat "paranoid," and on the Xenomorphs under Du Wa's command.
The fact that Du Wa dared to get involved in a war between deities was a testament to the potential of these creatures.
Stryker also wanted a formidable army with extremely high potential, terrifying numbers, and which was virtually impossible to exterminate.
"In the ratings of various countries and organizations, you are an undisputed T0 figure. You know this, right? It's because no one knows just how many Xenomorphs you've deployed across the world, nor how many of them will become a Queen, filling the sky, land, and sea..."
Stryker sneered, "The footage of S.H.I.E.L.D. sending its own cultivated Xenomorphs to attack you has long since spread across the world. This has successfully made certain parties attempting gene-cloning temporarily halt their actions."
This was the reason why everyone had to hold their noses and listen to what Du Wa had to say. It was also why Du Wa had received an invitation and was able to come to the summit to give a report.
Du Wa's hard power couldn't compare to the likes of Magneto, but the potential risk he would cause if he died or just gave up was far, far more nauseating than Magneto. It was purely a Xenomorph-hostage strategy to deter the entire world, the kind that wasn't even trying to be subtle.
This was the real reason Du Wa dared to participate in the war among the gods without facing intense suppression. No one could figure out Du Wa's thoughts, nor did they know what he had truly done in secret.
Du Wa ignored Stryker's words, thinking about something else.
The Super Serum was sealed away? Just as he thought. In every universe where a Sentry had been born, even among Sentries with different origins and vastly different levels of strength, they had all completed their transformation by breaking into a laboratory and drinking the serum.
And without exception, all of those Super Serums had been under constant research since their creation; there was never any talk of termination or being sealed away.
In other words, if Du Wa didn't exist in this universe, Stryker wouldn't have been eyeing the Xenomorphs, nor would he have rummaged through a chaotic inventory filled with who-knows-how-many strange, sealed items and remembered the Super Serum—a thing they had judged to be a super poison, completely unrelated to Captain America's Serum.
Du Wa had the distinct feeling of having hit the jackpot, like he was strolling down the street and happened to stumble upon the freshly-dead body of a Galactus.
Of course, besides the 616 Main Universe Sentry and the Green Scar universe Sentry, all other Sentries combined wouldn't be enough for a Galactus from any random universe to beat down. Du Wa also had no excessively high expectations for this universe's Sentry, who should have been a non-starter.
But this unexpected discovery piqued Du Wa's interest.
"Handing over the Xenomorphs is impossible. If you were standing in front of me, the moment you made that request, I would gently pluck your head off, then throw it down from the 13th floor of the Summit Building and watch it burst open like a watermelon," Du Wa said.
Stryker's laughter was icy. He wasn't afraid of Du Wa making demands, only that Du Wa wouldn't even negotiate. "It seems we've reached a consensus. To you, this serum, which is like a potent venom, is instead the best weapon..."
"Let's wait until I get my hands on it. It's a serum in name, but this thing has been abandoned for so many years. If it truly had the enhancing effects of a serum, would it have been left idle? Stryker, I suspect that even you aren't sure if this thing is actually a serum."
Du Wa reached out and removed the communication device from the soldier's collar. He then looked up and surveyed his surroundings, taking in the carefully arranged space, which was installed with an unknown number of mind-shielding instruments and other high-tech equipment.
"Well then, it seems we have reached a consensus. After the meeting, we can begin our transaction. I will have someone deliver the detailed information on the Super Serum to you. At that time, you will give me one Xenomorph, preferably a matriarch with reproductive capabilities."
"I must get the Super Serum first and conduct an experiment. Otherwise, how can I be sure if what you're giving me is real or fake?"
"That puts me at a disadvantage. If you take it by force, I have no way to back out. I must get a complete Xenomorph first."
The two talked for a while longer before Stryker cut off the communication. From beginning to end, he behaved with extreme caution, not even planning to show up in person for their future cooperation, remaining constantly hidden.
Du Wa calmly looked at the super-soldier before him, watching as the man silently took out a detonator and detonated the micro-bomb in his brain, blasting his brains into tofu pudding.
This did not surprise Du Wa. Stryker wouldn't let a subordinate who knew so much live.
"Stryker has no idea where my interest lies... He's making preparations, and I need to start moving too. First, I'll search for the Sentry, that is, find the whereabouts of Robert Reynolds."
But finding such a drug addict without an entry point was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Du Wa mulled it over, formulated a plan, and secretly issued a command to all the Xenomorphs in New York City. He then walked out of the secret room and returned to the conference hall with a calm expression.
As soon as he left, soldiers entered the room to clean up. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
In the conference hall, Jean Grey had just finished her speech. Just as everyone thought the presentation for the mutants was over and breathed a sigh of relief, Jean Grey, with a complicated expression, dropped a bombshell.
"After negotiations, the X-Men and the Brotherhood have officially reconciled. We will unite to find a new path for mutant survival. When necessary, we will establish a nation belonging to mutants."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall instantly erupted into chaos!
Countless arguments made the conference hall incredibly noisy. To Jean Grey's ears, it was like listening to millions of bees buzzing.
But when Professor X and Magneto, standing below the stage, stared expressionlessly at everyone, the noise gradually subsided.
"Dr. Grey, where do you plan to build your nation? Do you intend to invade other countries and kill countless humans to carve out your own land?"
"Mutants are also citizens of this planet. They can't just do whatever you say!"
"Professor Charles, have you really made this decision? What drove you to commit such a crazy act, to compromise with the world's number one terror... the leader of the Brotherhood?"
This was destined to be a difficult period of wrangling. This speech alone could trigger a global earthquake.
Jean Grey just shook her head, showing no intention of answering, and walked off the stage with heavy steps.
To be honest, she hadn't expected things to develop so quickly, that Professor X and Magneto, these arch-rivals, would stand together.
As long as these two reached a consensus, the other mutants would naturally follow. Even if they held reservations in their hearts, they would follow along, because they believed they did not possess strength or wisdom superior to the two poles of their kind.
"How exciting. It really gets the blood pumping."
Du Wa roughly pushed everyone aside. With Mjolnir in his hand, wherever he went, people were furious but didn't dare to speak out.
Magneto looked at him coldly. "You didn't listen at all. You went off with a guy who harbored ill intentions."
"I heard the beginning and the end, so I generally know what happened. It seems the influence of Destiny is fermenting at an astonishing speed, and I've played an indirect role in pushing this along."
Du Wa wasn't at all surprised by this result. Since he knew of Destiny's existence, and combining that with the memories of his past life, he had long been mentally prepared for the two poles to unite. It was an inevitable outcome.
Professor X's expressionless face managed to show a trace of warmth. "It seems your talk with that person went well."
"It went well. William Stryker, that guy wants to make a deal with me, but I have a better idea. You all help me find a person, and I'll help you kill Stryker. That's very fair."
At the mention of that name, every mutant frowned.
"Who are you looking for? That person must be very important to you," Professor X asked, a look of inquiry in his eyes.
"Robert Reynolds. A New Yorker, probably a drug addict, good at stealing, seems a bit cowardly, and might have some mental issues. Help me find him."
"He's already found. Located at Central Avenue, in the third alley from the north end."
Du Wa looked up and saw the man representing the vampires ascending the stage. He immediately flew straight to the stage, cutting in line to forcibly begin his own academic report.
But his mind was clearly elsewhere. Several Xenomorphs had already been secretly dispatched, moving swiftly through the sinful metropolis.
Robert Reynolds, having just woken up, stared in horror at the Xenomorphs that appeared before him. "Where did you monsters come from?! What do you want to do to me??"
(end of chapter)
translator: One of my books got banned, so I think it's time to move on and open a new account, as my other will get banned very quickly, like in the range of 3-6 days. How do I know this will happen? Because this is my 6th account. When any novel gets banned, the other will follow it fast. Hopefully my website will be made before it, or you guys will wait. Good news: I will upload on my website all my translated work of mine on this account or the old 5 and will upload there 10 chapters per day. If I get banned before opening my website, you can find me at mrsoolhoaf2 or 3. i will repost this novel and others under different names also.