Chapter 98: Angus, the Mad Scientist Who Dares Challenge Gods
The universe is filled with diverse forms of energy.
Light, electricity, wind, gravity—all are manifestations of energy. There's also the photon energy Captain Marvel absorbed from the Space Stone, Thor's lightning, and the eldritch magic wielded by sorcerers.
They all function similarly: channeling energy to amplify one's power.
Beyond the techniques used, these energies are also categorized into different hierarchies.
The cosmic energy Ryan utilizes comes from the primordial forces present at the universe's creation. Even the Celestials can only harness this energy through complex energy manipulation to strengthen themselves.
Unless G'iah could access a higher-tier energy source to counter Ryan, she would never be able to breach his cosmic energy shields.
WHOOSH!
With a predatory grin, Gravik landed beside Ryan.
He looked at G'iah mockingly and said, "Let me finish her, and then we'll take on the Avengers together. Earth will be ours to rule."
SHLUNK!
Cosmic energy manifested as a blade, piercing straight through Gravik's heart.
Ryan said coldly, "You're being too loud. Besides, it was you Skrulls who orchestrated the conflict between the Avengers and me. You didn't actually think I'd ally with aliens, did you?"
"You..." Gravik's eyes rolled back and he collapsed backward onto the ground.
Dead? Just like that?
Seeing Gravik destroyed, G'iah felt no joy—only a profound sadness.
Not for Gravik, but for what this meant for the Skrull people.
"One dead specimen and one live specimen. Perfect."
Ryan turned to look at G'iah, then leaped forward, ready to capture her in one swift move.
G'iah naturally wouldn't let Ryan take her without a fight, and immediately counterattacked.
After three exchanges, Ryan discovered something interesting: the Super-Skrull's mimicry of superpowers wasn't perfect. They could only replicate certain body parts, not complete transformations.
For example, she could manifest the Hulk's arm, but not transform her entire body.
Completely outmatched, G'iah tried to break free from Ryan's grip. Her entire body radiated photon energy as she attempted to fly away. However, just as she lifted off, Ryan grabbed her ankle.
"Where do you think you're going?"
A surge of raw physical force erupted from Ryan's hand, leaving G'iah completely unable to control her trajectory.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ryan employed the same technique Hulk had used on Loki during the Battle of New York, repeatedly slamming G'iah into the ground.
Cracks and deep craters formed in the concrete around her, leaving G'iah dazed and powerless to resist.
"Ngh!"
Her throat constricted, and G'iah, barely conscious, was lifted from the ground by Ryan's hand.
"Why don't you just come quietly? Why do you have to suffer before you obey?"
Ryan shook his head, carrying G'iah while turning to retrieve Gravik's body.
As he turned, Ryan froze. Gravik's body was gone!
He scanned the area and spotted Gravik fleeing into a partially collapsed factory building.
Carrying G'iah, Ryan pursued him into the structure. He found Gravik standing next to a strange machine, not attempting to flee further.
Seeing Ryan follow him inside, Gravik immediately slipped a device onto his wrist—the quantum GPS bracelet.
The moment Ryan saw the bracelet, he didn't even care about securing G'iah. His expression turned deadly serious as he rushed forward at maximum speed.
The cosmic energy blade slashed through the air, cleaving the machine behind Gravik in half. The energy sword buried itself in the ground, leaving a narrow but impossibly deep scar.
But it was too late—Gravik vanished from Ryan's sight, presumably into the timestream or another dimension.
Two Super-Skrulls had been the target of his research. With one escaped, Ryan couldn't afford to let G'iah slip away. He immediately secured her more carefully.
Capturing one still made the trip worthwhile.
Ryan transported G'iah back to Celestial Island and threw her into a sealed laboratory constructed of vibranium-reinforced alloy.
Not even a god could escape such confinement, let alone a Super-Skrull.
He returned to the containment lab where G'iah was imprisoned, carrying collection equipment. As soon as he entered, a powerful gust of wind came from behind.
THUD!
A fist with tremendous force punched straight through Ryan's body. G'iah's momentum carried her forward uncontrollably, and she rolled across the ground. She turned with disbelief in her eyes.
She watched as Ryan's figure gradually dissipated—a holographic projection. Then another Ryan walked in from outside the door.
"You'll have to do better than that." Ryan sneered contemptuously.
Ryan crouched down and grabbed G'iah's arm. She tried to resist, but she couldn't overcome Ryan's superior strength.
After Ryan drew the blood sample, he turned and left without giving her another glance.
G'iah scrambled up from the ground and called out before Ryan closed the door: "Why did you capture me? What are you going to do to me?"
Standing outside, about to seal the door, Ryan said, "What am I going to do to you?"
CLANG!
The door slammed shut, cutting off any response.
Ryan brought the Super-Skrull blood sample to his lab workstation, placed it on a glass slide, and positioned it under the microscope for preliminary examination.
Blood sample analysis generally involves several steps: cellular observation, DNA helix fragment analysis, and genetic sequencing.
Cellular observation determines the composition of the cell nucleus, followed by weakening the cell walls using various chemical reagents.
Next, instruments extract chromosomes, read the DNA helical structure, and then extract DNA fragments for genetic analysis. If the genetic code can be successfully deciphered, the analysis is complete.
While seemingly straightforward, the process is extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Extracting chromosomes and DNA fragments is relatively easy, but the true challenge lies in genetic analysis.
Genetic data is a fixed biological program within an organism. To enhance it, the original genes must be fundamentally altered—but this requires the ability to decipher the genetic code itself.
And deciphering even a single genetic code could easily consume a biogeneticist's entire career.
Even Ryan has only mastered the genetic codes of humans and Eternals, and that knowledge was a byproduct of extensive research.
Precisely because of the immense difficulty involved, some desperate scientists have attempted alternative methods to enhance abilities—shortcuts like radiation-based mutation and gene-splicing enhancement.
These methods, however, achieve one-time enhancement at the cost of eliminating all potential for future evolution. They represent dead-end solutions.
True self-enhancement accelerates the natural evolutionary process, using catalytic methods to optimize existing genes without corrupting them.
Ryan's gene-replacement protocols effectively bypass the normal evolutionary timeline and reach the destination directly. That's why Ryan never uses contaminating enhancement methods on himself.
From a genetic purity perspective, using inferior enhancement methods would constitute genetic pollution.
With Gravik's disappearance, the leaderless Skrulls quickly fell into disarray.
This meant that once the authorities and Avengers finished dealing with the Skrull remnants, their next target would inevitably be Celestial Island.
For the following period, Ryan divided his time between developing new super-soldiers, enhancing more combat hounds, and occasionally visiting Dr. Pym's laboratory to monitor research progress.
He could only spare limited time to study the Super-Skrull genetics.
As fellow creations of the Celestials, the Skrulls also possessed anti-tampering features embedded in their genetic code. Furthermore, the Skrulls were silicon-based life forms, completely different from carbon-based human genetic sequences.
Barring any breakthroughs, cracking the Skrull genetic code would take considerable time.
Celestial Island entered active war preparations. In addition to enhanced soldiers, various munitions and weapons were being shipped from the U.S. mainland to Celestial Island, with cargo ships and transport planes making constant daily runs.
The Avengers were equally busy, with superheroes mobilizing and rallying the Asgardian warrior army, the Wakandan tribal forces, and the Masters of the Mystic Arts.
Nick Fury was leveraging his extensive network to lobby the U.N. Security Council and various international officials—both to increase his power base and to put pressure on President Ross's federal government.
All that remained was for Thor to return with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and then they could settle accounts with Ryan.
On paper, the top-tier combatants were Thor for the Avengers and Ryan for Celestial Island.
The mid-tier Avengers included Hulk and Captain Marvel, while Celestial Island boasted Corvus Glaive and the Abomination.
The Avengers' ground forces consisted of numerous superheroes supported by various armies. Celestial Island, however, had only a few hundred super-soldiers and enhanced war hounds. Fortunately, the federal military supported Ryan.
Therefore, predicting the victor was genuinely difficult.
Later, Ryan, as Celestial Island's administrator, collaborated with President Ross. The President ordered the complete elimination of the Skrull leadership, leaving the refugee population leaderless and vulnerable.
Ryan, using G'iah's Super-Skrull appearance as a disguise, summoned the Skrull refugees to Celestial Island.
They would mine resources during peacetime and serve as auxiliary forces during conflict, strengthening Celestial Island's overall capabilities.
Both sides were frantically preparing for war. After this battle, the victor would dominate the global order.
Other nations naturally hoped for an Avengers victory, as the Avengers historically didn't interfere excessively in sovereign affairs. If the Avengers lost, no one on Earth would be able to check Ryan's ambitions.
Ryan's potential dominion loomed on the horizon.
The shadow of war hung over the world, tensions reaching a fever pitch. Everyone's attention was fixed on the Avengers and Celestial Island.
But just as the battle was about to commence, another incident suddenly shattered the tense atmosphere.
"Hehe... Hahaha! I did it! I finally did it!"
Angus, who had once served as Ryan's temporary assistant at the military research facility, stood at his lab bench with disheveled hair and a filthy white coat, clutching a vial of purple liquid and laughing maniacally.
While assisting Ryan, he had secretly studied some of Ryan's unique cellular activation techniques.
Unfortunately, Angus's covert observation was incomplete. He only knew the steps of the serum reverse-engineering process, not the actual formulas. As a result, he'd accidentally created something else entirely.
Analysis and observation confirmed that the purple serum Angus had created could indeed reactivate dead cells, but it only reanimated them—it didn't enable them to absorb cosmic or metabolic energy.
Without energy to sustain them, revived cells would quickly necrotize again.
To address this problem, Angus extracted non-metabolizing genes from black coral specimens, which have lifespans exceeding 4,000 years. He hoped to maintain cellular activity by essentially halting cellular metabolism.
It wasn't that this approach was impossible—it was just dangerously reckless.
The mad scientist Angus, armed with his cellular reanimation serum, rushed to the cold storage facility where the bodies of two failed enhancement subjects lay.
To increase his success rate, he decided to use enhanced subjects with more robust cellular structures for his first human trial.
Their enhanced physiology might be able to survive what ordinary humans could not.
What Angus didn't realize was that he was about to create something far worse than a failed experiment—something that would threaten everything both the Avengers and Ryan were fighting for.
End of Chapter 98
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