"Heh, you better succeed," Henry weakly raised his head, forcing a sarcastic smile. "I'm telling you, I'm starving to death. Hydra's meal standards are too low, even worse than a prisoner of war. If you don't give me a proper meal soon, forget a Super-Soldier, I won't even turn into a Super-Sick-Soldier."
The researchers still ignored him, acting like emotionless machines, meticulously preparing for the experiment. A syringe filled with a golden liquid was pushed in front of Henry. The liquid shimmered under the light, as if containing the light of the sun.
"Superman Serum? The name's not bad; it sounds warm," Henry quipped one last time as he looked at the syringe.
The cold needle pierced his arm, and the golden liquid was slowly pushed into his bloodstream.
One second, two seconds, a minute...
There was no reaction.
None of the anticipated sharp pain, no feeling of cellular tearing, not even a slight sign of warmth. The golden serum was absorbed without a sound, like a drop of water merging into the ocean.
"What's going on? No change in vital signs!"
"Zero energy response! The serum failed?"
"Impossible! This is our most perfect formula!"
The researchers were in disarray, their faces etched with disappointment and disbelief.
Henry was also quite disappointed. He blinked and said weakly, "So, that's it? All talk and no action, guys. I thought I'd get a fireworks show. Well, the experiment failed. Can I go back to sleep now? And can I get a double cheeseburger with an extra-large cola, please?"
Disappointment turned to anger. The older researcher impatiently tore off his gloves and waved his hand. "Take him back! Throw him back in the cell!"
Henry was dragged back to his familiar cell, tossed onto the cold floor like a bag of garbage. The metal door slammed shut, and the world returned to silence.
"Am I going to be the first transmigrator to be starved to death and killed by a failed experiment by Hydra?" Henry lay on the floor, chuckling self-mockingly.
"This is a pretty humiliating way to go."
He gave up thinking, gave up struggling, and just lay there, gazing up at the unchanging alloy ceiling, muttering to himself subconsciously.
"It's been so long since I've seen the sun, the real sun, not this pathetic lamp."
"I really want to see the New York sunset again, the golden light spilling over the Central Park lawn, how beautiful! I wonder if there's sun outside now?"
Just as his mind wandered, a strange change occurred!
"ROAR!!!"
A violent, inhuman roar suddenly erupted from the cell next door! The sound was full of pain and madness, as if an unparalleled fierce beast was awakening!
Henry was startled by the sudden roar, his face a picture of confusion.
"What the heck? Did the guy next door overdose? Is he... mutating?"
"BOOM!!!"
Before he could react, the entire base began to shake violently! Vicious cracks appeared on the walls, and dust and rubble rained down from the ceiling.
"CRASH!"
With another loud noise, the alloy wall of the cell next door was smashed, creating a massive hole! A monstrous creature with bulging muscles and bizarre black skin burst out. Its eyes were bloodshot, its mouth roared, and it attacked and smashed everything and everyone it saw!
"Alert! Alert! Test Subject No. 7 is out of control! Repeat, Test Subject No. 7 is out of control!"
The piercing alarm blared throughout the entire base, and the sounds of frantic footsteps, gunfire, and the screams of people dying echoed in the corridor.
Henry's cell was also affected; the ceiling couldn't withstand the intense vibration. A huge chunk of concrete slab crashed down onto the metal plate where he had been lying, deeply denting the thick metal.
"Good thing I moved away."
Henry patted his chest, relieved, and then his gaze was drawn to the large hole left by the falling slab.
A ray of golden, warm sunlight penetrated the hole, passing through layers of obstacles. Like a sacred light, it precisely illuminated a small patch of the floor in front of him.
Henry froze.
He stared blankly at the sunlight, and after several seconds, he grinned.
"Heh, I didn't expect it, but there really is sun. I wished for the sun, and the sun came. Does this count as a dying wish granted?"
He looked at the increasingly chaotic scene outside, knowing that even if his cell was broken, he couldn't escape. In his current weakened state, he probably couldn't even take down one armed soldier.
"Forget it, I can't escape anyway. Before I die, it's nice to just sunbathe."
Thinking this, he began to use the last shred of his strength to move towards the only patch of sunlight. His body felt heavy as if weighted with lead; every movement was met with a groan of protest from his bones.
One centimeter, two centimeters...
He gritted his teeth, a fierce longing for the light in his eyes, inching forward like a dying fish desperately swimming towards the source of life.
Finally, his entire body was bathed in the warm sunlight. An unprecedented feeling of comfort enveloped him. He let out a long breath and smiled, a genuine, content smile.
"Ah! Finally, I'm in the sun. No regrets now."
He closed his eyes contentedly, enjoying this final moment of peace before the apocalypse. The surrounding alarms, explosions, and screams all seemed to drift away from him.
The next second, he snapped his eyes open!
A surging vitality was pouring out furiously from every cell deep within his body! The feeling was like a dry sponge being thrown into the vast ocean, greedily absorbing every drop of water! And the sunlight was an endless source of energy!
He could distinctly feel his shrivelled muscles becoming full and firm again at a visible speed. His pale face quickly regained its colour, becoming ruddy and radiant. The bone-deep hunger vanished without a trace in just a few seconds, replaced by an unprecedented sense of fullness and power!
A tremendous force was born within him and grew stronger!
Although the sensation wasn't yet overwhelming, Henry was certain that this power far exceeded the limits of a normal human. He could sense that his body's defensive strength had increased—it was an unconscious realization, like knowing whether you can lift a certain object.
He reached out and touched his skin.
Very good, very hard!
Next, an even more peculiar sensation emerged. He felt his body getting lighter.
No, not lighter, but...
He looked down and saw his body slowly and uncontrollably levitating upwards! One centimeter off the ground, five centimeters, ten centimeters...
"Holy Superman!"
Henry stared blankly at his feet suspended in mid-air, feeling like he was having a bizarre and preposterous dream. He started complaining subconsciously.
"What is this? Did I become Superman? Superman Serum? Sunbathing? So, the correct way to use this serum is through photosynthesis? But it doesn't feel that strong! A Kryptonian could lift an aircraft carrier just by sunbathing after arriving on Earth. I feel like I can lift, maybe a truck? So, I'm a nerfed Superman?"
Just as his mind was racing, trying to find a scientific or unscientific explanation for his strange encounter, a burst of hurried footsteps and shouts came from behind.
"Don't move! Hands up!"
Several Hydra soldiers who had managed to escape the out-of-control test subject aimed their guns at him.
Suspended in the air, Henry slowly turned around.
He looked down at himself. His formerly thin frame was now tall and robust, filled with explosive strength. His height seemed to have increased by a few centimeters from the original 185 cm, now certainly over 192 cm (6'3"). He could feel the surging power within him, as if he could punch through a wall.
Then he looked up at the Hydra soldiers pointing guns at him, their faces filled with fear and tension.
He cracked a smile—a confident, almost cruel smile.
"Very good," he rotated his neck, producing a series of sharp cracking sounds. "Today, we're making some Snake-Head Soup!"
Before his words faded, his figure vanished from where he stood. The next second, he reappeared in front of the observation window of the cell, which was made of transparent reinforced glass.
He clenched his fist, feeling the unprecedented strength, and then, with a casual swing, he punched!
"Bang! Crack!"
The reinforced glass, capable of withstanding large-caliber bullet fire, was instantly covered in cracks like an eggshell hit by an iron hammer, then shattered completely!
The soldiers' eyes widened in terror, and they instinctively pulled the triggers.
"Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat!"
A hail of bullets instantly engulfed Henry.
However, Henry didn't even bother to dodge. He simply knew that since he could easily smash bulletproof glass, blocking bullets would certainly not be a problem. After all, bulletproof glass is more than just bulletproof; if he could smash it with his bare hand and his hand remained intact, what more proof was needed?
So, he wanted to see just how good the defence of his new body was.
Countless bullets struck his chest, arms, and face, but they couldn't even pierce his skin. They only made a series of sharp 'clanging' noises before deforming and falling to the ground. The sensation was like being poked by countless toothpicks—a little itchy.
"Are you scratching an itch? Not enough force, guys."
Henry dusted off his non-existent clothes and floated out of the broken window.
Just then, the base commander, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit with sinister eyes, arrived with several bodyguards. When he saw Henry, unharmed and hovering in mid-air, he was first stunned, then burst into maniacal laughter.
"Success! It's a success! Hahahaha! My Solar Serum worked! We have created a god!"
Henry looked at the man's crazed appearance and smiled back, a cold, predatory smile. "Yes, I also thank you for your generous gift. However, in return, please go meet God now!"
His figure blurred into a streak again.
The following scene became a one-sided slaughter. Henry's abilities and physical quality were only preliminarily enhanced, and his speed was far from its peak, but it was already more than enough to deal with these ordinary humans and heavy weaponry.
Bullets did not affect him, and grenades exploding nearby couldn't even raise a spark. A soldier carrying an RPG was kicked away by Henry, who moved faster than the rocket he fired. The rocket exploded on the ceiling, the blast wave knocking the surrounding Hydra soldiers to the ground. He was like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep; every punch and every kick was accompanied by the sound of breaking bones and desperate screams.
He grabbed one Hydra soldier with his left hand, and his body turned into a blur, reappearing beside another soldier holding a gun, whom he then grabbed as well.
Then, he clapped his hands, which were holding the two men's necks, inward! PANG!
In less than two minutes, the base's entire resistance force was completely neutralized by him alone. He slowly descended and landed in front of the commander, who was now terrified and had wet his pants, slumping to the ground.
"God!! Spare me!"
"Next time, remember to feed your test subjects properly," Henry said expressionlessly, then stomped down.
After finishing, he felt the entire base shaking violently, with continuous explosions. Clearly, the out-of-control test subject and his rampage had utterly destroyed the base's structure.
But he didn't leave immediately. He quickly checked his surroundings. He hadn't been idle all this time; he had silently memorized all the details on his way to and from the lab. He rushed to the various laboratories and databases, but he found that those damned people had erased all the data after each experiment, leaving no trace.
This meant Henry couldn't figure out the exact nature of his serum, but the upside was that, unless other Hydra bases had a backup, they couldn't replicate his superpower.
"These guys are truly cautious," Henry rolled his eyes.
He didn't hesitate, turning to look at the terrified lab workers and researchers who hadn't managed to escape behind him.
His lips slowly curled up, and his eyes turned cold.
"Are you ready to go to hell?"
His voice echoed in the laboratory. In the following minutes, he used his superhuman speed to eliminate all the remaining living personnel. He intended to see if there were any other living test subjects, but unfortunately, apart from the guy who just escaped, he was the only survivor.
He found all the explosive materials in the base. Although the base was already exploding everywhere, he wasn't reassured and activated all of them directly.
He didn't linger. He shot up, bursting through the hole in the ceiling, and flew out of the underground base of sin.
BOOM!!
With continuous explosions, the secret Hydra base, which had committed countless atrocities, was utterly buried in history.
Outside was a vast wilderness, with a blue sky and a warm sun overhead. He greedily inhaled the air of freedom, feeling the warmth of the sun on every inch of his skin.
He looked at his body and recalled the sights along the way when he was captured, roughly determining that this was a secret base somewhere in the United States.
He oriented himself, looking towards the distant west. That was Los Angeles.
"Tony, wait for me. I hope those bearded guys in the Middle East haven't executed you yet."
He muttered, tilting his body slightly, his arms spread wide.
The next second, he transformed into a blur, accelerating at a speed faster than sound toward Los Angeles!
"CRACK!"
A white ring of sonic boom exploded behind him, forming a spectacular Mach ring that lingered in the air.