Night, black as spilled ink.
New York.
In this dilapidated apartment, even the moonlight was too lazy to penetrate.
The only sound in the room was the floorboards creaking.
Again and again.
The old wooden planks groaned as if dying, struck violently over and over.
"Thump!"
The moment Raven pressed down, Lin Ent felt as if he'd been hit by a small meteorite.
No, it was worse than a meteorite.
Meteorites have no warmth, but this blue body was scorching hot, every muscle tensed, filled with enough force to tear through steel plates.
This crazy woman, she's really going for the kill.
No, she's really going for the kill with her butt!
No caresses, no kisses, not even a hint of lust.
Only revenge.
Like a wild Beast tearing at an enemy who invaded its lair, primitive and cruel.
Each impact precisely struck his bones, striking what little dignity he had left.
Lin Ent gritted his teeth, not uttering a sound.
It hurt.
It hurt like hell.
All the bones in his body felt like they'd been forcibly broken by an impatient butcher with large iron tongs, then haphazardly shoved back, not even aligned properly.
The excruciating pain of his dislocated shoulder blade, the subtle cracking sound of his ribs being squeezed, were so clear they made his scalp tingle.
His recently enhanced physique was nothing more than a soaked napkin in front of a completely berserk Mystique.
His waist.
His waist was about to break.
It was that purest, physically literal kind of break.
A snap, and the rest of his life would be spent in a wheelchair.
Muscle fibers screamed, and his brain received signals of despair.
Cold sweat drenched his hair, clothes, and the floor beneath him, carrying the rusty smell of dust and blood.
It was a purely physiological reaction to the pain.
But in his eyes, there was no fear.
He didn't even beg for mercy.
There was only a morbid ferocity, like a Fire burning in his bone marrow.
Raven propped herself up, her golden vertical pupils like two true Will-o'-the-wisps in the dark room.
She looked down at his face, distorted by pain, scrutinizing him.
She wanted to see him cry, see him beg, see him admit he was wrong like a dog, admit he was a piece of trash to be played with.
Only then would she be satisfied, only then would she regain the thrill of being the "predator."
But she saw nothing.
His facial muscles twitched, his jaw was clenched tight, blood foam seeping from between his teeth.
His unfocused eyes stared fixedly at the cracks in the ceiling, as if locked in a death match with an enemy even more terrifying than her.
This discovery was like a bucket of oil poured onto the Fire in Raven's heart.
Boom!
Why?!
How dare he!
This ant, whom she could manipulate at will, this plaything she thought he was, how dare he make her feel… out of control in this way!
She was the dominator!
His reaction was a challenge to her authority!
She would crush him!
Not just his bones, but also his damned, infuriating stubbornness!
"Snap!"
A crisp sound.
Lin Ent couldn't tell if it was his bones or the floorboards beneath him.
It no longer mattered.
Everything went black, the World turned off its lights.
He didn't even whimper, his consciousness sinking like a receding tide.
Damn it… this woman… she really wants to kill me… But just before his consciousness completely disconnected, a voice roared madly in the depths of his soul.
—Hold on!
—Hold on, damn it! This is my only gamble!
—This is the final step to completely ensnare this blue Beast! The more angry you are, the more out of control you become, the more it proves that you can't live without me! Can't live without the power I give you!
No matter how strong the spirit, it couldn't withstand a body that was breaking down.
The roar grew fainter and fainter.
He smiled.
In this body that was about to fall apart, his spirit was extremely excited.
All his muscles lost strength, giving way.
A silent, yet utterly provocative smile.
He knew he had gambled correctly.
Raven, overflowing with a sense of revenge, felt his life force waning.
She also saw the fleeting, victorious smile on his face.
This made her freeze completely.
Her perfect blue body stopped all movement.
She propped herself up, her golden pupils staring fixedly at him.
The air solidified.
Only their heavy breathing remained, and Lin Ent's faint, almost vanishing heartbeat.
"Ding!"
The sound exploded in his nearly defunct brain!
"Completed 'Revengeful Dual Cultivation' with core target (Mystique)! "
"Dual Cultivation Rating: S-Rank! Target's emotions were intense, Host endured extreme damage, maximizing the beneficial effects!"
It's here!
Lin Ent almost cried out.
"Host's overall strength increased (x1.1)!"
A tingling electric current erupted from his tailbone, instantly rushing through his limbs and bones!
His nearly broken lumbar spine felt as if an invisible hand had forcibly straightened and reinforced it, making the bone joints itch with numbness!
Torn muscles were rapidly repaired, and his body, which had felt drained moments ago, now had every cell gushing with power!
Awesome!
From hell to heaven, it was just like this!
"Received U.S. dollar reward: $10,000!"
"Current account total: $40,000!"
Lin Ent grinned, smiling silently.
Trading life for money, trading life for power!
This is what life is all about!
Raven looked at the strange smile on his face, and the chill in her heart deepened.
She, of course, felt it too.
Just now, that addictive power surged again.
All-round enhancement of bones, muscles, nerves…!
This feeling was more deadly than any drug.
But why… was he smiling?
A man she treated as a tool, a slave, abused to the brink of death, why would he show such… an expression of having gained a huge advantage?
She couldn't understand.
Just then.
In Lin Ent's mind, the system prompt sounded again.
This time, the voice was emotionless, yet carried a sense of solemnity.
"Ding!"
"Detected that the Host, without any external assistance, independently planned and led a perfect deception and escape against S.H.I.E.L.D. (an S-Rank organization), HYDRA (an S-Rank organization), and the Brotherhood of Mutants (an A-Rank organization)!"
"Operation Rating: S-Rank!"
"Completed hidden achievement: 'Art of Lies'!"
"Achievement reward being distributed…"
Lin Ent was stunned.
Such good news?
Settling accounts afterwards, with additional rewards?
"Reward 1: U.S. dollars $20,000!"
"Current account total: $60,000!"
"Sixty… thousand dollars?"
Lin Ent almost bit his tongue.
Sixty thousand U.S. dollars! Cash!
With this money, let alone renting a better apartment, he could even afford a down payment for a small house in Queens!
Safe house! Weapons! Intelligence!
This was the capital to establish himself!
But at this moment, he had no strength to study how awesome this thing was.
The body's repair consumed that energy, and a tsunami of mental exhaustion overwhelmed him.
From physical collapse, to mental endurance, to the ecstasy of the system's reward… his nerves had been stretched too tight, and now they completely relaxed.
His eyelids drooped, and he fell directly into a deep sleep.
He was too tired.
He felt as if his soul had been drained.
The room returned to dead silence.
Raven gazed at Lin Ent's sleeping face, which still held a hint of strange satisfaction.
She slowly reached out her hand, wanting to touch him, wanting to tear open this skin and see what kind of monster was hidden beneath.
But just as her fingers were about to touch him, she sharply pulled them back.
As if his skin would burn her.
Her golden pupils flickered in the darkness.
Anger, confusion… and a hint of fear of the unknown that she hadn't even realized herself.
These emotions wove into a net, trapping her tightly.
She slowly got off him, sitting naked on the cold floor.
She just stared fixedly at the unconscious Lin Ent.
After a long time.
A whisper, filled with endless confusion and unease, echoed in the dilapidated room.
"What… exactly do you want to do?"