Chapter 21 Banner's Information
"Target A has entered the cafe."
"Target B is on the way."
"Once Spider-Man appears, initiate the capture protocol immediately."
An encrypted communication came through the DODC terminal.
On the screen, two photos appeared side by side.
MJ.
Ned.
Peter stared at the photos, his breathing instantly disrupted.
"How did they find them?"
Yelena pulled up the operation files.
"Over the past four years, Spider-Man has been involved in more than three hundred street incidents."
"The DODC inputted every appearance location, rescue target, and movement route into the analysis system."
"MJ and Ned have appeared near related incidents multiple times."
The DODC has not yet confirmed Peter's true identity.
They only marked the two as high-probability associates.
The purpose of the capture operation was also very clear.
Use MJ and Ned to test Spider-Man's reaction.
Once Spider-Man lost emotional control, the genetic monitoring equipment would record the changes.
"I'm going to save them."
Peter turned and left immediately.
Lin Yao blocked the exit.
"Act according to the plan."
"They're capturing MJ and Ned!"
"That's why you must not panic even more."
Lin Yao threw the genetic resonance module he had just seized to him.
"Metzger is waiting for you to lose control."
Peter gripped the module tightly.
His wrists would still occasionally ooze organic spider silk.
The scenes from the warehouse just now surfaced again.
Sharp teeth.
Hands out of control.
And the nineteen test subjects he regarded as threats.
Peter forcibly suppressed his breathing.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Jean, mind protection."
"You save people."
"Leave the capture team to me."
The cafe was located on the first floor of an old apartment building in Manhattan.
MJ sat by the window, with two cups of coffee in front of her.
As soon as Ned pushed the door open, the black vans across the street opened their doors simultaneously.
Twelve operatives in plain clothes quickly dispersed.
Two entered the cafe.
Four blocked the back door.
The remaining personnel controlled the street.
There was also a small drone on the roof, continuously scanning the nearby airspace.
The operation Commander pressed his earpiece.
"Spider-Man not found."
"Take the targets away first."
Inside the cafe, an Agent disguised as a customer reached his hand into his jacket.
Seeing his movement, MJ immediately stood up.
"Ned, go."
The Agent raised his gun and fired an anesthetic dart.
The glass suddenly vibrated.
The anesthetic dart stopped mid-air.
Jean stood outside the door, her eyes glowing with red light.
The other two Agents raised their guns at the same time.
Telekinesis had already pinned them onto the table.
"Close your eyes."
Jean's voice went straight into MJ and Ned's consciousness.
Mental defense deployed accordingly.
The next second, a large-scale neural interference wave was released inside the cafe.
All the glass cups shattered.
Ordinary customers collapsed to the ground one after another.
Yet MJ and Ned remained conscious.
Peter dropped from the ceiling, two strands of webbing wrapping around their waists.
"Don't be afraid."
The familiar voice startled MJ for a moment.
Peter didn't stay, rushing towards the back door with the two of them.
The operation Commander immediately ordered.
"Spider-Man has appeared."
"Initiate Plan B!"
The rooftop drone locked onto Peter.
Four suppression missiles were launched simultaneously.
Lin Yao dropped from the air.
With a wave of his hand, four ki blasts struck the tails of the missiles respectively.
The missiles lost power and plummeted toward the street.
He raised his palm again.
An invisible force caught all the missiles and sent them into an empty alleyway.
Just as the explosion sounded, the black strike team on the street had already aimed their guns at him.
"Target Lin Yao has appeared!"
"Everyone, open fire!"
Lin Yao walked forward.
Armor-piercing bullets, electromagnetic pulses, and mental suppression rounds hit his body one after another.
The warheads constantly deformed and fell to the ground.
Blue current spread along his skin and quickly extinguished on its own.
The operatives continued to shoot.
Lin Yao's Conquerors Haki had already descended.
The bodies of the twelve capture personnel froze simultaneously.
Firearms dropped.
The street instantly quieted down.
Only the operation Commander managed to barely stand by relying on the mental protection device inside his helmet.
He turned and rushed into the van, preparing to destroy the data inside the vehicle.
Lin Yao raised his hand and grabbed.
The entire van was lifted off the ground by ki, and heavily placed back in the center of the street.
The van door was ripped open directly.
The Commander had just touched the terminal when his wrist was snapped by Lin Yao's foot.
"Where is the analysis system?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Lin Yao applied more force under his foot.
A cracking sound came from the bones.
"Last time."
Cold sweat covered the Commander's forehead.
"The vehicle terminal can only view results."
"The main program is in the DODC backend."
"The access card is in my left pocket."
Lin Yao took out the access card.
Yelena immediately entered the vehicle and dismantled the social relationship analysis terminal.
"Got the item."
She glanced at the screen.
"This system also records the action habits of a large number of heroes in New York."
"Daredevil, Punisher, Kate Bishop, they are all inside."
A muffled sound came from upstairs.
Lin Yao looked up.
The explosives buried inside the apartment's load-bearing walls had been activated.
The DODC had not prepared for the capture team to evacuate alive.
They intended to blow up the entire building and then pin the casualties on Lin Yao and Spider-Man.
Jean sensed the danger first.
"Load-bearing walls!"
The explosion happened simultaneously.
The first-floor exterior wall collapsed toward the street.
Over a hundred tons of bricks, steel bars, and glass pressed toward the cafe exit.
MJ and Ned had just been sent out the back door by Peter.
Hearing the explosion, the two turned back at the same time.
Lin Yao stood in the center of the street, raising both hands.
The ki barrier rapidly expanded.
The entire collapsing wall stopped mid-air.
The bricks were still shattering.
The steel bars were constantly twisting.
Yet Lin Yao did not back down a single step.
While supporting the wall, he controlled the barrier's range, restricting all debris around the building.
The ordinary customers inside the cafe were rescued one by one by Peter.
Jean used telekinesis to steady the upstairs residents.
After the last person left, Lin Yao finally pushed the entire wall toward an unmanned construction vacant lot.
Boom!
The ground shook.
Yet the surrounding buildings suffered no impact.
MJ looked at Lin Yao.
The Daily Bugle broadcasted that Kamehamehailluminating New York every day.
James called him an alien thug who could destroy the city at any time.
Just now, Lin Yao could clearly have left by himself.
Instead, he stood at the center of the explosion, held up the entire wall, and waited for all strangers to evacuate.
Ned looked up at Peter in mid-air, then looked at Lin Yao.
"He really can fly."
"And he can catch a building."
Peter landed in front of the two.
One corner of his mask was already torn.
MJ stared at those white eye lenses.
Peter's body stiffened.
The DODC operatives had all lost combat capability.
Jean had also blocked off the nearby consciousness.
It was temporarily safe here.
Peter slowly took off his mask.
"My name is Peter Parker."
Ned gazed at that face.
Unfamiliar.
Yet carrying some inexplicable sense of familiarity.
MJ didn't speak.
Jean walked to the side of the few people.
MJ looked at her.
"Can you read memories?"
"Yes."
"Can you also make me remember?"
Jean didn't answer immediately.
Forcibly connecting memories erased by magic carried unquantifiable risks.
Even if successful, those memories might conflict with MJ's current personality.
Lin Yao spoke:
"She won't force her way into your consciousness."
MJ looked at him.
"Even if Peter wants her to do this?"
"The memories are in your head."
"The right to decide is also yours."
Jean gazed at Lin Yao, her gaze changing slightly.
He knew how much Peter wanted MJ to recover her memories.
And he knew Jean might possess the ability to try.
Yet Lin Yao never asked her to forcibly alter another person's consciousness to satisfy an ally's wish.
The boundaries Jean established gained true meaning at this moment.
Ned walked over to Peter's side.
"So, were we really friends before?"
"Best friends."
"Then did I know you were Spider-Man before?"
"You even helped me make a suit in the school computer lab."
Ned's eyes gradually lit up.
"I knew I had this talent."
The tense atmosphere was diluted a bit.
Yelena walked over carrying the social relationship analysis terminal.
"Chat time is over."
"The DODC has already listed you on the high-risk association list."
"Failing today, next time they might send more people."
MJ looked toward the industrial park direction.
"Do those test subjects all live at your place?"
Lin Yao did not answer the specific location.
"They have a medical area, quarters, and a training ground."
"For those willing to leave, we'll help find identities."
Ned looked at Peter.
"Are you there too?"
"I'll be going there often for now."
MJ clenched both fists.
"Do you need ordinary people?"
Peter was stunned.
"MJ..."
"The DODC has already targeted us."
MJ looked at Lin Yao.
"Hiding back at school won't make the list disappear."
"I can organize testimonies, contact the media, and help those kids prepare identity applications."
Ned immediately chimed in.
"I can handle the network and equipment."
"Though I might not compare to Spider-Man."
"But I'm definitely better than an ordinary maintenance worker."
Lin Yao glanced at the two of them.
"You can go take a look first."
"After joining, you must abide by the rules of Dawn House."
"And you will continue to face danger."
MJ said:
"At least this time, I want to decide for myself."
Lin Yao put away the DODC terminal.
Peter looked at MJ and Ned.
He used to choose to stay away from them, believing that would protect the two of them.
Now, they were starting to consider actively stepping into his world.
This time, the right to decide was in their own hands.
Peter looked at Lin Yao.
"Thank you."
"Fix your body first."
Lin Yao opened the terminal.
An encrypted message had just arrived.
The sender had no name.
Only a green marker.
[Bring Spider-Man's blood and suppressor.]
[The coordinates have been sent to you.]
[Don't let the DODC track you.]
Peter stared at the screen.
"It's Banner."
Chapter 22: Learning All of Banner's Research in Three Hours
Just as the laboratory doors closed, Peter's blood sample triggered an alarm inside the testing chamber.
More than a dozen red curves surged out of the safe zone simultaneously.
Banner stared at the screen and quickly lowered the equipment's power.
"Don't touch the suppressor."
Peter had just raised his hand, but his movement froze instantly.
"Is the situation bad?"
"Your body is redefining what it means to be Spider-Man."
Banner magnified the cellular image.
Peter's genetic chain had not collapsed.
A large number of previously dormant fragments were reorganizing, with muscles, bones, nerves, and spinnerets all participating.
That suppressor continuously and forcibly suppressed gene activity.
Every time it was suppressed, the body would accumulate an even stronger rebound.
"If you keep wearing it, your next loss of control will be even worse."
"What if I take it off?"
"You might mutate on the spot."
Peter looked at Lin Yao.
The experience in the warehouse was still fresh in his mind.
The heartbeats of the nineteen test subjects.
The Hand he had extended toward them.
And the punch Lin Yao had landed on his face.
"Don't take it off yet."
Lin Yao walked up to the testing chamber.
Right at that moment, a system prompt appeared before his eyes.
[High-value scientific research location detected.]
[Bruce Banner's secret laboratory.]
[Location check-in conditions met.]
"Check in."
[Check-in successful.]
[Acquired ability: Super Brain.]
A massive information-processing capability instantly merged into his consciousness.
There was no pain.
However, the entire world in Lin Yao's eyes had changed.
Thousands of beating data points on the testing screen were quickly categorized.
Peter's heart rate, gene activity, nerve signals, and suppressor output frequency automatically formed correlations.
The faint noise of the equipment running was also broken down into the vibration frequencies of different components.
Just as Banner was about to explain the curves, Lin Yaohad already raised his hand and pointed to three of them.
"The suppressor releases a nerve pulse every seventeen seconds."
"The spider genes rebound within 0.4 seconds after the pulse ends."
"The resonance equipment used this exact time difference last time."
Banner turned his head to look at him.
"Have you studied neural suppression before?"
"Just started."
"Just now?"
Lin Yao did not explain.
He walked toward the laboratory mainframe.
"Open up your research data on nerves, genes, and gamma energy to me."
Banner did not agree immediately.
"There is a lot of dangerous content in this data."
"Including the method to create Hulk?"
Banner's expression sank.
"Including how to make a city spawn more out-of-control monsters."
Lin Yao looked at him.
"The backdoor in Peter comes from your research."
"DODC is already using it."
"Even if you lock up the data, they won't disappear."
Banner was silent for a moment, then opened an offline database.
"Only research related to the current problem."
"Prove that you can understand it first."
The data loaded.
Tens of thousands of experimental records, papers, failure reports, and neural models appeared on the screen.
Peter took one look and felt a headache coming on.
Jean stood behind Lin Yao, sensing that his thinking speed had suddenly accelerated.
There was no mental loss of control.
A massive amount of information was quickly split, absorbed, categorized, and then recombined with existing intelligence.
Lin Yao's reading speed became faster and faster.
At first, it took a few seconds per page.
Ten minutes later, the content on the screen began to scroll continuously.
Banner frowned.
"Reading fast has no meaning."
Lin Yao raised his hand to pause the screen.
"Gamma stimulation does not directly create power."
"It first breaks the human body's self-limitation, and then the cells find a viable reconstruction path."
"The Hulk inside your body is both the result of mutation and a survival personality established by your consciousness."
Banner's hand stopped on the keyboard.
This content was scattered across dozens of failure reports.
Lin Yao had only looked at it for twelve minutes.
"Continue."
One hour later.
Lin Yao redesigned the operating logic of Peter's suppressor.
The old device only had suppression.
The new plan added a release window.
The spider genes could complete partial reconstruction within a safe range, and the nerve pulses were responsible for maintaining conscious alertness.
Jean's mental fluctuation data was also added to the alert module.
Once Peter's desire to attack exceeded the critical value, the device would first issue an early warning and then cut off external signals.
"A biofeedback core is still missing."
Banner checked the model.
"Ordinary chips cannot keep up with the reaction speed of the Spider-Sense."
Peter raised his wrist.
"What about using my spinneret signals?"
Lin Yao had already pulled up the monitoring data.
"It works."
"The Spider-Sense appears before muscle movement."
"Connect the early warning signal into the stabilizer, and it can activate before you actually attack."
Banner checked it three times in a row.
He found no structural conflicts.
"This design is usable."
Peter looked at Lin Yao.
"An hour ago, you didn't even know what these devices were called."
"Now I know."
Lin Yao picked up the tools.
He did not leave all the work to Banner.
The Super Brain quickly understood the function of every component and circuit.
Mastery of Qi made his hands even steadier than a mechanical arm.
The soldering points, neural interfaces, and feedback chips were completed one by one.
Forty minutes later, the second-generation spider stabilizer was installed on Peter's wrist.
Peter took off the old suppressor.
His muscles instantly tensed.
Just as the barbs on his fingertips appeared, the new stabilizer lit up with a blue light.
A gentle pulse entered his nerves.
The barbs stopped growing.
The organic webbing also regained control.
Peter moved his wrist.
"The Spider-Sense is still there."
"My strength wasn't suppressed."
"And my mind is very clear."
He abruptly looked at Lin Yao.
"It really worked."
"Temporarily successful."
Lin Yao recorded the data.
"You still need long-term monitoring."
Banner did not refute.
He had already moved Lin Yao from an unknown lifeform that needed observation back into someone who could participate in research.
"How long did you take?"
Jean glanced at the time.
"Two hours and eleven minutes."
Banner was silent for a few seconds.
"I spent many years researching neural suppression."
"That's why I don't need to fail all over again."
Lin Yao placed the V-Max data core onto the terminal.
The Super Brain began to analyze the encrypted structure.
Data that was previously so complex that even Yelenaneeded to crack it layer by layer now quickly revealed its patterns.
V-Max consisted of three parts.
Mental frequency simulation.
Neural personality storage.
Remote consciousness projection.
Sarah's sample was marked as the personality key.
Every time fake Jean acted, it would call upon the most intense fear before her death as the driving force.
Lin Yao tracked backward along the call records.
A hidden line appeared on the map.
Sarah's core sample had already been transferred.
Its location was in the DODC central mental network.
The external code name was still V-Max.
"Found it."
Jean walked up to the screen.
The red dot on the map was moving.
"They are transferring Sarah."
"What they're transferring is the sample."
Lin Yao looked at her.
"She herself is already dead."
Jean's fingertips tightened slightly.
This time, she did not evade.
"Then bring back what she left behind."
Lin Yao continued cracking it.
Hidden within V-Max was also a set of mental protection technology.
It resisted external reading by repeating personality fragments.
DODC had originally prepared it to defend against Jean.
After reorganization, this technology could be transformed into the basic mental barrier of Dawn House.
It couldn't stop top-tier telepaths.
But it was enough to stop ordinary mental scans and personality simulation signals.
"Here is this structure."
Lin Yao transmitted the model to Jean.
"After we go back, establish the first layer of mental defense line."
Jean took the data.
"You can even modify mental devices now?"
"The structure is simpler than a person's consciousness."
Banner looked at the two of them.
"Are you planning to apply the laboratory research directly to the base?"
"If you get an ability, you have to use it."
Lin Yao turned off the terminal.
Only two hours and forty-seven minutes had passed since the check-in.
Neural suppression, gamma energy, gene reconstruction, mental protection, and the V-Max structure had all completed their first round of mastery.
Banner opened another door to the laboratory.
"There is one more check."
Behind the door was a gravity training chamber.
"I originally used it to test tissue tolerance in the Hulkstate."
"Up to fifty times gravity."
Lin Yao walked in.
Banner adjusted the gravity to ten times.
Lin Yao's body sank slightly.
After a few seconds, he stood straight again.
Twenty times.
The ground gave a faint sound.
The Qi inside Lin Yao's body began to circulate automatically, supporting his bones and internal organs.
Thirty times.
His muscles endured the pressure, and his Saiyan cells quickly adapted.
Forty times.
Peter could no longer stand behind the glass; the leaking gravity fluctuations alone made it difficult for him to breathe.
Jean stared at Lin Yao.
His movements became slower, but his aura became more refined.
"Do you want to continue?"
Banner asked.
"Fifty times."
Gravity rose again.
Boom!
The metal floor beneath Lin Yao's feet caved inward.
Every single circuit in the testing chamber was sounding an alarm.
He did not release energy to force his way through.
Grandmaster-level Qi Mastery re-deduced.
Qi erupted from his whole body, gradually turning to flow closely against his muscles, bones, and internal organs.
The originally berserk power was compressed within a few centimeters around his body.
One minute.
Three minutes.
Five minutes.
Lin Yao raised his right hand.
A Qi blast appeared in his palm.
It was only the size of a soybean.
It remained stable under fifty times gravity, neither hitting the wall nor damaging any equipment.
Banner looked at the energy readings.
"You can still maintain precision under this kind of gravity?"
The Qi blast slowly dissipated.
Lin Yao took a step forward.
Followed by a second step.
The Saiyan body had already begun to adapt.
Ten minutes later, he had Banner turn off the gravity.
The chamber door opened.
Lin Yao walked out, his breathing slightly heavier than usual.
Yet the amount of Qi inside his body had increased by nearly twenty percent compared to before entering.
Peter looked at the intact testing chamber.
"I thought you'd crush this place."
"If I crush it, I'll have to pay for it."
The corners of Banner's mouth twitched.
He picked up the special ninja blade that Lin Yao had previously confiscated from The Hand.
Material analysis had long since finished.
On the screen, a metal component was marked red alone.
Banner's expression turned serious.
"The alloy of this blade is very complex."
"There is also a metal inside that shouldn't appear in the New York black market."
Lin Yao looked at the analysis results.
Banner magnified the image.
"In this metal, there is a small amount of Vibranium."
Chapter 23: The Female Black Panther Has Also Arrived
The metal alarm in the laboratory suddenly turned purple.
Banner looked up at the screen.
The special ninja blade was sealed inside the testing chamber. The tiny bit of Vibranium in the blade had just finished its second scan, and an external signal had already locked onto the laboratory coordinates.
Peter immediately pulled down his mask.
Jean's mental power expanded outward.
Lin Yao, however, looked up at the ceiling.
"They're here."
Ten-odd seconds later, a black aircraft without any engine sound hovered above the laboratory.
The optical camouflage disengaged.
The hatch opened, and Shuri stepped down first. Okoyefollowed by her side, the spear in her hand not deployed in an offensive form.
"Bruce, long time no see."
Shuri greeted Banner first, then looked at Lin Yao.
"Sorry to intrude. Wakanda's tracking system detected a small piece of Vibranium, and its location is right here."
Her tone was calm. She did not demand a lockdown of the laboratory, nor did she have Okoye step forward to seize the blade.
"We checked the weapon data leaked recently. That blade likely comes from a smuggling route unauthorized by Wakanda."
Lin Yao raised his hand.
The testing chamber opened automatically.
The special ninja blade flew onto the desktop.
"The blade can be returned."
Okoye's eyes flickered slightly.
She had originally prepared for a lengthy negotiation.
Lin Yao continued, "Take a look at the analysis first."
Shuri showed a bit of interest.
"Did Banner make this?"
"He provided the equipment."
Banner pushed up his glasses.
"The primary deduction was completed by Lin Yao."
Shuri brought up her beaded terminal.
"Bruce mentioned in his message that you just came into contact with these studies."
"How long?"
"Three hours."
Banner added, "In these three hours, he also remade Spider-Man's stabilizer, cracked a mental network, and then entered the gravity chamber."
Okoye looked at Lin Yao.
"How many times?"
"Fifty."
The laboratory quieted down.
Shuri lowered her head to confirm Banner's test records.
Fifty times gravity maintained for ten minutes.
Vital signs stable.
Energy control error lower than the equipment's lower measurement limit.
Only the floor of the training chamber showed a slight depression; the rest of the structure remained intact.
Okoye's hand holding the spear slowly relaxed.
She had seen warriors with astonishing strength and enhanced humans who relied on equipment.
Maintaining action under fifty times gravity was already astonishing enough.
Lin Yao had also condensed a micro energy projectile inside, and the entire training chamber was not affected.
"Your physique is very strong."
Okoye said solemnly, "Your control is even rarer."
Lin Yao tapped open the material analysis.
The internal structure of the ninja blade was divided into four layers.
The outer layer was high-carbon alloy.
The middle layer was mixed with quenching materials unique to The Hand.
An extremely small amount of Vibranium was added to the core of the blade, with a proportion of only zero point seven percent.
The Vibranium was not used to increase hardness; its true purpose was to absorb the energy generated by collisions and then release it along the spine of the blade.
Shuri initially wore a polite smile.
By the time she saw the third page, she had already walked up to the screen.
"You even restored the crystal lattice arrangement?"
"The equipment precision wasn't enough."
Lin Yao swiped the model.
"I completed the missing parts based on the energy echo."
Shuri quickly magnified the model, continuously cross-referencing it with three types of Vibranium alloys in Wakanda's database.
The proportions, arrangement, and forging temperatures all matched completely.
The only difference was that The Hand's blacksmiths did not fully understand Vibranium.
They relied on repeated trial and error to embed a small amount of Vibranium into the blade core.
"How long has this smuggling route been going on?" Lin Yao asked.
"At least two years."
Shuri did not hide it.
"The leaked quantity is very small, only a few grams each time. The transporters keep changing, making it difficult for Wakanda to track along a single batch."
"DODC is responsible for transit."
Lin Yao pulled up the transaction ID extracted from Tombstone's ledger.
"The Hand picks up the goods, Fisk Advanced Defensepays, and Tombstone is responsible for transport."
Shuri's beaded terminal scanned the ID.
A few seconds later, seventeen decentralized Vibraniumrecords were linked back together.
The recipient accounts ultimately all fell under shell companies of Fisk Corporation.
Okoye's expression grew a bit colder.
"Wilson Fisk."
"How much has he obtained?"
"Less than two kilograms on paper."
Lin Yao projected another set of data onto the screen.
"The actual quantity might be even more."
Shuri did not answer immediately.
Wakanda attached extreme importance to Vibranium.
But the information before her already exceeded the value of a piece of stolen goods itself.
"Do you hope to keep this blade to continue the investigation?"
"The blade is yours."
Lin Yao retrieved all the previously saved sample data from the system space.
"The structure has already been recorded; there's no need to hold onto the physical item."
Shuri took the ninja blade.
"Very fair."
She didn't relax her judgment just because Lin Yaoproactively returned it.
"You mentioned energy echo just now. Can you demonstrate it?"
Lin Yao took out an ordinary alloy fragment peeled from the hilt.
The Vibranium component had been confirmed by Shuri, and the residual amount was less than one milligram.
A wisp of Qi entered the metal.
The fragment neither heated up nor exploded.
Instead, a ring of stable golden light appeared on the surface.
Lin Yao gradually adjusted the frequency.
The golden light flowed along the crystal lattice arrangement and finally concentrated at the tip of the fragment.
A Qi projectile only the size of a needle tip shot out, precisely piercing through an abandoned chip on the table.
The data line two millimeters away remained intact.
Okoye glanced at the small hole on the chip.
Then she looked at Lin Yao.
"On the battlefield, can you also maintain this kind of precision?"
Peter spoke up from the side, "He pierced through nineteen sets of ability-suppressing collars all at once without hurting anyone."
Jean added, "Those people were distributed in different iron cages."
Shuri imported the Qi energy curve into the model.
She originally only wanted to confirm whether Lin Yaowould destroy the Vibranium structure.
After the data appeared, her attention fell entirely on the energy conduction method.
"Vibranium absorbs external kinetic energy."
"Yet your Qi can bypass the outer layer's absorption and actively transmit along the crystal lattice."
Lin Yao brought up a new alloy model.
"Lowering the proportion of Vibranium, adding high energy-conducting materials, and altering the arrangement of the blade core can reduce Qi loss by thirty percent."
"The weapon will be lighter and more suitable for sustained output."
Shuri continuously inspected the model.
Without complete Wakanda equipment, Lin Yao still deduced a viable direction.
This structure had limited significance to ordinary people.
In The Hands of a user capable of controlling Qi, the value was completely different.
Banner stood to the side and couldn't help but glance at the time.
After finishing the material database, Lin Yao still took less than forty minutes in total.
"Are you planning to manufacture this alloy?" Shuri asked.
"There are no conditions for it at the moment."
"Wakanda has them."
Shuri turned off the model.
"I can open a portion of the non-core material database to you."
"What are the conditions?"
"Sharing all transaction intelligence involving leaked Vibranium."
"The first round of testing for the new alloy must be completed under Wakanda equipment."
Lin Yao nodded.
"Agreed."
Shuri raised her wrist.
A temporary permission was sent to Banner's laboratory terminal.
She then established an encrypted communication channel, handing the permissions to both Lin Yao and Banner.
"If you need to verify materials or track down Vibranium, you can contact me through this line."
Afterward, she took out a palm-sized black disk.
"A portable Vibranium detector."
"The range is limited, but it's enough to track Vibraniumactivated recently within the scope of New York."
Okoye packed away the sealed box containing the ninja blade.
She gave a slight nod to Lin Yao.
"Wakanda will remember that you proactively returned the Vibranium."
"And we will also remember this intelligence."
Her tone remained polite, but her attitude already held obvious approval.
Shuri re-examined Fisk Corporation's transaction route.
The flow of Vibranium was just one of them.
The same batch of transport trucks was also hauling other equipment left behind by DODC.
She magnified the map.
Twelve trucks set out from different warehouses, ultimately converging into an underground facility controlled by Fisk Corporation.
The cargo serial numbers overlapped with the V-Max database.
Shuri looked up at the screen.
"Vibranium is only a part of it."
"Kingpin is still acquiring V-Max's mental equipment."
Chapter 24: Reward: Soul Anchoring
"Jean, don't touch that signal!"
Shuri's voice had just come through the communicator when the lights in all twenty-six rooms of Dawn Housewent out simultaneously.
The next second, the voice of the same woman echoed in the minds of all the test subjects.
"Jean..."
"It hurts so much."
Jean, who was currently building a mental barrier, abruptly opened her eyes.
A crimson light lit up from the depths of her pupils.
The mental network covering the entire industrial park shook violently, and the lamps, medical equipment, and metal furniture on the walls rose into mid-air simultaneously.
Lin Yao arrived by her side in a single step.
Conquerors Haki gathered into a stable will, pressing directly into the mental network.
"Let go of the children first."
Jean clenched her teeth and forcibly cut off the twenty-six mental connections.
The furniture, losing its support, fell one after another, only to be steadily caught by her telekinesis.
Peter immediately rushed into the living area.
"Everyone stay in your rooms!"
"Do not respond to the voice you just heard!"
Frank closed the industrial park gates and activated the perimeter roadblocks.
As for Yelena, she unplugged all lines connected to the external network.
...
Five minutes ago, Lin Yao and his group had just returned from Banner's laboratory.
The transport map provided by Shuri showed that the V-Max devices acquired by Kingpin had been dispersed into six underground facilities in New York.
Lin Yao did not immediately attack those locations.
Six devices moving simultaneously with overly clear routes likely carried the purpose of baiting and tracking.
He first had Jean use the newly acquired mental defense model to establish the first layer of consciousness barrier for Dawn House.
When the barrier covered the last room, V-Max suddenly responded.
Among the devices just acquired by Kingpin, at least one was still connected to the DODC central mental network.
It captured Jean's mental frequency and traced back along the defense model.
Shuri's remote projection appeared in the medical area.
She quickly checked the records of the Vibranium detector.
"A device in northern Brooklyn has just started up."
"Vibranium is amplifying the mental fluctuations."
"Has it locked onto Dawn House?" asked Peter.
"The physical coordinates haven't been exposed yet."
Shuri brought up the data.
"It has locked onto Jean."
Jean had closed her eyes once again.
Sarah's voice was still repeating at the edge of her consciousness.
This time there was no blurred dream.
She clearly saw a passage composed of red nerve signals.
At the other end of the passage, a red-haired girl was strapped to an experimental table.
"Sarah's fragments are guiding me."
Jean said, "Following this passage, I can find the central network."
Lin Yao watched her continuously rising brainwaves.
"How long can you stay?"
"Ten seconds."
"Exceeding ten seconds, exit immediately."
Jean nodded.
Lin Yao compressed Conquerors Haki into a mental coordinate familiar to her.
As long as this will remained, Jean could confirm the direction of reality.
She actively grasped that red passage.
Her mental power moved forward rapidly along the signal.
A huge network of consciousness appeared before her eyes.
Countless fragments of memory floated within it.
Weeping, screams, experimental logs, and death scenes intertwined layer upon layer.
Just as Jean was about to look for the central node, all the fragments suddenly turned their heads.
Every face had turned into Sarah's.
"Jean."
"Why didn't you come to save me?"
Lin Yao began to time it.
"Seven seconds."
Jean locked onto one of the strongest signals among them.
"I've found the entrance."
"Nine seconds."
She prepared to withdraw.
But the passage suddenly closed.
Hundreds of red nerve threads wrapped around her consciousness simultaneously.
Inside the medical area, Jean's body suddenly fell backward.
Lin Yao reached out and caught her.
Crimson flames spread along the corners of her eyes, and the mental network covered the industrial park once again.
The same laboratory appeared before the eyes of all the test subjects.
Peter immediately activated the second-generation stabilizer, using web-shooters to immobilize several children whose powers had gone out of control.
"Jean didn't come back!"
Lin Yao placed her into the medical pod.
Banner's remote monitoring system immediately linked up.
"Physical vital signs are normal."
"Consciousness activity is repeating."
The brainwaves on the screen reached a peak every eleven seconds.
Electric shock.
Suffocation.
Heart stopping.
Then starting over.
Lin Yao brought up the V-Max data.
Super Brain quickly overlapped Jean's brainwaves with Sarah's death record.
"She has been dragged into Sarah's death loop."
Shuri watched the continuously rising mental energy.
"The Vibranium device is amplifying this loop."
"Does Kingpin know the device will actively capture Jean?" asked Yelena.
"He probably only knows that these devices are valuable."
Lin Yao stared at the data.
"The program left behind by Metzger is still running."
V-Max locked onto Jean through Sarah's personality key.
Every time Jean experienced a death loop, the Phoenix Force inside her grew stronger by a fraction.
If this continued, the Phoenix would sooner or later burn through the entire mental network.
Other consciousnesses connected to it would also suffer the impact.
Banner quickly calculated the signal nodes.
"Three hundred and seventy-two."
"Including DODC staff, test subjects, and ordinary people once affected by the personality device."
"What happens if we forcibly shut down the central network?"
"Three hundred and seventy-two people will simultaneously endure the neural shock of Sarah's death."
The medical area fell into a brief silence.
A vast amount of mental power suddenly descended from the other end of New York.
The crying children in the living area quickly quieted down.
The out-of-control abilities were also soothed one by one by a gentle consciousness.
The projection of a man sitting in a wheelchair appeared beside the medical pod.
"Charles Xavier."
Peter recognized the newcomer.
Professor X looked at Jean first.
"The mental shock just now covered more than half of New York."
"I followed the source and found this place."
His consciousness approached Jean.
Crimson flames rose immediately.
Large cracks appeared on the surface of the projection.
Professor X immediately stopped going deeper.
"There is an extremely vast power inside her."
"The Phoenix."
Lin Yao said.
Professor X's gaze shifted to him.
Mental perception unfolded naturally.
He needed to confirm whether the people around Jean were safe, and also needed to judge whether there was mental control in Dawn House.
The moment his consciousness touched Lin Yao, a heavy will fell head-on.
Conquerors Haki did not burst outward.
All the power was condensed at the boundary of Lin Yao's consciousness.
Professor X felt as if he were facing a high wall with no end in sight.
There were no memory fragments.
There were no surface emotions.
There was no entrance whatsoever to go deeper.
As long as he took another step forward, that will would immediately counterattack.
Professor X withdrew his power.
"I cannot read you."
"Don't casually enter my brain."
"Apologies."
Professor X did not conceal his probing.
"Jean possesses the potential to affect the entire city; I must confirm whether the people around her will use her."
"And the result of the confirmation?"
Professor X glanced at Dawn House's medical area, children's room, mental protection equipment, and personnel division of labor.
"There are no traces of large-scale mental control here."
"Jean also has very high management authority."
Lin Yao said, "She is the second administrator of Dawn House."
"After she wakes up, I hope to invite her to Xaviers School."
"You may invite her."
"If she is willing, she can go."
"What if she refuses?"
"Then she refuses."
Professor X fell silent for a fraction of a second.
He had originally worried that Lin Yao would rely on power to decide Jean's future for her.
Yet the answer before him left no ambiguous space at all.
Jean could receive training.
Or she could stay in Dawn House.
The final decision belonged solely to her.
"I will respect her choice."
Professor X refocused his attention on V-Max.
Lin Yao passed Sarah's personality key and the death loop structure entirely to him.
A few seconds later, Professor X had already reached a conclusion.
"Sarah's complete consciousness was not preserved."
"These contents are pieced together from death memories, fear, and some personality reactions."
"She is already dead."
Peter lowered his head.
Shuri also closed some of the detection windows.
Lin Yao had long since deduced this result.
Now with Professor X's confirmation, the last shred of possibility vanished along with it.
"How do we get in?" Lin Yao asked.
Professor X looked at him.
"I can open a mental passage."
"Sarah's fragments pave the entrance."
"Anyone who enters will continuously experience the scenes they fear most."
"You lack psychic training."
Peter walked over to the medical pod.
"Lin Yao goes in."
"V-Max will read memories."
"It can't read his will."
"Jean can also recognize him."
Lin Yao placed his hand on Jean's forehead.
His aura perception went deep into her life state.
Jean's body was still safe.
Her mental coordinates had not completely vanished either.
Every time a death loop ended, she would get a little closer to the Conquerors Haki left behind by Lin Yao.
She was waiting for him.
Professor X raised both hands.
Pale blue mental power surrounded the medical pod.
The walls, lights, and equipment gradually disappeared.
A crimson laboratory corridor replaced reality.
"I'll maintain the passage."
Professor X said, "After finding Jean, come back immediately."
"Before Jean comes out, the passage cannot be closed."
"Once the Phoenix loses control, continuing the connection will be extremely dangerous."
"Then we'll deal with the danger after we come out."
Professor X looked at Lin Yao.
There was no excitement in these words, nor any fear.
Only a decision already made remained.
"Understood."
The mental passage opened completely.
System prompts appeared accordingly.
[Special mental story area detected.]
[V-Max personality network.]
[There is a risk of personality overwriting, memory tampering, and soul erosion in this area.]
[Special check-in conditions met.]
[Check-in Reward: Soul Anchoring.]
Chapter 25: Mental Hell? I will go in and snatch her back myself.
The light blue psychic passage opened completely.
Lin Yao stepped inside.
Dawn House behind him quickly vanished, and the ground beneath his feet turned into a pale white corridor.
Professor X's voice came from afar.
"Remember, everything you see might be fake."
"Once consciousness accepts the illusion, the body will never be able to wake up."
The system prompt appeared at the same time.
[Check-in successful in the special psychic story area.]
[Obtained ability: Soul Anchor.]
A force fell deep into his consciousness.
Lin Yao clearly felt his soul, memories, and willpower being fixed onto the same core.
External forces could create images.
Could simulate sounds.
And could even copy the aura of familiar people.
Yet they could not modify his cognition of himself.
The doors on both sides of the corridor opened simultaneously.
Behind the first door was the already ruined Dawn House.
The office building was burning.
The medical area was bombed into a deep pit.
Twenty-six test subjects lay on the ground.
That girl who had once lost control and burst the water pipe was sprawled at the doorway, her chest pierced by steel rebar.
Peter was hung on the wall by spider silk, his body having lost all breath of life.
Yelena collapsed in the data room.
Frank was gripping a gun, the back of his head pierced by a bullet.
In the center of the scene, Jean knelt in the ruins.
She raised her head, her face covered in blood.
"You're late."
The entire illusion was waiting for Lin Yao to waver.
Lin Yao raised his hand.
Conquerors Haki crashed down.
Cracks simultaneously appeared on the ruins, corpses, and flames.
Jean's face was also shattering.
"Too fake."
"Frank would never leave his back to a gunman."
"Peter wouldn't hang himself with spider silk when he loses control either."
"And Jean certainly wouldn't kneel and wait for death."
The psychic world trembled violently.
The entire Dawn House shattered like glass.
The second-layer illusion immediately pressed down.
Lin Yao stood in the DODC laboratory once again.
Jean was locked onto the experimental table.
Metzger raised a scalpel, with hundreds of incubation pods lined up behind him.
"You possess power, yet you can't save anyone."
Metzger cut open Jean's chest.
The crimson flames quickly extinguished.
Jean reached out and grabbed Lin Yao's wrist.
"Take me away..."
Her aura, heartbeat, and voice were completely identical to the real Jean.
Lin Yao lowered his gaze to look at her hand.
The Soul Anchor did not fluctuate at all.
The person before him had no true soul.
His fist fell.
The experimental table, along with "Jean's" body, exploded simultaneously.
Metzger tried to back away, but Conquerors Haki had already turned into a black-and-red shockwave, tearing the entire laboratory to pieces.
Outside the passage, Professor X's psychic projection shook violently.
He could see the illusions Lin Yao experienced.
Every single one targeted the people Lin Yao valued most.
Those scenes were enough to shatter the judgment of the vast majority of people.
Lin Yao did not pause from beginning to end.
His willpower was like an unbendable nail, directly piercing through all the fake images created by V-Max.
"He hasn't received any telepathic training."
Professor X said in a low voice.
...
Inside the psychic world, new fragments of Sarah kept pouring in.
Hundreds of girls filled the corridor.
Some of them were crying, some were crying for help, and some were pointing in different directions.
"Jean is here."
"She's dying."
"Save her."
Lin Yao did not respond.
Aura perception could not directly capture life within the psychic world.
But the Soul Anchor could distinguish the degree of completeness of personality fragments.
All these Sarahs were incomplete.
Fear, pain, and despair were repeatedly copied, pieced together into identical faces.
The true core was hidden in the location where fear was most dense.
Lin Yao walked forward.
All the Sarahs pounced simultaneously.
They attempted to burrow into his consciousness, overwrite memories, and seize control of his body.
The Soul Anchor vibrated slightly.
All the invading fragments were blocked at the outer layer of consciousness.
Lin Yao raised his right hand.
Conquerors Haki condensed into a black-and-red storm within the psychic world.
Hundreds of personality fragments froze simultaneously.
"Lead the way."
The storm pushed forward.
Fragments blocking the path shattered one after another.
The pale white corridor gradually shortened.
A heavy metal door appeared at the end.
A serial number was marked on the door.
[S-17.]
Lin Yao threw a punch.
The metal door collapsed inward.
Inside was still that same laboratory.
Sarah was strapped to the first experimental table.
Jean was strapped to the second experimental table.
The neural circuits of the two were connected to the same device.
Metzger stood behind the console, continuously pressing the start button.
Electric current passed through Sarah's body.
Her heartbeat stopped.
The scene then reset.
The current fell once more.
At the eleventh second, Sarah died.
The next second, the loop started over.
Jean was forced to experience every burst of pain she had endured.
Jean's eyes had already lost focus.
She even began to fail to distinguish her own memories from Sarah's memories.
"Sister..."
Sarah turned her head to look at her.
"Why didn't you come to save me?"
Jean's psychological defense line continuously collapsed.
"I'm sorry."
"I should have found you sooner."
"I should have..."
"Shut up."
Lin Yao walked into the laboratory.
Jean raised her head abruptly.
Countless Lin Yaos had already appeared before her eyes.
Some blamed her for implicating Dawn House.
Some demanded that she abandon Sarah.
Some told her to hand over the Phoenix Force.
She could not confirm whether this time was real or fake.
Lin Yao raised his hand to release Conquerors Haki.
That willpower, which she had set as her reality coordinate, instantly descended.
Firm, domineering, and without any disguise.
Jean's gaze finally regained a bit of sobriety.
"Lin Yao?"
"Can you still stand up?"
"I'm pinned down."
Lin Yao walked up to the experimental table.
Grabbing the psychic chains with both hands.
V-Max immediately intensified the loop.
Sarah's death scene played at an accelerated pace.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Dozens of deaths simultaneously impacted Lin Yao's consciousness.
The Soul Anchor firmly anchored his self.
Those pains could be perceived, but they could not become his memories.
"No matter how many times the same thing is repeated, it's still fake."
Lin Yao exerted strength in both arms.
The psychic chains locking Jean were snapped on the spot.
Metzger behind the console pounced forward.
His face changed continuously.
Commander, Tombstone, Scorpion, Bullseye.
Finally turning into Sarah.
"If you take her away, I will completely disappear."
Jean's movements paused for a split second.
Lin Yao had already raised his fist.
"You are just a program left behind by DODC."
"Sarah died long ago."
His fist fell.
The fake Sarah was directly blasted to pieces.
The entire laboratory began to collapse.
Jean gazed at the dissipating personality fragments, crimson flames constantly surging within her eyes.
Lin Yao grabbed her wrist, pulling her up from the experimental table.
"Look clearly."
"The people who killed Sarah left behind records."
"If you want revenge, find living people after going out."
Jean took a deep breath.
She did not continue to chase the vanishing phantom.
The two walked up to the console.
Super Brain quickly read the raw records in the psychic network.
Sarah was taken away by DODC under the pretext of assisting with an investigation.
Metzger ordered high-intensity neural stimulation.
The purpose of the experiment was to create a personality key capable of locking onto Jean's psychic frequency.
Sarah died during the third experiment.
The researchers did not stop the equipment.
They continued to record the neural reverberations within eleven seconds after her death, and stored all the data into V-Max.
At the very bottom of the console, the psychic coordinates of the central network were also saved.
The ninth underground floor of DODC Headquarters.
V-Max host core.
Lin Yao firmly memorized the coordinates.
"It's time to go."
The psychic passage had already begun to contract.
Professor X was maintaining the exit from the outside.
V-Max detected the leakage of core data, and all personality fragments surged toward the laboratory simultaneously.
Jean raised her hand.
Crimson flames instantly swept through the entire corridor.
Thousands of fragments let out screams.
Lin Yao blocked in front of her.
"Control the range."
Jean stared at the personality fragments in the flames.
She did not let the Phoenix continue to spread.
The crimson energy only incinerated the parts attacking the two of them.
The remaining fragments were still left in the network.
"I can control it."
"Then keep up."
The exit was right ahead.
The two rushed out of the laboratory.
Before the passage closed, Jean suddenly reached out and hugged Lin Yao.
She hugged him very tightly.
There was no apology.
Nor was there any thanks.
She was simply confirming that he really had come in, and really had brought her out.
Lin Yao did not push her away.
"Wake up first."
The next second, both of their consciousnesses returned to their bodies simultaneously.
Jean opened her eyes abruptly.
Outside the medical pod, Peter, Banner's projection, and Professor X all looked over.
Professor X's psychic projection had become extremely faint.
He had witnessed with his own eyes Lin Yao shattering V-Max's illusion and personality chains.
"Your willpower strength..."
He paused for a moment.
"Is already no weaker than a top-tier telepath."
Lin Yao sat up from the medical bed.
But Jean did not let go of his hand.
Crimson flames rose from around her body.
The psychic network of the entire Dawn House began to vibrate.
The flames continuously converged behind her.
A head.
Wings.
Talons.
A giant phoenix covering the sky above the medical area slowly opened its eyes.
For the first time, Professor X's expression truly changed.
"That is not an ordinary mutant ability."