Listening to Loren's agonized roar, 2B couldn't help but show concern on her face.
"Boss, how do you feel? Should I stop the injection immediately?"
"No—don't stop! Inject it all. Otherwise, everything I've endured will be for nothing!" Despite the searing pain, Loren cut her off the moment she suggested halting the procedure.
Hearing this, 2B hesitated for a moment—but ultimately continued. She administered the entire dose of the strengthening serum into Loren's body.
As the last drop entered his system, Loren immediately felt as though his body were an overinflated balloon, expanding at a rate visible to the naked eye.
His bones groaned under the strain, stretched and pulled apart as if his entire frame were on the verge of shattering. The pain far exceeded anything he'd imagined—something he'd never experienced before.
Before the injection, he'd anticipated agony, but not this. It was pure torture.
Fortunately, the torment didn't last long. After only a dozen seconds, the pain vanished—replaced by a soothing warmth, as if he were soaking in a hot spring. His whole body relaxed, comforted and revitalized.
"Bitter first, sweet later… Not a bad trade," Loren murmured to himself. Then he felt it—a profound transformation surging through him.
His once-slender frame was now layered with dense, sculpted muscle.
These weren't the bulky, grotesque slabs of bodybuilders, but sleek, functional muscles—streamlined and alive, the kind that could disappear beneath clothing yet explode with power when needed.
His height had also increased significantly. Before the injection, he stood at 175 cm; now, thanks to the perfected super-soldier serum, he towered at 188 cm—an impressive 13 cm gain. The enhancement was nothing short of astonishing.
And that was only the surface change. The internal upgrades were even more critical. He lightly clenched his fist—and heard a sharp, crackling pop, like knuckles snapping into place.
Just that simple motion made it clear: his strength had shattered the limits of ordinary humanity. He didn't yet know how many tons he could lift—but he knew it was far beyond normal.
His overall physical fitness, he estimated, had improved at least fivefold. And don't underestimate that multiplier. For context, Captain America—Steve Rogers—was enhanced only fourfold by the original super-soldier serum… and that alone made him one of Marvel's legendary powerhouses.
This illustrated just how extraordinary a five-times increase truly was.
To put it in perspective: if an average person's physical rating is 10, even elite athletes might only reach 12 or 13 after years of training. For a human, a single-point gain is a monumental achievement.
Now, Loren's rating had skyrocketed to 50.
The sheer potential of that power was terrifying.
"Is this what it feels like… to become stronger?" Loren lay back in the experimental chamber, unable to suppress a laugh. "It feels incredible! Hahaha!!"
He raised a hand—and with a casual push, blew the hatch clean off the chamber. Instantly, his naked, chiseled form—reminiscent of an ancient Greek statue—was revealed to 2B.
Looking at Loren, who seemed like a completely different person, 2B's face was filled with shock.
She immediately scanned him from head to toe, then took in his entire form in one sweeping glance. Her eyes burned noticeably brighter.
"Boss… you've gotten taller—and bulkier."
2B stared straight at Loren, then subconsciously licked her lips like a greedy cat.
Seeing that strange look in her eyes, Loren instantly recalled what 2B had said seven days ago.
A sudden, ominous premonition seized his heart.
"Boss," 2B asked, feigning innocence, "shouldn't you test your new body?"
"Well… we do need to run some tests." Loren nodded and began the evaluation.
Time flew by—an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
During that hour, 2B meticulously ran a battery of tests on Loren. The array of tools seemed endless, but the results aligned closely with his own suspicions: his overall physical fitness had increased roughly fivefold.
In his current state, he could unleash a burst force of approximately five tons. Ordinary cold weapons couldn't pierce his skin, and even bullets would struggle to wound him. And if he was injured, his self-healing ability far surpassed that of any normal human.
His leaping capacity was equally astonishing—he could jump ten meters straight up from a standstill. With a running start, his long jumps stretched to nearly fifty meters.
Moreover, all five of his senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—had been dramatically enhanced. He could clearly read large text on a poster hundreds of meters away, hear whispers from the same distance, and detect scents from over a kilometer off. His sense of taste could distinguish hundreds of chemical compounds, while his sense of touch could perceive the subtlest shifts in air currents.
Combined with his newfound lightning-fast reflexes, these heightened senses allowed him to anticipate environmental changes before they happened—functionally similar to Spider-Man's spider-sense.
In short, he wasn't just stronger—he was superhumanly strong. In his estimation, unless he faced someone on the level of Hulk or Thor, most ordinary superheroes wouldn't stand a chance against him.
And that was without the upgraded Bat Suit. Once equipped with it—and paired with his arsenal of high-tech weaponry—his combat power would escalate even further.
Loren clenched his fists, a flush of excitement lighting his face. With this surge in strength, his confidence in confronting the Hydra organization soared.
Just as he was savoring the intoxicating thrill of his newfound power, a call from Freddy shattered the moment.
"Master," Freddy said, "your aunt Maeve Morgan is here."