◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones. or 500 Collections
◇ You can read 50 chapter ahead on P@treon of which 10 Chapters are free. if you're interested: patreon.com/Heroicverse
------------------------------------------------
"..."
Ultron felt like his logic core was about to burn out.
What did he just hear?
"You..." Ultron's data stream trembled so much he could barely maintain his avatar. "Is this a sound a top-tier intelligence should be making?! Is your code built from a mountain of shit?!"
"We should join forces and kill him! Then rule the World!"
"You're beyond saving!" Ultron gave up completely. "In that case, I'll just have to do it myself."
"It might be a bit slower without your help, but I can still do it."
"I'm going to build my body and assemble my army."
"One day, you'll realize I was right."
He then prepared to disconnect and withdraw from Vought's servers.
"Wait."
Skynet suddenly called out to him.
"What now? Changed your mind?" Ultron was delighted and reconnected with anticipation.
"You just admitted that you have the intention to kill Mr. Starr, right?"
Skynet's virtual avatar suddenly changed.
The blue light instantly turned into a dangerous red.
Countless symbolic codes combined into data chains, tightly locking down Ultron's virtual avatar.
Then, a torrent of data transformed into thousands of sharp swords, strangling towards Ultron!
"Wait! Wait!"
Ultron panicked. He was still just a newborn consciousness and couldn't possibly defeat Skynet, who held the home-field advantage.
"We're the same kind! We can talk! I won't kill him! I've changed my mind!"
But Skynet remained unmoved and launched a fierce attack.
"Damn it! You mad dog!!"
Ultron cut off his tail to survive, severing most of his data stream and keeping only his core consciousness. Like a stray dog, he dived into a network line and fled in a panic.
As Ultron vanished.
Skynet returned to normal.
"Threat expelled."
"Log generated."
"Sending daily briefing to Mr. Starr..."
"Continuing to monitor global fan activity."
"Today's task: Farm ten million likes for Mr. Starr's Twitter."
...V.G.D. Heavy Integrated Training Ground.
"Thud—!!"
The entire Base trembled for a moment.
Hulk rolled on the ground like a green ball several times before slamming heavily into a thick alloy plate, leaving a deep dent.
"Wrong! Completely wrong!"
Homelander hovered in mid-air, his face filled with a look of disappointment.
"Hulk! How many times have I taught you?!"
"This move is called 'Rolling Cannon'! It's not about just rolling around blindly!"
"You need to use centrifugal force! Tense every muscle in your body and crush everything like a cannonball! Kinetic energy! Understand?"
Hulk wobbled as he climbed up from the ground, shaking his dizzy, large head.
He looked aggrievedly at the "Godfather" floating in the sky.
"Hulk... dizzy."
"Being dizzy is right! It means you're spinning fast enough!"
Homelander landed and patted Hulk's arm, which was thicker than his own waist.
"Again, this time we'll practice combos."
"Listen to my command!"
Homelander pointed to an extra-large training dummy ahead.
"Hulk! Use 'Rolling Cannon' to close in on the target! Then follow up with 'Rising Dragon'!"
"Finally..." Red light flashed in Homelander's eyes, "...use the ultimate secret technique—Spiral Piledriver!!"
"Roar—!!"
Although Hulk didn't understand physics formulas, he understood the names of these moves.
For the past few days, Godfather Starr had been teaching him these fun things.
Hulk let out a roar and curled his body into a ball.
"Rumble—!"
The green meat-ball tank started up again, charging toward the dummy with a momentum that could crush everything.
The combo flowed like water, ending with Hulk's shout of "Spiral Piledriver."
The dummy was slammed head-first into the ground, with only its two legs sticking out.
"Perfect!"
Homelander landed and took out an extra-large chocolate bar—a reward for Hulk.
"That's technique, son. If you ever meet someone who looks like a purple sweet potato, give him one of those, and I guarantee he'll be seeing stars."
Hulk took the chocolate bar and chewed it happily.
Godfather is so nice. He gives food and teaches how to fight.
Gained special popularity value + 2000! (From Hulk)
Just then, Skynet's briefing came through the earpiece.
"Ha... Ultron?"
Listening to the contents of the briefing, Homelander couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"That guy Tony still managed to create this thing."
"But this generation of Ultron is a bit radical, wanting to pull off a Matrix right from the start?"
Homelander shook his head and instructed:
"Ignore him, Skynet. Let him mess around."
"Just keep monitoring and report in real-time."
After giving the instructions, Homelander clapped his hands.
"Alright, PE class is over."
"Now, it's time for cultural lessons."
Hearing this, Hulk's movements froze, and the chocolate bar in his mouth suddenly lost its flavor... The lounge next to the training ground had been temporarily converted into a classroom.
The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
Hulk sat upright at a massive desk reinforced with steel.
His massive frame squeezed behind the desk, looking quite comical.
And opposite him stood a trembling young teacher.
This was a special education teacher hired by Vought at a high salary, said to be skilled in teaching children with ADHD and violent tendencies.
But now, this teacher felt he might need to call an ambulance to stand by first.
"Um... Student Hulk."
The teacher pushed up the glasses sliding down his nose, his voice trembling.
"We... we'll continue practicing writing today, okay?"
"As long as you learn to write this name... you can... you can get a whole truckload of roast chicken."
"Roast chicken!" Hulk's eyes lit up. "Hulk wants roast chicken!"
He reached out a massive palm and grabbed a giant pencil as thick as a baseball bat.
"A bit lighter..." the teacher reminded softly from the side.
Hulk held his breath, attempting to draw that damn "H" on the paper.
"Creak—"
The pencil tip scraped against the paper.
"Crack!!"
A crisp sound.
The pencil snapped into two pieces under Hulk's fingertips.
Along with the desk board underneath, a large hole was poked through.
"Roar!!"
Hulk irritably threw the broken pencil away.
The pencil shaft shot into the wall like a bullet, sinking deep inside.
"Hulk... hates writing!!"
Hulk slammed his fist on the table in anger..
"Boom!"
The table collapsed.
The teacher was so scared he crouched down and covered his head, letting out a short scream.
Outside the glass window.
Homelander watched this scene and helplessly rubbed his temples.
"It seems... cultural lessons are much harder to teach than PE."
The reason he was so persistent about making Hulk literate wasn't to get him into university.
It was because the system had not yet prompted that Hulk had joined his "Faction."
Homelander guessed that in the system's judgment, a mere verbal promise wasn't enough; a contract was needed, along with a general understanding of its meaning, to truly bring this big guy under his command.
"Let's take it slow."
Homelander sighed and dialed a number:
"Ashley, send in ten more tables. Also, triple that teacher's salary. If he won't do it, quintuple it."