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As the roulette wheel slowly came to a stop, sparks crackled twice, and then another segment lit up.
[Damaged X-Gene: Energy Absorption (Incomplete)]
The moment it activated, Jimmy felt as if every cell in his body was screaming in protest.
Without hesitation, he pulled out roasted Smaug meat and Fairy Biscuits and started stuffing them into his mouth as his life depended on it.
Only after a while did he finally stabilize.
At the same time, Jimmy began to understand the true meaning of that twenty-four-slot roulette wheel.
Laura was called X-23.
He was X-24.
Laura's X-23 was a designation. She was the twenty-third successful test-tube subject and the most perfect experimental result.
But his X-24 was something entirely different.
It did not mean he came after Laura.
Instead, it represented a bizarre equilibrium formed by the fusion of twenty-four different mutant genes.
That unstable balance was exactly like the roulette wheel he had just seen.
Always on the verge of collapsing.
The more dominant genes that surfaced, the heavier the burden on his body.
Push it too far, and the whole system would collapse.
The only solution was clear.
First, he had to develop the Wolverine gene to its absolute peak, Only then could he cautiously advance the others, step by step.
The X-Gene was damaged.
It could be repaired with points.
But before that, the Wolverine gene had to be raised to Level 3.
It was like building a skyscraper.
The Wolverine gene was the foundation.
Without a solid base, everything above it would eventually crumble.
As for power scaling:
[X-Gene Level 1] = Mutant Tier 2
[X-Gene Level 2] = Mutant Tier 4
[X-Gene Level 3 (Maximum)] = Mutant Tier 6
To raise X-Gene levels:
Level 1 → 2 required 2 Skill Points
Level 2 → 3 required 4 Skill Points
Jimmy stared at the 0.5 behind the damaged gene and felt a headache coming on.
That 0.5 could not be upgraded with points.
It could only be raised through real-world training.
If it were Wolverine's 0.5, that would be simple.
Get stabbed more. Eat more. Heal through it But this gene 0.5 was a nightmare.
For now, it could only absorb energy-based phenomena.
Water was thrown at him.
Electricity passes through him.
Wind strikes his body.
Sticking his hand into a power socket?
Useless.
Direct contact meant the electricity just turned into raw physical damage, which his Wolverine body would tank instead.
To train it properly, he would have to be struck by lightning But that created another problem.
At 0.5, the absorption couldn't handle that level of energy. So once again, it would default to Wolverine's body taking the hit head-on.
Which raised the real question.
How long would it take to raise this thing?
Worse still, it could not absorb physical force.
For example:
If water splashed at him, the kinetic energy could be absorbed But if there was sand mixed in that water, the sand would still hurt him.
Not even one bit of that damage would be absorbed.
Jimmy sighed.
"Well… better than nothing."
At least now he understood the path he needed to take.
Still, he had a bad feeling.
This upgrade path was going to be painful.
Very painful.
Jimmy shook his head.
"I treat all living beings with the greatest goodwill, yet suffering still refuses to leave me alone."
With that thought, he decided to use his lottery draw.
[Lottery Draw Initiated]
"Ding!"
[Congratulations. You have obtained: Yellow Gemstone]
[Item Level: 12]
[Socket Effect (Weapon): +1–22 Lightning Damage]
[Socket Effect (Shield): +22% Lightning Resistance]
"Huh?"
A new item.
Unfortunately, completely unusable.
Jimmy tried using the [Horadric Cube] to socket the Yellow Gem into [Cloud Blade] and [Saber].
No response.
Nothing went in.
"What the hell is this even for?"
Fuming, Jimmy opened his status panel again.
---
[Name: Jimmy Halstead]
[Level: 14 (11%)]
[Age: 1]
[X-Gene: 2]
[Abilities:] Accelerated Healing, Feral Senses, Enhanced Smell, Advanced Hand-to-Hand Combat, Bladed Weapon, and Claw Mastery
[Ability II:] Absorption (Damaged)
[Equipment: Memory Adamantium Alloy]
---
Jimmy booked a flight ticket.
As for Horus he could just fly on his own. With this distance and no transfers required, Horus might even arrive before Jimmy.
Time to go.
After saying goodbye to Yinsen, Jimmy gave the busy Tony a quick call, said a few words of farewell, and then headed into the airport.
"What? The flight is grounded?"
"Yes, Mr. Jimmy, we can offer you a refund or rebooking service."
"Alright, Then check which famous tropical jungle regions my visa allows me to visit."
"Preferably the really wild kind. You know, the sort with people going 'ah–oh–ah–oh–oh–oh.'"
Jimmy slapped his visa onto the counter.
The staff member processing his request couldn't help but snort with laughter.
This was just too much.
"We're professionally trained," she said, trying to hold it in. "We usually don't laugh unless we really can't help it."
"Hey, Lisa," she called to a colleague. "This Mr. Jimmy wants to go somewhere with 'ah–oh–ah–oh–oh–oh.' Got any recommendations?"
"'Ah–oh–ah–oh–oh–oh'?" Lisa blinked. "What kind of place is that?"
"Primitive jungles, Tribal people. Tropical regions," Jimmy explained concisely.
"Oh. In that case, this place should fit your needs," Lisa said with a grin. "But just so you know the 'ah–oh–ah–oh–oh–oh' people there eat people."
"Wow, that's terrifying," Jimmy said excitedly. "I love it, Let's go with that."
---
After leaving the counter, Jimmy found Horus and told him about the change of destination. Horus would need to sneak into the aircraft's landing gear compartment later.
As the plane took off, Jimmy put on his eye mask, determined to block everything out.
Every time he flew, Jimmy felt tense every nerve ending screaming danger.
Strangely enough, riding on the back of a giant eagle never gave him that feeling.
Maybe wolves just weren't built for flying.
After all, there were legends of winged tigers, flying bears, even snakes transforming into dragons but wolves? At most, they howled at the moon.
Lost in these thoughts, Jimmy drifted along as the long journey continued.
About half an hour later, quiet whispers from nearby passengers reached his ears.
They probably thought he was asleep.
Jimmy twitched an ear and heard something interesting.
Their destination was the same as his, but their purpose was different.
They were from a biotechnology company, one that was on the verge of bankruptcy.
They were heading somewhere this dangerous… just to find experimental materials.
Jimmy couldn't help but wonder.
Couldn't experimental materials be grown in labs?
Was it really necessary to risk their lives?
He was going there for fun.
They were going there to gamble their lives.
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