When Leon finally opened his eyes again, three full days had already passed.
During those three days, no one had come to provoke him. The two women understood that he was dealing with something important, so neither of them tried to disturb him.
The moment Leon's eyes opened, a faint flame-like glow flickered within them, shining briefly like two bright lamps in the dim light. The fiery glow lingered for a moment before gradually fading away.
Only when the light fully disappeared did Leon release a long breath.
Digesting the energy of the nuclear explosion had taken far more effort than he expected. The raw power contained in a nuclear detonation was immense, far beyond the energy of ordinary attacks, but he had still managed to refine and absorb it successfully.
And while doing so, he had accomplished something even more important.
"All of the nuclear explosion energy is now stored inside my body," Leon murmured thoughtfully. "Right now, I'm basically carrying the power of a nuclear bomb within me."
He flexed his fingers slightly, sensing the surging power beneath his skin.
"In the entire universe, that level of energy isn't weak at all."
"How are you feeling?"
Lorna's voice came from beside him.
When Leon turned his head, he discovered that she had already walked up to him without him noticing. Her expression held a trace of worry, though she tried to hide it.
Leon smiled faintly and extended a hand toward her.
Without hesitation, Lorna reached out. Leon gently pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her into his embrace.
"I'm doing great," he said calmly. "Better than ever, actually."
He tilted his head slightly as if sensing the flow of energy inside his body.
"Right now I'm stronger than I was even a moment ago… and that strength is still increasing."
That statement was not an exaggeration.
Every second that passed, Leon could feel himself becoming stronger.
The nuclear energy inside his body had become a powerful catalyst. It continuously stimulated the Phoenix Force, accelerating its growth and development. As the Phoenix power expanded, Leon's other abilities improved alongside it.
The process felt like pouring high-grade fuel into an already powerful engine.
The result was explosive growth.
"That's good," Lorna said softly.
When she first heard that Leon had faced a nuclear explosion head-on, she had been deeply worried. Seeing him sit completely motionless for two or three days afterward only made that concern worse.
Unlike Jean, who tended to remain calm and emotionally reserved, Lorna reacted more naturally.
She worried.
"Don't worry," Leon reassured her with a gentle squeeze. "I'm perfectly fine."
As he spoke, Leon snapped his fingers.
A flash of silver suddenly shot upward from the lower floors of the building. The figure streaked through the air before landing smoothly in front of him.
It was a soldier robot.
Its metallic body gleamed under the light, and inside its mechanical eyes there was a faint glimmer that resembled human awareness.
"Sir."
The voice came from the robot.
This was Svija's current body.
Over time, its internal database had been expanded to include nearly every emotional response and cognitive pattern found in human beings. Through continuous evolution and countless processing cycles, Svija had become increasingly close to something resembling true life.
However, it still lacked one final transformation.
Without that last step, it remained an advanced artificial intelligence rather than a true living intelligence.
"Has anything major happened over the last couple of days?" Leon asked.
"Yes, sir."
Svija's eyes flashed faintly.
A holographic screen appeared in front of Leon, displaying a collection of global news reports and intelligence summaries from the past two days.
Most of the major headlines focused on decisions made by the United States government.
For example, there had been a proposal to unite several European and Asian powers in a joint effort to deal with Leon. However, that initiative had been rejected by multiple nations.
Leon raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Interesting."
He leaned back slightly while scrolling through the information.
"So in the end, relationships between countries still come down to interests. Even in a situation like this, they're unwilling to cooperate."
He chuckled softly.
"That's human nature for you."
The news reports also showed how other nations had reacted to the crisis Leon caused. Many governments had increased military deployments, activated special defense programs, or strengthened their strategic forces.
But none of that really mattered to him.
What surprised Leon more was that the global financial system had not completely collapsed.
"I didn't expect them to stabilize the markets so quickly," he muttered thoughtfully.
"Sir."
Svija suddenly spoke again.
"The subprogram I deployed within the American network has discovered something else. I believe you'll find it interesting."
The screen flickered and changed.
Leon glanced at the new information, then frowned slightly.
"Mutant Expansion Program?"
He scanned the details carefully.
"Or rather… a S.H.I.E.L.D. initiative designed to artificially cultivate more mutants?"
Leon stared at the report for a moment.
Then he smiled.
Apparently, everything he had done was already reshaping the world.
The United States government had clearly decided to create more mutants through artificial means. Their hope was simple: somewhere among those new mutants, they might find someone capable of opposing Leon.
"That's actually a pretty clever plan," Leon said with a faint grin.
"Mutants are full of unpredictable variables. Their abilities can be incredibly strange."
His eyes gleamed with curiosity.
"Maybe a few of them will develop some truly outrageous powers."
He leaned forward slightly.
"I'm actually looking forward to it."
Leon waved a hand casually.
"Keep monitoring that program. If there's any movement, notify me immediately."
"Yes, sir," Svija replied.
After a brief pause, the AI added another piece of information.
"In addition, the United States government appears to be preparing another counterattack plan. However, the operation is extremely secretive. The information cannot be accessed through the internet."
Leon nodded calmly.
"Just keep watching them."
Then he shifted the conversation.
"Tell me something else," he said thoughtfully. "How far has your evolution progressed?"
Svija tilted its head slightly.
The lights within its eyes flickered in a pattern that resembled someone thinking deeply.
"I'm… not entirely sure how to define my current state," it said slowly.
"I no longer need to imitate human behavior using database patterns. This body allows me to experience sensations similar to human perception."
Svija paused briefly.
"And… something else happened recently."
Leon raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
"I believe… I had a dream."
Leon blinked.
"A dream?"
For a moment he looked genuinely surprised.
Then he laughed softly.
"That's fascinating."
He leaned forward with obvious curiosity.
"So what did you dream about?"
"I don't know," Svija replied honestly.
"It appeared to be irregular data sequences that I couldn't interpret. I couldn't analyze their meaning or determine whether the experience truly qualifies as a dream."
Svija's tone carried genuine confusion.
Leon rested his hand on his chin and began thinking.
Svija's evolution had progressed much faster than he initially expected. The speed of that development was honestly surprising.
But it was not a bad thing.
In fact, it might be the beginning of something extraordinary.
.....
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