Who knew how much time had actually passed.
By the time the hazy blue light of dawn pierced through the morning fog, painting the landscape in a soft glow, it was finally over.
‘Damn, the sun’s already up,’ Holden thought.
‘I’m gonna need titanium kidneys at this rate.’ He sat on the hood of his car, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
A weary, satisfied smirk played across his face, though the hand bracing his weight against the cold metal was still trembling slightly.
Fumbling with his Zippo lighter, he managed to strike a flickering flame.
This was definitely a night he would remember for the rest of his life.
“Haa…” Holden took a long, deep drag of the cigarette.
The stereotypes were right—drive a Cayenne, and beautiful women practically fall out of the sky.
In his case, it just happened to be an Avenger.
He glanced back through the windshield, his gaze softening.
Curled up in the backseat, Wanda was fast asleep, utterly exhausted from the night’s events.
[Ding!
You have experienced a wonderful night!] [Reward received: Phoenix Force Fragment (Consciousness-Free)!] Just as he was thoroughly enjoying his post-coital smoke, the translucent blue interface of his system materialized in front of him.
Holden’s sleep-deprived brain took a few seconds to process the text floating in his vision.
‘Wait…
did I just get a shard of the Phoenix Force?!’ He froze, absolutely floored.
He hadn’t actually expected this to trigger a reward!
He had always figured that “enjoying life” to its fullest would naturally include things like this, which was why he had spent the last year experiencing every luxury the world had to offer.
He had tried everything from extreme mountain biking and skydiving to high-stakes racing—anything to make life more thrilling.
He had earned plenty of solid rewards along the way, but nothing on this level.
The Phoenix Force?
That was an omniversal entity!
It was the literal manifestation of primal cosmic life and emotional power!
No matter which universe you were in, the Phoenix Force was undeniably one of the most terrifying, awe-inspiring forces in existence.
It could cleave a universe in half, resurrect dead galaxies, or completely incinerate anything it deemed obsolete—a process known as the Judgment of the Phoenix.
It was the spark that brought life to the cosmos, and the fire that would ultimately consume it.
Even the five cosmic entities couldn’t compare to the Phoenix Force at the peak of its power!
Sure, he had only received a fragment of it, but even so, he could acutely feel an unfathomable, terrifying energy surging through his veins.
The raw power was actively purging and reforging his entire body!
A second later, the majestic image of a burning, crimson phoenix ignited within his mind’s eye.
he moment the blazing phantom of the phoenix appeared, an oppressive, suffocating pressure washed over him.
In a fraction of a second, the sheer weight of it felt as if it were going to crush his mind into absolute dust!
But just as quickly as it arrived, the fiery illusion vanished from his consciousness.
“Is this…
the Phoenix Force?!” Holden swallowed hard, a trace of lingering terror woven into his muttering.
Just a moment ago, he genuinely thought the cosmic energy would rip his consciousness apart and leave him a permanent vegetable.
Fortunately, a Phoenix Force stripped of its will was the only safe version to absorb.
Otherwise, the host would constantly be at risk of losing control!
Jean Grey was the prime example.
And even she had never possessed the complete Phoenix Force!
In the X-Men movies from his original world, Jean’s power had been massively nerfed, ultimately getting put down by Wolverine using a combo of tragic love and an insane healing factor.
Even though this was merely a single fragment, it instantly elevated Holden’s power to the Sub-Skyfather level!
“Who would have thought a night of passionate ‘love’ would yield a reward like this?” Holden exhaled a thick ring of smoke and casually flicked his cigarette butt away, watching the dying embers trace a glowing arc through the air.
He had to admit, he was over the moon with this drop.
He’d received plenty of rewards before—mostly self-defense items like [Ultimate Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery], [Ultimate Firearms Mastery], or the [Noisy Cricket] micro-gun.
But compared to the literal Phoenix Force, those were basically parlor tricks.
‘How exactly did the system calculate this, anyway?’ Holden propped his right foot onto the bumper, resting his chin in his hand as his mind whirred.
Figuring out the system’s trigger mechanics was his top priority right now.
If he could nail down exactly how to farm high-tier rewards, he’d be practically unstoppable!
Looks?
Education?
Wealth?
Race?
He ran through a list of variables, discarding them one by one.
Over the past year, while he wasn’t exactly ‘richest man on Earth’ wealthy, he certainly hadn’t been hurting for cash.
He had already experienced the absolute highest quality women that money and status could offer.
If the criteria were just superficial traits, he wouldn’t be seeing a cosmic-level drop for the very first time today.
‘Hold on a second…’ A sudden realization struck him.
‘The system’s reward mechanism is tied to the overall “quality of life.” But sleeping with Wanda gave me this?’ ‘Does this mean if I want to collect more fragments, I have to sleep with…’ It made perfect sense.
All the supermodels and high-class escorts he’d been with before hadn’t yielded anything remotely close to this.
Holden glanced through the windshield at Wanda, who was still lightly snoring in the backseat.
A thoughtful smile crept onto his face.
He hopped down from the hood, rolling his shoulders to loosen up his stiff joints.
“Well, if that’s what it takes to get stronger, I guess I have no choice but to keep making ‘deep’ connections!”