Who knows how much time had passed.
A sliver of azure dawn appeared on the horizon, its light piercing through the thin mist to shine upon the earth.
“It’s already dawn!”
“Looks like I need a titanium alloy kidney!”
Hode sat on the hood, dangling a cigarette from his lips.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of his tired face, and his left hand, which supported his body, was still trembling slightly.
He struggled to pull a Zippo out of his pocket.
A flickering flame ignited.
Hode would likely never forget this experience for the rest of his life.
“Whew…”
Hode took a deep drag of his cigarette.
As expected, when you drive a Cayenne, girls just fall from the sky.
And this time, a Superhero had literally fallen right into his lap.
He looked back at the windshield behind him, his gaze softening a bit.
Wanda’s eyes were tightly shut; she had probably fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion.
[Ding! You have spent a wonderful night!]
[Reward Obtained: Phoenix Force Fragment (Will-less)!]
Just as Hode was enjoying his post-coital cigarette, the system panel suddenly materialized in front of him.
The sudden appearance of the system panel took a moment for his exhausted brain to process.
“Wait, I actually got a Phoenix Force Fragment?!”
Recovering his senses, Hode was instantly stunned.
He had never expected that this would also yield a reward!
Because he had thought before, if one were to enjoy life to the fullest, this would definitely be a part of it.
Therefore, he had tried everything he could experience in the World.
In addition, he had also done hill climb racing, skydiving, and extreme cycling.
In short, he had tried everything that could make life more exciting.
And he had received quite a few rewards.
But he hadn’t expected to obtain the Phoenix Force this time.
What was the Phoenix Force!
The Phoenix Force was an omniversal-level power!
It was the physical manifestation of the primeval universal life force and emotional force!
No matter which Universe, the Phoenix Force was one of the most powerful existences!
One of the existences feared and revered by countless living beings, it could cut away or rebirth any part of the Universe.
It could even completely destroy it, burning away what should be obsolete—this was known as the Judgment of the Phoenix.
Some descriptions called the Phoenix Force the embodiment of all passion—the spark that brings life to the Universe, and the fire that will ultimately destroy it.
At its peak, the Phoenix Force was something even the powerful Five Cosmic Entities could hardly match!
Although what he had obtained now was only a part of the Phoenix Force Fragment, even as a fragment, he could clearly feel an extremely terrifying power flowing through his body.
Even his body was being cleansed by this power!
In the next second, a fiery-red phoenix actually materialized in his mind.
The moment this phoenix figure appeared, it swept toward him, carrying an endless, overwhelming pressure.
In just a split second, he felt as if the pressure could crush his will to pieces!
And at that very moment, the phantom image of the phoenix dissipated from his mind in an instant.
“Is this the Phoenix Force?!”
Hode’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, a trace of hard-to-detect dread laced in his murmur.
Just now, he had even doubted whether the Phoenix Force would directly tear his consciousness to shreds, turning him into a vegetable.
Fortunately, a Phoenix Force without its own consciousness could be considered the true Phoenix Force.
Otherwise, it would cause one to lose control of it at any moment!
Jean was the most classic example!
But even she had never possessed the complete Phoenix Force!
Moreover, in the movies of his original World, Jean’s abilities had been heavily nerfed.
In the end, she was defeated by Wolverine using love plus immortality!
Even though it was only a Phoenix Force Fragment, it still gave Hode Sub-Skyfather level capabilities!
“I didn’t expect that just one night of passionate collision would yield such a great reward!”
Hode blew out a smoke ring and casually flicked the cigarette butt away, the sparks tracing an arc in the air.
Needless to say, this reward truly pleasantly surprised Hode.
He had received quite a few rewards before.
He had drawn self-defense type rewards.
For example, [Ultimate Combat Master Fighting Technique], [Ultimate Firearms and Weapons Master], [Miniature Pistol—Noisy Cricket], and the like…
But even so, compared to the current Phoenix Force, they were clearly lacking.
“What exactly is going on here?”
Hode rested his right foot on the car hood, propping his chin with his right hand as he pondered silently.
The most important thing right now was to figure out how the system made its assessments!
If he could know precisely how to obtain higher-grade rewards, wouldn’t that be absolutely amazing!
Looks?
Academic background?
Money?
Race?
As ideas surfaced one after another, Hode dismissed them all.
Because over the past year, although he wasn’t wealthy enough to rival a nation, he had never truly lacked money.
So he had already sought out the best in every aspect!
If it were just because of these things, it would have been absolutely impossible not to trigger it even once.
“Wait!”
At that moment, an idea popped into his mind.
“The system’s reward mechanism seems to be related to the ‘quality of life’.”
“But this time with Wanda, I actually got a reward!”
“Could it be that to collect fragments, I have to…”
That makes sense.
In the past, when he hooked up with foreign women, he had never received so many great rewards.
Thinking of this,
Hode cast his gaze toward the back seat, looking at Wanda, who was letting out soft snores.
A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
He leaped off the hood and vigorously stretched his shoulder blades.
“In that case, I’ll just have to share the rain of Mount Wu with her!”
…Divider…