Physical fitness was now the only thing limiting Roger’s growth in strength.
Only by improving his body’s overall condition could he continue becoming stronger.
With a wave of his hand, Roger took out Hulk’s blood and the Absorbing Man’s blood, tossing both into the alchemy synthesis platform to extract their key abilities and create corresponding serum formulas.
“Remove the side effect of turning green.
Remove the body-enlargement effect.
Retain muscular definition.
Retain rage-based strength increase.
Retain strength increase from taking damage.
Retain rapid regeneration.
Retain extraordinary durability.
Retain enhanced strength.
Retain rationality.
Retain internal organ immunity…”
“Extract energy absorption. Extract matter absorption. Extract energy mimicry. Extract matter mimicry.”
With a gentle push, Roger slid the blood samples into the alchemy platform.
A few seconds later, his phone buzzed with a payment notification.
Your card ending in 8888 made a QuickPay payment of $1,100,000 (unknown channel) on April 27.
Remaining balance: $1,440,866.
[Stark Industrial Bank]
[Estimated production time: 8 hours. Please wait patiently!]
[Spend money to accelerate production! Below are the acceleration rates for different payment tiers… Purchase Super VIP for a 20% discount on acceleration!]
Looking at the payment message and the several pages of premium acceleration plans, Roger’s face immediately darkened.
Silently closing the system interface, he changed into a bandit’s outfit and headed toward the Ten Rings’ stronghold.
“Dear little Tony… Daddy’s here to see you.”
…
Ten Rings Base — Underground Cave, Surveillance Room
Roger sat comfortably with his feet propped up on the desk, leisurely eating shaved ice.
To everyone around him, it was as if he didn’t exist.
As long as he didn’t harm them, they would never awaken from the illusion created by his psychic powers.
Psychic abilities really were insidious.
Perfect for sneaky old schemers.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark was chatting with Yinsen while hammering away at his armor.
“Yinsen, once we get out of here, I want to invite you to Stark Industries.”
“I’ll build you your own luxurious laboratory as thanks for saving my life. It’ll be equipped with the finest aerospace-grade materials. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
Without stopping his work, Tony spoke with absolute sincerity.
Yinsen smiled and shook his head.
“What would I need that for? Rather than talking about a laboratory, tell me… what do you want to do most after we escape?”
“This scorched land has suffered too much.”
“Even the weeds growing by the roadside seem to mourn.”
“The butchers are using the weapons you created to murder, pillage, and wage war. Countless people have lost their homes… families have been torn apart…”
His voice gradually faded.
He thought of his wife.
He thought of his children.
Their smiling faces flickered within the fire before slowly disappearing.
Eventually, he closed his eyes, swallowed hard, and forced all of his grief back down.
The sound of Tony’s hammering slowly came to a stop.
Looking at Yinsen’s sorrowful expression, Tony felt a sharp ache in his heart.
Ever since seeing Stark Industries’ weapons piled outside the cave, he had understood.
Every masterpiece he had invented…
Every weapon he had proudly designed…
Had ended up in the hands of monsters.
They were using his greatest achievements to commit unforgivable atrocities.
Countless innocent people had died beneath weapons bearing the Stark Industries name.
An endless number of restless souls seemed to be watching him from the darkness, waiting for the day they could drag him into the abyss.
“So this…”
“…is karma.”
Tony let out a quiet sigh.
“Yinsen.”
“I promise you.”
“If we make it out alive…”
“I’ll permanently shut down Stark Industries’ weapons division.”
“I’m going to transform the company into one focused on clean energy and medical technology.”
“I’ll never touch these damned weapons again.”
His burning gaze locked onto Yinsen’s eyes.
Within Yinsen’s stunned expression, Tony’s eyes seemed to blaze with fire.
His words carried an almost magical power, strengthening both of their resolve to escape.
Clang…
Clang…
Clang…
…
After observing everything for several hours, Roger casually pocketed over a dozen missiles into his portable storage before leaving the base and returning to the deserted desert.
The Origin of Strength Serum had finished brewing.
He intended to drink it immediately and enhance his physique.
Everything was proceeding according to plan…
Yet Roger couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d forgotten something.
Gulp…
Gulp…
“Haah!”
The glowing emerald serum looked strangely eerie beneath the moonlight.
The power called Rage flowed down Roger’s throat into his stomach before spreading throughout every corner of his body in only a few seconds.
“AAAAAAARGH!!”
His roar echoed across the desert. The source of this chapter is g.com.
His psychic field exploded out of control, sweeping across dozens of meters and kicking up a violent sandstorm.
Roger clenched both fists, his back hunching as he growled.
His body visibly grew stronger before the naked eye.
Years of excess food and drink had left him carrying extra fat, but under the enhancement of the Rage Hulk Serum, it was rapidly consumed.
In moments, a perfectly sculpted eight-pack emerged.
The muscles in his arms and legs swelled into dense, powerful masses.
Throwing back his head, Roger roared.
His clothes instantly burst apart.
The surrounding sand seemed to be crushed by an invisible gravitational force, sinking over ten centimeters into the ground and forming a perfect circular depression.
Bathed in moonlight, Roger now stood nearly two meters tall.
His physique resembled Henry Cavill’s Superman in Man of Steel—every muscle perfectly defined.
His psychic power suddenly contracted, flowing back into his body.
A sharp pain exploded inside his head.
His telekinetic energy was being absorbed by his body and converted into fuel for the ongoing physical enhancement.
He would need to replenish an enormous amount of energy before recovering fully.
Completely naked, Roger lay upon the desert sands, staring quietly at the moon.
The temperature had dropped to four degrees below zero, yet he felt nothing.
Sweat froze into frost across his body before melting from his own body heat and rising into the air as steam.
After lying there in a daze for more than ten seconds, Roger finally came back to his senses.
He pulled out an enormous pile of food and began eating like a madman.
Several hours later, fully dressed once again, Roger sat cross-legged ten thousand meters above the earth, quietly entering meditation.
He had already consumed the Absorbing Man Serum.
Compared to the Hulk Serum, it brought far fewer physical changes.
Instead, it felt more like gaining a useful new ability.
Roger’s telekinetic power and every aspect of his physical capabilities had undergone an astonishing leap.
Although the Rage Hulk Serum didn’t grant him one hundred percent of the Hulk’s full abilities, the strength he now possessed was already terrifying.
Moreover, the additional Rage Hulk Strength he had obtained as a reward from the Real Exploration would continue merging with his body over time, allowing him to eventually surpass even the Rage Hulk himself.
In many movies, directors liked to portray increasing strength by making characters physically larger.
Roger thought that was completely unnecessary.
Growing huge only made you a bigger target.
As for the Hulk Serum’s side effect of turning green…
He had completely removed it.
“Come on.”
“I’m Tony Stark’s best buddy.”
“If I turned into a little green man…”
“…how am I supposed to pick up girls in the future?”
If you want to live a good life…
The one thing you absolutely can’t do… is turn green.