In terms of raw strength, Russell was indeed no match for the male test subject.
However, during their brief clash, Russell had noticed that the male subject didn’t seem to be using his full power.
More accurately, he seemed unable to exert his full strength.
Russell was certain the man had held back, but why he had done so remained a mystery.
“Makes sense.
After all, you’ve already completed the combat training Jack set up.”
“I heard Jack telling the instructors that you performed exceptionally well—so well that you broke every known record.”
Though Wilson only conducted physical evaluations on Russell once a week, that didn’t mean he was ignorant of Russell’s progress.
“It was alright.
It’s only natural to break a few records after going through enhancement.”
Russell didn’t particularly feel like discussing the topic further with Wilson.
Having answered, he quietly returned to his room.
Every subject who successfully survived enhancement was assigned a private room rather than being forced to stay in communal dorms like standard Hydra soldiers.
It was a minor courtesy Hydra granted to its enhanced test subjects.
Not long after Russell returned, a researcher in a white lab coat entered his room carrying a tablet.
“Mr.
Wilson asked me to hand this over to you.
It contains some of your physical diagnostic data, as well as relevant data on Allen and Hathaway.”
Russell didn’t know this researcher personally, but he recognized him as one of Wilson’s assistants.
As the lead scientist of Project Abomination, Wilson commanded a vast team; Russell alone had seen over thirty of his assistants so far.
“Did Wilson leave any other instructions?” Russell asked casually as he took the tablet.
“Mr. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Wilson also hopes you can help observe and record Allen and Hathaway’s condition during upcoming training.
If you notice anything unusual, please report it immediately.”
With that, the researcher quietly left the room.
Once the man was gone, Russell lay back lazily on his bed, opened the file on the tablet, and read through it carefully.
He paid little attention to his own records.
He understood his own body better than anyone, so he focused primarily on the files for Allen and Hathaway.
Allen was the male test subject, while Hathaway was the female.
The tablet contained no information regarding their backgrounds—only their pre- and post-enhancement physiological metrics, along with a few key points Wilson had explicitly flagged for observation.
Based on the data, Allen and Hathaway’s enhancement process was far more refined than Russell’s.
In Wilson’s classification system, Russell was a Gen-1 Abomination Soldier—one whose skin wouldn’t turn green, nor would his body expand.
Meanwhile, Allen and Hathaway, whose skin could turn green and who were capable of preliminary transformation, were classified as Gen-2 Abomination Soldiers.
Yet whether it was Russell, Allen, or Hathaway, though all three were now enhanced humans, there remained a substantial gap between them and the true Abomination Super Soldiers Hydra desired.
Hydra wanted a super-weapon over three meters tall and weighing hundreds of kilograms—a monster capable of going toe-to-toe with the Hulk—not mere enhanced soldiers like Russell and the others.
Wilson had sent Allen and Hathaway’s files to Russell partly so Russell could keep an eye on them, but also to see whether Gen-2 Abomination Soldiers injected with Russell’s blood would react in any way to the blood’s original owner during daily interactions.
Only after confirming that Gen-2 soldiers were unaffected by Russell’s presence would Wilson proceed with developing Gen-3 Abomination Soldiers.
What Wilson never anticipated, however, was that Gen-2 Abomination Soldiers injected with Russell’s blood experienced an instinctive stress response when facing him—an instinct akin to confronting a natural predator.
This was the primary reason why Allen, despite having far superior physical stats, had been sent flying with a single punch and thoroughly suppressed.
Having reviewed the data, Russell had already deduced this truth, but he had no intention of sharing it with Wilson.
On the surface, Wilson possessed an inexplicable level of trust in Russell, but Russell reciprocated none of it.
To be precise, it was impossible for him to trust Wilson in the slightest right now.
This was a secret Hydra base, and Wilson was a Hydra bio-scientist—the very mastermind responsible for turning him into what he was today.
Upon learning that Wilson had successfully created two Gen-2 Abomination Soldiers in Allen and Hathaway, Hydra decided not to waste resources and once again instructed Jack to organize combat training for the pair.
For reasons unknown, Jack added Russell to the roster of instructors for Allen and Hathaway, turning Russell overnight into their combat instructor.
Russell didn’t decline Jack’s assignment—nor did he currently possess the authority to refuse.
It was another month-long training program.
With Russell serving as a successful precedent, Jack’s regimen was executed smoothly.
And so, Russell officially began his career as an instructor.
“Your attacks are too predictable.
An enemy would read you in an instant!”
Russell was currently engaged in one-on-one combat training with Allen.
Although Allen and Hathaway possessed superior physical attributes compared to Russell, that was only true when they transformed into their green state.
In their normal forms, the gap between them and Russell was as vast as the divide between Russell and an ordinary soldier.
Consequently, Allen and Hathaway could only spar with Russell while transformed.
In addition, Russell discovered a minor flaw in these Gen-2 Abominations.
While their strength surged dramatically upon transformation, their transformed state came with a strict time limit.
As far as current records showed, Allen could maintain his transformation for about forty minutes, whereas Hathaway could only hold hers for around thirty.
Whether their transformation duration could be extended in the future was a question neither Russell nor Wilson could definitively answer.
Once this flaw came to light, Hydra’s valuation of Allen and Hathaway dropped noticeably.
The success rate for Gen-2 Abomination modifications was already low.
While not as abysmal as Russell’s one-in-a-thousand miracle, it wasn’t much better—yielding roughly one success out of several hundred attempts.
A low success rate, time-limited transformations, and most importantly, a complete failure to achieve the overwhelming power needed to brush off conventional weaponry and turn the tide of war.
It was only natural that Hydra’s focus on Gen-2 Abomination Soldiers dwindled, leading them to pressure Wilson into accelerating the research and development of Gen-3 Abomination Soldiers.