Luka pressed the injection button.
The waste fluid flowed along the tubing into the minion’s body.
Barely five seconds passed.
A violent reaction began.
The minion on the bed began to twitch hysterically, his entire skin turning beet red.
His eyes bulged, large globs of white foam spewed from his mouth, and the leather straps creaked loudly against his frantic struggling.
“Well, looks like this formula was a bit too spicy.
His cells are practically tap-dancing.” Luka leaned against the workbench, arms crossed, watching the show with an amused expression.
Ten seconds later.
The minion went stiff, then slammed heavily back onto the bed, evidently breathing his last.
The alarm signaling the loss of vital signs echoed through the lab.
The injection had failed once again.
The atmosphere in the room instantly plummeted to freezing point.
Several researchers hung their heads in fear, not even daring to breathe loudly.
The bald leader’s expression turned exceedingly grim, fury burning in his eyes.
He suddenly drew his pistol, strode up to Luka, and pressed the pitch-black muzzle straight against Luka’s forehead.
The cold touch made Luka’s eyelids twitch.
Though internally panicking and mentally cursing the old guy for not playing by the rules, Luka maintained total calm on the surface.
“Hey pal, that’s just how science goes.” Luka spread his hands and shrugged innocently.
“Successful examples are always exceedingly rare.
We need patience.
Failure is the mother of success, get it?” The bald leader was almost laughed out of his anger, the muscles on his face twitching with rage.
He glared fixatedly into Luka’s fearless eyes for a full half-minute.
Then, he suddenly smirked.
He holstered his pistol back into his belt holster.
“You really are a genius, Stark.
Not many people can keep talking trash with a gun to their head,” the bald leader sneered.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you can’t help me.
Your value is completely exhausted.
Just like that garbage brother of yours, you’re both useless trash.” Hearing this, Luka’s heart sank, his brow furrowing involuntarily.
How was Tony doing?
Had he pissed off these guys too?
Was that crappy car battery still hooked to his chest?
Countless worries surged in his heart.
Even though they constantly bickered, in this world, Tony was his only family.
If something happened to Tony…
But Luka knew he couldn’t show weakness now.
He immediately reverted to his punchable, smart-aleck expression.
“Is that so?
That egomaniac Tony really is trash—he even snores in his sleep.
What stupid thing did he do to make you so mad anyway?
Did he steal your coffee?” The bald leader was no fool either, instantly recognizing that Luka was fishing for information.
“Save your breath.” “You’ll be meeting him in hell very soon.” “Dammit, I definitely don’t want to listen to him brag about his romantic affairs in hell.
If you guys really kill him, remember to put a couple extra bullets in him for me—I’ve wanted to punch him for a long time.” Luka continued to quip, trying to hide his internal anxiety.
The bald leader couldn’t be bothered with his nonsense anymore.
He turned around, waving a hand dismissively behind his back.
“Take him out to the cliff.
Dispose of him.
Clean up thoroughly, don’t dirty my base.” Hearing those words, the heavy stone in Luka’s heart finally landed.
Plan successful.
Yet right on its heels came a deeper worry.
How was Tony really doing?
The guy saying they’d meet soon—did it mean Tony was already dead, or that Tony was also on the brink of execution?
Tony was so smart, he had to be coming up with some way to save himself too.
Hopefully he could hold on.
Damn it, once I get out of here…
I’m definitely firing two Jericho missiles to flatten this entire mountain!
Two towering armed soldiers stepped forward, grabbing him by the arms on both sides.
To let the plan proceed smoothly, Luka didn’t resist, making only a token effort at struggling.
“Hey, hey!
Easy!
These clothes might be yours, but they’re still clothes, okay?
I have my own legs, I can walk!” The two guards paid no mind to his complaints.
They dragged Luka out directly and placed him onto a wheelchair-like transport device in the corridor.
Thick latches clamped around his wrists and ankles, locking him firmly in place.
“A cart?
Couldn’t you guys at least get one with leather seats?
This plastic board is giving me back pain!” The soldiers pushed Luka along the long corridor toward the exit.
Along the way, Luka kept trying to talk to the two of them, attempting to gather information.
“Hey, tell me, who actually ordered our kidnapping?
Who gave you the intel?
Just give me a name, and I’ll give you more money than you can spend in a lifetime.” Over the past two months, he had been trying to investigate this.
Because there was no way these terrorists could have pinpointed their movements so precisely—someone had definitely betrayed them.
However, everyone in this base was just like these two soldiers: tight-lipped, ignoring him completely, like emotionless robots.
The cart passed through several heavy doors, and the surrounding environment began to change.
The white walls yielded to rough, exposed stone, and the air turned dry.
Finally, they reached a balcony-like ledge near the mountain cave’s exit.
There were no railings here; outside was a bottomless abyss.
Seeing this, Luka felt intensely excited inside.
Finally…
it worked!
On the outside, though, he just let out a cold laugh.
“Talk about full service.
Knowing I like beach vacations, you even wheeled me out to soak up some sun before I die?
Does your industry do end-of-life care now?” The two soldiers still paid him no heed.
The soldier in front stepped forward, hit a switch on the wall, and opened the iron bar gate.
Wild wind immediately howled in from outside.
The soldier behind pushed Luka through the gate and right up to the edge of the cliff.
Less than half a meter separated him from falling over.
The midday sun poured down completely unobstructed, so glaring it forced one’s eyes shut.
The soldier in front raised his assault rifle, pointing the pitch-black barrel right at Luka’s head.
They prepared to fire.
At this moment, Luka was completely bathed in sunlight.
The sun hit his body.
In this instant, Luka knew his plan had succeeded.
He could clearly feel the serum hidden in his bloodstream spring to life.
Like a greedy vortex, it frantically devoured the solar energy.
Then, amplifying that energy exponentially, it poured it fiercely into his dormant cells.
He felt it.
A wild, violent force inside his body was awakening!
Blood surged through his veins, bones remolded, muscles expanded, and cells cheered in euphoria.
The overwhelming sensation of power filling his whole body made him want to roar in pure bliss.
Luka closed his eyes, took a deep breath, unable to suppress the smirk curving up his lips.
“Praise the sun,” he whispered to himself.
The two soldiers standing behind him finally spoke.
“Prepare to fire,” the soldier on the left said coldly, his finger resting on the trigger.
Right at that moment!
Luka snapped his eyes open!
A majestic, boundless power surged throughout his entire body.
The mutation was complete; the energy was fully awake.
“Creak!
Snap!” Under the stunned gazes of the two soldiers— The heavy metal restraints binding Luka’s wrists and ankles unexpectedly cracked on their own, bursting off and falling to the ground.
Immediately after, Luka’s body slowly lifted off the wheelchair, floating up into the air.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, throwing his head back to face the blazing sun as if receiving a baptism of power.
Just then, a gust of violent wind blew up from below the cliff.
The white lab coat Luka wore began to billow noisily behind him, flapping like a war god’s cape.
The two soldiers snapped out of their shock.
They chose to open fire immediately.
“Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!” “Die, monster!” A dense rain of bullets poured toward Luka suspended in midair.
The next second.
Floating in midair, Luka opened his eyes once more.
This time, an unbelievable transformation had taken place in his eyes.
His pupils had turned a dazzling, brilliant white-gold!
Around his eyes, wild, violent white energy flickered and bled outward like flames.
The bullets hitting the space in front of him seemed to strike an energy forcefield, ricocheting off one after another and clattering to the ground.
“What monster?” Luka tilted his head, feigning confusion.
The very next moment— Two white pillars of light erupted from his eyes like roaring giant dragons!