novelraw Page 90
Page 90
“Don’t mention it.” Tony circled him, as if admiring a work of art. “So, Fury invited you, such a busy man? He told me you’re a gamma ray expert. Seriously, how do you manage not to explode at any moment? I’m very curious about your body’s energy conversion rate.”
“Tony!” Steve frowned, finding him incredibly rude.
“Relax, Captain. This is a conversation between scientists.” Tony said nonchalantly, winking at Banner. “We’re all cursed, aren’t we? This thing on my chest, and that big guy inside you. Except, mine’s cooler.”
Banner looked at him and smiled for the first time. He hadn't expected this legendary, arrogant billionaire to greet him in such a way. He didn't see him as a monster, but rather as a scientific phenomenon worthy of study.
This made him feel... a little more relaxed.
"Chen, it's a pleasure to see you again," Banner said, noticing Chu Hang standing to the side. "Speaking of which, I owe you a favor. Thanks to you, the military has finally stopped bothering me these past few days."
Chu Hang smiled slightly: "No need to be so polite, Doctor. I've always disapproved of the military's behavior."
“Come with me, Doctor.” Tony put his arm around his shoulder and led him to a machine. “Take a look at this energy signal, left by the Tesseract. I think its radiation model is very unstable, what do you think?”
Banner was immediately captivated by the data on the screen.
"It is indeed... releasing neutron radiation, but it's not a standard decay..."
The two brilliant scientists began their discussion as if no one else was around.
Steve looked at them, shook his head, and couldn't understand a word they said. He felt that yet another invisible wall had been erected between him and this era.
Chapter 103 The Number One Mage of the Nine Realms
Stuttgart, Germany.
Outside the banquet hall, a group of people in smart attire were enjoying a pleasant evening in the square. Classical music flowed from the hall, mingling with the popping sound of champagne bubbles.
Suddenly, the music stopped.
A black Quinjet silently streaked across the night sky, like a razor cutting through velvet.
Immediately afterwards, a figure descended from the sky, landing heavily atop the sculpture in the center of the square. He wore an extravagant golden horned helmet and a green cloak, and the tip of the scepter in his hand glowed with an eerie blue light that flickered like an evil eye.
The conversation in the square stopped. Dozens of eyes turned to look, filled with confusion and a hint of unease.
The next second, panic exploded like a lit fuse.
Loki enjoyed the transformation. He loved seeing those elegant smiles freeze into terrified screams. With a flick of his scepter, a beam of energy struck a police car parked on the side of the road with pinpoint accuracy.
Blinding flames engulfed the police car, and the shockwave from the explosion knocked over several slow-moving people. Screams turned hysterical, and the crowd, like an anthill that had been poked, pushed, cried, and scattered in all directions.
Loki's voice, amplified by magic, carried an undeniable authority that drowned out all the noise.
He stepped lightly down from the sculpture, as if descending from his throne. Around him, a dozen identical phantoms appeared out of thin air, surrounding the remaining people who were terrified.
“You were born craving to be enslaved.” Loki paced back and forth, his voice carrying a condescending elegance. “You crave power, yet fear true freedom. Kneel down, kneel before me! That is who you truly are.”
Most people could no longer hold on; their legs buckled, and they knelt trembling on the cold ground.
Only an elderly German man with gray hair remained standing. He was very old, and his body was trembling uncontrollably, but there was no fear in his eyes, only anger.
“We will not kneel before someone like you,” the old man said in German, his voice soft but clear.
Loki's smile vanished. He stopped, raised his scepter, and pointed the blue light at the old man's chest.
“A brave old man,” he said softly, as if delivering a verdict.
The energy is about to be released.
A blue, white, and red shadow descended from the sky, accompanied by the sound of wind.
A dull thud. Steve Rogers used his vibranium shield to firmly block the deadly beam. The impact forced him back half a step, cracking the stone slab beneath his feet. He straightened up, shield in front of him, like a mountain, standing between the old man and Loki.
“The last time I was in Germany, I saw a guy who wanted to stand on top of everyone,” Steve’s voice was calm, but every word was chilling. “We ended up having a very unpleasant falling out.”
Chu Hang landed beside him and patted the dust off his clothes.
“He’s right.” Chu Hang looked Loki up and down and shook his head. “Your outfit is outdated. This style isn’t fashionable now; it’s too flashy.”
Loki looked at the two people who had suddenly appeared, his eyes filled with contempt and displeasure at being disturbed.
"A soldier, and his pet," he sneered. "You two think you can challenge God?"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the Loki phantoms in the square simultaneously raised their scepters, which flashed with blue light.
Steve immediately lowered his center of gravity, protecting his front, and warily scanned every possible direction of attack. Chu Hang, however, frowned.
In his energy perception, these phantoms were just empty energy shells, without substance or core.
"Steve, it's fake, don't be fooled."
He had barely finished speaking when the real Loki made his move. He didn't attack them, but instead used the end of his scepter to lightly tap the backs of several kneeling civilians.
The eyes of those men instantly became vacant. They stood up, like soulless puppets, and turned to pounce on Steve and Chu Hang.
"Don't hurt them!" Steve shouted. He couldn't use his full strength, so he could only use his shield to block and push them away. He was temporarily restrained and was entangled by several ordinary people.
Chu Hang's goal was clear: to directly address the source. He targeted the nearest Loki and planned to use his spatial abilities to imprison him.
But the moment the thought crossed his mind, that Loki vanished in a flash of green light. At the same time, another Loki appeared silently behind him, his scepter like a venomous snake, aimed straight for his back.
Chu Hang threw a backhand punch.
The fist passed right through Loki's body, as if it had hit thin air.
Physical attacks are ineffective.
He tried to lock on again, but his spatial abilities couldn't find a single entity to attach to.
For the first time, Chu Hang felt a sense of unease. All his abilities—self-healing, strength, and spatial manipulation—were built upon solid physical laws. Loki, on the other hand, wielded magic.
A field he had never been exposed to before.
"Your power is peculiar, mortal." The real Loki stood not far away, watching him with leisure, like a cat toying with a mouse. "But in the face of true divine magic, you are like a savage with a stone axe, laughable and ignorant."
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.
The skyscrapers vanished, replaced by twisted, towering ancient trees. The ground was no longer solid stone slabs, but slowly flowing crimson lava. Countless giant pythons, as thick as buckets, emerged from the lava, their jaws gaping wide, roaring as they lunged at the two.
"Illusion!" Steve shouted a warning. He knew it was fake, but his senses were so thoroughly deceived that his instinctive movements were a beat slower.
Chu Hang knew it was fake, of course. Yet he could clearly feel the burning sensation on his skin, and his nostrils were filled with the pungent smell of sulfur. This wasn't a simple visual deception; it was magic that directly attacked his mind and senses. His [Willpower Barrier] allowed him to stay clear-headed and know that it was all an illusion, but he couldn't break through the illusion.
He was like an audience member who saw through all the magician's tricks, yet was still trapped on the stage, unable to leave.
This feeling of powerlessness made him very unhappy.
No. We must acquire his abilities.
Just then, a burst of powerful rock music descended from the sky, and AC/DC's guitar roared like a chainsaw, brutally tearing apart the terrifying atmosphere created by the illusion.
A red and gold figure, trailing a long tail of flame, descended from the sky.
Tony Stark.
He hovered in mid-air, the weapon bays on the shoulders, arms, and back of his Mark 6 armor all opened, revealing a dense array of firing ports aimed at Loki below.
"Get out of the way, the party's over." Tony's voice boomed through the loudspeaker across the square. "Bambi, I advise you to surrender now, or my patience won't last long."
He completely ignored the giant pythons and lava, and Jarvis locked onto the target with the strongest energy reaction.
Loki's true form.
boom! boom! boom!
A barrage of energy cannons and miniature missiles rained down, instantly turning the spot where Loki stood into a sea of fire.
The illusion shattered instantly. The square returned to its original state.
Loki tumbled out of the smoke and dust of the explosion, a large patch of his cloak charred and his helmet askew.
"A mortal's tin toy!" he roared, raising his scepter and unleashing a violent beam of energy at Tony in mid-air.
Tony deftly rolled to the side to dodge, and the rapid-fire machine gun on his shoulder began to roar, raining bullets down on Loki, who could only use his scepter to block and couldn't lift his head.
Chu Hang's eyes lit up.
"Captain, cover me!"
Without hesitation, Steve hurled his shield. The vibranium shield arced through the crowd in an incredible arc, bouncing precisely and striking the back of the necks of several of the controlled individuals. They groaned and collapsed to the ground, out of danger.
Taking advantage of Loki's complete attention being drawn to Tony, Chu Hang made his move.
His body shot out like an arrow, instantly covering a distance of tens of meters, and rushed straight toward Loki.
Loki sensed the danger from the side, roared, and swung his staff around.
Chu Hang neither dodged nor avoided.
He allowed the scepter, imbued with the energy of the Mind Gem, to sweep heavily across his chest.
The [Adaptive Armor] flashed with blue light, instantly recording the energy pattern and attack data of the Mind Scepter. A powerful force surged through him, but he remained unmoved.
His hand firmly gripped Loki's wrist.
Cold and hard.
In my mind, the system's data stream flashed by.
[Target locked: Loki Laufeson (Asgardian/Frost Giant hybrid)]
[List of replicable capabilities:]
[1. Frost Giant Bloodline (Rank A): Gain the physique and ice power of a Frost Giant.]
[2. Mind Control Scepter (S-Rank): Requires possession of a Mind Scepter; allows manipulation of others' minds.]
[3. Talent - First Mage of the Nine Realms (SSS Rank): Possesses the highest level of magical talent in Asgard, with extraordinary understanding and learning ability for all forms of energy, runes, dimensions, and spiritual power.]
"Copy Talent: The Number One Mage in the Nine Realms"
An indescribable, massive flow of information instantly flooded into Chu Hang's mind.
It wasn't a specific incantation or knowledge, but rather the most fundamental logic about energy, runes, dimensions, and spiritual power. It was as if, in an instant, he had been forcibly instilled with a completely new cosmic language and had mastered all its grammar and rules.
The world had completely changed in his eyes.
The whole process takes less than a second.
Loki's wrist was grabbed, and he was about to use his magic to shake him off when he found that the other man suddenly let go and took a step back.
“The game is over, little prince,” Chu Hang said calmly, looking at him.
A flicker of confusion crossed Loki's face, which quickly turned into a cold laugh. He activated his magic again, and a dozen or so phantoms surrounded Chu Hang.