Marvel's Death Merchant

Jack braced himself on the ground, then with a nimble flip, he darted through the only gap between his claws and landed on its head.

A cold glint flashed in Jack's hand, the dagger still firmly in his grasp. The T-virus had evolved once more, instantly increasing Jack's attributes by more than five times, filling him with confidence.

“Wesker, your son seems to be doing well. He’s no weaker than you. I think after he adapts to the T-virus, I will implant the ultimate C-virus in him,” Tang Tian said calmly, looking at Wesker.

"Hmm, he seems alright." Wesker responded casually to Tang Tian's words, but he was actually very happy inside.

“I believe he will be quite powerful after joining the Watchers. I need a strong subordinate like him,” Tang Tian said to Wesker beside him. (To be continued...)

Chapter 233 Passing the Test

Thump! Before Jack could land on the Hunter's head, the Hunter, unable to control its momentum—and with no intention of doing so—slammed heavily into the wall. The creature's strength was immense; due to the wall's special material, the damage was minimal.

Shockingly, the alloy wall was not only undamaged, but also completely unharmed. Instead, the hunter was injured by the impact, as if it had kicked a steel plate.

However, Jack knew from this that even steel plates could be easily pierced by the Hunter's impact. That alloy riot shield had been torn apart by the Hunter's claws.

Jack was speculating about the Hunter's weaknesses, but didn't verify them, because he had already landed on the Hunter's head. He clearly saw that the Hunter's forehead was cracked, and only half of the two fangs at the corners of its mouth were left, obviously broken off in the impact. This showed the immense force of the Hunter's impact.

The Hunter was panting heavily, clearly weakened by the attack. The impact had been quite severe; had it not been for the T-virus's powerful regenerative abilities, the Hunter might have successfully committed suicide.

Jack was also grateful for his luck. If the hunter hadn't made a mistake and he hadn't been slowly gaining experience, he would have been finished long ago. Jack raised his dagger and plunged it into the hunter's head. He knew that against this T-virus creature, he had to kill it quickly.

"Ouch~" The hunter howled in pain the moment the dagger pierced through.

Like zombies and other monsters, the head is its fatal weakness; once the brain tissue is damaged, even the T-virus cannot function. Jack knew this, and understood that a single cut wouldn't solve the problem. Jack gripped the dagger tightly with both hands, plunging it into the hunter's head again and again.

Jack was well aware of the Hunter's formidable strength, as his memories had resurfaced, and he knew he couldn't afford to be careless. In an instant, half of its massive head was smashed apart by Jack, who then used the power of the T-virus to mutate his hands into tentacles, absorbing the Hunter's energy.

But the hunter was simply too powerful. Half of its head had been destroyed by Jack's attacks, yet it was still alive. Not only was it alive, but it was slowly healing and even trying to stand up.

Knowing the Hunter's terrifying fighting power, Jack wouldn't let it succeed. Jack tightly wrapped his legs around the Hunter's neck, gripped his dagger tightly, and launched a series of attacks, while also accelerating the rate at which he absorbed the Hunter's energy.

No one knows where the hunter got its strength from. Or perhaps it was a final burst of energy before death. Suddenly, it exerted force with its forelimbs and leaped backward.

The hunter leaped up so suddenly and with such force that Jack was completely unprepared and crashed heavily to the ground. Before he could even react, the hunter's massive body was on top of him.

Although it wasn't the entire Hunter's body that was pressing down on Jack, it was only the Hunter's upper body. It still weighed at least several hundred pounds. And the Hunter had jumped so high that it landed heavily on Jack when it fell.

Suddenly. A snap... a snapping sound.

I distinctly heard the sound of my bones cracking, and the pain resounded. The agony Jack was experiencing was indescribable. He was still alive because his upper body, including his arms, hadn't been crushed, but his legs were tragically flattened—even with the T-virus's remarkable regenerative abilities, they couldn't possibly recover.

“Wesker, what are you worried about? Your son’s loss is nothing. I will rehabilitate him. Adamantium and the C-virus are Jack’s reward.” Tang Tian said calmly, though his expression betrayed him.

"I understand, thank you, Chairman," Wesker said gratefully. Although Wesker may seem cold, he still has people he cares about.

The hunter had just had half its head destroyed, and that jump had almost exhausted its life. Now it lay on the ground, its two claws still waving, moving towards Jack's upper body, as if it wanted to tear Jack apart before it died.

At this moment, Jack was on the verge of madness. He no longer cared about the two claws and used the tentacles that had mutated from his hands to control all his strength and stab the hunter's head.

Only then did Jack realize that the hunter's claws had already pierced his body, but it was already completely dead before it could tear Jack apart.

After killing the hunter in one swift motion, Jack collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Waves of pain washed over him, his body gradually went numb, and soon he lost all feeling. Claws had pierced his upper body, as if they had punctured his internal organs; his throat tasted sweet, as if fragments of internal organs were rising with the blood.

"Wow!" Blood gushed out, splattering all over the ground; dark red blood and fragments were already visible.

Am I...am I going to die? Jack felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. He felt so tired and wanted to rest, but maybe it was...a rest forever.

Just then, a series of crisp sounds rang out, instantly waking him up.

After that sound subsided, the entire room suddenly became bright. Previously, only a few lights were on; while not pitch black, it wasn't exactly bright either. But now, the incandescent bulbs embedded in the ceiling blazed on, as if bathed in sunlight, making everything in the room clearly visible.

Jack's heart skipped a beat. What was wrong? Had someone come? He thought that perhaps he had passed the test, so he would be meeting that person.

At that moment, Jack suddenly felt the floor shake, followed by a sharp sound, and then Jack saw something extremely strange.

The incredibly hard metal wall suddenly split in two and moved to the left and right.

Then, the holographic projector created a scene of a gloomy European castle, filled with retro elements: old-fashioned furniture, classical murals, and simple oil lamps, making it feel like being in a medieval European castle—almost unreal. However, the projected scene also felt real.

After the projection ended, Jack was struck by the modern atmosphere of the room. The high-tech room was equipped with a complete set of state-of-the-art equipment: a supercomputer, a holographic screen, satellite connectivity, and so on. It was as if the room and the outside world were two completely different places.

While Jack was still in surprise, something in the room suddenly made a sound, followed by a series of beeping sounds. Jack quickly realized that someone was monitoring the place.

As for why it started, that remains unknown, but that's not the most surprising thing.

As soon as the computer booted up, the internal webcams started rotating and all pointed at Jack. Soon, hundreds of screens of all sizes in the room displayed Jack's image, much like the scene in "The Matrix Reloaded" where the designer and Leo were talking.

To Jack's somewhat expected yet unfamiliar turn of events, an electronic voice suddenly rang out: "Hello, congratulations on successfully passing the test. We meet again." (To be continued...)

Chapter 234 Adamantium

"We meet again, Jack." The electronic voice was familiar, but it was clearly the result of human intervention.

Zeus, who had Tang Tian's prior record, repeated himself. At this moment, a camera on the stand began to rotate, the lens positioned in front of him, and a beam of light shone out, gradually forming a virtual person, a cold young man in armor, who looked to be about 20 years old.

Jack's pupils contracted as some memories resurfaced. He realized it was indeed this artificial intelligence—Zeus, the super heart of Umbrella Corporation headquarters.

At Umbrella Corporation headquarters, Jack didn't see a holographic image of Zeus, only heard his voice. However, it wasn't surprising that Jack saw Zeus like this, because the chairman in his memory agreed that this was how Zeus looked. The Zeus that Jack saw was also designed by Tang Tian through Terminator 5's Skynet.

However, Zeus is completely different from Skynet in the movies. Zeus is the intelligent core of the technological cult, possessing a level of intelligence that far surpasses that of interstellar quantum computers.

"Surprised? But you still passed the test. I think you should remember now!" The youth formed from Zeus smiled at Jack and said.

“That’s right, I finally remembered.” Jack said with a smile.

Upon meeting Zeus, Jack and Zeus surprisingly exclaimed in unison. Of course, their feelings were quite different. From Zeus's voice and expression, Jack could sense both expectation and joy. Jack understood the expectation, and he could also guess the joy quite accurately, since he had accomplished what they had arranged.

"Don't you find it strange that a test would lead to such a fierce battle with the hunters?" Zeus suddenly said seriously.

Jack shook his head and said, "I don't know. When I accepted the chairman's plan, I didn't think about anything else. After all, I'm Wesker's son, and my body can also fuse with the T-virus." Jack thought for a moment and answered seriously.

Zeus nodded, indicating he understood. However, Jack tried to move, but couldn't make any significant movement. A sharp pain shot through him, causing him considerable discomfort.

The hunter's damned claws had actually pierced through his body. For some unknown reason, after Zeus appeared, Jack, who had already suffered heavy losses, suddenly had the will to live again. Because he had completely absorbed the energy from the hunter's head and body, Jack's legs were slowly recovering, although they had been crushed terribly and were completely numb.

Jack knew that although Zeus was full of affection for him, the current situation left him no choice. His upper body was pierced by claws and he was half-hanging from them. His fingers could barely touch the ground, but he couldn't support himself properly and couldn't exert any full strength. Recovery was extremely slow now, and a rapid recovery was impossible. Jack didn't want to see Tang Tian in that state, so he decided to solve his own problems.

Now Jack wants to get out of trouble on his own, and the only way out is to slowly exert force. Little by little, he relies on the strength borrowed from the ground by supporting himself with his fingers, gradually breaking free from the claws.

The pain was simply unbearable. Even at such a short distance, Jack was nearly driven to the brink of collapse. Large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, mingling with his blood, onto the floor. Clearly, while the T-virus could strengthen the body, it couldn't possibly alleviate the pain.

"I never imagined you could kill this hunter. Oh no, I mean, successfully use a biological weapon. And what surprises me isn't just your strength, but also your unwavering perseverance." Zeus spoke, his voice devoid of any other meaning, simply expressing satisfaction with Jack's appearance. He was also pleased with Tang Tian's choice, because it was Tang Tian who had found Jack.

At this moment, Jack needed to distract himself from the pain, so he said, "It's no big deal. At the Hive Base, I heard from the Red Queen that Alice teamed up with someone and took down an evolved hunter."

Actually, the Hunter on the train inside the Hive base was defeated only by combining the strength of Alice and the deceased Zhang Zhongyi, utilizing not only their numbers but also the terrain to their advantage. Therefore, Jack's attack power is also extremely formidable.

Unexpectedly, Zeus shook his head and said, "It's different. The Hive Base is completely different from here. It was only through cooperation that those people were able to achieve this."

As Jack gritted his teeth and moved his body, enduring the pain, he said, "It's different. This one just mutated after filling its belly. Hunters and Lickers are just different stages of the same species!"

"It seems that the previous AI taught you quite a bit?" Zeus said, as expected. This was actually Zeus in his old form, but now he was a new super AI. "Since you've passed the Chairman's test, you can gain new power."

Zeus paused for a moment, then said, "Don't you want to know what power you can obtain?"

Jack, of course, had no idea what kind of power his boss would grant him. Jack now considered himself quite knowledgeable; from childhood to now, he knew a great deal about biology. For Zeus to speak like that, it must be a power he had never seen before—a power that Tang Tian might be hiding.

Thinking through these questions would obviously be very taxing, but now Jack doesn't need to ponder them anymore, because Zeus has already begun to explain:

“The power you’ve gained is very special. First, it’s the C-virus. While not perfect, it’s arguably the most powerful virus. Its origin lies in a component of your blood. You can successfully fuse with the C-virus, granting you immortality. After implanting the C-virus, you can modify his bones without side effects, replacing them with a unique metal forged from a very rare metal.” Zeus explained in detail, having reason to believe Jack was interested.

Jack couldn't help but ask, "I know about the C-virus, it's Umbrella Corporation's ultimate virus, but what is that special metal?"

Zeus's voice remained calm as he said, "This metal comes from outer space. It is unlike any substance on Earth; simply put, it comes from meteorites."

"That was decades ago when Umbrella Corporation found some meteorites in a village in South Africa, weighing about twelve tons in total. From this meteorite, Umbrella researchers extracted a completely new metal, which was named Adamantium. Stryker, who was hostile to mutants, discovered that Adamantium, when fused in the right proportions, could be used to create a new type of alloy with toughness and stability exceeding any ordinary material on Earth—Adamantium Alloy."

Zeus continued, "Adamantium isn't the only, hardest metal. Captain America's Vibranium is also the hardest."

"My idea is very simple, and that's what the chairman thinks too. He wants you to become Umbrella Corporation's ace, just like Wolverine." Zeus earnestly gave his final suggestion. (To be continued...)

Chapter 235 Justice League

"Wesker, how's your superpower from the cosmic storm going? By the way, have you developed the superpowers of those other people?" Tang Tian turned to Wesker and asked casually.

"That ability is pretty good; it's the ability to create ice and freeze one's entire body. The others are alright too; most of them are physical mutations. I think we can use them to form our elite force," Wesker always said simply.

"Not bad. However, be careful of the Justice League, which consists of Superman, Flash, Green Arrow, and Batman. This organization has been hiding for a long time and is much more troublesome than S.H.I.E.L.D. Those superheroes are much more powerful than Iron Man and Spider-Man." Tang Tian first expressed his satisfaction with Wesker's performance, and then warned Wesker to be wary of the newly emerged Justice League.

“I understand,” Wesker said calmly, then turned to look at Jack on the projector.

In a normal person's current condition, such injuries would be enough to kill them dozens of times over, yet Jack is still alive and well. This is naturally thanks to the powerful, even invincible, healing ability of the T-virus within him. In just a short while, although his wounds hadn't healed, the bleeding had stopped. An advanced viral fusion is far more powerful than a failed strain.

“I never expected that you, like your father, would successfully fuse with the T-virus and evolve perfectly.” Zeus’s voice carried a hint of surprise, but more so, it was something he had expected, which Jack also understood.

“Injecting the T-virus into humans theoretically has the potential to enhance human functions, and that was the initial research objective. However, in decades of clinical trials, while the subjects did experience enhanced physical functions, they all mutated into zombies. Therefore, the chairman changed the company's research direction. Developing more effective bioweapons or creating new humans became the primary goal,” Zeus explained step by step.

“But you are different. If the T-virus is injected into someone else, it might cause mutation. But in a special person’s constitution, it will evolve, just like your father Wesker and Jack.” Zeus continued, ignoring Jack’s expression.

Jack suddenly wanted to know about his father. Because he had only met Wesker for a very short time and didn't know much about him, Jack asked, "Did Wesker also have the virus?"

“That’s right, Wesker has fused with the Progenitor Virus, and his contributions to the company are enormous. He has become the chairman and one of his most trusted subordinates.” Zeus told Jack what he knew.

"Really? If I had the C-virus and Adamantium, would I be able to surpass Wesker?" Jack suddenly asked with conviction.

“That’s right,” Zeus agreed. The combined power of the C-virus and Adamantium was definitely not weak.

Jack's severe injuries and excessive blood loss, while not causing him to collapse, left him almost too weak to speak. Now, Jack stopped asking questions and lay on the ground to rest. He had temporarily finished asking them and was relying on the super-healing ability granted by the T-virus to work its magic and allow his wounds to heal automatically.

However, at this moment, Jack's energy was completely used up due to the healing process, so he simply couldn't provide the energy needed for self-healing.

Then, Jack realized he needed bio-energy. So he forced himself to sit up and let his mutated hand absorb the hunter's bio-energy. After absorbing some of the hunter's energy, Jack was surprised to find that he had gained strength. Although not much, at least he could move. The power of the T-virus made Jack realize the power of superhuman abilities, like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, thus giving Jack confidence in being a superhero.

Although Jack was severely injured this time, unable to use his legs and suffering internal organ damage, fortunately, he had fused with the T-virus, granting him not only self-healing abilities but also an extraordinary absorption capacity. With enough food and energy, he would recover quickly. This is the terrifying aspect of the evolutionary power within the Solar Staircase.

Currently, only the Hunters can absorb energy, but that's about it for now. The Hunters can also provide the energy needed for self-healing.

"Do you want to surpass your father?" Zeus said to Jack with a meaningful tone. "Because of the T-virus, although you now have a healing ability far beyond that of ordinary people, the bones in both of your legs are completely shattered, and even the T-virus cannot fully restore them. But the C-virus can. In fact, the successful research and development of the C-virus is also due to the special components in your blood."

Upon hearing Zeus's words, Jack paused for a moment, feeling quite surprised.

Zeus continued, "The power of the T-virus can provide you with enough food to successfully regenerate your legs, but it won't restore you to your former state. However, the C-virus can compensate for this. The true power of the C-virus surpasses most of the company's viruses, including the G-virus and the Veronica virus."

"Relying solely on the T-virus, judging from the current situation, we're absolutely doomed. The power of the C-virus is perfect for me; once I possess power, I possess everything." Jack Muller thought for a moment, and in his mind, he was already leaning towards enhancing the C-virus and Adamantium.

Because Jack possesses extraordinary self-healing abilities, even though his injuries were so severe that he was on the verge of death, he still had the confidence that he could recover completely. However, after Zeus's words, Jack wanted to obtain even greater power.

"The C-virus can facilitate the comprehensive evolution of your physical functions, far surpassing the strength of other advanced infected beings. It can also greatly enhance your speed, jumping ability, astonishing judgment, insight, ability to absorb bio-energy, and rapid healing ability. This allows you to instantly kill powerful creatures like the Hunter. Moreover, because of the C-virus, you can control various C-virus infected beings, meaning you are the emperor of the C-virus kingdom." Zeus revealed benefits that Jack could not refuse.

Zeus's words made Jack realize something different; he wanted to surpass his father. This was a thought Jack had had since he was a child.