Return to Marvel

"Five seconds left. Just about right."

After Kino left, Li Chuan glanced at the return countdown on the panel, quickly opened the box in front of him, tossed a black pill into his mouth, and swallowed it just before the last second ticked away.

The countdown ended. A moment of dizziness later, when he opened his eyes again, he was back in his company office in Sokovia.

"Out!"

The moment he regained consciousness, he didn't hesitate. He struck his own stomach with a palm, forcing the black pill he'd just swallowed back up from his mouth.

"Didn't think that would actually work."

Staring at the black pill on his desk, still slick with his saliva, Li Chuan's face showed a knowing expression.

According to the panel's prompts, when traveling between the main world and the Minor World, nothing could be carried along—not even clothes remained the same.

When he was in Marvel, he wore a suit; when he went to Naruto, his clothes changed into those of the Prince of the Land of Fire.

It seemed like there was no loophole to exploit, but Li Chuan had a sudden flash of inspiration.

If he had just eaten something and was digesting it during the world jump, surely the system wouldn't force the food out of his stomach.

With that idea in mind, he had Kino buy a Ration Pill in advance, then ate it before returning.

To fool the panel, he also made sure to eat plenty of other normal food before taking the pill.

Sure enough, things went as he expected. The panel didn't forcibly expel the food already in his stomach, allowing him to vomit it back up after returning.

Ration Pills were a special food and medicine commonly carried by ninjas during missions and battles.

They could quickly restore Chakra and stamina, and also served as an excellent hunger suppressant.

Li Chuan brought the Ration Pill to Marvel so his company's scientists could study it, analyze its composition, and create a replica—just like they had done with the Reinforcement Cream—along with a simplified version suitable for sale to ordinary people.

Even if the replica wasn't as effective as the original, it would still give him a temporary potion to replenish Chakra and stamina during fights in this world.

As for the simplified version, removing the Chakra recovery effect and keeping only the stamina restoration and hunger suppression could even be marketed as two new products.

If done well, it might help him break into the New York market this time.

As for the specifics of how to handle and promote it, that would be left to the company's professionals. He wasn't good at that sort of thing.

"Xiao Liu, have Dr. Smith come to the office."

Wiping the Ration Pill clean with a tissue and putting it away, Li Chuan pressed the button on his desk phone and gave the order to Xiao Liu, who was outside the office.

Xiao Liu was one of the subordinates Li Chuan had trained over the past few years. On the surface, he was his male secretary, but in reality, he was there to protect him.

Though Li Chuan was a powerful martial artist, he couldn't withstand modern firearms. Facing professional assassins—especially if they outnumbered him—he needed his men's help.

Dr. Smith, meanwhile, was a moderately well-known biologist Li Chuan had poached from the UK at a high price.

The company's hottest and most profitable health product, the Power Pill, was a replica Dr. Smith had developed by studying and analyzing the Enhancement Ointment Li Chuan provided.

The Enhancement Ointment, when applied all over the body, could improve physical toughness, with even better results when combined with stance training and breathing techniques.

Li Chuan's ability to regain his past life's peak physical condition within three years owed a lot to the Enhancement Ointment.

The Power Pill couldn't achieve the same level of effect, but long-term use could slightly enhance the body's strength, making it stronger.

Of course, compared to the Power Pill's long-term health benefits, it also had an immediate short-term effect.

And it was precisely this effect that made it sell like wildfire, even overseas, raking in massive profits for the company.

Within half an hour of taking it, even if you were impotent or past fifty, you could turn into a stallion in bed and conquer all comers.

However, you could only take one pill per day at most, or your body wouldn't be able to handle the aftermath.

"Boss, Dr. Smith called in sick today and asked for three days off."

Xiao Liu replied over the phone.

Li Chuan frowned at that.

"Send a few people to Dr. Smith's house to check things out."

Taking three days off all at once didn't seem like something that old man Smith would do. That guy practically wanted to stay in the lab 24/7 without rest.

As the company grew, it inevitably stepped on some people's toes. Though he had always dealt with such issues swiftly and ruthlessly, caution never hurt.

Half an hour later, a sturdy young man respectfully reported to Li Chuan:

"Boss, Third Brother just took some men to Dr. Smith's house. The doctor wasn't there, and there were signs of outsiders having been inside. Preliminary assessment suggests the doctor may have been kidnapped."

"Someone in Sokovia actually dares to touch my people?"

Li Chuan narrowed his eyes and gave the order to the young man in front of him:

"Xiao Liu, notify Uncle Li. Have him use every connection to investigate. We must find Dr. Smith and figure out who's behind this."

To the average person on the outside, Li Chuan was Sokovia's biggest philanthropist. But to the higher-ups in Sokovia, everyone knew he was a true man-eating lion.

Especially those who had tried to get their hands on the Power Pill—their bones were nowhere to be found now.

"Yes, boss!"

Xiao Liu nodded and respectfully withdrew.

Putting the Ration Pill back into his pocket, Li Chuan rubbed his chin and muttered to himself:

"It couldn't be you guys."

Ding-dong. A new side quest has appeared nearby. Please check!

Just as Li Chuan was pondering, the panel notification sound rang in his ear. He quickly opened the panel to examine the newly appeared side quest.

Quest: Rescue Dr. Smith, who has been kidnapped by Hydra. Reward: Five Explosive Tags. Quest: Kill Baron Strucker at the Hydra base. Reward: C-Rank Ninjutsu—Fire Release: Great Fireball. Quest: Eradicate the Sokovia Hydra base. Reward: B-Rank Ninjutsu—Shadow Clone Technique.

"So it really was those Hydra bastards!"

Looking at the new side quests, Li Chuan's expression turned cold.

He had always known that on the mountain outside Sokovia city, there was a hidden Hydra base. He also knew that among the high-ranking officials of the Sokovia government, quite a few were Hydra agents.

But before, they had kept to their own business, and he hadn't wanted to provoke them, so he had simply pretended not to know.

Now it seemed that the long-term effects of the Power Pill were gradually showing, catching their interest, which was why they had kidnapped the company's lead scientist, Dr. Smith.

Hydra was an organization that had always been dedicated to researching super soldiers and psychics.