I'm going to get some ash in your eyes

"Very good. I've always hated it when someone leaves in the middle of a performance."

"Especially a performance I'm directing."

Hearing that, Black King narrowed his eyes.

Not only because Ron could no longer leave before him in such a short time, but also because Ron's ability to possess other people's abilities did not seem as powerful as he had thought.

"No, no!"

Angel's face turned ugly. After a brief struggle, she ran to Black King's side and begged, "I'm willing to join you and build a New Era for mutants. Don't kill me."

"Angel, you?" Alex and the other two could not believe her betrayal.

Ron's expression did not change in the slightest. This stripper had originally defected to Black King's side tonight anyway.

"A wise choice. Anyone else?"

Sweeping his gaze over the crowd, Black King finally looked at Ron. His eyes narrowed slightly as he prepared to say something else. He had lost two subordinates today, after all.

"You've already said enough nonsense today. Let me save you some breath!"

Ron had no interest in wasting words with him. He swiftly and decisively swung his claws and attacked.

"Go!"

As if it were a signal, Alex and the other two climbed to their feet and launched an attack together with a shout.

Although their hope of escape had been shattered, Ron had not abandoned them. He had used his final chance to come back and face the powerful enemy with them, filling them with resolve.

"There are always only a few clever people in this world."

Shaking his head with feigned regret, Black King's eyes turned cold. He first sent Ron flying with a lightning-fast punch.

After once again blocking Alex's energy arc blade, he fired an energy beam backhandedly at Siren, who was preparing to open his mouth and unleash a sonic attack.

Unlike Alex, Siren could not absorb thermal energy, radiation energy, and the like. A fist-sized hole was blasted through his chest, straight through to his back. With his mouth hanging open and the smell of charred roasted meat rising from him, he collapsed.

"Siren!"

"You bastard, die!"

Darwin came charging in with an enraged knee-slide, a huge hammerhead formed from black, hard rock growing over his fist.

The force of several tons, enough to send a car flying, slammed heavily into Black King's abdomen.

Yet it did not move his body in the slightest.

"Even a seven- or eight-year-old girl by the roadside has a stronger punch than you."

Black King gave the stunned Darwin a sidelong glance and casually brought his fist down.

Bang!

Darwin was like someone crushed by a tank falling from the sky. Under the terrifying force, his head uncontrollably smashed through the floor tiles, and half his body was driven into the ground.

Pop!

Angel flapped the dragonfly-like wings on her back and flew over, spitting highly corrosive globs of acid as she continuously attacked Alex.

"Angel, you traitor!"

Alex twisted around and fired energy arc blades. The two began fighting.

Whoosh!

Ron, who had been knocked away, kicked deftly and swiftly off the room's wall like a leopard and attacked again.

Steel-like spikes grew from his hands, extending from beneath his nails like tiger claws.

Under danger, his Survival of the Fittest ability began to manifest.

"Too slow. You're as slow as my grandmother, who died decades ago."

Black King easily caught both of Ron's wrists. The spikes were only a few centimeters from his eyes, yet they could go no farther.

"You should be able to tell that I've been going easy on you."

"Ron, you're very unusual. Don't force me to kill you."

With a cold warning that mixed threats and persuasion, he tried to recruit Ron once more and make him submit.

"Kill me first, then talk."

Survival of the Fittest continued to work. Ron did not give in at all. The muscle tissue throughout his body evolved rapidly, becoming denser and stronger, and the power in his arms kept increasing.

"Hm?"

Black King, who was relying solely on physical strength, saw his expression change slightly. He was having trouble holding on.

His greatest strengths were still absorbing and releasing energy. Even with augmentation, his normal strength only reached eight or nine tons at most.

The strength of the arms he was holding was gradually exceeding that limit of eight or nine tons.

"Enough."

He controlled the kinetic energy stored in his body and squeezed hard, intending to crush Ron's arms.

But the next second, Ron's arms and body directly transformed into something like high-density steel, gleaming with a silver luster. It was still Survival of the Fittest, and it withstood his strength.

"Since you refuse to listen, then this ends here..."

After failing repeatedly, Black King's eyes darkened. He was somewhat angered and no longer held back.

After two rounds of testing, the young man before him did not seem like someone willing to live under another's command. Moreover, his ability was too strange—perhaps impossible to control.

He exerted force with both hands, preparing to use the surging energy in his body to tear steel-transformed Ron in half.

"Not enough. I'm going to get some ash in your eyes!"

Before he could finish, Ron interrupted with a smile, uttering a classic villain's line.

Thump!

In the night sky, he teleported together with Black King and appeared above a massive steel Furnace Tube.

Flames burned inside the Furnace Tube, sending thick black smoke billowing upward.

"You tricked me. Where is this?"

The surroundings suddenly changed. He had been deceived—Ron also had teleportation abilities.

"Goodbye."

In midair, Ron curled his body and swiftly drove both feet hard into Black King's abdomen as Black King turned in shock to look around, breaking free from his grip.

The two separated in the air, one falling upward, the other downward.

"If I hadn't only arrived here a few days ago and never been to the ocean floor, I would definitely have invited you to take a look at the Mariana Trench."

"As for this... if you survive, consider it an appetizer."

As they fell, aside from the howling wind in his ears, Ron's voice drifted through the night sky.

"Where is this?"

Just before Black King fell into the Furnace Tube, the former Nazi official smelled a familiar, choking scent. His expression changed, and he shouted angrily again.

"The Suburban Crematorium."

Looking down at him, Ron tossed out those words and activated his ability to leave.

Get some ash in his eyes? What ash? Cremated ash!

"Ron!"

His humiliated, furious roar shook the night sky.

Ron reappeared in the base's room.

Darwin had just pulled his head out of the ground. Black King did not know about his ability and had failed to kill him. His head had transformed into steel, allowing him to survive.

"Where did that man go?"

Seeing Ron, he asked dazedly where Black King had gone.

"The outskirts."

Ron answered, then looked toward Alex and Angel, who were fighting outside the courtyard. His body flashed, and he appeared above Angel, slashing down with a claw.

Angel had just flapped her wings to evade one of Alex's attacks. Hearing the sound, she turned and tried to dodge, but it was already too late. Blood sprayed from her neck, and she fell limply.

With everything over, Ron flashed back to the ground.

He glanced at the template.

Ability Points: 78,000

Recorded Template: Mutant Black King, Price: 120,000...

Tonight, he had gained three more abilities and quite a few Ability Points. It was a tremendous haul. The only pity was that he was still a little short of obtaining Black King's abilities.

"But it's fine. There'll be a second half before long."

The contract was successful. Starting today, there would be two updates a day.