Join the Glorious Evolution

The next day, in the sewers of Queens, a hidden and cramped workshop beside a drainage ditch.

"Drip, drip..."

In the quiet, cold environment, two large, green-skinned Lizardmen were brewing potions inside the workshop. Dim light illuminated rows of green vials on the shelves.

The burly, fierce-looking Lizardman was Professor Connors, while the slightly leaner, more compact one was Peter Parker.

After giving up on recruiting Merlin, the two had hidden in the dark sewers to set up a temporary workshop, continuously producing Lizard Serum and preparing for their final plan.

"Ring! Ring!" Suddenly, a phone ringtone echoed simultaneously through the quiet sewer, making the two working men turn and glance at each other, then look at the phones on the nearby table.

The screens of the phones, which had been dark and idle, were now lit up.

Connors walked over, picked up a phone with his massive hand, and checked it.

"R-Star?" Seeing the unfamiliar app on his phone, he was surprised, then looked at Peter, who had also picked up his phone with two fingers and showed it to him—the same app was on it.

His cold, vertical pupils narrowed as he stared at the app icon on the screen for a long time, his mind racing.

The other party could remotely install an app on his phone, meaning they could also pinpoint their location.

Had they been exposed?

But that didn't add up. If their location was already known, there would be no need to install an app on their phones.

And finding their signal in the deep, dark sewers was no simple feat either.

Just as he was thinking, Peter had already tapped the app open.

code
[Lizard Evolution Mission...]

[Humans originated about 7 million years ago. About 7 million years ago, Sahelanthropus tchadensis appeared. About 6 million years ago, Orrorin tugenensis appeared. About 5.8 million years ago, Ardipithecus appeared...]

[About 200,000 years ago, Homo sapiens appeared.]

[Up to the present, humanity has passed through the Stone Age, the Iron Age... to the current Information Age. Over this long span, technology has advanced continuously, yet humanity itself seems to have remained stagnant.]

[But the emergence of Lizardmen seems to herald the arrival of an opportunity for human evolution.]

[Leading human evolution requires the guidance of a great historical figure.]

[Come, join the glorious evolution!]

[Mission: Follow the instructions to obtain materials and build six Canary Devices. Install them in Manhattan District, Queens District, Brooklyn District... Central Park.]

[Lizard Rise!]

[Accept the mission?]

Connors and Peter Parker stared at the mission text on their phones. Their cold blood felt like it was about to boil.

Evolution, great historical figure, rise...

Every word seemed to strike a chord deep within them, making their tails wag involuntarily.

The two reluctantly tore their eyes away from the phones and looked at each other. Both could see a flicker of temptation in the other's gaze.

"Professor Connors..." Peter asked, "What do you think? Do we stick with the original plan?"

Their original plan was to use the Canary Device at the top of the Osborn Industrial Building to spray Lizard Serum into the air, evolving the people in the surrounding blocks, then expand to other districts.

But now, someone was offering to provide materials to build more devices, covering the entire Apple City.

Connors didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned back to look at the phone and pondered the mission.

The sudden appearance of a mysterious app and a mission that aligned perfectly with their ideas felt surreal, as if some unseen hand was pulling the strings.

"Let's observe a bit more, Peter. Go back to school tomorrow and see if this mysterious software has suddenly appeared in society."

"I'll also try to track it through calculations."

Though the mission tempted him, its abrupt appearance made him hesitant to accept it right away. He wanted to gather more information first.

They had been in the sewers too long, out of touch with the world above.

"I think we should accept it. This is exactly what we want to do—why not give it a try?" Peter offered his opinion.

"I know, but it's better to have some certainty." Connors wanted to hit confirm too, but something in him held back.

Though the Lizard Serum had drastically changed his temperament, he still retained some basic rationality.

"Alright."

Hell's Kitchen, Merlin's Custom Shop.

Merlin sat in front of his computer, watching for a long time. He was a bit surprised that the other party hadn't accepted the mission.

"Even after turning into a lizard, their heads aren't completely scrambled!"

He wasn't too anxious about it, though, and began expanding the platform's coverage area.

Hell's Kitchen was already stable, and basic production was running smoothly. Only a few high-tech items still required Merlin to craft personally.

But he could just list them on the shop as limited editions later—it wasn't a big problem.

After all, limited editions are what make special vehicles and weapons feel truly valuable.

Plus, in the early stages, the only ones who could afford them were a few wealthy tycoons and rich second-generation heirs.

By the time the platform expands to other districts and the player count stabilizes, Professor Connors' Canary Device over there should be just about ready too.

"Whew... done!" After who knows how long, Merlin let out a long breath and slapped the Enter key. The program he'd edited was sent out across the entire Apple City through the R Star Subsystem.

With that finished, Merlin started scrolling through the latest news.

[A police chase unfolded on Broadway Street.]

[A suspected F22 Raptor fighter jet streaked across the sky over Apple City.]

[A suspected mysterious attack occurred under the Power Plant Bridge.]

"Huh?" Merlin, who had been lounging lazily on the sofa looking for some fun news, immediately sat up straight when he saw this.

Then, he clicked open the news footage. The first image showed a chase scene on Broadway Street.

He zoomed in on the blurry surveillance footage. When he saw what was inside the police car, his eyes went wide.

"Holy crap, Transformers?" Though he'd heard in his past life about a crossover between Marvel and Transformers, even that Iron Man had an anti-Transformers suit, he never expected that the world he'd arrived in actually had Transformers.

A bit uncertain, he continued examining the news footage frame by frame. Finally, he straight-up hacked into the police surveillance system to check out every image related to those two vehicles.

But soon, as if he'd spotted something unexpected, he quickly rewound a bit and hit pause.

"What's this?"

In the image, a sexy woman was speeding down a quiet street on a modified Ducati motorcycle. And the bike she was riding was identical to his own Ducati.