Adamantium

Chen Mo nodded at his words.

When an outstanding scientist possessed a superpowered brain, it was like using cheats in a game. Research became far less difficult, and a flood of breakthroughs naturally followed, bringing major technological revolutions and enormous progress to the entire world.

"So, whether it's me, S.H.I.E.L.D., or even the entire world, we should all thank you!"

Dr. Erskine's words actually made Chen Mo blush a little. "Doctor, don't put it that way! This is all your own achievement. You invented the serum—I only made a suggestion."

"If it weren't for you, there would be no Enhanced Serum, much less the Improved Serum we have today. Perhaps even I would have been killed by HYDRA spies long ago." Dr. Erskine spoke with a sigh. If not for Chen Mo's warning and his suggestion to fake his death, the spy who had suddenly appeared during that experiment would have taken his life.

Having just seen the changes in Howard after his enhancement, the doctor was reminded of himself, and he could not help becoming emotional.

Chen Mo truly could not handle it. He did things purely according to his own heart. While everything he did benefited the doctor and the others, it was even more for his own sake. The doctor had suddenly made him sound so great that he felt rather awkward.

Seeing Howard still basking in it, Chen Mo stepped forward, grabbed him, and left.

"Doctor, we'll head back first. We'll come again another day!"

The doctor shook his head helplessly behind them, a gentle smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Howard, dragged away by Chen Mo, initially tried to struggle. But before Chen Mo's overwhelming strength, he was easily subdued. He could only give up resisting in dejection and obediently follow Chen Mo back to the Martial Arts School.

After that, he simply refused to leave the Martial Arts School, pestering Chen Mo every day to teach him combat techniques.

According to Dr. MacLane, the Adamantium research would likely yield results very soon. Meanwhile, the European war had reached a stalemate, and the rebellious HYDRA base had made no further moves for the time being. Chen Mo was in no hurry to return to Europe and instead waited leisurely at the Martial Arts School for news from the laboratory.

Chen Mo had only just returned and enjoyed a few quiet days before he could no longer endure Howard's pestering. He had no choice but to grant his wish and begin giving him "practical combat lessons."

Despite possessing physical abilities three times greater than an ordinary person's, Howard still suffered greatly at Chen Mo's hands. Every day, he was beaten black and blue. Fortunately, his body recovered quickly, and he would be full of vigor again the next day.

After his brain had been enhanced, Howard learned quite quickly. Gradually, he was even able to exchange a few moves with Chen Mo. Of course, that was only when Chen Mo held back. In an actual life-or-death battle, Howard would be instantly killed by Chen Mo.

Meanwhile, Dr. MacLane's research progressed extremely smoothly.

Without Vibranium, he had independently developed Alpha Alloy, whose performance far surpassed that of existing alloys. There was no doubting the doctor's capabilities.

Now that he had ample raw materials, the speed of the Adamantium research exceeded Chen Mo's expectations.

Although Primary Adamantium—the material used in Chen Mo's shield—could not be successfully replicated, the doctor had still created a Super Alloy whose performance was slightly inferior to Primary Adamantium, yet whose hardness was equally unimaginable and indestructible.

It was the true Adamantium, the most widely known metal in the Marvel Universe!

Though he was badly beaten every day, Howard still stubbornly refused to leave Chen Mo's Martial Arts School. Sporting a black eye and wearing sunglasses, he accompanied Chen Mo back to the underground secret laboratory just a few days later.

Before them stood a bright silver metal shield identical to Chen Mo's Vibranium shield.

Looking at the familiar round shield before them, Chen Mo and Howard exchanged glances. They could not help recalling the circular shields that covered every wall in Dr. MacLane's living room.

Chen Mo truly did not know what to say about the doctor's habit of turning precious materials into shields.

Adamantium shared a characteristic with Primary Adamantium.

At first, it remained liquid at 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and could be shaped however one wished. But once it solidified, it became indestructible. Even at temperatures of 500,000°C, it showed not the slightest sign of melting.

Therefore, once Adamantium took shape, its form could no longer be changed, nor could it be damaged by any external force. It possessed the same indestructible properties as Primary Adamantium.

Since Dr. MacLane had once again made this piece of Adamantium into a round shield, it could only be used as a shield and could not be melted down again.

But that worked out perfectly. He could give this shield to Steve.

He had taken the Primary Adamantium Shield that should have belonged to Steve, so he ought to find Steve a suitable weapon in return.

Although this shield, made from true Adamantium, was somewhat inferior to the one in his hands and lacked the ability to absorb kinetic energy and nullify all attacks, its hard material and indestructible nature were already enough to withstand every current attack. It was more than sufficient.

After all, there were no overly powerful enemies in the world at present. Once serum-enhanced Steve possessed an Adamantium Shield, he would essentially be invincible. Other than devastating strikes such as a nuclear explosion, nothing could threaten him.

Leaving aside the two men's condemnation of Dr. MacLane's wasteful behavior, driven by severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, Adamantium displayed tremendous performance no weaker than Primary Adamantium after a round of testing. Chen Mo was extremely satisfied. He had not expected true Adamantium to be developed so quickly.

Since Adamantium's hardness had already exceeded the limits of the measuring instruments, the indenter of the hardness tester could do nothing to it. So the doctor simply and brutally conducted live-fire defensive tests.

Knives, guns, grenades, and rockets were deployed one after another.

All manner of cold weapons hacking at it, along with sustained fire from large-caliber machine guns, failed to inflict the slightest damage.

The marks left by bullets striking its surface vanished completely with a simple wipe of the hand. The shield's surface remained as bright as new, without even a trace of a scratch.

Close-range grenade detonations and rocket bombardments merely blackened its surface with soot. The shield itself did not deform in the slightest.

Dr. MacLane tested virtually every weapon he could find in the laboratory. This Adamantium Shield perfectly withstood every attack and remained completely undamaged throughout.

If there had been a tank in the underground laboratory, the doctor would even have wanted to try firing an armor-piercing round at it.

But Chen Mo had no doubt that even against an armor-piercing round, the Adamantium Shield would still take it with ease. After all, Adamantium was the "strongest metal," one that not even a Nuclear Bomb explosion could destroy.

However, compared to Chen Mo's shield, there were still some differences.