Ability Forge Unlocked

Quantum Imaging Scanner: the original resolution was 2.7 nanometers—after modification, it improved to 1.6 nanometers.

The method involved recalibrating the phase-difference compensation algorithm of the detector array and replacing a capacitor in the signal amplifier.

The original capacitor's capacitance was 0.3 percent too high, causing high-frequency signal attenuation.

Surgical Assist Robotic Arm: the original response latency was twelve milliseconds—after modification, it was shortened to four milliseconds.

The method involved overclocking the control chip's clock frequency from 100 MHz to 280 MHz, while simultaneously rewriting the PID control parameters for the servo motors.

Biochemical Lab Bench: Lynn added a custom drug synthesis module—using a 3D-printed microfluidic chip combined with a synthesis path algorithm he wrote himself.

If Tony saw that his equipment, worth over ten million dollars, had been modified to this level of performance by a college dropout, he would probably go on a rampage in his lab.

Three days later.

The clinic finished its hardware upgrades.

The first floor was a normal reception area, just as before.

But the VIP Operating Room in the back had been completely transformed—electromagnetic shielding, soundproofing foam, reinforced walls, and a full set of Stark Medical Equipment.

This room, less than fifteen square meters, now possessed medical capabilities comparable to the top ten private medical labs in the world.

The basement had also been renovated—using some bulletproof materials left behind by Frank, plus reinforced steel plates Lynn had purchased himself, it had become a simple "Safe House."

In an emergency, one could hide inside for at least forty-eight hours.

The equipment was in place.

The hardware was ready.

Lynn sat behind the front desk.

He opened the system panel.

Current Reputation Points: 580.

Ability Forge unlock threshold: 500.

He was eighty points over.

He stared at the words "Ability Forge" for three seconds.

[Ability Forge has been unlocked.]

[Function Description: Deeply fuse two or more copied abilities to create a brand-new composite ability. The quality and effect of the fused ability far exceed the simple stacking of individual abilities.]

[Cost: Each fusion consumes 100 Reputation Points.]

[Risk: The fusion process is accompanied by intense physical pain (a physical reaction as abilities are reconstructed within the body). Fusion failure may lead to a decrease in the quality of the participating abilities or even their disappearance. The more abilities fused and the more complex they are, the higher the risk.]

[Restriction: A maximum of three abilities per fusion. Fused abilities cannot be split again.]

Lynn read every rule twice.

The risk was not low.

Fusion failure meant losing abilities.

The more abilities and the more complex they were, the greater the risk.

A maximum of three at a time. The process was irreversible.

He opened his current ability library—

Super Intelligence (incomplete version · 70%), source: Batman, S+ rank.

Super Genius: Engineering and Invention (incomplete version · 65%), source: Iron Man, S rank.

Super Senses (incomplete version · 75%), source: Daredevil, A+ rank.

Super Agent Skills: Combat and Infiltration (incomplete version · 70%), source: Black Widow, A- rank.

Indestructible (incomplete version · 65%), source: Luke Cage, A rank.

Superhuman Strength (weak version · 55%), source: Jessica Jones, A- rank.

Healing Factor (weak version · 60%), source: Punisher, B+ rank.

Seven abilities.

Two instances of Super Intelligence operated in his mind simultaneously, performing an exhaustive analysis of all possible fusion combinations and assessing the risk-to-reward ratio.

First priority: Super Intelligence plus Super Genius: Engineering and Invention.

Reason—both abilities belonged to the "cognitive" talent category, operating on the same underlying nervous system (the thinking processing areas of the cerebral cortex).

Compatibility between the same type of abilities was the highest, and the probability of failure was the lowest.

Expected product—a higher-dimensional composite cognitive ability.

No longer two parallel thinking channels of "analysis" and "creation," but a unified channel that merged both.

Second priority: Super Senses plus Combat and Infiltration.

Reason—sensory type plus combat type.

Senses provided real-time battlefield information, while combat instinct provided rapid response.

The expected product of their fusion was a "battlefield foresight" type ability—intuitive predictive power in combat would be significantly enhanced.

Other combinations carried higher risks and uncertain rewards.

He would do the first one first.

Lynn locked the clinic door and hung out the "Closed for the Day" sign.

He went down to the basement.

He closed the door and sat on the floor mat.

He took a deep breath.

"Start fusion."

System confirmation—

[Consuming 100 Reputation Points. Current Reputation Points: 580 → 480.]

[Starting fusion: Super Intelligence (S+ · 70%) + Super Genius: Engineering and Invention (S · 65%).]

[Estimated time: 6 hours.]

[Warning: The process will be accompanied by intense head pain. It is recommended that the host remain stationary.]

[Fusion started.]

The pain arrived at the third second.

It was not something that could be described as a "headache."

It was a burning sensation erupting from deep within the cerebral cortex, as if someone were running a thousand volts through his nerve fibers.

Lynn's body curled up instinctively. He braced his hands against the floor, his knuckles digging five marks into the mat.

He gritted his teeth.

Six hours.

This was just the beginning.

The basement lights were turned off.

Lynn endured the first wave of impact in the darkness.

The feeling could not be summarized by the words "head pain"—two complete thinking systems were colliding inside his brain.

Batman's thinking was a web, pushing from the known to the unknown, progressing layer by layer, with every node connected by a logical chain.

Tony's thinking was a factory; upon seeing a target, he would build the object directly in his mind, with 3D structures, material selection, and process paths unfolding simultaneously.

When these two systems ran in his cerebral cortex at the same time, it was like two computers with different operating systems being forcibly connected to the same motherboard.

Conflict.

A maddening conflict.

Lynn's nose began to bleed at the seventeenth minute.

It wasn't a slight trickle; it was a thin line flowing from his right nostril, dripping onto the collar of his lab coat.

He didn't wipe it. His hands didn't have the strength to lift.

He had bitten down on a rubber rod beforehand—the kind used in operating rooms to prevent epilepsy patients from biting their tongues.

Now, his teeth were deeply embedded in the rubber surface.

The Healing Factor was at work.

He could feel the weak restorative energy attempting to suppress the inflammatory response in his brain.

But the impact generated by the fusion far exceeded the upper limit of a B+ rank Healing Factor.

One hour passed.

Lynn's back was against the basement wall, his entire body curled into a ball.

Sweat soaked the back of his lab coat.

His fingers repeatedly gripped the mat, leaving mark after mark.