Vibranium Body!

"Are you ready?"

Arcee looked at Leon, who was stripped bare and lying inside the coffin—oh no, inside the Regeneration Cradle—and reminded him:

"If we want to bond all of your body tissues and cells except for your skeleton with vibranium atoms, it will take about two and a half hours."

"During this time, you must remain conscious every second, and you will feel the itching and excruciating pain of countless ants crawling and biting all over your body."

"This kind of pain cannot be solved by anesthetics, so if you want to regret it, there is still time."

To be honest.

With Arcee's understanding of Leon, she did not think that Leon, who had lived a pampered life since childhood and indulged in pleasure on a daily basis, could endure this kind of pain.

The confidence and composure he usually displayed were all based on his extraordinary background and powerful strength.

Once lost, his willpower might not even match that of an ordinary person who carried bricks every day.

However.

Leon's reply caught Arcee off guard and moved her.

She thought that until this very moment, she had truly understood the man in front of her named Leon Stark.

"How painful can a person's endurance be?"

Leon chuckled lightly, without a trace of confusion in his eyes: "Rather than waiting until my strength is inadequate in the future and I can't protect my family and loved ones only to regret it, I'd rather seize every opportunity to grow stronger now."

"Arcee, I will definitely become your "eternal partner that never wears out"."

"I promise you, so—"

"Start!"

Leon closed his eyes, quietly waiting for the injection of vibranium atoms.

"If you break your promise, I'll dig you up from the grave..."

Arcee murmured in a voice only she could hear.

Then.

She no longer hesitated.

She pressed the start button on the main control screen of the Regeneration Cradle, and instantly began the complete bonding process of Leon's body cells and vibranium atoms.

"Ugh, ahhhhh!!!!!!"

Just as it began, Leon couldn't help but let out a painful howl!

This feeling was by no means inferior to the pain he had experienced earlier when fusing the Adamantium Skeleton, but it was far more unbearably itchy!

Yet at this moment, he still had to maintain absolute consciousness. While enduring the pain, he also had to divide his attention to control his own tissue to break down into individual cells that bonded with the vibranium atoms.

This damn thing was simply thousand cuts executed by oneself upon oneself!

How could mere words describe the pain!

When Leon first had the thought of giving up, he asked Arcee how much longer it would take, and Arcee's reply drove him to utter despair:

"It's still a long way from over, only three minutes have passed."

"What?!"

"Only three minutes?!"

"Why does it feel like a year has passed?!"

Leon instantly broke defense, starting to regret why he hadn't borrowed the Time Stone from The Ancient One beforehand, even if the chance was slim, he should have at least tried!

"Fuck!!!!!!"

Leon cursed angrily, no longer asking Arcee about the time for self-torture, and began to concentrate wholeheartedly on enduring the pain and bonding his cells with the vibranium.

Time passed very slowly.

The time of Leon's sensory experience passed even more slowly.

Gradually.

He began to feel numb.

It seemed that his body's self-protection mechanism was starting to kick in.

But this was a bad sign.

Leon could not afford to lose control of his own body just yet.

He began to actively grasp that painful feeling, stimulating his nerves as if begging for abuse, forcing his brain to stay awake, and continuing to sustain this agonizing process.

He...

Could not fall just yet!

One hour.

Two hours.

The last five minutes.

The last thirty seconds.

"...Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

Bang!

As Arcee spat out the final countdown words, the string in Leon's heart that had been held taut by sheer willpower snapped instantly.

And unsurprisingly, he fell into an extremely deep slumber.

This kind of mental trauma could not be healed by Super Self-Regeneration, and Leon could only slowly recover with time.

Only.

After a pleasant system prompt sounded, the corner of Leon's mouth hooked up instinctively.

[Prompt, you have obtained the "Vibranium Body" through your own efforts. This ability has been authenticated by this system and can link with "Super Self-Regeneration" and "Adamantium Skeleton".]

[Vibranium Body: While maintaining your flesh-and-blood body, your physique has gained an all-around enhancement of vibranium characteristics, greatly increasing strength and defense, and acquiring the abilities of Kinetic Absorption and Energy Deflection.]

[Introduction: The human body has its limits, so have you decided to stop being human?]

[Note: The "Vibranium Body" will be regarded as the host's innate constitution; the stronger you are, the stronger it is, with no upper limit.]

[Note: "Super Self-Regeneration" takes normal effect on the "Vibranium Body".]

[Note: As a physical characteristic, the "Vibranium Body" is not subject to magnetic control.]

Host: Leon Stark

Abilities: Soldier Boy Template, Super Self-Regeneration, Adamantium Skeleton, Starlight Template, Biological Field, Vibranium Body

Items: Soldier Boy Suit, Infinite-Ammo Desert Eagle (Quality: Never-Worn), Arcee, Regeneration Cradle, Super Elastic Fiber Underwear, (Quality: Never-Worn), Super Deadpool Suit, Carbona Alloy Twin Blades, Never-Ending Instant Noodles, Never-Ending Milk Tea, Never-Ending Sunflower Seeds, Never-Ending Balloons, Never-Ending Stockings...

Time unknown as to how much had passed.

When Leon woke up once more.

Partner Mode Arcee, mimicked as Tifa through holographic projection technology, was blocking the doorway of Leon's Wonderful Workshop, locked in a tug-of-war with Tony and Pepper who were worried about Leon's safety.

"...I'll say it one last time, Arcee, get out of my way!"

Tony, wearing the Mark 4 armor, began to charge his Palm Cannon, threatening Arcee.

"I've already said, Leon's brother." Arcee explained with an expressionless face: "Leon is resting inside and cannot be disturbed by anyone."

This was only a half-truth.

In fact, it was because Leon's Regeneration Cradle was sitting brightly exposed inside, and he hadn't had time to store it back into the system space before losing consciousness.

And because Leon had given instructions.

Before Helen Cho normally developed the Regeneration Cradle, even his own brother Tony could not be exposed to the existence of the Regeneration Cradle under non-essential circumstances.

Therefore.

Arcee had faithfully executed Leon's "deathbed" commission, not letting a single person in while he was unconscious.

Even Tony and Pepper.

"Arcee, I know you are close with Leon, and I also believe you won't hurt Leon, but Leon has been inside for so long without coming out."

"As his family, we are just worried about his safety and want to confirm that he is really just "resting"."

Pepper pleaded with teary eyes.

A flash of reluctance crossed Arcee's eyes, but the current situation was still far from reaching the level of "necessity"; she could not expose Leon's secret simply because of a soft heart.

"I'm just as worried about him as you are, but you really can't go in."

"Then there's nothing to talk about, huh? Pepper, step aside!"