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"The system did not deceive the host. This system already reminded the host; it was the host who failed to hear it. It has nothing to do with this system."

"What? You're still trying to argue? How was I supposed to know it would take this long?"

"This is a physical transformation, so naturally it will hurt a little."

"Fuck you, this is what you call a little pain?"

"Host, please watch your language."

"Fuck, how much longer is this going to last, System?"

"I don't know. That depends on the host."

Chen Xu regretted it now, but not because of the pain. He was in the middle of New York, right beneath Stark Tower, surrounded by so many people. He had no idea how long this process would last. If anyone noticed his secret now, he would be finished.

Chen Xu's consciousness grew increasingly hazy. His body gradually began to sway. Just when he thought he was about to take a nap right there on the street, his consciousness nearly gone, the last thing he saw was a blonde woman in a work uniform, tall and well-proportioned, with delicate features, walking toward him. He had no idea what she was saying. Then Chen Xu collapsed, and after that, he knew nothing.

The next day, sunlight streamed through the window into the room. A person lay on one of the beds, surrounded mostly by white. Who else could it be but Chen Xu? Naturally, this was New York City Central Hospital.

Chen Xu opened his eyes and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He knew this was a hospital ward, but how had he gotten here? He remembered nothing.

Suddenly, a nurse dressed in white walked in.

"Hello, how are you feeling? Is your body still feverish?"

"Ah, I'm fine. Nurse, do you know who brought me here?"

"A woman named Pepper Potts called emergency services and had you brought here."

"Pepper Potts... why does that sound so familiar? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."

"Holy shit, isn't she Stark's assistant?"

"Damn, I thought I'd run into Stark, but instead I met his wife first. Strictly speaking, his future wife."

"Then, may I ask where Ms. Pepper Potts went? Will she come again?"

"No. She told us to call the police as soon as you woke up. She wanted the police to handle it."

"Ah, I see. All right."

Chen Xu had originally wanted to see what Iron Man's girlfriend, one of Marvel's Big Three, looked like. After all, television and reality were different before his transmigration.

"Then, Nurse, I'd like to complete the discharge procedures. I want to leave the hospital. Could you help me?"

"What? You want to leave already? Do you know that when you arrived two days ago, your body kept radiating heat? The heat you gave off far exceeded that of a normal person. It scared all of us doctors half to death. We thought you were an alien, not a normal human from Earth at all."

Chen Xu gave an awkward smile. By all rights, he had already fused with Superman's Steel Body, so he could no longer be considered an ordinary person. Strictly speaking, Chen Xu was now half an alien.

However, Chen Xu ignored the nurse's strange look and went straight to handle the discharge procedures. At first, the doctor refused, but he eventually gave in after Chen Xu's relentless pleading.

Chen Xu had been outside for two days already. That had exceeded the time he had agreed upon with that Temple Mage.

Chen Xu immediately returned to the New York Sanctum.

Once back at the New York Sanctum, he naturally had to endure a round of scolding from Mage Mordo. Chen Xu did not take it to heart. It was time to work: reinforce the Sanctum's seals and investigate movements in the Dark Dimension. After that, he buried himself in the New York Sanctum's library and did not go out again.

Chen Xu felt the changes in himself. Nothing seemed particularly different on the surface, but he had grown several centimeters taller, and his strength was far greater than before. His physical toughness and recovery ability had also surpassed his old body by a wide margin. And this was only one percent of the Steel Body. If it reached one hundred percent, how terrifying would that be? Chen Xu could not help but smile to himself.

Over the following days, Chen Xu reinforced the Sanctum's magical seals alongside the other Temple Mages. However, strengthening the Sanctum's magical seals consumed an enormous amount of magic power and mental energy. Every time the other Temple Mages finished reinforcing the seals and checking on the Dark Dimension, they were exhausted. Yet Chen Xu was completely fine after finishing his work, as relaxed as someone who had just returned from a stroll. This left the other Temple Mages both envious and helpless, though more than anything else, they had grown numb to it.

Everyone could not help wondering just how terrifying Chen Xu's potential was, and what heights his future achievements would reach. It undoubtedly aroused everyone's curiosity, including that of the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One. Yet no one knew, nor could anyone know, how far he would go in the future. Even Chen Xu himself did not know where his limits lay, because with the System as his cheat, it was simply impossible to predict.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I'm going to read."

After completing his daily task once again, Chen Xu returned to the library to immerse himself in books.

Day after day, several months passed like this before the sounds of battle outside the New York Sanctum shattered the routine.

The library had originally been very quiet, but the sounds of fighting outside the New York Sanctum reached it nonetheless. Chen Xu instantly lost his temper and stormed out of the library, angrily questioning the mages.

"What the hell is going on outside? Why is it so noisy?"

"There are two monsters fighting outside. Didn't you know?"

"Two monsters...? Could it be...? No way."

Chen Xu walked straight over to the magical mirror in the New York Sanctum and watched with them.

Inside the mirror, two green monsters were fighting. They had clearly been transformed by some sort of mutation, and their strength had long surpassed that of ordinary humans. Their battleground had already been reduced to a complete mess. The ground was shattered, with enormous cracks spreading across several streets.

Chen Xu turned and informed Mage Andri, the person in charge of the New York Sanctum, then angrily opened a portal straight to where the two were fighting.

At that moment, on the streets of Washington, D.C., two monsters were trading blows left and right. The broad streets had been trampled into a pitted mess beneath their feet, with footprints everywhere. Buildings were constantly being smashed down by the two of them. The entire Washington, D.C. was nearly being destroyed by them.

In a luxurious office, a bald man sat behind a desk, wearing an eyepatch. Clearly, he only had one eye.