Desert Crossing, Opening with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!

Hot.

Unimaginably scorching heat.

Lin Ye felt as though he had been thrown into a giant oven, every inch of his skin being scorched by the blazing sunlight. His throat was so dry it felt like it was smoking, and even breathing carried the smell of scorching hot dust.

He abruptly opened his eyes, the dazzling sunlight making him instantly close them again.

What's going on? Weren't I binge-watching Marvel movies all night? Where's the air conditioning? Where's my soda?

Chaotic memory fragments flooded into his mind, the final image being the computer screen blurring from staying up too late, followed by a sharp spasm in his heart.

Then... he was here?

He struggled to sit up, looked around, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

What came into view was the boundless golden desert, the scorching sun hanging high, and the heatwaves distorting the scenery in the distance. A few withered, yellow cacti were the only signs of life here.

"A desert? Where the hell am I? The Sahara? The Taklamakan Desert?" Lin Ye was dumbfounded, a strong desire to survive temporarily suppressing his panic. "Water... I must find water..."

Right at that moment, a dull roar of engines approached from afar.

Lin Ye looked up and saw a convoy that looked thoroughly unfriendly kicking up dust all over the sky, driving toward his direction. There were several battered pickup trucks with strange insignia hanging on their bodies, and plenty of heavily armed, turban-clad toughs holding AK rifles standing in the truck beds, radiating killing intent.

In the middle of the convoy, an armored vehicle looked particularly eye-catching.

"Terrorists?" Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat. This attire, this momentum, didn't look like good people no matter how he looked at them. His subconscious urged him to drop down and take cover.

But it was already too late.

Screeech--!

The convoy stopped not far ahead of him, the raised dust almost submerging him. A few gunmen jumped down from the vehicles, jabbering in a language he couldn't understand, but their gun barrels were unmistakably pointed right at him with vicious gazes.

Lin Ye's heart pounded wildly, his brain spinning at high speed: It's over, it's over. Am I going to get eliminated right as I land? This transmigration is too screwing!

He tried to raise his hands to show he was harmless, but the other party clearly didn't have that kind of patience. A leader-type waved a hand, and two subordinates grinned hideously as they stepped forward to drag him away.

"Fuck! We can't communicate!" Lin Ye despaired; this was simply a hellish start.

Just as he was being roughly pulled and nearing total despair, a cold, emotionless voice abruptly sounded in his mind:

[Host life detected to be under serious threat, consciousness activity level meets criteria...]
[The 'God-Tier Choice System' is binding... Binding successful!]
[Scanning current world coordinates... Locked: Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Time point: Early period of Tony Stark's kidnapping.]

The Marvel Universe?! Tony Stark was kidnapped?!

Lin Ye was struck by lightning, instantly understanding his situation—he had actually transmigrated into the opening of Iron Man, right into the Afghan desert! This bunch of people in front of him was the Ten Rings terrorist organization! They had just captured Tony Stark!

In that armored vehicle, could it be...

[Given that the host is in an absolute disadvantageous start and faces an immediate risk of death, the system provides initial survival choice assistance:]
[Option One: Immediately kneel and beg for mercy, loudly shouting "Hail Hydra", and attempt to join the Ten Rings. Reward: [Hydra Operative Identification], [Low-Level Constitution Enhancer].]
[Option Two: Stay silent, bide your time, attempt to follow the convoy to sneak into the camp, and look for an opportunity to rescue Tony Stark. Reward: [Master-Level Stealth Skills], [Slinging minor favorability increase with Stark Industries].]
[Option Three: Defy violently, crush all enemies in front, destroy the convoy, and seize Tony Stark and his Mark I armor technology! Reward: [Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability (without seawater side effects)]!]

Three light-screen options appeared out of thin air in Lin Ye's mind, every single word extremely clear.

Lin Ye glanced at them once, with almost no hesitation.

Option One? Kneel and beg for mercy to join terrorists? And Hydra too? The reward was like shit, and given the nature of these lunatics, they would most likely just shoot him to save trouble.

Option Two? Sneak into the camp to save Tony? You've got to be kidding, he currently had the strength of a chicken, going in would just be feeding a double kill. The rewarded stealth skills were useless, and favorability was even more illusory.

Only Option Three!

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit! Enel's bug-like Logia ability from One Piece! Elementalization, the speed and power of lightning!

Although he didn't know why there were no seawater side effects, this was simply a divine artifact to defy the heavens and change his fate in the desert wasteland!

"I choose three! System, I choose the third option!" Lin Ye roared frantically in his heart.

Almost the instant he made his choice, an indescribable, violently wild energy suddenly erupted from the deepest part of his body!

Crackling--!

Blue-and-white electric arcs fiercely leaped and burst forth from the surface of his body! The powerful energy current instantly blew away the two terrorists who were gripping him.

"Aah!" Those two guys were electrocuted with miserable screams, flying backward while smoking all over, convulsing and collapsing to the ground without moving again.

"￥%...&! (What's going on?)*" The Ten Rings leader stared in horror at the scene before him. That timid and bullyable Eastern kid from just moments ago now had dazzling lightning wrapping around his entire body, his black hair standing on end, electric sparks flickering at the tips of his strands, and a pool of thunder seemingly brewing within his eyes!

A terrifying aura that made one's heart palpitate permeated the air.

"Shoot! Quickly shoot!" Although the leader didn't understand what had happened, a strong sense of crisis made him immediately roar orders.

Rat-tat-tat-tat--!

The surrounding terrorists were also badly frightened, but they still subconsciously pulled the triggers, bullets shooting toward Lin Ye like raindrops.

However, the scene that followed made them unforgettable for a lifetime.

All the bullets, upon contacting the layer of leaping lightning surrounding Lin Ye's body, seemed to shoot into an invisible barrier—either instantly melted and vaporized, or deflected in all directions by the high-voltage lightning, emitting strange "pew-pew" sounds. Not a single one could touch Lin Ye's actual body!

Logia Elementalization! Physical attacks ineffective!

"This is... the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?" Lin Ye felt the surging, terrifying energy within his body that felt capable of destroying everything, an unprecedented sense of strength filling his entire being. The previous fear and despair were instantly swept away, replaced by a supreme feeling of controlling lightning!

He raised his hand, spreading his five fingers, and aimed his palm at the terrified and flustered terrorists.

"Thirty Million Volts: Thunderbird!"

Swish--!

A huge, blue-and-white bird-shaped shockwave composed of pure lightning emitted a sharp shriek, instantly erupting from his palm and sweeping across the entire convoy at a speed difficult for the naked eye to capture!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions sounded in succession! The pickup trucks were easily torn apart, flipped over, and detonated like toys! Those terrorists didn't even have time to scream before they turned into charcoal in the extreme high-temperature lightning!

With just a single strike, the entire convoy, except for that armored vehicle and the people inside, was practically wiped out!

Blackened traces and wreckage were left on the sandy ground, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of ozone and burning.

Lin Ye himself was startled by the power of this strike, but endless excitement followed immediately. With another thought in his mind, his body instantly elementalized, turning into a dazzling bolt of lightning that appeared beside the sole surviving armored vehicle with near-teleportation speed.

Zzzzt!

With a casual wave of his hand, a bolt of lightning easily melted the lock on the rear door of the armored vehicle. He pulled the door open forcefully.

Inside, a middle-aged man wearing an expensive suit, yet looking utterly disheveled with a strange glowing device on his chest connected to wires, was staring at him in terror. It was none other than the future formidable Iron Man—Tony Stark! Beside him was another man who looked like a scientist, trembling with fear (Yinsen).

Looking at this Eastern youth wrapped in lightning, resembling a descent of the God of Thunder (though he hadn't yet seen the God of Thunder), and then looking at the chaotic, instantly destroyed convoy outside, Tony's mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg.

"Holy shit... You... what are you?" Tony's voice carried incredulous trembling.

Seeing the future superhero and super-wealthy individual looking like this, Lin Ye's mischievous streak flared up, and he deliberately spoke in a deep voice laced with current static:

"Who am I?"

"Remember, I am the Lightning Dharma King!"

With that, his gaze swept over some equipment and blueprints inside the vehicle (the Mark I preliminary design drawings), and his powerful Observation Haki (system-provided basic application) allowed him to instantly sense that more enemies were rushing over.

"Not good, stayed too long. The main force is coming."

He hesitated no longer, reaching out to grab empty air. Utilizing the electromagnetic force generated by lightning, he sucked those important blueprints and a few key components into his hand.

Taking one final glance at Tony Stark, who was still in extreme shock, Lin Ye transformed into lightning and shot straight into the sky, leaving behind a dazzling blue-and-white trajectory that vanished into the horizon instantly.

Leaving only Tony Stark and Yinsen inside the smoking armored vehicle, staring blankly at each other as if they had just woken from a bizarre nightmare.

In the distance, the clamor of more Ten Rings vehicles rushing over drifted in.

And high in the sky, Lin Ye, feeling the lightning-fast speed and the surging power within his body, couldn't help but roar with laughter!

"Marvel Universe, are you ready?"

"Your new 'God' has arrived!"

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the initial choice, successfully altering the plot node, rewards have been distributed.]
[New choice triggered: Please decide the next direction of action...]

(End of Chapter 1)