Siege

In the laboratory forecourt, two roaring beasts engaged in the most primitive, blood-soaked slaughter.

"Roar—!!!"

The Fire Giant bellowed, his lava-burning fist carrying a searing wave of air as it heavily slammed into X-24's face. The high heat instantly charred the flesh and skin there, emitting a sizzling plume of hot steam. X-24's head jerked violently backward, yet his body did not retreat a single half-step, as though that face did not belong to him at all.

He did not know what a circlet was, nor did he know what orders were; he only knew that this burning hulking mass before him was the enemy.

He ignored the blinding pain and scorching heat on his face as his steel claws sank deeper into the Fire Giant's chest with even greater speed, then he ripped viciously. In the next second, three bone-deep wounds were torn open, and boiling blood gushed out, instantly turning into a searing blood mist that drifted apart.

Just as the two monsters viciously lunged at each other once more, several muffled gunshots pierced the chaotic battlefield.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two custom large-caliber armor-piercing rounds precisely penetrated X-24's body, their immense kinetic energy causing his forward momentum to stall abruptly, and his entire body stumbled uncontrollably to the side. The steel claws in his hands stabbed fiercely into the ground before he snapped his gaze toward the other side.

On the bluestone path not far away, a dozen or so soldiers in special tactical gear were raising their guns to lock onto his figure, slowly closing in on the area.

Taking advantage of this brief moment of distraction, the Fire Giant seized the fleeting opening, closing in with his massive physique utterly devoid of clumsiness, and wrapped his arms around X-24's waist.

"Agh-agh!!"

The muscles across his entire body instantly strained to the limit, the burning firelight glowing to its peak as he used all his strength to lift X-24 over his head and then slammed him fiercely into the ground!

"Boom—!"

The concrete ground was smashed into a shallow crater. With a ferocious expression, X-24's body twitched unnaturally in the pit, and just as he tried to stand up again, the Fire Giant reached out and pressed down hard on his head.

Then, the Fire Giant's entire arm began to blaze with raging flames!

"Ah-ah-ah—!!!" The intense pain of the burning fire caused even a beast like X-24 to let out a miserable screech.

"Target has been preliminarily subdued."

General Lake's follow-up troops arrived in time, having completely secured the perimeter of the medical academy.

One team member looked at the monster in the pit, then glanced at the big guy covered in fire nearby, and smacked his lips. "Damn... what kind of monsters are these..."

In the corridor, blue smoke flickered like a ghost, carrying a strange odor mixed with sulfur and ozone.

Night Demon's figure appeared and vanished within the smoke; he was not in a hurry to finish the fight, looking more like he was taking a keen interest in enjoying this cat-and-mouse game.

Laura thrust out her claws, only to see her enemy turn into a puff of smoke and dissipate a moment later, before abruptly reappearing behind her. Immediately afterward, Night Demon's steel claws thrust toward her head!

Realizing the enemy's move, Laura whirled around to parry, but struck empty air. The real attack came from her left side as Night Demon's figure twisted into a bizarre posture mid-air, his steel claws aiming straight for her ribs.

"Clang!!"

Steel claws collided, scattering sparks.

Every single one of Night Demon's attacks was tricky and fatal, continually compressing the space behind Laura until, very soon, her spine pressed heavily against the cold alloy wall with nowhere left to retreat.

"Little one, is that all you've got?" Night Demon let out a taunt and lashed out with his claws again.

Laura crossed her claws, barely blocking the strike. Using that force, she executed a nimble roll to the side, attempting to break free from the dead end of the corner.

Yet immediately after, a barbed blue tail whipped out from an unimaginable angle like a venomous snake, fiercely striking her across the face!

"Ugh!"

With a miserable cry, Laura's body fell uncontrollably to the ground as her ears buzzed.

Before she could climb back up, that tail wrapped around her neck like lightning, tightening and slowly lifting her slender body into mid-air as a sense of suffocation instantly gripped her throat.

"Looking closely, you're actually quite cute." Night Demon leaned in close to her face, a sharp steel claw gently and playfully tracing across Laura's cheek as a trickle of blood slowly welled up.

"You're a pretty good toy..."

Outside the back door of the experimental building.

"Clang!"

Logan slowly extended the steel claws from between his knuckles, lowered his posture, and locked his eyes dead on the man before him: Impact.

Then, he stomped the ground and charged forward, rushing unconditionally toward Impact.

At the same time, the man abruptly raised his hand.

Without warning, an invisible pressure materialized out of thin air, instantly engulfing Logan's entire body from directly ahead!

Old Logan felt as though he had collided head-on with a wall. An unceasingly vibrating, invisible shockwave pierced his skin and flesh, churning his internal organs violently and causing every bone in his body to rattle loudly.

Logan let out a muffled grunt as his forward charge was brought to an abrupt halt, his entire body freezing in place.

Before he could recover from the daze, the man had already reached him, one hand precisely grasping the wrist from which his claws protruded, the joint and leverage applied just right to render him completely immobile.

As for his other palm, it pressed against old Logan's abdomen without a trace of exertion.

Logan's pupils sharply contracted.

"Boom—!"

At point-blank range, the field impact erupted once more!

A tremendous, overwhelming force exploded against Logan's stomach. Even his heavy Adamantium skeleton could not stabilize his posture. Logan was swept entirely off his feet by this energy, knocked backward, and slammed heavily into the concrete wall a dozen meters away. After leaving behind a large patch of cracks, he crashed hard onto the ground.

"Our target isn't you, Wolverine."

Impact did not even look back as he walked past the dust-covered Logan, his voice flat and cold.

"Your healing factor and Adamantium claws were thoroughly researched by us long ago. You're nothing more than a stray dog that nobody cares about. If you don't want to die, get lost."

In the wall crater, Logan let out a painful groan.

...Shut up!

Logan coughed up a mouthful of blood and, shaking unsteadily, propped himself up against the wall once again.

Then, he used his left hand to grab his right arm, forcefully snapping his dislocated limb back into place.

"Shit... what kind of rambling bullshit is that..." The old wolf gritted his teeth and once again assumed an attack posture toward the man.

"Come again!!"

Meanwhile, on the first-floor lobby of the experimental building.

"Lightwave" Davis kicked open the ajar wooden door and caught sight of Miles sitting in a wheelchair right in the center of the lobby.

The teenager seemed to have been waiting for him here for a while.

"Mr. Miles." Davis was in no rush to make a move; he even straightened his vest and spoke politely, "On behalf of my superior, General Lake, I extend my greetings. We hail from the United States Northern Command, and after careful evaluation, we believe your abilities deserve sufficient..."

"I refuse."

Before Davis could finish, Miles directly interrupted him, then raised his head and looked at him coldly with those bloodshot eyes.

"I hate you motherf***ing scumbags."

The smile on Davis's face stiffened for a fraction of a second before he let out a helpless sigh. "Well, then I have no choice."

No sooner had his voice fallen than he lunged fiercely toward Miles!

However, Miles merely watched him calmly. Under the manipulation of his abilities, the motor of the electric wheelchair beneath him let out a roar, carrying Miles darting wildly backward as he retreated into a room at the end of the corridor and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

"Screech!!"

A scorching energy beam blew the door lock to pieces, and the door panel that had just closed was kicked open. Davis followed closely in hot pursuit.

Behind the door was a long, narrow maintenance hallway filled with pipes and wiring, and Miles had already rushed to the other end of the channel. Davis followed right behind. Passing a utility room piled with large mechanical equipment, Davis merely glanced at it before raising his hand without hesitation, unleashing scorching beams of energy to actively destroy this potentially usable equipment.

"Boom! Boom!" Several precision instruments of unknown purpose exploded into balls of fire.

"Is this the way you invite people over?" Miles's taunting voice came from ahead, echoing down the corridor.

"This is the way we treat our enemies, Mr. Miles," Davis replied calmly while giving chase. "I hope you won't ask for trouble."

After twisting and turning through several corridors, Miles's electric wheelchair leaped over a massive iron door, charging into a spacious room.

Having chased him all the way here, Davis didn't think much of it and charged straight in after him.

Yet the moment he rushed inside, a piercing chill washed over him, causing a sudden sense of wrongness to strike his heart.

"Clang!"

With a dull, heavy roar, the alloy gates behind him locked shut tightly.

Followed by the sound of several thick metal bolts clicking into place one after another, completely sealing this massive iron door.

Only then, as Davis looked at the equipment hanging with special specimens and connected to thick pipes around him, did he finally realize that this was the laboratory's cryogenic cold storage.

"Davis Connor, born 1992, active-duty officer, product of The Purifiers program, codename 'Lightwave'..."

Facing this powerful opponent alone, Miles slowly and deliberately recited his file, word by word. Each word was like a cold nail driving into Davis's nervous system.

"Your ability is Energy Emission, capable of producing highly destructive high-temperature energy within your body like a miniature reactor... This makes me very curious..."

Miles raised his head, flashing a wicked smile.

"...How do you usually spend the winter?"

The moment his voice fell, the cooling pipes on the surrounding walls began to emit a deep hum, and countless nozzles simultaneously spewed out dense white cold air. The temperature throughout the entire room began to plummet at a rate visible to the naked eye!

Davis's expression changed drastically. He spun around toward the heavily sealed door he had just entered through and fired an energy beam at full power!

"Boom!!!"

That scorching energy, capable of melting normal metals, slammed into the special alloy door—which was dozens of centimeters thick—yet left behind nothing more than a patch of charred marks.

"German Linde Group CRYOLINE DP-1500 high-speed freezing refrigerator, currently the world's most advanced liquid nitrogen cooler; German quality, reliable as always." Miles chuckled softly at Davis, slowly speaking like a tour guide introducing an exhibit, "It can lower the temperature here to minus forty degrees Celsius in just a few minutes."

As the surrounding temperature dropped rapidly, Davis's expression gradually grew ugly. He could feel the ability within his body beginning to undergo uncontrolled turmoil!

"Care to guess what will happen to that high-temperature energy constantly generating inside your body in an environment like this?"

"Damn it!"

Davis finally lost his cool. He lunged at Miles in a single stride, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him out of the wheelchair. "Where did you get this information?!"

"Open the door right now! Do you want us both to die here?!"

Suspended in mid-air, his face gradually flushing red from a lack of oxygen, Miles showed no hint of panic in the face of Davis's interrogation. Instead, he grinned, looking at the fierce fellow before him with a mocking gaze.

"Save it, Davis... You wouldn't dare kill me."

Miles's voice was hoarse and distorted from his squeezed throat, every word forced out from between his teeth.

"Let me guess. The order General Lake gave you should be 'bring me back alive at all costs', right? Even... because I'm so fragile, you might even need to protect me when necessary..."

Watching the instantaneous shift in Davis's expression, the smile on Miles's face grew increasingly uninhibited, even carrying a hint of morbid delight.

"Oh, it looks like I guessed right..."

"Then next up is the thrilling Ice Bucket Challenge segment... cough, cough... Do you think a disabled piece of trash like me will be frozen into an icicle first, or will you, acting as the 'Captain Marvel' of the team, explode first due to unstable energy?"

"Lastly, a friendly reminder..."

Using his very last ounce of strength, Miles flashed a smile that was brilliant to the extreme and venomous to the extreme.

"The prize for this match is—surviving."