Subjugation

Soldier Boy's roar echoed down the corridor.

Chu Hang's double stood still, watching the purple lines racing through his body.

The energy anchors left by the Alchemical Law recorded everything—every fluctuation, every tremor in his gene chains, every trace of Compound V moving through him.

This was the source of superpowers on this Earth.

Soldier Boy raised his head. A savage red light flashed through his gray-white pupils.

He opened his mouth, and dark red energy surged from deep in his throat.

The corridor's temperature soared. The air began to warp.

Starlight went pale.

She felt her skin burning and struggled to breathe. The light barrier she had formed with her hands broke down in the heat. She couldn't hold it.

A transparent barrier appeared in front of her.

Soldier Boy's energy slammed into it, exploding in blinding white light. The barrier didn't budge.

Starlight froze and turned to Chu Hang's double. He hadn't even raised a hand. He just stood there watching, as calm as if he were observing a specimen.

Soldier Boy charged with a roar. Every step of his towering body cracked the floor.

He raised his right fist. The purple lines blazed, and his entire arm swelled until it was as thick as a tree trunk.

His fist came crashing down.

Chu Hang's double raised his left hand and spread his fingers.

Golden runes spread across his palm, forming a miniature matrix. Soldier Boy's fist struck it, and the impact was absorbed, converted into another form of energy, then driven back into his body along the purple lines.

Soldier Boy shuddered and stopped.

He looked down at his arm. The glow of the purple lines turned erratic, and the energy no longer followed its original course.

Chu Hang's double stepped forward and pressed his right hand