When a person was unlucky, even drinking cold water could get food stuck in their teeth.
That was exactly how Chu Hang felt right now.
No, this was worse than food stuck in his teeth.
A cold voice in his mind was counting down.
"Warning: Vital signs collapsing."
"Estimated death in twenty-five seconds."
"Twenty-four..."
"Twenty-three..."
That damned system, which usually played dead, had now become the grim reaper calling for his life.
"Happy my ass!" Chu Hang roared in his mind.
He could feel that his body had completely gone haywire.
Three forces were fighting inside him, turning everything into a complete mess.
The first was the Healing Factor. Green life energy frantically repaired his torn cells. One side had barely been patched up before an even bigger hole blew open somewhere else.
The second was the Super-Soldier Serum. Golden law energy tried to suppress the rampaging power, but the moment it wrapped around it, it was shattered apart.
The third was the culprit. The spatial energy copied from the Cosmic Cube was rampaging through his body, tearing everything apart.
And Chu Hang himself was the wreckage being torn to pieces.
"Kid! Hold on!"
A furry face appeared before him. It was Logan. For the first time, terror showed in the old wolf's eyes. He wanted to help, but his claws and Healing Factor were useless here. All he could smell was Chu Hang's life force rapidly fading away.
"Don't give up, Chu!"
Steve rushed over as well, gripping Chu Hang's wrist with an anxious expression.
But Chu Hang had little strength left. His consciousness was like a broken ship in a storm, ready to fall apart at any moment.
"Fifteen seconds..."
"Fourteen seconds..."
The countdown in his head grew clearer with every number.
Was he going to die?
Die in this stinking sewer?
What kind of joke was that?!
He had crawled out of the mountain of corpses from World War II and struggled so hard to survive until now... Was this how it ended?
No!
He refused to accept this!
A savage blaze erupted from the depths of his consciousness.
Why?
Why did he have to die just because it said so?!
He had fought for this life himself! He got to decide!
If it couldn't save him, then he would save himself!
"Get—the—hell—back!!!"
Chu Hang let out a silent roar in his mind.
He gave up resisting the agonizing pain and ignored Logan and Steve shouting outside. Like a gambler who had lost everything, he hurled all his mental strength into the deepest part of his body!
Bzzzz—!
The world changed.
He saw the full picture of the war.
The Healing Factor was a vast green ocean of life, where countless vines grew wildly, repairing every wound.
The Super-Soldier Serum was a golden web of laws that covered the entire space. Every node shone like a star, representing absolute order.
And that blue spatial energy...
It was a miniature universe slowly rotating. A primordial cosmic embryo made of newborn stars and raging Nebulae.
The blue cosmic storm tore through the green ocean of life and battered the golden web of order.
Chu Hang's consciousness was as insignificant as a speck of dust before the three forces.
At last, he understood why the system had simply given up on treating him.
These things weren't even on the same level.
Despair swallowed him.
Just as his consciousness was about to fade away, he saw it.
At the core of the golden web was the source of Steve's power—protection and unyielding resolve.
Deep within the green ocean was the source of Logan's power—survival and tenacity.
Then what about him?
What did he represent?
Chu Hang remembered that before crossing over, he had only been a miserable office worker forced to work overtime.
He remembered trembling in the trenches of Normandy, scared senseless by artillery shells.
He remembered all the petty tricks he had used to survive, and the scraps of dignity he had thrown away.
He didn't represent anything.
He was just an ordinary person afraid of death, someone who wanted to live!
His only strength... was greed!
Only children made choices. He wanted everything!
Since they were all his powers, why should he let them tear his home apart?!
A mad idea cut through the darkness.
He stopped resisting. He had no way to command them anyway.
All he could do was guide them.
He carefully extended his insignificant consciousness into the raging blue cosmic storm.
He did not touch the energy. Instead, he felt its nature.
The essence of this energy was expansion. It wanted to break through every restraint.
Then let it expand!
Chu Hang's consciousness moved sharply.
He actively severed the golden web of order's encirclement of the blue universe!
Boom!
The uncontrolled blue storm swept outward with ten times its previous fury!
In reality, Chu Hang's body jolted violently, blood spraying from all seven orifices!
"No!" Steve let out a cry of anguish.
But Chu Hang had gambled right.
Once the blue universe was no longer suppressed, its raging energy actually began to settle into a pattern now that it had room to release itself.
It was like lifting the lid off a kettle of boiling water. The water still boiled, but it would no longer explode.
An opportunity!
Like a surfer, Chu Hang's consciousness rode a relatively steady wave of energy.
Then he guided that wave straight into the green ocean of life!
Not a collision, but a union!
Using his understanding of life and restoration, he forcibly branded this destructive power with the attribute of life!
You wanted to expand? Fine! But what you expanded would be a space of life!
You wanted to tear things apart? Fine! But tear apart the death that hindered restoration!
Bzzzz—!
A miracle happened.
Blue energy surged into the green ocean, and the green ocean opened its embrace and devoured it.
Blue and green merged together.
The blue was no longer so violent. It gained a trace of vitality.
The green was no longer so passive. It gained a trace of agility.
A brand-new blue-green energy formed.
It worked!
Chu Hang was ecstatic, but he knew it was not enough.
This new energy still needed a framework, a set of rules.
He turned his attention to the golden web of order.
You're up!
He guided the new blue-green energy and gently wound it around the golden network.
Using his understanding of order and protection, he began establishing rules for this new power.
You could flow, but only along the routes he set!
You could grow stronger, but you had to remain stable within the core. No running wild!
You had to obey his will completely!
The golden network actively extended countless tendrils of law, weaving the wild energies into a stable, orderly internal cycle.
Green was the foundation, gold was the framework, and blue was the core driving force.
The three conflicting powers miraculously formed a perfect balance.
A brand-new energy circulation system slowly began operating within his body.
He could feel the damage in his body vanishing and transforming into new power. He could feel the surrounding space as if it were his own limbs.
He had mastered two new abilities.
[Life Reversion]: Automatically repaired all damage and converted it into energy.
[Spatial Control (Beginner)]: Basic interference with a small area of space.
The real world.
Logan and Steve were already dumbfounded.
They watched as the scorching heat radiating from Chu Hang's body faded away.
They watched the blood flowing from his seven orifices vanish directly.
They watched the terrifying blue demonic patterns on his skin gradually disappear, leaving his skin smooth again.
Finally, Chu Hang slowly opened his eyes.
Those eyes were still clear, yet something ancient and tranquil now lurked deep within them, making Logan and Steve's souls tremble.
"What... the hell?"
Chu Hang blinked. Feeling the new power within him, tame as a cat, he could not help swearing.
Surviving a disaster felt damn good.
He lowered his head to look at his hand, then, under the two men's suspicious gazes, raised his right hand and lightly snapped his fingers at the air.
Snap.
A crisp sound rang out.
Nothing happened.
Logan was just about to mock him for frying his brain when Steve suddenly grabbed his arm.
Steve stared fixedly at his own wrist.
The crack in his military watch, caused by the explosion... had disappeared.
It had vanished out of thin air.
Steve abruptly looked up at Chu Hang as if he were a monster.
He was certain that the instant Chu Hang snapped his fingers, a faint but precise spatial fluctuation had enveloped his watch.
It had not been repaired. It had been replaced.
What kind of monster had this kid become?!
"You..." Steve swallowed, his throat dry as sand.
Before he could ask, a burst of dense footsteps and shouted German commands came from deep within the pipes.
"Shit!" Falsworth, one of the surviving soldiers, went pale. "Hydra reinforcements!"
The hearts of all the surviving team members rose into their throats again. Every one of them was wounded, out of ammunition and supplies. Trapped here, they were fish in a barrel.
Chu Hang merely glanced toward the source of the noise.
Then he turned to everyone and gave them a brilliant smile.
"Don't panic."
He said.
"They're just a few lost rats."
He slowly raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers toward the pitch-black depths of the tunnel.
A deep, ghostly blue light silently lit up in his palm.
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