Luca pressed the injection button.
The waste fluid flowed through the tube into the subordinate's body.
Only five seconds passed.
A violent reaction began.
The subordinate on the bed began convulsing wildly, his skin turning bright red all over.
His eyes bulged, and great mouthfuls of white foam spilled from his mouth as the straps creaked under his struggles.
"All right, looks like this formula was a little spicy. His cells are doing a tap dance."
Luca leaned against the workbench with his arms folded, looking as though he were watching a show.
Ten seconds later.
The subordinate's body went rigid, then slammed back down onto the bed. He appeared to have stopped breathing.
The alarm signaling the loss of his vital signs echoed through the laboratory.
The injection had failed once again.
The atmosphere in the laboratory instantly dropped to freezing.
Several researchers bowed their heads in fear, not daring to breathe too hard.
The bald leader's expression turned ugly, and anger burned in his eyes.
He suddenly drew his pistol and strode up to Luca, aiming the dark muzzle at his forehead.
The icy touch made Luca's eyelid twitch.
Although he was panicking inside and cursing the old bastard for fighting dirty, Luca remained perfectly calm on the surface.
"Buddy, that's how experiments work." Luca spread his hands and shrugged innocently.
"Successes are always few and far between. We need patience. Failure is the mother of success, got it?"
The bald leader was so angry he almost laughed, the muscles in his face twitching with rage.
He stared hard into Luca's fearless eyes for a full half minute.
Then he suddenly laughed.
He put the pistol away, sliding it back into the holster at his waist.
"You really are a genius, Stark. Not many people can keep talking tough with a gun pointed at them," the bald leader said with a cold laugh.
"But that doesn't change the fact that you can't help me. You've outlived your usefulness. You and your good-for-nothing brother are both useless trash."
Hearing that, Luca's heart sank, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.
How was Tony doing?
Had he angered these guys? Was that busted battery still attached to his chest?
Countless worries flooded his mind.
Although they usually bickered, Tony was his only family in this world.
If something happened to Tony...
But Luca knew he couldn't show weakness now.
He immediately put that punchable expression back on his face.
"Really? Tony's an arrogant good-for-nothing, all right. He even snores in his sleep. What stupid thing did he do to make you so angry? Did he sneak a drink of your coffee?"
The bald leader was smart enough to realize Luca was fishing for information.
"Don't waste your breath."
"You'll see him in hell soon enough."
"Damn, I don't want to listen to him brag about his love life in hell. If you really do kill him, remember to put a couple of extra bullets in him for me. I've wanted to beat him up for ages."
Luca kept up his complaints, trying to hide his unease.
The bald leader couldn't be bothered with any more of this nonsense.
He turned around and waved a hand with his back to Luca.
"Take him to the cliff outside. Finish him off. Clean up after yourselves, and don't dirty my base."
Hearing that, Luca finally felt the weight lift from his heart.
Just as planned.
But deeper worries followed.
What had happened to Tony?
When he said I'd see Tony soon, did he mean Tony was already dead, or that he was about to be executed too?
Tony's so smart. He must be thinking of some way to save himself too.
I hope he can hold on.
Damn it, once I get out of here!
I'm firing two Jericho Missiles and blowing this whole mountain flat!
Two burly armed soldiers walked over and grabbed his arms, one on each side.
To help his plan along, Luca didn't resist, apart from a token struggle.
"Hey, hey! Easy! You gave me these clothes, but they're still clothes, okay? I have legs. I can walk!"
The two staff members paid no attention to his complaints.
They carried Luca out and put him on a transport device in the hallway that resembled a wheelchair.
Thick clasps locked around his wrists and ankles, holding him firmly in place.
"A cart? Couldn't you get one with a leather seat? This plastic board is digging into me everywhere!"
The soldiers pushed Luca along the long hallway toward the exit.
Along the way, Luca kept trying to talk to them, hoping to get some information.
"Hey, tell me, who ordered you to kidnap us? Who gave you the information? Just give me one name, and I'll give you more money than you can spend in a lifetime."
He had been trying to investigate this matter for the past two months.
There was no way these terrorists could have known their movements so precisely. Someone had definitely sold them out.
But everyone at the base was tight-lipped, just like these two soldiers. No one paid him any attention, like emotional robots.
The cart passed through several doors, and the surroundings began to change.
The white walls gave way to rough rock, and the air grew dry.
Finally, they arrived at the edge of a balcony-like area near the outside of the cave.
There was no railing. Beyond it lay a bottomless cliff.
The sight filled Luca with excitement.
Finally... it worked!
But on the surface, he gave a cold laugh.
"Now that's thoughtful service. You knew I liked beach vacations, so you brought me out to catch some sun before I die? Is your line of work offering end-of-life care now?"
The two soldiers still ignored him.
The soldier in front walked over and pressed a switch on the wall, opening the iron-barred gate.
A fierce wind immediately rushed in from outside.
The soldier behind Luca pushed him through the gate to the edge of the cliff.
Less than half a meter separated him from the drop.
The midday sun poured down without obstruction, its glare too bright to look at.
The soldier in front raised his assault rifle, its dark muzzle aimed at Luca's head.
They prepared to fire.
By then, Luca was fully exposed to the sun.
Sunlight shone on his body.
At that moment, Luca knew the plan had succeeded.
He could clearly feel the serum hidden in his blood activating.
Like a greedy vortex, it frantically absorbed the sun's energy.
Then it amplified that energy countless times over and poured it fiercely into his dormant cells.
He felt it.
A violent power seemed to be awakening within his body!
Blood surged through his vessels, bones reshaped themselves, muscles swelled, and cells rejoiced.
The sensation of power filling his entire body felt so good he wanted to roar.
Luca closed his eyes and took a deep breath, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.
"Praise the sun."
He murmured to himself.
The two soldiers standing behind him finally spoke.
"Prepare to fire."
The soldier on the left spoke coldly, his finger resting on the trigger.
Just then!
Luca's eyes snapped open!
Immense power coursed through his body. The mutation was complete, and the energy had awakened.
"Creak! Snap!"
Before the two soldiers' bewildered eyes.
The clasps holding Luca's wrists and ankles tightly in place suddenly snapped on their own, then fell to the ground.
Immediately afterward, Luca's body slowly rose from the wheelchair and floated into the air.
He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head back toward the blazing sun, as though receiving a baptism of power.
Just then, a fierce wind blew up from below the cliff.
Luca's white lab coat began to flap noisily, like a war god's cape.
The two soldiers recovered from their shock.
They chose to open fire immediately.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!"
"Die, monster!"
A barrage of bullets poured toward Luca in midair.
The next second.
Luca, floating in the air, opened his eyes again.
His eyes had undergone an incredible change.
His pupils had turned a dazzling platinum white!
Around his eyes, violent white energy could faintly be seen spilling out like flames.
The bullets struck in front of him, seemingly hitting an energy field. They were all deflected and fell to the ground.
"What monster?" Luca tilted his head, feigning confusion.
The next second.
Two beams of white light erupted from his eyes like roaring dragons!