Mad Scientist, Suit Debut

The luxurious bedchamber was so quiet that one could hear a needle drop.

Luke stood expressionlessly in place, his white bathrobe hanging open to reveal his solid muscles.

He was not at all surprised that Mutants had appeared during World War II.

According to the timeline, Magneto, the leader of one of the two major Mutant factions in the future and founder of the Brotherhood, should still have been a child, imprisoned in the grim and terrifying Auschwitz concentration camp.

The young Magneto had once encountered a mad Nazi scientist, Sebastian Shaw—the future Black King.

The man firmly believed in the "Aryan Superman" theory concocted by Schutzstaffel leader Himmler, and he also subscribed to Hitler's extreme rhetoric about cleansing inferior races and creating a superior breed.

After returning from studying in Britain, Shaw, who specialized in genetic inheritance, was quickly recruited into the German army's scientific division.

As his personal talents gradually emerged, he began to receive greater responsibility and became involved in managing concentration camp projects, turning into a cold-blooded scientific butcher.

All those imprisoned Jews were Sebastian Shaw's living test subjects.

He sought to uncover the profound meaning contained within humanity's genetic code and thereby find the key to opening the gates of evolution.

What changed Sebastian Shaw's fate was a day in 1944.

On a dreary, rainy afternoon, he stood by the window with a cup of coffee as usual, watching the Jews and Poles being herded into the concentration camp like livestock.

A young boy caught Sebastian Shaw's attention.

He saw with his own eyes how the boy cried and shouted in rage while twisting an iron gate from afar with his hands. Several strong soldiers were unable to stop him.

Sebastian was overjoyed, believing that he had found the key to opening the gates of human evolution!

And afterward, he truly learned that there existed on Earth a superior race, above humanity and above Germanic bloodlines.

They were called "Mutants"—a term coined by an American dwarf scientist.

While studying in Britain, Sebastian Shaw had read papers written by that scientist. The dwarf scientist firmly believed that there was a group in the world stronger and more gifted than ordinary humans.

Thus, Sebastian Shaw carried out a series of studies on the still-young Magneto and finally discovered the secret behind Mutant abilities—

X-Gene!

A string of mysterious code that seemed to have been implanted in the human body by the gods!

"The Hellfire Club got Mutants involved to rescue Mussolini? Looks like Hydra has finally noticed me."

Luke gathered his thoughts, a trace of mockery flashing through his eyes.

The small, thin "invisible" man cautiously shifted his position. He possessed the innate ability to bend light, alter the color of his skin, and blend into his surroundings.

"No matter how strong you are, you still need to be able to find me! I was only careless before, which was why you spotted the flaw!"

The small, thin man nicknamed Chameleon drew a sharp dagger.

He believed Luke had only discovered his presence due to a momentary coincidence.

He had infiltrated countless military strongholds, stolen intelligence, and assassinated key figures. He had never failed!

With a cold gaze, the small, thin man approached Luke like a venomous snake ready to strike, preparing to slit his throat with one blow!

"Die!"

Like a cat, the small, thin man stepped onto the soft carpet without leaving the slightest trace.

Holding his breath without making a sound, he suddenly thrust out his dagger toward the motionless Luke!

"You can hide your footsteps and your breathing... but you can't hide your heartbeat, no matter how faint it is!"

Luke sneered and his body swayed slightly.

The dagger struck his chest with a sharp metallic clang!

The sharp carbon-alloy dagger could not pierce Luke's skin. It left only a shallow wound, which healed instantly.

The rebounding force made the man's arm go numb.

"How... how is that possible?!"

The small, thin man cried out in shock.

Unfortunately, he had not seen Luke's astonishing display when testing his defenses with a European greatsword. Otherwise, he would never have thought a dagger could kill him.

Crack! Crack!

Luke smiled faintly, raised a hand, and snapped the carbon-alloy dagger in two before effortlessly lifting the small, thin man.

"Tell me what I want to know, and perhaps I'll grant you the hope of living."

His face was clearly gentle, yet his voice was like the winds of Siberia, sending chills through one's bones.

Meeting those icy eyes, the small, thin man felt fear rise from the depths of his heart. His lips moved as he tried to reveal everything he knew.

Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat!

The sound of submachine-gun fire reached Luke's ears with perfect clarity.

He could tell it was coming from the dungeon.

"Looks like you have other companions! Sorry, then you're useless to me."

Luke casually treated the small, thin man like a sandbag and tossed him from the ruined open-air balcony.

Accompanied by a piercing scream, the mutant traced a graceful arc through the air.

A moment later, a dull thud of something heavy hitting the ground could faintly be heard.

"Let me see what mutants actually look like."

A smile curled at Luke's lips as a thought stirred in his mind. "Cover skin!"

To be safe, he chose to put on the free Kryptonian uniform after all. It could at least add a little defense.

Who knew whether there might be opponents like Cyclops or Pyro among the mutants?

"This Superman was obviously very strong, yet excessively cautious."

Luke grumbled.

A flicker of light spread outward, and a nanotech combat suit resembling steel armor covered his tall frame.

There was no Superman "S" on his chest; that was the exclusive emblem of the House of El.

In its place was a golden insignia shaped like a blazing sun.

A dark crimson cape billowed behind him like a flying banner.

"Though capes are completely impractical, looking cool is forever."

Looking at the upright figure reflected in the mirror, Luke breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, it was not the awkward Golden Age design with underwear worn on the outside. Otherwise, he would never have used Cover Skin.

Casually pushing open the heavy doors to the bedchamber, Luke heard intense gunfire coming from below the quiet Venice Palace.

In the Venice Palace dungeon, the Howling Commandos faced an unprecedented battle.

On past battlefields, their opponents had been Nazi soldiers, armored divisions, and fully armed Axis Powers forces.

But now, their enemies were aberrations and monsters that could not be judged by common sense!

Within the dungeon corridor stood a burly man nearly two meters tall. His skin was like steel, reflecting a silvery gleam.

Wave after wave of metal storms swept over him, yet they could only strike sparks from his body!

"Kenneth, get that damn Maxim over here!"

With a fierce expression, Dugan tossed aside the submachine gun whose magazine had been emptied.

That damned iron man could at most be knocked back a few steps by the kinetic force of bullets.

To truly hurt him, they needed something with more punch!

And besides the iron man, there was another monster with red skin and a long, thin tail, like a devil.

He could appear out of thin air like a Spectre, then vanish in an instant.

All the Mafia gunmen stationed outside the dungeon had been carried high into the air by that red devil, then dropped.

The sound of human bodies hitting the ground was like full water bags smashing against hard earth, producing a dull bang.

Bones and flesh mixed into a muddy heap, enough to make anyone want to vomit.

Besides those two terrifying intruders, there was also a leather-clad woman who released toxins, along with more than a dozen enhanced warriors wearing Hydra armbands.

They had infiltrated the Venice Palace by low-altitude insertion.

The twenty elite gunmen recruited by the Mafia were simply no match for these aberrations.

If not for the advantage of the terrain—the narrow corridor could only accommodate two people side by side—the Howling Commandos had used fierce firepower to form barrage-like attacks. Otherwise, they would likely have been wiped out already.

"We can't notify the commander! These people... even Captain Cavill might not be able to fight them!"

Manelli's expression was grave. Unless they mobilized a fully armed armored force and blanketed the area with overwhelming firepower, they might be able to kill these aberrations with their terrifying abilities!

P.S. Thanks to Nanjing Crispy Cat for the 400-point donation, One Page Loses 100 for the 100-point donation, Tang Corpse Doesn't Wave for the 100-point donation, and Holy Hall Bloodslayer Emperor Huang for the 100-point donation. Love you all~

P.S. 2: Dear readers, I learned something during this brief new-book period: the harder I work to update, the more I realize that an author's abilities have limits... So I refuse to be a twice-daily-update beast! As long as I gather enough recommendation votes, bookmarks, and investments, I can evolve from a twice-daily-update beast into a perfect creature that can casually write ten thousand words a day without thinking. Dear readers, please support me enthusiastically! Once I become a perfect creature, I'll turn all of you into little buns that can be eaten and used (ˊoo`)