Chapter 397 Hunting Ground Gadget
MODOK, whose nickname is MODOK and real name is Darren Cross, actually has a connection with Tang Group. Out of covetousness for Pym Particles, Tang Song had semi-forcibly invited Professor Hank Pym to join Tang Group's side.
In return for manufacturing Pym Particles for Tang Group and conducting research in quantum mechanics, Tang Song helped Professor Hank Pym rescue his wife, who was trapped in the Quantum Realm.
He also hired their daughter at a high salary to be the supervisor of Tang Group's quantum research department, firmly tying these two top experts in quantum mechanics to Tang Group.
Darren Cross was Hank Pym's student and a major shareholder of Pym Company. By chance, he discovered his teacher's research and wanted to develop it into military weapons for high-priced sale.
However, he clearly underestimated his teacher's stubbornness. Facing his student's relentless pressure, Hank Pym chose to disappear until he was found by Tang Group and forced to join.
Strictly speaking, Darren Cross and Tang Song were the same type of people. Their actions were almost identical, both involving cunning acquisition and forceful seizure. It's just that Darren Cross didn't have as big a fist as Tang Song, and he didn't grasp the key point of the matter. He didn't know what Hank Pym truly wanted. Compared to money, Hank Pym's many years of persistence were simply aimed at rescuing his wife from the Quantum Realm.
What was worse, in Tang Song's eyes, Darren Cross's value was far less important than Hank Pym's. When faced with Tang Group's aggressive acquisition of his company, Darren Cross also failed to see the situation clearly, eagerly trying to resist with the incomplete Wasp armor he had. As a result, the experiment failed, and he became lost in the Quantum Realm.
It wasn't until a year ago, when the High Evolutionary was perfecting his genetic evolution experiment, that he accidentally received Darren Cross's distress signal and rescued him from the Quantum Realm.
However, due to the influence of the Quantum Realm, Darren Cross's body underwent some subtle changes. His head swelled to six or seven times the size of a normal person's, while his limbs and body atrophied into mere accessories.
This also caused a drastic change in Darren Cross's personality. He renamed himself MODOK to signify a farewell to his former self.
On a desolate Mining Planet, a Fortress Ship, nearly half the size of the planet itself, was moored in its Low Earth Orbit.
The Spaceship hatch door slid back into the Spaceship with a clatter. As the hatch opened, a large head encased in golden armor sat on a golden chair and floated out of the Spaceship. MODOK hovered above the red Planet, looking down at it, and let out bursts of cackling laughter.
As he waved his short Right Hand, the massive Castle Spaceship directly separated into dozens of Spaceship modules. The huge Ship Cabin modules, thousands of meters long and wide, sprayed blue energy flames and flew towards various directions across the Planet.
Clang!
Despite the assistance of thrusters, the landing of the massive module Ship Cabins still produced a huge sound, kicking up dust and shaking the sand and gravel. Watching the module Ship Cabins land one by one, MODOK pressed the switch in his hand amidst his cackling laughter.
Clang, clang, clang, clang—
The huge alloy steel plates forming the rectangular boxes instantly spread out like blooming flower petals, revealing the bizarre Orcs and Modified Humans inside.
There were Flesh Giants with bare, strong bodies, standing five or six meters tall, their entire bodies covered in grotesque muscle mass. There were Mutated Humans with spider bodies and human heads.
There were also some humanoid organisms, some exposing chests covered in dense hair of various types, others covered in scales of different colors, or various carapaces, their muscles bulging.
Some Ship Cabins even contained primitive beasts. These four-legged beasts, after escaping their cages, stood upright on the plain of yellow sand and roared towards the sky.
MODOK hovered at high altitude, watching coldly as the mutated creatures spread out from the module Ship Cabins like a dark tide.
These mutated creatures were the products of the High Evolutionary's failed genetic evolution experiments. They were bloodthirsty and brutal. Most of these defective products were destroyed at the end of the experiments; those that remained were the outstanding ones.
Although these defective products did not meet the High Evolutionary's expectations, they were powerful enforcers.
"This Planet is finished!"
A strange smile appeared on MODOK's face. Was there anything more exciting than witnessing a planet's destruction before his eyes? Of course, if this Planet were replaced by Earth, that would be truly exhilarating! Hundreds of giants, five or six meters tall, their bodies covered in red muscles twisted like rebar, roared and ran across the yellow sand plain. A small team of battle vehicles, hearing the commotion and coming to investigate the situation, hadn't even stopped when a giant leaped up and stomped its huge foot onto the roof of their hovercar. Where it landed, the immense mass instantly crushed the two hovercars into steel plates.
The surviving refugees were startled by the sudden appearance of the giant and quickly pulled out firearms, shooting at the muscle giant. The energy beams fired from the small-caliber old-fashioned energy pistols landed on the muscle giant's body, instantly leaving charred holes on him. However, in the desperate eyes of the refugees, the flesh and blood near the muscle giant's wounds wriggled, and within a few breaths, the damage caused by the energy pistols was eliminated. The refugees' counterattack, however, completely enraged the muscle giant. He grabbed a magnetic levitation shuttle with his large hand and smashed it fiercely towards another one.
In a deserted Mine, Shadow Storm's wrist computer assistant projected a virtual projection overhead view in front of him.
Before making an emergency landing on this Planet, Shadow Storm had already launched two small surveillance satellites into the Planet's orbit. The two satellites, smaller than a desktop, clearly captured the entire Planet from above.
Even the blood-red muscle lines on the muscle giant holding the magnetic levitation shuttle on the ground were clearly visible.
There were humanoid organisms with eight sharp feet like war spears, standing seven or eight meters tall, with human heads and spider bodies. There were Alligator People covered in thick scales, whose physiques could tear apart tigers and leopards. There were packs of Hunting Dogs whose mouths could split open to the back of the head, filled with fangs. There were giant sand scorpions that could burrow into the ground, as large as trucks on Earth. All these scenes were clearly captured by the surveillance satellites. However, facing these powerful creatures, Shadow Storm's gaze remained as calm as a Lake Surface, without a single ripple.
After marking all the monster-filled Ship Cabin Container modules released by MODOK, Shadow Storm reached into the beast hide pouch at his waist and took out several black canisters engraved with Hive architecture, handing them to the two Dark Iron Blood waiting nearby.
The two Dark Iron Blood carefully held the canisters, nodded to Shadow Storm, and immediately activated the Stealth Mode / Cloaking on their Predator armor, disappearing into the Mine.
Shadow Storm watched the Castle Spaceship captured by the surveillance satellite with an ice-cold gaze. Having hunted for thousands of years, Shadow Storm knew very well that the identity of prey and hunter was not immutable. When facing powerful prey, one must be prepared to be hunted oneself at any time.
This High Evolutionary thinks he is the Hunter. Now let's see who is truly the prey.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz—
Just as Shadow Storm was staring at the Castle Spaceship, his wrist computer assistant suddenly emitted a rapid alert sound.
Shadow Storm connected the communication, and Lane's full-body virtual projection was projected in front of him by the intelligent computer assistant.
"Shadow, where are you? It looks like a Mine?" Lane noticed Shadow Storm's surroundings and couldn't help but frown.
"Hmm!" Shadow Storm responded from under his mask.
Lane clearly understood Shadow Storm's style of doing things and didn't mind his cold, sparse words. "You're really in a Mine? What about the High Evolutionary? Have you found any trace of him!?"
"He's already been circled into the Hunting ground. I will catch him!" Shadow Storm's Predator Mask automatically translated his words, his voice ice-cold and mechanical, devoid of any emotion.
"The Sovereign side is already taken care of. Do you need us to come help?"
"No need, I can handle it!" Shadow Storm hung up the communication immediately after speaking.
On Sovereign, Lane looked at the communication display on his wrist that showed it had been disconnected, shook his head, and continued watching the blood battle within the Heaven-Earth Net Great Formation.
At this moment, the person fighting Carol Danvers had changed to Frank. In the pitch black Space twinkling with starlight, a monkey over two meters tall, burning with scarlet flames, was tightly gripping a Dark Gold Great Staff with both hands, competing with Carol Danvers in the hardness of their bodies, exchanging punches for blows.
Mount Tai pressing down, breaking a thousand jun of force. Frank's transformation into the War Ferocious Beast Zhu Yan was different from Kane's White Tiger Transformation. The Zhu Yan Bloodline contained a fierce tenacity that could break all cleverness with sheer force.
Your fist is heavy, my staff is heavier. Your body is hard, I also possess an Indestructible Body.
Under the influence of the burning blood flame emitted by Zhu Yan, Carol Danvers also abandoned her speed advantage, her eyes filled with surging fighting spirit.
The mass of their physical bodies alone was equivalent to a normal small asteroid. Their clash even formed a small Black Hole within this Sky Net Earth Net Space, pulling the footsteps of many Yellow Turban Warriors towards their Direction with a clatter.
The scene was truly like the stars swaying, constantly being dragged towards the Black Hole.
In the end, Kane had to add another two hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers to restabilize this Formation Space.
Kane, standing beside Lane, was much thinner now. The seven days and seven nights of fierce fighting with Carol Danvers had completely refined him from a piece of crude iron ingot into fine steel tempered a hundred times.
For Kane, who had reached Minor Completion in God-Demon Transformation, fighting against a powerful one like Carol Danvers was the best way to stimulate his potential. He had fought this woman for seven days and seven nights, and the Blood Pill given by the Boss was also digested by him during the constant tempering, enriching his White Tiger Bloodline.
It could be said that, in a sense, the current Kane was no different from an Adult White Tiger Divine Beast. What he needed to do next was to unearth the Bloodline Divine Ability of the White Tiger and cultivate towards a higher level.
"Shadow Storm called. Any news on the High Evolutionary?" As Kane spoke, he revealed a mouth full of sharp white teeth. If someone were to pry open Kane's mouth and count at this moment, they would find he had forty teeth.
In Buddhist Scripture, this is a Buddha-like appearance possessed only by Sakya.
However, with Kane's current strength, he was a top-tier existence in any Divine Pantheon, and calling him a Deity was by no means an exaggeration. "He said he can handle it! Do you want to go help him? I think the Boss values him so much, the High Evolutionary shouldn't be that simple!"
"Forget it, the Predator have their own traditions. I won't disturb his hunt until he fails!" Kane shook his head and said, "Shadow Storm has a Backup Plan left by the Boss on him. Even if he fails, he won't die!"
"How do you plan to deal with this woman? Hand her over to the Boss!?"
"She doesn't align with our values. The Boss doesn't like idealists like her. I'll deal with her. My collected Tiger Ghost Legion happens to be missing a powerful enforcer! A Warrior should die on the Battlefield!"
Kane twisted his neck, his entire bone structure crackling like a string of firecrackers. Then he took a step forward. Vaguely, a phantom of a White-Browed Fierce Tiger, a thousand zhang in size, squeezed into the golden curtain with lazy steps.
"Is it over?!"
Carol Danvers punched the red-haired monkey thousands of kilometers away, and also took a heavy blow on her shoulder. She could even clearly hear the sound of her shoulder blade shattering.
Looking at Kane walking out of the starlight, she gave a bitter smile. For two months, she had been fighting fiercely in this strange Space for a full two months.
Her opponent changed from the man who could transform into a tiger before her eyes, to a man with golden scales who could transform into a single-footed Giant Cow.
During this time, there was also a troublesome undead guy. She had clearly blasted him into flesh and blood paste, yet that guy could still resurrect.
After two months, Carol Danvers vaguely realized that this group of people was treating her as a training partner. Seeing Kane again, Carol Danvers knew that her life had reached its end.
"I'm here to send you on your way!" Kane calmly raised his head. This time, the Five Dings Mountain-Splitting Axe did not appear in his Palm. He reached out and grasped, and the wind in the entire Sky Net Earth Net Space seemed to surge towards his Palm.
With a punch, Kane seemed to transform into a white tiger. As he moved, his skin could feel the extremely subtle flow of air, as if countless wind spirits were wrapping him, lifting this King.
Clouds follow the Dragon, Wind follows the Tiger. Carol Danvers looked at the punch thrown by the Big man before her and felt as if a tiger's mouth, the size of a mountain, was devouring her. That bone-white fist was precisely the white tiger's fangs!
"Kane's White Tiger Transformation has actually reached Minor Completion! Someone finally used it. I can give him more responsibilities! Should I deal with the Pantheon first or send Kane to other Worlds to expand our business? Hmm, Mr. Chang is right, to fight external threats, one must first secure the internal. It's better to stabilize our rear first, lest someone steals our home again!
Then let Kane go gauge Zeus's weight! Speaking of which, I wonder if there's a Wonder Woman counterpart in this World."
"Hey, Tang, what are you muttering about? Hurry up, don't dawdle behind. We must leave here quickly!"
Between the tall red earth Mountain Range was a narrow Canyon. A group of fleeing refugees were quickly traversing this area. A Little Frog wearing a Hawaiian Shirt walked along, occasionally looking back to see if any customers had fallen behind.
Upon hearing the man beside him muttering, he couldn't help but turn back and pat the pant leg of the man named Tang.
"Don't worry, my credit on this Planet, Diego, is well-known. Since I've taken your money, I will definitely bring you safely off this Planet!"
Tang Song withdrew his gaze, looked down at the Little Frog patting his chest, and felt this guy was quite interesting.
The reason he came to this Planet was because he had promised Rocket Raccoon to rescue his companions. Hmm, it seemed to be a Fox, a Rabbit, two litters of Porcupines, and what else? Just as his research had hit a bottleneck, he also came to this Planet to relax.
Swish swish swish, Tang Song played with a crystal cube in his Palm. The cube constantly changed shape in his Palm, emitting streaks of streaking light.
"Oh, a glowing crystal. What kind of treasure is this?"
Diego's eyes were fixed on the cube in Tang Song's Palm, saliva almost dripping out. He could feel that this cube wasn't some trick thing; it should be very valuable.
"A little thing I designed myself, not finished yet," The cube, only three inches in size, floated in Tang Song's Palm, sometimes transforming into a ball of flames, sometimes into a planet. Its magnificent appearance made the eyes of the few people around who saw it go straight.
Two people's eyes immediately changed, their gaze undisguised in their covetousness for this cube.
"Hey, if you don't want to die here, don't get any ideas!" Diego glared fiercely at the crowd, patted the energy gun at his waist, and threatened.
Then he looked up at Tang Song: "You'd better put this thing away, or be careful it gets stolen! You only paid for the Ship Ticket; I'm not obligated to protect you!"
After Diego finished speaking, he leaped onto a giant stone as he passed it, patrolling the team of refugees he had gathered.
After learning that his Homeworld was about to face the danger of destruction, Diego immediately returned home and gathered his relatives, including his seven aunts and eight uncles, and those few familiar strippers from the bar.
With a business mind, after asking Abad about the size of the Spaceship, he didn't forget to make a killing during the riot, finding some wealthy acquaintances and selling a batch of high-priced Ship Tickets.
As for the man named Tang, Rocket Raccoon, and the Treant, he picked them up along the way. He charged five hundred Galactic Credits for three Ship Tickets.
This price was already high on this resource depletion Mining Planet! But what truly made Diego look at them differently was that these three people actually produced Galactic Credits, instead of paying with Red Crystal Stone slag. One must know that on this Planet, only a few big merchants possessed Galactic Credits, the common currency. Everyone else in daily life used barter/exchange goods. On this Planet, the hard currency was actually the small granular Red Crystal Stone.
Those black-hearted merchants who came twice a year also came for these Red Crystal Stones; otherwise, they wouldn't come to this godforsaken Planet.
When the three of them took out Galactic Credits, Diego's first reaction was suspicion about their identity. But thinking about Abad, the guy he had known for over ten years, who had actually hidden a Spaceship.
Diego gave up the idea of digging deeper. Anyway, the money had been collected. In the face of the glittering Galactic Credits, any identity or origin was clearly not an issue.
"This guy seems alright! I like his style of doing things!"
Rocket Raccoon, who had been walking silently beside Tang Song, carrying a large Pulse Energy Gun on his back, looked back at the toad standing on the giant stone, then turned back and curled his lip at Tang Song.
"I am Groot!"
Beside Rocket Raccoon, the tall Groot wrapped Rocket Raccoon with his branches, placed him on his shoulder, and gently soothed him with his branches.
"You're in a bad mood. What are you worried about? Your companions!" Tang Song looked at the dejected Rocket Raccoon, raised his hand and stroked his head, earning a grimace from Rocket Raccoon.
"You don't understand. In that experiment environment, no creature could survive three rounds of experiments. I'm worried they already..." Rocket Raccoon's tone was a little low.
"Don't worry, your friends are fine. The High Evolutionary still needs them to lure you in!" Tang Song comforted Rocket Raccoon. He raised his head and looked at the Castle Spaceship overhead, which obscured the sky, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Isn't he a Thug?! Interesting!"
Under Tang Song's comfort, Rocket Raccoon quickly returned to his nature. He stood on Groot's shoulder, resting the Pulse Energy Gun, which was thicker than his body, on his shoulder, and gazed at the Spaceship overhead. Judging by his grimacing posture, he seemed ready to rush up and settle the score with the High Evolutionary at any moment. However, thinking about the strength gap between them, Rocket Raccoon quickly lowered his head in disappointment.
When his gaze fell on Tang Song, he instantly perked up again. Tang had promised him he would help him rescue his people.
During his time working at Hive Laboratory, Rocket Raccoon had truly come to realize the terror of the man before him. Even the High Evolutionary was nothing compared to this man.
Suddenly, sitting on Groot's shoulder and being carried along, Rocket Raccoon saw a cloaked figure sneaking towards them. As a Great Thief of the Universe, he could tell at a glance that this guy's target was the cube in Tang's hand.
Rocket Raccoon immediately became energetic and directly raised the Pulse Energy Gun in his hand, firing a shot at this guy's feet.
The thick energy beam exploded directly at the thief's feet. The shockwave from the pulse beam explosion instantly sent the guy flying, throwing him into the crowd and causing a small riot.
"What's going on?" Abad the Cyborg, who had been leading the way at the front, stopped and pushed his way over. Looking at the thief who had fallen into the crowd, and then at Rocket Raccoon standing on Groot's shoulder, showing off with an energy cannon, his hand went directly to the energy sword hilt on his back.
"This guy tried to steal our things!" Rocket Raccoon looked at the green-skinned thief being helped up by the crowd and mocked with a grimace: "Hey, kid, when your Grandpa Rocket was roaming the Milky Way Galaxy, you didn't even know where you were. You dare to steal our things? You don't know life and death!"
Abad glanced at Rocket Raccoon and focused his attention on the cube Tang Song was holding. Clearly, this thing had caused the riot.
"I don't want to see you guys having conflict on my Spaceship. Take good care of your own things. If there's a next time, whether it's the one stealing or the one being stolen from, I won't allow you to step onto my Spaceship!"
Abad warned the crowd, exchanged a gaze with the arriving Diego, and hurried back to lead the way. This Planet was no longer a place to linger. Every minute they delayed increased the danger.
(end of chapter)