"This is?"
Luke frowned. The only people he'd ever had a deep connection with were the Chitauri—oh, and now the Letari, the self-proclaimed God-Machines. Going back further, there was only the Rim of the Pacific, another dimensional universe he considered a potential future. But what about this sudden mental connection?
Does anyone know of a key registration machine?
But his dimension server has not been fully built yet, and the corresponding supporting services have not been provided. Now it is just a bare [empty box]. What are you trying to do by coming in so quickly?
You can't borrow energy for the time being, right?
Of course, Luke had given some experience qualifications before, such as the Mind Ring, the Emotional Fluid, and Snoke and others who had received injections of Luke's weapon memes.
However, these experience qualifications can only be activated after the dimension server is established.
Your forced landing is a provocation!
Luke subconsciously banned the user, banned them from logging in, and blacklisted them—a three-part series. After preserving the other person's mental fluctuations for future comparison, he suppressed his inner surprise.
He was overwhelmed with thoughts, and the only person who could communicate directly with him was Laetari, who had given him permission. After all, before a dimensional consciousness intelligence emerged to process all kinds of data and information for him, he would definitely not give everyone the corresponding permission.
…
"Where's my gun?"
Venom, who was killing everyone in the base, was suddenly stunned because he found that his body was rapidly transforming from a mechanical body back to the original symbiote, and the plasma cannon on his right arm had turned into a big black claw again.
"Is this transformation time-limited? Do I only get to experience it for a dozen minutes?" After Venom discovered that he had really degenerated from Mechanical Venom into Venom again, he couldn't help but curse out loud.
"I think we shouldn't complain about the experience right now. I think we should run away." Eddie inside Venom looked at the base security guard in front of him who noticed that the attack had stopped and timidly stuck his head out to observe the situation through Venom's consciousness and perspective. He reminded Venom with some panic.
Previously, the mechanical Venom was incredibly powerful, capable of transforming into a variety of weapons and overwhelming the enemy with its overwhelming power. However, the current symbiote Venom, while still powerful, was nothing compared to its previous state. Especially since there were also some alienated, inhuman beings on the other side.
"No, I have to get that cube!" Venom was still obsessed with the cube that allowed him to transform and evolve. When he evolved into Mecha-Venom, he had found Bu and temporarily disabled the base's intelligence system. After retrieving the base's blueprints and controlling the surveillance cameras, he followed the images and pursued the fleeing man with the cube. His mind told him to listen to Eddie's advice, but his instincts and desires told him to continue the chase.
"Don't be silly. You can't defeat those mutants in this form. They're not ordinary people! Even if you want the cube gem, you have to wait until we escape and try to find some reinforcements from S.H.I.E.L.D." Eddie anxiously discussed this with Venom in his mind. Ultimately, perhaps one of Eddie's words touched Venom, and he gave up the idea of continuing the pursuit. He began to plan an escape route according to the blueprints of the base that remained in his mind.
…
"Mr. Rogers, please follow me." Snooker came in front of Captain America's Steve and said to him. "Mr. Field is entertaining guests."
"Excuse me," Steve smiled at Snooker. They walked from the gate to the nearby villa. At the same time, Steve noticed a familiar ring on Snooker's finger.
"This is a Mind Ring." Snoke noticed Steve's gaze and lifted the hand with the ring to show him, but he didn't say which type he was. Since Snoke himself didn't say it, Steve naturally didn't understand the hint and asked. As long as it wasn't Frank's type, it was fine. Although he and Frank had a friendship after the Chitauri War, and they were both veterans, they should have a lot of common topics to talk about, but after a conversation, Steve clearly felt that the other party's personality was a little too extreme, seriously clashing with his values and way of doing things. He couldn't tell whether the other party was like this naturally, or whether the possession of the Wrath Ring had subtly amplified this extreme personality. He had a premonition that perhaps his friendship with Frank would one day be broken by a conflict of ideologies.
Not the next time we fight side by side.
Maybe the next time.
After entering the villa, the first thing Steve saw was that someone he didn't expect was there.
"Frank? Why are you here?" Steve exclaimed in surprise as he saw Frank on the sofa turning his head to look at him.
"Are you the only one who can come to visit Mr. Field?" Frank did not stand up because he was clumsily holding a little girl of two or three years old, and the little girl kept trying to bite the ring on his hand.
"I invited Mr. Frank here. I wanted him to help me train Heberlen's security. You know, Mr. Frank is a top talent when it comes to teaching soldiers skills." Luke stood up, shook hands with Steve who was walking over, and explained.
"You agreed?" Steve looked at Frank in surprise.
"Why not? Mr. Field made me an offer I couldn't refuse. You know, I still owe that old bastard Nick a ton of money." Frank looked helpless. It was hard to tell if he was feeling helpless because of the debt or because of the little girl in his arms's obsession with his ring.
As for returning the ring?
Perhaps it had been possible before he'd worn it, but after the battle and the fusion, Frank couldn't do it anymore. The Wrath Ring had subtly transformed his body, transforming all his blood into a blood-colored energy that connected to the ring. In layman's terms, the Wrath Ring had become his second heart.
"My daughter, Becky." Luke introduced Steve when he saw his eyes fall on the little girl.
"No babysitter?" Steve Rogers looked around and found that there was no one else besides them. Oh, and there was also a big silver-white metal mechanical dog.
"No, companionship is what's most important to a child." Luke shook his head. He didn't want to be like the other powerful men in this world, where fathers are kind and children are filial. When their children grow up, they become filial sons and daughters, each of whom is eager to help others defeat their own father. Little Becky is in a blank slate right now, a child without a sense of right and wrong. Of course, he needs to be personally taught to be at ease.
After Steve sat down, he asked Luke, "My ring has changed a bit recently, and I think I need to ask you about it."
"Changes in the ring? What are the details?" Luke became interested after hearing Steve's words.
"Its power is expanding. It's been doing so for a while. It wasn't noticeable at first, but these past few days..." Steve said, spreading his hands.
"Can you show me?" Luke raised his hand and gestured.
Steve activated his mind ring without hesitation, and a dazzling golden light emanated from him.
Eat! Eat!
The golden Steve instantly caught the eye of Little Becky, drawing her gaze from the ring to Steve. Feeling the familiar energy emanating from him, Little Becky's eyes sparkled and she wanted to pounce on him. Unfortunately, Frank's hands caught her before she leaped forward.
"Okay." Luke nodded.
Steve retracted the light, and the golden light all over his body instantly poured into his ring.
"Are you feeling any discomfort?" Luke asked.
Steve thought for a moment, then shook his head as Luke looked at him.
"When did this change happen? What did you do during this period?" Luke asked again.
"It should have been twenty days ago. I've been busy attending some news interviews during these twenty days. It was arranged by Fury." Steve looked embarrassed when he said this.
Luke reviewed some recent reports about Steve in front of Steve, a virtual image projected above the table. The reporters and reports were full of exaggerated claims, causing Steve's face to flush crimson with embarrassment. Under the gaze of Luke and Frank, Steve felt like he was going to die.
Then the intelligent system sorted out some data according to Luke's requirements, such as audience opinions on these news reports, public evaluation of Steve, and the hot topic list about Steve.
"No problem."
After reading it, Luke's voice sounded in the ears of Steve, who could no longer raise his head.
"What do you mean?" Steve didn't care about the embarrassment and looked up at Luke and asked.
"Literally. Everything is normal. The increase in your strength comes from the public sentiment feedback during this period. The mind ring is a receiving terminal. When I made it, I set up a super-capacity system for its energy supply system. Because it involves confidentiality, I can't explain it too clearly. But you just need to know that this is normal." Luke explained patiently.
"I don't quite understand. Does being a front-stage figure mean I can gain more strength?" Steve was a little stunned. He obviously didn't expect to hear such an answer from Luke.
"It's not that being a prominent figure increases your power, but rather that you do things that resonate with your own energy. This is a leadership ring that represents positive emotions like courage, trust, and resilience. The more recognition you receive, the greater the power it brings. Clearly, with this wave of coverage, the attention and recognition you've received has transformed into your ring's energy," Luke explained to Steve. What he didn't mention was that most of this energy would be siphoned off by the emotional fluid collector. All he was given was a small amount.
"Can I also collect energy this way?" Frank's eyes flickered. Steve's experience and Luke's words had opened a door to increased power for him. He saw the people who recognized Steve's actions as his followers. The more followers there were, the more power would be fed back to the corresponding rings, and as the ring's owner, the energy and combat effectiveness he could mobilize would increase!
"Of course you can, but I want to explain to you that this increase is not normal! It is time-limited. You can think of it as a BUFF state. When the BUFF is in effect, all your data will increase. But correspondingly, this recognition and high attention cannot be maintained forever. Even if you are frequently exposed, you need to consider human factors such as boredom and rebellion." Luke nodded, first affirmed Frank's idea, and then added.
"In other words, once I stop appearing on TV and in newspapers, my increased energy and strength will quickly decay and return to normal." Steve understood what Luke said.
"If you're quick, you could even have the media smear you. That would cool things down faster." Luke shrugged. "The energy allocated to the ring is generally fixed in the early stages. This is its unchanging principal. But if you use other means to gain additional energy amplification, the ring will enter a state of hyper-capacity. In this state, it will be very active and can more deeply influence and assimilate the wearer's mind. My advice is to try not to use this amplification too frequently to allow the ring to reach hyper-capacity. It will certainly bring you greater power for a period of time, but it will also have a more profound impact on your mind. The captain's positive emotions are fine, but Frank, the negative emotions you control may lead you into the abyss."
The increased power comes at an additional cost.
Steve and Frank both understood what Luke was trying to tell them. Steve, in particular, was already planning to go back and ask Nick to completely abandon his promotional duties. Since the popularity was already waning, it was a good idea to focus all the attention on Tony. He seemed to be enjoying this "job" and was enjoying it.
At this time, Snooker walked closer and whispered something in Luke's ear.
"Venom? He's being hunted?" Luke felt that there seemed to be a lot of tedious but not difficult things recently. Venom had just been away from home for more than a day, so how could he be hunted down?
"He's asking for help, saying he has information about something that you, the boss, will definitely be interested in." Snooker replied.
Luke inexplicably thought of some unknown spiritual connection. He pondered for a moment, then gestured to Snoke, "Bring him back. I'm looking forward to him providing me with interesting intelligence."
"Need some help?" Steve and Frank asked nearby. Perhaps Venom was a codename for someone in Heberon Security?
"No, Snooker will handle it well." Looking at Snooker's back as he turned and left, Luke shook his head.