60Steve, covered in wounds
Covered in Wounds, Steve.
Hearing Fury's request, Loya was slightly stunned.
Save Steve?
Wasn't Steve thawed out and awakened by S.H.I.E.L.D.themselves after being found?
Did they really need him to step in?
Or had some minor details deviated, causing problems during the thawing process?
Loya glanced at the system panel; this mission was marked as a special mission node.
It seemed some unexpected changes had truly occurred.
Although Loya knew about Steve, he still had to pretend to be ignorant, saying with a surprised expression:
"Director, are you talking about the hero from World War II, Captain America?"
Fury nodded: "That is correct, it is him."
"World War II was nearly seventy years ago. Is he still alive?" Loya looked incredulous.
Fury explained: "He fell into the Arctic Ocean while fighting Hydra and has been frozen ever since."
"Because he was injected with the perfect Super Soldier Serum, he managed to survive until now. Our people found him not long ago, but some accidents occurred during the process."
He sighed, rubbed his brow, and a rare look of helplessness appeared on his face: "Follow me first."
Loya raised an eyebrow. If even Fury felt helpless, it seemed this matter was not simple.
Fury stood up, walked to the corner, and pressed lightly on an inconspicuous spot, causing the wall to sink inward.
Immediately after, the wall near the other corner retracted, revealing a hidden keypad device.
After four layers of verification—password, facial recognition, retinal scan, and voice verification.
Fury's desk trembled slightly and slid to the side, revealing an entrance to a secret room.
Loya was greatly shocked. There was actually a secret room beneath the safe house; Nick Fury was indeed cautious.
After following Fury into the secret room, they passed through a long corridor and a fork in the road, then opened a heavy passcode-protected door.
Finally, the view opened up before them.
This was a professional medical center built underground, equipped with various high-tech medical instruments, with many medical personnel moving back and forth.
The difference was that the decoration style of this underground medical center was very retro, completely in the style of the 1940s.
Whether it was the medical staff or the Agents here, everyone was dressed in 1940s attire.
Being in it, one felt as if they had returned to that era.
Clearly, Fury's safe house had a secret passage leading here, though the other fork in the road remained unknown.
Fury whispered, explaining: "I decorated the medical center in a 20th-century style because I was worried Steve wouldn't be able to accept it after waking up, and to prevent him from losing emotional control."
"After all, waking up to a world that has changed, with nearly seventy years having passed, it's hard for anyone to accept."
Loya nodded, showing an expression of admiration, and praised the Director for being thoughtful.
While saying this, he was complaining internally: "What do you mean 'prevent Steve from losing emotional control'? I think this is just an excuse to scam funding. Given Steve's ability and personality, he wouldn't lose control like that."
After traveling further, they finally arrived at the most secret and highest-security ward.
At this moment, Steve had been thawed but had not yet awakened.
He was submerged in a square container filled with an unknown green liquid.
Various tubes and wires were connected to Steve's body, monitoring his vital signs.
His physical condition was terrible, which made Loyawince.
His body was still robust, but his exposed skin was covered in dense wounds, some even deep enough to see the bone, yet no blood flowed out.
It could basically be called an ultimate version of scored meat.
Besides that, his expression was also very strange.
Sometimes his face was numb, appearing helpless.
Sometimes he was gritting his teeth, his expression ferocious and abnormally angry.
Sometimes his brows were tightly furrowed, with an expression of great disgust.
In short, nothing about him was normal.
Loya frowned deeply; this did not fall into any of the situations he had anticipated.
His initial guess was that S.H.I.E.L.D. had made a mistake during the thawing process, causing damage to Steve's body, but looking at the current situation, it was clearly too wrong and absurd.
Loya asked: "Has it been like this since you found him?"
Fury nodded, rubbing his temples: "At first, there weren't this many wounds. We thought they were left over from battles during World War II, but after we thawed him, things went wrong."
He walked to a drawer, took out a medical log, and handed it to Loya.
Loya took the log and flipped through it quickly. A moment later, his eyes widened in shock.
It recorded Steve's physical condition over these past few days.
Simply put, every so often, new wounds would appear on Steve's body.
And when the wounds appeared, his brainwaves would fluctuate abnormally. S.H.I.E.L.D. Doctors speculated that he might be dreaming.
In S.H.I.E.L.D.'s research, they could not find any answer to explain this phenomenon.
The only thing they could do was use advanced nutrient solutions and special therapeutic drugs to help stabilize his vital signs, and sometimes stimulate his brain through certain methods.
However, the results were minimal, or one could even say non-existent.
Wounds continued to appear, and Steve's physical condition deteriorated day by day.
But conversely, his brain was becoming more and more active, and his brainwaves were becoming stronger.
Fury was out of options, which is why he came to Loya. After all, Loya was the most unscientific person he knew and his only possible hope now.
Steve's situation had clearly exceeded the scope of science. To deal with the unscientific, one had to find an unscientific person.
Loya closed the log and looked up at Steve, just in time to see a wound appear on his chest, as if the skin and muscle there had split open automatically.
"What the f***, that's so weird?"
This was his first time seeing such a situation; it truly exuded an indescribable eeriness.
"How is it?"
Fury sighed. Steve was crucial to many of his plans, whether it was requesting funding or assembling that super team; he was a key figure.
"Can your special ability heal him?"
The top priority now was to stabilize Steve's vital signs first; other things could be discussed later.
Loya nodded, looking confident: "Healing the wounds is no problem."
He still believed in the power of the "Horse Talisman," after all, even the Beast praised this power as top-notch.
It was just the brainwave issue; he didn't know what was going on. For problems related to dreams, the Horse Talisman probably wouldn't be very effective.
Loya walked to the container, reached out, and tapped it lightly. A blue light flew from his fingertip and landed on Steve.
The next moment, the blue light enveloped Steve's entire body. In the blink of an eye, the blue light dissipated, and the wounds on Steve's body instantly recovered as if they had never been there.
"What the f***!"
Seeing this scene, Fury's single eye widened, and he couldn't help but curse.
Barton had once described Loya's special healing ability to him, but hearing it from someone else couldn't compare to the shock of seeing it with his own eyes.
Something that S.H.I.E.L.D. had struggled with for so long without any progress was solved in the blink of an eye?
One had to know that in order to maintain Steve's vital signs, he had put in a great deal of effort, even arguing with the government many times.
The funds invested were an astronomical figure, yet he hadn't expected Loya to solve it just by waving his hand.
Fury was now full of regret. If he had known the effect would be so significant, he would have just put all that funding into his own private coffers.
In short, he was regretful, extremely regretful, so regretful that his intestines turned green.
"Officer!"
Just then, a hurried shout came from outside the ward, and a Doctor wearing a white lab coat rushed in, panting.
"Steve's vital signs have returned to normal, but his brainwaves are abnormally active—they're about to go off the charts!"
"What!?" Fury's eyes widened, and he subconsciously cast his gaze toward Loya.
Loya lowered his head and rubbed his chin: "It looks like I'll have to go into his brain and take a look."
61Steve's bizarre dream
Steve's Bizarre Dream
"Go into his brain?" Fury frowned, his eyes full of confusion, not understanding what Loya meant.
Loya smiled slightly: "Didn't you say the abnormal brainwaves might be because of dreaming? Perhaps the real reason comes from within the dream. I'll go into his dream and see what's going on."
Fury's pupils constricted, and he gasped: "You can even enter other people's dreams?"
He was very curious about what else this guy couldn't do.
Loya shrugged, his tone relaxed: "This is actually a very simple thing. Those who know, know; for those who don't, it's useless for me to explain."
Fury curled his lip, subconsciously looking towards the Doctor on the side, who was an expert in the field of neurology.
The Doctor spread his hands, his face full of helplessness: "I am a Doctor, and I focus on science. Entering someone else's dream is something my knowledge cannot explain or understand."
Whether it was what happened to Steve or what this Agent in front of him said about entering dreams, it had all far exceeded his scope of understanding. Having practiced medicine for many years, where had he ever seen such things?
Fury pondered for a moment and said seriously: "Then what do we need to do to assist you?"
Although Loya's words were somewhat absurd, such a thing as entering someone else's dream sounded truly inconceivable.
But based on his various miraculous performances before, Fury decided to trust him.
Of course, there was no other choice but to believe him.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was truly out of options. Everything that could be done had been done, with no effect at all. Having spent so much time, manpower, and resources, in the end, it wasn't even as useful as one of Loya's fingers.
Loya said solemnly: "This matter is very dangerous and very mentally draining. My future recovery requires maintaining a happy mood, so give me more money, and assign me more missions."
Fury: "..."
What the hell kind of weird request is this?
Giving money is understandable, but what the hell is doing more missions? Does he really like working that much? That's not reasonable, is it?
Fury didn't understand, but he respected it.
He nodded, his tone solemn: "Agent, I will meet your requirements. Go ahead and do it!"
The Doctor on the side twitched his mouth upon hearing this. How could there be such a weirdo who feels physically and mentally happy just by working more? Where did this natural workaholic come from?
To avoid being compared by his superior, he decided that slipping away was the best option, so he turned silently and left without a sound.
Loya tried his best to hold back his laughter, took a deep breath, and put on a serious expression, as if this were truly a very dangerous thing.
He closed his eyes and silently activated "Mind Meditation".
The next moment, his thoughts stirred slightly, and a wisp of his consciousness fell into Steve's dream.
Splash~ Splash~
Just after entering the dream, the sound of waves rushed toward him.
Loya looked around and found himself on a huge cruise ship, with the deck completely empty.
"This dream doesn't look like anything special."
He muttered in his heart and flew toward the bow of the ship.
However, the scene at the bow made him rub his eyes in disbelief.
"This is truly an eyesore."
He saw two people on the bow, hugging each other from behind.
One was wearing a black tuxedo, and set off by his tall stature and robust muscles, this tuxedo looked exceptionally tight, especially around the butt, which felt like it was about to burst.
The other was wearing a purple velvet dress, with a similarly tall and robust figure, almost bursting the dress at the seams.
That's right, the one wearing the velvet dress was a man, and a man Loya knew—Bucky Barnes.
Captain America Steve's good buddy.
And that man in the tuxedo, needless to say, was Steve!
Loya narrowed his eyes, feeling a bit nauseous: "This dream is getting a bit weird."
Just then, the two people on the bow suddenly spoke.
He saw Steve with a dazed expression, shouting affectionately: "Bucky!"
Bucky responded lovingly: "Steve!"
"Steve, do you love me?"
"Yes, I love you!"
"Let's be together forever!"
"Okay!"
Boom!
A dark red energy ball flew from high in the sky, blasting Steve and Bucky, along with the bow of the ship, to pieces.
Loya frowned tightly and curled his lip: "Love your head."
He roughly knew why Steve's expression was sometimes so disgusted. If any straight man dreamed of this kind of thing, who wouldn't be disgusted?
However, who designed this dream? Titanic in World War II doesn't really scream romance, right?
Steve and Bucky's performance just now was clearly a tribute to the classic scene between Jack and Rose.
Just after Loya killed the dream incarnations of Steve and Bucky, the entire dream world began to change drastically.
The space shattered like a mirror, and in just an instant, it turned into something else.
He looked around at the surrounding environment.
This was a spacious room, filled with the style of the 1940s.
There was a large bed in the room, which looked like it could sleep eight people.
Of course, there weren't eight people on the bed, only two, a man and a woman.
The woman was Peggy Carter, Steve's first love and the love of his life.
And the man... was Bucky again.
At this moment, Bucky and Carter were hugging, looking lovingly at each other, clearly about to do something inappropriate for children.
As for our Captain America Steve, he was just standing by the bed, looking at them with a numb face, as if this had happened many times before.
"Hadouken!!!"
Boom!
A huge dark red energy ball flew out, blasting the entire room to pieces, leaving no trace behind.
Loya silently retracted his stance and spat: "How dare you play NTR in front of me! Don't let me find you, you culprit! I will definitely punch you to death one by one!"
After these two dreams, he had roughly confirmed that Steve's problem stemmed from the dreams.
And the culprit behind all this seemed to intend for Steve to experience some bad things, likely with the goal of breaking his will.
As for what result they wanted to achieve, that was hard to guess.
How Steve was targeted by this guy was also unknown.
The NTR scene ended, and this dream world collapsed and transformed again, turning into an unfamiliar military base.
Countless soldiers stood together in unison, looking at the front with fanatical eyes.
And the person standing at the very front was none other than Steve.
His eyes were cold, overlooking everything, holding high the shield with the Hydra emblem, and shouting loudly: "Hail Hydra!"
"Die!"
Loya casually fired a Hadouken and killed the HydraCaptain Steve in the dream.
Obviously, the Steve in these few dreams was not the real Steve, but something created by the culprit to disgust him.
Loya was getting impatient. One loop after another, how long was this going to go on?
He raised his right hand, and with a thought, brilliant holy light burst from his hand, as if holding a Sun.
Wherever the holy light reached, all darkness was annihilated, illusions were shattered, and the truth beneath the dream was revealed.
Countless dream worlds shattered, and countless dream worlds were born. Light and shadow swirled crazily, finally settling on a black-and-white world.
It was just that in this world, black occupied the majority, and white only remained in a small area.
On the black-and-white dividing line, one person stood on each side, and both looked like Steve.
The difference was that one was a white Steve, and the other was a Black Steve with jet-black skin.
The two Steves, one black and one white, confronted each other, seemingly stuck in a stalemate.
Loya looked at that Black Steve, his hand twitching involuntarily; his hands were itching.
The scene before him reminded Loya of a word.
"Assimilation!"
Just like how the Beast wanted to assimilate the Cat Goddess before, this Black Steve wanted to assimilate the real Steve; the purpose was self-evident.
But Loya was very certain of one thing: this was not the power of the Beast, but rather some other god.
Just then, Black Steve looked coldly at Loya: "A human mage? You're not bad, to actually be able to come to my domain. But do you know, once you're here, don't think about leaving. If you don't want to die, retreat quickly!"
Loya couldn't be bothered to deal with this guy. This was just a wisp of his consciousness; if it was gone, it was gone. What was there to fear? At worst, he could just come back again.
Besides, they were currently in a stalemate.
What Loya cared more about was Steve; he was the mission character.
"Steve, are you okay?"
Steve, standing in the white area, heard the voice and slowly turned his head.
His face was weary, full of confusion: "Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before. How did you appear in my dream?"
Loya answered quickly: "Let's just consider me a Doctor. I'm here to help you."
"A Doctor?" Steve's eyes widened, "Has medicine in the outside world developed to this point? To actually be able to enter someone else's dream."
"It's not exactly that, I..."
Wrong!
Loya suddenly realized that Steve was talking about the development of medical science in the outside world, which meant he could feel the passage of time?
"Steve, can you feel the passage of time?"
Steve nodded, his tone melancholy: "Yeah, it must be because the guy in front of me intentionally let me perceive it. It's been almost seventy years since I crashed, right? I must have missed a lot over these years."
Loya was greatly shocked. What kind of willpower must one have to achieve this?
He said in disbelief: "So you've just been in a stalemate with him for nearly seventy years?"
Steve nodded, without any feeling of loss, but rather a sense of excitement:
"The fact that you can come here means that everything I did before was not in vain. It was all worth it. After Hydrawas destroyed, the world became better, which makes my seventy years of persistence even more meaningful."
Loya muttered to himself: "Maybe it's really not what you think. If you saw what America is like now, you'd probably be pissed off to death. It would have been better to just sleep for seventy years."
However, he naturally wouldn't say these inner thoughts out loud and dampen the other person's confidence for no reason. In a dream, confidence is also a part of determining victory.
Steve didn't know what Loya was thinking, his expression firm, and he said solemnly:
"I don't know who this guy invading my dream is, but I have a premonition that if I fail, it might bring disaster to the world. Are you willing to fight alongside me?
I can feel your strength, and, that you are a good person."
[Steve issues a mission to you]
[Special mission node triggered]
[Mission: Fight Alongside]
[Objective: Defeat the Dream Invader]
[Reward: EXP + 2000, Steve Favorability + 10, Special Item * 2]
62I won the lottery!
Hit the Jackpot
Within the dream.
Loya was delighted as he heard the task notification ring in his ear.
Originally, the task triggered by Fury was simply to wake Steve up, which naturally required dealing with the things in the dream.
Now that Steve had triggered another task, it was like killing two birds with one stone. It was incredibly satisfying, especially since the reward was a special item.
Loya smiled and nodded to Steve. "Of course. I enjoy punishing evil and promoting good, especially when it comes to black-hearted villains."
Hearing this, a long-lost smile appeared on Steve's face. It had been seventy years—nearly seventy years—and he could finally feel the sensation of fighting side-by-side again.
His heart surged with emotion. "Then you..."
"Enough!"
Black Steve's vicious voice suddenly rang out, interrupting the conversation between the two.
With a distorted expression, he glared at them through gritted teeth. "You dare ignore me?"
From the moment this damned Mage appeared, these two had actually started chatting in front of him as if no one else were there. Did they have no respect for him as an invader?
This was simply too much! It was lawless, outrageous, and absolutely unforgivable!
Loya gave the fellow a faint glance. The fact that this guy was so angry but still hadn't attacked proved one thing.
And that was that he couldn't easily make a move, or rather, doing so would come at a price.
Otherwise, he would have attacked the moment Loya entered the dream, instead of using these trashy dreamscapes to annoy people.
Let alone allowing them to speak so freely here.
So, Loya looked at Black Steve with a playful grin and a mocking tone. "Let me guess, you can't strike? Or would attacking interfere with your Assimilation of Steve?"
Black Steve was startled by these words, becoming even more wary of the Mage who had just appeared.
To be able to see through the fact that he was at a critical stage of Assimilation—according to common memory, this Mage was no novice.
He remained vigilant, but his expression stayed haughty. "Mage, you're overthinking things. I'm merely giving you a piece of advice. This isn't your business; don't go looking for trouble."
His expression softened slightly, and his words took on a seductive quality:
"I know what you Mages love most—isn't it various Dimensional Powers? Leave now, and I will enter a contract with you afterward, granting you the power of the Dream Dimension. How about it?"
Loya rubbed his chin, a strange look on his face.
By saying that, wasn't this guy basically admitting he was in the middle of Assimilation?
What was the point of even trying to explain?
Moreover, this seductive rhetoric was so cliché and full of stereotypes; it had the 'beauty' of an ancient, mass-produced template.
Loya had a thought and asked back with a grin, "Then why not sign the contract now? Give me the power and I'll leave. Why wait until afterward?"
He raised an eyebrow, his expression becoming quite annoying. "No way... don't tell me you don't even have the ability to sign a contract? You're just trash from the Dream Dimension~"
"How dare you!" Black Steve seemed to have been poked in a sore spot. He let out a loud shout, his face twisting. "Mage, I gave you a chance and you didn't cherish it. Then don't blame me! Die!"
As he spoke, the entire dream began to shake violently. The black curtain surged like flowing water, and countless grotesque monsters struggled and writhed, seemingly trying to crawl out from the darkness.
At the same time, Evil Whispers echoed from all directions, seeking to corrupt the mind.
However... aside from the impressive special effects, there was no substantial attack whatsoever.
The Evil Whispers continued to echo, the black World continued to churn, and the monsters continued to struggle and roar, but that was all.
Looking at this scene of 'loud thunder but no rain'...
Loya became even more certain of his hypothesis. This guy must be at a critical stage of Assimilation and couldn't easily attack.
He was more than a hundred thousand miles inferior to the previous Beast.
And judging by his various performances so far, this guy was likely just a bottom-tier nobody in the Dream Dimension.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have failed to take down a 'Qing Dynasty Veteran' for nearly seventy years, and he wouldn't even have a name on the task panel.
Of course, this was also partly because Steve's willpower was indeed somewhat heaven-defying.
Loya decided to ramp up the pressure, mocking loudly, "Why don't you kill me then? Hurry up, I can't wait. You're not scared, are you? My little fellow~"
"You!" Black Steve trembled with rage, but the power in his hands hesitated to strike.
He was the only one among countless'Seeds' who had successfully reached the Reality Dimension, burdened with the mission of opening a breach in the Earth Dimension.
And now was the critical moment of Assimilation. If he drew heavily upon his power, it would definitely affect the dream Assimilation process and might even lead to unpredictable consequences.
"As long as I wait until I've completely assimilated this man's dream, and then use the Dream Dimension Fragment to open a small Dimensional Rift, my mission will be complete.
Yes, that's it. I cannot be influenced. Anyway, this Mage has no way to eradicate me. I just need to wait. Just wait. As long as I succeed, it will all be worth it. Everything is for the Ultimate Mission!"
Black Steve thought it over and eventually cheered himself up silently, gradually withdrawing his power and forcibly suppressing the urge to strike.
He glared at Loya and stopped speaking, while secretly vowing that once he succeeded, the first thing he would do was make this damned guy his slave forever.
Loya was overjoyed to see this. Since the guy still didn't strike, it seemed the restrictions were even greater than he had imagined.
Now he could really start causing trouble.
If it weren't for the fact that a dream invader has higher authority within the dream, and that he didn't understand the specific rules of how the opponent could harm Steve's physical body, Loya would have charged in to fight long ago.
He had always been one to act rather than talk.
However, he couldn't let his guard down now. Loya turned to Steve. "What do his attacks against you look like? Hand-to-hand combat, or some other way?"
Steve's expression was very complex, carrying an unspeakable exhaustion:
"He fabricates very disgusting dreams for me, like being with my best brothers, or having the person I love most taken by others, or having the things I least want to happen become reality.
The dreams are exceptionally real. As long as my will wavers even slightly, the darkness encroaches further, and my physical body suffers harm."
"But..." A look of determination appeared in his eyes. "I've seen them too many times over these years. I'm almost used to it. It's difficult for him to affect me anymore."
Loya realized it was just as he had guessed: by influencing Steve's will in the dream, it would reflect back onto reality.
He admired Steve even more. Watching those things day after day for decades—his mental fortitude was truly off the charts.
Meanwhile, listening to their conversation, Black Steve's heart was full of mockery. "A strong will is necessary to sustain a more stable rift. You think that's a good thing? How ridiculous!"
He was full of pride as he couldn't help but recall that Earth space anomaly from decades ago.
That anomaly had allowed him to luckily enter the Reality Dimension alive, and he just happened to enter Steve's dream.
It was simply a blessing of fate, the perfect opportunity to complete the Ultimate Mission.
Now, success was not far off. At that time, whether it was Steve or this damned Mage, they would all become slaves of the dream.
And he himself would complete a monumental feat and become a great hero of the Dream Dimension!
Thinking about it, an involuntary, smug smile appeared on Black Steve's face.
Loya saw Black Steve smiling for no apparent reason and was momentarily baffled.
However, he had already thought of a way to deal with this dream-invading guy.
The safest way was to provoke him into attacking, disrupt the Assimilation process, and find an opportunity for Steve to seize more dream authority to resist the invasion.
So... he would just test out his new ability and see if there was anything good.
With a thought, Loya reached out and activated 'Never Leave Empty-Handed' toward Black Steve.
In the next moment, an item abruptly appeared in his hand.
Looking closely, it was an irregular, fragment-like object about the size of a palm. Its color was quite dreamlike, seemingly containing every hue, and it emitted a mysterious aura. The dream itself seemed to fluctuate because of it.
At a glance, it was clear this was no simple object.
Loya's eyes lit up. "Did I hit the jackpot?"
The very instant he grabbed the fragment.
Black Steve's smile instantly froze. His expression became distorted, black light erupted from his eyes, and he instinctively moved to strike.
But a moment later, he realized he couldn't, and could only shriek, "How did you take that? Give it back!"
Loya was slightly stunned, then a playful smile appeared on his face. "Oh? Are you getting anxious?"
63If I'd known it was this simple, I wouldn't have bothered talking.
If I had known it was this simple, I wouldn't have wasted my breath.
Loya ignored Black Steve's roar, carefully examining the dreamily colored fragment in his hand, his eyes growing brighter.
Bright in the literal sense.
At this moment, his eyes were glowing in response to his thoughts.
[I hope readers will remember our domain name, Taiwan Novel Website, to accompany you in your leisure and wait for your search.]
Holding this fragment, he could feel that he had acquired a portion of the dream's authority.
In his own dreams, he could have whatever he thought of, but he couldn't do that in others' dreams unless he had the Master's permission.
Last time Loya had a heart-to-heart with Hulk, it was only so easy because Banner helped.
This fragment made up for exactly that; it allowed him to gain a portion of dream authority without needing the Master's permission.
This effect could be described as incredibly powerful.
If someone's willpower isn't strong enough or if they don't understand dreams, they can easily lose themselves or even become a slave to someone else who enters and manipulates their dream.
In other words, with this fragment, Loya could completely turn countless people into slaves by entering their dreams, directly activating 'H-manga mode'.
Loya rubbed the fragment and looked at Black Steve with a smile: "It seems this is the reason you could control Steve's dream."
Black Steve's expression instantly contorted, and that patch of the black World fluctuated wildly with his will, though it was much weaker than before.
He couldn't understand how the opponent had managed to snatch the Dream Dimension Fragment.
This was clearly a dream, and the fragment was clearly still inside his body.
Yet it had appeared in the opponent's hand out of thin air. Even though he still had some dream authority, it was still snatched away. It was simply inconceivable; this didn't follow the basic rules of dreams in his memory at all.
Black Steve forced himself to appear calm, squeezing a fawning smile onto his face: "Mage, return the fragment to me, and I can give you everything you want."
Loya was slightly stunned, looking at Black Steve as if he were looking at an idiot.
No sane person would believe those words. This guy is so mentally challenged; how could a Demon God of the Dream Dimension have such a retarded subordinate?
He remembered that the threat the Dream Dimensionposed to Earth was among the highest. It was hard to imagine the life forms within it being this stupid. Were they mass-produced on an assembly line? Did they forget some parts? Or was there no quality control?
Loya's lips curled as he smiled: "Sure, beg me and I'll give it to you."
"Please, I beg you, give it back to me. I'll let you go and let you out, and I won't make you a slave in the future." Black Steve spoke hurriedly, his manner incredibly humble.
Loya was truly a bit dazed now. He actually begged, and he even spoke his inner thoughts out loud.
It seems the importance of this fragment needs to be bumped up even further.
In that case... let's do it again!
Loya reached out his hand and activated "Never Leave Empty-Handed" once more.
The result was disappointing; his hand was empty.
It seemed that the only thing on Black Steve that counted as an item was this single fragment.
Loya couldn't help but shake his head: "You idiot, why are you so poor? Don't you know how to go looting? You're really wasting my time."
Black Steve was furious upon hearing this, wishing he could kill the person in front of him immediately, but with the fragment in the other's hand, he could only suppress his rage.
After all, opening the dimensional rift depended entirely on this fragment. The Master's will was supreme.
He suppressed the urge to roar: "What do you want? As long as you give me the fragment, my Master can fulfill all your wishes."
Loya sighed helplessly: "Actually, what I want is very simple... it's your life!"
Before his voice finished, endless Holy Light erupted from around him, like a Sun slowly rising.
Sizzle!
The black World represented by Black Steve began to melt rapidly the moment it touched the Holy Light, like snow meeting sunlight, turning pure White and becoming Steve's authorized area.
Now that he had the fragment and had gained a portion of dream authority, combined with Steve's own authority, it was enough, and it could continue to expand.
So what was he waiting for?
Just finish it with a full-on assault!
Steve didn't need a reminder at all; he had already understood the situation.
He gave a low shout and charged forward without hesitation.
At the same time, a classic star-spangled shield appeared in his hand, smashing down hard toward Black Steve's head.
Boom!
Black Steve was sent flying back, and the entire black World shook violently. Without the dream fragment, his power was weakened far too much.
A dream itself is an illusory World of the mind; it doesn't follow physical laws but rather mental strength and the level of dream authority.
Clearly, without the fragment and with less authority, Black Steve had become a pure waste.
Crack!
A crisp cracking sound rang out.
A pitch-black long whip materialized in Loya's hand, his eyes eager to try it out.
His hands had been itching for a long time. A black person in a dream is still a black person; he'd cosplay as a plantation owner and give him a good whipping!
"Steve, get back!"
Steve was a bit confused upon hearing this, but he chose to trust this temporary comrade-in-arms, stopping his shield combo and retreating several steps.
"Lightning Five-Chain Whip!"
Loya brandished the long whip, countless bolts of electricity coiling around it, making a crackling sound.
The whip's shadow flickered as it lashed out fiercely toward Black Steve.
Crack crack crack crack crack!
In just an instant, the whip struck five times in succession, lashing Black Steve's body with bolts of electricity.
"Ugh... Aaaaahhh!!!"
Black Steve let out an inhuman, shrill scream, his body twitching violently in agonizing pain, feeling as if he were about to split apart.
His heart was filled with fear and despair:
"This is impossible! This is a dream! How can there be a sense of pain in a dream? It wasn't like this in the general memory! Master, you didn't teach me this!"
It was authority; Loya used his authority to simulate the sensation of pain. In reality, it was just a form of deception.
Crack crack crack!
Loya brandished the whip frantically, a look of extreme satisfaction on his face. This feeling was truly exhilarating.
Before Black Steve could even land, he was whipped into the air again, spinning uncontrollably like a lightning top.
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
Black Steve let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Steve, standing to the side, had his mouth twitching. Even though this was a dream, he could feel a phantom pain.
Too brutal!
Is this really something a Doctor would do?
Under the baptism of Holy Light, the lashing of the whip, and the suppression of authority, the black World shrank rapidly.
The white World representing Steve's own will expanded quickly, eventually swallowing it completely.
Black Steve's form became thin and faint as he let out one last venomous wail: "You... you all... my Master... will... avenge me!"
After speaking his final words, he disappeared completely.
Loya still wasn't at ease and meticulously swept the entire dream World with Holy Light once more before finally putting it away.
It seemed this minor mob indeed didn't have a second phase.
However, he felt that this matter hadn't ended yet. After all, the mission had always been displayed as a special mission node; there might very well be related missions later.
Steve looked at Loya and sighed with a complex expression, remarking with emotion:
"As expected, professional matters should be left to professional people. The problem that plagued me for nearly seventy years was actually solved so easily by you. Remarkable, truly remarkable. I'm even more curious about the current World now."
Loya waved his hand; he also hadn't expected it to be this simple.
After wasting so much breath testing things out earlier, he didn't expect that just testing an ability would settle the matter.
The development of events is always so unexpected.
He decided that in future battles, he would first try to steal a few things; who knows if it might have a miraculous effect.
It could only be said that the abilities given by the system were far too overpowered. They didn't follow any dream rules and could be used anywhere.
"Then Steve, I'll see you on the outside." Loya didn't plan to stay longer and prepared to leave the dream.
"Alright." Steve nodded, his face filled with deep yearning. "Let me see just how beautiful the new World really is."
Loya tactfully said no more, letting Steve experience such things for himself.
He felt that Fury was going to have a headache next. After nearly seventy years of dream tempering, this Steve's willpower was terrifyingly strong, and his own beliefs were even more steadfast.
There's going to be a good show to watch now~
With a single thought, Loya disappeared from the dream.
Outside.
Loya slowly opened his eyes. At the same time, a dream-like fragment appeared in his hand.
"As expected, this fragment can also appear in reality. Interesting."
[Mission 'Old Popsicle Rescue Plan' Completed]
[Rewards: EXP +2000, Steve Favorability +60, Item 'Translator', Item 'Tearful Onion']
[Mission 'Fighting Side by Side' Completed]
[Rewards: EXP +2000, Steve Favorability +10, Special Item 'Patrick Stars Laughter', Special Item 'Freddy's Steel Claw Glove']
[Translator: Can translate any structured language or script]
[Tearful Onion: Causes people within a five-meter range to cry uncontrollably]
[Patrick Stars Laughter: Can pour Patrick Stars Laughterinto the mind of a designated target, causing mental damage and continuously attacking the opponent's IQ (not limited to the real World)]
[Evaluation: Ehehehehe]
[Freddy's Steel Claw Glove (Dream Exclusive): Wearing this item in a dream will cause the damage dealt to be reflected in the real World and add a strong fear effect to entities within the dream]
[Evaluation: I am fond of killing people in my dreams]
Chapter 64: Breaking the Boss's Bone Right After Waking Up
In a vintage-style hospital room.
Fury tapped his toes anxiously, his single eye fixed intently on Steve inside the container.
The Doctor had just issued another emergency warning; Steve's brainwave frequency had already exceeded the instrument's detection range, completely breaking through the physiological limits of a normal human.
This was a precursor to a mental collapse. Even if Steve's physical fitness was at the human limit, this was too exaggerated—completely at the extreme of extremes, and he could die suddenly at any moment.
Fury's temples throbbed; this situation was very bad.
The feeling of things spiraling out of control was terrible.
And S.H.I.E.L.D. had no preventative measures against this.
He couldn't think of any way to deal with a situation where a dream was affecting reality like this.
What if this wasn't targeting Steve alone, but the entire S.H.I.E.L.D.?
S.H.I.E.L.D. would have no way to resist.
He also didn't know how Loya was doing, what exactly had happened in Steve's dream, and whether he could be saved... Just as Fury was lost in thought, Loya opened his eyes with a faint smile on his lips.
Fury's attention had been on Steve and Loya the whole time; seeing this, his pupils constricted slightly, and he immediately stepped forward.
He asked nervously, "How is it?"
Loya raised an eyebrow and nodded with a smile: "Director, could it fail when I step in? Rest assured, I expect Steve will wake up very soon."
His harvest this time was quite good; every item was useful.
The most critical thing was that fragment, which allowed him to obtain partial authority within dreams. Let's call it a Dream Fragment for now.
With this fragment, it would be much easier for him to deal with similar situations in the future.
Even a small fry like Black Steve had such a treasure; is the Dream Dimension that wealthy?
He hoped more of these 'roadside trash' level beings would show up so he could make his fortune.
Hearing the affirmative answer, Fury's tense body relaxed instantly, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
As long as Steve was fine, the future funding and plans were secured.
Unscientific matters like this really required Loya's intervention. His eye for talent was truly exceptional!
A smile appeared on Fury's face. He patted Loya's shoulder and asked, pretending to be casual, "What exactly happened in the dream? To think it would feed back into reality?"
"That..."
Loya silently put away the fragment in his palm and said casually,
"To put it simply, a type of supernatural creature was parasitizing Steve's dream. Projecting the dream into reality is their ability. This kind of creature is very rare."
Fury's single eye widened slightly. He had always thought he was well-informed, but it seemed there were still too many unknown mysteries in this World.
"Officer!" At that moment, hurried footsteps came from outside the ward, accompanied by the Doctor's slightly excited shout, "Officer, the data is all back to normal!"
Splash!
As if to confirm the Doctor's words, Steve inside the container instantly opened his eyes.
His body's movements splashed the liquid, making a splashing sound.
His eyes still held confusion as he rolled his eyes behind the somewhat blurry container, briefly surveying the surrounding environment.
When he saw that the room's decor was almost identical to his era, the confusion in his eyes intensified, and doubts flooded his mind.
"Where am I? Why is it here... hasn't... nearly seventy years passed?"
"Could it be... still a dream? The Doctor and I failed? Was all of that fake?"
Steve thought of this possibility almost instantly. It was entirely plausible; he had been toyed with by that damn guy in his dreams before.
With a slight exertion of force, he broke free from the tubes on his body and sat up, trying to see the surroundings clearly to confirm if he was in a dream.
Just then, noticing the situation, Fury leaned in with a gentle smile on his face: "Steve, I—"
Before he could finish, Steve snapped his head around, his eyes flashing with sharp light!
The nutrient solution slid past his eyes, temporarily preventing him from seeing the person's specific features clearly.
However, he could clearly see that he was black!
It was a damn black man!
The bastard who had disgusted him for nearly seventy years in his dreams was also damn black!
The two figures seemed to merge into one.
Without any hesitation, Steve made the swiftest and most 'correct' choice of his life in an instant.
Boom!
A heavy punch, filled with nearly seventy years of resentment, was thrown, even creating a dull thud in the air.
Fury's smile froze instantly. His muscles tensed, his soul nearly left his body, and a giant 'Danger' sign seemed to appear behind his head.
I'm going to die!
I'm going to die!!
I'm going to die!!!
Every cell in his body was screaming.
If this punch landed solidly, he would definitely die!
In this life-or-death moment, Fury utilized his instincts as a Level 10 Agent, exerting all his strength to move his body about a fist's distance away.
But even that couldn't completely avoid the fate of being hit.
Crack!
A crisp sound of bone fracturing rang out.
Steve's fist struck Fury's left arm, the powerful blow instantly breaking his bone.
Under the gaze of several people, Fury flew backward, slammed into the wall, his eyes bulging as he let out a muffled groan from his throat.
Steve didn't speak; countless battles had taught him that this was the best time to press the advantage.
He arched his back, pushed off with his legs, and easily flipped out of the container.
With muscles tensed and fists clenched, he lunged forward like a lion, kicking off the ground toward Fury.
He had been sitting earlier, so his power was uneven and he couldn't finish it in one punch. Now, with this full-strength strike, he expected to punch right through Fury.
Fury hit the wall, the sharp pain from his left arm making him furrow his brows.
Before he could even think about why Steve was flying into a rage, the light in front of him dimmed.
He looked up instinctively, his pupils shrinking as his heart went cold.
He saw Steve leaping into the air, his broad and powerful frame pressing down like a mountain, carrying a suffocating pressure.
"It's over!"
Fury felt a sense of desolation. He had nowhere to hide. Was he really going to die here today, killed by one of his own?
Was the plan he had been plotting for so long going to be ruined just like that, over such a shitty situation?
As the fist closed in, Fury could even feel the biting wind of the punch. Memories of past joys and regrets began to flash through his mind.
"Is it... going to end?"
Of course... not!
At the very last second, just as the fist was about to make contact with Fury's head.
A powerful palm reached out from the side, steadily wrapping around Steve's fist, preventing it from advancing another inch.
The air seemed to freeze.
Only the sound of breathing remained in the room.
"I'm not dead?"
Fury took a deep breath, cold sweat pouring down.
He looked at Loya standing in front of him; that broad back provided such a sense of security.
Everything happened too suddenly; he had forgotten Loyawas right there. How could S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current strongest combatant just stand by and watch?
He felt very fortunate. It was a good thing he had brought Loya along; otherwise, even if they had managed to wake Steve up, they would have been beaten to death in two punches. Thank goodness for Loya.
He must never get close himself next time; it was too dangerous.
Mhm... and he definitely had to give Loya a big bonus this time!
"You are... the Doctor?"
Steve clearly saw the face of the one who blocked him—it was indeed the Doctor from the dream.
Besides his happiness, his heart was also filled with shock. He could feel how strong and powerful the arm blocking him was, like an immovable mountain.
Had the new era become this advanced? Was everyone a Super Soldier?
Even a Doctor was this good at fighting; it was simply unbelievable.
Loya suppressed a laugh. To be honest, he hadn't expected Steve to attack.
Perhaps it was because the dream invader was also black, causing an instant stress response.
But he had plenty of time to react and stop him.
As for why he didn't act immediately...
If the leader doesn't face a crisis head-on, how can one's own importance be highlighted? Wisdom, it's all about wisdom.
He swore, it was absolutely like that.
[Fury's Favorability +10]
Loya tried his best to make his tone serious and calm: "Steve, you've returned to reality. Calm down. This one-eyed black man you just punched is our boss."
"Huh?"
Steve looked bewildered. Feeling the reality of his body, he finally confirmed that this was indeed reality.
Then he took a closer look and realized that although this black man didn't look like a good person, he was indeed not the one from the dream.
He couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.
Beating up the boss on the first day of waking up—did he even have a future?
Steve said apologetically, "I'm sorry, uh... I was in that dream for too long, my mind is a bit confused."
Fury sighed, enduring the pain as he stood up: "Come on, let me get my injury checked first, then I'll slowly tell you everything that happened."
After Fury had his left arm set in a cast, he took Loya and Steve to a secret room and began to tell Steve the whole story.
As for why he kept Loya there... perhaps it was to ensure his life was safe.
The explanation of the situation was simple: it was nothing more than the origin of S.H.I.E.L.D., how long Steve had been asleep, and the connections between Fury and founders like Howard, and so on.
In short, he played the emotional card heavily to get Steve to stay.
Steve was naturally willing. After nearly seventy years, he was curious about the new World, and having an organization would make it easier to integrate.
Of course, while he was willing, he didn't fully trust Fury. Moreover, he always felt S.H.I.E.L.D. was a bit strange, and being here made him feel uneasy.
During the conversation, Fury also asked about the events in Steve's dream. Out of caution, Steve didn't tell the whole truth, especially the part about being able to feel the passage of time.
He only mentioned fighting a black monster.
Loya understood and naturally went along with Steve's words.
Fury talked a lot, on and on.
Loya only felt like dozing off listening. His thoughts had already drifted far away; he remembered that after midnight tonight, the "biological egg" was due to hatch, and he wondered what it would be.
Chapter 65: 65. Infinite Slime
The conversation lasted a long time, as Fury primarily needed to do a lot of ideological work for Steve.
After all, having slept for nearly seventy years, Steve might not be able to adapt to the new era in many ways.
But to his surprise, Steve didn't show the expected confusion or loss from waking up seventy years later; instead, he seemed rather curious.
This gave Fury a good impression of Steve; with such willpower and adaptability, he could certainly become the core of the team.
After the talk, Fury even took Steve on a tour of the S.H.I.E.L.D. branch.
Of course, Loya followed along.
There was no choice; Director Nick Fury was still as cautious as ever, worried about Steve's emotional stability.
Currently, Loya was perhaps the only Agent in S.H.I.E.L.D.who could stop Steve without hurting anyone else; one must never underestimate a legendary hero.
Even if this legendary hero had slept for decades, his combat power remained at the peak of humanity.
In fact, when Fury learned that the guy messing around in Steve's dream looked like a black man, he was quite speechless.
It was completely a case of undeserved misfortune.
But he could understand that, under such circumstances, having a stress response to seeing a black person was quite normal.
He only prayed that the events in the dream wouldn't turn Captain America into a racist Captain.
Time soon reached the afternoon. After leaving his contact information for Steve, Loya was finally able to pull away and leave.
Steve would spend some time adapting at S.H.I.E.L.D. first; if there were any other issues, they would naturally contact him.
After leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., Loya first went to several banks to withdraw cash.
Under the respectful gaze of the bank manager and the lingering looks from the beautiful tellers, he left coolly without looking back.
On the way back, he even deliberately slowed down his car, hoping someone would try to rob him.
Unfortunately, still no one came to rob him, which was deeply regrettable.
By the time he returned to the Villa, it was already close to evening.
Felicia and Cat Goddess were not there. The bedsheets had been changed to new ones, the Villa had been cleaned, and the rose bushes at the entrance had been thoughtfully watered.
On the coffee table lay a note; it was a message from Felicia.
"Darling, we've spotted a great treasure and are going to gather information. To support you well, we have to work hard to make money. Love you~ (Heart emoji)"
Loya shook his head and smiled. What was all this? How did it turn into them'supporting' him?
He felt the two women must have been scared by his powerful physical stamina, so they said that as an excuse to go out and avoid the'storm'.
However, he wasn't worried about their safety. With the friend teleportation, he could go to them at any time or pull them back whenever he wanted; it was simple and convenient.
After putting the note in a drawer, Loya took out the pay-to-win enchanting table and began pouring cash into it, preparing for a wave of equipment enchanting.
[Remaining Enchantment Uses: 50]
This time, he spent a huge sum on enchanting; with money in hand, his heart felt steady.
After waking Steve up, he had received a ten million dollar payment from S.H.I.E.L.D.
It was hard to imagine Fury would be so generous.
The difficulty of the mission was one factor, but more importantly, Loya felt it was because he had saved Fury at a critical moment, and because Fury had embezzled enough.
That was why there was this somewhat ridiculous bonus.
Pushing aside distracting thoughts, Loya prepared to start enchanting.
The first thing to enchant was, naturally, the farmers whip.
This was a great treasure and was very compatible with the Lightning Five-Chain Whip, greatly enhancing his combat power.
After placing the farmers whip onto the enchanting table, Loya muttered to himself, "Enchant ten times!"
[Bane of Races +3]
[Attack +3]
[Flexibility +3]
[Speed +1]
"Oh, not bad."
Loya's eyes lit up; having special enchantments was very good.
"Though this 'Bane of Races' is really full of malice, I like it."
Next, he took out the diamond pickaxe and placed it on the enchanting table; this was also a very practical tool.
"Enchant ten times!"
[Efficiency +5]
[Range +1]
[Durability +4]
"It's alright, digging tunnels will be faster now." Loyanodded with satisfaction.
Next was his favorite, the golden desert eagle.
"Enchant ten times!"
[Attack +5]
[Movement +1]
[Penetration +3]
[Bane of Darkness +1]
Loya took out the heavenly halberd and placed it on the enchanting table.
This item was truly useful, capable of transforming into various cold weapons, making it extremely versatile.
"Enchant ten times!"
[Penetration +2]
[Attack +2]
[Durability +3]
[Bleeding +3]
"With so much bleeding, won't I become a Vampire slayer?"
After a silent quip, Loya took out the hovering flying carpet.
Aside from anything else, increasing movement speed was a good thing. He was determined to be an all-around player who could tank, hit, and kite, so his escaping ability had to keep up.
"Enchant ten times!"
[Movement +7]
[Range +3]
"It didn't give me that useless 'Keep Warm' enchantment?"
Loya was very satisfied. He took out the flying carpet and examined it closely; its length and width had increased by about thirty centimeters, which was not bad.
It had to be said that the pay-to-win enchanting table was truly a good thing, allowing items with average mechanics to keep up with the standards; this point was excellent.
These few items were the best options he had chosen after careful consideration. As for items like the card maker and buff dice, he had already tried, and they simply wouldn't fit in.
After completing the enchantment upgrades, the next step was to wait; everything would be revealed at midnight.
Loya sat on the sofa, eating snacks and watching the recent news. The host was reporting on current hot topics.
"The Oscorp has issued a new statement: the group's skyscraper will not collapse. Everyone, please rest assured."
"A superhero wearing a red and blue costume has appeared in New York, codenamed Spider-Man. With his help, New York's crime rate has significantly decreased."
...Soon, it was midnight. Loya took out the 'biological egg' with great anticipation.
The egg's surface was still as deep as the starry sky, with various colors of light swirling within, looking mysterious and unpredictable.
He carefully placed it on the table.
As a drop of crystal-clear blood fell and was absorbed by the egg, a light as brilliant as a galaxy lit up. In a daze, Loyaseemed to hear a sound, something like... Gulu?
The light vanished in an instant, and the figure inside the egg was fully revealed.
On the table was a soft, slowly pulsating sphere. Its color was almost the same as the 'biological egg,' deep and dark like the night sky, seemingly containing a sea of stars. It had no facial features, and on its head was a tiny crown.
"Is this a Slime?"
Loya was somewhat puzzled.
At the same time, a notification sounded in his ear.
[biological egg has hatched. Obtained pet 'Infinite Slime']
[Infinite Slime]
[STR: 3]
[VIT: 3]
[INT: 3]
[Loyalty: MAX]
[Level: 1]
[Leveling Progress: 0%]
[Satiety: 0% (Can only continue eating after digestion)]
[Abilities: Devouring Evolution, Mimicry, Accompany]
[Devouring Evolution: Infinite Slime can grow by devouring different substances and energy. Depending on the target devoured, it can evolve different abilities, possessing infinite possibilities]
[Mimicry: Can transform its life form based on the substances and energy devoured. Can also learn to mimic the appearance of other creatures]
[Accompany: Can follow its Master into any area and adapt to the current environment]
[Evaluation: Even the weakest creature has the potential to reach the peak]
"It really is a Slime, but its potential is truly high."
Loya's eyes lit up. What he needed was something with high potential, and the Infinite Slime could be said to perfectly meet his requirements.
Not only could it fight, but it could also serve as a mount. If he let it mimic a dragon form, wouldn't he be able to ride a dragon?
"Gulu... Gulu..."
At this moment, the Infinite Slime made a gurgling sound.
Loya was pleasantly surprised to find that although it was just a gurgling sound, he could actually understand it without a translator; this was likely the connection between Master and servant.
The general meaning was: Hello Master, I'm hungry.
Loya rubbed the Infinite Slime—it felt great to the touch—and then said, "Since you keep going 'Gulu,' your name will be Gulu from now on."
"Gulu!"
This meant it agreed.
Loya smiled and took some ingredients out of the refrigerator, placing them next to Gulu.
Gulu had no facial features or anything; its way of eating was simply to touch the food and devour it into its body.
After finishing about three people's worth of food, Gulu's satiety rose by 10%.
It was hard to imagine that a little guy about twenty centimeters in diameter could eat so much.
And the digestion of satiety would drive the leveling progress up. The more high-level the substance or energy, the faster the satiety would rise, and the faster it would level up.
The higher the level, the higher the satiety limit and the faster the digestion, creating a virtuous cycle.
The only thing was that digestion took time, so it couldn't devour things continuously.
This was only normal; otherwise, even the Universe wouldn't be enough to swallow.
"It looks like there's going to be another big expense in the future."
Loya shook his head with a smile.
"Gulu, mimic a banana."
Upon receiving the command, Gulu immediately acted. Its star-like body began to rapidly change shape, and a few seconds later, it turned into a large banana.
Loya picked up the large banana, looked at it, and smelled it; it really was a banana.
"Gulu, mimic a cow."
The food he had just fed it included beef, so it should be able to change based on the genes.
Sure enough, Gulu turned into a lifelike little cow, even mooing.
This was quite ridiculous. If it turned into some natural elemental form, like Fire or Water, ordinary enemies wouldn't be able to deal with it.
Or it could devour some powerful life forms to undergo mimetic evolution.
Loya had a thought and was about to feed Gulu a pistol to see if it could evolve one and gain the ability to shoot, but before he could, his phone rang.
He picked it up and saw it was a call from Frank, The Punisher.
"What is it, Frank? Another commission?"
Loya asked with a smile; he had certainly tasted the sweetness from Felicia's last commission.
"No." Frank's voice was very low and tired, "I want to ask you for a favor."
Loya was slightly startled, and his expression turned serious; this guy rarely asked for help: "Go ahead, what is it?"
Frank took a deep breath and spoke slowly: "I met a strange man who said he could resurrect my wife and children, but I have to sign some kind of contract. I feel something is very wrong. I can only come to ask you."
Loya's brow twitched slightly as a suspicion formed in his mind. He asked, "Did he tell you his name?"
Frank paused and then said the name: "Mephisto."
Chapter 66: Mephisto's Temptation
"As I thought."
The moment Loya heard about resurrection and contracts, he immediately thought of Mephisto.
That ancient demon lord of the Hell Dimension, an evil fellow skilled at bewitching the human heart.
He hadn't expected him to target Frank, or was it actually because of himself?
Loya pondered for a moment before continuing, "Frank, wait for me at the usual spot. I'll head over in a bit."
"Alright."
After hanging up, Loya didn't leave immediately; he decided to feed Gulu until he was full before heading out.
"Come, Gulu, eat this. Let's see what abilities you get."
A standard-issue handgun appeared in his hand, one he had drawn from the S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment vault.
The pistol entered Gulu's body and was swallowed clean within seconds. Simultaneously, the satiety meter on the panel rose by 10%.
Gulu also activated its ability. A slightly smaller pistol slowly rose from the top of its head. With a bang, a bullet fired out, shattering a nearby vase.
"This works too? What's the principle?"
Loya was quite surprised. He had thought that after swallowing the gun, Gu Lu would gain an ability similar to launching its own power.
He hadn't expected it to directly manifest a handgun on its head that could actually fire.
In that case, if it swallowed more firearms and bombs in the future, wouldn't it become a walking arsenal?
"Gulu, Gulu."
Gulu provided an explanation: the bullets it fired were converted from its own energy. This was an application based on its Mimicry talent.
The number of bullets it could fire depended on how much energy it had. It could also absorb energy while firing, acting as a converter that turned energy into physical matter.
"So that's how it is. What a heaven-defying ability."
Loya came to a sudden realization. If that was the case, if he installed an Iron Man arc reactor for Gulu, couldn't it use the massive energy within to achieve total fire coverage?
Man, just thinking about it was exciting.
"It seems like at the next Stark banquet, I can ask him for an arc reactor to play with."
Loya thought to himself while condensing a ball of invisible energy in his hand.
This was wind element energy. Its quality was high, so it should fill Gulu up quickly.
Sure enough, upon touching the Wind energy, Gulu began to devour it frantically. The satiety meter on the panel soared, reaching maximum value in no time.
After eating its fill, Gulu became lazy. Its body transformed into a visible ball of wind, floating in the air.
Loya put Gulu into a special area within the System Space.
Ever since Gulu hatched, the System Space had automatically partitioned this area specifically for storing pets. It was very user-friendly.
He estimated that once this satiety was consumed, Guluwould be able to level up.
Now he could head out to find Frank... Hell's Kitchen, a bar in a dark neighborhood.
This was the bar Loya visited most often in the past when looking for Frank to take on commissions.
Stepping into the bar and entering the familiar private room, he immediately saw Frank, who had dark circles under his eyes and looked listless, drinking one sip at a time.
Loya sat across from him, poured himself a glass, took a sip, and spoke slowly, "Tell me what happened."
Upon seeing Loya, a flicker of light clearly appeared in Frank's eyes.
Loya was the most mysterious and powerful person he knew. He could only count on him for this matter.
Frank drained his glass in one gulp before speaking, "That day, after I killed a dozen or so scumbags as usual, I ran into that guy called Mephisto on my way back to the base."
His face showed a bit more anger. "I could smell a scent on him even more disgusting than those human dregs. This guy must be an absolute degenerate."
At this point, Frank slammed the table hard.
He didn't know why he could sense Mephisto's sin; in short, it was a very bizarre feeling that was enticing him to take action.
He calmed his emotions and continued, "At the time, I acted instinctively, but bullets were useless against him. All physical attacks were ineffective. After that, my nightmare began..."
Frank's voice was low, laced with anger and killing intent suppressed to the extreme.
He slowly recounted his experiences over the past few days.
Loya listened quietly, his eyes widening as he heard more, inwardly calling Mephisto a pervert.
To put it simply.
After Frank attacked Mephisto, there was no substantial effect. Instead, he was haunted by Mephisto.
He began to appear frequently after Frank's battles. He didn't actually do anything, but he became a heartless sycophant.
He spared no words of praise, lauding Frank for doing well, doing the right thing, and being absolutely perfect, saying all bad people should be killed.
He acted like a perverted fanatic.
Then, after an exceptionally difficult battle, he revealed his true intentions.
He promised that as long as Frank signed a contract and paid a tiny, insignificant price, he could obtain power far beyond ordinary people.
He wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt in battle and could fight as he pleased, punishing those thugs and killing the villains who slipped through legal loopholes.
Frank refused without even asking what the price was.
He was a rational person and naturally wouldn't believe such nonsense; there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Even though the abilities Mephisto displayed at the time far exceeded his understanding, he still rejected the other party.
This only piqued Mephisto's interest further, and his appearances became more and more frequent.
Frank's residence, the places he ate, and even his dreams—he became a lingering pervert.
Of course, aside from annoying Frank, this didn't have any substantial effect.
After this, the real torture began.
Mephisto tried to bewitch him with the condition of resurrecting Frank's wife and children.
It was true that Frank missed his wife and children, but he knew that resurrection itself was impossible, especially since Mephisto's origins were unknown and he clearly had an agenda.
Then Mephisto started causing trouble. Whenever Frank closed his eyes, he could see the days when his wife and children were still around and his life was warm.
However, the more he saw these warm images, the more painful and angry he became, suffering from the torment of longing.
But that wasn't all. Mephisto used an extremely perverted trick.
Whenever Frank fell asleep, his wife's gentle whispers would echo in his ears, reaching the depths of his heart.
That's right, this old bastard transformed into the appearance of Frank's wife and began to play the role of his wife after Frank fell asleep.
He would even cook and do laundry for Frank, fully playing out the part of a wife. Later, he even manifested the children.
But they would disappear upon waking.
During this process, he would occasionally bewitch him to sign some kind of contract, claiming he could truly resurrect his wife and children and let him enjoy a happy life for real.
The beautiful life in the dreams and his wife's whispers—even if they were all fake, the extreme longing caused Frank to become dazed.
Now he didn't even dare to sleep, fearing he would fall into it and be unable to extricate himself.
Frank's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice trembled, "Loya, I can't tell the difference. I really can't tell anymore. Help me. I'm afraid that if this continues, I'll really sign that thing. I... I miss them too much."
[Frank has issued a quest to you]
[Quest: The Demon's Bewitchment]
[Objective: Help Frank get rid of Mephisto's harassment]
[Reward: EXP +2000, Frank Favorability +20, Random Item *2]
Loya felt deep sympathy for Frank's plight.
Mephisto was too damn wicked, actually rubbing salt in someone's wounds and even playing the cross-dressing temptation card. Too perverted.
He patted Frank's shoulder and consoled him, "Leave this to me. I like dealing with guys who play with contracts the most."
Loya thought for a moment and asked again, "Did that bastard tell you the contract's..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Loya turned his head toward the door, his gaze alert.
The doorknob was slowly turning. Simultaneously, a low, sexy male voice sounded from outside the door.
"Dear friend, I seemed to hear someone speaking ill of me? That's not very polite."
Chapter 67: Another Victim
"It's here already?"
Loya was slightly stunned and immediately put a pink hat on his head.
[A hat: This is a pink hat, rumored to be worn by an ancient god in human form. After wearing it, no one can probe your heart or consciousness.]
Whether the other party could read minds or not, he should put it on first.
Mephisto is a very special existence among the many Dimensional Demon God.
He is not completely blocked out of the reality dimension by the Ancient One like other Dimensional Demon God.
On the contrary, he can use a portion of his power to create avatars and descend to Earth.
This is because Mephisto does not simply want to destroy or rule Earth, but rather collects human souls and takes pleasure in it.
He enjoys the process of corrupting heroes, tempting mortals, and witnessing the fall of noble character; this gives him more pleasure than direct killing.
He likes to use trapped contracts to exploit people's inner desires to claim souls.
In a sense, Mephisto is more like an unscrupulous merchant who sells power.
But compared to other Dimensional Demon God, this guy is much better.
At least he still has a bit of contractual integrity, although that contract is full of loopholes and specifically designed to scam people.
From a big-picture perspective, letting Mephisto operate within the framework of rules is much more cost-effective than direct confrontation.
This is also the reason why the Ancient One turns a blind eye. Kamar-Taj mainly defends against demon gods like Dormammu who try to swallow the entire reality.
A fun-seeking demon god like Mephisto is harmless and can sometimes even be utilized.
After all, the transactions between him and humans are, in a sense, a matter of willing buyer and willing seller; it belongs to private issues.
This is also why Loya is fearless. Mephisto can only act through avatars on Earth, and his combat power is not exaggerated.
And the most powerful contract is hard-countered by himself, so what else is there to say? Just do it!
As the door slowly opened, a tall, middle-aged white man appeared before everyone.
He was wearing a well-fitted suit, a black top hat, and a peaceful smile on his face. Every gesture carried a gentlemanly demeanor.
He walked slowly toward the two, his lips slightly raised: "It is not polite to speak ill of people behind their backs, sir with the pink hat."
Loya raised his head and looked straight at Mephisto with a grin: "What? Can't one talk about a guy who likes to rub salt into others' wounds and change genders? Also, it's even more impolite for you to break into our paid private room without permission."
"Oh, my dear friend."
Mephisto smiled and sat opposite Loya without any avoidance.
Frank stood up immediately upon seeing this, sat next to Loya, with vigilance in his eyes.
Mephisto narrowed his eyes and sized Loya up: "You shouldn't measure an ancient entity with human concepts."
Loya's mouth crooked, and he immediately retorted: "And you shouldn't use a devil's concepts to accuse humans."
"Heh." Mephisto chuckled, "Interesting human, by what right do you assume the gender of an ancient entity?"
With a thought, he instantly transformed into a sexy blonde woman with wavy hair.
"I can be a sexy lady."
"Or a handsome youth."
As he spoke, he transformed again into a beautiful youth with an elegant temperament, like a noble.
"Of course, I can also satisfy different people's fetishes."
Saying this, he turned into a furry with animal ears and fluffy hair.
Finally, Mephisto changed back to his original appearance and laughed softly: "Gods have no form; so-called gender is just a biological definition."
Loya gave him a thumbs-up, praising him repeatedly: "You really should live as a human. With this ability of yours, you'd be a nuclear weapon-level threat in America. Who would dare to touch you?"
"Human definitions are boring and meaningless." Mephistostared at Loya, his eyes burning, "I felt the power of the Beast on you. It seems you are the one who found the loophole in his contract."
Loya leaned back, his tone provocative: "What? Do you want to avenge him? Or is it that I was your target from the beginning?"
His fingers moved slightly; he couldn't help but want to steal something.
"No, no, no." Mephisto waved his hands repeatedly, "That idiot Beast, who only has killing and destruction in his brain, doesn't deserve my help. However, my initial purpose in coming here was indeed you. I wanted to find some fun. I just happened to meet Frank halfway."
He turned to Frank, his eyes seemingly admiring an exquisite work of art, "Frank's soul and character fascinate me. I like him very much."
"Ugh." Loya dry-heaved on purpose, looking disgusted, "Can you stop saying such things while looking like a middle-aged uncle? It's disgusting."
"How vulgar." Mephisto frowned slightly, maintaining his elegance, "I heard Frank's plea to you. It is truly sad to turn a blind eye to my genuine feelings."
He looked at Frank, his face changing into that of his late wife, and said plaintively:
"Frank, you've changed. Don't you love me anymore? And our children, as long as you speak up, I will send them back to you. The price is just a tiny bit of your soul."
"Motherf***er!"
"I'll f***ing kill you!"
Frank's face flushed instantly, gritting his teeth as he let out a curse, his hand reaching for the pistol at his waist.
For these years, he had been living in pain, and the longing for his family tortured him day and night.
The longing that previously couldn't distinguish between dreams and reality instantly turned into monstrous anger upon seeing Mephisto transform on the spot.
This was an absolute desecration of that emotion!
Loya reached out one hand to quickly press Frank down, while using holy light to steady his will.
He believed that Mephisto deliberately provoking Frank must have a conspiracy.
It was better to remain still to avoid falling into a trap.
Under the effect of the holy light, Frank quickly calmed down, glaring fiercely at Mephisto, wishing he could swallow him whole.
Mephisto smiled gently, casting an appreciative look at Loya, though his words were full of provocation:
"A purification magic I have never seen before, very powerful, but not enough. I will still tempt Frank, and he will eventually fall into my hands. And you, my dear friend, you can only watch your good friend go to the opposite side and fall into the swamp of desire."
Loya smiled slightly, already having a countermeasure in mind.
"Don't you like contracts? How about we play a game? Let's put up our respective chips and have a bet?"
"Oh?" Mephisto raised his eyebrows, becoming interested, "You are the first person who dares to bet with me. Given your ignorance, I find it hard to refuse. Tell me about it."
Loya was secretly happy, thinking: "Keep being arrogant, you f***er. I'll steal your underwear later."
He coughed twice, his expression serious: "Aren't you best at contracts? Then let's bet on whether I can find a loophole to avoid punishment after signing Frank's contract."
"Hehehe..." Mephisto let out a mocking laugh, "My dear friend, my contracts are not trash like the Beast's. You want to find my loopholes? You are dreaming. Don't think that just because you won against the Beast, you can win against me."
Loya felt relieved upon hearing this. It seemed the Beast hadn't told Mephisto the truth at all.
He wasn't looking for a loophole; he was simply violating the contract at will without being punished.
Beast, you really are a good person... no, a good demon. You provided a perfect assist. I'll borrow your power more often in the future.
He also confirmed one thing: these Dimensional Demon God have a group chat, but they still have their own struggles and plot against each other.
Being so disunited, how could they possibly defeat Kamar-Taj? Don't you know that unity is strength?
A look of determination appeared on Loya's face: "For the sake of a friend, I am willing to try."
[Frank's Favorability +5]
Frank was very moved when he heard this and instinctively wanted to refuse, but was stopped by a look from Loya.
Just kidding, talking more leads to mistakes. If the opponent becomes vigilant, it would be bad.
Mephisto shook his head and laughed. Over countless years, he had seen countless arrogant people, and he was already used to it. It seemed his prison would have one more arrogant collectible.
"State your terms."
His voice was extremely arrogant, carrying the posture of overlooking everything.
Loya smiled slightly and listed the terms:
"If you lose. First, you must abandon all entanglement with Frank, never to meet again. Second, when I seek the answer to a question from you, you must answer truthfully. Third, I want to be able to borrow the power of the Hell Dimension at any time."
This was the result of his careful consideration. Knowledge is power. Having a knowledge treasure house like Mephisto would make it much easier to deal with other Dimensional Demon God in the future.
As for treasures from the Hell Dimension, such items are easily controlled and restricted, so it's better not to have them.
Even Mephisto couldn't help but sigh at the other party's greed when he heard the terms.
However, he liked this kind; it was most interesting to torture.
He nodded: "Very greedy terms, but I accept."
"Then, state your terms," Loya said.
Mephisto's mouth turned up, his tone playful: "Greedy one, if you lose, you must become my eternal slave, nothing more. This is my gift to an arrogant person."
"A merciful condition." Loya nodded in agreement, "Then let's draw up the contract."
Mephisto smiled, his right hand gripping the void, and a gorgeously covered magic book inlaid with dark rubies appeared out of thin air.
His fingers slid across the pages, complex characters quickly appeared, and the contract terms were completed in one go.
And Loya looked at that magic book, a glint in his eyes. This kind of high-end stuff must be very valuable. He'd steal it from him later.
The contract was quickly drawn up.
Mephisto placed it on the table, forming a special connection between the two. A thought was enough to sign their true names.
Loya read the meaning on it with the "Translator" and confirmed there was no problem. Whoever lost had to fulfill the other's terms, otherwise, they would be sanctioned by the laws of the Universe.
He didn't hesitate and signed his true name first.
Mephisto was slightly stunned. He didn't expect the other party to be so decisive. Did he really want to be a slave that much?
He also didn't hesitate and signed his true name.
The laws of the Universe took effect, and the contract was established.
Then came the signing of the original contract for Frank.
This contract was very simple: after resurrecting his wife and daughter, Frank would offer his soul, only now Frank was replaced by Loya.
Loya signed it casually.
With the signing of the contract, Mephisto smiled, looking at Loya as if he were watching a show.
He waved his hand, immediately fulfilling the duties in the contract.
"Resurrecting" Frank's wife and children.
As a magic circle appeared on the ground, Frank's wife and children slowly rose from the circle.
Frank couldn't help but be a little excited when he saw this scene, but it quickly turned into extreme anger.
Because the "resurrected" wife and children had empty eyes, without any consciousness or vitality; they were simply three lifelike corpses.
"You liar!" He couldn't help but roar.
Mephisto shrugged, smiling evilly: "The resurrection I mentioned didn't say it had to include resurrecting the soul. Medically speaking, these three bodies are fully functional, so they are indeed resurrected."
After mocking Frank, he cast his gaze toward Loya: "What about you? How will you avoid it? I have already fulfilled my promise. Your soul is mine!"
"Hahahaha."
Mephisto laughed while triggering the contract rules to collect Loya's soul.
However... nothing happened.
Loya sat smiling, even taking a comfortable sip of wine.
With the dignified "Inequality" in hand, what can contract rules do to me?
"What?" Mephisto got anxious, mobilizing the contract rules again, but it still had no effect on Loya.
He browsed the contract in disbelief and found no problems. He had done what he was supposed to do, so why couldn't the contract effect be fulfilled?
"This is impossible!" The smile on Mephisto's face disappeared, his expression becoming ferocious, and that elegant temperament vanished completely.
"I have already met the contract requirements, why can't I extract your soul?"
No matter how he tried, he couldn't extract the soul through the contract, and even the laws of the Universe had no fluctuations, as if all rules could not affect the human wearing the pink hat in front of him.
Loya stood up slowly, his tone flat, carrying the arrogance of a winner: "clown demon, you lost."
"No, impossible! What did you do?" Mephisto couldn't accept this result.
Not just because of the conditions to be fulfilled, but also because of the huge gap between the beginning and the end.
As a supreme existence, he was actually defeated by a mortal and played in the palm of his hand. He could not accept this fact!
And before this, he had boasted to the Beast that he could absolutely crush Loya at will.
As a result, he had now become a joke.
The look in Mephisto's eyes towards Loya suddenly became cold, and murderous intent arose. He had to find a way to kill or control this guy, otherwise, he would be mocked by other Dimensional Demon God until he doubted his life.
Loya saw this and thought to himself, as expected, if you can't play, you resort to force; it's an old tradition.
Just right, he thought the same.
With a thought, a piece of ancient, worn parchment appeared in his hand.
"deathmatch contract!"
He slapped Frank first and whispered: "Run!"
Frank didn't hesitate too much and turned to run.
Immediately after, Loya looked at Mephisto with a smile: "Brother Mephisto, how about looking at my contract?"
As the "deathmatch contract" was activated, the space trembled slightly, and an invisible force surged out, forming a 5x5x5 deathmatch space from the rule level, covering just a bit beyond the private room.
Loya didn't hesitate and turned to run toward the edge of the space.
Mephisto was even angrier. The other party actually played him again, using some kind of power but not fighting, instead running away, toying with him!
But before he could pursue, Loya stood still not far from the door of the private room.
He pointed to his head with one hand and beckoned to Mephisto with the other, with unbridled provocation on his face:
"Come over here!"
Mephisto instantly turned red with rage, roaring: "You're courting death!"
His power rioted, and like a teleportation, he lunged toward Loya, his face full of ferocity.
Loya didn't dodge or avoid, with a smile on his face, just watching the other party rush over.
Mephisto's speed was extremely fast, and he could even imagine the feeling of crushing Loya's skull.
However...
Bang!
With a loud noise, Mephisto crashed solidly into an invisible barrier, hitting it until his head was broken and bleeding, and his nose was crooked.
At this moment, he was only a few centimeters away from Loya, but he could no longer advance even a tiny bit.
"Is this a dimensional barrier?" Mephisto stared at Loya, his heart filled with doubt.
Loya didn't answer, but slowly stretched out his hand: "Mr. Mephisto, you might have to run naked in public~"
Never Leave Empty-Handed, activate!