# Chapter 17: Wolverine
Lin Chen's phone displayed a digital map with two distinct points—his current location in Central Park and the destination Daisy had identified approximately fifteen kilometers north.
Through her headphones, Daisy's fingers flew across multiple keyboards with practiced efficiency. She had easily hacked into the public surveillance camera network in the area, her custom programs bypassing security protocols that would have stopped most hackers.
She flipped through the surrounding camera feeds one by one, searching for the best view of the conflict zone.
Suddenly, she saw Lin Chen open a shimmering portal with a casual gesture—his magical transportation allowing him to cross the distance instantaneously. Within moments, he had arrived at the remote location.
Daisy let out a low whistle of admiration. "If only I could be as powerful as the boss," she muttered to herself, looking down at her own small hands with a mixture of longing and resignation. "Then I wouldn't have to be afraid of anything."
She focused on the surveillance feeds, zooming in on one of the combatants. A square-faced man with a full beard, powerfully built, with an intensity in his expression that suggested deep pain and rage.
Daisy's fingers danced across the keyboard, pulling up facial recognition and cross-referencing with multiple databases.
Within seconds, detailed information appeared on her screen.
After reading through the data, Daisy took a sharp breath. "Boss, you need to hear this," she said into the communication channel.
"What's wrong?" Lin Chen's voice came through clearly.
"This man has participated in two world wars—World War I and World War II. He's obviously very old based on the records, but he still looks like he's in his thirties," Daisy reported, her voice carrying disbelief. "His name is James Logan. Military records show exceptional service, but he went into seclusion decades ago after growing tired of fighting. He met a woman, fell in love, tried to live a normal life."
She paused, reading further. "But not long ago, his brother found him and killed his lover. The angry Logan came out of seclusion to hunt down his brother and get revenge."
Hearing Daisy's words, Lin Chen was momentarily taken aback.
So the man in this battle is Wolverine, he realized. Though technically, he can't be called Wolverine yet because he still has bone claws—he hasn't been injected with Adamantium.
Lin Chen's knowledge of the timeline filled in the gaps. After this battle with his brother Sabretooth, Logan would be approached by Colonel William Stryker and dragged into the Weapon X program. They would inject liquid Adamantium into his skeleton, transforming his bone claws into indestructible metal. Only then would he truly become Wolverine.
But immediately, Lin Chen's eyes flickered with calculation and anticipation.
This battle is between Wolverine and Sabretooth—two mutants with nearly identical healing factors. Their bodies possess powerful regenerative abilities that make them almost impossible to kill.
If I can acquire both of their healing factors and combine them with the regenerative ability I absorbed from the Hulk...
His system could potentially fuse multiple regenerative abilities into something far more powerful than any individual healing factor. The synergy between Wolverine's cellular regeneration, Sabretooth's enhanced healing, and the Hulk's gamma-powered recovery could create something truly remarkable.
If I could merge all three healing factors together, I might achieve true immortality—the kind where even a single remaining cell could regenerate my entire body.
The thought excited him tremendously. Wolverine had survived a nuclear bomb detonation in the original timeline. The Hulk had regenerated from injuries that would have killed gods. Sabretooth had survived for over a century without apparent aging.
Combined, those abilities could make me functionally unkillable.
Thinking of this possibility, Lin Chen couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. He accelerated his pace.
---
Old Restaurant - Northern Outskirts
Whoosh!
Lin Chen arrived through his portal, materializing in an alley near a restaurant. The building had clearly been—faded paint, overgrown weeds surrounding the structure.
Two figures were inside, and the air was thick with tension and rage.
Lin Chen casually walked to a nearby bench outside a convenience store that was still operating despite its proximity to the derelict restaurant. He purchased a cold drink and settled onto the bench with a clear view of the confrontation through the restaurant's rusty windows.
He appeared completely relaxed, as if he were watching a show rather than preparing to witness a brutal fight between two of the dangerous mutants alive.
The only thing I need to do is observe and wait for the right moment, he thought calmly.
---
Inside the Restaurant
Logan stood facing his brother, his entire body trembling with barely controlled rage. His hands were clenched into fists so tight that his knuckles had turned white.
"Why?"
Logan's voice was raw with pain and fury. "Why did you kill her? She was innocent! She had nothing to do with our past!"
Victor Creed—Sabretooth—shrugged with complete indifference, his massive frame dwarfing even Logan's substantial build. "Just to get your attention, little brother. You were getting soft, playing house with that woman. I did you a favor—reminded you what you really are."
Logan's hands opened, and three bone claws erupted from each hand, piercing through his skin with a sickening sound. Blood dripped from the wounds where the claws had torn through flesh.
Every time Logan used his claws, he experienced the agony of his skin being torn apart. The healing factor would close the wounds quickly, but not before he felt every moment of pain.
From his position outside, Lin Chen's eyes gleamed with interest as he took a casual sip of his cold drink.
The battle is finally beginning.
Logan roared with primal fury and charged toward Sabretooth, his bloody bone claws extended for a killing strike.
Sabretooth stood his ground, and his own claws—longer, thicker, and harder than Logan's—extended from his fingers. He deflected Logan's strike with practiced ease, then delivered a devastating kick that sent Logan flying backward.
Logan crashed through a wooden table, reducing it to splinters.
The few remaining patrons in the restaurant—homeless people who had been squatting in the abandoned building—screamed and fled in terror.
No one noticed Lin Chen sitting calmly outside, leisurely drinking his beverage with not the slightest ripple of concern in his expression.
"It seems that all these years of comfortable domestic life have made you soft, Jimmy," Sabretooth sneered, using Logan's real name with deliberate mockery. "You've lost your edge."
Logan's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He scrambled to his feet and charged again. "I'm going to kill you!"
The two collided in a brutal melee. They were matched in healing ability, but in every other aspect—combat skill, raw strength, ruthless efficiency—Sabretooth had maintained his edge while Logan had grown rusty.
In this vicious fight, Logan was taking the majority of the damage while Sabretooth remained relatively unharmed.
Watching this unfold, Lin Chen was not surprised.
Wolverine at this moment is inferior to Sabretooth in almost every way except raw determination. Combat skills, physical strength, tactical thinking—he's been out of practice too long.
Logan struggled to his feet once more. His body was covered in wounds, blood flowing freely. But even as Lin Chen watched, the injuries began to close—flesh knitting back together, bones resetting themselves.
[Detected: Regenerative Healing Factor (Wolverine variant) - Cellular regeneration at accelerated rate, capable of healing from severe physical injuries and bone fractures within seconds. Resistance to toxins, diseases, and delayed aging.]
Sabretooth, by contrast, had only minor scratches that healed almost instantly.
[DING!]
[Detected: Enhanced Healing Factor (Sabretooth variant) - healing and regenerative capabilities with enhanced resistance to toxins, diseases, and delayed aging. Recovery speed slightly faster than Wolverine variant.]
Logan had barely regained his footing when Sabretooth roared and charged forward, grabbing Logan around the waist and hurling him with tremendous force.
CRASH!
The impact shattered the thick wooden wall, and Logan tumbled through the opening into the area behind the restaurant.
He hit the ground hard, coughing up blood from internal injuries.
Sabretooth stalked after him with predatory confidence, completely unhurried.
As soon as Logan tried to stand, Sabretooth was on him again. He grabbed Logan, lifted him bodily, and slammed him down onto a rusted forklift.
Logan's back struck the sharp corner of the machine with a sickening crunch. He screamed in agony as his spine bent at an unnatural angle.
Bang!
Logan collapsed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Sabretooth reached down, grabbed Logan again, and executed a perfect over-the-shoulder throw that sent Logan crashing into the concrete with bone-breaking force.
Logan lay on the ground, barely conscious, blood pooling beneath him.
From his observation point, Lin Chen remained perfectly still.
I can't interfere, he thought with surprising empathy. There are some things Logan has to experience himself. Some grudges he has to face alone. He needs this pain. He needs this defeat. It's necessary for his transformation.
Lin Chen did not step forward to stop Wolverine's brutal beating, despite the part of him that wanted to intervene.
To be honest, Wolverine had been one of Lin Chen's favorite characters in his previous life. The tragic death at the end of Logan's story had genuinely moved him.
But Lin Chen understood something crucial: if Logan wanted to evolve into the legendary Wolverine, this series of brutal setbacks was absolutely necessary.
Only extreme pain would allow Logan to regain his will to fight.
Only extreme hatred could give Logan the mental fortitude to withstand the excruciating agony of having liquid Adamantium bonded to his skeleton without suffering a complete mental breakdown.
Only through this crucible could Logan evolve into Wolverine.
Sabretooth looked down at the broken figure of his brother and sneered. "What made you think you could fight me? You're inferior to me in every single aspect. Ambition, physical fitness, reflexes, killer instinct—you're worse than me in all of them."
He shook his head with mock disappointment. "And after spending years playing domestic? Logan, you've really degenerated into pathetic trash."
Sabretooth lifted his heavy boot and stomped down viciously, shattering one of Logan's bone claws with a sickening crack.
The intense pain traveled through Logan's nervous system like lightning. He let out an ear-piercing scream, his face contorting in absolute agony. Large beads of sweat formed on his forehead despite the cool air. His lips turned pale from shock.
Then Logan's eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
[Detected: Regenerative Healing Factor (Wolverine's Self-Healing Characteristic) available for absorption!]
[Detected: Enhanced Healing Factor (Sabretooth's Self-Healing Characteristic) available for absorption!]
[System Notice: Host already possesses Superior Regenerative Healing Factor from Hulk and Abomination. Merging all healing factors will create Ultimate Regenerative Healing Factor.]
[Ultimate Regenerative Healing Factor: Complete cellular immortality. Can regenerate entire body from a single intact cell. Immune to all diseases, poisons, and toxins. Healing speed increases proportionally with severity of injury. Cellular degradation completely halted—true biological immortality. Mental patterns stored at quantum level across all cells, preventing memory loss even during complete physical reconstruction.]
[Confirm fusion and acquisition Y/N?]
Lin Chen's eyes widened with barely contained excitement. This was beyond what he'd hoped for. True cellular immortality—the kind where even a single cell could regenerate his entire body, complete with all memories and abilities intact.
"Yes!" he confirmed mentally without hesitation.
The moment he accepted, Lin Chen felt an extraordinary transformation begin throughout his entire body.
Three distinct healing energies merged within him—the raw, gamma-powered regeneration of the Hulk, the precise cellular reconstruction of Wolverine, and the enhanced resilience of Sabretooth. They didn't simply add together; they synergized, creating something far greater than the sum of their parts.
A wave of cool, refreshing energy flowed through Lin Chen's entire body, penetrating every cell, every molecule of his being. The sensation was indescribable—like being reborn at the cellular level.
He could feel his body restructuring itself at the most fundamental level. Each cell became a complete blueprint for his entire being, encoded with quantum-level information about his physical structure, memories, and abilities. His DNA itself seemed to shimmer with new potential.
His regenerative capabilities weren't just enhanced—they were transcendent. A wound wouldn't just heal quickly; it would reconstruct itself perfectly, as if it had never existed. Even if his entire body were somehow destroyed except for a single cell, that cell would contain everything necessary to rebuild him completely.
More than that, the cellular regeneration operated independently in each cell. Destroying ninety-nine percent of his body wouldn't kill him—the remaining one percent would simply regenerate the rest. As long as a single cell survived anywhere in existence, Lin Chen would eventually return.
The aging process had been completely halted at the cellular level. His telomeres would never shorten, his cells would never degrade, his body would never deteriorate from the passage of time. He had achieved true biological immortality.
The cool sensation in his brain intensified dramatically. The mental defense component had evolved beyond simple psychic resistance. His consciousness itself was now distributed across every cell in his body at the quantum level. Even if his brain were completely destroyed, his memories and personality would remain encoded in his other cells and could be perfectly reconstructed.
This is incredible, Lin Chen thought, barely able to contain his joy. I've become functionally immortal. Short of complete molecular disintegration across my entire body simultaneously, nothing can permanently kill me.
He tested his new awareness, and immediately sensed that he could now consciously control his healing. He could accelerate it for dramatic regeneration, or suppress it to conserve energy. He could even selectively heal specific injuries while leaving others untouched if needed for tactical purposes.
The transformation was complete. Lin Chen had achieved a level of regenerative capability that surpassed even the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe.
Logan's bone claws being shattered represented the destruction of his fragile past and his naive attempt at a peaceful life. But it also represented the birth of something new and unbreakable. Soon, hard steel claws would replace the bone claws, and Logan would be reborn as Wolverine.
Lin Chen sighed quietly with a mixture of sympathy and anticipation.
Sabretooth finished with Logan and pulled out a phone, making a brief call. "It's done. Come collect him."
He noticed Lin Chen standing near the restaurant entrance and sneered. "Hurry up and get lost, civilian. Unless you want me to take care of you too."
Lin Chen's voice carried across the distance with calm amusement. "Very arrogant. I hope you can maintain that confidence in the next few seconds."
The next moment, Sabretooth's pupils contracted to pinpoints. His entire body went rigid with sudden terror.
BOOM!
A terrifying sound of tearing air filled the space.
Lin Chen raised his hand, and lightning gathered around his entire body—crackling arcs of electrical energy that illuminated the darkening evening. A massive bolt of lightning condensed and launched forward, breaking through the air with incredible speed.
The attack was so fast that Sabretooth's enhanced reflexes barely registered it.
The lightning bolt traced a mysterious arc through the air as it blasted directly toward Sabretooth's chest.
BOOM!
The air itself exploded from the sheer power. The force was absolutely terrifying.
Sabretooth had no time to dodge or defend.
BANG!
The lightning bolt struck Sabretooth square in the chest with the force of an artillery shell. He was sent flying backward like a missile, his body smoking and crackling with residual electrical energy.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
He crashed through multiple thick trees, snapping them like twigs, before finally slamming into the ground with devastating force.
Sabretooth coughed up a mouthful of blood, his entire body burned and blackened. Smoke rose from his scorched flesh. But even as Lin Chen watched, the damage began to heal—skin regenerating, burns fading.
At that moment, Sabretooth felt as if his entire body had been crushed. Intense pain filled every nerve, and he was in absolute agony.
---
Through the surveillance camera feed, Daisy watched the entire sequence unfold.
Her eyes widened with shock and excitement. She jumped up from her chair and clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Boss Lin! That was amazing! You're so cool!"
But then her expression softened as she looked at him through the camera with undisguised admiration and affection. Her eyes practically glowed with pride.
I'm so lucky to be with someone this incredible, she thought warmly.
---
Back at the Fight
BOOM!
Before Sabretooth could fully recover, another massive lightning bolt struck him with equal force, reducing him once again to a burned, semi-conscious state.
At this moment, Sabretooth felt as if all his internal organs had been pulverized. Terrifying pain overwhelmed his consciousness.
His eyes rolled back, and he barely managed to stay conscious.
Just two strikes had left Sabretooth—one of the dangerous mutant—covered in blood and far worse off than Logan had been.
Lin Chen turned and walked away without another word, leaving both of them lying in the wreckage.
Moments later, several black vehicles arrived at the scene. Military personnel quickly emerged and carefully loaded the unconscious Logan into a transport vehicle.
They searched for Sabretooth but found no trace—he had already escaped, dragging himself away with the last reserves of his strength and his powerful healing factor.
---
Later That Evening
Lin Chen stopped at several shops on his way back, purchasing various treats and delicacies that he knew Daisy would enjoy. His little assistant had been working tirelessly, and it was time to properly reward her dedication.
When he arrived back at the warehouse, he opened the door to find Daisy sitting at her desk, struggling to stay awake. Her head bobbed up and down like a student fighting sleep in an early morning class.
But as soon as he entered, her nose twitched unconsciously.
She smacked her lips twice, and suddenly her eyes snapped open wide, focusing immediately on the bags in his hands.
"Boss!" she exclaimed, practically launching herself from her chair. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug, her face pressed against his chest. "You brought food!"
Lin Chen couldn't help but laugh at her unguarded enthusiasm. "I bought dumplings from that famous place you mentioned, plus some barbecue skewers, spring rolls, and that special dessert you like."
Daisy's eyes lit up like stars. "You remembered! I only mentioned that once!"
"Of course I remembered," Lin Chen replied warmly, stroking her hair affectionately. "My hardworking assistant deserves the best."
Daisy hugged him tighter, her voice slightly muffled. "You're the best person in my entire life, Lin Chen."
Feeling her soft warmth pressed against him, Lin Chen's smile grew wider.
After the embrace, Daisy eagerly helped carry the food to the coffee table, laying everything out with reverent care.
"Since we're eating, we should also drink," Lin Chen announced, producing several bottles of premium beer.
They settled onto the couch together, eating and drinking with genuine enjoyment. The most important thing wasn't the food or drink—it was sharing the moment with someone who mattered.
Daisy took a bite of a dumpling and her face lit up with pure bliss. "This is too delicious!"
She downed a glass of beer and continued eating enthusiastically.
Before long, multiple empty beer bottles littered the table.
Daisy's cheeks were slightly flushed, but her eyes remained clear and focused.
"Thank you, boss!" she said happily.
Looking at Daisy—who showed no signs of actual intoxication despite consuming significant alcohol—Lin Chen's expression registered mild surprise.
She's fine after drinking this much. I'm fine because my physical capabilities are at superhuman levels, but for her to handle alcohol like this...
"I told you before, boss," Daisy giggled, her slightly greasy hands reaching up to cup his face playfully. "I've never been drunk. My metabolism or something—alcohol just doesn't affect me the same way."
Just as she finished laughing, Daisy's eyes suddenly closed and she fell forward, her lips accidentally meeting Lin Chen's in an unplanned kiss.
Lin Chen instinctively caught her, preventing her from falling.
Their mouths remained pressed together for a long moment.
Despite her claim about never getting drunk, Daisy's light and even breathing indicated she had fallen asleep almost instantly.
Lin Chen held her gently, listening to her steady heartbeat.
So she does get drunk after all, he thought with amusement. She just holds it together until she can't anymore, then crashes immediately.
He carefully carried Daisy to the bathroom and cleaned her face and hands with warm water. After washing up himself, he carried her upstairs to the bedroom.
As he laid her down, she began to mumble softly in her sleep, grinding her teeth slightly. The words were incomprehensible, but her expression was peaceful and content.
Lin Chen smiled, covering her with a blanket before heading to take a shower himself.
He was tired from the day's activities and needed rest.
The night passed quietly.
---
Five Days Later
Daisy was monitoring her surveillance feeds when unusual energy readings caught her attention. Her eyes widened as she analyzed the data.
"Boss!" she called urgently. "I'm detecting massive space distortions in Hong Kong. The energy signature matches what we saw during the Asgard incidents, but it's different—darker, more chaotic."
She pulled up satellite imagery and hacked into local security cameras. What she saw made her gasp.
"The entire city is being torn apart! Buildings are dissolving, reality is literally folding in on itself. There's some kind of purple energy pouring in from... from another space of darkness."
Lin Chen moved to her workstation immediately. "Show me everything."
The images were disturbing. Hong Kong's normally vibrant streets had become a nightmare of surreal devastation. Buildings melted like wax, their geometry impossibly twisted. A thick purple cloud of corrupting energy poured from tears in the sky, accompanied by the sounds of grinding metal and shattering stone.
"I'm detecting multiple energy signatures," Daisy reported. "They are unfamiliar. This is a magical battle on a massive scale."
"I need to see this for myself," Lin Chen decided immediately, already beginning to use his mental power to sense cosmic energy to create a portal.
"Are you sure?" Daisy asked with concern.
"That's exactly why I need to go," Lin Chen replied as golden sparks began forming a circular portal in front of him.
The portal expanded, showing a view of Hong Kong's chaotic streets on the other side.
"Be careful," Daisy said softly, touching his arm with genuine worry.
"Always," Lin Chen assured her, stepping through the portal.
---
Hong Kong - Streets Under Siege
Lin Chen materialized in an alley overlooking the chaos. The scene was even worse than the surveillance footage had suggested.
Doctor Strange and Karl Mordo had arrived to find Wong and other Masters of the Mystic Arts defeated and motionless. The Hong Kong Sanctum had been completely destroyed.
Kaecilius and his Zealots stalked through the collapsing streets, reveling in the chaos they had unleashed. Their eyes glowed with the black purple energy of the Dark Dimension.
Lin Chen positioned himself on a rooftop with a clear view of the confrontation, settling into an observation position.
This is an opportunity to study advanced magic in actual combat, he thought with barely contained excitement.
Just as Kaecilius prepared to deliver what appeared to be a fatal blow, Doctor Strange lifted the Eye of Agamotto. It glowed with intense green light—the Time Stone.
Time rapidly reversed.
Debris flew upward, collapsing buildings reformed themselves, and the purple cloud of Dark Dimension energy receded back through dimensional tears.
For Strange and Mordo, it was a frantic fight against a world moving backward. Wong suddenly stood up, confused and disoriented as the timeline reset around him.
The Zealots, powered by Dormammu and existing partially outside normal time, were not affected by the reversal. They attacked again with renewed fury.
But Strange and Mordo were now forewarned. They used the environment strategically, trapping zealots in various ways. One zealot was encased in a reforming tiled wall. Another found himself trapped in a massive fish tank as water refilled around him.
From his vantage point, Lin Chen watched with absolute focus as the Time Stone's power manipulated reality itself.
[Detected: Temporal Manipulation (From Time Stone) available for absorption!]
[Temporal Manipulation: Complete control over time flow, allowing the user to freeze time, reverse it, or accelerate it. Can be applied to focused targets or expanded to affect entire regions. Includes ability to create time loops that force subjects to relive the same moments indefinitely, and to rewind objects or events to previous states.]
[Confirm acquisition Y/N?]
"Yes!" Lin Chen confirmed mentally, unable to contain his excitement.
Immediately, a surge of knowledge flooded his consciousness. He understood the fundamental principles of temporal manipulation, the mathematical precision required, the mental discipline necessary to control such power.
[Detected: Dimensional Blade Magic available for absorption!]
[Space Blade Magic allows creation of weapons and constructs from dimensional fragments, using the fabric of space itself as cutting edges that can slice through virtually any material.]
"Yes!"
[Detected: Levitation Magic (From Cloak of Levitation variant) available for absorption!]
[Levitation Magic grants sustained flight and aerial maneuverability through mystical means, independent of physical propulsion.]
"Yes!"
[Detected: Mental Power +51]
[Detected: Mental Power +31]
[New Mental Power: 121.8]
(His time menupulation is ability, more the mental power more the time control range and effect. With his mental power he can control time of atleast at town level.)
Lin Chen's mind expanded dramatically with each acquisition. The rush of new knowledge and capability was almost overwhelming, but his enhanced mental capacity allowed him to process and integrate everything smoothly.
His expression showed pure joy and satisfaction.This is incredible. I've gained abilities that would have taken decades to develop through normal study.
Kaecilius managed to break free from his restraints and confronted Strange, declaring that his magic was useless against the Dark Dimension's power. He reached out and tampered with the Eye of Agamotto, disrupting Strange's control and stopping the time reversal.
Reality snapped back to its corrupted state.
Strange, realizing conventional combat was futile, made a desperate decision. He used the Time Stone to travel directly into the Dark Dimension itself, disappearing through a portal of green energy.
The environment shifted dramatically. There was no ground, no sky—only the swirling, obsidian-purple void of the timeless dimension. Dormammu's immense, craggy face formed from the vortex itself, his glowing orange fiery eyes burning with incomprehensible power and ancient malevolence.
"You dare enter my domain, mortal?" Dormammu's voice resonated through the dimension like thunder, shaking the very fabric of reality.
Lin Chen watched from his position at the dimensional boundary, his new temporal awareness allowing him to perceive the confrontation despite its location outside normal space-time.
---