Chapter 91: Blue Energy Body
klein grabbed the "stairway of the sun," which was emitting a soft golden light, and pulled it out by the roots from the soft soil.
However, the moment he held this strange plant in his hand, a peculiar feeling welled up in his heart.
"Something is not right."
The vitality of this "stairway of the sun" was indeed vigorous, far exceeding that of ordinary plants, and it could even cause surrounding creatures to undergo evolution.
But the energy it emitted on its own was absolutely insufficient to support the near-infinite life regeneration of those three massive Beasts from before, let alone cause such drastic evolution in the rainforest ecosystem for several kilometers around.
This feeling was like a power plant that, no matter what, could not provide a continuous supply of power to an oil refinery.
"The true core... is still below!"
klein's eyes narrowed. He raised his left hand, spread his fingers, and pressed down into the void toward the ground where the plant had originally taken root.
"Quicksand Excavation!"
The ground beneath his feet collapsed silently, turning into a vortex of quicksand that extended continuously downward.
Countless golden sand grains, like the most dexterous engineers, transported the underlying soil, rocks, and roots out.
The sand pit was dug deeper and deeper—three meters, five meters, ten meters...
Just as the sand pit reached a depth of about fifteen meters, a life force far purer than the "stairway of the sun" itself permeated from the bottom of the pit!
"Found it!"
With a thought from klein, the quicksand receded completely, revealing its true form buried deep underground.
It was a strange energy body about the size of a basketball, translucent throughout, with a texture like a sapphire.
"You are the one behind all of this, aren't you?"
klein reached out and grabbed the basketball-sized blue energy body from the soft sand.
The energy body felt cool to the touch. It didn't feel like a solid object, but rather like holding a weighted ball of cotton candy.
It emitted a refreshing aura. Just by touching it, klein felt the circulation of energy within his body accelerate slightly, and the physical strength consumed during the previous battle and the minor internal injuries he had sustained were all recovering at an accelerated pace.
"What a good thing..." he couldn't help but exclaim.
However, just as he was carefully examining this blue energy body.
A sudden change occurred!
The blue energy body instantly melted without warning, turning into a viscous stream of energy that frantically burrowed into klein's hands through his skin!
As if it possessed life and consciousness, once it entered klein's body, it frantically permeated toward the deepest part of his soul!
It attempted to force its way into klein's mental World, wanting to occupy and devour his soul!
"Possession?!" klein instantly understood this ghost thing's intention, and cold light shot from his eyes.
"Just by you?! You think you're worthy?!"
The moment the energy body's consciousness was about to touch the core of klein's soul.
A hum quietly rang out from the depths of klein's soul.
The invading consciousness couldn't even let out a wail before it was instantly annihilated by the system, turning into the purest life energy that merged into klein's limbs and bones.
"Tch..."
A look of disdain curled the corners of klein's mouth.
He slowly opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils, a faint golden galaxy seemed to swirl, then quickly returned to calm.
"I have a cheat, that's why I'm not afraid of you. What kind of thing are you to be worthy of occupying my body? Even the system hasn't said it would occupy my body, who do you think you are?"
With the complete annihilation of that ancient consciousness, that unimaginably vast life energy began to be rapidly absorbed by klein's body without any obstruction.
He could clearly feel every one of his cells cheering; the internal injuries caused by the previous battle were instantly healed, and his condition was better than ever before.
Not only that, the "Door" pathway also evolved from Sequence 7 to Sequence 6 [Recorder].
At the same time, the complete knowledge regarding Sequence 6 emerged in the depths of his mind and was instantly mastered by him.
Moreover, klein vaguely felt that the threshold for Sequence 5 [Traveler] did not seem unreachable; it felt as if he could easily cross it after accumulating for some time or obtaining another similar opportunity.
"Hoo..."
klein exhaled a long breath of stale air, which seemed to carry a faint, fresh fragrance.
He stretched his body, and his joints made a crackling sound like popping beans. He felt in such good condition that he could take on ten more Wind-Thunder Giant Eagles like the one from before.
After absorbing the blue life form and losing this source of life energy, the anomalies in this rainforest began to recede rapidly.
The abnormally tall and aggressive plants all around withered and faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to the appearance of ordinary rainforest plants, only slightly more lush.
The strange, sweet, and metallic odor in the air also quickly faded away.
Even the tiger and the One-horned Giant Python, which he had sealed with the Sand Coffin and silk threads and sunk underground, had their auras rapidly weaken as the life energy dissipated, and their struggling movements became weaker and weaker.
As for that Wind-Thunder Giant Eagle whose wings he had severed and which he had imprisoned with a sealing technique, it was now on its last breath, with only a faint life fluctuation remaining.
"Keeping them is just a disaster..." With a thought, klein made a grasping motion with his left hand in the direction of the three sealed giant Beasts.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
"Boom, boom, boom—!!!"
The ground in all three locations vibrated violently at the same time!
Quicksand gushed out from underground, completely engulfing and crushing the remains of the three giant Beasts!
A few seconds later, the quicksand receded, revealing the broken corpses of the three Beasts.
After doing all this, klein finally felt the call coming from the miniature communicator in his ear, which carried a clear sense of anxiety.
"mr. klein! mr. klein! Please respond if you can hear me! Please respond! What is the situation on your end? Do you need emergency support? Do you need support?!"
It was Hawkeye's voice.
Obviously, the battle with the three giant Beasts just now and the fact that he had absorbed the life energy had caused the entire forest to change; even from so far away, it had been captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s monitoring equipment.
klein pressed the communication button and replied in a relaxed tone:
"I hear you, Agent Barton. I'm fine. Everything is resolved here, and I have the Stairway of Life. You can come over now. Remember to bring containers for the samples."
Just as klein was waiting in place for Hawkeye to arrive.
On a Planet in a galaxy tens of thousands of light-years away from the Milky Way Galaxy, a "person" opened his eyes. In his eyes, blue light flickered.
This "person" suddenly felt that one of the seeds he had sown across the Universe had suddenly disappeared, and the place where it disappeared felt slightly familiar to him.
However, he was currently waiting for the arrival of the most important seed among them, so he didn't have time to worry about how the other seeds were doing.
With only a slight surprise, he fell back into a deep slumber.
Chapter 92: Hawkeye Arrives
Hawkeye heard klein's voice through the communicator, and the heavy stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
He let out a long breath and immediately slid down from the tall sky-gazing tree where he had been hiding. His agile figure streaked through the dense forest, rushing toward the location klein had given.
The closer he got to the core area, the more terrifying the impact of the scene before him became.
Along the way, he saw the remains of too many giant Beasts.
A giant iridescent centipede sliced into several sections, a Rhinoceros Beetle with its carapace shattered like charcoal, and the shredded remains of man-eating plants.
None of these monsters had been anything but hideous and terrifying while alive; even as corpses, they exuded a heart-palpitating aura.
Hawkeye was greatly shocked.
He thought to himself that if he were to face any one of these monsters alone, he might be able to use his extraordinary archery to contend with it and find an opportunity to kill it.
But if he were to encounter a siege of such a wide variety of monsters in such a dense area like this, he didn't dare imagine the consequences.
klein's previous warning to him was by no means alarmist.
Finally, he burst out of the dense forest and reached the edge of the clearing that had been ravaged beyond recognition.
The scene before him made even this battle-hardened ace Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., who was used to big scenes, unable to stop his pupils from shrinking and taking a sharp breath!
In the center of the clearing was a huge deep pit with radiating cracks at the edges, as if it had been struck by a meteorite.
Not far from the edge of the pit, three corpses of giant Beasts so large they were hard to imagine lay quietly, like three small mountains.
The one on the left was a tiger, crimson all over and seemingly cast from lava; even though it was dead, the residual scorching aura still made the air slightly distorted.
To the right was a dark green giant python at least a hundred meters long. Its thick, water-vat-sized body was covered in deep cuts and puncture wounds that reached the bone.
And what made Hawkeye feel most suffocated was the one in the middle... a bird?
Was that really a bird? Its size was comparable to an ancient pterosaur?
At this moment, the giant eagle's wings were severed at the base, the cross-sections as smooth as mirrors. Its massive body slumped on the ground in a distorted posture, its blue-purple feathers having lost all luster.
The residual pressure emanating from each of these three giant Beasts made Hawkeye feel waves of palpitations.
He was certain that in any known biological records on Earth, no counterparts for them could be found. They were more like monsters stepped out of myths, legends, or nightmares.
And such fierce Beasts—three of them had actually appeared here, and they had been killed by one person at the same time.
Was that person even human?
Hawkeye saw that apart from many tears in klein's black combat suit, which was covered in mud, grass clippings, and dried dark blood,
his exposed chest and arms were completely intact, without even a red mark!
One against three, and only the hem of his clothes was slightly dirty. He really isn't human!!!
"Agent Barton, you're quite fast." klein shook his wrists and grinned at Hawkeye, revealing two rows of white teeth.
Hawkeye quickly suppressed the shock in his heart and walked quickly to klein, his gaze subconsciously sweeping over the three giant Beast corpses again: "mr. klein, are you... alright?"
"I'm fine, what could be wrong?" klein waved his hand indifferently, bent down, and casually threw the "stairway of the sun," which was emitting a faint golden light, toward Hawkeye.
"Here, the thing you wanted."
Hawkeye hurriedly reached out to catch it; it felt warm to the touch, as if he were holding a piece of warm jade.
He looked down carefully and weighed it, his brow furrowing slightly, a hint of doubt appearing in his eyes.
"mr. klein," he looked up at klein, his tone clearly hesitant, "are you sure... this is the 'stairway of the sun'? Why do I feel like it's...?"
Hawkeye didn't finish his sentence; the biological activity of this thing in his hand clearly didn't seem to be at a level that could turn those three Beasts into that state.
If it weren't for the fact that klein had nowhere to hide it, and the surroundings were destroyed beyond recognition, he would have suspected that the stairway of the sun had been swapped by klein.
"Feels like it's not as powerful as you imagined, right?" klein seemed to have expected him to ask this. He nodded his chin toward the three Beast corpses on the ground and then pointed to the surrounding mutated plants that were rapidly withering and dying.
"Look at these things on the ground and the flowers and grass around here. Most of the energy was sucked dry by these guys long ago. We arrived early; if we had come a few days later...
What you'd be looking for probably wouldn't be a flower, but an army of monsters."
Hearing this, Hawkeye's gaze swept over the carnage around them again and then at the seemingly ordinary plant in his hand, instantly understanding klein's meaning.
This "stairway of the sun" was like a source of energy, and most of that energy had been absorbed by the surrounding animals and plants.
With one side gaining and the other losing, if they had arrived a few days later, this stairway of the sun might have been sucked dry by the surrounding flora and fauna.
Hawkeye thought no more of it and immediately took out a specially made alloy container from the tactical backpack on his back, carefully placed the "stairway of the sun" inside, and snapped the lock shut.
Having done this, he looked at the three giant Beastcorpses, a flash of eagerness in his eyes.
These things, whether their biological structures themselves or the mechanisms behind their evolution, were priceless treasures to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s research department!
"mr. klein," Hawkeye spoke after some consideration, "regarding these three biological remains, we at S.H.I.E.L.D.are very interested in conducting in-depth research. Do you think you could leave them to us to handle? We can pay the corresponding fees."
klein glanced at him with a half-smile: "In principle... no."
Hawkeye's heart sank.
"But," klein's tone shifted as he rubbed his fingers together in an internationally recognized gesture, "since you've mentioned money, then in principle... it's okay again."
Hawkeye: "..."
He finally understood that when dealing with this man, principles and regulations were all empty; hard cash was the only thing that mattered.
However, problems that could be solved with money were often not problems for S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Alright, mr. klein, we'll discuss the price when we get back. I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Hawkeye immediately agreed, for fear that klein would change his mind.
"That's more like it." klein nodded with satisfaction. He didn't plan to mention the matter of the blue energy; since Hawkeye could fill in the gaps himself, there was no need for him to make up more lies.
klein tugged at his tattered combat suit, which was covered in various filth.
"Hurry up and call your people over. Take away what needs to be taken, and handle what needs to be handled. This damn place is muggy and hot, and there are so many bugs. I don't want to stay for another minute."
"Understood, mr. klein. I'll arrange it right away." Hawkeyedidn't delay any further and immediately picked up his encrypted communicator, tuning it to the channel for contacting the six-man tactical squad on the perimeter.
"This is 'Hawkeye,' target confirmed neutralized, core sample obtained. Perimeter threat level significantly reduced, but there are still residual unstable factors.
'Reaper' Squad, immediately close in on my coordinates according to the route. Repeat, immediately close in on my coordinates. Stay alert and keep communications open."
A short, clear confirmation sounded from the other end of the communicator.
Hawkeye put down the communicator and nodded to klein: "They'll be here soon, estimated arrival within twenty minutes. Once they arrive, they can clear a level area to land a Quinjet. You can head back first, mr. klein."
klein gave an "mm," strolled toward a relatively intact large tree at the edge of the clearing, and found a fairly clean large rock to sit on.
Chapter 93: Setting Off for Home
An hour later, a special operations squad consisting of six S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents arrived before Hawkeye with various types of equipment.
On their way here, they had already seen too many carcasses of mutated animals. They thought that after experiencing that, their nerves would be tough enough and they wouldn't be too surprised.
However, after seeing the corpses of the three behemoths, their level of astonishment was even more extreme than Hawkeye's had been earlier.
Their abilities were inferior to Hawkeye's, and the sense of oppression brought by the corpses of these three giants was even more powerful for them.
Hawkeye stood to the side, his gaze sweeping over the group. He knew it was understandable for them to react this way seeing such things for the first time. Nevertheless, he spoke up to break the silence of the six Agents.
"Alright, stop staring. Quickly clear an area large enough for a jet to take off and land."
"Yes, Officer!" The Sergeant leading the team jolted back to his senses, immediately turning to give a series of concise hand signals to his subordinates.
The six Agents immediately sprang into action with high efficiency. They opened their portable tools, clearing away surrounding shrubs and small trees, and used a special quick-setting material to reinforce the soft soil layer.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye had already established contact with the quinjet pilot stationed at the temporary Base on the edge of the rainforest via an encrypted channel, reporting a set of precise coordinates.
"This is 'Hawkeye,' mission preliminary phase complete. Requesting the 'Blackbird' to proceed to the designated coordinates for personnel evacuation.
Coordinates sent, repeat, coordinates sent. Note, the landing zone has been preliminarily cleared, but the surrounding environment is complex; stay alert."
"Blackbird copies, coordinates confirmed. Estimated arrival in thirty minutes. Maintain communication, Hawkeye."
The communication ended. Hawkeye glanced at klein, who was sitting on a large rock not far away, boredly teasing ants on the ground with a blade of grass, and walked over.
"mr. klein, the quinjet is on its way, estimated arrival in half an hour. You can take the flight back to New York first.
As for the compensation regarding the remains of these three creatures, Agent Hill will personally interface with you to discuss the details."
klein tossed away the blade of grass, patted his backside as he stood up, and stretched his somewhat stiff neck.
"Fine, I got it. I trust you guys wouldn't dare shortchange me." He waved his hand dismissively, looking up at the sky.
"Hurry it up, the mosquitoes in this dump are getting worse."
klein didn't stand still, walking toward the center of the clearing they had just finished preparing.
Hawkeye watched his back with a complex expression. This klein was powerful and unpredictable, yet he possessed resources and abilities that S.H.I.E.L.D.desperately needed.
Dealing with such a person required the utmost caution.
About half an hour later, the low roar of engines echoed from the horizon.
A sleek, pitch-black quinjet, like a ghost in the night, pierced through the thickening twilight and landed steadily on the newly cleared ground.
The hatch slid open, and two fully armed crew members quickly jumped down, briefly handing over the container holding the 'stairway of the sun' to Hawkeye.
"mr. klein, please board the aircraft," one of the crew members gestured to klein.
klein didn't stand on ceremony. Supporting himself with one hand, he nimbly hopped into the cabin. He found a comfortable spot to sit and buckled his seatbelt.
Soon, the roar of the quinjet's engines intensified again. It lifted lightly off the ground, climbed rapidly, and merged into the deepening night sky.
A few hours later, the scenery outside the window began to change, as the boundless darkness was replaced by an increasing number of brilliant points of light.
New York was here.
The quinjet adjusted its heading slightly, gliding toward a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. landing pad near JFK International Airport, finally coming to a smooth stop.
klein jumped off the plane, stepped onto the solid concrete ground, and stretched his neck, which had become a bit stiff after being curled up in the cabin for several hours.
At the edge of the landing pad, an inconspicuous black chevrolet suburban was already waiting. The driver still had that same silent poker face.
Once he got into the car, the driver took him directly back to Chinatown. The car drove into the familiar neighborhood and finally stopped in front of the shop.
The rolling shutter was tightly closed. Before leaving, klein had given Aunt Mei a week off to let her go home and rest properly, so the shop was naturally closed.
klein took out his keys, opened the door, and entered the house. He didn't turn on the lights, using the faint light from the window to head up to the second floor.
klein stripped off the tattered combat suit, crumpled it up, and tossed it into the laundry basket in the corner before heading into the bathroom.
After drying off and changing into a clean T-shirt and shorts, klein threw himself onto the soft large bed. Almost the moment his head hit the pillow, his consciousness sank into darkness.
He slept straight through until the next afternoon. It wasn't until the sunlight shone through the window and the growling protests from his stomach woke him up that he finally stirred.
He climbed up slowly, finished washing up, and felt his spirit had finally recovered by about seventy or eighty percent.
Rummaging through the fridge, he found only a few bottles of water and some instant food that didn't look very fresh. With Aunt Mei gone, the house instantly lacked the warmth of a home.
"Tsk, I need to go out and find some food." klein patted his growling stomach, grabbed his car keys and wallet, and wandered downstairs.
He didn't go far, settling his lunch at a tea restaurant on the corner where the owner was an old immigrant from Guangdong.
After a plate of beef chow fun and a glass of iced milk tea, klein, satiated and with a toothpick in his mouth, began to ponder another matter.
Buying a car for Aunt Mei.
This idea had actually been around for a long time.
Aunt Mei came to the shop from her home in Queens every day, either by subway or by transferring between two buses. It was very inconvenient when the weather was bad or when she worked late at night.
klein had mentioned it a few times, offering to buy her a car for commuting, but each time he was rejected by Aunt Mei without hesitation.
Mei was always like that—gentle and considerate, yet possessing a stubborn streak of persistence.
She didn't want to rely too much on klein or feel like she was taking advantage of him, even though klein had long since considered her one of his own.
klein understood her thoughts, so he didn't push it.
But he knew that Aunt Mei liked cars in her heart. Sometimes when she saw those pretty small cars, her eyes would unconsciously linger for a few extra seconds.
If he bought a new car for Aunt Mei, she would definitely refuse, thinking it was too expensive and feeling a burden. If it were a used car, her level of acceptance would be much better.
"Yeah, let's do it that way." klein made up his mind, finished the last sip of his iced milk tea, and got up to pay the bill.
He didn't return to the shop, but drove directly toward Mike's dealership, where he had bought his pickup truck.
Twenty minutes later, klein got out of the car at Mike's dealership.
"Hey! Look who's here!" Mike greeted him enthusiastically, slapping the raptor's sturdy hood.
"boss klein, long time no see! Thinking of changing your ride again? I just got a batch of good stuff—a Dodge Challenger, full of muscle, it would definitely suit you!"
"Not changing, this car is handy. I'm here this time to pick out a commuter car for someone in the family. It's for a lady, so it needs to be easy to drive."
Mike's small eyes darted around as he rubbed his hands, his face beaming with a wide smile.
"Understood, understood! Picking a car for a lady, right? Don't worry, if there's one thing I have, it's plenty of reliable family cars! Come, come, follow me. I just took in a few; the condition is absolutely top-notch, and the price is fair. You'll be satisfied!"
Chapter 94: Buying a Car (Part 1)
He led klein around the car lot, pointing things out as they went.
"This Honda Civic has low mileage. The previous owner was an old lady who only used it for grocery runs. It's been maintained like new, and the interior space is sufficient."
"That Toyota Corolla over there is so fuel-efficient it'll make you laugh, and its appearance is quite decent—yeah, very decent."
"Oh, and there's this Subaru Forester. Even though it's an SUV, it's not that big. It's easy to drive and park, and it has some off-road capability. With New York's road conditions, you won't have to worry about occasionally hopping a curb..."
klein walked past them with his hands behind his back, looking at each one. From time to time, he pulled open a door to check the interior or started the engine to listen to its sound.
He didn't know much about cars, but he could sense the basic condition of a vehicle.
Although Mike was a slippery fellow, he generally didn't try to deceive people regarding a car's condition, especially with a "regular customer" like klein.
This was because klein could cast curses; Mike had personally seen klein wearing strange clothes (Taoist robes) and dancing continuously (praying to the gods).
Finally, his gaze landed on a red sedan in the corner.
The car was parked in the corner, its body a very proper wine red that shimmered with a gentle luster under the afternoon sun. Its lines were smooth, and it looked quite elegant.
It wasn't a particularly flashy model, but it was kept very clean.
"That's a Chevrolet Cruze," Mike introduced, following klein's gaze.
"It's not that old, has moderate mileage, and the previous owner was a female teacher who drove it carefully. The interior is well-protected too. The red is quite proper; it's suitable for a lady."
klein walked over, circled the car once, then pulled open the door to look inside.
The seats were beige with no obvious wear and tear, and the center console was clean.
He sat in the driver's seat, inserted the key, and started the engine. The sound was steady without any unusual noise.
He didn't understand much about technical parameters; he just felt the red suited Aunt May well, and the size was right—it wouldn't be too clunky to drive on the streets of New York.
"How much for this one?" klein turned off the engine, pushed the door open to get out, and patted the roof.
"Twenty-three thousand, boss klein. With this condition and this color, it's absolutely worth the price." Mike rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining.
"Twenty thousand," klein countered.
"boss klein, I really won't make a profit at that price. Twenty-two thousand, that's my lowest!"
"Twenty thousand. Take it or leave it, or I'll go look at that Civic next to it." klein made a move to leave.
"Hey, wait, wait, wait! Fine, fine, fine—twenty thousand it is. Only because you're an old customer!" Mike made a face like he was parting with his life's blood as he finalized the deal.
klein paid the money and asked Mike to help handle the title transfer paperwork. He told him to just deliver the car and the documents to the shop when it was done.
Coming out of the car dealership, klein felt like another weight had been lifted from his mind as he leisurely drove back to his shop.
Just as he reached the shop entrance, he saw a tall, upright figure standing in front of the tightly closed rolling shutter door.
klein parked the car and walked over. "Oh, what a rare guest, Ms. Hill. Why are you standing here? If something's up, why didn't you give me a call?"
Hill turned around. "mr. klein, I just arrived as well. I was thinking of waiting a few more minutes, and if you hadn't returned, I would have called you."
"Alright then, come inside first." klein took out his keys, pulled up the rolling shutter, and stepped aside to let Hillin.
He went behind the long counter and sat down, gesturing to the chair opposite for Hill to sit as well. "What's so important that it's worth a special trip? Couldn't you say it over the phone?"
Hill sat down and placed her briefcase on her lap. "I mainly came to confirm with you regarding the disposal and compensation for the remains of those three mutated creatures."
"Oh, that." klein remembered. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
"With our relationship, talking about money would hurt our feelings. How about this: among that pile of junk, wasn't there a particularly large Rhinoceros Beetle?
Keep that horn on its head for me and find some skilled craftsmen in your agency to help me forge it into a weapon. A hammer is fine, an axe is fine—whatever, as long as it's hard and heavy enough. We'll call it even, how about that?"
Hill pondered for a moment.
Trading a custom weapon for three giant biological remains with immense research value was a very profitable deal for S.H.I.E.L.D.
It was unknown what level of weapon that single horn could produce, but it certainly wouldn't match the value of the three carcasses themselves.
"Agreed," Hill nodded in consent. "We will arrange for our best materials processing department and weapon smiths. As for specific requirements, we may need to communicate with you in more detail later."
"Good, it's a deal then." klein slapped his thigh; this matter was now settled.
He thought Hill would be leaving, but to his surprise, she remained seated.
"Something else?" klein raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, mr. klein." Hill took a tablet out of her briefcase and pulled up some data.
"Regarding the previous batch of 'water spirit eyes' tactical goggles, we have conducted comprehensive laboratory testing and limited field evaluations.
The results were excellent, far exceeding expectations. Especially when used in conjunction with the 'fog guiding talisman', as well as its added faint energy perception function, it provided strategic advantages in specific mission environments."
She looked up, her blue eyes fixed on klein. "Therefore, we hope to order another batch. The quantity... we initially hope for twenty pairs."
"Twenty pairs?" klein shook his head and held up one finger. "In a month, ten pairs at most. Making these things is more taxing than talismans, and the materials are picky. Ten pairs is the limit; I don't have any more."
Hill didn't seem surprised by this limitation. She did some quick mental math; while ten pairs weren't many, it was enough to equip two elite five-man tactical teams or serve as equipment for key nodes.
"Agreed," she consented decisively again. "Ten pairs. Price and delivery time?"
"Same old price, fifty thousand a pair. As for delivery time? Just pick them up when you come for the talismans next month. I'll work some overtime to get them done for you." klein didn't bother haggling over the price; S.H.I.E.L.D.wasn't short on cash anyway.
"Very well. I didn't bring cash today. I'll bring the money for the water spirit eyess when I come for the pickup, is that alright?"
"Sure, no problem. A few days won't make a difference."
Hill quickly recorded the key points on her tablet, then packed away her device and stood up. "mr. klein, if there is nothing else, I won't disturb you further."
"Alright, take care." klein also stood up to see her out.
Hill nodded to him, picked up her briefcase, turned, and quickly left the shop, her figure disappearing into an SUV as she drove away.
Chapter 95: Buying a Car (Part 2)
Mike was indeed quick with his actions.
The next afternoon, klein had just brewed a cup of tea in the shop and hadn't even had a chance to drink it when he heard the sound of an engine and a horn from outside.
He pushed the door open and saw Mike's small pickup truck carefully towing the wine-red Cruze he had set his eyes on yesterday.
The car was washed to a shine, its red color dazzling in the afternoon sun.
'Hey, boss klein!' Mike jumped out of the truck with a grin, took a document bag from the passenger seat, and handed it over.
'The paperwork is all here—keys, registration, insurance policy, everything! I also had someone clean the car thoroughly inside and out, and the tank is full. I guarantee it's as good as new!'
'Alright, much appreciated.' klein took the document bag, flipped through it briefly to confirm everything was correct, and patted Mike on the shoulder.
'It's the least I could do! As long as you're satisfied! If there's nothing else, I'll head out; there's still work at the shop.' Mike rubbed his hands, unhooked the tow rope, and sped off in his small pickup.
klein stood at the shop entrance, looking at the brand-new 'Little Red' before him, then checked the sky; it was almost dinner time.
klein took the document bag and keys, got into Little Red, and drove slowly toward Aunt Mei's home in Queens.
Twenty minutes later, the car pulled up under the familiar apartment building. klein turned off the engine, got out, and walked to the door to knock.
'Coming,' came Mei's soft response from inside.
The door opened, and Mei stood there wearing an apron, still holding a spatula. Seeing klein, a surprised smile instantly broke out on her face.
'Klein? What are you doing here? You didn't say anything in advance...'
'Why say anything? It's a surprise inspection to see if you're eating something delicious behind my back.' klein grinned, squeezed through the door, and naturally bent down to take his slippers out of the shoe cabinet and put them on.
'Nonsense again!' Mei smiled and lightly patted his arm with her free hand. 'Is... everything over there finished? You weren't hurt, were you?'
'It's all done, easy and pleasant. I came back yesterday, but I was a bit tired and slept all day. I've recovered today, so I came over to scrounge a meal.'
As klein spoke, he naturally walked toward the bathroom. 'What did you make? I'm starving.'
'Nothing special, just a couple of stir-fried dishes. If you were coming, you should have said so earlier so I could buy some things you like to eat.'
'I'll eat whatever you have; I love everything you cook.' klein washed his hands, walked to the dining room, and pulled out a chair to sit. His gaze swept over the empty seat opposite him, and he asked casually, 'Where's Peter? Not back yet? Still working overtime at the newspaper?'
Mei served two bowls of rice, placed them on the table, and sat down herself. 'Peter moved out.'
'Moved out?' klein's hand paused while picking up food, and he looked up at Mei. 'Did you two have a fight?'
'No, how could we?' Mei shook her head quickly. 'It's Mary Jane. They decided to live together and rented a small apartment near Mary Jane's company. Peter said it's also close to the newspaper where he's interning, which is convenient.'
'Oh!' klein drawled, taking a bite of the egg from the tomato and scrambled eggs.
'That brat. He forgot his aunt as soon as he got a girlfriend. His wings have really grown; what a brat.'
Mei was amused by him and placed some greens into his bowl. 'Don't talk about Peter like that. The boy has grown up and has his own life. I'm happy he can get along well with Mary Jane. It's just that the house suddenly feels quite empty; I'm not used to it.'
'Empty is good, it's quiet,' klein said indistinctly while shoveling rice. 'When that kid was around, he was always chirping, giving me a headache. This is better—just the two of us.'
Mei's cheeks warmed slightly. She lowered her head to drink her soup and didn't respond, but the smile in her eyes deepened.
After finishing the meal, klein took the document bag and car keys from his coat pocket, walked to the kitchen door, and leaned against the frame.
'Mei.'
'Yes?' Mei looked back, her hands still covered in bubbles.
klein handed over the document bag and car keys. 'For you.'
Mei froze, looking at the keys with the Chevrolet logo and the bulging document bag. For a moment, she didn't react. 'This is...?'
'A car. I bought it for you. Use it for commuting so you don't have to squeeze onto the subway every day.'
Mei looked at the keys, her lips trembling. She wanted to say something, but it ultimately turned into a layer of tears quickly gathering in her eyes.
She quickly lowered her head, wiped her hands on her apron, and took the documents and keys, her fingertips trembling slightly.
'...Thank you.' Her voice carried a hint of a sob, but she quickly suppressed it.
She wasn't a pretentious person and knew klein genuinely cared for her. She accepted this gesture of affection.
'The car is parked downstairs, the red one. Keep the documents safe. Starting tomorrow, you'll drive it to work.'
Mei hugged klein, burying her head in his chest.
klein took the opportunity to pick Mei up.'Since that brat Peter isn't here, let's do something we enjoy doing.'
Mei was caught off guard by this sudden embrace. The blush on her face instantly spread to her ears, and she bashfully balled her fists and gave klein a light thump.
'Oh, you... you're terrible! You've ruined the whole atmosphere!'
'How did I ruin the atmosphere?' klein carried her toward the stairs, breathing warmly into her burning ear. 'Isn't this exactly... heating things up?'
'You! Such sophistry!' Mei buried her face deeper into the crook of his neck, too shy to look up, and gave a symbolic struggle.
But the strength was less of a resistance and more of a shy, playful reluctance.
klein laughed heartily and said no more. He carried her up to the second floor in a few steps, walked familiarly toward the master bedroom, and gently closed the door with his heel.
*Thud.*
The door closed softly, cutting off the light from downstairs and the sounds from the outside world.
The mattress made faint, rhythmic sounds, mingling with their intertwined breaths and soft moans.
Chapter 96: Black Spider?
Over the next half month, klein accompanied Aunt Mei driving every day. Aunt Mei had a driver's license, but she hadn't driven for many years and was a bit rusty.
klein first chose sections with few cars to drive slowly, and once Aunt Mei's coordination improved, he took her onto the main roads to adapt to the maddening morning and evening peak hours of New York.
Aunt Mei picked it up faster than klein had expected, and before long, she could drive that wine-red Cruze herself, weaving steadily through the traffic.
"Alright, you've graduated." klein sat in the passenger seat, watching Aunt Mei perform a clean and sharp parallel park, tucking Little Red into the space, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Watch your safety when you commute, and don't drive too fast."
Aunt Mei cut the Fire, pulled out the key, her face still flushed with excitement, and gave him a reproachful look upon hearing this: "I know, you're so naggy. I'm not a child."
"Yes, yes, Ms. Mei's driving skills are top-notch; I spoke too much." klein laughed and raised his hands in surrender, pushing the door open to get out.
From then on, Aunt Mei began her days of driving herself to and from work.
For the first couple of days, klein was still a bit uneasy and would estimate the time to look out the door, but after seeing that Aunt Mei indeed drove steadily and well, he was completely at ease.
Now the shop's business had stabilized; besides regulars, there were basically no newcomers.
So most of the time, klein was quite idle, as Aunt Mei did all the usual chores for him.
One afternoon, Aunt Mei finished cleaning the shop as usual, prepared dinner for klein, and then left with her bag and car keys.
klein watched Little Red leave, then turned to pull down the heavy metal rolling shutter door and locked it.
After finishing the dinner Aunt Mei had made, klein had just stretched when he heard his phone vibrate. The screen lit up, displaying Aunt Mei's name.
klein raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. Aunt Mei rarely called him after work.
"Hey, Mei, what's wrong? Forget something?" klein asked casually, walking to the small kitchen to take a bottle of ice Water from the fridge.
"Klein, are you free now? Can you come over to the house?"
klein's hand twisting the bottle cap paused.
Aunt Mei rarely spoke to him in such a tone.
"Is something wrong? Alright, I'll be right over. Wait there, don't worry."
Hanging up the phone, he grabbed his jacket from the sofa, went out to start the car, and rushed toward Aunt Mei's house, pondering as he drove.
What could Aunt Mei be calling about? It couldn't be a small matter, or she wouldn't be so anxious for him to come over.
klein shook his head, thinking for a long time without reaching any conclusion.
klein unconsciously pressed harder on the gas pedal. Twenty minutes later, the car stopped below Aunt Mei's apartment.
klein took the stairs two at a time; the door was slightly ajar, and he pushed it open.
"Mei, I'm here."
The living room was lit with warm light. Aunt Mei was sitting on the sofa, and beside her sat Mary Jane, whose complexion wasn't very good; her eyes were red, indicating she had just been crying.
"Klein, you're here. Sit."
"What happened?"
Aunt Mei shook her head and said to Mary Jane, "Klein is here; tell him about the matter with Peter."
Hearing Aunt Mei's words, klein frowned. Why is it this kid Peter again? Is there no end to this? Who exactly is the protagonist of this book?
Otherwise, why not just change the name to The Legend of Spider-Man?!
A terrible guy is truly terrible!
However, for Aunt Mei's sake, he couldn't say much; after all, even a single day as a couple brings a hundred days of gratitude!
With his and Aunt Mei's relationship being so deeply intertwined, Peter was like his own son; could he really just ignore him?
klein had no choice but to ask Mary Jane, "What's wrong with Peter? Did you find out he's cheating?"
"No, it's not cheating..." Mary Jane started sobbing again, wiping away tears with the back of her hand.
klein breathed a sigh of relief; as long as it wasn't cheating, he, as an outsider, wouldn't have to intervene in their domestic affairs!
"Then what? He didn't hit you, did he? Don't worry, I'll handle him. If he dares touch you, I'll break his legs!"
"No, that's not it either!"
"Not this, not that, then what on earth is it?" klein felt a bit annoyed watching Mary Jane cry.
What the hell are you crying for! Just speak clearly.
"It's... he's completely changed. His temper is getting more and more explosive; a few days ago, he even had a big argument with the landlord over the rent."
Mary Jane took a few deep breaths to calm her emotions and continued,
"And he's started waking up frequently in the middle of the night, and from time to time, he says very strange things!"
Aunt Mei tightly held Mary Jane's hand, her worried gaze turning toward klein. She knew klein had some special abilities and thought Peter might be possessed, so she wanted klein to come over and take a look.
"Klein, this... could Peter be..."
"Don't scare yourself, Mei." klein interrupted Aunt Mei; he probably knew what was wrong with Peter!
After all, a few days ago, Peter was perfectly fine fighting Electro while he watched the excitement from the side, even managing to draw Senior Master Brother Shi Jian's ultimate technique—the Lightning Running Thunder Fist—from Electro.
After Peter dealt with Electro, the two of them even went to a bar for a drink. Peter could not possibly be possessed, or he would have noticed long ago.
It was likely that the chatterbox little guy had been tucked into the closet by Peter, leaving a bit of suspense.
Thinking of this, klein walked up to Mary Jane and squatted down.
"Mary, stop crying. Where is Peter now? Is he at home or out? I'll go talk to him!"
"He... he said the newspaper office had some business today and left early. But when I called the office, his colleagues said he had taken leave..." Mary Jane shook her head with red eyes.
"Alright, I understand." klein patted her shoulder and turned to Aunt Mei, "Mei, you stay with Mary for now; I'll go out and find Peter. Don't worry, it'll be fine with me there."
With that, he didn't delay any further, turned, and quickly left the apartment.
Getting into the car, klein didn't start the engine immediately; instead, he closed his eyes and sank into his consciousness.
"Red Queen. Help me find Peter Parker's location."
"Certainly, Master."
A second later, "Master, Peter Parker's location is on the Empire State Building."
"The Empire State Building?" klein was stunned. Going to the Empire State Building instead of sleeping in the middle of the night?
Damn it, a pure psychopath. What's he doing there? Cosplaying as Tarzan?
He didn't know if Peter was influencing Venom or if Venom was influencing Peter; not a single one was a normal person. Who goes there in the middle of the night?
klein slammed on the gas, quickly arrived near the Empire State Building, and after parking, flew directly behind Peter.
"Damn it, what the hell are you doing here instead of going home in the middle of the night? Do you have any idea how worried Mary Jane and Mei are?"
Peter was startled by the voice behind him. Looking back and seeing it was klein, he said fiercely, "None of your business! Who do you think you are? You bastard!"
klein grinned: "I'm your father."
Before his voice faded, his right fist, wrapped in Armament Haki, slammed into Peter's right cheek without any flourish.
The unprepared Peter was like a ragdoll hit by a train, blasted backward off the exterior wall of the Empire State Building, tracing a parabola in the night sky as he fell toward the ground.
klein shook his wrist, looking at the rapidly shrinking black dot, and let out a 'tsk.'
"Think your wings are strong enough now? Daring to talk to your dad like that. You unfilial son!"
Peter kept shooting webs in the air, trying to buffer his falling speed.
klein exerted force from his feet, like a meteor, instantly catching up to the tumbling Peter below.
He raised his right leg high, wrapped in Armament Haki, and with a tomahawk chop, slammed it hard against Peter's chest.
With a dull thud, Peter was like a spinning top hit by a whip, spiraling toward the ground.
"Cough... you damn bastard!" Peter spat out a mouthful of blood, roaring in the air.
"Still dare to talk to your dad like that?" klein's gaze was ice-cold. "It seems I've been too polite with you!"
He repeatedly stepped on the air, and with every contact, the air emitted a violent sonic boom as he quickly approached Peter again.
As Peter fell, the Black Suit on his back suddenly deformed, turning into two wide gliders!
His descent slowed abruptly, and he immediately adjusted his direction, like a nocturnal bat, frantically fleeing toward the sparsely lit industrial area in the distance.
"Thinking of running now? Too late."
It turned out that during his earlier contact with Peter, klein had already silently wrapped a silk thread around Peter's ankle.
Now, klein pulled the thread hard; a massive pulling force was transmitted, and Peter's forward momentum suddenly stalled.
"What?!" Peter looked back in horror, only to see klein pulling the thread as if flying a kite, the distance between them closing rapidly.
Seeing he couldn't escape, a flash of ferocity appeared in Peter's eyes. He stopped trying to break free and instead instantly converged all the black liquid surging on his body's surface onto his right fist!
That fist instantly expanded and twisted, transforming into a black heavy hammer.
"Die!"
Peter roared, using the pulling force from the thread to twist his body and swing his arm, pouring all his strength into this punch, slamming it toward the pursuing klein!
"Bring it on!"
Cold light exploded in klein's eyes. Neither dodging nor parrying, he likewise twisted his waist and drove his hips, right fist clenched tight, all his power compressed to the limit at the tip of his fist as he met the incoming black heavy hammer head-on!
"BOOM!!!!"
The moment the two fists collided, an indescribable, terrifying energy erupted from the point of Impact!
A visible Impact exploded in a spherical shape, completely evacuating the air within a hundred meters around them, forming a brief vacuum zone!
klein was blown back over a dozen meters by this violent recoil force before he could barely steady himself, his right arm feeling a wave of numbness and soreness.
And Peter...
Like a meteorite, he was smashed directly into the ground by klein's punch, the terrifying force of the Impactblasting a deep crater over ten meters in diameter with radial cracks at the edges!
Chapter 97: Venom
"Holy crap! He's so tough!"
klein looked at the center of the pit, where Peter lay slumped in a twisted posture.
In the short time it took for him to descend from the air to the ground, the boy had already sprung back to life, stood up, and bolted.
Watching the fleeing Peter, klein didn't force him to stay; after all, this was the city center, and it wouldn't look good.
Fortunately, he had left a mark on Peter, so he just had to follow it.
Inside an abandoned factory, Peter leaned against a long-stopped steam valve, his chest heaving violently, every breath accompanied by a heavy, rasping sound like a broken bellows.
"Damn it... that bastard..." Peter cursed through gritted teeth, shaking his head to try and drown out the incessant voice in his ear.
He had originally been able to suppress the Black Suit's will, but after the fight with klein, he was starting to lose control.
He could only flee to this abandoned factory while his consciousness was still clear; if he lost control of the Black Suit here, it wouldn't cause too much of an impact.
Directly above where Peter was resting, on a rusted steel beam spanning the factory floor, klein sat with his legs crossed, one hand supporting his chin, looking down at Peter with great interest.
"Tsk, this silly kid..." klein grinned silently. "His perception has dropped this much? Drained of his spirit by that black skin, even his Spider-Sense has dulled?"
Below, Peter seemed to catch his breath slightly. He turned his head warily, but his Spider-Sense was now like a light bulb with a loose connection, flickering with a sense of crisis.
"Coward! If you join forces with me, we can crush him! Rip open his throat! Taste his..." that malicious voice roared in Peter's mind.
"Shut up!" Peter growled, slamming a fist into a nearby rusted iron pipe. The dull "thud" rang out clearly in the silent ruins.
On the steel beam, klein almost laughed out loud listening to the exchange between Peter and Venom. He shook his head and slowly adjusted his sitting position, causing a few flakes of rust to flutter down toward the top of Peter's head.
Peter looked up sharply, his Spider-Sense suddenly stinging!
But it was too late.
klein's figure had already landed behind Peter.
Clang—!!!
A metallic collision boomed through the empty, deathly silence of the abandoned factory!
Peter's entire body shook violently, and he stumbled forward several steps with a short grunt of pain.
In his right hand, klein held a slightly deformed silver-white stainless steel basin, while his left hand casually leaned on a discarded water pipe he'd picked up from somewhere.
"You?! Why is it you again! You haunting bastard!" Peter/Venom instinctively raised his hands to cover his ears, looking at klein in agony.
Peter/Venom hadn't noticed klein's approach at all just now! How was that possible? The perception enhanced by the Venom Symbiote should far exceed that of ordinary people!
"When a son is disobedient, it's only natural for his father to come out and teach him a lesson. What, you got a problem with that?"
"I'm not your son! You lunatic!" Peter/Venom roared, the black Symbiote covering him churning violently like boiling asphalt.
"Seems one hit wasn't enough to wake you up." klein shook his head, weighing the water pipe in his hand as his gaze turned cold.
"Then I'll just have to... hit you a few more times to wake up that black skin and the disobedient little thing inside it together!"
Clang— Clang— Clang!!!
The crisp sounds of metal striking echoed through the empty industrial area.
Following a series of clanging sounds, the viscous mass of black liquid on Peter's body finally peeled off completely, writhing on the ground as if it were alive.
klein acted quickly. Transparent threads that had been ready at his fingertips shot out, wrapping around the waist of the unconscious Peter. With a forceful tug, he dragged him away from the black substance and tossed him behind a pile of discarded tires over ten meters away.
Almost the moment Peter was free, the black liquid expanded violently, transforming in the blink of an eye into a monster over three meters tall, with bulging muscles, a body covered in flowing black armor, and a hideous mouth full of sharp teeth!
"Roar—!!!"
Venom opened its massive maw and let out a deafening roar. Its pupil-less, pale eyes locked onto klein, its massive frame crouching low in a predatory stance.
[Ding!]
[Detected key Marvel plot character: Venom (Symbiote)]
[Identity: Alien Symbiote]
[Prompt: Host has encountered a new plot character. Reward: Gacha Draw +1! Start draw now?]
"No!"
klein refused instantly in his mind; he had no time for draws now. He swept his cold gaze over Venom and then glanced at the unconscious Peter behind the tires.
Venom seemed enraged by klein's dismissive attitude. Its thick hind legs kicked off the ground, shattering the concrete.
Its massive body, like a black cannonball, lunged at klein with suffocating wind pressure. Its right arm transformed into a giant black blade shimmering with a cold light, hacking down at klein's head!
"Come!"
klein didn't dodge. A fierce light flashed in his eyes, and on his right fist, pale blue lightning exploded without warning, emitting a scalp-numbing crackle!
Lightning Flash Thunder Fist: its attribute is pure Yang and strength, specifically countering the foul and the wicked!
The fist wrapped in deep blue lightning collided violently with Venom's descending black blade!
Venom let out a scream of extreme agony!
Its indestructible blade quickly melted and vaporized like snow in sunlight the moment it touched the lightning fist!
Furthermore, the remaining blue lightning, like maggots on a bone, spread frantically up its arm.
Venom's massive body convulsed violently. Under the searing lightning, large patches of the flowing black Symbiote peeled off its body!
"No! Impossible! The great Venom is invincible!!" Venom's consciousness, a mixture of countless voices, shrieked in pain, filled with unbelievable terror.
"Invincible?" klein sneered. Without letting up, he moved like lightning, closing the distance instantly.
He threw a series of punches, each wrapped in violent deep blue lightning, moving so fast they left countless afterimages in the air!
With every punch, a blinding burst of lightning exploded, blasting a charred hole in Venom's body and vaporizing large amounts of black slime!
Venom couldn't even scream anymore. Its massive body was beaten back step by step, its surface constantly disintegrating, its aura weakening rapidly at a visible rate.
"It's not over yet!"
Cold light burst from klein's eyes. He leaned back slightly, pulling his right fist to his waist. On the fist, all the blue lightning compressed and condensed frantically, finally turning into a point of blinding white lightning!
"Thunderous Bagua!!!"
He exhaled sharply, twisting his waist and hips to pour his entire body's strength into this punch, thrusting it violently toward Venom's already tattered chest!
A massive fist print made of blinding white lightning as thick as a bucket tore through the air, carrying a domineering power that destroyed everything, and slammed into Venom's body!
"No—!!!"
Venom let out one last wail filled with endless fear and resentment.
Blinding white lightning burst from every crack in its body, piercing through its massive frame completely!
Venom was like a balloon filled with ink being detonated from within.
The remaining body exploded under this pure Yang lightning power, turning into black ashes that danced in the sky.
Silence returned to the abandoned factory.
Only a faint burnt smell lingered in the air, and a few charred pits on the ground scorched by the lightning bore witness to the brief but extremely violent battle.
klein slowly withdrew his fist, the dancing lightning on it quietly extinguishing. He flicked his wrist, looked at where Venom had disappeared, and curled his lip.
"Tsk, that's it? Invincible? A squishy with zero lightning resistance dares to show off?"
He turned and walked toward the pile of discarded tires.
Chapter 98: Storage Space
klein walked to the pile of discarded tires and looked down.
Peter had already opened his eyes and was leaning against the blackened rubber, his face pale.
"Tsk, you dead yet?" klein nudged Peter's shin with his foot.
Peter responded with a dry throat, "Cough, cough... I'm... I'm alright."
In his mind, klein was a good fighter. But exactly how good had always been a blur.
Until just now, seeing Venom—which had almost devoured his mind—being easily crushed like paper in front of klein.
Peter finally truly understood just how outrageously strong his best friend really was.
He used to try his best to overestimate Klein's abilities, but now that seemed like a complete joke.
This guy was simply a walking, human-shaped natural disaster!
"Next time something like this happens, tell me sooner," klein said, bending down. With a sweep of his arm, he tossed the still-weak Peter over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"It'll save Aunt Mei and Mary from worrying. All that crying is annoying as hell. You hear me?"
"I... I hear you..." Peter was slung over the shoulder, head down. The blood rushing to his head made him a bit dizzy, but he still managed to respond.
Peter's voice held lingering fear and a hint of confusion. "I didn't know it would be like this... I just thought of it as a special suit that would make me stronger so I could protect more people... I never expected it could actually control my mind in return..."
"Nonsense," klein said bluntly as he carried him, walking with steady steps toward the factory exit.
"Is there anything in this World that makes you stronger without a price? You're dreaming. Even if a meat pie falls from the sky, you have to worry if it's poisoned.
Any power beyond the norm either requires you to pay a price or comes with a lethal tag of its own. This black-skinned thing clearly belongs to the latter. Remember that; learn your lesson next time."
"Yeah, I get it..." Peter replied softly, truly taking it to heart this time.
The two walked out of the abandoned factory. It was late at night, and the streets were deserted.
Only klein's familiar blue raptor sat quietly by the roadside. Before the battle, klein had the Red Queendrive the truck to the factory.
klein pulled open the car door, stuffed Peter into the passenger seat, circled around to the driver's side, and started the engine.
The engine roared as they drove toward Queens.
Behind them, deep within the abandoned factory that had just witnessed a brief but intense battle, on a patch of cluttered open ground...
A piece of black substance, only the size of a finger, was slowly wriggling.
This small black remnant moved with difficulty, eventually sliding silently into a drainage pipe and disappearing.
klein didn't expect Venom to still be alive, but even if he knew, he wouldn't care. If he could kill it once, he could kill it again.
Back at Aunt Mei's house, klein opened the car door and dragged out the still-shaky Peter. Gripping him by the arm like a little chick, he walked to the door and knocked.
Mary Jane, whose eyes were still red and swollen, opened the door. Seeing the pale Peter, she gasped and quickly stepped aside.
Aunt Mei also hurried over from the living room. Seeing Peter's state, her face was full of worry. "Peter! Are you okay? Klein, this..."
"I'm fine, Aunt Mei, I'm fine..." Peter struggled to stand steady, forcing a weak smile for Aunt Mei and Mary Jane.
"The problem is solved." klein set Peter down on the sofa. "I've brought him back to you. He's a bit exhausted; he'll be fine after a couple of days of rest. I'll let him explain the details to you; I can't be bothered to talk."
klein looked at Aunt Mei. "Mei, he's all yours. I'm heading back."
"Klein, thank you. I'm sorry to trouble you to come all this way so late..."
"Don't mention it. Alright, you guys get some rest. I'm off."
With that, he didn't stay any longer, turned to go downstairs, started the car, and soon vanished into the night.
Back at the shop, he locked the door. klein took off his dust- and rust-stained jacket, threw it into the laundry basket, and went to the bathroom for a hot shower.
Drying his hair and changing into a clean T-shirt and shorts, klein threw himself onto the soft bed, but he didn't go to sleep immediately.
With a thought, he brought up the System interface.
A familiar illusory light screen appeared before him. The rotating Lottery Compass floated quietly, its pointer at the twelve o'clock position.
klein stared at the compass, a faint premonition in his heart. This time... maybe he'd hit gold?
"Take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle. System, draw!"
As he issued the command, the pointer on the Lottery Compass jerked and then began to spin frantically!
The pointer swept across glowing slots, moving so fast it left afterimages.
klein held his breath, staring without blinking.
After a few seconds, the spinning speed began to slow down, slower and slower, until finally, it wobbled to a halt on a slot shimmering with dark gold light.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for drawing the reward—Mangekyo Sharingan: Kamui!]
[Ability loading...]
A surge of cold power, like floodwaters through an open gate, instantly poured into klein's eyes!
klein gasped sharply, his body tensing uncontrollably as his hands instinctively covered his eyes.
There was no expected sharp pain, only a sensation of his vision being torn apart and then reassembled.
The feeling came and went quickly. After about three to five seconds, all the strange sensations receded like a tide.
klein slowly released his hands and blinked.
The World seemed to have a hazy veil lifted from it, becoming clearer and more transparent.
He walked to the bathroom and looked into the mirror.
In the mirror, he still had that same handsome face with a hint of roguishness, but deep within the pupils of his eyes, there was a faint flow of deep red light, almost imperceptible unless one looked closely.
He focused his mind on his right eye.
Where his gaze focused, the space around the lonely mouthwash cup on the sink suddenly distorted.
With a "whoosh," the mouthwash cup vanished instantly without a trace, as if it had never existed.
At the same time, klein clearly felt that deep in his consciousness, there was now a space independent of the real World.
The space was vast, its interior pure white and empty, with only the vanished mouthwash cup floating quietly in the center.
"Kamui Dimension! I finally have a portable space!"
klein pumped his fist in excitement, nearly cracking the bathroom counter.
Like a child with a new toy, he began testing it frantically.
Everything within his sight—towels, toothbrushes, soap dishes, even half a roll of toilet paper... every small movable object in the bathroom...
...was sucked into the Kamui Dimension one after another, and then, under his mental control, spat out from different angles, appearing in various unexpected corners of the bathroom.
"Store!"
"Release!"
"In here, out there!"
He had a blast, testing the ability and its consumption.
"Great! This is fantastic!" klein rubbed his hands together excitedly, pacing a couple of laps in the cramped bathroom.
Offensive capabilities were secondary; the key was this space! This is the kind of treatment a protagonist should have!
Look! Other protagonists get a storage space as a standard bonus with their system from the start! I've been grinding for almost a hundred chapters, fighting for my life, and only now did I get a space ability.
Author, do you even know how to write? Huh? You deserve to fail!
Ranting aside, the excitement in klein's heart hadn't faded one bit.
He walked back to the bedroom, lay back on the bed with his hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling, already starting to calculate how to combine this newly acquired ability with his existing ones.
"Hehehe..." A lewd chuckle rang out in the dark bedroom.
That night, klein dreamed of himself using the Kamui Dimension to collect junk... no, to collect treasures, and of his heroic figure twisting various villains into pretzels with Space-Time Strangulation.
Chapter 99: Venom and Sandman
For the next few days, klein was like a dog marking its territory, driving around New York City.
He left as many spatial coordinates as possible. Moreover, his use of Kamui became increasingly proficient.
This afternoon, he had just finished roaming outside and was humming a tune while parking his car in front of the shop when his phone started ringing incessantly.
Looking at it, it was Peter.
"Hello, Peter, what's up?" klein answered lazily, reaching for the shop keys with his other hand.
"Klein! Where are you?! Get over here! Venom! Venom isn't dead! He kidnapped Mary Jane! At that abandoned St. Margaret's Church on the west side of the city! Come help me, quick!"
Peter's voice on the other end was urgent and breathless, with the sound of whistling wind and the faint, loud thuds of fighting in the background.
"What was that?" klein's hand reaching for the keys paused, his brow furrowing. "Venom? That black thing isn't dead yet? Fine, hold on, I'll be right there."
Hanging up, he turned and jumped back into the car. The raptor let out a violent roar, and the tires shrieked against the ground as it sped off with a fishtail.
He wasn't too surprised that Venom wasn't dead; that thing's vitality was like a cockroach's.
Twenty minutes later, klein slammed on the brakes, stopping the car at the edge of a weed-choked clearing.
Ahead, an abandoned church stood silently in the fading glow of the sunset.
The church's stained glass was long shattered, the steeple askew, and the walls covered in vines.
At this moment, the most eye-catching sight was at the highest point of the church: Mary Jane was suspended next to a broken cross. The night wind blew her long hair into a mess, and her mouth was gagged, allowing only terrified whimpers to escape.
Below, Peter, wearing his red and blue suit, was a blurred shadow moving through the ruins.
He actually had two opponents.
One was an old acquaintance, larger than last time, with a mouth full of sharp teeth—Venom.
It kept roaring, swinging limbs transformed into giant hammers or sharp blades. Every strike shook the ground, sending debris flying.
The other made klein raise an eyebrow. It was a giant figure composed of countless grains of sand, standing over three meters tall—Sandman.
His arms sometimes turned into sand hammers for heavy strikes and other times into quicksand chains for entanglement. Cooperating with Venom's frenzied attacks, he was causing Peter no small amount of trouble.
Sand and black slime flew together; spider silk shared the same hue as the sunset. What a sight! What a sight!
Although Peter was fighting two-on-one, thanks to the predictions of his Spider-Sense and his extreme agility, he managed to hold his own for the time being.
Spider silk stuck to the remains of the bell tower, allowing him to swing through three-dimensional space. While dodging attacks, he continuously counterattacked with web balls and agile strikes.
"Peter! Do you see it?! This is power! True power!" Venom roared at Peter in his eerie voice—a mixture of countless sounds—while attacking frantically, his voice filled with rage.
"Look at her! Look at your beloved woman! She's in my hands now! With just a slight movement..."
A black tentacle made a motion to tighten around Mary Jane's neck, causing her to struggle violently. Peter's movements faltered in response, nearly getting hit by a sand hammer from Sandman.
"Why?! Why would you rather have this weak woman who will betray you and hold you back, instead of me?!" Venom's roar shook dust from the church ceiling.
At this moment, Venom looked very much like a scorned woman.
"I can give you everything! Power! Speed! An immortal body! We could become the true gods of this city—no, this Planet! We could crush everyone in our way."
"We could taste fear together! Devour life! Build our kingdom! Why do you refuse?! Why do you look down on me?! Why?! Why?! Why!!!"
The string of "whys" was like mental pollution, mixed into the sounds of the intense fight.
Gritting his teeth, Peter dodged Venom's pounce with a backflip and slapped a string of web balls onto Sandman's face to temporarily obscure his vision, shouting back breathlessly:
"Shut up! Because you represent destruction and chaos! Mary represents love and hope! Choosing which side to stand on has never been a question!"
"Hahahaha!" Venom let out a piercing, crazed laugh, his offensive becoming three times more fierce. "Once I make you a part of me, I'll be your best friend!"
Leaning against the car door, klein watched the drama unfold, getting goosebumps all over.
What kind of obsessed-lover triangle was this?
klein kicked open the creaking, broken wooden door of the abandoned church and walked in.
"Hey, you there—the black gum and the sand-sculpture," he called out loudly, successfully catching the attention of the three.
"It's late at night, what's all the noise about? Can't a person get some sleep?"
Seeing klein, Peter's spirits lifted: "Klein! Be careful, Venom is stronger than last time, and he's got Sandmanhelping him!"
Venom snapped his head around, his pale eyes glaring fixedly at klein, his massive body trembling slightly with rage: "It's you! You've finally come! I'm going to tear you to pieces! Eat you bit by bit!"
Sandman also silently turned toward klein. No expression could be seen on his face made of yellow sand, but his raised arms transformed into even more solid sand hammers.
[Ding!]
[Detected Marvel plot mission—William Baker(Sandman)]
[Identity—Sandman, fugitive]
[Would you like to draw the reward?]
"Yes!"
[Ding!]
[The reward you received is—Kido (including all Hado, Bakudo, and Kaido)]
"Awesome, load the ability!"
klein absorbed the new power, flexed his wrists, glanced at Mary Jane on the bell tower, looked at Peter standing ready, and finally let his gaze fall on the aggressive Venom and Sandman.
"Alright," he sighed, as if dealing with some troublesome chore. "It seems like this fight is unavoidable today. In that case..."
His eyes suddenly turned cold, and deep within the pupil of his right eye, that hint of dark red suddenly swirled!
"Hurry up and come at me together. I'm in a rush to get back for dinner."
"You're looking for death!" Sandman's muffled voice came from his shifting sand body. His right arm suddenly swelled, turning into a massive sand hammer that smashed down toward klein's head!
At the same time, several streams of sand rose from the ground like tentacles, wrapping toward klein's legs.
"Tsk, no creativity." klein curled his lip, not even moving his feet.
Deep within his right eye's pupil, that dark red flashed imperceptibly.
In the path of the falling sand hammer, space suddenly twisted into a vortex.
The front of the sand hammer smashed into the vortex without resistance, but it was like a stone dropped into the ocean—no sound of impact was made, and that part of the sand body simply disappeared.
Meanwhile, as the sand streams wrapping toward klein's legs came within half a meter of his body, the surrounding air also produced subtle ripples of distortion, and the sand streams were instantly swallowed.
"What?!" Sandman looked in shock at his fragmented sand hammer and the severed sand streams; the connection between that sand and his main body had been completely cut off!
"Is that it?" klein picked his ear and beckoned to Sandman with a finger. "Keep going, sand-man. Let me see what else you can do besides playing with mud."
"Bastard!" Enraged, Sandman's entire body exploded, turning into a sky-blotting sandstorm that swept toward klein like a yellow tsunami!
Every grain of sand contained enough power to pierce through steel plating!
"Watch out!" Peter fired a web to swing away, dodging a claw swipe from Venom, and shouted anxiously.
Facing this overwhelming sandstorm, klein actually smiled.
"Area-of-effect attack? Coincidentally, I can do that too."
He took a deep breath and clapped his hands together in front of his chest!
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!"
With klein at the center, the church's floor, walls, and even parts of the ceiling exploded!
Endless golden sand grains erupted into the sky like a volcanic eruption!
The golden sea of sand surged upward, colliding violently with the yellow sandstorm that was Sandman's avatar!
The two streams of sand clashed, ground against each other, and eroded one another frantically! It was as if a sandstorm tornado had been whipped up inside the church. Broken wood and stones were swept into the air and ground into powder by the denser grains of sand!
"It's useless! I am sand! I am immortal!" Sandman's booming roar came from within the sandstorm. His sand seemed infinite; as one wave was consumed, more sand immediately poured in from every crack in the church to replenish it.
"Immortal? There's nothing that can't be killed!"
Chapter 100: Explosively Hammering Sandman and Venom
Before his voice could fade, klein's figure had already vanished from the spot like a ghost, leaving only a shallow, web-like pit on the shattered ground.
In the next instant, he appeared at the core of the yellow sandstorm that was Sandman's incarnation!
With his right fist clenched tight, pitch-black Armament Haki instantly swirled around both of his arms.
A solid punch, devoid of any fancy tricks, smashed into the center of the sandstorm, right between those constantly flowing grains of sand!
"AHHH!!!"
A miserable howl of pain suddenly erupted from within the sandstorm!
The yellow sandstorm, as if struck by an invisible giant hammer, suddenly shrank inward and then collapsed with a bang!
Countless grains of sand lost control, falling like raindrops, revealing a figure staggering backward within, clutching his head in disbelief.
At this moment, Sandman's face was covered in blood, a piece of his temple was clearly dented, and his eyes were wide with intense pain and shock.
"No... impossible!" Sandman Marko growled hoarsely, his voice filled with incomprehensible terror. "Sand... my sand is useless! Why does it hurt?!"
He waved his hand violently, and the scattered sand around him gathered once more, trying to re-encase him and heal his injuries.
But klein didn't give him the chance.
"I specialize in dealing with all sorts of fancy tricks. Still trying to turn into sand? In front of my fists, you're nothing but a sandbag!"
klein gave a sinister grin and exerted force through his feet again, his body turning into a blur of black lightning as he instantly closed in on Sandman.
Fists, feet, elbows, knees... every part of his body was wrapped in pitch-black Armament Haki, pouring down on Sandman like a violent storm!
Sandman tried to use his sand-form to dodge, but every one of klein's attacks seemed to ignore his Elementalization, striking Sandman's true body directly.
The crisp sound of bones shattering, the dull thuds of flesh being pulverized, and Sandman's increasingly shrill wails echoed through the empty church ruins.
The sand-form defense he was so proud of was as thin as a sheet of paper before klein's iron fists of Armament Haki!
"Satisfying!"
klein grew more excited as he fought, a nearly cruel sense of pleasure flickering in his eyes.
He felt as if he were currently pummeling a sandbag that couldn't fight back—every fist hitting flesh, thoroughly exhilarating!
So this is how Old Man Garp felt chasing and hammering Roger every day! No wonder he never got tired of it!
"Fist Bone Impact!"
klein twisted his waist, pulling his right fist back to his side, compressing all his power into a single point at the tip of his fist!
Then, he slammed it forward against Sandman's face, which was twisted and deformed by fear and agony!
The sound of something shattering rang through the air.
Sandman was sent flying like he'd been hit head-on by a truck at full speed, smashing hard into the ruined altar over ten meters away, shattering the stone structure into pieces!
Smoke and dust filled the air.
A few seconds later, the dust settled.
Marko lay slumped in the pile of rubble, not a single grain of sand moving on his body anymore.
He had returned to his human form, his face covered in blood, features distorted, and eyes rolled back. He had completely lost consciousness, with only the faint rising and falling of his chest proving he was still alive.
The church fell into a deathly silence.
Venom stared blankly at the scene, its massive body frozen. Its pale eyes stared fixedly at the half-dead Sandman in the rubble, then looked back at klein, who looked like he hadn't had his fill yet.
An unprecedented wave of terror surged through its chaotic consciousness.
How could this human be so powerful? Isn't he using hacks? It wanted to call the police!
"Alright, the trash has been cleared." klein cracked his neck with a light snap, turning his gaze toward Venom, his mouth curling into a cold arc.
"Now, it's your turn, black-skinned chewing gum. Kneel, and I'll spare your dog life!"
"ROAR!!!"
Venom was completely enraged. It threw its head back and let out a deafening roar. No longer paying attention to Peter, its massive body swung toward klein, its pale eyes nearly spitting fire!
"I'm going to eat you! Bit by bit, I'll chew up every one of your bones! I'll drain every drop of your blood!!"
It no longer held back. All the remaining Symbiote within its body surged frantically, and its size actually expanded by another circle. More hideous barbs and bone plates emerged on its black armor, and its aura became even more violent than before!
"Come on then." klein beckoned with his finger, his gaze disdainful. "Let's see how many of my punches you, this persistent nuisance, can withstand this time."
Venom didn't actually attack klein or Peter. Instead, it chose a feint, its massive body suddenly leaping up as several black Symbiote tentacles, like javelins, thrust violently toward Mary Jane!
It wanted to kill the hostage to create chaos!
"Mary!" Peter's eyes nearly burst as he frantically shot out webs to stop it.
"Playing this game in front of me?"
klein's figure vanished from the spot like a ghost.
In the next instant, he appeared in front of Mary Jane, facing the incoming javelins from Venom.
He simply raised his left hand with a casual wave.
Starting from his left arm, the space in front of him seemed to be warped by an invisible hand, forming a fan-shaped distorted barrier.
All the javelins shot at Mary Jane snapped the moment they touched this distorted space, their cross-sections as smooth as mirrors.
Venom howled in pain, the severed Symbiote parts writhing violently.
klein held his right hand like a blade, effortlessly slicing through the ropes binding Mary Jane. With his left hand, he grabbed Mary Jane by the waist—who was somewhat weak from the shock and being hung upside down—and tossed her toward Peter.
"Peter, look after your wife."
klein turned and cracked his neck, walking toward Venom step by step. With every step, the aura on his body climbed higher.
"Alright, now it's just you and me. Come, let's see how many seconds you, this un-killable cockroach, can last this time."
Venom felt an unprecedented threat of death. It hissed frantically, its body expanding again, muscles bulging and sharp teeth bared.
Its pale eyes locked onto klein, swirling with rage, hatred, and madness.
"Die!!" Venom no longer hesitated. Its massive body erupted with a terrifying speed that defied its size, charging at klein like an out-of-control black tank.
Six arms, their ends transformed into sharp heavy hammers, all smashed toward klein at once, sealing off all his room to dodge!
The violent force compressed the air, creating a dull sonic boom.
"A little interesting." The azure lightning on klein's right fist suddenly blazed bright, echoing the original black.
"Thunder Torch!"
The fist wrapped in piercing lightning collided fiercely with the several heavy hammers Venom swung!
The violent power of thunder instantly exploded! A piercing blue-white light filled a corner of the church!
"Ugh, ahhh!"
Venom let out a pained howl!
But unlike the last time where it almost instantly dissolved, the hammers it used to attack this time only trembled violently under the thunderous strike, their surfaces charred and cracked, but they didn't immediately vaporize and disappear!
The remaining Symbiote writhed frantically, trying to repair the damage, even extracting more life energy from the host to resist the erosion of the lightning!
"Oh? You've made some progress." klein raised an eyebrow, feeling that the recoil force on his fist was indeed quite a bit stronger than last time.
This black chewing gum really is different when it has a host compared to when it doesn't.
However, for klein, it didn't matter; it was just a matter of a few more punches.
His left fist continued to build power, and a heavy uppercut smashed hard into Venom's jaw, which was slightly open from its howling!
Venom's head snapped upward, several sharp teeth flying out along with black blood.
"It's not over yet!"
klein barked, his fists turning into a blur of afterimages! They poured down on Venom's massive body like a violent storm!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The dull thuds of fists hitting flesh sounded like beating drums, echoing within the empty church.
Venom frantically swung its limbs to block, but it was no match for klein in either speed or power.
The carapace on Venom's body surface kept shattering, revealing the host's skin underneath.
As klein continued his assault, even Venom's regeneration began to slow down.
klein pulled back his right fist to build power again, the lightning rising once more, but this time, a hint of spatial distortion fluctuations was mixed within the light.
"Try this."