After adapting to his surroundings, Amano Ren, now a Phone-Man, began searching for new things to smelt.
His gaze swept the ground where a cluster of tiny ants crawled.
He almost looked away by reflex, then caught himself and fixed on them.
"If it can smelt a phone, ants should be fine too, right?"
After a brief hesitation, he walked over, brought his right hand close, and the hole in his palm gave a soft SWISH as it drew in one ant.
Worried the Primordial Forge would not get enough data, Ren absorbed a few more, scooping up several dozen ants in the vicinity.
The Forge flicked out a few beams once more, which slid along his arm and melted into his body.
[Super Strength: you can lift an object four hundred times your own weight, and drag something over seventeen hundred times your body mass.]
[Super Physique: your overall constitution is further reinforced. Muscle density rises and your skin's defense improves, enough to stop handgun rounds.]
[Super Perception: you can detect various pheromones in the air and easily tell them apart. Same ability detected, merging in progress... merge complete.]
[Master of Nesting: you gain an exceptional sense of space, able to flexibly use materials to construct vast labyrinthine structures.]
"I am terrifyingly strong now."
Ren clenched his fist. Feeling the sudden surge of power, he genuinely believed he could kill a bull with one punch.
It was not an illusion.
He had been 1.75 meters and 70 kilograms. After the reinforcement he stood 1.85 meters. He had not measured his weight, but the iron-hard musculature alone suggested at least 100 kilograms.
A true muscle devil.
That meant he could lift roughly 40 tons.
He could drag over 100 tons.
Even among the Avengers, with his other abilities, he could barely scrape a named supporting role.
Only in the MCU, of course.
Ren was not satisfied.
This was only the beginning.
He could grow even stronger.
At this level, with his Eastern features, he might not fare better than a background extra. One line would already be lucky.
He needed more.
Set a first goal: invincible on Earth.
With Super Agility and Super Brain working together, and a bit of training, he brought his surging strength under smooth control.
Only then did he leave the alley and step onto an unfamiliar street.
Faces everywhere were foreign, and for a moment he felt dazed in a strange land.
Strange soil, strange people.
No, he was the foreigner now.
He shook his head and wandered without a destination.
Walking and thinking.
He needed money, a lot of it.
He might even need to build a force.
Alone, how long would it take to gather the things he wanted?
Forget 084s and the Asgardian vault. Even collecting unusual species on Earth would cost him staggering time if he worked solo.
Still, Ren did not like slowly building power. If possible, he preferred something ready-made.
His eyes roamed.
What brought fast money?
Supermarket? ATM? Bank?
He shook his head. He had lived under the red flag for so many years and could not so easily adopt the local fine traditions.
And this was Marvel.
"So smelly."
"The stench is intense."
He kept rubbing his nose as he walked. The smell here was overwhelming.
Cheap perfume, rancid body odor, a whiff of excrement, and countless other mixtures.
He could even distinguish subtle differences within them. Even the perfume carried distinct pheromones.
With Super Perception, he sensed the cloud of airborne pheromones. Dozens or hundreds at every instant. It was torture.
Not because his brain could not keep up, purely because it stank.
He forced himself to ignore it, gradually learning to selectively mute parts of his Super Perception.
His eyes flickered.
"Maybe hack an ATM?"
"Or... kidnapping?"
He dragged his gaze away from the ATM and fixed on a little girl skipping past.
She looked around ten, dressed in a white princess dress, with long blond hair and porcelain skin.
She bounced along with lively energy.
She glanced left and right, obviously full of curiosity about the outside world.
She noticed Ren looking at her and gave him a shy smile.
"Big brother, you're handsome."
She fought her embarrassment, sneaked a few more looks, then slowly moved on.
As she walked she kept glancing back. She had never seen someone this handsome, and his exotic charm fascinated her.
Ren answered with a gentle smile.
He was not into lolis.
After merging with the phone, his analytical power was formidable. In an instant he caught dozens of details.
A custom designer dress, a hairstyle by a top stylist, even the backpack was high-end.
Everything broadcast a message: little heiress, very rich.
Ren linked into the nearest network signal, eyes brightening and a smile tugging at his mouth.
The girl was the future Hawkeye successor, Kate Bishop.
He recalled her mother was the CEO of Bishop Security.
He wondered whether to meet his future mother-in-law.
Kidding.
He had spotted a few figures slipping through the crowd behind the girl.
"Since you said I am handsome, I will help you out this time."
Ten minutes later.
At a crosswalk on the fringe of the rich district where foot traffic thinned, four disguised thugs shared a look, then lunged for the girl at the same time.
"Move. Grab her before anyone reacts."
"Who are you?"
The girl was terrified. At twelve, facing four hulking men, she had no power to resist.
With her thin arms and legs, each of their strides ate two of hers. There was no escape.
As the four snarling men closed in, Kate suddenly saw a man rushing in behind them.
One step ate up more than ten meters, and in a blink he crossed a hundred, arriving at their backs.
Maybe it was her imagination, but a faint halo seemed to ripple off Ren.
Kate Bishop's mouth fell open. She was dumbfounded.
"Mom, I just saw a superhero."
"Who?"
The four were clearly trained. Seeing her expression, they realized someone was behind them.
They only began to turn when a figure like a tyrannosaurus flashed past, and all four went flying like rag dolls, hurled more than ten meters away.
Four men, tossed in under a second.
Ren braked hard in front of Kate Bishop and smiled. "Little one, we meet again. Are you all right?"