The voice was hoarse and awkward, clearly manipulated electronically.
And yet, the technique was crude, clumsy.
Hammer wasn't an expert in such matters, so he couldn't determine the speaker's true age.
Just as he was feeling bewildered, a towering figure descended from above, landing on the ground with immense weight.
It was a giant of a man, standing at "cm" in height, with bright orange Mohawk hair.
He wore sturdy green armor, with the number "16" emblazoned across his chest.
A single glance into his eyes sent shivers down Hammer's spine, as if he had plunged into an icy abyss.
Just like that terrifying girl called Android 18!
This hulking, oppressive man was also an artificial human.
Android 16.
This massive man was, unmistakably, Android 16.
"Mr. Hammer, please don't be afraid. I will not harm you."
"This is a gift prepared for you by the Creator."
Unlike 18, who acted on whim, Android 16 exuded calm and gentleness; even his smile radiated goodwill.
Yet…
Android 16 was entirely a robot.
Trembling, Hammer rose from the ground with Android 16's support.
But his sharp eyes immediately caught sight of the silver briefcase Android 16 carried.
After entering a code, the briefcase slowly opened.
Inside the upper compartment was a small badge, the size of a fingertip, with a white and red umbrella emblem.
No, a badge no larger than a fingertip.
In the lower compartment were a syringe and two vials of serum—one blue, one red.
"This… this is…"
Hammer's realization dawned, draining the color from his face. His lips trembled violently, words barely forming.
"My Creator calls it the Sun Stair," Android 16 explained.
"It is the key to humanity's path to immortality."
"The blue serum enhances the human body, restoring youth."
"The red serum heals disease and repairs the body."
"He wishes for you to join the glorious path of evolution."
Hammer's gaze, from the very beginning, was fixed on the red serum.
It was not a medicine—it was self-replicating nanobots!
At Earth's current level of technology, such a breakthrough was impossible.
"I… I know what to do…"
Hammer understood he had no choice: surrender his freedom, or become food for the zombies.
The shrewd businessman forced a bitter smile, loaded the antibody into the syringe, and injected it into his arm.
The red nanobots surged into his bloodstream, flowing into his heart and spreading throughout his body.
Excess fat, cancer cells, harmful viruses, and necrotic nerve cells—
All were consumed and repaired by the nanobots, restored to normal.
His once-overactive body now breathed steadily and powerfully.
Hammer decisively took the blue serum, loaded it into the syringe, and injected it into his other arm.
This serum, even stranger than the red, was not nanobots—
It was a genetic enhancement drug, designed for human evolution. Those zombies outside were clearly the failed test subjects.
The serum integrated perfectly into his blood. The moment he withdrew the needle, his wounds began to heal visibly before his eyes.
His golden hair thickened; wrinkles vanished.
Chronic ailments that had plagued him for years disappeared completely.
At that moment, Justin Hammer was reborn.
A wave of unprecedented exhilaration surged from body to mind.
He clutched his rejuvenated face—at least twenty years younger—and wept with ecstatic relief.
But then, sudden excruciating pain struck.
Hammer's face contorted in agony as he clutched his left chest, howling in torment.
The nanobots were at work again.
They formed a thin membrane around his heart, forcing it to stop, if only for a moment.
Even this fleeting pain, unimaginable to any ordinary human, left Hammer writhing on the floor.
"Spare me! Spare me!" he cried.
"I will do anything for you! Great Creator!"
"Please… don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
Though reborn, he had yet to enjoy his new life. Hammer knew he could not die here in the lab.
This was a warning.
The hidden Creator was showing him—through these nanobots, he could control Hammer's life and death at any time, anywhere.
Even across the ends of the Earth.
The lab's broadcast crackled again with a deep, weathered laughter.
"Hammer, you are smart. You know what to do."
"From today, you are my middleman."
"Android 16 will act as your bodyguard, handling unnecessary troubles for you."
"Go back to your place for now. Soon, a family heir will contact you directly."
With that low, aged laughter, Renjie ended the broadcast.
The nanobots inside Hammer stabilized, resuming normal operation.
"Thank… you, Great Creator!"
Hammer breathed heavily, expressing his gratitude.
Rising to his feet, he tidied his clothes and carefully pinned the Umbrella Badge over his left chest—right over his heart.
"Ready for takeoff?" Android 16 asked with a gentle smile.
"Takeoff for what?" Hammer asked, puzzled.
He soon realized how Android 18 had brought him here.
He raised his hand to refuse, but Android 16's large hand enveloped him.
A soft, protective energy surrounded his body completely.
Before he could react, Android 16 grasped his collar and lifted him high into the sky.
Hammer's screams pierced the air, even louder than before.
Android 16 flew far faster than Android 18 had.
When Hammer opened his eyes again, he was already hovering over a city thousands of miles away.
Reborn, he looked down at the bustling metropolis below.
The pressure that had weighed on his chest exploded into a triumphant roar, reverberating across the skyline for miles.
From this moment, he would abandon mediocrity.
He would become a weapons king, second to no one.
Even geniuses like Tony Stark would be beneath him.