Besides Energy Absorption, the Six Eyes was also rapidly accumulating experience points. Because both skills functioned as passive, continuous states with minimal energy consumption, they were the absolute easiest to level up.
While Su Mu was busy hiding in the sewers—relentlessly draining electricity, grinding his skills, and reinforcing his physical vessel—the outside world had been turned completely upside down.
First, Tony Stark, who had been missing for months, miraculously returned to civilization. His immediate, shocking announcement to shut down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division caused the company's stock to violently plummet, creating a massive uproar across the globe.
Second, a terrifying green monster had appeared at Culver University. The military was completely powerless against the beast; after the Hulk casually decimated the army units sent to capture him, he vanished into the wilderness.
In any normal week, either of these events would have dominated the front pages of every major newspaper in the world. Yet, both of these earth-shattering stories were brutally shoved to the side by a completely different headline!
A single news drop completely shattered the public's understanding of mutants.
On this day, humanity was violently reminded of the terror of being dominated by a superior species!
The article was exclusively penned by Eddie Brock, a journalist for the Daily Bugle. According to his sensational report, he had been present at the scene, witnessing firsthand the catastrophic battle between an elite military strike team, heavily armed mutant hounds, and the birth of the "White Demon." He detailed the demon's impenetrable spatial defenses and his absolute, suffocating aura.
"The mutant with the physical enhancement ability was terrifyingly strong. I have no doubt his brute strength rivaled that of the green monster at Culver University. Yet, standing before the White Demon, he was completely pulverized without the slightest ability to fight back," Mr. Eddie Brock wrote. In his article, he comprehensively explained the concept of mutant threat levels, definitively declaring that the White Demon was unequivocally a Level 5 Mutant!
At the end of his explosive article, Eddie Brock concluded:
"That terrifying black-red singularity—even the residual arcs of lightning it bled off were enough to atomize solid matter. And when it was fired directly? Absolutely nothing on Earth could withstand it!
"It was obvious the White Demon wasn't entirely proficient with this catastrophic power yet. But that is exactly what makes him so utterly terrifying: he still has room to grow. Once he fully adapts to his god-like abilities, he will become an entity far more terrifying than Magneto!"
The moment this article hit the presses, it spread like a virus across society.
Ordinary citizens panicked. "Didn't the government swear mutants were under control and not a major threat?! How can a monster this powerful exist?!"
Fear gripped the public consciousness. "If his power keeps growing, he could casually wipe out all of humanity! The military needs to execute him immediately!"
Bizarrely, a cult of worshippers also emerged. "He is a God! An angel of absolute destruction descended upon the earth! We must bow before Him!"
And beneath the mainstream terror, a different, quieter storm was brewing on encrypted forums and deep-web social platforms. The oppressed mutant population had found their messiah.
"He is the savior of our kind! He is the true leader of mutants! The human government has blindly slaughtered and experimented on us for decades. He will lead our rebellion!"
"Exactly! We will follow the White Demon to the end!"
...
In a highly secure, luxurious penthouse hidden within Hell's Kitchen, the Kingpin of Crime stared at the newspaper spread across his mahogany desk. His eyes were glued to the high-definition photograph of the apocalyptic, kilometer-long trench carved straight through the city blocks.
Didn't the intel say he was just an ordinary, Level 1 mutant?
How could he possibly possess this level of god-like power?!
As the hours ticked by, Wilson Fisk's anxiety compounded. Bullseye still hadn't returned.
Kingpin sat frozen in his oversized armchair for an entire day, refusing to sleep. When the first light of dawn finally broke over the New York skyline, he was forced to accept a chilling reality: Bullseye had utterly failed. He was dead.
Having sat on the throne of the underworld for decades, Kingpin couldn't even remember the last time he had felt this sensation. This absolute, suffocating powerlessness... this primal fear.
Even if he was the Emperor of the Underworld, he was still just a mortal man. How could a mortal ever hope to stand against a god?
...
Tens of thousands of feet in the sky, aboard a massive, cloaked Helicarrier.
Nick Fury stared at the classified dossier on his desk with his single, piercing eye. He remained perfectly still. Agent Phil Coulson stood quietly to the side, noting that the Director had been locked in this rigid posture for a long time.
Suddenly, Fury snapped the dossier shut. He looked up at Coulson, his gaze razor-sharp.
"Agent Coulson. Liquidate whatever assets you need and exhaust every method at our disposal to locate him. If we can bring him in, he will become the absolute most important pillar of the Avengers Initiative!"
"Yes, Director!"
The simulated air conditioning in the cabin fluttered the edge of the closed file, briefly exposing the high-resolution satellite photos hidden within.
An azure black hole. A localized black-red singularity. An absolute, impenetrable spatial defense. And finally, the blood-soaked White Demon, throwing his head back in arrogant, maniacal laughter!
As the doors hissed shut behind Coulson, Fury's cold voice echoed in the empty office.
"A mutant this dangerous... absolutely must be under SHIELD's surveillance."
...
In a classified underground laboratory, the muffled, agonizing screams of mutants being vivisected occasionally echoed through the sterile halls.
Colonel William Stryker stared at the casualty report in his hands, his face turning an apoplectic shade of purple.
"Damn it! Damn that freak to hell!" Stryker roared, slamming his fist onto the table. "Mobilize every single remaining asset! I want that mutant bastard dragged back to me in chains!"
...
In a secluded, abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of New York, the two most powerful mutant factions in the world had converged for a highly secretive summit. If the U.S. government knew that the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants were meeting face-to-face, the global threat level would have instantly skyrocketed.
Wearing his iconic telepathy-blocking helmet, Magneto stared intensely across the metal table at Professor X, who sat calmly in his wheelchair.
Erik broke the silence.
"Charles, if we can harness his power, in due time, we can absolutely wipe out the human military forces. We can finally forge a peaceful world where only mutants exist!"
Hearing Magneto's fanatical rhetoric, Professor X sighed heavily, his expression somber.
"Erik, you are far too radical. Humans and mutants can absolutely coexist peacefully."
"Peace?" Magneto scoffed, his voice dripping with venom. "Are you talking about the 'peace' where the government ruthlessly hunts us down and subjects our children to horrific, torturous experiments every single day?"
"I will make them change, Erik. Through diplomacy and understanding."
Magneto looked at his oldest friend with profound, bitter disappointment.
"You are too naive, Charles. Blood can only be repaid with rivers of blood!"
Behind Magneto, the members of the Brotherhood looked upon their leader with absolute reverence. He was the vanguard who would lead their revolution!
"Your philosophy is flawed, Erik," Charles argued, his tone firm. "Stryker and his men only represent a small fraction of humanity. You cannot condemn an entire species for the sins of a few!"
The X-Men standing behind the Professor glared at the Brotherhood. They believed only Charles's compassionate vision could secure a bright future for their kind.
Seeing that the ideological chasm between them was too vast to bridge, Magneto stood up violently. He turned and marched toward the exit, his Brotherhood members falling in step behind him.
"I will find the boy first," Magneto declared without looking back. "And I will lead him down the true path!"
"Erik, I will stop you!"
"You're going to regret this, Charles."
...
Deep beneath the city, entirely oblivious to the global political earthquake he had just triggered, Su Mu was busy calculating his next move.
Unlocking new templates required vast amounts of Energy Points. Leveling up his skills required continuous Energy Absorption. The core of his problem was simply a lack of raw power.
Relying solely on passively draining municipal power lines wasn't a long-term solution. Not only was the intake rate too slow, but the massive power grid fluctuations would inevitably alert the authorities to his location.
He needed a stable, portable, and obscenely massive energy source.
He considered the Infinity Stones, but quickly dismissed the idea. At his current Template Synchronization, tangling with cosmic-level artifacts or the ancient beings guarding them was entirely too risky.
That left him with only one logical choice for his immediate power leveling:
The Arc Reactor!
At that exact moment, having spent hours silently siphoning the city's subterranean power grid, the heavenly chime of the System rang in his mind.
[System Notification: Congratulations, Skill 'Energy Absorption' has leveled up!]
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