Marvel: They Intercepted Betty at the Start, and the Hulk Collapsed
Chapter 177: Extreme Development, Perfect Morphing Fit
The wet white shirt fabric dragged a long water stain across the carpet.
Raven's slender fingers clutched tightly at Lin Nuo's black custom leather shoes on the carpet, faint streaks of blood seeping from her already swollen nail beds. For Eric's life, she prostrated herself before Lin Nuo in an utterly humble posture, meticulously wiping a trace of dust from the shoe's surface with the sleeve of her somewhat tattered white shirt.
"Obedient women live longer, Raven."
Lin Nuo looked down at her from above, his thick arm stretching out to directly grab Raven's damp, fiery red short hair. He lifted her effortlessly from the carpet as if carrying a docile kitten.
Raven's delicate instep was taut, and she was half-suspended and carried into the Changing Room to the side of the CEO's office.
The room was paved with dark grey marble slabs, with a luxurious solid wood bathtub in the center emitting warm mist. A bright, tall changing mirror clearly reflected their figures.
The marble floor emanated the warmth of underfloor heating, making the narrow space somewhat stuffy.
Lin Nuo casually took off his jacket, revealing the white shirt underneath, stretched taut by his muscular chest. He pressed one hand on the hard marble counter, his movements exuding an irresistible sense of dominance.
"Go, clean yourself."
Lin Nuo pointed to the steaming bathtub, then his gaze returned to her, his tone cold and forceful: "Then, come and present your 'Pledge of Allegiance'."
Raven's legs trembled like sieves. Two consecutive days of overloaded shapeshifting had already brought her physical strength to the brink of collapse, but she dared not disobey in the slightest. She tumbled somewhat clumsily into the tub, the warm spring water instantly washing away the sweat on her body and causing the fluctuating blue scales on her skin to tighten slightly.
Half a minute later, water splashed.
Raven, barefoot and dripping wet, climbed out of the bathtub. Her red hair clung to the side of her face, exuding an indescribable wild beauty. She walked to Lin Nuo, slowly bent her knees, and obediently knelt on the somewhat warm marble floor tiles.
"Master…"
The moment these two words left her mouth, a deeply profound pain and shame flashed in Raven's bright yellow pupils. She was once an elite Mutant who looked down on everything, free, powerful, and unconstrained, yet now she could only humbly kneel before a man, allowing him to control her and her dear friend's fate.
Lin Nuo, from above, pinched her still-wet chin, his fingertips caressing her lips, his eyes filled with playful possessiveness.
"I'm a bit tired of the Gentle Persona from last night."
Lin Nuo took off his gold-rimmed glasses and placed them on the marble counter. The eyes behind the lenses, filled with savage predatory desire, shone terrifyingly in the dim wall light: "Now I need a cold and arrogant Young Lady from an Eastern Prominent Family. Her facial features should be soft but with ingrained arrogance, and her hair should be long, falling to her waist."
Raven closed her eyes in despair.
She had no choice.
From the moment Eric was imprisoned in the Maximum-Security Concentration Camp, her abilities, her dignity, her pride, all became bargaining chips to be manipulated at will.
The molecular structure beneath her skin once again began an extremely high-frequency, irregular rearrangement under the powerful stimulation of her brainwaves. Her wet red hair grew wildly within seconds, transforming into a cascade of glossy black, smooth strands. The deep blue skin receded over a large area, revealing fair, pinkish skin like mutton-fat jade. Her facial features stretched and reassembled, her original heroic contours transforming into a cold, noble, peerlessly beautiful face, like an unblemished black lotus.
"Very good."
Lin Nuo let out a satisfied low chuckle, his large hand roughly gripping her slender, graspable waist: "But this is merely skin deep. Raven, truly high-level control isn't just limited to outward deception."
Lin Nuo's fingers squeezed hard on her side waist. Due to the recent stabilization of her shapeshifting, physical exhaustion and soreness instantly swept through her entire body.
"Do you remember my demands for your ability last night?"
Lin Nuo leaned close to her ear, his warm breath unreservedly brushing against her fair, almost transparent earlobe, his tone utterly dominant: "I want you to exert ultimate control over your molecular restructuring ability, achieving absolute, all-encompassing conformity and obedience."
Raven's body suddenly stiffened, a burning blush instantly rising to her feigned cold face, while towering humiliation and powerlessness surged within her heart.
He was trampling on her talent.
Her top-tier Mutant ability, capable of shaking the Worldand balancing battlefields, was now being used by him as a tool for amusement, to satisfy his pathological desire for control.
"Can't you do it?"
Lin Nuo's eyes darkened, and the tip of his right index finger subtly glowed with a dark red Chaos Magic: "It seems you're not very concerned about the rescue plan for that Maximum-Security Concentration Camp."
"I… I'll do it!"
Raven gritted her teeth, crystal tears welling up in her eyes.
The extreme coercion suffocated her; she could only forcefully mobilize her already overdrawn and depleted Mutant cells, performing extreme, precise molecular restructuring deep within her body.
Bones, muscles, molecules, layer upon layer of dimensions were forcibly reshaped and stretched, and pain unbearable to ordinary people spread throughout her body along her nerves.
In the Changing Room, an extremely faint, somewhat muffled "click" of bones dislocating could be heard.
"Come, stand up, look at the mirror."
Lin Nuo gripped her slender waist, pulling her exhausted body from the floor, making her face the mirror to see her current humble and submissive appearance.
In the mirror, dark black hair cascaded down her pale back, a stark contrast of black and white, beautiful yet suppressed and broken.
Raven's mind was blank, enveloped by extreme physical exhaustion, overloaded use of her powers, and bone-deep humiliation. Her proud shapeshifting ability was forcibly manipulated to its limit, every inch of her muscle forced to obey the man before her.
All her coldness, arrogance, and pretense shattered completely under absolute power suppression and coercion.
She could only passively endure, allowing him to control everything about her, her body and spirit squeezed to their limits.
Sweat constantly dripped from her forehead, hitting the cold marble counter.
The mirror fogged up, blurring their entangled figures, and blurring all the remaining pride in Raven's eyes.
This hours-long extreme exploitation completely drained all her physical and Mutant energy.
She repeatedly neared her limit; her dark hair would revert to its original fiery red as her strength waned, only to be forced by Lin Nuo to repeatedly re-sculpt her form, enduring extreme exhaustion to fulfill all his demands.
Finally, an intense feeling of exhaustion swept through her entire body.
The overloaded molecular restructuring completely destroyed the activity of her Mutant cells; her powerful X-Gene completely fell silent and stopped working, no longer able to maintain her disguised appearance.
As the mist dissipated, the cold and peerless young lady's face completely vanished, replaced by her original appearance, tear-streaked and covered with fine blue scales.
Completely drained, she collapsed onto the counter, her limbs soft and weak, unable to even lift a fingertip, utterly emptied of all strength.
Lin Nuo gently embraced her cold body from behind, watching her rapid, shallow breaths, his fingertips slowly combing through her messy, reddish short hair, and looking at the completely lifeless, weak, and exhausted shapeshifter in the mirror, he chuckled softly.
His tone carried possessiveness, teasing, and a determined infatuation:
"Truly the treasure of Mutants. Raven, I really don't want to lend you to that Heavy Metal Fanatic now."
Chapter 178: Crushing Faith, Magneto Falls Before His Eyes
Ten thousand meters beneath the Pacific Ocean, inside a heavy-duty deep-sea prison forged of steel.
Behind an explosion-proof, high-pressure door weighing hundreds of tons, red alarm lights flashed frantically, and a piercing buzzing sound echoed endlessly through the cramped metal corridor.
"Warning! High-pressure valve subjected to unknown gravitational impact!"
"Defense mechanism activated, gravity defense squad entering combat readiness!"
Before the electronically synthesized voice on the broadcast could even repeat itself a second time, that half-meter-thick special alloy door, capable of withstanding a nuclear impact, buckled inward with a tooth-aching sound of twisting metal, leaving a clear footprint indented in its center.
The next moment, the entire high-pressure door collapsed inward with a boom, slamming heavily onto the hard alloy floor and kicking up a scorching wave of air.
Through the pervasive smoke, Lin Nuo walked in with a leisurely pace.
He was still wearing that impeccable White shirt, with even the top two buttons at the collar fastened tightly, and his gold-rimmed glasses refracted a cold yet elegant arc under the reflection of the red alarm lights.
In his arms, Raven was wearing a black silk evening gown with a high slit.
The once wild and uninhibited Mystique was now as docile as a frightened kitten; her soft, warm body pressed tightly against Lin Nuo's chest, her slender arms wrapped around the back of his neck, and there was no trace of her former wildness in her bright yellow eyes, only overflowing obedience and obsequiousness.
"Open fire!"
The heavily armed soldiers at the end of the corridor roared.
Dense lines of Fire wove into a net of death within the narrow corridor.
High-frequency armor-piercing rounds, capable of penetrating tank armor, poured in like a torrential rain.
However, those warheads, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, struck an invisible repulsion barrier just centimeters from Lin Nuo's body.
Lin Nuo's micro-crystallized diamond physique, combined with his Bio-force field, formed an impassable chasm on the surface of his body.
The warheads were instantly flattened in mid-air by the massive physical counter-force, turning into a pile of deformed scrap metal on the ground.
"Don't bring out such little toys to embarrass yourselves."
Lin Nuo spoke indifferently.
He didn't even raise his hand; merely the violent wind pressure generated by a single step forward crushed the heavy machine gun bunkers on both sides of the corridor into a pile of scrap iron.
The soldiers hiding behind bulletproof shields didn't even have time to scream before they were blown away by the overwhelming wave of air, slamming heavily against the walls and losing their lives completely.
Walking all the way, with corpses strewn everywhere, not a single drop of blood managed to splatter onto Lin Nuo's snow-White shirt.
At the deepest part of the corridor was the non-magnetic maximum-security room where the Mutant leader was imprisoned.
In this cage, constructed entirely of non-metallic polymer and reinforced glass, the air was unbearably dry.
Eric Lehnsherr, the Mutant who once made the entire World tremble, was currently slumped on the ground in a sorry state.
His once imposing cloak was already tattered beyond recognition, his gray-White hair matted with dried blood against his forehead, and his limbs were tightly bound to a specially made chair with special synthetic fibers.
Having lost the resonance of his magnetism, this emperor who controlled metal was more helpless here than an old man in his twilight years.
"Raven...?"
Hearing the commotion of the metal door shattering, Ericlifted his head with great effort.
When his gaze fell upon the entrance of the corridor, a spark of hope suddenly ignited in his originally dim, bright yellow pupils.
But the second he saw the scene before him, that spark of Fire froze into dead ash at an incredibly fast speed.
What did he see?
The Mystique who viewed him as her leader, who would walk on the edge of a knife for the future of the Mutantkind, was currently snuggled in the arms of a human male with an almost sycophantic posture.
Her long, slender legs were even unconsciously rubbing against Lin Nuo's suit trousers along the edge of her gown's slit.
"Eric."
Raven's voice trembled slightly, but when she met Lin Nuo's slightly playful gaze, her body shuddered, and she quickly shrank further into Lin Nuo's arms, as if the old friend before her were some kind of terrifying monster.
"You... how could you be with a human? Raven, tell me, what is going on?!"
Eric breathed heavily, his voice as hoarse as if it had been ground against gravel.
Lin Nuo, with one hand around Raven's smooth, tender waist, walked unhurriedly to the non-magnetic cage.
Through the reinforced glass, he looked at this former Mutant leader with the cold, indifferent gaze of someone observing a prisoner.
"Mr. Eric, it seems the single suite Trask arranged for you isn't exactly elegant."
Lin Nuo chuckled, raised his free left hand, and placed it extremely casually against the protective wall cast from a dozen layers of high-strength special glass and synthetic materials.
"This cage uses the most advanced molecular alignment technology; there are no metal components, so it's impossible for you to..."
Before Eric could finish his sentence, his voice was abruptly stuck in his throat.
"Crack—"
A crisp cracking sound echoed in the room.
That non-metallic protective wall, capable of withstanding the Water pressure of ten thousand meters deep in the ocean, under the pressure of Lin Nuo's fair and slender palm, actually crumbled like a dry biscuit, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading wildly from the center of Lin Nuo's palm.
Lin Nuo's five fingers closed slightly, and his Hulk-level monstrous strength exploded instantly.
"Boom!"
The entire sturdy defensive line, which would have left all Mutants in the World helpless, was directly turned into dust and debris filling the air under Lin Nuo's one-handed pull.
The aftermath of the violent force even turned into a tangible gale, blowing the reinforced concrete wall behind Eric until it peeled away inch by inch.
Eric stared fixedly at this scene.
His Mutant ability, which he was so proud of, was completely useless in front of these non-metallic materials, yet the man in front of him, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, had used only the most savage and pure physical strength to completely shatter this cage as if tearing paper.
This pure physical hegemony crushed the pride and belief he held as a Mutant leader into pieces within a few seconds.
"This... this is impossible..."
Eric murmured in a daze, his aged body trembling uncontrollably due to extreme shock.
Lin Nuo stepped over the ruins covering the floor, bringing Raven, who wore a look of obsequiousness, and walked slowly to stand before Eric.
He looked down from above at the old man slumped on the chair, and his fingertips playfully flicked Raven's flushed earlobe.
Raven's body went soft, and right in front of Eric, she lowered her head with extreme obedience, using her warm cheek to nuzzle against Lin Nuo's palm.
This scene became the final blow that shattered Magneto's spiritual faith.
Lin Nuo pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, the corners of his mouth pulling into the arc of an unrepentant villain, and he said softly in an extremely gentle yet incomparably cruel tone:
"Eric, you've fought for your whole life, but in the end, even your trump cards and women have to be protected by an outsider like me. How pitiful."
Chapter 179: Plundering to the Bone, Utmost Docility and Obedience
The turmoil beneath ten thousand meters of the Pacific Ocean had not yet subsided.
The afterglow in Washington D.C. had already filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Hellfirebuilding, dyeing the entire CEO's office in a deep, blood-like carmine.
The roar of the helicopter rotors had long since faded away.
That Mutant titan who once made global political figures tremble with fear, Eric Lehnsherr, was now deprived of even the qualification to be sent to the Trask laboratory for slice research.
In Lin Nuo's absolute order of Star Umbrella, this emperor who controlled magnetism was merely judged to be a "fairly durable laborer."
He was fitted with heavy polymer anti-magnetic shackles, and like the lowliest prisoner, he was escorted directly to Star Umbrella's deep underground Vibranium mining area.
There, he would use the hands that had once attempted to subvert the human World to mine endless ore for Lin Nuo.
"For an old man who has fought losing battles his entire life, having a stable job is already the greatest gift I could bestow upon him."
Lin Nuo sat on a black leather lounge chair, holding half a glass of remaining whiskey in one hand, the ice cubes on the glass wall refracting a cold, hard halo in the sunset.
The White shirt he wore was spotless, with the top button fastened tightly.
In those gentle eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses, only a calm and indifferent coldness remained at this moment.
And at his feet, Raven was curled up in a humble posture.
She wore only that thin, cicada-wing-like silk dress; her originally tall and fit body now appeared somewhat slender and fragile, her wet, fiery red short hair sticking messily to the side of her fair neck.
Because the superpowered cells in her body had gone on strike after a massive backlash, the large bruises on the inside of her thighs were still throbbing with pain.
But compared to the physical devastation, what truly made her tremble was the total collapse from the depths of her soul.
Rescuing Eric had not brought her the redemption she had expected.
On the contrary, after witnessing the scene where Lin Nuotore that deep-sea prison apart with just one hand, the last spark of resistance in her heart had been brutally extinguished in its deepest depths by that great power which did not belong to the category of carbon-based life.
In front of this man who wore gold-rimmed glasses and was gentle in every gesture, their proud Mutant abilities were truly like plastic toys in the hands of a child.
Lin Nuo lowered his glass, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the mahogany tabletop.
The muffled sounds were like the drumbeats of the God of Death, making Raven's shoulders tremble uncontrollably.
"What, seeing your former leader report to the mining area, do you feel aggrieved?"
"No... nothing..."
Raven's voice was hoarse; that soreness and numbness surging from her bone marrow made her instinctively abandon all Agent instincts when facing Lin Nuo's questioning.
She struggled to move forward two steps on her knees across the wool carpet, until her somewhat cool forehead rested gently against Lin Nuo's pitch-black custom leather shoes.
In the past dozens of hours, whenever she tried to recall in her mind the vows she once made for the future of Mutants, those images would be forcibly replaced in an instant by Lin Nuo's violent and savage physical plundering.
Every transformation, every collision on the tabletop, had carved the brand belonging solely to this man into her cells.
Her body had remembered the temperature of this Masterearlier than her reason.
"Master... Eric made the wrong choice; he deserves to be punished."
Raven looked up with that pretty face full of flushed heat and sweat; in her bright yellow pupils, the ferocity that once belonged to the Beast had completely dissipated, replaced by a kind of near-twisted attachment and fanaticism.
From the inside of her leather dress, she slowly fished out a somewhat mottled brass dog tag.
That was what Eric had personally hung around her neck many years ago on that dark, rainy day.
This badge, representing the totem of Brotherhood of Mutants and her personal faith, had once been her only pillar when she walked on the edge of death.
But now, this ticket from an old era was just a piece of scrap metal in the face of Star Umbrella's absolute power.
Lin Nuo didn't even glance at the dog tag; he just rested one hand on his knee, looking down at her, his tone as gentle as if he were pointing out a flaw in a work of art.
"Since you want to be an obedient pet, there is no need to keep old toys given to you by others."
Raven's breathing became heavy.
In order to completely demonstrate her sincerity to the god before her, and to please this tyrant who held the life and death of Mutants in his hands, large tears immediately rolled down from her eye sockets.
The X-Gene in her body let out a piercing wail at this moment.
Although her cells were already operating at an overload, under Lin Nuo's unquestionable gaze, she forcibly invoked the last bit of her atomic restructuring ability.
Her delicate and slender hands took on a cold, hard, metal-like texture at the fingertips.
She closed her five fingers.
Accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound of metal twisting and friction, that brass dog tag, which had accompanied her for decades and was cast from special steel, was brutally squeezed into deformation and shattered within her palm.
The cracked brass fragments fell like a withered rain, rustling down from her somewhat swollen finger gaps and hitting the snow-White carpet.
Not only that.
Raven lowered her head, and that moist, glossy, fair foot slowly lifted and stepped without hesitation onto that pile of prickly brass fragments.
The sharp metal shards pierced her delicate sole, oozing a wisp of crimson.
Yet she seemed not to feel any pain at all; instead, she used her warm cheek to rub even more submissively against the cuff of Lin Nuo's trousers.
"From today on, there is no more Mystique in this World."
"I am your shapeshifting beauty kept in a cage, Master!"
She looked up, her bright yellow eyes filled only with a large expanse of hazy, physiological mist.
That cold and arrogant persona face trembled from time to time under the maintenance of her ability, exuding a morbid and enchanting temptation.
Lin Nuo supported his forehead with one hand, watching this top Mutant Agent, who was once arrogant and proud, now submitting like a puddle of completely melted blue mud at his feet; the violence and arrogance belonging to Hulk within his chest were satisfied to the extreme.
The 100% golden progress bar on the system panel flickered with dazzling light at this moment, providing him with a continuous stream of insights into dimensional laws.
He slowly bent down, and that warm, thick-calloused, sturdy hand roughly passed through her waterfall of jet-black, shiny long hair, naturally grabbing Raven's softly lined nape.
His fingers exerted a slight force.
A wisp of dark red Chaos Magic at his fingertips quietly seeped into her skin, causing Raven's whole body to experience a fine and unconscious spasm.
"Since you are so obedient, shouldn't we try some body art tonight that can only be completed at an altitude of 30,000 feet?"
Lin Nuo's fingers gently scratched against the side of her neck, his eyes behind the lenses flashing with predatory ferocity in the deepening night.
Raven weakly lifted her neck, her body nestling softly into his broad, hot embrace, her voice carrying the daintiness and docility of someone who had completely fallen.
"As long as it is a shape Master wants to see... Raven can become it..."
Lin Nuo reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, which could be held in one hand, and naturally lifted this shapeshifting beauty from the carpet, walking towards the huge black lounge chair behind him.
"Good girl, Raven."
"From now on, Magneto has become a miner under my command."
"And you, are my most cherished doll!"
Chapter 180: Agile Ability, Unlocking Astonishing Shapes
Warm white mist rose and swirled in the air, shrouding the entire grand spa hall, built of obsidian, until it looked like a fairyland.
In this private pool, tens of meters wide, floated thousands of freshly picked white rose petals, their rich fragrance mixing with the sweet scent of high-end essential oils, flowing thickly through the air.
Lin Nuo comfortably rested his broad shoulders on the edge of the mirror-smooth obsidian pool.
The warm spring water submerged his strong pectoral muscles, highlighting his perfect physique—strengthened by the Asgardian Divine Factor—making him look like a Sun god stepped out of ancient Greek mythology.
His gold-rimmed glasses were placed casually on a white jade tray by the pool, with fine water droplets condensed on the lenses.
"Master, is the water temperature suitable?"
Emma knelt halfway on a white wool mat by the edge of the pool.
Her long silver-white hair was tied in a loose bun at the back of her head, with a few strands dampened by the steam clinging to her delicate collarbone, making her exquisite, pretty face appear all the more porcelain-white.
She wore only a translucent white silk veil; under the assault of the warm water, the veil lost almost all its covering effect, vividly outlining the voluptuous curves capable of driving any male creature mad.
In her well-maintained jade hands, she held a pure silver fruit tray.
Her slender nails, shimmering with a pearlescent luster, were carefully peeling a California black grape.
"It's fine, Emma. Your skills are getting better every day."
Lin Nuo didn't even lift his eyelids; he just opened his mouth slightly.
Emma leaned over hurriedly, that flash of snowy-white scenery tracing an astonishing arc in the air, as she fed the crystal-clear fruit pulp into Lin Nuo's mouth in a nearly fawning manner.
As she withdrew her hand, her slightly heated fingertips brushed against Lin Nuo's damp lips in a faint, lingering caress.
"As long as it pleases Master, anything Emma does is only right."
Emma said softly, her eyes shifting; the aloofness belonging to a high-level Telepath had long since vanished, replaced by a near-pathological docility.
However, when her gaze crossed Lin Nuo's broad shoulders and fell on the other side of the pool, her originally gentle tone cooled imperceptibly.
"However, our newly arrived 'rogue Agent' still doesn't seem to have learned how to put away those unpleasant little thoughts in front of Master."
On the other side of the pool.
Raven was shrinking her body into the warm water, looking somewhat disheveled.
She wore a black string lingerie that barely covered her, the fabric clinging tightly to her body after soaking in the water, outlining her wild and graceful figure.
Hearing Emma's targeted exclusion, Raven clenched her hands tightly beneath the water.
But at the thought of that heavy Trask Industries secret, and Eric, who was currently imprisoned in the deep underground Vibranium mine, her full-blown rage extinguished in an instant.
Now, she had even been stripped of her codename as Mystique; she had absolutely no qualifications to challenge Emma.
To protect the remnants of the Brotherhood of Mutantsunder the iron-fisted order of the Star Umbrella, she could only use the humblest posture to please the tyrant who had taken everything from her.
"I… I didn't."
Raven awkwardly avoided Emma's piercing gaze.
She took a deep breath, her smooth, slender jade legs sliding gently through the warm water, and she moved like a slippery fish, actively approaching Lin Nuo's other shoulder.
Under Emma's somewhat annoyed stare, Raven gritted her teeth, her internal X-Gene, driven by powerful brain waves, once again made the most precise reaction.
Hum.
A burst of light blue, water-patterned scales surged rapidly across her tender waist and abdomen.
In just a few seconds, her already slender wasp waist narrowed inward by nearly a third, in an arc that completely violated human physiological structure.
This local microscopic restructuring directly caused her already exaggerated hip lines to present a nearly magical visual tension under the refraction of the water waves.
This was an extreme form that even a naturally perfect woman like Emma could absolutely never achieve.
"Master…"
Raven called out in a tender voice that was almost a murmur.
She endured the soreness brought on by the narrowing of her bones, leaning softly against Lin Nuo's right arm, which was covered in scars and electric charges.
Her wet, fiery red short hair clung to Lin Nuo's shoulder, emitting the warm body scent unique to a Mutant.
Her human face, transformed into a fair complexion, tilted up slightly, and in those large, bright amber pupils, the original ferocity and guardedness had been completely tamed, leaving only a near-begging submissiveness.
She tilted her head slightly, using her cheek—so tender it seemed capable of squeezing out water—to rub against the back of Lin Nuo's somewhat rough hand with extreme care, just like a docile kitten adopted after a rainstorm.
"Oh, you really know how to show off."
Emma looked at that wasp waist, which was slender to the point of being unreal, and her eyelid twitched.
She somewhat angrily set the silver tray in her hand heavily onto the obsidian countertop, emitting a crisp metallic clatter.
"Raven, Master brought you here to relax, not for you to cheat using Mutant genes."
Emma slid her body and fell into the warm water, using an extremely domineering posture to hold Lin Nuo's left arm tightly into her chest.
Her side profile, slightly flushed from a hint of indignation, pressed against Lin Nuo's chest, her tone carrying unconcealed jealousy:
"Changing back and forth, who knows if the bones under your skin right now are even your own? This crude chameleon gene really makes one feel uncomfortable."
Facing Emma's sarcasm, Raven did not retreat.
Her hands boldly wrapped around Lin Nuo's strong waist and hips beneath the water, her entire body almost completely pressed against the right half of Lin Nuo's body.
"As long as it satisfies Master, no matter what form it is, Raven is willing to take it."
She tilted her chin up slightly, her amber eyes full of determination.
Her voice, which carried a hint of wildness from long periods of running on the battlefield, was now deliberately adjusted into a coquettish tone that made one's bones go numb:
"At least my body can become everything Master wants most, right, Master?"
Lin Nuo enjoyed this pincer attack from these two incredibly noble women in the Mutant World at his leisure.
He turned his head, looking at the stunners leaning on him from the left and right.
Emma's noble and cold face was now full of anxiety over vying for favor, her silver hair shimmering under the water's light;
while Raven had pushed her ability to the limit, even adjusting minutely beneath her skin in response to his finger pressure, keeping the skin's texture at the peak of tenderness and softness.
This absurdly extreme experience of power caused the Hulk Gene and the supreme Asgardian physique within Lin Nuo to stir slightly once again.
He pinched Emma's voluptuous chin and shook it gently.
"That's enough, Emma. Eating too much jealousy isn't cute."
Then, his free right hand unceremoniously gave a heavy pinch to Raven's slender waist, which had been narrowed by her ability.
The astonishing elasticity and the perfect curve that matched his palm almost perfectly caused a flash of extremely wicked playfulness to appear deep in Lin Nuo's eyes.
"However, Raven's skill set does indeed have very deep development potential."
He leisurely pulled the two women closer into his arms, looking down condescendingly at their flushed, pretty faces.
The two graceful bodies amidst the rippling water were now tightly pressed together by his force, the strong contrast between the black and white revealing a suffocating, cruel, and absurd beauty in the steaming mist.
Lin Nuo's left hand slid down Emma's smooth back, while his right hand gripped the back of Raven's soft-lined neck.
He pulled a righteous villain's smile, his tone lazy and shameless:
"Stop fighting, my sweet babies. Today, whoever among you fails to transform into a shape I'm satisfied with, neither of you will be getting out of bed tomorrow."
Chapter 181: Perfect Remodeling, Molecular-Level Compatibility
Red veils hung down from the dome several meters high, swaying slightly in the night breeze, isolating this exaggeratedly large circular bed into a secret World.
Countless bright rose petals were scattered in the center of the large bed; the rich, sweet fragrance mixed with the lingering moisture, making this narrow area even more stifling.
Emma knelt pliantly across Lin Nuo's waist, her cool fingertips unhurriedly undoing the buttons of his only remaining white shirt.
Her long silver-white hair brushed against Lin Nuo's cheek with her movements, and her long nails, glistening like pearls, lightly traced lines on Lin Nuo's feverish chest. Her eyes were filled with an almost pathological attachment: "Master, although this rogue Agent has many tricks, her mental obedience cannot compare to Emma's."
Lin Nuo did not respond; he simply turned his head, his gaze falling on Raven, who was beside them.
Raven was currently lying somewhat uneasily on the edge of the bed.
Her water-soaked black strappy lingerie clung tightly to her wild, graceful figure.
Because the superpower cells in her body were still in an overloaded state, tiny blue scales would occasionally surge out on her fair, pretty face, only to retreat under the skin in the next microsecond.
Lin Nuo stretched out his long arm, grabbed Raven by her soft-lined nape, and forcibly pulled her into his embrace.
"Now, it is time for Emma's mental training."
Lin Nuo took off his gold-rimmed glasses and tossed them aside, then flipped over to pin Raven's warm, trembling body firmly beneath him.
"Raven, perform those high-difficulty shapes you've learned again in front of Emma."
Raven's eyes widened, and glistening moisture began to swirl in her eye sockets.
She glanced at the White Queen, who was examining her with a playful gaze, her teeth almost biting her lower lip to the point of leaving a white mark.
This act of displaying her most humble and intimate transformations in front of a rival simply trampled the last shred of her dignity as an Agent underfoot.
"Master... this..."
"Don't you want to save Eric anymore?"
Lin Nuo's voice was extremely natural and gentle, but the authority contained within it caused the X-Gene in Raven's body to spasm in extreme terror.
"I... I will do it."
Raven closed her eyes in despair.
She had no choice but to settle her mind and fully mobilize the superpower energy in her body, which was on the verge of exhaustion.
Hum—
Her body's skeleton narrowed again amidst a dull, grinding sound.
Her wet red hair stretched wildly, turning into a waterfall of jet-black silk, cascading down her suet jade-like back.
She not only reshaped her features into the cold, aloof opera singer Lin Nuo liked best, but even the deepest passages of her body had undergone the most precise remodeling at the molecular level.
That "perfect fit," actively made to accommodate Lin Nuo's Hulk-level size, created an extremely exaggerated physical pressure the moment the two pressed together.
"Truly a good slave."
Emma watched from the side as Raven's body—half blue scales, half fair skin—heaved violently with Lin Nuo's movements. She chuckled and transformed her telepathic ability into an invisible steel needle, piercing directly into Raven's completely open sea of consciousness.
Deep in Raven's consciousness.
That leader Eric, who had once supported her through countless storms, that lofty statue of the Magnetic King, began an irreversible collapse under Lin Nuo's violent physical impact and Emma's mental ravaging.
"No... don't..."
Raven twisted her slender waist in pain, sweat mixed with tears falling onto the bright red sheets, staining the rose petals into a mess.
Every one of Lin Nuo's unnaturally scorching impacts was like the heaviest hammer, completely shattering Eric's shadow.
Replacing it was the face of Lin Nuo wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a righteous villain's smile hanging from the corners of his mouth.
Her body had already remembered this Master's temperature earlier than her reason.
Amidst the endless collisions and frequent superpower morphing, Raven's sea of consciousness was finally completely swallowed by a dazzling white light.
The remaining consciousness of resistance, the obsession with the Brotherhood of Mutants, and the pride of a Mutant elite all fell completely in this abyss of ecstatic pleasure, born from tyrannical possession and frequent cellular morphing.
[Ding!]
A crisp notification sound, audible only to Lin Nuo, rang out abruptly in the deepest part of his mind.
[Detecting Raven Darkholme (Mystique), interception progress reached: 100%!]
[Body and mind completely possessed! Activating highest-tier critical hit wheel!]
The main control screen lit up in Lin Nuo's field of vision, and a huge dark golden wheel was spinning rapidly with a roaring, violent grinding sound.
The Asgard Supreme Divine Physique within Lin Nuoemitted a faint roar at this moment, and Chaos Magicflowed continuously from his fingertips into the skin of the shapeshifting beauty beneath him, who had already collapsed into a puddle of mud.
Raven's body jolted violently, her bright yellow eyes completely losing focus, and she could only let Lin Nuo's every conquest draw out broken moans from her throat.
[Ding! Critical hit successful!]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Perfect Genetic Remodeling Source and Flexible Evolution (Law seal additionally unlocked by 12%)!]
[Ability Description: On the foundation of the Host's existing indestructible physical body, you now possess microscopic atomic-level reorganization and adaptive evolution capabilities. The Host can change bone density, muscle alignment, and even molecular arrangement at will, achieving true, flawless change and perfect disguise!]
Boom!
A source of power, more surging than any time before, erupted wildly from Lin Nuo's heart.
Under Emma's somewhat astonished gaze, countless tiny light-blue genetic light-locks faintly shimmered on the surface of Lin Nuo's skin.
Those light-locks intertwined into complex double-helix structures, spreading along his arms and chest, finally submerging into the back of his neck.
His originally perfect eight-pack abs and slender body, influenced by these light-locks, saw their lines become even more fluid and filled with a kind of flexible tension.
Lin Nuo felt his muscle fibers seem to reconstruct within microseconds.
The physical body that previously could only rely on physical resistance to withstand damage now possessed a strange, flexible sensation, capable of shedding force at will and adapting density.
The simultaneous fading of the Law seal allowed a portion of the awakened Chaos Magic to surge happily through his blood vessels.
This heaven-defying thrill of skyrocketing strength made Lin Nuo feel so good that a low, muffled groan spilled from his throat.
Raven was completely exhausted.
Her X-Gene, which she prided herself on, finally went on strike due to over-expenditure after completing its last ultimate local morphing service.
Her long black hair retreated into a capable fire-red amidst a flash of fluorescence, and patches of tiny deep-blue scales reappeared on her delicate, soft cheeks.
She was like a puddle of completely melted blue mud, lying limply against Lin Nuo's broad, scorching chest.
Large drops of tears slid silently down the corners of her eyes, soaking a large area of the fair skin on her chest.
But this time, in her bright yellow pupils, there was no longer the previous humiliation and hatred.
There was only the deepest awe and attachment toward this tyrant, who had taken everything from her and yet used his unrivaled might to pull her out of the abyss.
"Truly a nice feedback."
Lin Nuo unhurriedly smoothed Raven's messy red hair, his fingertips grazing over the warm, marble-like scales.
Emma leaned on Lin Nuo's left shoulder; although she was a bit jealous of this chameleon who had stolen the spotlight right after arriving, she also keenly sensed the astonishing change that had just occurred in Lin Nuo.
The current Lin Nuo felt even more dangerous, and even more perfect, to her.
"Master... you just now..."
Emma extended her jade fingers, lightly tracing over the skin covering Lin Nuo's muscular chest.
The chest, which should have been hard as iron, turned strangely and extremely soft under her fingertips, even feeling like a fluid, indenting by half an inch along the curve of her finger.
However, before she could let out a cry of surprise, the indented skin recovered its steel-like hardness within microseconds, gently flicking her fingertips away.
This god-like, precise control over body tissue was simply hair-raising.
Lin Nuo wrapped his arms around the two shapeshifting beauties in his embrace, leaning back somewhat lazily against the messy circular bed.
He shook his wrists casually, and the bones on his body surface emitted a series of extremely crisp and rhythmic "click" sounds.
Lin Nuo turned slightly to the side, and on that gentle face, which had just changed into a white shirt and whose tie was not even disheveled, a hint of unfathomable playfulness appeared.
He extended his long, calloused index finger and pressed it very casually against his own waist and abdomen.
Under Raven's stunned gaze, her bright yellow pupils trembling slightly, Lin Nuo's abdominal muscles, originally hard as steel, actually shrank inward by half an inch with an extremely strange and perfect fluid arc, then recovered to their original tall and muscular state within microseconds.
This was the Perfect Genetic Remodeling Source just obtained!
Lin Nuo lowered his head, took a deep breath against the section of blue-scaled neck that had turned red from extreme docility, and spoke in a tone both flippant and righteous:
"So... this is what it feels like to freely control every one of my bones and tissues. It seems I have quite a few new ways to play now."
Chapter 182: A Beautiful Body Stretched Out, The White-Haired Woman's Surrender Under Lingering Warmth
"Master, your actions just now really gave Emma quite a fright."
Emma fastened the last exquisite sapphire cufflink onto Lin Nuo's white shirt sleeve. Her soft fingertips slowly traced down Lin Nuo's iron-hard chest, her tone carrying a hint of pathological obsession and docility.
She had just taken a warm bath, her silvery-white long hair loosely tied back, wearing only a nearly translucent white silk nightgown. In front of Lin Nuo's perfect physique, like an ancient Greek deity, this proud Mutant leader had long since reined in all her sharp edges, like a dodder vine clinging to a large tree.
Lin Nuo casually put on the gold-rimmed glasses resting on the main console.
The lenses reflected a gentle and refined arc in the somewhat dull, dark blue screen light. He turned, leaning his tall body against the edge of the leather seat, one hand resting very casually on Emma's snow-white back.
His fingertips slowly slid down her spinal vertebrae, each light touch eliciting an unconscious shiver from the woman in his arms.
"Is Raven still resting?" Lin Nuo's voice was low and somewhat lazy.
"She's not as durable as Emma. Last night, you tormented her so much that even her X-Gene completely went on strike. She's still sleeping like a broken doll on the leather sofa at the end of the carpet."
Emma huffed with a hint of jealousy. She slightly tilted her exquisitely sculpted face, her warm breath caressing Lin Nuo's chin. But she quickly remembered the important matter, and her fair hands obediently presented a black Vibranium bulletproof trench coat of excellent quality, imbued with countless faint blue nano-light streams, helping Lin Nuo put it on.
"However, Master, the Hellfire intelligence network just intercepted something extremely interesting. This is a promising talent that Charles of the Mutant school and those remnants of the Brotherhood of Mutants are desperately searching for."
Emma blinked slyly, her slender fingers tracing across the holographic control panel.
The main screen, which had been displaying global stock market trends, flickered a few times, and then an extremely blurry and shaky street surveillance video appeared before Lin Nuo.
The video's background was next to an abandoned road in North Carolina.
Heavy rain lashed down on the muddy ground, and the sky was a somewhat oppressive leaden gray. Beside a dilapidated pickup truck, a young girl wearing an oversized greenish-brown jacket and a rustic windproof headscarf was kneeling hysterically on the ground.
The girl in the image looked to be only eighteen or nineteen, her small, pure face filled with fear and despair, large tears mixing with rainwater as they streamed down her cheeks.
And in the muddy water beside her.
A young White man in a baseball uniform lay stiffly on the ground. His once sturdy body now appeared a bizarre grayish-blue, his eye sockets sunken, and even the blood vessels beneath his skin withered at a visible rate, as if all his life essence had been forcibly sucked dry in an instant by some invisible parasite.
"Anna Marie, codenamed Rogue."
Emma extended her crimson tongue, lightly licking her red lips, her eyes holding the indifference characteristic of a high-ranking Mutant. "This child's ability is very interesting, but it's also like a malicious curse. As long as a carbon-based life form touches her skin for even a second, their life force and Mutant abilities will be completely plundered by her black-hole-like body. Just three minutes ago, her boyfriend, who was still experiencing his first love, didn't even have time to call for help before turning into a living mummy."
Emma covered her mouth and let out a slightly sarcastic chuckle, her tone revealing the condescension of a superior towards a lower-ranking Mutant. "That bald Charles still wants to recruit her into the school, ostensibly to 'protect her from further harm,' but in reality, he wants to hide this nuclear-weapon-level talent, capable of replicating superpowers, in his study. As for the Military, they've probably already prepared a special anti-electromagnetic operating table, wanting to cut this girl open and examine her internal structure."
Anna Marie on the screen was desperately curled up in the mud under the rain, clutching her hands tightly as if something World-devouring grew there. Her eyes, which should have been clear, were filled with self-loathing and repulsion for all living things around her.
For her, the World was a wasteland, and she herself was the loneliest poisonous weed on this wasteland.
Lin Nuo looked at the girl's lips, trembling slightly from excessive fear on the screen, his predatory gaze piercing through his lenses, firmly locking onto his prey.
His newly enhanced perfect physical body was craving some ultimate counteraction.
Micro-atomic level adaptive evolution made him not only a killing machine but also a sponge capable of absorbing all things in the World.
Rogue's talent, which could drain superhumans, was a nightmare in the eyes of ordinary Omega-level Mutants.
But in Lin Nuo's view, this was merely a very special form of "deep communication."
"Master, is this dangerous, untouchable defective product worth your trouble?" Emma pressed her body closer to Lin Nuo impatiently, her slender fingers tracing circles on his black Vibranium trench coat with dissatisfaction. "Even Raven's shapeshifting ability can at least be used to serve you, but this little girl... she'll only add a decaying skeleton under your expensive shirt."
Emma's words were filled with strong possessiveness. In her opinion, a Raider like Lin Nuo, standing at the pinnacle, should only enjoy the most exquisite and safest beauty, not touch a venomous creature that could backfire at any moment.
Lin Nuo turned his head, reached out, and pinched Emma's tender earlobe, applying slight pressure.
The power of his divine physique made Emma let out a soft, sweet moan.
"Emma, your understanding of 'perfection' is still too narrow."
Lin Nuo's voice was steady, carrying the arrogance of one who controlled everything. He released Emma and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the neon lights of New York City, blurred by the rain.
"In this World, all gifts are already implicitly priced. This little girl named Anna, the price she pays is lifelong loneliness and the fear of 'touch.' And what I can give her is something she couldn't exchange with her soul—a chest she can lean on."
Lin Nuo recalled the system's description of the [forgiveness-green great love system].
As long as he intercepted these female characters with great luck, he could directly steal the top-tier abilities of their boyfriends or fated partners.
Anna had many future ties. Wolverine's almost immortal healing factor, or some lucky individual who could manipulate energy... as long as he completely broke through this little sparrow's psychological defenses, those so-called talents would become the fuel for unlocking his own seals.
More importantly, he was eager to see what kind of wonderful expression that little girl would show when she discovered that her World-destroying absorption talent was like a gentle spring breeze in his arms.
That was a spiritual collapse more beautiful than physical submission.
"Synchronize this coordinate to my private communicator." Lin Nuo buttoned the top button of his trench coat, the black high-grade fabric gleaming with a dull luster under the light.
"As for Raven, when she wakes up, have her take a team of Hellfire Cleaners to clear up the mess left by Trask Industries in Washington. I don't want any blind flies disturbing my fun when I'm enjoying myself."
Emma sighed with a hint of resentment but still obediently lowered her head, operating rapidly on the main console.
"As you wish, great Master."
The dark blue light flickered on Lin Nuo's profile, making his elegant and refined face appear like a demon god from the abyss.
He pushed his gold-rimmed glasses back up his nose, looking at the miserable sight of the girl on the screen, curled up next to a trash can, not even daring to touch a stray cat.
His eyes revealed a righteous cruelty.
"A little sparrow unable to touch others' pain? How interesting. It seems she can only cry like a normal person in my arms."
Chapter 183: "Don't touch me," yet he smiled and reached out.
In North Carolina, the night was thick and heavy, drenched by persistent torrential rain.
At the "Antler" Motel, half-hidden deep within a fir forest, the brass wall lamp at the top of the second-floor corridor creaked in the wind and rain, casting a dim, yellowish halo.
Lin Nuo leaned against the decaying wooden railing.
His black Vibranium trench coat was unbuttoned, revealing the immaculate, custom-made white shirt underneath.
His gold-rimmed glasses caught the light with a sharp, professional glint amidst the stormy night.
Between his fingertips, a top-tier cigar from Havana, Cuba, burned with a faint crimson glow.
The pale blue smoke he exhaled was torn to shreds by the cold, damp night wind before it could even dissipate.
Accompanied by the harsh grinding sound of metal on the verge of falling apart, a dilapidated Ford pickup truck, with one dim headlight shining, crushed over the muddy gravel road and stopped roughly in front of the motel.
The engine sputtered a few final, violent breaths before dying completely.
Black exhaust fumes mixed with the rainwater, kicking up a pungent smell of tar.
The car door was pushed open, and a military boot caked in yellow mud landed heavily in a puddle, splashing up a large spray of dirty water.
The man who stepped out was not particularly tall, but his build was exceptionally broad.
He wore a faded old jacket, his hair was messy and sticking out at the back of his head, his face was covered in scruffy stubble, and he was biting down hard on the stub of a low-quality cigar.
Logan reached up to wipe the rain from his face.
The moment he opened the car door, those vigilant, Beast-like eyes locked onto the figure on the second floor, who appeared excessively refined in the midst of the storm.
Immediately after, he turned around and roughly, yet protectively, dragged the girl out from the passenger seat.
Anna Mary curled up inside an oversized hoodie, her hands buried deep within thick, rough cowhide work gloves.
Her innocent, pitiful face was frozen a pale blue, her lips trembling constantly, and her eyes were filled with terror at the slightest movement around her.
The moment she landed, her arm accidentally brushed against Logan's jacket.
As if electrocuted, she stumbled back half a step in a panic, her bright yellow eyes filled with self-loathing and resistance.
"Don't touch me... Logan, please, stay away from me."
The girl's voice was as faint as a dying kitten in the wind and rain.
Logan growled in a low voice.
"Shut up, kid, now is not the time for a tantrum."
He sniffed the air aggressively with his keen sense of smell.
Besides the damp earth and the smell of cheap gasoline, he detected a strange, uncanny scent.
It was the scent of expensive cedarwood mixed with a human pheromone that was almost too perfect to be real.
His gaze, like a rusty heavy sword, traced the stairs all the way up, piercing straight at Lin Nuo.
In the shadows of the second floor, Lin Nuo unhurriedly tossed the finished cigar butt into the rainwater, which let out a soft "hiss."
He raised his hand and pushed up his glasses with one finger.
He looked down condescendingly at the Beast soaked by the heavy rain, and at the delicious treat who wished she could shrink into a crack in the ground.
In Lin Nuo's vision, a violently wild, deep blue halo was radiating from Anna's body.
It was the force field of her ability, instinctively devouring life essence when not pacified by the host.
And under Logan's skin, the three pairs of bone claws coated in Adamantium were vibrating slightly due to the host's highly tense nerves.
Truly excellent nourishment.
Lin Nuo tapped his toes against the ground, and his entire body, like a weightless feather, elegantly stepped down from the second-floor railing.
He didn't even use Quicksilver's speed; relying solely on the fine-tuning of his diamond physique and holy factors, he landed without making a single sound in the muddy water.
This silent landing caused Logan's pupils to contract into pinpricks in an instant.
He was all too familiar with this combat technique.
This guy with glasses was definitely not some ordinary research pretty boy.
The physical pressure radiating from the body wrapped in the white shirt even reminded him of an ancient grizzly bear on the Canadian wilderness.
Logan sidestepped, using his broad back to shield the girl behind him.
"Step back, Anna."
His hands hung slightly, and the skin on the back of his hands began to tremble at a high frequency, as if some deadly blades were about to burst through the skin.
Logan bared his teeth, squeezing cold words through the gaps, with Beast-like ferocity shining through his messy hair.
"Mister, the night road is treacherous; I suggest you go back to your room and get a good night's sleep."
Lin Nuo stopped five steps away from the two of them.
This distance was exactly the most sensitive defensive perimeter for a Mutant.
The rain hit Lin Nuo's black nano trench coat, turning into smooth, round pearls as it slid off.
His refined and handsome face, illuminated by the pale neon light in front of the motel, was absurdly clean.
Lin Nuo adjusted his glasses, his voice warm and gentle, looking exactly like a talented young Chinese scholar lecturing on a university podium.
"Relax, sir, you smell of sour sweat."
"I am just an ordinary scholar taking shelter from the rain by the roadside."
"Seeing you traveling on such a terrible night, out of gentlemanly courtesy, I just came over to say hello."
His gaze bypassed Logan's broad shoulders and landed precisely on the pair of huge gloves Anna had exposed outside her sleeves.
The moment Anna met Lin Nuo's gaze, she shivered all over.
There was no fear of Mutants in that man's eyes; instead, it carried a possessiveness that made her heart race with terror.
It was like The Collector inspecting a rare, peerless treasure about to be acquired.
Logan sneered, a low, rumbling growl emanating from his throat, like a Beast about to snap.
"A scholar?"
"My nose never lies."
"The scent on you reminds me of those lunatics in The Pentagon who love to cut people into pieces."
"Whatever you want from this kid, get lost now!"
Facing Wolverine's barely contained killing intent, Lin Nuodid not show even a hint of panic.
Instead, he stepped forward, adopting a self-righteous and shameless posture, treating Logan's warning as if it were just wind passing by his ears.
Lin Nuo sighed softly, his gaze even carrying a touch of condescending pity.
"In this World, rudeness cannot solve any problems, Mr. Logan."
"You've been traveling with her for three days; aside from a stomach full of cold water and mud all over her, have you given her even a single minute of peace?"
Lin Nuo turned sideways, passed by Logan, and extended his fair, warm, and unprotected right hand toward the girl shrinking behind him.
His fingernails were neatly trimmed, and his palm glowed with an alluring flush under the dim light; he wore no gloves and had no defenses whatsoever.
To Anna, who currently viewed herself as toxic, this action was nothing short of a deadly provocation.
Anna screamed and shrank back, clutching her hands tightly to her chest, and huge tears finally burst forth.
"Don't touch me! I'll drain you dry!"
Lin Nuo, however, only smiled gently, his eyes behind the lenses shining brilliantly, his tone carrying an irresistible magic.
"Old man, the little girl you're bringing with you looks very cold."
"Do you mind if I treat her to a cup of hot milk?"
Chapter 184: Mental Defenses Collapse, Logan Watches In Awe
"Don't touch me!"
"I'll drain you dry!"
Anna screamed and shrank backward, her hands clutching tightly at her chest.
Large tears finally broke the dam and streamed down.
Lin Nuo did not show any embarrassment at being rejected.
He naturally pulled back his slender, warm right hand and made a soothing downward gesture in mid-air.
His movements were steady and deliberate, not at all abrupt, like a young Professor calming a noisy classroom.
"Apologies, it's my fault.
I forgot that you are still in a state of stress."
Lin Nuo's tone was gentle, carrying just the right amount of apology, his gaze warm and kind.
"The middle of the night in North Carolina, U.S. is cold enough to freeze a reindeer, and the fireplace over there is already lit.
I don't think you want to endure this mud while catching a cold."
"Right? Mr. Warrior, full of stories."
Lin Nuo turned his head to look at Logan.
The pupils behind his gold-rimmed glasses were clear and open, completely devoid of the aggression from just a moment ago.
Logan stared fixedly at Lin Nuo's face, then looked down at Anna, whose teeth were chattering from the cold.
He snorted coldly and pulled up the old bundle on his back.
"I hope your hot milk is as useful as your nonsense."
...
The three of them walked one after another into the inn's shabby but warm bar.
The interior of the inn was dimly lit.
The old wooden floorboards groaned and creaked when stepped upon.
The fireplace in the corner was burning brightly; dark red Charcoal Fire occasionally popped, sending Fire-sparks dancing into the air.
Lin Nuo took off his heavy black trench coat and hung it casually on the coat rack by the door.
Under the reflection of the Firelight, the cold, hard elite scientific air about him faded.
He had changed into a beige cashmere sweater at some point.
In visual psychology, this warm tone instinctively makes people feel a sense of security.
He walked behind the bar, skillfully searching for a cooking pot and fresh milk.
His movements were smooth and natural, as if he were the Master of this inn.
Logan chose a seat neither too far nor too close to the fireplace.
Those Beast-like eyes were still locked firmly onto Lin Nuo's back.
Anna, like a frightened quail, huddled in the Shadows beside Logan.
Those huge leather work gloves looked both ridiculous and pathetic at this moment.
Lin Nuo, with his back to them, spoke without turning around, his voice carrying a touch of humor.
"Mr. Logan, if you could take your calloused hands out from under the counter.
I think this dilapidated espresso machine might live a little longer."
Logan's muscles stiffened, and he slowly placed his fists on the tabletop.
He was indeed ready to pop his bone claws at any moment.
But the keen perception of this Chinese man made him feel a chill down his spine.
Before long, a cup of hot milk, steaming and sprinkled with a little cocoa powder, was pushed in front of Anna.
"Thank you..."
Anna held the cup through her heavy gloves.
The warm sensation traveled through the leather to her palms, causing her shoulders, tightened by the cold, to relax a little.
Lin Nuo didn't rush to sit down.
He poured himself a small glass of whiskey, elegantly swirling the amber liquid.
Then, he sat down about half a meter in front of Anna and to the side.
This distance was just right to see the freckles on the girl's face without seeming intrusive.
Lin Nuo looked at Anna, his voice low and magnetic.
"Do you know, Anna."
"In the field of genetics, we usually call this phenomenon the 'Lonely Messenger'."
The tone was like telling an ancient fairy tale, rather than discussing a despairing mutant gene.
Anna looked up, her bright yellow eyes filled with confusion.
"Are you trying to say... I'm a monster, right?"
Lin Nuo took a light sip of his whiskey, leaning forward slightly.
His eyes revealed a sense of almost obsessive study.
This look made Anna feel that she was not some kind of deadly virus, but a work of art.
"The word 'monster' is too crude.
That is a label only used by mediocre people lacking imagination."
"Your body has simply formed a one-way energy absorption Bio-force field at the molecular level, due to some excessive generosity of evolution.
Just like the stars in the sky, they radiate light because they are burning internally."
"And you, you are just too eager for the warmth of this World, so much so that your cells don't know how to share, only how to take."
Lin Nuo's slender fingers tapped gently on the tabletop, with a very steady rhythm.
"Those who are touched by you lose more than just life force.
They also lose the talents they couldn't handle in the first place."
"In a sense, you are actually the final filter of this species."
"But I will kill them!"
Anna's emotional voice echoed in the empty bar, her eyes turning red again.
"I killed my own boyfriend..."
"I just wanted to kiss him, I just wanted to know what a hug felt like!"
"I hate these gloves, I hate this body!"
She buried her head abruptly into her knees, her thin back shaking violently.
The low sobbing sounded particularly jarring in the quiet of the deep night.
Logan, sitting to the side, scratched his hair irritably.
He wanted to reach out and pat the girl's shoulder.
But upon thinking of the pain of having one's soul drained, that thick, large hand froze in mid-air for a long time, and finally, he pulled it back.
He picked up the cheap liquor nearby and took a fierce gulp.
He could not give Anna the comfort she wanted.
Because he was essentially just a Beast who could only lick his wounds in the wilderness.
Lin Nuo watched this scene quietly.
The gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses was as calm as Water, but in his heart, he was coldly outlining the collapse curve of Anna's psychological defenses.
This extreme sense of deprivation resulting from the inability to touch was precisely the sharpest blade in his hand.
He rose slowly, took a stack of fresh White tissues from beside the bar, and placed them gently in front of Anna.
He did not hand them to her directly.
He knew that any direct act of giving would make Annafeel burdened at this moment.
Lin Nuo sat back down, his tone as gentle as a light feather.
"This World is indeed very unfair to you, Anna."
"Others can kiss their parents without restraint, can hold their lover's hand in the cold winter to share warmth."
"But you, you can only hide in a cage of leather and cotton, looking at the soul imprisoned by your power in the mirror."
Anna looked up, crystal-clear tearstains on her face, staring blankly at him.
No one had ever been able to describe this pain so bluntly.
So despairing, yet it made one feel... empathy.
"But, you must remember one thing."
Lin Nuo reached out.
He stroked the air above Anna's clumsy work gloves, his movements as gentle as if he were soothing a fragile piece of porcelain.
"This is not your fault.
Evolution never considers the happiness of the individual; it only cares about the results."
"You were chosen as a sacrifice for evolution; this in itself is a kind of great suffering."
Anna's breathing became rapid.
She looked at Lin Nuo's face, which was full of understanding and pity.
The high wall of defense that had been built up in her heart for eighteen years began to collapse on a large scale under the impact of Lin Nuo's highly logical words.
She was too eager for someone to look at her like this.
Not treating her as a monster, nor as a weapon to be used.
But simply as a sick girl who needed to be cared for.
Logan couldn't sit still anymore.
He instinctively felt that there was something wrong with Lin Nuo's words.
Too perfect, and too smooth.
Just like the con artists he had seen in those high-end private clubs, using the most decent vocabulary to deceive innocent girls.
Logan put down his glass heavily, his voice raspy.
"Hey, glasses man.
Have you finished your philosophy lesson?"
"If you're done, I think we should go rest.
This girl doesn't need your kind of phony academic sympathy."
Lin Nuo smiled and turned to look at Logan.
A flash of dark red magical light flickered in his eyes—a secret suppression of his Bio-force field.
Logan only felt his chest tighten abruptly.
As if pinned down by a thousand-pound weight, the swear words he was about to blurt out were forced back.
"Mr. Logan, you have wandered in the wilderness for too long.
You have forgotten how to communicate with a sensitive girl."
Lin Nuo turned his head away, ignoring the veteran who had nothing but healing factors.
He looked at Anna again.
The gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses was as deep as the sea, carrying a gentle promise that could make one drown in it.
"There is no absolute curse in this World, Anna.
Believe me, one day, you will find the person who can let you take off your gloves and embrace."
Chapter 185: Shattering Bullets, Who Gave You Permission to Touch Her?
Anna's eyes, slightly reddened, stared blankly at Lin Nuo.
Her fingertips, gripped by extreme tension, clutched tightly at the edges of her leather work gloves.
She wanted to respond.
But in that instant, the motel's heavy wooden door shattered into pieces under a violent impact!
Boom!
A massive blast wave, mixed with the pungent smell of gunpowder and flying wood splinters, violently tore through the cozy atmosphere of the bar.
Large chunks of brick and stone, scorched by the flames, crashed down, landing on the floor with a dull, heavy thud.
"Ah!"
Anna was knocked directly onto the dust-filled floor by the blast wave.
Her windproof headscarf flew off, and a lock of silvery-white hair fell against her somewhat dirty cheek.
Logan's reaction was lightning fast.
His broad body rolled across the ground, shielding Anna in his arms while blocking a large falling wooden beam with his back.
Accompanied by the low sound of tearing flesh, the skin on the back of his hands was ripped open.
Three silver, sharp Adamantium claws tore through the skin, bringing with them a few warm beads of blood.
Logan spat out the bitten-off cigar in his mouth.
"These damn flies have noses sharper than stray dogs!"
The muscles on his stubble-covered face twisted slightly, and a low, guttural growl, like a Beast backed into a corner, emanated from his throat.
Through the gap in the ruined wall, pale searchlight beams projected in from the night sky.
The Water vapor in the torrential rain looked like countless flying silver needles under the harsh light.
The roaring propellers of three heavy helicopters were low and ear-piercing, almost threatening to rip the entire roof off the motel.
A cold command came from the curtain of rain outside.
"Move out!"
"Take the girl, and execute the rest of the Mutants on the spot!"
A team of Military Agents wearing polymer bulletproof armor and wielding heavy high-pressure rifles quickly crossed the ruins, surrounding the dilapidated bar lobby in a fan formation.
The eyes of these Agents beneath their masks were devoid of warmth, and their gun barrels emitted a faint, fluorescent blue glow, signifying Mutant suppressants.
In the Shadow behind these Agents, several Mutants clad in black raincoats moved with lightning speed.
They manipulated the flying bricks and violent rain, their eyes locked on Anna's position with malicious intent.
They were clearly remnants of the Brotherhood of Mutants, intending to forcibly abduct this girl with a unique ability.
Caught in a pincer attack, the already precarious motel instantly turned into a brutal battlefield.
"Roar!"
Logan, like a furious Beast, didn't retreat but instead charged forward.
The Adamantium claws in his hands traced a bright, snowy arc, ruthlessly slashing across the throats of the two lead Agents!
Accompanied by the spray of warm liquid, the alloy armor on the Agents was like paper before his indestructible steel claws.
Bullets poured onto Logan like a torrential rain, blooming into vivid, tragic flowers of blood.
Yet, in a very short time, these wounds were forced shut as the healing factor inside him expelled the bullets, rapidly knitting the flesh back together.
The human Agents had clearly prepared well for his healing ability.
The Agent Captain shouted an order.
"Deploy the high-voltage net!"
"Inject the suppressants!"
Two tall Agents pulled the triggers in unison.
A specially made polymer restraint net instantly opened in mid-air.
Its non-metallic material isolated any magnetic force or physical dissociation, and high-voltage blue electrical charges danced across the net lines, accurately enveloping Logan.
"Arghhhhh!"
The intense electric current instantly brought Logan's sturdy body crashing to the ground.
Every inch of his muscle was convulsing violently, and the smell of burning flesh permeated the air.
Even with his powerful healing factor, under the continuous high-voltage shocks and the injection of several micro-suppressant darts, the steel claws on the backs of his hands retracted powerlessly into his body.
Logan gritted his steel teeth tightly as large amounts of blood foam, mixed with electric sparks, surged from his mouth.
"Anna... run..."
His Beast-like eyes were now veiled in a layer of painful gloom.
"Logan!"
Watching the man who had always protected her being tortured into an unrecognizable state under the electric net, Anna burst into tears in terror.
But before she could even take a step.
Two Mutants in black raincoats had already broken through the Agents' line of defense and reached out their hands toward her with cold eyes.
One of the Mutants spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Anna Marie, the Brotherhood of Mutants needs your power."
"Come with us!"
With a slight flick of his wrist, a large amount of muddy Water transformed into ropes, locking tightly around Anna's ankles and dragging her backward.
Anna could only struggle in the mud, separated by her thick leather gloves, her bright yellow pupils filled with despair.
How she wished her ability could be used to save Logan.
But whenever she touched someone, it only brought destruction by draining their life away.
In this World, was there truly no place for her?
Just as Anna's fingers were about to be completely ensnared by the cold rigging.
A calm voice, appearing completely out of place amidst the raging storm and gunfire, sounded from a corner of the ruined debris.
"Let her go."
The tone was extremely slow, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
But that invisible pressure caused the chaotic and noisy battlefield to instantly fall into a brief silence.
Anna instinctively looked in the direction of the voice.
In the center of the ruins, amidst the raging Fire and violent rain.
Lin Nuo was unhurriedly taking down an old black umbrella from the coat rack.
His beige cashmere sweater didn't even have a single speck of dust on it.
His gold-rimmed glasses remained clean and bright, reflecting the leaping flames of the ruins.
In his left hand, he held that glass of whiskey, which still had half left.
The ice cubes in the glass hadn't even shifted position much.
Two tactical Agents wielding submachine guns spotted this uninvited guest.
"Where did this pretty boy come from?"
"Take him out too!"
Without any hesitation, they immediately pulled the triggers.
Rat-tat-tat!
Armor-piercing bullets, capable of tearing through blast armor, converged into a line of lethal fire, whistling straight toward Lin Nuo's seemingly fragile body.
But those sharp bullet tips, while still several inches away from Lin Nuo's body, seemed to collide with an invisible and unimaginably thick wall of bronze and iron.
The Bio-force field, mixed with the formidable power of his diamond-like physique, squeezed pale red patterns into the air.
The bullets struck it, and accompanied by an ear-piercing sound of metal compression, they were forcibly crushed into iron flakes in mid-air by the immense physical recoil.
The fragments of copper and iron clattered as they fell into the mud.
"What... what kind of monster is this?!"
The Agents who had fired were terrified.
Their gun barrels were still radiating residual heat, but in the next microsecond, the figure of that Chinese man vanished from their sight.
It was a movement speed that surpassed the limits of human neural reaction.
Bang! Bang!
Two low sounds of flesh rupturing exploded in the air simultaneously.
The sound of bones breaking hadn't even faded yet.
The bodies of those two Agents, wearing heavy tactical armor, flew into the air in a strange posture.
They smashed the load-bearing column on the other side of the lobby into pieces, and within the collapsing bricks and tiles, they completely ceased to breathe.
Lin Nuo's figure slowly froze in the curtain of rain.
He composedly opened the large black umbrella with one hand, the canopy emitting a dull sound as it expanded.
The cold rainwater leaking from the roof, along with the black smoke mixed with sparks, was instantly blocked by the black umbrella.
In this muddy ruin stained with blood and gunpowder smoke, he was like a gentleman taking a leisurely stroll in the rain.
His leather shoes stepped onto the sodden carpet without making any unnecessary noise.
Anna murmured, somewhat dazed.
"Lin... Lin Nuo..."
She opened her mouth slightly, her vision completely filled by that figure.
At this desperate juncture where she thought she was about to be dragged into hell and abandoned by everyone.
This man, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and as gentle as a Professor, seemed like an ancient deity controlling life and death.
Amidst the flying blood and flames, he walked toward her step by step.
Logan lay on the ground, his blood-red eyes wide open.
Through the gaps in the electric net, he watched this man who easily deflected bullets with his physical body and possessed speed even rivaling Quicksilver.
The last shred of vigilance and confidence in his heart was smashed to pieces.
Where on earth did this guy, this monster, come from?!
Lin Nuo held the long umbrella at a slant, blocking out the wind and rain completely.
He leaned down, looked at the disheveled and helpless girl in the mud, and slowly extended his warm, unguarded right hand toward her.
The smile on his face was faint and gentle.
"I said it before, Anna."
"As long as I am here, no one can force you to do anything you don't want to do."