Darian scanned the figures beside Red Skull; without exception, they were all supervillains.
Standing to the front left was Mysterio, wearing dark green scale armor paired with a purple cape, his head topped with a fishbowl helmet.
He was one of Spider-Man's arch-enemies, skilled at creating realistic illusions. Combined with special smoke, he could even deceive Spider-Man's Spider-Sense and Wolverine's animal instincts.
The Red Skull they had just seen was an illusion created by Mysterio, and its level of realism was no less impressive than Loki's magic illusions.
Standing beside him was a bald, muscular man holding a massive iron ball.
That was Absorbing Man; his ability was to transform into whatever material he touched. Years ago, he had absorbed Scarlet Witch's Chaos Magic and used it to kill Thor Odinson.
Of the remaining two, one wore a black and white mask and a tactical vest with a Crossbones pattern; the other was covered in high-tech armor, wearing a hood, with a striking white skull-shaped helmet.
They were Crossbones and Taskmaster, Red Skull's right-hand men. The former was a super-soldier proficient in various weapons, while the latter was a master copycat who could instantly replicate and use anyone's combat skills.
Including Red Skull himself, there were a total of five supervillains gathered on the field!
Darian instantly became excited.
One had to know that the mission objective of killing ten supervillains seemed difficult, but in reality, it was not easy at all.
In this vast, desolate wasteland World, not to mention killing supervillains, even encountering one was a difficult task.
Having crossed the entire America, Darian had only encountered three supervillains: Kingpin, Hammerhead, and Rhino. There were others who could be called supervillains, but they had nothing to do with the attack fifty years ago and did not meet the mission requirements.
In today's World, not only were superheroes nearly extinct, but even supervillains had become an endangered species. After all, most of them had lifespans similar to ordinary people, and fifty-plus years was enough to wipe out the vast majority of them.
Although Darian had inquired about the whereabouts of a few surviving supervillains, they were scattered in distant corners, and their tracks were ethereal. If he had to go after them one by one, he didn't know how much time it would waste.
Unexpectedly, Red Skull had actually delivered so many supervillains right in front of him.
What a great guy!
"Whoa!" Wade's white eyes on his mask widened, and he exclaimed, "So many old acquaintances, all supervillains who have appeared in Marvel movies and TV shows. However, except for Red Skull, who became the gatekeeper of the Soul Stone, I remember the others had already met their ends. What is this, an Avengers of the Resurrected?"
Darian glanced at Wade; this guy's snark was exactly the same as the game system's evaluation.
Come to think of it, is the game system essentially a silly system?
"Mysterio!!" Wolverine's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, staring intently at the figure in dark green scale armor, his teeth clenched so hard they rattled.
Seeing an enemy, his eyes burned with hatred!
Mysterio let out a scornful laugh: "Heh, long time no see. I didn't expect you, this mad dog, to still be alive. I thought you would have been unable to handle the trauma long ago and found a place to desperately seek death."
"Even if I die, I'm taking you to hell with me!" Wolverine's anger, suppressed for decades, finally exploded at this moment, and he rushed towards Mysterio recklessly.
"Kill them!" Red Skull's cold voice suddenly rang out.
Upon receiving the order, the supervillains beside him immediately selected their targets and launched their attacks.
Mysterio's figure vanished on the spot. Taskmaster picked up a shield and intercepted Wolverine's charge. The two fought, each move carrying a hint of a ghost from the past, making Red Skull feel a faint ache all over his body.
On the other side, Crossbones chose Old Hawkeye. Both were experts in ranged combat, so they chose... melee!
There was no choice; Old Hawkeye's arrows had long since run out, and there was no time to recover arrows from corpses, so he could only use his compound bow to engage in close-quarters combat with Crossbones.
Needless to say, Crossbones knew Old Hawkeye was skilled with a bow and arrow, so he decisively chose melee combat.
He sneered in his heart, feeling confident of victory.
However, the tightly wielded bow body soon made him realize something was wrong. Old Hawkeye's melee ability was far more powerful than expected; sharp and seasoned, his offensive was dense, actually forcing him to retreat repeatedly.
Crossbones: "----"
This is a f***ing archer!?
Wade chose Red Skull as his target.
The reason was simple: Red Skull was the most popular among the opponents, and choosing him would generate more traffic.
That's so Deadpool.
As for Darian and Absorbing Man, who were left over, they were automatically matched together.
Absorbing Man dragged the heavy iron ball and walked slowly towards Darian, grinning: "Masked man, once I smash that mask of yours, I'll see what you look like."
"At least I won't be uglier than you." Darian triggered the Zaunite passive.
Absorbing Man's expression stiffened, as if poked in a sore spot, and he gritted his teeth: "Sharp tongue, I'll knock your teeth out one by one first!"
He let out a low roar, his massive body suddenly rushing forward.
He swung the iron ball in his hand, bringing it down towards Darian's head with a fierce whistling sound!
Darian leaned back at the waist, dodging the incoming iron ball. In the moment he leaned back, a golden desert eagle appeared in each of his hands, muzzles aimed at Absorbing Man, and he pulled the triggers continuously.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—! Muzzle flashes flickered in the dim light as bullets poured out like heavy rain, covering Absorbing Man's head, chest, and other vital areas.
However, before the bullets could touch Absorbing Man's exposed skin, it instantly took on a cold, iron-gray luster, its texture suddenly becoming hard and heavy.
Ding! Ding! Ding! The bullets struck Absorbing Man's body, producing a crisp, dense sound of metal striking metal. Sparks flew everywhere, but they were all deflected by that cold, iron-gray skin, not even leaving a scratch.
Clearly, Absorbing Man had absorbed the material of the iron ball and transformed into an iron man.
"Hahaha! You think you can hurt me with this kind of attack?" Absorbing Man laughed wildly, arrogantly saying: "I'm the guy who killed Thor with my own hands!"
The record of solo-killing Thor was indeed enough for him to brag about for a lifetime.
Relying on this steel body, Absorbing Man withstood Darian's offensive, dancing the iron ball wildly, forcing Darian to retreat repeatedly.
But Darian was never one to just take a beating.
In an instant, his whole body changed. A strange magic mask covered his face, a pure white robe fell silently, and the streamlined outline of the gantz strengthening suit beneath it faintly revealed a sense of power.
With the support of multiple pieces of equipment and skills, Darian's attribute values climbed crazily!
Muay Thai Warning!
Darian's figure was released suddenly like a fully drawn bowstring. His muscles exploded into an astonishing arc beneath the strengthening suit. A fierce elbow strike tore through the air, heading straight for Absorbing Man's face with a terrifying whistle!
Absorbing Man did not dodge or avoid, his eyes full of disdain.
Having absorbed the material of the iron ball, he was now a solid block of iron.
Could a flesh-and-blood elbow strike possibly hurt an iron block?
Bang!! A muffled, loud noise suddenly exploded.
The moment the elbow tip collided with the iron face, a ring of air waves exploded. Absorbing Man's tower-like body was actually blasted off the ground by this elbow strike, flying backward.
The heavy iron body flew back several meters, accompanied by a harsh metallic scraping sound, and he smashed hard into the wall behind him. Bricks cracked, steel bars twisted, and a large cloud of dust and debris rose up, burying him.
The dust slowly settled.
In the ruins, Absorbing Man struggled to prop up his body. His iron-cast face now clearly bore a deep elbow print, almost caved in halfway.
"Bas... bastard..." Absorbing Man was both shocked and angry, his voice muffled due to the facial deformation.
He hadn't expected the opponent's fist to be far more terrifying than bullets; even though he had transformed into an iron block, he couldn't withstand a single punch from the opponent.
If your strength is this perverted, why are you even playing with guns!
Absorbing Man reached out and pressed against the wall. The iron-gray metallic luster on his body surface quickly faded, his skin turning to a grayish-white, rough texture, and even the injury on his face recovered as if new.
"He turns into whatever he touches. If he fell into a septic tank..." Darian's imagination ran wild, and he almost grossed himself out.
Fortunately, Absorbing Man didn't have this idea, otherwise, no matter how strong he was, he would have to give him a wide berth.
Darian quickly cast aside the messy thoughts, exerted force with his feet, and his figure shot out again.
Seeing Darian rushing over, Absorbing Man roared and swung his fist, which had turned into concrete, smashing towards Darian!
Darian did not dodge or avoid, clenched his right fist as well, and smashed it head-on without any frills!
Bang! The moment the fists collided, Absorbing Man's concrete-composed fist exploded like plaster, fragments and dust scattering everywhere.
Darian didn't stop, taking advantage of the momentum to close in. His fists turned into a blur of afterimages, carrying terrifying power, pouring down on Absorbing Man's body like a storm.
"Ora ora ora ora—!!" Accompanied by the continuous, heavy sound of impacts, Absorbing Man's concrete body trembled violently under the shadow of the fists. Large chunks of structure were blasted off his body, and in the blink of an eye, more than half of his body was left in ruins.
"Damn it!" Absorbing Man was horrified. The strength of concrete couldn't stop this monster at all. Right now, he urgently needed a harder material.
So, he set his target on Wolverine.
The opponent possessed the indestructible Adamantium, which could be said to be one of the best materials to absorb.
It was a pity that during the fierce battle with Taskmaster, Wolverine always fought with fists and feet, and those Adamantium Claws had not been revealed in the slightest. Absorbing Man simply couldn't find a chance to make contact.
Seeing no hope with Wolverine, Absorbing Man then turned his gaze to the Captain America shield in the display case.
This shield, composed of various rare materials, was in no way inferior to Adamantium in hardness and properties.
"That's it!" Absorbing Man's eyes lit up, and he reached out to press against the twisted metal debris beside him. The iron-gray luster covered his skin surface again.
Without hesitation, he took big strides and rushed towards the display case.
Darian noticed Absorbing Man's intention, but didn't intervene, just followed slowly behind.
"Creel! How dare you—!" Red Skull's roar came from the other end of the battlefield, but it was too late to stop him.
Absorbing Man slammed his body into the display case, and the glass shattered in response.
He didn't even look at the other superhero relics scattered all over the floor; he bent down and scooped up the Captain America shield that had rolled onto the ground from the mess.
The moment Absorbing Man's fingers touched the shield's surface, a change suddenly occurred.
Starting from his right hand, a cold, silver-gray light spread rapidly, sweeping across his arm, shoulders, neck, and torso, until it covered his entire body. Every inch of his skin turned into an indestructible composite material.
Absorbing Man turned his head, his metallic-lustered face looking at Darian, grinning a ferocious smile.
"Now I am invincible."
"Yeah, sure, sure." Darian nodded perfunctorily, and casually tossed a gray-black stone that looked unremarkable towards Absorbing Man.
[Item: Forging Stone (Can reshape metal materials it touches, forging them into any weapon form, the effect is irreversible)]
This was one of the mission rewards Darian had obtained previously for helping Old Logan and Charles find a new home.
He had originally kept this stone, intending to use it on that pile of Adamantium in the game warehouse.
Unexpectedly, a larger rare metal material had suddenly been delivered right in front of him: the same material as Captain America's shield, completely solid.
The Forging Stone traced an arc and landed on Absorbing Man's brand-new metal body.
"A stone?" Absorbing Man couldn't help but sneer when he saw what was thrown at him.
He was now a humanoid Captain America shield; what damage could a broken stone possibly do to him?
Plop. A slight collision sound rang out.
Absorbing Man had thought this stone would be deflected directly, but the moment the gray-black stone touched his chest, it stuck tightly to his body surface, then slowly sank inward, as if it were ice dropped into hot oil, rapidly dissolving into his silver-gray body.
"What's going on?" Absorbing Man's expression instantly froze, shock and doubt replacing his mockery.
He looked down, only to see a circle of strange dark red patterns suddenly light up, centered on where the stone had landed, and then spread rapidly across his whole body. Wherever it passed, that indestructible metal body actually felt a strange sense of loosening.
"No... what kind of ghost thing is this!?" Absorbing Man could feel his body rapidly softening, gradually losing its fixed form, like a piece of plasticine being gripped by an invisible giant hand.
He tried his best to resist, but couldn't even twitch his fingertips, and could only despairingly feel his body constantly collapsing.
In just a few seconds, Absorbing Man, under the shroud of the dark red patterns, turned into a puddle of metallic sludge.
Darian walked up to this puddle of metallic sludge. As if sensing his presence, the metallic sludge actually flowed towards him automatically, like living liquid metal, climbing up along Darian's feet, rapidly covering his forearms, and beginning to rapidly shape and solidify.
In the blink of an eye, a pair of heavy metal gauntlets formed on Darian's arms.
They covered from his knuckles to his elbows, the joints connected smoothly, and the whole body presented a matte silver-gray color.
Just like that, Absorbing Man was instantly refined and completed by Darian.