Wenwu recounted the events that transpired before the battle started.
Harvey had left behind a dose of the Extremis serum with unknown effects, and the guy impersonating the Mandarin in America was the inventor of this Extremis serum.
After hearing this, Shang-Chi felt a restless urge. He looked in the direction of America, his face resolute as he said:
"Then we'll go to America and steal the manufacturing technology for the Extremis serum!"
"Even without the Ten Rings, as long as our close-quarters combat skills remain, we have hope of seeking a new method to grow stronger!"
With his hundreds of years of experience, Wenwu carefully considered this, but shook his head in despair.
"When it comes down to it, the Extremis serum is at most just a type of Super Soldier Serum. It cannot bring us a qualitative leap in strength."
"Relying on the Extremis serum to turn the tables is probably impossible."
His father's discouraging words didn't affect Shang-Chi in the slightest.
"We start with the easy part and tackle the hard part later. Didn't Captain America also become an Avenger? Once we possess the strength of a Super Soldier, we can make further plans on how to grow stronger."
Wenwu didn't want to crush his son's confidence anymore. Young people are always too optimistic; little do they know how incredibly difficult it is to become truly powerful in this dangerous world!
"Son, you are still young. I support you going out and fighting for it, but I am old."
"Right now, my only wish is to find Ta Lo before I die, and see Ying Li, who passed away all those years ago, one last time."
"Recently, I've frequently heard your mother calling out to me in my dreams. I believe that Ta Lo, the village Ying Li guarded in her early years, might hide the secret to resurrecting the souls of the dead."
Shang-Chi gave his father a look of astonishment; he didn't look like he was speaking nonsense.
"Resurrecting the souls of the dead? Such a thing actually exists in this world?"
Wenwu patted his son's shoulder, looking into the distance, and said earnestly: "After losing the Ten Rings, my physical stamina has severely declined. I can no longer be of any help to you."
"So, even if the hope of resurrecting a dead soul is astronomically slim, I can only try to go find it. Otherwise, I will not be able to rest in peace!"
Seeing this, Shang-Chi couldn't bring himself to dissuade him any further.
These days, even aliens, sorcerers, and all sorts of monsters and freaks had appeared. Who could guarantee there wasn't a way to resurrect the dead in this world?
The father and son fell silent in tacit understanding, looking out at the distant high mountains.
...
One week later.
A deeply disappointed Harvey walked out of the basement.
After acquiring the Ten Rings, he had worked non-stop, researching them for a full week.
In the end, he discovered that these high-tech alien treasures provided almost zero help in elevating his own strength.
Except for the Matter Rearranger Ring, which offered a slight, negligible boost to his proficiency in Transfiguration.
Overall, the Ten Rings were pretty much 'tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away' for Harvey.
Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Harvey massaged his throbbing temples while deep in thought.
"If I could research them more deeply and truly understand the principles behind how the Ten Rings generate superpowers, it would definitely be of great benefit to me."
"But with this kind of high-tech alien treasure, I don't even dare to dismantle it for study. So how could I possibly conduct deep research?"
If it meant forcibly dismantling the Ten Rings, Harvey could definitely do it.
But whether he could reassemble them afterwards was very hard to say.
If he really dismantled them but failed to discover anything from his research, he would suffer a massive loss.
Therefore, he had no choice but to temporarily shelve the Ten Rings, using them merely as supplementary combat gear.
"Sigh!" Harvey sighed. "Looks like if I want to increase my strength, I still have to rely on Professor Snape."
At this moment, Cho Chang, wearing a thin nightgown, looking beautiful even without makeup, dragged her heavy steps and walked past Harvey while yawning.
She was just preparing to go to the kitchen to find some breakfast.
Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a stack of antique rings encrusted with various colored gemstones in Harvey's hands.
Every girl has absolutely zero resistance to sparkling gemstones, and Cho Chang was no exception.
She couldn't help but stop in her tracks, her eyes firmly locked onto the rings as she asked curiously:
"Oh my god, darling, these wouldn't happen to be engagement gifts for me, would they?"
Harvey looked utterly speechless. If you want the rings, just say so directly. Why bring up a proposal? Are you hinting at something here?
"These are spoils of war I just acquired—high-tech treasures from an alien civilization. Each ring possesses extraordinary superpowers..."
Cho Chang didn't listen carefully at all. She naturally sidled up next to him.
While deliberately rubbing her large, soft breasts against Harvey's arm, she carefully picked and chose among the ten antique rings.
"This one is not bad, but the color is a bit too gaudy. I like this emerald ring better..."
Seeing this woman actually start picking and choosing right in front of his face, dark lines formed on Harvey's forehead.
"Hold on, when did I ever say these were engagement rings?"
A flash of cunning passed through Cho Chang's eyes. She decisively deployed her ultimate coquettish technique, hugging Harvey's arm and shaking it while pleading in a sickeningly sweet voice:
"Darling, I want this emerald ring. Just give it to me... give it to me... give it to me..."
The bulging softness continuously rubbed against him, shaking Harvey until his very soul was hooked.
The main reason was that, through relentless effort, Cho Chang's breasts seemed to have undergone a second puberty, growing larger and larger recently.
"Alright, alright, alright. But the main ability of the emerald ring is to generate psionic shockwaves; this one doesn't suit you. I'll pick a different ring for you."
The Ten Rings weren't of much use to Harvey. It would be better to give them to the relatively weaker Cho Chang for self-defense.
Lately, she had been increasingly fond of running out to act as a street-level hero fighting crime.
Harvey was genuinely afraid she might capsize in a gutter one day.
So, distributing the Ten Rings among his women could be considered a reasonable utilization of resources.
Based on the principle of enhancing whatever aspect is weak, or further buffing whatever aspect is strong.
After some thought, Harvey felt that the pale red Spectral Ring suited Cho Chang best.
He picked up the Spectral Ring and handed it over.
"This ring can not only control electromagnetic forces, manipulate gravity to lock down opponents and move objects, but it can also generate blinding light and create clones."
"I believe it's the ring that suits you best!"
Cho Chang took the ring, brought it up to her face, and examined it carefully for a moment, still not quite satisfied:
"I don't like the color of this ring. Can't you just swap it for that emerald ring?"
Harvey shook his head and said, "Cho, you can't be too greedy in life. I made this choice after comprehensive consideration."
"This ring perfectly supplements your combat weaknesses in terms of attack and crowd control."
"What suits you is what's best."
Cho Chang pursed her lips, wanting to argue, but seeing Harvey's unquestionable expression, she could only accept the ring reluctantly.
"There are still nine rings left. You aren't planning on giving them to nine different girls, are you?"
Facing Cho Chang's suspicious gaze, Harvey rebutted without hesitation: "Darling, you're overthinking things. I'm keeping the remaining nine rings to use myself."
"Is that so? Hmm?" Cho Chang's eyelashes fluttered as she put on a doubtful expression that said 'Are you bullshitting me again?'.
Harvey's expression turned stern. "You actually dare to doubt me? You need a spanking!"
"Smack~"
Cho Chang's originally calm state of mind was shattered, and her face rapidly flushed crimson along with the loud slapping sound.