Behind-the-Scenes Manipulator, Gene Potion

"A real opponent has finally arrived."

Faced with War Lizard’s attack, Worthy was delighted rather than alarmed. He swung his hammer and met the massive hammer head-on. With a thunderous boom, a shockwave swept across the area. Several nearby Inhumans were sent flying on the spot, while rolling clouds of dust rose all around.

War Lizard was powerful, but the Worthy was even stronger. After the two hammers collided violently, War Lizard was blasted backward like a cannonball, smashing straight through a building behind him.

"Good, good, good!"

Worthy laughed loudly and thundered toward where War Lizard had landed. His footsteps were immensely heavy, each one making the ground quake violently. Some already-crumbling buildings collapsed with a crash under the tremors.

"Stop him!"

Several suits of Power Armor immediately fired missiles at Worthy. He casually swung his hammer, unleashing a massive hammer phantom that not only smashed every missile apart, but also crushed the Power Armor into lumps of metal.

"Die!"

Very soon, Worthy rushed in front of War Lizard, who had just crawled out of the rubble. With a roar, he transformed his hammer into an enormous warhammer and smashed it down at War Lizard with earth-shattering force. The air below was swept completely away, nearly turning into a vacuum.

War Lizard roared and raised his hammer to strike back. Just as the two hammers were about to collide fiercely, War Lizard suddenly became an afterimage. Worthy’s hammer swept through the phantom and slammed into the ground with a boom. The entire ground shook violently and split apart, while the surrounding buildings collapsed in a cascade.

Worthy stood there blankly, unable to understand what had happened. At that moment, War Lizard solidified again. The massive hammer in his hand transformed into a huge blade, and with one slash, he cut off both of Worthy’s hands.

Worthy screamed and staggered back. At the same time, Fear Hammer and Worthy’s severed hands fell to the ground with a clang.

"Now, immediately!"

Coulson shouted the order. An Inhuman who had long been lying in wait nearby immediately formed a circle with his hands. A small black hole appeared out of nowhere, drawing Fear Hammer and the two hands attached to it inside.

This Inhuman was Black Hole Inhuman. His ability was to create small black holes, though they were not real black holes, merely Space Vortices somewhat similar to them. Anything sucked inside would be teleported to an unknown location.

That was right, an unknown location. In any case, it definitely would not be coming back. Coulson’s plan was simple: use War Lizard to sever Worthy’s hands, then teleport Fear Hammer away. That way, they could deal with one Fear Hammer.

If this plan succeeded, Coulson would send Black Hole Inhuman to help Elektra. Then everything would be much easier.

As for why War Lizard had turned into an afterimage, the answer was simple: quantization.

Kingpin from a parallel universe had gained the ability to quantize after traveling through time and space. After he died, his corpse was retrieved and studied by Lizard Doctor. Later, Lizard Doctor fused that corpse with Kingpin and created a War Lizard capable of quantization.

However, it was not very stable, which was why S.W.O.R.D. had kept this trump card hidden.

Just as everything was about to succeed, Fear Hammer suddenly trembled. The black hole vanished with a bang. Then Fear Hammer flew back to Worthy with the two hands, and after a flash of red light, Worthy’s hands returned to normal.

"Damn it!"

Quite a few people could not help cursing. Black Hole Inhuman was not strong enough. Otherwise, Fear Hammer would definitely have been teleported away.

"I’ll kill all of you!"

Having narrowly escaped death, Worthy was furious beyond measure. He roared and swung Fear Hammer at War Lizard with all his strength, even denting and warping the void.

War Lizard charged forward without hesitation. Although he was no match for Worthy, there were many superpowered people around to assist him. Keeping the enemy occupied would not be a problem.

"They do have a few ideas. Unfortunately, mortals are still mortals. They simply do not understand the power of divine artifacts."

Cloaked Man, who had been observing the battle all along, sneered disdainfully. The best way to deal with Worthy was to defeat Great Serpent or destroy Fear Hammer. Unfortunately, Earth could accomplish neither at present.

"Looks like I’ll have to act personally after all. Earth, it’s been a long time."

Cloaked Man did not waste any time. He suddenly appeared on Earth, and then dense orange light lit up around him. The orange glow rapidly spread across the entire planet at an astonishing speed.

In a short time, Earth was enveloped in orange light. Yet apart from the one beneath Manhattan, no one else noticed.

Blood-colored Armor sensed it for a moment, then sneered. "I was wondering who it was. So it’s you."

After Earthlings died, their souls had three possible destinations. First, those with devout faith ascended to divine kingdoms, such as Heaven. Second, those who had committed too much evil went to Hell, becoming demon grubs and starting over.

In truth, the first two destinations did not receive many people. One required devout faith—what genuine believers even existed in this era? The other required one to be a truly vile sinner, and such people were not common either.

Most souls followed the third path—wandering Earth, gradually merging with it, and becoming nourishment for new souls, like fallen leaves returning to their roots.

At that moment, as the orange light enveloped Earth, all the wandering souls came to a halt. Then their souls were gradually dyed orange, and their bodies slowly became solid.

"An army of billions of Ghosts—who can contend with me?"

Cloaked Man laughed wildly. At that moment, the cloak slipped from his body, revealing a bald red skull for a head.

Decades ago, Earthlings commonly called him—Red Skull.

Blood-colored Armor gripped his spear tightly and suddenly vanished. The next instant, a flash of blood-red light streaked past, and a smug head flew into the air.

Let us turn our attention back to the Frontlines. Of the more than a hundred demons, Hulk and the others had already cleared out a third. Before long, all the demons would be dealt with.

Things were going very smoothly for Hulk’s side, but Tony and the others were not so fortunate—they were being beaten down by God Abomination Knull.

"Weren’t you all so arrogant before? Why are you now looking as miserable as stray dogs? Trash like you dares look down on me, Knull?"

Knull blasted Iron Man away with lasers, then turned to meet Jessica’s punch. Jessica was sent flying on the spot, and the red glow around her fist almost completely vanished.

"Damn it."

Jessica gritted her teeth. Every time this bastard revived, he grew stronger. By now, she was completely unable to match him.

Tony said irritably, "I told you not to keep killing him, but you just wouldn’t stop. Are your brains made of muscle?"

"Shut up. Why do you have so much nonsense to say? No wonder Ivan says you’re a sissy."

Jessica snapped back. Tony nearly exploded with anger. How had Bert accepted such a female bastard as his disciple? "Stop talking nonsense and come help me trap him."

Ivan overlapped his twin whips, creating a gravitational field that trapped Knull in midair. Knull roared and struggled with all his might. The gravitational field shook nonstop, on the verge of collapse at any moment.

Seeing this, Tony hurried over and poured a huge amount of energy into the gravitational field. It immediately stabilized.

Knull roared angrily. Countless eyes covering his entire body fired lasers simultaneously, causing the gravitational field to become unstable again.

"Damn it."

Tony and Ivan cursed together, but there was nothing they could do. Knull was now several times stronger than before. More importantly, they could not kill him—each revival made him more powerful than the last.

"Lizard Doctor, Dr. Richards, do you have a way to deal with this monster?"

Using a Quantum Communicator, Ivan asked Dr. Richards and Lizard Doctor in the distance. As the logistical team, they had been standing by in the spaceship.

Furthermore, they had seen everything happening here through quantum technology.

"I do have a method."

After hesitating for a moment, Dr. Richards said, "Based on the information, there is a place in the universe specifically used to imprison God Abominations. That place is connected to black holes. I just calculated a formula that can banish Knull there."

"Really?"

Tony and Ivan were overjoyed. As expected of Dr. Richards—he truly came through. Just then, Dr. Richards continued, "However…"

Tony and Ivan’s hearts sank, and they had an ominous feeling. Sure enough, Dr. Richards went on, "However, there was too little time. I have not completed the calculations, so mistakes may occur and cause the Space Channel to become unstable.

If that happens, all the God Abominations imprisoned there may flood into the universe."

"What?"

Tony and Ivan sucked in cold breaths. One God Abomination was already this terrifying. If every God Abomination born throughout the universe’s history escaped, would that not be even more terrifying than the insect plague? Damon silently complained, These scientists really are more terrifying than the last.

"Dr. Richards, let us consider it first."

After thinking for a moment, Tony asked Lizard Doctor, "Lizard Doctor, do you have a way to deal with Knull?"

"Yes."

Lizard Doctor said, "Although God Abominations are born from Black Magic, he is ultimately flesh and blood. Since he is flesh and blood, he must have genes. I have just made a genetic poison by mixing together many different genes.

As long as it is injected into Knull, his genes will collapse. Even if he revives, they will continue collapsing. If they keep collapsing like that, Knull will eventually choose death.

I analyzed Knull’s previous words. Once he no longer wants to live, he will truly die."

"Great."

Everyone’s eyes lit up. At that moment, Lizard Doctor continued, "However…"

"Damn it, another ‘however’?"

Ivan cursed. Would it kill you not to add a twist? "With so little time, it is perfectly normal for a method developed in haste to have flaws. If you gave me a month, I guarantee I could erase Knull easily."

Lizard Doctor said unhappily, "Under normal circumstances, once the Gene Potion is injected, Knull will certainly die. But there is a one-in-ten-thousand chance that he overcomes the genetic collapse.

If that happens, his strength will return to the level of an ancient god, and a particularly powerful one at that."

"A God Abomination at ancient god level?"

Tony and Ivan looked grim. The divine power of a God Abomination possessed extremely potent contamination. If Knull advanced to ancient god level, this universe would gain a super demon lord.

Ivan said, "Let’s consider which method to use. Hopefully, our luck isn’t that bad."

On the other side, after being sent flying again and again, Jessica roared at Crimson God through the ruby, "Give me power! I want more power!"

Jessica and Crimson God had gotten along quite well lately, which was why she dared yell at Crimson God like this.

Crimson God appeared imposing and murderous on the surface, but once someone got to know him, they would find that he was merely a shut-in who disliked talking to strangers.

"Although I admire your drive, unless you can punch Knull into nothingness in one blow, giving you more power will be useless. He will only grow stronger the more you fight him."

Crimson God was somewhat speechless. He was already considered brainless, yet someone was even more brainless than him. No wonder they could become friends.

Jessica asked, "Is it possible to punch Knull into nothingness with one blow?"

"It is possible, as long as you comprehend the Concept of Power."

Crimson God said, "You have the conceptual seed bestowed by Blood God within you. Comprehending a concept will be easier for you than for others."

"I have no idea how to comprehend a concept. It’s even more of a headache than math."

Jessica said irritably. Carol and the others had comprehended concepts one after another—how could she not be anxious? The problem was that she did not even know how to work toward it, much less comprehend it.

"There are two ways to comprehend the Concept of Power. One is suitable for academic geniuses. Simply put, it means figuring out the principles and workings of force, such as how gravity is generated and how many ways it manifests."

Crimson God said, "Uh, that one definitely doesn’t suit you. You have no brains."

"Cyttorak!"

Jessica gritted her teeth in fury. Crimson God continued, "The second method is perfect for people without brains. This method does not require learning anything. You only need to keep throwing punches and destroy everything in front of you.

Once you have thrown enough punches, you will comprehend the Concept of Power. And when I say throwing punches, I mean doing so wholeheartedly, not merely flailing your fists around."

Jessica said irritably, "That method really does suit me, but it can’t solve the urgent problem."

Crimson God said, "I can provide a way for you to deal with Knull."

Jessica hurriedly asked, "What method?"

"Banish him to the Crimson Cosmos, and let me kill him."

Crimson God said excitedly, "An opponent who can never be killed… heh, just thinking about it excites me."

Crimson God, the greatest battle maniac in the universe.

Jessica asked, "Aren’t you afraid something will go wrong?"

"What is there to fear? At worst, we restart the Timeline."

Crimson God said indifferently. His territory, his rules. Even a God Abomination would be nothing more than his toy.

Jessica asked, "You’re amazing. How do we banish him?"

Crimson God said, "Use the ruby on your body. However, he must be unable to resist. The Space Channel is very fragile, and one slip could destroy it."

"Unable to resist?"

Jessica thought for a moment, then told Tony and Ivan about her conversation with Crimson God, asking them to find a way to solve the problem—she would handle the fighting.

Tony and Ivan exchanged a glance, then said to Lizard Doctor in unison, "Lizard Doctor, send over the Gene Potion. Whether he lives or dies depends on this."

"Alright. There are only enough materials to make one dose, so use it carefully."

Lizard Doctor nodded and dispatched a small Vibranium drone fighter to deliver the medicine.

At that moment, Knull roared and forcibly burst through the gravitational field, regaining his freedom.