Hellfire (500 Average Subscriptions Bonus Chapter)

After existing for many years, Afterlife had raised generation after generation of Inhumans and developed its own methods.

Gordon suddenly appeared, holding a box in both hands. He opened it to reveal five Obelisks.

He set the box on an ancient stone table, then vanished again.

Lincoln was severely weakened and could not get out of bed for the time being. He needed someone to look after him, change his clothes, and feed him, so she could not be away for long.

Jia Ying took out four Obelisks, looking both pained and hesitant.

The number of Obelisks left on Earth was limited. Afterlife only had five remaining now, and every one used meant one fewer.

After thousands of years of continuous breeding, each Inhuman carried differing amounts of Kree genes and required different amounts of Terrigen Mist.

For sustainable development, Afterlife had always strictly controlled its usage. Most Inhumans had no chance of reaching full saturation.

Over all these years, only Skye had been an exception.

She was Jia Ying’s daughter and had always possessed relatively more Kree genes. On top of that, she had directly absorbed all the Terrigen Mist from an entire Obelisk, pushing her potential to its limit. That was why she was even stronger than in the TV series.

Normally, a single Obelisk could last at least a hundred years.

But now, at Old Wang’s request, they had taken out four Obelisks to ensure that all four candidates could reach saturation and develop their potential to the limit.

If they had not received an entire box of Resurrection Serum and immunity agents, the elders would never have agreed, no matter how strongly Jia Ying supported it.

Afterlife had a transformation chamber similar to the Kree Temple, specifically used to activate Obelisks.

Andrew was composed, Yo-Yo was nervous, and Raina was more cautious. She wanted to see the others’ results first.

James went in first.

A few minutes later, the doors opened, and James, whose body was covered in a layer of black stone, was carried out.

The transformation chamber was extremely important. It was not impossible to rebuild, but it would be troublesome. No one knew what abilities each person would awaken. What if someone caused massive destruction?

Afterlife had another room, made from polymer materials, specifically for holding newly transformed people.

James was quickly moved there.

An elderly woman emerged carrying the Obelisk. She nodded at Jia Ying, then said with some regret, "His potential is enormous. He used up one-third of it."

Jia Ying raised an eyebrow.

Even in Afterlife’s thousands of years of history, James’s potential was considered impressive. No one knew what ability he had awakened.

To prevent accidents, Afterlife had always settled one person before transforming the next.

Everyone gathered in the observation room to watch.

Inhuman transformations had one characteristic: the longer the petrification lasted, the lower the potential.

Skye had only been petrified for a few minutes.

Old Wang remembered that in the TV series, some congressman’s younger brother had been petrified for several months. There had been practically no difference between awakening and not awakening.

James’s potential was indeed good, so the process naturally would not take too long.

After waiting two hours, a change finally occurred.

The black stone covering James’s body began to resemble red-hot bricks fresh from a kiln.

Then massive flames burst from the cracks in the stone, creating an exceptionally eerie sight.

They did not seem to be ordinary flames.

Jia Ying frowned slightly.

She was extraordinarily knowledgeable, practically Afterlife’s living dictionary. She knew every Inhuman and every Inhuman ability throughout history. She could name at least twenty fire-related abilities, yet none resembled this.

If she had to say, it seemed somewhat like that person who had been quite active recently.

Could it be…

"It’s Hellfire."

Old Wang said calmly, "A weakened version."

He explained James’s origins, and the confusion on Jia Ying’s face gradually faded.

Carter Slade, the horseback-riding Ghost Rider, had been a legend of his generation many years ago. Who would have thought that James was his descendant—and that, for some unknown reason, he had inherited the Ghost Rider’s ability to control Hellfire?

This ability was obviously weak, but after the Kree genes in James’s body had been awakened, it had reappeared. Who knew whether it was stronger or weaker than a true Ghost Rider’s power?

Fire-based abilities were extremely common and, logically, should not be that powerful.

Abilities like her own, Gordon’s, and Skye’s, unique throughout all of history, were the truly top-tier ones.

But what James controlled was not ordinary fire. It was Hellfire. Perhaps that counted as a unique ability too?

"A Ghost Rider’s descendant? He should have the greatest potential among the four," an elderly woman declared.

Old Wang merely smiled without speaking.

A Ghost Rider’s descendant did indeed have an impressive background, and Hellfire was indeed a formidable ability. But how could James possibly be compared to a Ghost Rider?

He was not even worthy of carrying one’s shoes.

As for the other three?

Old Wang had long passed the age of showing off and slapping faces. He had no interest in mocking them.

They would wait and see.

The temperature in the room rose higher and higher. An elderly elder with poor health pulled a remote control from his pocket, turned on the air conditioning, and set it to its lowest temperature.

It was still useless.

The temperature in the entire room soon rose to 50 degrees.

The old man was preparing to retreat in embarrassment when he saw Old Wang smile faintly.

A layer of True Qi formed a barrier, confining all the Hellfire within a very small area. Under the cooling of the high-powered air conditioner, the temperature elsewhere slowly returned to normal.

"So strong!"

Wiping away sweat, the old man exclaimed, "He’s almost as strong as Lincoln!"

Lincoln and Gordon were the Inhumans with the greatest potential in the past few centuries. This was clearly high praise.

The other elders nodded one after another, all looking somewhat envious.

Old Wang remained silent.

Poverty limited the imagination of the people of Afterlife.

Earth had far more Inhumans than the Moon, yet it had failed to produce even a first-tier Super Hero like Black Bolt, or even a second-tier one like Spider-Man. It was not that their genes were inferior—they were simply too poor.

There were too few Obelisks and not enough Terrigen Mist. Otherwise, Gordon might not necessarily have been weaker than that mutt on the Moon.

Unfortunately, transformation could only be performed once. Gordon no longer had any hope.

A few more minutes passed before the rock suddenly shattered, revealing James’s naked body.

He did not look as expected. His hair, eyebrows, beard—every bit of hair that should have been there was still there, but all of it had turned red and caught fire. His whole body seemed to have been ignited, and what flowed through his veins did not seem to be blood.

It was liquid Hellfire.

"I’m so strong!"

Like many Qidian protagonists who had obtained a Golden Finger, James was overwhelmed with excitement.

He was just about to obey his body’s instinctive urge and unleash flames to destroy everything.

Then a mass of water fell from above, extinguishing every flame on his body and leaving him drenched like a drowned rat.

James stood there blankly, unable to believe it.

Just a moment ago, I thought I’d become the protagonist, standing alongside Prometheus and Apollo from myth and legend. Then, the very next moment, I got extinguished by water.

This… this…

How could this happen?

James’s fury surged, and every cell in his body began to emit flames.

No.

I am the god of fire. I am the strongest!

Old Wang frowned.

An Inhuman’s ability came from its genes and originated in its cells. James’s Hellfire was not ordinary flame. Though it could be extinguished by the elemental water Old Wang condensed, it was a renewable resource.

It would revive soon enough.

But he had no time to waste on him.

More importantly, this guy was an exhibitionist. He was naked, had nothing much to show off, so what was there to flaunt?

Whoosh!

Sensing its master’s intent, the Crimson Magic Belt immediately flew over, widened and lengthened, bound James up like a rice dumpling, and tossed him aside.

"Calm down first, Hellfire."

Having casually given him a nickname, Old Wang stopped paying attention to the life-questioning James and looked at Jia Ying. "Auntie, the next one can begin."

Hellfire’s ability had both surprised and delighted the elders.

Since they had decided to contact the Inhumans on the Moon, the stronger Afterlife’s overall strength was, the better. Hellfire’s appearance was like a shot of adrenaline, adding a trace of confidence to their already limited reserves.

"I hope the other three are as strong as he is." An elderly woman’s eyes were filled with anticipation.

The elders all shook their heads, not holding much hope.

One surprise like Hellfire was enough. They did not expect a second.

"I-I’ll go."

Having personally witnessed Hellfire’s transformation, seeing that he had not only grown stronger but also undergone little change in appearance, Yo-Yo’s nervousness eased slightly.

She encouraged herself inwardly, walked into the transformation chamber, and was carried into the observation room a few minutes later.

There would be another update later.