Marvel: The Imposter Inventor

Chapter 237 Shrinking
Of course, although a 'new project' was mentioned, developing the 'Blacklight Virus' was not exactly urgent for Luca.

At least until a stable, ultimate version of the Blacklight virus is available, Luca himself will not want to use this enhancement on himself.

If it's simply about strengthening his subordinates, then Luca has plenty of options right now.

Leaving aside his more familiar mechanical field and the somewhat risky demon enhancement.

The stable version of the Extremis virus in front of us is also a good option.

According to Shirley's introduction.

The stable version of Extremis can also regenerate severed limbs, and its repair speed and strength are in no way inferior to the original version.

Unless it's a fatal injury like damage to the brain, heart, or multiple internal organs, a loss of less than 30% of body tissue can be quickly and completely repaired within one minute.

At the same time, although the ability enhancement has been weakened, it can still bring users of the Extremis Virus decent combat abilities such as high-temperature attacks and breathing fire.

However, although Luca had Sherry fetch him another dose of the Extremis Virus injection, after some hesitation, Luca still did not choose to inject himself directly with the enhancement.

After all, these various robotic arms are now an important means of survival for Luca in combat.

Currently, Luca carries several robotic arms in his universal capsule, including the Electric Shock Arm [Overture] and the Healing Arm [Sweet Captive], which do not require special materials.

Although Luca's technology allows him to create similar wearable arm armor once his arm is fully restored, the corresponding conceptual power will certainly not be retained.

Carrying an extra 'Extreme Virus' is mainly for saving your own life or the lives of your companions who can't accept [Sweet Captive] in times of crisis.

Moreover, Luca also hopes that he might be able to synthesize an even stronger mechanical arm in the future. After injecting it with the Extremis virus, there will be no way to cut off its hand.

'Garlic Bird, Garlic Bird~ The mechanical arm is pretty good too. Once the Pink Dragon Fruit is synthesized, I won't lack this physical enhancement.'

After introducing the Extremis virus, Sherry also briefly mentioned the situation of 'APTX4869' and 'Shrink Pill'.

The 'Shrinking Pill - Shirley Edition' is produced by the same company as the original Grey Wolf, and its effects are basically the same, allowing the user's body to shrink to one-tenth of its original size.

However, since there is no corresponding 'Growth Pill', Luca only plans to have Sherry produce a small quantity of this thing, which can be used to scam people later.

Unlike the 'shrinking pill', 'APTX4869' is a product that Shirley has been developing independently for many years. Now, not only has the deadly toxicity been eliminated, but its efficacy has also been stabilized. At the same time, Shirley has also developed the corresponding 'antidote'.

"So, with this medicine, I can age indefinitely and change size at will?"

Although the term 'rejuvenation' might not be entirely accurate for a young man like Luca, who wouldn't want to have an infinite lifespan and youth?

However, seeing Luca's eager look, Shirley, with her hands in her pockets, spoke again, her expression still cold.

"APTX4869 essentially works by stimulating the body to disable sphingomyelinase inhibitors, thereby promoting the production of telomerase, lengthening telomeres, and allowing cells to exceed their division limits, enabling stem cells to reverse differentiation and return to a youthful state. Therefore..."

At this point, Shirley, seeing Lucan's increasingly dazed state with round eyes, stopped her theoretical explanation with a touch of helplessness and spoke directly.

"In short, APTX4869 can only reduce a person to the state of a child around 7 years old. Without an antidote, the user will remain in the physical state of a 7-year-old. However, if the antidote is taken to stop the production of telomerase, the user will return to their original age."

"In other words, unless you want to stay in the body of a 7-year-old forever, immortality is impossible."

Upon hearing Shirley's straightforward explanation, Luca paused for a moment, but then didn't seem to care much.

He's not in a hurry for immortality; it's just a matter of getting immortal.

Moreover, Luca believed that his magic weapon must have other ways of working.

For example, the [Blacklight Virus] that I just got my hands on?

"Okay, so, does this medicine have any side effects?"

Seeing that Luca didn't seem to care, Shirley didn't say much, but continued along with his line of thought. "Well, if I had to name a side effect, it would probably be that it hurts a lot when the body shrinks? Or, the continuous shrinking and growing would consume a lot of energy, requiring food to replenish protein? Apart from that, I can't think of anything else that could be considered a side effect."

Upon hearing this, a smile immediately appeared on Luca's face.

"That means there are absolutely no side effects!"

Seeing Sherry nod in affirmation, Luca casually tossed the 'APTX4869' directly into his mouth.

"I'll try it out first to see how it works!"

"Ah, don't!"

The two spoke at the same time, but compared to Luca's eagerness, Sherry's originally calm and aloof face was now filled with speechless panic.

"what?"

Seeing Shirley's expression, Luca was also stunned for a moment.

The reason he dared to take 'ARTX4869' directly was because he believed that Sherry, with the backing of a golden finger, would never deceive him.

If they say there are no side effects, then there definitely aren't.

If they say they've developed an antidote, then it's definitely not a lie.

'Is it because they're afraid I can't bear the pain?'

Before Luca could say anything more, he felt a tingling sensation all over his body, followed by a fever, accompanied by weakness and muscle soreness.

Although it was indeed somewhat uncomfortable, it was not at all like the excruciating pain that Luca had previously imagined, such as muscle and bone tearing.

'Is this alright? It didn't hurt that much?'

Immediately afterwards, Luca felt everything around him growing taller rapidly.

Then, with a 'clang,' the mechanical arm on the right hand fell to the ground due to the change in body position.

The clothes that had fit perfectly before were now loosely and haphazardly wrapped around her body, with the sleeves and trouser legs all dragging sloppily on the ground.

Looking up at the wide sleeves, Luca found it amusing.

"Not bad, not bad, I'll use that to scam Tony next!"

After talking to himself, he looked at Shirley again and asked curiously in a slightly strange childish voice.

"It hurts a little, but it doesn't seem too serious. So, Sherry, what were you worried about earlier?"

However, when Luca asked her a question, Shirley didn't say anything, and just looked at him with a strange expression.

However, Luca, caught up in the moment, didn't pay much attention and was instead preoccupied with figuring out how to trick Tony Stark later.

"It feels pretty good. Please prepare more APTX4869 for me later. Hehe, who knows, maybe one day we can even form some kind of Young Avengers."

"Alright, Sherry, give me the antidote. It's really inconvenient for you with your small arms and legs."

To everyone's surprise, Shirley's strange expression turned into a suppressed laugh upon hearing Luca's words, and she even quietly took a half step back.

"."

"."

(End of this chapter)