Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 385 The Anger of Scientific Researchers (Second Update)

As before, Salomon denied her various psychological problems, and ROOT didn't persist any longer. For her, completing the tasks assigned by the artificial intelligence was the most important thing; the Immortal City was merely a stopover before embarking on her mission. Once she finished her work there, the artificial intelligence would provide her with a false identity and enough money to maintain it, allowing her to move freely in secular society.

Salomon doesn't need to worry about this part. In today's world where everything is connected to the internet, that machine can handle anything related to human society.

Maya Hansen was overjoyed to welcome ROOT; she had been looking forward to her new colleague for a long time. But Salomon privately warned her to be wary of the woman. "ROOT is a real madwoman," Salomon said, gesturing to the room behind him. "Remember that hologram? She's using it as an altar, talking to God right now. She's a martyr, a fanatic; people like that have no reason. I won't let those druids show up while ROOT's here. Remember to call them and give them a few days off. I've given them a hefty paycheck; those poor kids can get things they couldn't before."

Miss Maya Hansen shook her head and said nonchalantly, "That artificial intelligence is indeed no different from God. Aren't cyber God and cyber psychopaths the perfect match?"

"Just remember not to bring anyone else to my study," Salomon said. "Only you are allowed in that room, understand?"

"You're so long-winded. That's my room too."

"Hmm, I have another report here." Salomon lowered his head and pulled a crumpled document from his pouch. A4 paper was wrapped in brownish-yellow parchment, the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo printed on the front. "Classified, classified, classified—I'll repeat that three times." He turned to a page. "This is information about the Centipede Warriors. The so-called Centipede Warriors are people who inject a failed mixture of your Extremis virus, Chitauri alien metal, and a modified version of the Super Soldier Serum isolated from Steve Rogers. Agent Coulson gave this document to me secretly…"

"Are you sure? It sounds like the injector is about to explode!" Maya Hansen snatched the document and examined it closely, her eyes practically glued to the paper.

"Do they think my Extremis virus is some kind of toy? The Extremis virus's true power lies in rewriting genetic material. If it weren't for that ability, I wouldn't have taken on your job! Do you know what price I paid to stabilize the Extremis virus...?"

"Ah, sleeping with Stark."

"Don't bring this up again, you have no idea how embarrassed I am," she said, glancing at the documents. "I didn't expect that mixing the Super Soldier Serum with the Extremis Virus would actually produce such good results. The Extremis Virus can lower the receptor threshold for Super Soldiers, but its stability is even worse. As for Chitauri metal, I didn't think it would be of any use. If those centipede warriors didn't explode, it means someone conducted experiments on it, enhancing the stability of the Extremis Virus. Hey! Look at this data!"

She pointed frantically at the charts in the document, her fingers darting hurriedly across the dense text and winding lines. Salomon saw her fingernails leave indentations on the A4 paper, like cat scratches on a sofa. "This isn't my experimental data! Someone used a different method to stabilize the Extremis virus!"

"They used a serum from a fire-elemental superhuman," Salomon shrugged. "Nature's optimal solution."

"Shit! What I couldn't accomplish in thirteen years! They did it with a superhuman! It's fucking bullshit!" Maya Hansen couldn't accept this fact. She angrily waved the document, creating a gust of wind in the corridor. Her expression became even more terrifying. If the researchers who solved this problem stood in front of her, Salomon had no doubt she would bite them. "Damn it! They used my work and then gave an answer they didn't even know themselves! They just cultivated a specific substance, but didn't know why that substance could stabilize the Extremis virus! This is an insult to me, an insult to the spirit of science! Those researchers are rubbish!"

"Maya..."

"If you ask me to use the fire-resistant cells of hellish creatures and the Extremis virus..."

"Maya, I've said it before, I don't want that kind of low-grade stuff. Your Extremis ability is powerful and important. But in this project, Extremis is just a tool, a tool to rewrite DNA, a tool to precisely program the cultivation of artificial organs. Our enemy is not humanity, remember? Heaven, Hell, all extradimensional beings and dark magic creatures are our enemies. We want to give those warriors power beyond human capabilities, and we want to use those warriors to crush humanity's enemies."

"Alright, alright, I understand what you mean. I'm just angry that someone is misusing the Extremis virus." Maya Hansen seemed to have calmed down. She slammed the file on Salomon's chest. "The kind of antidote Agent Coulson requested doesn't exist, you understand? When the Extremis virus is injected, the test subject's DNA is altered. Unless I have the test subject's original DNA sample and then knock out and rewrite it base by base, it's impossible to obtain an antidote—that's a huge amount of work, I don't have time. If it's injected randomly, the most likely outcome is that everyone injected with the antidote will develop Down syndrome."

"I was just asking casually, don't take it to heart. Let Agent Coulson worry about it; I'll just tell him there's no cure." Salomon chuckled. "You can take the day off too, go shopping with ROOT for some clothes he likes. You know my bank card PIN; it's the one I keep in my drawer."

Maya Hansen let out a long sigh of relief and asked, "And you?"

"Me?" Salomon took out a timetable from his dimensional bag and glanced at the gift Bayonetta had given him. "In about three minutes, I'll be going to learn today's new magic. Today's schedule is evocation spells, and I'll also be reviewing yesterday's necromancy spells. Oh, once Nick Fury's death row inmate arrives, you can start experimenting, and I can use the failed experiments' materials as research material for necromancy. I can finally start learning the sac-rotting spell that I've been longing for."

"What is that?"

"Plague. Plague has always been one of the ultimate methods of necromancy. You can learn about plague spells from the very beginning of your necromancy journey. Remember when I told you that the essence of necromancy is the manipulation of positive and negative energy? The arcane mages of Kamar-Taj are people with a very high affinity for positive and negative energy, and therefore are also attracted to the dark dimension, hell, and the abyss, becoming dark wizards who practice necromancy. But this necromancy is different; the core idea of ​​this school of necromancy is the manipulation of corrupted power."

At this point, Salomon couldn't help but curl his lip. He said, "Of course, not many people study this. After all, necromancy is so difficult, so smelly, and so unpopular. You have to dig up corpses everywhere, and you might accidentally cause a biohazard. There are no flashy explosions or cool summons, no dizzying illusions or the ability to manipulate human nature. Unless you're a dark punk geek, very few people would actually learn this school of magic. However, if I make some progress in necromancy, maybe it can be of some help to you."

"You're so thoughtful."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)