Russell's figure was like a whirlwind, diverting the halothane gas to the side.
However, this was merely an auxiliary method to anesthetize Soldier Boy.
The real main event was the 'Novichok' nerve agent connected to the oxygen mask Soldier Boy was wearing. Every second, he inhaled a high dose of the poison, enough to easily cause a Carnage if leaked.
And the only effect this had was to anesthetize him.
Without the auxiliary anesthesia of the high-concentration halothane gas, Soldier Boy regained some consciousness. He opened his eyes and saw a tall young man standing before him, wearing a mask that covered half his face, observing him with his hands behind his back.
He awkwardly shifted his gaze, noticing the young man was wearing casual athletic wear. His age and attire made him seem like a student being led on a museum tour by a teacher.
How many years had passed? Could it be that he, Soldier Boy, had become a living exhibit that students could freely visit?
...No.
Sparks of thought barely connected and flickered in his mind, and Soldier Boy discarded the absurd idea that had just emerged.
This kid, he absolutely couldn't be a soldier from this military Base, or a high-ranking official here for a visit. Could it be that Vought International had finally come to rescue him after all these years?
Soldier Boy didn't have time to think further. Instinctively, he reached out to remove the gas mask he was wearing, but as he weakly raised his hand, it was pressed down by another hand.
Hmm?
Soldier Boy exerted force, but despite his extreme weakness, he couldn't pry off that hand. He couldn't help but widen his eyes, looking at the person in front of him.
There was no one from this Base around. This young man who infiltrated this Base opened this damned canister, wasn't it to save him?
Bang!
The next second, a fist struck his forehead, seemingly answering his question.
Didn't faint?
A slightly surprised sound.
Soldier Boy's head swayed. His sluggish nerves, anesthetized by the gas, hadn't reacted yet.
Bang bang bang!
A rapid series of punches like lightning. The power and speed of each punch were enough to sink a ship. In an instant, thousands of fists struck Soldier Boy's head within a second.
Even if Soldier Boy wanted to escape this damned canister again, he was uncontrollably knocked out. Before losing consciousness, his last sight was of the young man picking up the heavy hatch door again, preparing to put it back in its original place.
No, what was he after?
Even if the entire Atlantic Ocean were poured out, it would be difficult to wash away the depression and rage in Soldier Boy's heart. There were countless words starting with 'f' he wanted to spout.
Could it be that this person ran into a heavily guarded military Base just to open the canister, look at him for a bit, and beat him up?
Ultimately, Soldier Boy's head tilted and he fainted. The hatch door was forcefully put back in place.
The continuously released halothane gas quickly refilled the entire canister. Soldier Boy, after briefly regaining consciousness for less than a few seconds after more than a decade, once again fell into deep sleep and anesthesia.
[Soldier Boy Template Acquired]
Having achieved his purpose here, Russell left with satisfaction.
From beginning to end, no one in this military Base knew that someone had leisurely visited the deepest part of the heavily guarded building. It's likely that only during the next inspection, they would belatedly discover the canister might have been tampered with, based on the fingerprints left on the deformed steel hatch door.
Traveling to the Antarctic at extreme speed, amidst the fierce ice and snow, Russell took a deep breath, changed his application panel, and prepared to test Soldier Boy's power.
[Applying Template: Soldier Boy
Abilities: Super Strength, Super Speed, Super Defense, Chest Blast, Super Senses, Super Stamina, Accelerated Healing, Longevity...]
The Antarctic polar night was torn open by a ghastly green rift of the aurora. Russell's figure cast a long, distorted shadow on the ice plain.
The speed is much slower compared to the Red Rush template.
The figure, which had turned into lightning, suddenly stopped. Aiming at a tall blue iceberg a hundred meters away, he bent his body, gathered strength, and crushed the ten-thousand-year-old permafrost beneath his feet.
Boom!
The ice layer beneath Russell's feet cracked open in a spiderweb pattern twenty meters in diameter. The shockwave lifted over ten tons of surrounding ice fragments into the air. His body shot up like a cannonball, turning into a gray lightning bolt heading towards the iceberg.
The moment his fist made contact, the blue and white iceberg first indented, and then—instantly split apart!
Bang!!!
The entire several-hundred-meter-tall iceberg shattered with a crash. The shockwave spread out in a ring, sweeping away the floating snow within a radius of several kilometers.
Like a volcanic eruption, truck-sized chunks of iceberg fragments were blasted high into the sky by the fierce and unparalleled force, turning into meteors and disappearing.
Shattering and leveling a large mountain with one punch, his fist completely unharmed, Russell couldn't believe the power he now possessed.
But the strength has increased by more than tenfold!
Compared to lightning-like speed, possessing the power to move mountains and fill seas is more exhilarating.
Russell estimated that the power he currently possessed surpassed Mark's, and not by just a little bit, but at least by forty to fifty percent.
Now, if he fought Mark again, he would no longer need to constantly dodge Mark's attacks by relying on the Red Rush template.
Instead, he could overpower Mark even in a head-on confrontation on the ground.
The untrained Mark only had one ability left, flight, which allowed him to maneuver and evade, making him untouchable and unbeatable.
The figure with the red cape flashed through his mind.
Russell's smile gradually faded.
His current strength might be considered excellent among ordinary Viltrumite soldiers, but it was still not enough to arm wrestle with Omni-Man.
Omni-Man is one of the few elite warriors among the Viltrumites.
However, this also gave him some confidence to face his uncle Omni-Man, who intended to conquer Earth.
A large part of the pressure on Russell's mind lifted.
At least he wouldn't be beaten as badly as Mark in the original plot, unable to move with his neck choked, leading to a bloody subway collision.
He wouldn't experience the powerlessness of being unable to do anything, only able to watch as others crashed into him and were turned into pulp, with blood splattering.
[Conquest Points: 1482]
I can still become stronger, for example, by solidifying one or two abilities that Viltrumites don't possess. Russell's mind flashed with Kimiko, who had accelerated healing in the plot, and the laser-eyed baby...
He narrowed his eyes.
Soldier Boy also comes with accelerated healing, recovering faster than Viltrumites. However, if severely injured, it would still take at least a night or even longer to recover.
He would still inevitably lose combat capability temporarily if severely injured in a fight.
It would be best to acquire and solidify a template with flight ability.
Even if he couldn't fly fast, when using the Soldier Boy template, he could fly when facing strong enemies, avoiding the awkward situation of being stuck on the ground, just staring.
...
In New York at dusk, the skyline was painted rose-red by the setting sun.
The timeline hasn't arrived yet.
Kimiko hasn't been smuggled in by the terrorist organization secretly supported by Homelander. I visited the hospitals that collaborated with 'Samaritan's Embrace', and the laser-eyed baby doesn't seem to have been born yet.
After wandering around for a bit, having nowhere else to go for the moment, Russell sat on a park bench not far from New York's Central Plaza, planning out his next course of action.
Who are the superpowered individuals in the plot who can fly?
Aside from flight ability, other abilities shouldn't be too strong, like the flying Martian or Immortal. Solidifying them would require tens of thousands, or even several tens of thousands of Conquest Points.
He currently had far from enough Conquest Points.
Just then, on the giant electronic screen in Central Plaza, the latest promotional video for the new members of Vought Company's The Seven began playing again.