Armor, Storage Ring
The Chase
At the foot of the mountain, Dr. Phil slid down the zipline and staggered into a clearing hidden within the dense forest.
The moment he unhooked himself, the sound of something cutting through the air made him spin around. His eyes widened.
The same figure was already descending from the sky, closing in fast.
"Damn it!"
Snarling, Phil sprinted toward a wooden shack at the edge of the clearing. A moment later, an off-road vehicle burst out from within. Tires screeched, dirt flew, and the SUV fishtailed before tearing down the opposite path from Xu Mo.
Behind the wheel, Phil pressed the accelerator to the floor. The vehicle roared, but no matter how powerful it was, there was no way a car could outrun a flying pursuer on this terrain.
Xu Mo was already less than fifty meters behind.
Desperate, Phil pulled a pistol from the glove compartment. Stretching his arm out the window, he fired wildly into the sky.
But ordinary bullets meant nothing to Xu Mo. He wove effortlessly through the spray of gunfire, untouched.
Phil's focus slipped—just in time for the headlights to reveal a massive tree lying across the road.
He yanked the wheel, too late.
CRASH!
The SUV slammed into the trunk at nearly 150 kilometers an hour, launched into the air, rolled, and slammed sideways into the forest. After tumbling violently, it ended up impaled against a tree, suspended several meters above the ground.
Inside, Phil groaned, blood matting his face as he tried to clear his head.
That was when Xu Mo appeared, floating calmly into view.
Hovering before the wreckage, Xu Mo smiled faintly.
"Doctor… this isn't a good place to park."
He kicked the vehicle off the tree.
Phil's scream tore through the night as the car plummeted. But just before impact, an invisible force caught it. Xu Mo's telekinesis lowered the wreck gently to the ground.
Landing beside it, he ripped the warped door away and dragged the half-conscious man from the wreck. Tossing him to the dirt, Xu Mo asked coldly:
"Now… do you want to start talking on your own, or should I make you?"
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!" Phil blurted in panic.
---
The Truth
Under pressure, Dr. Phil quickly broke.
His real name was Phil Andrew, once a researcher under Colonel William Stryker. He had survived the destruction of the Alkali Lake base (Weapon X) only because he'd been away during the final battle.
Since then, he'd secretly worked on a project to transfer mutant healing factors. Sabretooth had been his prime target. Using the last of Stryker's control serums, Phil managed to subdue the feral mutant long enough to extract samples. His goal: splice Sabretooth's healing factor into his own body.
But the process required adamantium bonding. Phil claimed he had reconstructed Stryker's formula for the metal alloy—yet he lacked one critical catalyst.
Vibranium.
His investigations led him to Ulysses Klaue's black-market network, which explained the recent chain of events.
"You have the adamantium formula?" Xu Mo pressed.
"Yes!" Phil panted. "And all the other rare metals are already stored in the lab. With vibranium, I can synthesize adamantium—complete, genuine adamantium!"
He rambled on quickly, desperate to prove his worth.
Xu Mo's lips curved into a thin smile. He had expected to uncover mind-controlled mutants, but this prize was far more valuable. The formula for adamantium was not something easily obtained.
He contacted Avril, instructing her to retrieve the vibranium left aboard his private jet. Then, gripping Phil like cargo, he flew back toward the destroyed laboratory.
---
The Next Day
A jet roared out of the Appalachian Mountains, vanishing into the morning sky. Behind, the remnants of the base were consumed by fire and a massive explosion.
Inside the aircraft, Xu Mo studied his new creation.
On the table before him rested a completed set of adamantium-vibranium armor.
Unlike Tony Stark's highly technical Iron Man suits, Xu Mo's armor was forged entirely from exotic metals, sleek and jet-black, designed for psychic resonance rather than circuitry. No electronics, no power cores—just indestructible plates shaped into streamlined protection.
With his telekinetic control, he needed no onboard systems. The armor existed to shield his body and serve as an extension of his will.
Sixteen throwing knives, each forged from adamantium, were mounted along his arms and legs. Across his back, a scabbard housed a single adamantium longsword—his weapon for close combat.
Satisfied, Xu Mo opened the system mall interface. His points after the raid totaled 27,000.
Scrolling through, he reviewed the storage equipment available:
[Storage Ring (F-Class): 1,000 cubic meters — 3,000 points]
[Storage Ring (E-Class): 1,000,000 cubic meters — 20,000 points]
[Storage Ring (SS-Class): 1,000,000 cubic kilometers — 300,000 points]
[Realm Master World (D-Class): A self-contained world 100,000 km in diameter, capable of supporting life — 1,000,000 points]
[Divine Kingdom Crystal (D-Class): A 1-million-km-diameter pocket dimension from a fallen immortal — 10,000,000 points]
The options dazzled him. A D-class Realm Master World could contain the entire Earth ten times over. But the staggering point costs quickly sobered him.
For now, practicality won.
"Redeem F-Class storage ring," Xu Mo commanded.
A silver band materialized in his palm, simple yet pulsing with spatial energy.
"Congratulations to the host. F-Class Storage Ring acquired. Cost: 3,000 points."
Xu Mo slipped it onto his finger, already envisioning how this small tool would support his future campaigns.
His smile was sharp. The real war was only beginning.