With the immediate conflict resolved—and the legendary reward secured—Huang Wen felt a profound sense of satisfaction.
"Come on, Rogue. Let's get this frozen popsicle into a bed before he wakes up laughing again," Logan instructed, carefully hoisting the utterly exhausted and panting Iceman Bobby over his shoulder. Bobby was limp, having been thoroughly drained physically and psychically.
Little Anna (Rogue), her face etched with concern, quickly hurried alongside Logan, casting a final, wary glance at Huang Wen before disappearing up the stairs. The martial arts master had gone from a curiosity to an unpredictable, terrifying figure in the space of ten minutes.
It was in this moment of quiet, charged with the lingering chill of ice and the scent of ozone, that the two remaining figures approached Huang Wen simultaneously: John the Fireman and Bruce Banner.
They exchanged a quick, knowing glance—an unspoken alliance formed in the face of overwhelming power—and then, with perfectly synchronized determination, spoke almost in unison: "Mr. Huang Wen, sir, we humbly request the honor of studying under you… becoming your apprentices."
Bruce Banner, the theoretical physicist, immediately clarified his specific objective, his eyes gleaming with intellectual hunger. "I want to learn martial arts that specifically enhance Shen—spiritual and mental capabilities. I need that level of inner control."
John the Fireman, the restless pyrokinetic, was far less subtle, his request tinged with the typical teenage desire for instant gratification. "I want to learn all of it. Everything. Mr. Huang, could you possibly take me on as a student?"
Huang Wen's mind raced. This is an even greater windfall than the fight itself! A true opportunity to gain significant rewards without even having to throw a punch. He did not hesitate, immediately issuing two separate missions on his system interface.
"Issue a mission: Recruit Bruce Banner as an official apprentice."
"Issue a mission: Recruit John the Fireman as an official apprentice."
"Quest being generated: Recruit Bruce Banner as an official apprentice. Reward: One Legendary Skill Lottery Draw. Accept?"
"Generating quest: Recruit John the Fireman as an official apprentice. Reward: One Extraordinary Item Lottery Draw. Accept?"
"Accept!" Huang Wen's eyes lit up. He couldn't suppress the genuine joy in his heart. Another Legendary Draw! Banner is truly a walking jackpot. The sheer weight of the Hulk's power and Banner's genius was enough to classify him as a legendary mission objective. The only slight pity was the absence of a Character Lottery, which would have offered a more comprehensive set of rewards.
"Alright, since you have shown true sincerity in seeking the Path, I accept. From this moment forth, you two are my official disciples," Huang Wen looked at Bruce Banner and John the Fireman, nodding with deep satisfaction. He smiled warmly. "But that's enough excitement for one evening. Go upstairs and find a place to rest. Starting tomorrow, the real work begins, and I will personally teach you the foundational principles of Kung Fu in detail!"
"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Teacher!" Bruce Banner and John the Fireman were both overwhelmed with joy. They hadn't expected Huang Wen, after such a dramatic confrontation, to agree so easily and immediately. They bowed slightly, their faces alight with the hope of power and control.
No sooner had they celebrated than the quiet system notifications rang in Huang Wen's inner ear:
"Ding! Mission: Recruiting Bruce Banner as an official apprentice has been completed. Reward: One Legendary Skill Lottery Draw."
"Ding! Mission: Recruiting John the Fireman as an official apprentice has been completed. Reward: One Extraordinary Item Lottery Draw."
Two consecutive completion sounds brought a deep, satisfying smile to Huang Wen's lips. This was, by far, the fastest he had ever completed high-value missions, surpassing even the swift captures of Logan and the Punisher. More importantly, the sheer accumulation of rewards was staggering.
With the victory over Iceman Bobby and the two new apprentices, Huang Wen now possessed three chances for a Legendary Skill Draw and two chances for an Extraordinary Item Draw. Tonight, after a long period of foundational accumulation, Huang Wen would finally feel the exhilarating taste of truly exponential growth once more.
As if summoned by the sounds of new disciples, Logan reappeared at the gym entrance, having successfully stashed Bobby upstairs. He took one look at the beaming Banner and the suddenly respectful John, and his lips twitched into a reluctant snarl.
"No way, Boss. You've already poached two of Charles's guys in about thirty seconds of chatting?" Logan grumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Aren't you afraid Professor X is going to telepathically slap you for stealing his students?"
"We are all adults, Logan, even the young ones. Don't they have the inherent right to choose where and what they study?" Huang Wen replied with a faint, philosophical smile. He knew Logan wasn't seriously worried. "Besides, I genuinely believe Professor Charles is a reasonable man, especially when presented with a new path to inner peace and control, which Banner so clearly needs."
"Alright, I sincerely hope you're right about him being reasonable," Logan conceded with a shrug, looking helplessly at his Master. He was less concerned about Charles and more concerned about the immediate logistics. "Didn't you want me to tell you what happened and why I came back so quickly? It's a long story, involving a lot of crazy military men and a big green explosion."
"Um… okay then. I suppose the draws can wait another hour," Huang Wen reluctantly agreed. The lure of the three Legendary Draws was intense, but he had promised Logan his attention. Besides, the more intelligence he had about the wider world—specifically the events that made the Hulk appear—the better he could prepare for the future.
"First, find an empty room upstairs and squeeze in. Banner, John, you too. We'll be discussing business, and I need you all well-rested," Huang Wen instructed, turning to his new disciples. "My martial arts school is going to be closed for renovations soon. When that happens, you'll either need to find your own place nearby, or I can arrange for temporary accommodations at the hot pot restaurant."
"Closed for… renovations? I was only gone for a couple of days! Why the sudden closure?" Logan looked at Huang Wen with genuine surprise. Business had been booming, with new students enrolling daily.
"Didn't I tell you Uncle Li's family next door finally moved away?" Huang Wen began, his eyes reflecting a grander vision. "I'm going to expand the entire martial arts school. The current area is simply too small, and two floors are far too low for what I plan. It needs to be significantly expanded and restructured."
With the final instruction delivered, Huang Wen led Logan to the quieter, more private second-floor living room, eager to hear the full account of his disastrous road trip.
Meanwhile, far away from the quiet focus of the Wing Chun Kwoon, the events set in motion by William Stryker were spiraling into chaos.
At the heavily reinforced plastic prison complex, security was gradually being restored. After William Stryker had made his hurried exit, personnel were quickly roused and brought back online to resume their duties guarding the most dangerous mutant in the world.
Inside his clear, polycarbonate cell, Erik Lehnsherr, Magneto, slowly awakened. He sat dazed, the mental trauma of being drugged and subdued by the combined efforts of Stryker's forces still lingering. His formidable will, however, snapped back quickly. A cold, dangerous glint flashed in his eyes—the gaze of a proud, solitary eagle trapped in a gilded cage, now burning with the need for immediate, brutal freedom.
Outside the main containment area, a lone prison guard—the very man who had worked so diligently to assist William Stryker in subduing Magneto—was sinking into a state of bitter disappointment and confusion.
He had betrayed his post and risked everything, hoping to earn Stryker's patronage and an escape from the damned plastic prison. Instead, Stryker had simply used him and then, in a casual display of contempt, had drugged him and locked him with the other guards—a disposable asset.
Now, he was sitting alone in a cheap, dimly lit bar a few miles away, drinking heavily, his face etched with worry. He knew he had to return to his post to continue guarding Magneto, a job he now despised but which was the only tether holding his miserable life together.
Just then, a breathtakingly beautiful woman, with a figure that curved in all the right places and eyes that promised untold pleasure, approached the desolate guard. This was Mystique, the shape-shifting mutant, playing her part with deadly conviction. The confused, disillusioned guard, already drunk and desperate for validation, stood no chance against her calculated allure. He quickly succumbed to her charms, buying her a drink and pouring out his woes.
But as he talked, Mystique was meticulously executing her plan. She had already slipped a powerful, fast-acting sedative into his drink. The poor guard, having been drugged twice in one day—once by Stryker, now by Mystique—soon passed out cold.
Mystique, ever the professional, used a syringe to carefully inject a highly concentrated iron solution directly into his veins. She had calculated that the existing iron content in his blood would be too dilute for Erik's purposes, but this heavy dose would turn the guard into a literal, walking time bomb of metal.
After a long while, the prison guard slowly woke up, groggy but feeling no lasting ill effects from the drug. He saw Mystique was gone, shrugged off the lost opportunity, and realized with a jolt that it was getting late. He hurriedly ran back to the prison, slipping back into his routine.
However, the sight that greeted him in the plastic cell was profoundly alarming: a small, dense lump of raw, unrefined iron, about the size of a tennis ball, sat prominently in the middle of the cell.
Magneto, already alert, understood instantly. Mystique. He rose slowly to his feet, a triumphant, chilling smile spreading across his face as he looked calmly at the now terrified prison guard. He knew this was his key to freedom.
"What are you doing? Sit down right now, old man!" The prison guard's face turned pale. He subconsciously took a step back, but then was horrified to find his body—his entire being—floating upward, drawn by an invisible, relentless force toward the ceiling.
"So, it truly is because the iron content in the average human body is sufficiently high," Magneto mused aloud, his eyes burning with focused power. He studied the guard suspended helplessly in the air, not with anger, but with scientific curiosity. "I hadn't accurately quantified that level before. Perhaps I can use this enhanced control over the elemental trace metals in the human form as the direction for my next great breakthrough!"
"What… what are you saying!" The prison guard shrieked, panic turning his voice into a high-pitched wail.
Magneto's lips curled into a chilling, pitiless smile. "Sir, in your next life, remember one thing: the prettier the girl, the less you can trust her."
He suddenly clenched his fist, focusing his terrifying magnetic power.
"Puff! Puff! Puff!"
It wasn't the external suit of armor or belt buckle that moved. It was the vast network of trace iron injected and already circulating throughout the guard's bloodstream. Hundreds of tiny, internal iron pieces shot out violently from the guard's body, tearing through flesh and bone, turning his body into a bloody sieve. The guard's shriek was cut short.
Then, the tiny iron fragments—now covered in blood and flesh—gathered together, responding to the cold command of the Master of Magnetism. They condensed instantly, forming a solid, massive iron ball that crashed heavily onto the floor.
Magneto had the raw material he needed, forged from human components, and his path to freedom had just opened up.