The evolutionary serum had been developed using the spider serum as its core foundation. Because of that, every single injection required a custom batch designed specifically for the recipient's genetic profile.
The preparation process alone was incredibly complex.
According to Tony, the formula was so sophisticated that more than ninety-five percent of the world's biological research experts wouldn't even be able to complete the mixing process successfully. The cost was equally outrageous. Producing a single vial of evolutionary serum required roughly seven hundred million dollars.
It was a perfect demonstration of a universal truth.
The rich relied on technology, while the poor relied on mutation.
The evolutionary serum essentially allowed wealthy people to mutate through technology itself. It combined both science and mutation in one terrifyingly powerful package.
Compared to the preparation process, however, the injection itself was extremely simple.
Unlike the super soldier serum, which required complex procedures and Vita-Ray radiation exposure, the evolutionary serum only required a direct intravenous injection.
Tony inserted the needle into a vein on Chu He's arm and slowly injected the blue serum.
Inside the human body, blood vessels were divided into veins and arteries. In simple terms, veins carried blood back toward the heart, while arteries carried blood away from the heart to the rest of the body.
The evolutionary serum flowed through Chu He's veins toward his heart. From there, the heart pumped it into the arteries, allowing the serum to spread rapidly throughout his entire body.
The reaction was surprisingly mild.
Nothing happened immediately.
Nearly five minutes passed before the serum finally began to take effect.
There was no pain.
Only a faint numbness spreading slowly through his body.
"How do you feel?" Tony asked.
Although he had just conducted a successful human test using Deadpool, that example wasn't very helpful. Deadpool's brain worked on an entirely different wavelength from normal people, and throughout the strengthening process he had been screaming nonsense nonstop. Tony hadn't managed to extract any useful feedback from him.
"Pretty good," Chu He replied calmly. "Just a slight numbness. No discomfort."
"Let me know immediately if anything changes," Tony added.
"Alright."
Chu He nodded.
The entire strengthening process lasted roughly forty minutes.
Gradually, the numbness faded away completely.
Throughout the process, Chu He could clearly feel the changes happening within his body. Every second that passed brought a noticeable increase in his strength.
By the time the strengthening was complete, he even had the strange illusion that a single punch might be able to shatter the sky itself.
Of course, Chu He knew perfectly well that this was only a psychological effect caused by the sudden surge in power.
"Is it finished?" Tony asked eagerly. "How does it feel? How much stronger are you?"
"I'll test it first," Chu He said.
He raised his hand and created a telekinetic barrier in front of himself.
The barrier had a strength equivalent to fifty tons.
Back during the Thor incident, Chu He had received a baptism of divine power from Odin. That event had increased his physical strength to roughly ten times the limit of an ordinary human.
For a long time after that, however, his physical abilities had remained stuck at that level.
It had actually become one of his weaknesses.
While ten times the human limit sounded impressive, it was insignificant compared to many beings in the universe. Even a random member of the Asgardian race could completely overwhelm him in terms of raw physical strength.
The truth was simple.
Human bodies were weak.
Compared to many alien species, ordinary humans from Earth were almost insignificant.
Later, Chu He had discovered the Life Card in Odin's treasure vault. That artifact had begun slowly compensating for his physical shortcomings, but the improvement speed was limited because he hadn't yet found a proper evolutionary catalyst.
After obtaining the Lightning Fruit, the electric current stimulation accelerated the strengthening process somewhat.
Even so, the progress had been gradual.
Before injecting the evolutionary serum, Chu He's physical strength had reached roughly twelve times the limit of an ordinary human.
An average human could deliver a punch with about five hundred kilograms of force.
Twelve times that meant Chu He's punches could reach roughly six tons.
Because of that, Chu He didn't expect the evolutionary serum to increase his power by ninety times like Deadpool's had. Deadpool's original physical baseline had been extremely low—just the upper limit of a normal human.
For Chu He, however, even a tenfold increase would already be incredible.
If his strength increased ten times, his punches would exceed fifty tons of force.
That would be enough to break the fifty-ton telekinetic barrier.
Chu He threw a punch.
The fifty-ton barrier shattered instantly.
More importantly, he felt no pressure whatsoever while doing it.
Chu He immediately created another telekinetic barrier.
This time, it had a strength of one hundred tons.
He punched again.
The barrier shattered just as easily.
One hundred fifty tons.
Still shattered.
Two hundred tons.
Broken again.
Two hundred fifty tons.
The barrier exploded apart.
It wasn't until the telekinetic wall reached two hundred seventy tons that Chu He finally began to feel some resistance.
Even then, his fist still smashed through it.
Two hundred seventy-five tons.
Two hundred eighty tons.
Two hundred eighty-five tons.
Finally, after destroying a three-hundred-ton telekinetic barrier, Chu He stopped the test.
That was the limit.
He could clearly feel the recoil from the punch damaging the muscle tissue in his arm.
However, thanks to his high-speed regeneration ability, the damaged muscles repaired themselves almost instantly.
Three hundred tons.
That meant his punching power had increased fifty times compared to before the enhancement.
Although it wasn't as outrageous as Deadpool's ninetyfold increase, it was still well within Chu He's expectations.
Considering how high his physical baseline had already been before the injection, he had originally expected perhaps a thirtyfold increase at most. Achieving fifty times improvement was already beyond his initial estimate.
Measured in terms of human limits, Chu He's physical strength had now reached six hundred times the maximum capability of an ordinary person.
Before the enhancement, his physical strength might still have been inferior to an Asgardian warrior.
Now, however, Chu He was confident he could completely overpower someone like Thor in a pure contest of strength.
In other words, his greatest weakness had finally been eliminated.
Of course, physical strength was not what Chu He cared about most.
Because of the Life Card, improving his body had always been only a matter of time.
What truly mattered was something else.
Spider-sense.
Chu He closed his eyes.
At the same time, he suppressed his Observation Haki and instructed the World ability to attack him randomly.
The next moment, without seeing anything or sensing it consciously, Chu He's body suddenly moved to the right.
It was pure instinct.
Left.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Left.
Left.
Every single attack launched by the World was avoided perfectly.
Chu He opened his eyes and dismissed the ability.
After experiencing spider-sense firsthand, he gained a deeper understanding of how it worked.
Calling it an "ability" wasn't entirely accurate.
It was more like a sixth sense awakened by the body itself.
A perception separate from the five traditional senses—sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
Chu He's Observation Haki had not yet reached the level of predicting the future. Even if it did, it still wouldn't be able to sense malicious intent directly.
But spider-sense could.
....
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