Chapter 975: Marvel: Awakening the Little Universe at the Start, Chapter 530

How does that saying go again?

Those who play with fire will eventually get burned!

The same applies here.

Although Sentinel Blaze possessed the mutant ability to manipulate fire after injecting the No. 8 serum, this did not mean he was immune to fire himself.

He was just a fake mutant, and most importantly, even for a genuine mutant, the body is, at the end of the day, merely flesh and blood.

So—

Boom!

The moment Sentinel Blaze fell into the raging flames of the oil depot below, before he could even react to use his mutant ability to disperse the surrounding fire, he was instantly swallowed by the inferno.

In an instant.

The fire at the oil depot, which had been illuminating half the base, flared up even higher after consuming Sentinel Blaze.

"Blaze!"

Watching helplessly as Hawk threw their teammate into the flames, the remaining Sentinels of the Sentinel Strategic Division let out an instinctive roar, only to see that Hawk, who had just been above the oil depot, had vanished once again.

As the captain of this operation, the Sentinel codenamed "Evolution" saw Hawk appear before his girlfriend, "Control," out of the corner of his eye. His expression changed instantly, and almost the moment Hawk threw a plain, unremarkable punch, he stepped in front of it to block the blow that, to him, seemed entirely ordinary.

Then he went flying.

"Boom!"

"Evolution!"

The female Sentinel "Control" couldn't help but cry out as she watched her boyfriend "Evolution" fly backward like a ragdoll under Hawk's punch.

The next second.

"Stealth," who was nearby, reacted, instantly grabbing "Evolution's" right hand, and then, entering a state of zero presence, dragged "Evolution" away rapidly toward the distance.

Hawk felt a blur before his eyes and a momentary lapse in focus, and then he saw the two female Sentinels sprinting toward the outside of the base.

He realized instantly why the arrival of these few Sentinels hadn't caught his attention.

Lowering their presence, huh.

He was familiar with this trick; after obtaining the Reality Stone, he had used it more than once to play at lowering his presence.

But...

At the end of the day, lowering one's presence and being invisible are not the same thing.

They are two different matters.

Lowering your presence only works if you haven't been observed yet; it can make people overlook you.

But I’ve already seen you, and you’re still trying to lower your presence?

How should one describe this behavior?

Burying one's head in the sand?

As these thoughts turned in Hawk's mind, the moment he took a step with his right foot, he had already appeared in front of the two women.

"Stealth," who was quite attractive, looked at Hawk, who had appeared abruptly before her, with terror on her face.

Just as she tried to open her mouth to say something, Hawk had already silently opened his right hand and clamped it onto her head.

"Splat!"

"Sizzle!"

"Control," standing to the side, felt the liquid splashing toward her face. She instinctively closed her eyes, then quickly opened them, only to see the headless corpse beside her, which had lost its head and was now spurting warm liquid as it toppled over.

"Control" widened her eyes in disbelief, watching helplessly as the right hand reached toward her own head.

"Stop!"

Accompanied by a roar, "Evolution," who had just been sent flying by Hawk, appeared beside his girlfriend "Control" with the speed of a mad rabbit and slammed a punch into Hawk's chest.

"Boom!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Hawk turned into a streak of crimson lightning and flew backward. After piercing through a three-story building at the base that was engulfed in flames, his back slammed into the body of a burning tank. It was only when the tank's hull buckled that his backward momentum was finally halted.

Only...

Hawk pulled himself out of the tank hull he had embedded himself into. He stood up expressionlessly, his feet leaving the ground as he hovered in the air once more. His originally cold gaze held a hint of curiosity as he looked at the male Sentinel "Evolution," who was shielding the female Sentinel behind him.

Hawk was certain that before he had smashed this male Sentinel away just a moment ago, the man's aura had been that of a weakling.

But now?

For some reason, he suddenly sensed an aura similar to "restraint" coming from this male Sentinel.

"Interesting."

Hawk chuckled softly, his gaze landing on the male Sentinel: "What is your mutant ability?"

"Evolution," while shielding his girlfriend "Control" behind him, glanced at the remaining duration of the No. 8 serum on his wrist and locked eyes with Hawk: "An ability that can kill a misanthrope like you."

As he spoke.

"Evolution" moved. With a bang, the ground beneath his feet collapsed, and he transformed into a streak of blue light, charging straight at Hawk.

Hearing "Evolution's" reply, Hawk sneered, and seeing "Evolution" launch an attack at him, he felt even more amused.

The next second.

He also transformed into a streak of crimson light, colliding with the blue light in an instant.

Amidst the intersection of red and blue light, their fists collided.

Boom!

A violent shockwave instantly surged outward in a ring, sending corpses, burning armored vehicles, burning tanks, and the debris of buildings scattered across the ground flying into the air.

"Great."

"Evolution can restrain this damn mutant."

"Hoo!"

Fifty meters below ground at the Pentagon, inside a safe room constructed of reinforced concrete fifteen meters thick—which, once closed, could only be opened from the inside and could not be shaken in the slightest even by bunker-busting missiles or nuclear bombs—the generals who had luckily survived Quantico and had immediately arranged for a counterattack after Hawk left were now gathered together.

At first, the atmosphere here had been very heavy after Hawk instantly killed the Sentinels and soldiers sent to the X-Mansion.

Especially after Hawk had rushed to Quantico without stopping and leveled the Quantico military base right before their eyes, the atmosphere had plummeted below freezing.

But now?

As everyone watched the big screen, seeing "Evolution" trading blows with Hawk in the ruins of Quantico and even appearing to have the upper hand, their moods shifted like a roller coaster, instantly soaring high.

"That is certain."

"The mutant ability 'Evolution' gained after injecting the No. 8 serum is similar to becoming stronger the stronger the opponent is."

"Yes, as soon as 'Evolution' encounters an attack, his mutant ability will immediately generate an attack pattern stronger than the opponent's based on their attack mode."

"Is there a limit?"

"When we tested it, there was none."

"And as the squad leader of the Sentinel Strategic Division, 'Evolution's' No. 8 serum is also specially configured."

"Right, the duration for other mutant Sentinels' No. 8 serum is five minutes, after which the mutant ability disappears, but 'Evolution' can maintain it longer."

"How much longer?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"That's enough."

General Thaddeus Ross's eyes gleamed as he watched "Evolution," who had completely suppressed Hawk on the big screen. He stood up from his chair and said in a deep voice: "Tell 'Evolution,' if necessary, take this damn mutant ali..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

General Ross, watching the battle on the big screen, suddenly fell silent, his pupils contracting instantly.

For no other reason.

Because just as he thought the wind had died down, the rain had stopped, and he felt he was back in control, preparing to order "Evolution" to capture Hawk—who was suspected to be from another universe—alive, the next second, he saw the scene where Hawk suddenly stopped moving and then sent "Evolution" flying again with a single punch.

And just when he thought "Evolution" would get back up again like he did the last time he was sent flying by Hawk, Hawk did not give "Evolution" that chance. His figure instantly appeared behind "Evolution" again, and he swung another punch at the flying "Evolution."

The next second.

Hawk appeared in front of "Evolution" again.

One punch!

Two punches!

Three punches!

In an instant, "Evolution," having lost his balance and initiative, despite possessing a power that was continuously climbing, was seen being batted back and forth over Quantico like a shuttlecock.

And if "Evolution" was the shuttlecock, then Hawk had transformed into the badminton racket.

As Hawk delivered punch after punch, never giving "Evolution" a chance to breathe, "Evolution's" complexion gradually changed from rosy to pale, and then began to turn black.

The power that kept climbing within his body, yet could not be released, was accumulating inside him.

Continuously.

It was as if "Evolution" were a kettle, and the power were a liquid being poured into this kettle without end.

But perhaps this kettle had a large capacity.

Yet no matter how large, there is a limit.

So—

When "Evolution," under Hawk's relentless, increasingly heavy punches, finally reached the threshold of what he could bear, the power that had accumulated within him but could not be released finally hit its limit.

The boiling water is full, yet it cannot be released on its own; what is the final result?

The answer is an explosion.

"Boom!"

After the expression of Evolution turned completely black beyond measure, following another punch thrown by Hawk, Evolution, who was sent flying once again, instantly burst apart.

Boom!

The power that erupted from within, accompanied by a sky full of blood mist, swept out in all directions once again.

And right there on the ground, watching this scene unfold with their own eyes, the eyes of Control were splitting with rage!

"No!"

"Whoosh!"

Amidst the falling sky of blood mist, Hawk appeared expressionless in front of Control, whose eyes were splitting with rage, and then his right hand gripped Control's neck, lifting them up from the ground.

"So heartbroken for him?"

"It's fine."

"I'll send you to keep him company."

"Pfft!"

As Hawk spoke, he exerted force with his right hand gripping Control's neck, crushing the latter's neck to pieces, and then his gaze fell upon the camera hidden behind the Sentinel letter on Control's chest, as if he could see through this camera the Generals who were currently hiding behind it.

"Thaddeus Ross, I gave you a chance to live, but unfortunately, you didn't cherish it, so don't be anxious, I'm coming to find you right away!"

"..."