Chapter 141 — Wade Wilson
"Hey! Mister, are you really that famous?"
"You look pretty young, and yet you're almost a hundred years old! That's just... wow!"
The test subject, bound to the bed by restraint straps, had been born in the surface world. He had never gone through the fifteen-year compulsory education, so he did not know much about this "historical celebrity," Wang Zhiyao.
He seemed to be a compulsive talker, chattering away ceaselessly even with no one paying him any mind: "But, old-timer, you really are a beast!"
"I've even cut down a few three-star God Eaters, and yet I couldn't last a single round against you. Where did you learn your combat techniques? Could you share a few pointers?"
After decades of development, the God Machine Envoys had also been divided into grades.
One-star was the lowest, nine-star the highest.
To date, the only nine-star God Eaters were Captain America Steve Rogers, the Winter Soldier Bucky, the Heart Hunter Peggy Carter, and Wolverine Logan—just four in all.
It was said that nine-star God Eaters possessed a lifespan equal to that of the top-tier Asgardian gods.
More than seventy years had passed, and Wolverine, the Winter Soldier, Captain America, and the Heart Hunter still looked like young people in their twenties, utterly unchanged.
Scientists had once tried to study the secret of their ageless youth, hoping to extend the lifespan of ordinary people through cell cloning and gene mapping.
Unfortunately, all they reaped was death and failure.
Without exception.
"Can I hit him?"
Tony Stark stared at the test subject with unfriendly eyes, his tone thoroughly displeased.
Wang Shen neither confirmed nor denied: "Be my guest."
Having learned his lesson, Tony had equipped himself with a homemade crimson-and-gold powered armor.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of fist meeting flesh rang out.
Tony Stark beat the foul-mouthed test subject black and blue.
Steel versus flesh and blood—this time, the former had won.
"Ow! You coward! If you've got guts, take off your gear and fight me one-on-one!"
"Coward! You hear me? I look down on you!"
Having vented all his frustration, Tony was now refreshed and in high spirits, paying no attention whatsoever to the test subject, who had turned into a babbling machine.
Coming back to his senses, he gave his friend Bruce Banner a meaningful look.
A triple-A-class scientist, a great man written into the textbooks...
A big shot like this held a social status even higher than his old man Edward Stark, and he surely commanded certain core black technologies.
If they could ingratiate themselves with him...
"Don't bother trying to curry favor with me."
Wang Xu read Tony's surface thoughts and said indifferently: "I have already sent the relevant application to the God of Justice. If it is approved, the two of you will be my students. There is no need to do anything superfluous."
Ding!
As if to confirm his words, the personal information terminals of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner simultaneously received a message from the God of Justice.
It stated that they had left their original work units and formally joined Wang Huai'an's research team.
"Men... Mentor. Hello."
Bruce Banner seemed somewhat shy and introverted.
His friend Tony Stark, by contrast, was far more proactive: "Mentor, I know a few hot babes with smoking figures. How about we throw a party tonight and have some fun together?"
Wang Xu gave him a meaningful look, then turned his attention to his stockpile of resource points.
Points.
The nearly hundred reincarnators now in the Overlord plane supplied him with an endless stream of resource points every day.
Because the reincarnators' methods were not yet skillful, the entire Overlord plane was expected to yield only about 1.5 million resource points in the end—a net profit much smaller than if he had done it himself.
Still, this was likewise a form of training and a test for the reincarnators.
He gathered his thoughts and looked at his two new students with a half-smile, then came straight to the point: "Your first assignment."
Whether it was the shy, introverted Bruce Banner or the playboy-like Tony Stark, both now pricked up their ears and listened to Wang Huai'an with full attention.
"By whatever means you like, make this test subject possess combat power comparable to a nine-star God Eater within one month."
Wang Yanzhou issued the order in a cold, indifferent tone.
It was a test, and also a tempering.
Bruce Banner hesitated for a moment, then replied: "I'll try my best."
The task they had been given could not be called anything but arduous.
After all, it was something that even many big names in the scientific world would find hard to accomplish.
Although the issue of specialized scientific fields was involved, it still spoke volumes about the difficulty of the task.
However...
A mentor is a boss, a mentor is a patron, and a mentor's instructions are the sole standard by which graduate students act.
They had no right to bargain.
"If the task succeeds, one million credit points each; if it fails, you will take his place."
As he said this, Wang Xu pointed at the test subject writhing about.
His expression was aloof, his eyes icy—he did not look like he was joking.
"Mentor, I have a question."
Tony blinked and raised his hand like a schoolboy: "Why is the deadline one month, not three weeks, not five weeks, but exactly one month?"
Wang Shen did not take offense; instead, he chuckled softly.
"One month from now, you will no longer have the chance to do research in peace in the laboratory."
Having comprehended the laws of time and space, his observations of the timeline had grown ever more precise and clear, and he could now accurately predict what major events would occur in a given period.
Hearing Wang Huai'an's words, Tony Stark's throat went dry.
He blinked rapidly, as if striving to think, desperately spurring his brain cells into action.
Unfortunately, the information and intelligence he could command was too little. No matter how great his intellect, he could not guess what would happen a month from now.
Tony wanted to ask, "Can I refuse this research topic?"
But the words reached his lips, and he lacked the courage to say them.
He felt rather puzzled.
His behavior today did not seem like his own.
Still, Tony trusted his sixth sense and did not run his foul mouth in front of Wang Xu.
Bruce Banner's thoughts were far simpler; the excitement in his heart outweighed his fear of the unknown future.
Right now, his mind was filled with nothing but completing the research topic Wang Xu had given them as quickly as possible.
Wang Xu looked at the test subject struggling like a loach and could not help but laugh.
He turned away, his tone cold: "Don't worry about killing this one by accident. As your mentor, I can offer a measure of help."
With that, he left the laboratory without looking back.
The tightly bound test subject roared hoarsely at Wang Huai'an's retreating figure: "You'd better pray their experiment fails! I, Wade Wilson, am no pushover! I'll get my revenge!"
The test subject Wade did not think too much about it.
A nine-star God Eater was already recognized worldwide as the strongest, most badass fighting force.
He figured Wang Xu was at most on that level.
As a battle-hardened master of combat, in fights between equals, he, Wade Wilson, had never feared anyone!
The test subject wanted to say more, but a ball gag silenced his mouth.
"Mmph!"
"Wade Wilson, is it!"
Tony smiled smugly: "Now, I decide your fate!"