Chapter 133: Another Collaboration and Hulk Unleashed

"Incredible, truly worthy of the Super Soldier Serum. The enhancement it brings to a person is simply unimaginable."

Rice muttered continuously. Aside from Kahn, the others mostly shared the exact same feeling. Rof, who had been repeatedly lifting a five-hundred-pound dumbbell, was now working on his final endurance test. He had already been repeating the motion for nearly two hours without a single sign of exhaustion.

He was only sweating profusely, with a slightly elevated expenditure of energy.

Such endurance was simply terrifying. Standing nearby and watching Rof's performance, Carlo's eyes were green with envy.

Kahn checked the time, his patience wearing thin. He spoke directly, "Alright, let's stop here. There's no need to deliberately express this kind of endurance in numbers; knowing that he is strong is already enough."

A bench press exceeding half a ton, a sub-five-second hundred-meter sprint, the ability to pull a truck, and a single-handed lift of around seven to eight tons—these initial data points were indeed slightly superior to the Extremis virus serum, with the only minor shortcoming being the regeneration rate.

Once Rof completed all the tests, Kahn asked, "How do you feel?"

"Extremely good, boss, aside from being a bit hungry..."

After three hours of testing, coupled with the Super Soldier Serum accelerating his bodily metabolism to an extreme degree, Rof felt as though he could devour a whole ox right now.

"There are ten pizzas over there; you can have those to tide you over. Once Carlo has also been injected with the Super Soldier Serum, the two of you can go eat together."

Kahn's words instantly excited Carlo. After witnessing Rof's performance, no normal person could possibly refuse the Super Soldier Serum.

Soon after, Rice took Carlo away to receive the Super Soldier Serum injection. Just moments ago, Kahn had secretly used memory magic to observe Rof's thoughts; his loyalty and recognition toward him had grown even stronger.

As he had guessed, the Super Soldier Serum amplified the good and evil hidden deep within a person's heart. However, for Rof, who was influenced by the Chakra Cursed Seal, the Super Soldier Serum could only amplify his loyalty to Kahn.

From now on, the Super Soldier Serum should only be administered to individuals bearing the Chakra Cursed Seal. This way, Kahn would soon possess an entire squad of super soldiers, far outnumbering the military's own.

While others had to worry about the serum amplifying the good and evil in their hearts, Kahn had no such concerns. A single Chakra Cursed Seal was all he needed to forge the most loyal super soldiers.

"Betty, help me contact General Ross. I'll treat him to dinner tonight."

Betty rolled her eyes and said helplessly to Kahn, "After hearing your news, he definitely won't be in any mood to eat."

Even so, Betty still contacted Ross, knowing that the Super Soldier Serum was a serious matter.

While waiting for Carlo to receive his injection and complete his tests, Kahn kept pondering his next steps.

With the successful development of the Extremis virus serum and the Super Soldier Serum, it was destined that many individuals similar to Captain America would appear in the future. Furthermore, he was already in contact with Hydra... If Hydra didn't have that Project Insight, they would make the best possible partners.

Hydra agents were embedded across multiple domains including politics, the military, and commerce. Flying their banner would facilitate smooth development, but the thought of these madmen potentially including his people in Project Insight deeply displeased Kahn.

Should he destroy Project Insight in a few years?

Uprooting Hydra entirely was not something Kahn intended to do, unless an opportunity arose to inherit the legacy of this global organization.

After pondering for a while, Kahn decided to temporarily cooperate with Hydra. He possessed resources from multiple worlds, which allowed him to grow to his current standing in just three years. Give him another decade, and Hydra might well become a subordinate department under his command.

As for S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Not a single refined egoist would ever like such an organization, especially since the one-eyed egg-head loved digging into other people's secrets and was a textbook spymaster.

Kahn harbored massive secrets of his own. If Nick Fury found out, he would undoubtedly pull out all the stops to unearth them. When his biological research center developed the Extremis virus serum, it had already attracted a wave of corporate spies. Fortunately, Kahn had prepared in advance and thwarted them.

Now, with the addition of the Super Soldier Serum, his facility would surely attract numerous corporate spies once again. Ross and the Hydra faction would likely be unable to resist sending people, given the immense value of such a serum.

Once Carlo and Rof both became super soldiers, Kahn gave them an hour to acclimate to their newly enhanced strength. Betty had scheduled the dinner with Ross for an hour and a half later.

"You two continue acting as Betty's bodyguards. Once I acquire Oscorp, I'll have the weapons department custom-tailor a new set of battle suits for you."

Kahn said to Carlo and Rof. His words deeply moved Betty; these were two super soldiers, yet they were assigned to be her bodyguards.

"Kahn, you can assign me some other bodyguards and let Rof and the others—"

"Producing the Super Soldier Serum doesn't cost much. Besides, after we acquire Oscorp, your position will become even more crucial, Betty."

Kahn's words persuaded Betty. She was now a core figure, far more important than Laura. Moreover, while super soldiers were considered priceless treasures by others, to Kahn, they could truly be mass-produced.

...........

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Thaddeus Ross was still dressed in his full military uniform. Fortunately, Kahn had reserved a private room; otherwise, Ross's attire would have drawn countless stares.

"If it weren't for my daughter calling me, I'd much rather be reviewing paperwork in my office. You have no idea how many things have happened lately—"

Betty smiled and interrupted, "Dad, you'll be taking those words back in a moment."

"What do you mean?" Hearing Betty's words and noticing the smile on her face, Ross guessed what she was referring to—the matter he had been pressing her about for days. "Did the Super Soldier Serum yield results?"

"We aren't even in the private room yet, and with your impulsive temperament, I'd say holding the rank of major general is already stretching it."

Habitually throwing a sarcastic remark at Ross, Kahn led Betty toward the elevator. Although Ross's mustache bristled with anger at the jab, the thought of the Super Soldier Serum made him quickly follow.

Once inside the private box, unable to wait for the meal to be served while chatting, Ross asked directly, "Has the refinement of the Super Soldier Serum succeeded?"

"Just look at the two men behind me. The only difference between them and Captain America is their uniform and shield."

Kahn gestured toward Rof and Carlo, referring to their raw power. The two of them currently lacked only their own dedicated combat gear. Those round Captain America shields looked hideous, though Kahn was rather fond of vibranium. If he synthesized it with chakra metal to create a new alloy, it might even be capable of absorbing energy.

"Good God, you actually managed to develop it successfully."

After reviewing the video footage, Ross exclaimed in astonishment. He had completely surrendered to the experimental capabilities of Kahn's biological research facility. Ever since Dr. Erskine's death, the military had spent over twenty years researching the serum with virtually no progress, ultimately forcing them to seal away the remaining samples.

Furthermore, looking at Carlo and Rof, they appeared to have suffered zero side effects.

Guessing what Ross was thinking, Kahn offered a reminder: "The two of them are special cases. If you inject the serum into random people, you might end up with another Captain America or a Red Skull—or even worse, a violent radical."

This had to be clarified in advance, though it was still vastly superior to the military's original serum.

Regaining his composure swiftly, Ross asked, "How do you want to cooperate?"

"A living Oscorp. That shouldn't be too difficult for you. We have a solid foundation for cooperation. Once Oscorp flourishes, don't you think it will be much better than Hammer Industries or Stark Industries?"

Kahn shrugged and said, "If I were to develop everything from scratch on my own, it would take at least several years to reach the scale of Oscorp. Now that a ready-made opportunity is right here, how could I possibly miss it?"

"I think you're even harder to deal with than Hammer and Stark."

"But I bring you benefits, whereas they only drain profits from you."

Kahn's words silenced Ross. He carefully considered the proposition before speaking, "I need to go back and discuss this. Oscorp has never dealt with our side directly, though acquiring the shares held by Osborn shouldn't be too difficult. However, he only owns a total of—"

"I've already nearly negotiated twenty-seven percent. With your help, we can secure Oscorp."

Kahn smiled and continued, "Super soldiers always require custom equipment, don't they? Surely you aren't planning to manufacture it yourselves?"

That final remark sealed the decision in Ross's mind. He raised his glass to toast Kahn and said, "Very well, I will expedite this matter as soon as possible."

Kahn raised his glass in return and replied, "Then I congratulate you in advance on gaining a squad of 'Captain Americas'."

Hearing this, Ross felt a surge of excitement, the unrestrained joy on his face making his mustache twitch upward. Following the failure of the super soldier squad in the Middle East, the prospect of mass-producing more 'Captain Americas' made Ross view Kahn as his lucky star.

"By the way, are you interested in this?"

Ross pulled out a portable device and played a video recording for Kahn.

In the video, a massive green muscular monster standing over two meters tall burst through a wall before fleeing the scene amidst a barrage of gunfire from a squad of soldiers. The footage lasted a mere dozen seconds, but it was more than enough for Kahn to recognize the figure inside.

"Hulk?"

"You know him? That's indeed what he shouted when he smashed through that wall."

General Ross shook his head and said, "That fellow Slocum has always supported the development of military armaments, but I never expected him to secretly conduct human enhancement experiments behind our backs. Although it seems to have failed, that large green monster appears incredibly powerful."

Kahn remarked, "This should be an accidental byproduct. If I'm not mistaken, this is likely Bruce Banner transformed after being exposed to gamma radiation. You can look into that."

"This is Bruce Banner?"

Betty asked in astonishment. Though the two of them had essentially broken up, seeing Bruce transformed into such a monstrosity left her lost for words.

Upon seeing the anomalous human enhancement subject, Ross felt an itch of temptation and probed, "Do you want to study it? Whoever captures this green monster gets to keep it—"

"Are you out of your mind? Don't bring me that kind of trouble. You might not even kill that guy with a nuclear bomb! Besides, conventional metals can't hold him at all. My biological research facility cost tens of billions, and if he smashes the place to pieces, are you going to reimburse me?!"

Kahn flatly refused. The angrier the Hulk got, the stronger he became. If he saw Kahn stealing his thunder as the green-skinned interloper, he might just expand from two meters to over five.

That wasn't an experimental research subject; that was a walking bomb!