17 Chapter 17: New Power and New Trouble

Chapter 17: New Power and New Troubles

On a peaceful morning in the outskirts of Rapid City, in the basement of an ordinary house, a teenager dressed in Punk Rock style was intensely working on a laptop. The screen displayed complex information and data that ordinary humans wouldn't comprehend.

Bright overhead lights illuminated the room, casting a revealing glow on the neatly organized shelves filled with sophisticated scientific equipment. The lab, though simple, was well-arranged, with a workstation cluttered with medical tools and devices.

The only thing out of place amidst the surroundings was a shriveled corpse lying on the floor, covered in swarming flies. The contrast, coupled with the buzzing sound of the flies, transformed the once well-lit room into a disturbing atmosphere of terror.

The young man suddenly stretched his shoulders, let out a yawn, and the sound of bones cracking echoed from his spinal column.

His finger flicked lightly, and a horrifying scene unfolded as a swarm of flies behind him simultaneously flew up towards the ceiling and then, as if going mad, rapidly plummeted to the floor.

The outcome was predictable without needing to be said—the frail bodies of the flies shattered into pieces, ending their short-lived existence.

The young man stood up, seemingly unaware of the bizarre events in the room, and headed upstairs, towards a large mirror placed in the living room. He removed his clothing and examined himself in the mirror. The reflection revealed a man with a height reaching over 1.82 meters, a well-proportioned physique with strong muscular curves, resembling an athlete. If one didn't closely examine his face, no one would think he was a teenager. The only drawback was the heavy, dark circles under his eyes.

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[MC POV]

I looked at myself in the mirror and was relieved to find that there were no unusual signs after inspecting carefully. There were no twin eyes, no soft hairs to cling like a spider, and no protruding insect parts.

After conducting experiments for over 35 hours, I learned about the general limitations of my ability to absorb human strength. I found that my body needed at least one-fourth of the subject's vital force to fully utilize and retain their genetic sample. There was no time limit discovered for acquiring new abilities.

Based on the theories presented in the past, the gradual decline of my alien abilities could be due to the inherent constraints of my human physiology to sustain and integrate non-human genetic information. The human body has its own set of regulatory mechanisms and genetic structures that function optimally within the boundaries of its own genetic blueprint. When introduced to foreign genetic information, such as that of aliens, the human body may gradually revert to its natural state as it struggles to maintain these non-native abilities.

However, when I absorbed abilities from mutated humans, the genetic variations were still based on human DNA, albeit with unique alterations. These alterations fell within the range of what the human body could accommodate and sustain without drastic physiological changes. Consequently, my body was better equipped to fully integrate and retain the acquired human abilities, making them a permanent part of my genetic makeup.

The recent experiment confirmed the validity of this hypothesis.

Based on information collected from Rosie's group's battle with Clancy, as well as verification from interrogating him, our strength at that time was at least 35% of Clancy's and continued to grow rapidly. It was predicted that it would take about a week for the transformation to be complete, and whether we would have the ability to surpass Clancy remained unknown.

Another piece of good news was that I possessed a unique genetic trait that allowed my body to selectively assimilate and integrate specific elements from the DNA I absorbed. This trait acted as a natural filter, enabling my body to recognize and process only desirable genetic information while discarding any unwanted alterations to my physical appearance. This meant I wouldn't have to transform into the appearance of other individuals to use their abilities.

The only downside of this experiment was that it required me to directly absorb at least one-fourth of the opponent's vitality within a certain time frame. This time was necessary for my body to receive, analyze, and permanently maintain the new ability. However, there would be ways to overcome this weakness.

As for the new abilities I had acquired, it was easy to guess. Clancy was merely a minor antagonist in Ben 10, much like Rojo, and not worth mentioning.

However, his ability to control insects was incredibly useful, as these creatures were abundant and present everywhere on Earth. With this power, he could easily make a name for himself in intelligence, assassination, theft, smuggling, and more.

Unfortunately, this idiot had used insects to play boxing against Ben, so it was easy to guess the result.

After finishing my work for the day, I went up to my room to sleep. In the past four days, I had only slept for less than 12 hours. Making money, buying a house, purchasing lab equipment, and conducting experiments all took up a lot of my time. This house, along with the one Rojo stayed in, was the result of my efforts during these days.

Some may ask why I didn't let the AI do the work since that's what I created it for. Let me enlighten them.

In a world where magic, science, and bizarre abilities exist everywhere, putting one's trust in fate or others is suicidal, let alone putting faith in a machine that can be controlled with a few buttons.

Using an AI built with low-quality technology from Earth and Plumber's resources was a necessary but unwanted action. There were too many vulnerabilities to exploit, and I only used it due to the lack of time and resources.

At that point, everything had fallen into place, and those two things would become unnecessary vulnerabilities that needed to be revamped or replaced in due time. Furthermore, extraterrestrial abilities, while powerful, were easy to trace and may not require hiding. On the other hand, abilities from Earth's superheroes would be my trump cards, so the fewer people who knew, the better.

While deep in my slumber, my phone suddenly rang. Despite feeling annoyed, I answered it, and it was BT. Hearing the first sentence he said, all my sleepiness disappeared: "Commander, Vilgax has come to Earth."

[POV ends]

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I apologize for this boring chapter. I hope you find it enjoyable nonetheless.