Chapter 38: Tragedy
The laboratory.
Not long after Mason left, Howard hastily assembled the enhancement chamber. The exposed wires and conduits around it raised serious doubts about the experimental setup's safety.
"Steve, lie down here!" Howard urged urgently.
"This setup isn't fully tested yet. While it requires less power, it will significantly prolong the enhancement process. Be prepared—the enhancement will promote rapid bone and muscle growth. It's extremely painful and could even be fatal!" Howard explained, adjusting the equipment.
Steve could vaguely hear gunfire coming from the nearby factory. He took a deep breath, removed his shirt, and lay down in the enhancement chamber.
"I'm ready. Secure me tight!" He looked at Carter and Howard.
"I don't know how painful it will be, or if I can endure it, but this is an opportunity Mason risked his life for."
"So either I die here, or I succeed. I don't have any other choice!"
"Let's begin!" He closed his eyes.
Steve was prepared to die. He didn't even dare look at Carter again, afraid he would lose his nerve.
"Steve..."
Carter covered her mouth, suppressing a sob. She knew what needed to be done, silently tightening Steve's restraints before stepping aside.
Now, all she could do was trust Steve and pray for him.
Although Howard had modified the enhancement chamber, given more time and thorough testing, the modified chamber would undoubtedly be safer and more stable than the original.
However, he hadn't expected the enhancement to happen so suddenly, so he wasn't entirely confident about the modified experimental equipment.
But now, there was no turning back—he had no choice but to proceed. He put on his protective goggles and activated the machine.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Under Howard's control, the liquid in the vials was injected into Steve's body. Unnoticed by anyone, Howard had kept a barely perceptible trace of serum in one of the test tubes.
This trace of serum was invisible to the naked eye, yet it was the real reason Howard had agreed to help!
"Nobody does something for nothing." Despite his heroic ideals and sense of justice, Howard was fundamentally a scientist and businessman, and he couldn't help but be tempted by the enhancement serum.
"Ahhh...!"
Accompanied by blinding light, Steve's agonized screams echoed from the laboratory. Carter could practically hear the entire process of Steve's vocal cords being damaged, healing, and then torn apart again.
She bit her lip hard, wanting to tell Howard to stop the experiment several times, but held back with tears streaming down her face.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a violent crash came from outside the laboratory door. "The serum is mine!" accompanied by Hodge's enraged shout!
"Don't worry—the door is reinforced steel. Even a super soldier can't get through it barehanded," Howard reassured her.
Sure enough, although the noise outside was deafening, it couldn't budge the iron door at all.
The experiment continued, but Steve's screams grew weaker and weaker, like a dying flame.
"How much longer? Steve can't hold on much longer!" Carter asked desperately.
Howard was drenched in anxious sweat. He wasn't entirely familiar with the data on the new equipment, but the enhancement time was far exceeding his projections.
"Almost there, almost there—just hang on!" Howard could only try to reassure Carter.
Meanwhile, outside the door, Hodge, acting like a lunatic, realized he couldn't break down the iron gate. His bloodshot eyes scanned his surroundings, then he noticed the car that had crashed into the low building earlier.
He got into the car, yanked the unconscious Jarvis out, and reversed the vehicle out of the rubble. Although one tire was blown out, it didn't prevent the car from moving.
Hodge adjusted the direction, his expression hardening, and slammed on the gas, ramming toward the laboratory's iron gate!
He actually intended to smash the gate open and break into the laboratory.
With one tire blown, the steering was difficult to control. Hodge gripped the wheel, disregarding the possibility of injury in the collision, and floored the accelerator!
Just as the front of the car was about to strike the gate, Mason leaped out of the factory building, aimed, and fired a shot at another tire.
Bang!
At the last moment, the car skidded and crashed diagonally into the edge of the iron gate. Although the entire gate was warped, it wasn't completely destroyed by Hodge. Driven by momentum, Hodge flew through the windshield, rolled, and stood up.
The flesh around his wounds was scraped away during the roll, revealing white bone beneath, but the crazed Hodge seemed oblivious. He pried a metal rod from the shattered car frame and grinned as he charged toward Mason.
"You bastard—why aren't you dead yet?!"
Mason's heart pounded, his vision blurring. He fired several shots, but to the rapidly moving Hodge, they were all predictable.
Using the moonlight, Hodge could accurately predict Mason's firing direction the moment he raised his hand, allowing him to dodge in advance.
In just a few bounds, Hodge was beside Mason. His grotesque face, like a demon's, appeared exceptionally menacing in the moonlight and shadows, and he drove the metal rod he gripped toward Mason's throat.
Mason was severely injured. Although he'd received the healing compound, it could only barely suppress his wounds. Faced with Hodge's attack, he had no way to dodge.
A cruel smile appeared on Hodge's lips. Just when he thought he could pierce Mason's throat and kill him instantly, a round shield mysteriously materialized between them!
"Clang!"
The metal rod in Hodge's hand only made a sharp ringing sound when it struck the round shield, then couldn't advance any further. In fact, because it happened so suddenly, Hodge used too much force, and the recoil tore two deep gashes in his right hand gripping the rod.
The wounds were so deep that bone was visible!
This showed how powerful Hodge's attack had been.
"What the hell is this thing?"
A look of shock flashed across Hodge's face. He was absolutely certain that just a moment ago, Mason had somehow produced this shield from thin air.
But he only hesitated for a second. The pain in his hand spurred him into another frenzy. He switched the metal rod to his left hand and began attacking wildly.
Although Mason's shield protected most of his body, his speed and stamina were far inferior to Hodge's. He quickly became exhausted and was then struck by Hodge, who knocked the shield away and drove the metal rod into his abdomen!
"Ugh..."
Mason coughed up blood and collapsed to his knees. Just as Hodge was about to crush Mason's skull, a scream far louder than any previous came from the laboratory behind him.
Ignoring Mason, Hodge picked up the pistol from the ground and fired several shots into the gas tank of a nearby car.
Bang!
With a violent explosion and a towering burst of flames, the sturdy laboratory door was blown open.
Hodge, illuminated by the distant fire, casually tossed aside the empty pistol, picked up the nearby shield, held it protectively in front of him, and walked into the laboratory.
He left behind Mason, covered in blood, his fate unknown.
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