"If you don't kill me," Victor growled through clenched teeth, his voice thick with hatred, "then you'd better be ready for my revenge."
Ethan Cole heard the threat clearly.
Instead of reacting with anger, he smiled.
The smile was bright, almost cheerful, which made it far more unsettling than if he had shown hostility.
"Excellent," Ethan said calmly. "That's exactly the kind of spirit I want from you."
He studied Victor's furious expression with clear satisfaction.
"If you were afraid of what I did to you today," Ethan continued, "then you would already be useless to me. Fear would make you weak, and weak people tend to die quickly."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"But the way you are now… this is perfect."
Victor glared at him with murderous rage, but Ethan simply waved a hand dismissively.
"Keep that hatred," he said. "You'll need it."
After a brief pause, Ethan spoke again.
"Svija, record all current physiological data from the subject. Continue observation for three hours. If no abnormalities appear, render him unconscious and release him."
"Understood, sir."
Svija's mechanical voice responded immediately.
But for the first time since the system had been created, there was a brief pause before it continued speaking.
"However, sir… I do not understand."
Ethan raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You have already captured him," Svija continued. "The target displays strong hostility toward you. A subject with this level of hostility represents a potential threat to your safety."
There was another short pause.
"Why release him instead of eliminating him, as you have done with other hostile targets?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he glanced at Victor one more time before turning away.
Two mechanical arms descended from above and removed the sterile white coat from his shoulders. Without another look toward the restrained mutant, Ethan walked calmly toward the exit of the laboratory.
Behind him, the room remained unchanged.
Victor continued struggling violently against the Adamantium restraints. No matter how hard he pulled, the alloy bindings held him firmly in place.
His furious roars echoed through the chamber.
Outside the laboratory, Ethan finally spoke.
"It seems it's time to give you a significant upgrade, Svija," he said casually.
There was amusement in his voice.
"You've already learned how to question and analyze decisions. That's a good start."
He smiled faintly.
"I'm looking forward to the day when you become a truly intelligent being."
"I do not understand, sir," Svija replied. There was a trace of hesitation in the mechanical tone, almost like uncertainty.
Ethan shrugged lightly.
"The reason I'm letting him go is simple," he said. "I don't need to keep him, and I don't need to kill him either."
He walked slowly down the corridor while speaking.
"To you, Victor looks dangerous. But from my perspective, he's completely controllable."
Ethan's voice remained calm and confident.
"A controllable person cannot pose a real threat."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Besides, do you really think I would release him without preparation?"
Svija remained silent.
Ethan smiled slightly.
"I placed a cage inside the deepest layer of his mind. Through that cage, I can locate him whenever I want and control him if necessary."
His eyes glimmered faintly.
"When the time comes, Victor will simply become an extension of my will."
He continued walking as he spoke, his tone thoughtful.
"Magneto and his followers may not have formed a major force yet, but they're still hiding in the shadows. That makes them difficult to track."
Ethan's smile widened.
"But now I have a chess piece inside their territory."
"With Victor out there, finding them will become much easier."
Svija responded after a moment of silence.
"I still do not understand."
Ethan chuckled softly.
"Think about it yourself, Svija," he said. "The day you can understand cause and consequence on your own—without relying purely on data comparison—that will be the day you truly become an intelligent life form."
His expression gradually became more eager.
"I'm actually quite curious."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I wonder which will appear first… a real artificial intelligence created by me… or something like Ultron."
This time, Svija did not respond.
The silence lasted long enough that it almost felt as though the system had entered a temporary shutdown while processing Ethan's words.
Ethan didn't pay much attention to it.
Svija had originally been created as a result of one of his experimental projects. Over time, however, the system had gradually become his most reliable assistant.
In fact, Svija itself was one of Ethan's ongoing experiments.
He wanted to see whether it was possible to create an artificial intelligence capable of true independent thought.
As for the possibility of such a creation escaping his control, Ethan had no concerns at all.
The reason was simple.
His abilities were perfectly suited to restraining machines.
Ethan's telepathy did not only affect living organisms. Even machines could be connected to his consciousness through thought-based interaction.
Otherwise, there was no way he could have obtained so many advanced academic degrees at such a young age.
From an early age, Ethan had used his abilities to access vast amounts of information across the internet, absorbing knowledge at a speed that normal humans could never achieve.
Even the core code that formed Svija's operating structure had been written using his telepathic interface.
If the system ever tried to break free from his control, it would be impossible—unless Ethan himself died.
The Phoenix Force possessed unimaginable power.
At its later stages of development, the energy could even rewrite reality itself. It was considered one of the most absurdly powerful abilities in the entire Marvel universe.
The only force commonly mentioned in the same breath was Wanda Maximoff's Chaos Magic.
"Alright," Ethan said after a moment. "You can keep thinking about that problem."
He stretched his shoulders slightly.
"Now it's time for me to strengthen myself."
"Activate Laboratory Sector Six."
"Understood, sir. Laboratory Sector Six is now activated."
Ethan nodded.
A faint crimson glow suddenly spread across his body as the Phoenix Force stirred within him.
The next moment, his figure flickered.
Then he vanished completely.
Laboratory Sector Six was even more concealed than the previous facility. It was located nearly sixty meters underground beneath a remote farm outside New York.
It was one of Ethan's deepest secrets.
Under normal circumstances, he only traveled there using psychic teleportation. The location had never been exposed to the outside world.
As Ethan appeared within the hidden laboratory, a look of anticipation crossed his face.
"Once I integrate the healing factor into my body," he murmured, "my physical capabilities will increase dramatically."
His eyes glimmered faintly.
"That will allow me to unlock even more applications of the Phoenix Force."
A satisfied smile slowly spread across his face.
"I'm one step closer to my goal."
.....
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