Chapter 237: Absorbing Man’s Sneak Attack

“Flying all over the place!”

After collecting the Tesseract and the machine used to extract its energy, George methodically placed the glass jars filled with blue energy into a box, following the conveyor belt.

During this process, numerous heavily armed Hydra soldiers attempted to stop him, only to fall victim to their own energy weapons.

As for those energy weapons, George collected them as well, placing them in the box.

These weapons, powered by the Tesseract's energy, were quite formidable. Even in the broader universe, they were considered decent weaponry. If he didn’t use them in the future, he could certainly give them to someone else.

“Who the hell is this guy?”

In the base’s office, Dr. Arnim Zola—already integrated into a robotic body—watched through the surveillance cameras.

The footage showed George moving through the base like it was deserted, casually taking the Tesseract and the extraction machine while eliminating every Hydra soldier who approached.

Even Zola was so shocked that static appeared on the monitors, and smoke began to rise from his CPU.

Hurriedly, he accessed Hydra’s intelligence database to search for information on George.

“The headmaster of the Superhuman Academy. Pierce borrowed robotic soldiers because of him. He possesses Magneto’s and Professor X’s abilities and can summon lightning.”

Moments later, all information about George was uploaded to Zola’s memory banks.

“The Tesseract absolutely cannot be lost!”

Despite recognizing George’s formidable power, Zola was unwilling to give up so easily.

He had schemed for years to get his hands on the Tesseract. The research had only just begun—there was no way he could allow someone to take it from him so easily.

Additionally, Hydra’s future plans to dominate Earth and consolidate its power would rely heavily on advanced energy weapons. Without the Tesseract, there would be no Tesseract energy. Without energy, their weapons would merely be metal sticks.

“Carl Creel, deal with the intruder. Remember, he can control metal—do not transform into metal.”

Carl Creel, formerly a boxer from Hell’s Kitchen, had once lost a fight he was supposed to win, causing significant losses for his boss. This nearly got him thrown into the ocean to feed the sharks.

However, he unexpectedly awakened the ability to alter his molecular structure by touching different materials. S.H.I.E.L.D. monitored him as a superhuman.

Later, Hydra recruited him and enhanced his abilities through experimentation. He became Dr. Zola’s bodyguard, earning the codename “Absorbing Man.”

Zola believed that as long as Absorbing Man avoided transforming into metal, George’s ability to control metal would have no effect on him. Additionally, while altering his molecular structure, Absorbing Man could block mental attacks, rendering him immune to psychic abilities.

With the assistance of other Hydra soldiers, victory wasn’t out of the question.

“All done. Now to deal with Dr. Zola.”

After collecting all the energy jars and weapons, George used a tracking spell to locate Zola.

Scientists like Zola had to be eliminated. Otherwise, they could develop troublesome technology in the future.

In the Marvel Universe, the most dangerous individuals were often scientists—especially Earth’s scientists. Despite being intellectuals focused on research, they had an uncanny ability to create catastrophic crises.

Many of Marvel’s villains were originally scientists, such as Bolivar Trask, who created the Sentinel robots; the omnipotent Doctor Doom; and others like Doctor Octopus, the Lizard, and the Green Goblin.

Although Zola had fused with a robot, as long as his soul remained, he couldn’t escape the tracking spell’s reach.

“Trace Reveal: Arnim Zola!”

As the spell activated, golden footprints leading to Zola’s location appeared before George.

Following the trail, George moved toward Zola. However, he hadn’t gone far before a large group of Hydra soldiers blocked his path.

These soldiers no longer carried energy weapons. Instead, they held non-metal shields and charged at George in a frenzy.

Unfazed, George controlled the floating energy weapons around him and fired at the soldiers.

Zola must have identified him and learned some of his abilities. That’s why these soldiers used non-metal shields to defend themselves, attempting to get close enough to engage him in hand-to-hand combat.

However, the shields were clearly improvised and not specially made. Many were simply non-metal items with decent durability, including solid wooden doors.

These makeshift shields were no match for the energy weapons. Most of the soldiers were taken down before they could even get close to George.

“200 Million Volts: Electric Shock!”

The few remaining soldiers who managed to approach George thought they had a chance—until George unleashed a massive electrical discharge.

In an instant, the soldiers collapsed, charred inside and out.

As George prepared to continue forward, he suddenly sensed a punch flying toward him from behind. Instinctively, he sidestepped to dodge it.

“A survivor? And he evaded my psychic senses.”

The attacker was a burly man dressed in a Hydra soldier’s combat uniform, with skin that resembled rubber.

The man, seeing George dodge his strike, wasted no time and launched a flurry of precise punches.

Unfortunately for him, George wasn’t just skilled in magic and superpowers—his physical capabilities, especially his reflexes, were far superior to an average human’s.

George easily evaded the attacks, though he was surprised that this man not only withstood a 200-million-volt shock but also managed to block his psychic abilities.

Normally, anyone harboring malicious intent within his vicinity would trigger his psychic sense. Yet, this man had managed to sneak up on him undetected.

“He must be a superhuman.”

Having figured this out, George stopped playing around. He leaped back to create distance, flicked a coin into the air, and shouted:

“Railgun!”

The coin, charged with electricity, shot forward at supersonic speed and struck the man. The impact sent him flying into the wall, leaving a gaping hole in his chest.

“He’s still alive?”

To George’s surprise, the man wasn’t dead. Instead, the hole in his chest slowly healed, returning to normal.

“That hurt! I’m going to kill you!”

With a roar, the man pulled out a piece of granite from his pocket. Activating his power, he transformed his body into solid granite and leaped at George.

“So it’s Absorbing Man!”

Recognizing the man’s identity from his transformation, George calmly drew his wand and aimed at the descending Absorbing Man.

“Avada Kedavra!”

A green beam of magic struck Absorbing Man, instantly forcing him out of his granite form. He fell lifelessly to the ground, his body completely still.