Chapter 314: The Desperate Virus
"Alright, I have already checked. They were indeed enchanted by Kull's divine power, and it wasn't voluntary," George said after performing memory reading on the eight chosen Hammer Saints.
"However, even without the enchantment, these leaders of Hydra have killed countless people, so they can be passed on."
Several magical flames shot out from his hand, enveloping Baron Zemo, Baron Strucker, Madame Hydra, and Hive, instantly turning them to ashes.
These individuals held no value for him. In fact, if left unchecked, they might cause unnecessary trouble. It was simpler to eliminate them entirely.
Seeing Hydra's five members reduced to ashes, T'Challa and his guards couldn't help but swallow nervously.
"Mr. George, what about my father..."
"Kull has already been sealed. Your father is just temporarily unconscious. Once he wakes up, he will be fine."
"By the way, I heard that you have a vibranium mountain range in Wakanda, and the Captain's shield is made from your vibranium materials. It seems we have some connection."
George interrupted T'Challa:
"I need some vibranium soon. Don't worry, I will pay the market price, I won't take it for free."
"Mr. George, you defeated Kull and saved my father, which means you've saved the king of Wakanda. We are willing to give you some vibranium as a token of our gratitude. Please, do accept it."
T'Challa, who had been studying in New York, was very knowledgeable about the outside world and was quite intelligent.
He wanted to tell George that Wakanda would never sell vibranium for any price, and that everything in Wakanda was self-sustained, not needing outside money.
However, he didn't say this because of George's strength, because his father, T'Chaka, was still with George, and because the five Hydra members had just been turned to ash.
It was clear that George wasn't a soft-hearted man who would overlook everything. If he didn't agree to give some vibranium, it was highly possible that they wouldn't be able to take the king back, and even whether they could leave at all was in question.
"I can't accept this," George said with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
"However, since you've said so, refusing would seem too hypocritical. Let's do it this way.
You take your father and leave. When I need it, I'll come to Wakanda to collect it. I know… the exact location."
"Alright... Alright..."
T'Challa strained his facial muscles, forcing a smile and nodding.
He didn't expect George to even know the location of Wakanda. If he refused now, it would be possible that George would just wipe them all out.
Watching Black Panther leave with the unconscious King and his guards in a spaceship, George turned to look at the unconscious Killian.
"Stop playing dead. You saw everything, and now I'm debating whether or not to deal with you."
"Although you were also enchanted by Kull, you've conducted numerous experiments on people, so you're not blameless."
After reading Killian's memories, George had used a revival spell on him, so Killian was awake but was pretending to be unconscious.
Sure enough, upon hearing George's words, Killian immediately opened his eyes.
"Please don't kill me. The reason I conducted those experiments was only to help disabled people regrow severed limbs. It was to benefit society. The volunteers for the experiments were disabled veterans, and they volunteered."
"Is that so? But what I saw in your memory doesn't match what you're saying.
What I saw was that you wanted to use experiments to create a large number of Desperate Virus warriors, to first take revenge on Tony, then control the United States, and then control the world, becoming the most powerful man in the world.
As for regrowing limbs for disabled people, that seems to be Dr. Maya Hansen's goal, not yours."
George directly exposed Killian's lies.
At this moment, Tony, who had been standing nearby, also looked puzzled and spoke.
"Who exactly are you, and why do you hate me so much? I don't remember doing anything to offend you."
"Stark, you arrogant fool, and you still don't remember me!"
Hearing Tony's words, Killian was immediately enraged, flames erupting from his body, about to charge at Tony. But George quickly cast a spell to freeze him in place.
"He is Aldrich Killian, and here's the general backstory."
George briefly summarized the situation.
Years ago, Killian had greatly admired Tony. On New Year's Eve of 1999, when Tony went to Bern, Switzerland, to celebrate the New Year, Killian also showed up, hoping to get Tony to invest in his Extremis Virus project under his company, Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM).
However, Tony was more interested in sleeping with Dr. Maya Hansen than listening to Killian's pitch. He brushed him off and told him to wait on the rooftop.
Killian waited for a long time in the cold night but Tony never came. Eventually, realizing he had been deceived, Killian nearly jumped off the rooftop in despair.
But then he reconsidered, deciding to continue developing his project and to get revenge on Tony for the insult.
The next day, he found Dr. Maya Hansen, who had slept with Tony but never received any investment, and convinced her to help him perfect the Extremis Virus under the guise of helping disabled people.
"Alright, I'm sorry. I was a real jerk back then, and I hurt you," Tony said after hearing Killian's side of the story. He now vaguely remembered the events from twelve years ago and apologized.
However, Killian clearly did not appreciate it. Meanwhile, Wolverine made a teasing remark.
"Your personality is still pretty messed up. You haven't changed much."
"Your crimes don't warrant death, so I'll just lock you up for now. Letting you go would be a hassle."
After a moment of thought, George decided to throw Killian into a box.
It wasn't that he was just letting Killian go free. He didn't trust the government to handle him properly and feared they might form an army of Extremis Virus soldiers and stir up trouble.
So, he decided to lock Killian up for now and deal with him later.
In fact, George was still somewhat interested in the Extremis Virus.
The virus could enhance the body's strength, which was useful to him, though not crucial since his own body was already very powerful.
It also allowed the body to withstand extremely high temperatures, even making it as hot as lava and capable of spewing flames. This could slightly improve his fire magic.
But it wasn't these abilities that intrigued him most.
He was particularly interested in the final ability—rapid regeneration.
Even if limbs were severed, as long as the body wasn't too severely damaged, they could regrow in a matter of seconds.
Truthfully, even though his physical body was now extremely strong and he could transform into a dragon, if he lost an arm, he couldn't regrow it on his own.
He could at most use healing magic to reattach it.
In the world of Harry Potter, there was a potion for regrowing severed limbs, but it required magical ingredients from that world, which could not be found elsewhere.
So, he was considering whether to inject the Extremis Virus into himself to increase his chances of survival.
(End of chapter)