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003 Plunder Entry!
🕑 Added 2025-06-16 12:03:06 +0000 UTCIn just a moment, the mechanical voice sounded again.
Mutation complete!
[Mechanical Furnace (Blue-Purple)] has evolved into [Furnace Heart (Mutated)]
Russell’s expression was blank, but he quietly breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that the TVA soldiers around him didn’t react.
It seemed the system’s voice could only be heard by him.
He couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
A system awakening— in the Marvel Universe, this dramatically increased his odds of survival.
Maybe even becoming stronger wasn’t just a dream anymore.
Perhaps this was his reward for refusing to live an ordinary life.
Russell forced himself to stay calm, kept quiet, and followed the TVA soldiers through the portal, maintaining a composed demeanor.
What he saw was a long series of corridors—taller than what appeared in the movies and TV shows—with walls designed in a retro style reminiscent of the last century.
Many employees in white shirts and TVA time guards walked back and forth.
It was bustling.
Russell pretended to be curious about the surroundings, while inwardly, he focused his mind and began inspecting the three new entries he had just looted.
[Extremis] – Looted from Killian.
Grants powerful regenerative abilities, enhanced strength, and elimination of fatal weak points.
Allows control of high temperatures—up to 1800 degrees Celsius.
Most importantly, it stabilizes the Extremis virus, avoiding the side effects of rage, instability, and self-detonation.
Russell was overjoyed. This ability would significantly improve his chances of surviving in the Void and gave him real self-protection.
And this was only a green-level ability!
The rarity scale of entries was: White < Blue < Green < Purple < Gold < Red.
Next, he focused on [Knowledge Curse], a purple-level ability.
In an instant, information flooded his mind.
[Knowledge Curse] – Ability Type
Grants heightened understanding and learning ability across both technology and magic, along with creative thinking.
Russell was surprised. He didn’t expect an entry from Iron Man to apply to mystic arts as well.
Did this mean he could also become proficient in magic?
It didn’t offer direct combat ability, but long-term, this was a tremendous asset. No wonder it was classified as purple.
Then, he looked at the last entry.
[Furnace Heart (Mutated)] – The only mutated entry.
Transforms the heart into a power core, which continuously absorbs free radiation particles in the air, unleashing a surge of vitality.
It also subtly enhances and strengthens the physical body.
Even better—it amplifies the power of Extremis.
And that wasn’t all.
This variant had another terrifying ability:
Furnace Overload!
When activated, blood is converted into pure energy. It can power energy beams, enhance physical strength, or even be used to cast spells (if any are known).
Conversion ratio: 100mg of blood = 10 units of energy
(For reference: Doctor Strange’s Vishanti Holy Sword costs one unit per 10 casts.)
However, once activated, the ability won’t stop until 40% of the user’s blood is burned.
With an average of 4200ml of blood in the human body, 40% is 1680ml—enough to send a normal person into shock.
Even with powerful regeneration, the user would be left weakened.
In short—this was a last-resort, do-or-die ability.
Russell would only use it if absolutely necessary.
It was now his trump card.
In fact, he felt this mutated entry might be even stronger than [Knowledge Curse].
What an unexpected bonus!
With excitement bubbling inside, Russell quickly equipped all three entries.
There was no loading bar—the power settled instantly.
He could feel it: his body surged with energy, his vision sharpened, his mind raced.
The TVA prohibited magic inside its domain—but physical power had no such limits.
Right now, Russell was confident he could knock down the TVA guards escorting him with just one blow!
But he didn’t act impulsively or arrogantly.
There were countless dangerous time criminals in the Void. He doubted TVA relied on sneak attacks alone to handle them.
Judging from the show Loki, what TVA revealed was likely only a fraction of its real strength.
Plus, the time collar on his neck was a major problem—unless he could grab the remote, it was almost impossible to remove.
So instead, Russell memorized every detail of the surroundings and route.
After descending 25 floors in the elevator, he was finally led to a sealed room.
The door was made of dark metal, with no window—completely opaque.
Russell frowned slightly.
He remembered that in the Loki TV series, when Loki was captured, the process was totally different.
First, they changed his clothes, then he was read his charges, and finally judged by Ravonna Renslayer.
But now—none of that was happening.
Could this be after Loki became a god?
But no—the murals in the corridor still featured the Time Keepers (the three lizard men), so that shouldn't have happened yet.
A time guard opened the door, pushed Russell in, and then slammed it shut behind him.
"Hello, sir, please have a seat."
A warm voice called out.
Russell looked ahead and saw a small table in the otherwise empty 200 square meter room, with something resembling a toaster on top.
A man in a black suit, gray tie, and neatly-combed gray hair sat on the left. He gestured politely.
Mr. Paradox...? Russell recognized him immediately.
He didn’t expect this guy to appear at this point.
So it seemed Professor X’s evil twin sister hadn’t been caught after Loki Season 2.
Russell pretended to be nervous, glanced around, then cautiously sat across the table.
"You are...?" he asked.
Mr. Paradox smiled, tone gentle:
"Relax, sir. The Time Variance Authority isn’t some evil organization. We exist to maintain the stability of the Sacred Timeline."
"In short—we’re the good guys."
As he spoke, he snapped his fingers, and a slot opened on the "toaster." A projection lit up on the wall, showing TVA’s origin and mission.
It was exactly like what Russell had seen in Loki.
When the video ended, Mr. Paradox smiled and said:
"This is the TVA. Don’t think we’re targeting you specifically."
"As long as you tell us your origin and it turns out you’re not purposefully interfering with the timeline, we’ll return you to your original timeline."
Yeah, right. Russell sneered inwardly. He knew what kind of person this guy really was.
If he hadn’t awakened his system and obtained powers, he would’ve ended up erased or dumped into the Void.
Now, being a fugitive time criminal clearly offered more freedom—and more chances to loot new entries.
Besides, the TVA was full of power-hungry manipulators.
So escaping and going rogue was the only real option.
But first—he had to grab the controller and time collar remote.
Russell looked contemplative, then slowly stood and began pacing near the table, subtly inching closer to Mr. Paradox.
Mr. Paradox made no move to stop him. He casually picked up his coffee and sipped it, his face shadowed, a knowing smile playing on his lips.
Then, Russell suddenly lunged forward with the full speed and strength of his evolved body.
“Tsk tsk... couldn’t hold back, could you?”
Paradox smiled and pressed a finger—previously hidden in his coat pocket.
In an instant, Russell blinked—and was back in his seat five seconds earlier, confused.
He leapt at Paradox again.
Paradox calmly took out the controller, and with another press, Russell reappeared in his seat, stunned.
This time, he couldn’t move. His expression was frozen in panic and disbelief.
Paradox smiled and pressed the pause button.
Then he stood up, posture elegant, and looked down with an air of superiority.
“Ah... I knew you wouldn’t be cooperative.”
“I forgot to mention—as long as you're wearing the time collar, I control your time.”
“So... take your time to think things through.”
He set down his coffee and walked out casually.
But what he didn’t see was the shadow in Russell’s eyes slowly changing.
The panic faded—replaced by calm... then something deeper.
Like everything... was going exactly as planned.
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