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*****
Twins?
Strucker felt nothing at the mention of it.
Only those who survived the experiment and successfully merged with the energy were of any value to him.
"Proceed with the experiment," he said.
Strucker waved his hand dismissively and sat down on a nearby sofa.
The room he was in was separated from the laboratory by a layer of high-strength one-way glass, allowing him to observe the entire process of the experiment.
The scepter that provided energy was located in his room, connected to a device that extracted the energy. Once drawn, the energy was transferred to the lab on the other side.
Suddenly, in the room where Strucker sat alone, a cold voice echoed.
"Strucker, you've used up all of today's test subjects again."
A gray-skinned figure with no nose on his face appeared silently in the room.
Ebony Maw lazily sprawled on the sofa beside Strucker. With a flick of his finger, a bunch of grapes floated up from the coffee table in front of him. The skin peeled away midair, and one by one, the grapes fell into his mouth.
"You think I care about those test subjects?" Strucker gave Ebony Maw a faint smile and said, "Besides, isn't this all in service of universal balance?"
"Uh… haha!"
Ebony Maw was briefly stunned, then burst out laughing.
Strucker's lips curled ever so slightly.
But then, Ebony Maw's laughter stopped abruptly. He said, "That sounds nice, but what I really want to see is results."
After locating the leader of Hydra using the Mind Stone's psychic control ability, he had formed an alliance with them.
Hydra would help them track the Tesseract, and after summoning their army with its power, they would in turn help Hydra achieve world domination.
During this collaboration, Ebony Maw had accidentally learned about their experimental program and developed a deep interest in it.
They had built a device capable of merging energy with human subjects, granting them supernatural powers.
However, during their initial trials, the energy used was fairly ordinary. While the procedure succeeded, the powers granted were extremely weak.
After some consideration, Ebony Maw handed over the most special energy source—the Mind Stone—allowing Hydra to use it in their experiments.
If the plan succeeded, they would be able to mass-produce superpowered soldiers to serve their cause.
This outcome would benefit both Hydra and them.
But despite the time and effort invested, the experiments had yet to yield success.
Ebony Maw was growing impatient.
Strucker forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Maw."
"Heh."
Ebony Maw let out a chuckle as grapes continued to float into his mouth, one after another.
He had decided to give them one more week. If there were still no results, he would abandon the plan entirely.
At the same time, Dr. List had already approached the last two test subjects.
They were held in a cell—a young man and woman who shared a slight resemblance. The man was handsome, the woman beautiful.
Even with their lives at stake, the man instinctively stood in front of the woman to protect her.
"Don't be afraid. I'm right here with you."
Pietro Maximoff offered a comforting smile to his sister, Wanda Maximoff.
Wanda nodded, though her eyes still brimmed with fear.
"Take them."
Dr. List murmured, rubbing his brow, and gestured to the two Hydra soldiers beside him.
The siblings were led out at gunpoint, and as they walked, List leaned in and whispered, "Try your best to survive."
Their faces were grim as they were pushed into the lab.
"You first."
An experiment technician standing by the energy infusion chamber pointed to Wanda.
Wanda's expression changed instantly, but Pietro shouted, "Let me! I'll go first!"
Even if it meant dying, he would die before his sister.
"No!"
Wanda grabbed Pietro's hand.
The technician stared blankly at the siblings' dramatic farewell, his expression completely indifferent.
He had witnessed too many deaths by now—it had become routine.
"Stop wasting time. Bring her over."
The technician continued to insist on taking Wanda.
Dr. List frowned and said, "Honor his role as an older brother—let him go first."
The technician nodded in response.
Seeing this, Pietro said gratefully, "Thank you!"
Thanking the one sending you to the gates of hell?
What a sweet child.
That thought flashed through Dr. List's mind. As Pietro stepped into the infusion chamber, he said, "Begin the procedure."
With those words, the countdown started. Strands of special energy were drawn from the scepter. When the countdown ended, the energy surged toward Pietro.
His pupils shrank, and he let out a cry of pain.
Wanda stood nearby, struggling desperately, her voice filled with panic as she called out to him.
As time passed, the expressions of the lab staff gradually lit up with excitement. Watching Pietro scream in agony, their eyes gleamed with anticipation.
He had already broken the endurance record, and the energy was merging with him remarkably well.
A few moments later…
Finally, when all the extracted energy had fully merged with Pietro, a cheer erupted in the laboratory.
Dr. List ordered that Pietro be released from the infusion chamber and looked at him with eager eyes. "How do you feel? Any discomfort? Do you sense anything unusual—any special powers?"
Pietro appeared dazed, clearly unable to understand what the doctor was saying. But when he saw Wanda's face full of worry, he instinctively gave her a faint smile.
Just as he was about to speak, his body trembled violently twice. It glitched for a brief moment, becoming a blur in place.
No one in the room noticed.
"Take him for a full biometric scan. Check his physical condition," Dr. List instructed, forcing himself to stay calm. "Continue the experiment."
Even though he could hardly believe the first trial had succeeded, he still decided to proceed.
What if the girl succeeded too?
And the result...
Fifteen minutes later, as he stared at the girl—now unconscious after successfully merging with the energy—he stood there stunned.
It actually worked?
He suddenly felt a strong urge to expand the experiment, to bring in more test subjects and continue the trials.
"Whew..."
In the end, he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and abandon the mad idea. He turned to look at the glass wall behind him.
Though he couldn't see Strucker's expression from where he stood, he was sure it mirrored his own excitement.
Clap, clap!
Ebony Maw applauded, gazing at Strucker with genuine admiration. "Congratulations, you've succeeded."
"No, congratulations to us," Strucker said calmly.
Ebony Maw flicked his finger, and a bottle of wine along with two glasses floated out from the office wine cabinet, as if lifted by invisible hands. After pouring two glasses, he grabbed one and floated the other toward Strucker. With a smile, he said, "To a fruitful partnership."
(End of Chapter)