"Finally succeeded!"
Marcus held up a translucent copper-colored crystal card toward the sunlight. This was an amplification crystal he'd worked incredibly hard to create, called the "Pressure Point."
It was a crystal specifically designed to enhance the destructive power of melee weapons, which would greatly improve his combat effectiveness.
This particular amplification crystal in his hand was the result of an entire year's work, created after countless failures.
The Pressure Point emitted subtle vibrations and seemed to shimmer under the sunlight.
"Let's test how well it enhances equipment!"
Energy suddenly surged through the hand holding the Pressure Point. The moment Marcus placed it against his energy blade, the amplification crystal vanished from his palm and merged into the weapon.
The energy blade began emitting a faint blue light, its sharpness visibly increasing.
As Marcus channeled void energy through his hand, the blade projected a more condensed energy field. Under the effect of the Pressure Point, the weapon produced a buzzing sound as it cut through the air.
The blade's destructive power was significantly stronger. Just by holding it, Marcus could clearly feel how it dispersed the airflow in front of him.
And this was just the passive power emanating from the energy blade itself. Once he actually used it, the weapon's potential would be even more devastating.
This was excellent news for Marcus. If he encountered those Kree warriors again, he could easily break through their energy defenses and take them all down.
"The effect is great!" Marcus nodded, thoroughly satisfied with the amplification crystal's performance. "Time to enhance all my equipment!"
A single upgraded energy blade wouldn't be enough for his needs in battle. Marcus planned to create more amplification crystals to strengthen all his weapons, equipment, and armor.
This was a massive undertaking. Even though Marcus had successfully made one amplification crystal, he needed to be extremely careful and couldn't afford any mistakes.
Manufacturing amplification crystals was incredibly time-consuming, and the difficulty increased exponentially for more powerful variants, which slowed Marcus's progress considerably. He experienced several failures along the way.
Finally, as the farm grew quiet toward the year's end, Marcus completed the last and most complex golden amplification crystal, called "Concentration."
This particular crystal could enhance the armor's abilities and increase the effectiveness of attacks generated by the armor by 30%.
After completing the manufacturing process, Marcus immediately collapsed into his chair.
He hadn't expected Concentration to be so difficult to create. It had taken him two full months of work to barely finish it.
Void energy surrounded him, transforming into void resonance as Marcus fused the Concentration crystal into his armor.
"Ahhh~" The fusion process made Marcus groan, as he felt a warm current flowing through his body. "I didn't expect this thing to feel better than a massage."
"Wait a minute, what would happen if this thing was fused with a human?"
A strange idea popped into Marcus's mind. If an amplification crystal were fused to a human body, would the person die instantly, or become superhuman?
"Hmm... I should become Superman, right?" Marcus rubbed the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "I remember pets in games can be fused with crystals! I'll find a rabbit to test it on when I get the chance."
Ring ring ring! Just as he was thinking, the phone rang.
"Marcus, got any plans for Christmas?" Howard's voice came through the line. "Would you like to join us for a vacation in the Bahamas?"
A vacation in the Bahamas?
"You two are such old souls at heart. Actually wanting to go on vacation for Christmas!" Marcus raised his eyebrows with a smile. "As it happens, there's nothing to do on the farm right now, so I, your personal bodyguard, will gladly accompany you!"
After cleaning the house and taking necessary precautions, Marcus arrived at Howard's farm dressed in neat clothes.
As soon as he entered, he spotted Tony sulking in the corner. It seemed he'd been arguing with Howard again.
"Hey, hello there, working man!" Marcus leaned against the wall, looking at Tony with a smirk.
But Tony ignored him completely. He was furious. His father Howard always seemed to make a huge fuss when no one else was around.
Tony had taken over Stark Industries, and even without Howard's help, he was running the company perfectly well. Why couldn't Howard trust him?
Seeing that Tony had no interest in talking, Marcus glanced at Happy standing nearby. Happy just shrugged and spread his hands, indicating he had no idea what was going on.
After waiting a while, Howard and Maria emerged. When passing by Tony, Maria paused to comfort him, while Howard just shook his head and got into the car.
"Aren't you being a bit hard on Tony?" Marcus asked from the driver's seat. "Give him some time, he'll get it right!"
"No!" Howard shook his head firmly. "Tony needs to focus. Whatever he did during his school years was his business, but now that he's taken over the company, he can't be so stubborn and willful!"
These words made Marcus's mouth twitch several times. He knew exactly how stubborn and willful Tony would remain in the future—and Stark Industries would still thrive despite it.
After Maria got in the car, Marcus started the engine and drove them toward the airport.
The farm was quite a distance from the airport, and probably because Christmas was approaching, the roads were oddly empty.
"That's strange, why isn't there a single car?" Looking at the deserted road, Marcus commented, "Did everyone already head home for Christmas?"
The situation put Marcus on high alert. Something felt wrong, and he noticed the car was gradually losing speed despite his efforts.
Just then, a motorcycle appeared behind them. The rider sped down the road like lightning, long hair wildly dancing in the wind.
"See? There's someone," Howard glanced at the motorcycle through the window. "Maybe there were just fewer people earlier!"
The moment Howard finished speaking, the car Marcus was driving suddenly lost control. No matter how hard Marcus stepped on the brakes, he couldn't stabilize the vehicle as it crashed into the trees alongside the road.
"I knew something was wrong!"
The car had lost control right after the motorcycle passed them. Such a coincidence was impossible.
"Howard, Maria, are you both okay?"
"We're fine!" The couple was frightened but uninjured.
"Good. Stay hidden in the car first, I'll check things out!"
With that, Marcus exited the vehicle. The attacker gave him a strangely familiar feeling, and he wanted to see who it was.
The attacker had circled back on his motorcycle. When he saw Marcus, he appeared momentarily stunned.
"You're—"
Before Marcus could finish speaking, the man swung his fist at him. After catching sight of the guy's metal arm, Marcus immediately understood the attacker's true identity.
Snap!
Marcus caught the metal fist in one hand, void energy surging through his palm. He gripped the arm and twisted it hard, then kicked outward with his foot.
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