Chapter Thirty-Seven: Chaotic Magic

The moment he obtained the magic of chaos, Zhong Shenxiu instantly sensed that the entire world had become different. The tiny motes flickering in the air—he recognized them as mana—but now, beyond those motes, there appeared vast, amorphous swathes of gray, dough-like light...

There were so many—almost a hundred times more than the mana.

Zhong Shenxiu drew them into his body as he would manipulate mana... and immediately understood what this substance was:

Chaotic mana!

As this strand of chaotic mana entered his body, it was as if a fish had returned to the sea, lively and exuberant.

And in that instant, Zhong Shenxiu gained the full perception of all chaotic mana!

The red “Chubi”s that enveloped the outskirts of Ingram Street submitted to him without hesitation, as if he was their rightful king and their allegiance an unquestioned law.

He half-closed his eyes, and with Chubi’s submission, he instantly experienced what Wanda had felt before.

He could directly “see” the flames burning in the Happy Factory, and he could “see” the clusters of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents gathered outside Ingram Street.

The one watching from afar with arms crossed was Coulson...

Zhong Shenxiu felt that, with a mere gesture, the vast chaotic mana (Chubi) would be effortlessly absorbed into his body, and the strange phenomena on Ingram Street would vanish instantly.

Those wandering aimlessly on the street—he could command them to end their own lives with a thought, or withdraw the chaotic mana to restore them to normal.

There was Peter... and Ben Parker...

This... is what it feels like to be a god!

Zhong Shenxiu closed his eyes in slight intoxication, this feeling as if he could accomplish anything he desired... exhilarating! Intoxicating!

“Lu... Lusu... why have you changed again?” Wanda’s voice, fragile to the extreme, suddenly sounded.

Hearing this, Zhong Shenxiu opened his eyes. He walked over, gently smoothing Wanda’s slightly reddened hair, and replied with a smile, “Does this look suit me?”

“No... it doesn’t. I liked how you looked the first time we met.” Wanda raised the corners of her mouth in a smile, but with her gaunt appearance, it was somewhat frightening.

Zhong Shenxiu said nothing more. He moved to Wanda’s side and summoned a healing spell...

But.

Nothing happened.

Which meant Wanda was not wounded at all!

Zhong Shenxiu pondered briefly, and soon understood. According to the original narrative, Wanda was not yet capable of altering the world on a grand scale at this point.

The anomaly on Ingram Street was likely caused by this unscrupulous organization’s relentless exploitation of the chaotic mana within Wanda.

It was no wonder she was so weak.

She was now like Nagato from Naruto, forced to use the Rinnegan—her chakra (chaotic mana) depleted so greatly that she was left emaciated.

So Zhong Shenxiu willed it, and a large amount of her own chaotic mana began to flow back into her body.

Though “large,” compared to the entire mass of chaotic mana enveloping Ingram Street, it was like a single sip of water compared to the sea.

Yet as this chaotic mana flooded in, Wanda’s complexion visibly improved.

“Lusu, did you really drive away Tookie? I feel so many Chubi bouncing back into me, and that bad Tookie isn’t stopping them anymore!”

“Mhm.” Zhong Shenxiu nodded.

He still didn’t understand what Tookie actually was, but it seemed he had already eliminated it.

Could Tookie have been that fat Hyde?

Zhong Shenxiu grew increasingly convinced that the fat Hyde was not as useless as he appeared. Perhaps he had stumbled upon something by accident, or perhaps he simply countered him.

After a moment’s thought, Zhong Shenxiu decided not to dwell on it.

Hyde was dead, so Zhong Shenxiu would look forward.

With the main quest complete, aside from the reward, he had gained two unexpected boons.

The first, naturally, was Wanda. From his observations, Zhong Shenxiu understood that this girl was remarkably pure.

And what does purity mean?

Easy to mold!

She was a future world-class force, the Scarlet Witch.

If Zhong Shenxiu brainwashed her properly, she would surely become one of his formidable assets.

The second gain was the secret base itself—a true surprise.

Ever since he acquired the Skrull Shapeshifting and Mutant Healing spells, Zhong Shenxiu had envisioned a double life: one side, healing Avengers and superhumans to secretly acquire their powers; the other, acting as a boss-level villain, targeting superhumans, injuring them so that the “healer” Zhong Shenxiu could treat them.

This plan was to be Zhong Shenxiu’s steady approach until he became truly invincible, at which point he could abandon it.

Though he now possessed magic and chaotic magic, invincibility was still a distant goal.

And the boss didn’t have to be him—his loyal subordinates could fill that role.

Thus, a secret base was still very much needed.

His own courtyard had long been discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D., and he could not conduct any covert operations there. If S.H.I.E.L.D. found out, though they were not yet as powerful as the future Avengers-aligned S.H.I.E.L.D., his plans to quietly acquire abilities would be ruined.

Therefore, there was no need to turn against S.H.I.E.L.D. just yet.

Zhong Shenxiu simply needed to proceed step by step, growing stronger as planned—this was the safest path.

“Wanda, can you still control all the Chubi outside?” Zhong Shenxiu toured the base, roughly familiarizing himself with its structure. As he walked, a thought about his synthesis spell occurred to him, so he asked Wanda.

Wanda closed her pale gray eyes, concentrating deeply.

Led by the first sip of water drawn from the well by Zhong Shenxiu, countless strands of chaotic mana were gradually returning to her body, and her complexion was steadily improving.

“Yes, Lusu. Should I call all the Chubi back?”

“No, leave them for now.”

There were still many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents outside—those chaotic mana beings were the best protection.

During this time, Zhong Shenxiu wanted to test an idea he had long been itching to try.

1+1=3 Synthesis Spell: Magic Mastery + Chaos Magic = ???

From the moment he acquired chaos magic, Zhong Shenxiu’s mind had been flooded with the urge: Synthesize, synthesize, synthesize now...

It was as though, deep within, every cell in his body craved this synthesis.

Zhong Shenxiu was intensely curious.

These two seemingly similar yet fundamentally different things—what would their synthesis bring him?