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Chapter 101 Viper Mark I, Complete!
TL: Kyous
Within the basement of Leo’s house.
It was a room filled with senses of technology and machinery, which was Leo’s second laboratory.
But, rarely did Leo use this lab, it was Bucky constantly using it instead! Evidently, Bucky wasn’t using the lab to do any research, he was using the brainwashing device to train the rebellious gang members.
Leaning against the wall was a device shaped like a coffin, it was the brainwashing device that Leo had improved. Next to the device was a person wrapped in a white cocoon laying on the ground. It was the unlucky Bullseye.
“Leo, how should we interrogate this guy?” Kicking at the immobilized Bullseye, Bucky inquired Leo.
“Try using your method to interrogate first.” Despite knowing Bullseye was under the order of Kingpin and guessed Bullseye’s aim of infiltrating El Building, Leo still wished to double confirm it.
Besides, maybe some secrets could be pried out from Bullseye’s mouth.
Right now, Bullseye’s face was still plastered by the Mutated Spider Silk, so he was unable to utter anything.
Bucky searched for a knife before tiringly slashing at the webs. Bucky couldn’t resist grumbling, “What is this white stuff anyway? So sturdy.”
Akin to a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, Bullseye was dragged out by Bucky before being tied up again.
During the process, Bullseye resisted unyieldingly, but he was powerless against Bucky’s great strength.
Bucky’s method of interrogation was undoubtedly ruthless and bloody. Even Leo, who was watching by the side, sensed an iciness was rampaging throughout his body, from head to toe.
Nevertheless, Bullseye was a mercenary with expert training, no words escaped from his mouth.
Leo respected his dignity as a man before tossing him into the coffin to forcefully brainwash him. The brainwashing process required an extendable amount of time. Besides, Leo was worn out for today, so he let Bucky keep an eye on it while he went to have some rest.
Before leaving, Bullseye’s horrifying scream was constantly echoing from the device. Across the metal wall, the scream was muffled yet abnormally ominous.
……
Five hours later, the sunlight gradually blanketed the sky.
With full of energy, Leo hopped off his bed. Just as he left his bedroom, he saw Bucky sitting on the living room couch, while leafing through a thick newspaper in his hands.
As though discovering a whole new world, Leo asked, “Why the sudden newspaper?”
“Checking news on Wilson Fisk. I’m preparing to monitor him soon, searching for any opportunities to assassinate him.”
“You’re quite motivated…”
Leo initially believed Bucky had changed his habits, trying to read some news in his free time. But he was still on the path of war and fight and seemed to stray even further away…
“What about Bullseye? How’s the brainwashing?” Recalling last night’s matter, Leo inquired.
“Dead.” Without raising his head and seemingly engrossed in the newspaper, Bucky indifferently answered.
“Dead?! How?”
“His willpower was a bit strong and the brainwashing failed. After yelling and screaming for around three hours straight, I was annoyed by his screams, so I dragged him out and killed him.” Bucky simply described, “Also, before he died, he yelled, ‘Kingpin will not let you live,’ so it’s clear it’s Kingpin behind it.”
Previously when Bucky painstakingly wiped out the Black Bear Gang, Leo was clear of Bucky’s temperament against the mobs, which was ‘just kill them.’ If Bullseye was brainwashed successfully, Bucky wouldn’t mind having another underlying. But the brainwashing had failed, it was pointless to keep Bullseye around.
Since he was dead, then so be it. Leo didn’t mind it either.
“Bucky, it’s fine for you to monitor Kingpin but you must be wary. I heard Kingpin has mountain-like strength and exceptional combat skills. You must be careful.”
“No matter how great his strength is, is it any greater than my metal arm?” Bucky waved his left arm, indicating he also had mountain-like strength.
“Still, it’s no harm to be careful.” Leo pondered for a bit before adding, “I’m rushing to build armor these few days. If I made it, its strength won’t be any lesser than yours. By then, we’ll wipe Kingpin out together. So, you still have some time for monitoring and must be careful of it.”
Bucky was indifferent towards Leo’s advice but he was interested when Leo mentioned the suit.
“Does your armor really have stronger strength than mine?! Then, let’s have a match after you make it!” Bucky placed down the newspaper with a combative glow shimmering in his eyes. “The Lightweight Power Suit you made last time, you rejected countless times when I looked for you for a match. This time you can’t reject me!”
After leaving the H.Y.D.R.A., Leo’s prowess was constantly soaring. Bucky was perplexed about how Leo did it. Leo rejected Bucky previously because he was afraid Bucky realized he stole Bucky’s moves. But, with new armor, there was no need for any technique, just mowed through it.
“Sure! If I defeat you, you can’t decline to let me modify your metal arm anymore!” Confidence brimmed Leo. After the Viper series armor was built, he could easily beat Bucky.
“Okay, it’s a deal.”
“It is a deal, haha!”
……
Five days later, in the early morning, El Building’s basement.
Due to the spacious area, Leo had created a testing ground next to the lab for testing the newly built Viper Mark I Armor.
The entirety of the armor was jet black. It had a humanoid outer appearance at two meters in height. Leo with his 1.8 meters could easily enter the armor. Its outer shell’s core material was light yet sturdy titanium. Resistant to worn and torn and unafraid of bullets.
Since Leo lacked any advanced radar technologies, examining the surroundings still required eyeballing. So, the visor of the helmet was modified with bullet-proof glass that didn’t obstruct his vision.
On the chest was a fist-sized octagonal plate with half of it being reddish due to the Heat Stone and the other half being whitish due to the Frost Stone. Right below the plate was the sizable Nuclear Microreactor, thus the reason the chest of the Viper Mark I was bulky!
The donning method of Viper Mark I was tailored to Leo, utilizing the combined force of his Mechanical Force and the armor’s power. Leo was only required to enter the suit from the opening on the back of the armor, then it would swiftly encase him.
On the night of Bullseye’s unfortunate passing away, Leo had already made a simplified Neural Helmet. With this helmet, Leo soon built the prototype of the Mechanical Tentacles in the following days.
Afterward, the Mechanical Tentacles were perfected at a faster rate as countless tentacles began waltzing in the lab.
With the assistance of 36+2 arms, Leo’s progress immediately soared by several hundred folds. In just a few days, the Viper Mark I was successfully built. After finishing the armor, without pausing, he went to the testing ground, preparing to test the performance of Viper Mark I.
With Mechanical Force surging, Leo entered the armor, swiftly equipping it. Under the support of the ‘Neural Helmet’, Leo was able to control every part of the armor under a nanosecond reaction time.
The armor felt as comfortable as expected. Although the shock-absorbent lining within the armor was rough, it wasn’t an issue for Leo’s thick skin.
“Buzz! Self-diagnosis was completed. Master, please begin the test.”
“Steam, frisbee volley!”
Dozens of frisbees were simultaneously launched by the faraway launchers. Leo speedily raised his arms, aiming at the bolting frisbees.
A crack appeared on each arm as a gun muzzle was exposed. Under the rampaging shots, the frisbees were destroyed one after another.
“Again!”
Dozens of frisbees bolted once more. This time, a white liquid was released from the palm of the armor. Exposing to the surrounding air, the white liquid instantly coagulated into white spider silk, forming a wide net that swiftly encased all of the frisbees before sticking to the wall.
“Next, whack-a-mole!”
In front of Leo, six bowl-size lights suddenly lit up on the group that scattered in 180 degrees arc. Five reds and one green, the color of the lights changed at irregular intervals. Picking up the plastic hammer next to him, Leo squatted down before starting hammering.
Five minutes later, the test ended.
“Buzz! Accuracy rates, 75%. Pass!”
Despite the childish look of this test, it had a strict requirement for the armor’s maneuvering and reaction speed. Being able to achieve 75% of accuracy rates was a terrifying feat.
After passing this test, it proved the armor’s overall capabilities had utterly reached the initial benchmark Leo set for his design.
“Continue, standing long jump.”
A circle of red glows appeared on the testing ground. What Leo needed to do was to jump from his standing spot to the red circle as accurately as possible. After jumping over, a new red circle would appear at various distances. Leo needed to repeatedly jump over thirty times.
Since Leo hadn’t possessed any advanced thruster technologies, it was difficult for him to install a flying system onto the armor anytime soon. It would be a matter that remained until later days.
Therefore, Leo designed a leaping system to increase the armor’s mobility.
Dodging…
Defense…
……
One by one the test was carried out and one by one each test was cleared.
“Final test, destructive kill!”
A mannequin suddenly sprang up from the ground, pouncing toward Leo.
Preparing his stance and stabilizing his body, hollow holes formed on Leo’s chest and back.
Two at the front, four at the back. A total of six sharp tentacles akin to a snake’s head, abruptly charged out from the hole, mutilating the mannequin.
The unexpected six snake heads perfectly illustrated the name of the Viper.
This technology was obtained from Doc Ock, naturally, it included the tentacles. It was flexible and ordinary people wouldn’t know how to guard against it. So, it was the top choice for a destructive kill.
At this point, the performance test of the armor was completed.
Glancing at the energy indicator, not even 1% of energy was used during the series of tests.
Unlike Mark Series Armors which could fly and shoot missiles, Viper Mark I’s energy consumption was a minimal amount. Having a Nuclear Microreactor alone was more than enough to sustain it.
It was within Leo’s expectation that Viper Mark I was capable of having this performance. After all, this armor was verified by the system and various parameters and stats were displayed in the system.
And the system does not lie!
After completing the test, Leo removed the armor. He returned to his lab and rang up Bucky, “Bucky, the armor is complete. How about a match tonight?”