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Chapter 215 Bucky’s Adaptability
TL: Kyous
In the high-end and sophisticated laboratory, Bucky was holding the Ant-Man suit and examining it closely, flipping it over and inspecting every detail.
Leo laughed, “Don’t just stare at it. Put it on and see how it works.”
Holding the suit up, Bucky asked puzzledly, “I just put it on like regular clothes?”
“Of course,” Leo shrugged, “how else are you going to put it on?”
“Stop messing around Leo
” Bucky replied helplessly, “Your armor has all these parts that fly up and put themselves together, how easy and cool they are to wear. Meanwhile, mine feels more like I’m wearing thermal underwear
 and it’s leather also
”
“Stop complaining and put it on already! You got a good deal, so don’t try to haggle,” Leo rolled his eyes, seeing that Bucky was still smiling.
Bucky then happily began to put on the suit, attaching each part until he finally donned the helmet. The helmet looked nothing like the original Ant-Man suit that Hank Pym created, which had a design resembling a gas mask and was simply hideous.
So Leo took it upon himself to redesign the helmet, giving it a sleek and cool appearance similar to Iron Man’s helmet. And since he had a fondness for black, Bucky’s suit had a predominantly black color scheme,
Seeing that Bucky had put on the helmet, Leo pulled out an earpiece and inserted it into his ear.
“Hey, Bucky, can you hear my voice through the helmet?” he asked.
“I can!” Bucky’s muffled voice came through the earpiece and the air at the same time, creating a cacophony.
“Alright, let’s test out the suit,” Leo said, taking a couple of steps back to give Bucky enough room.
“Right to turn small, left to turn big, right to turn small, left to turn big!” Bucky repeated twice, committing each button’s function to his memory. Then, he instinctively crouched down to stabilize himself before pressing the button on his right hand.
The next moment, Bucky had shrunk down to the size of an ant, and his tiny body appeared in mid-air, beginning to fall toward the ground. But thanks to Bucky’s preparedness, he was able to land steadily on the ground, half-kneeling, without any embarrassment.
“How do you feel?” Bucky heard Leo’s voice coming from the helmet’s communication system and above his head as well.
“I feel great. The view is novel, it feels much better than looking out from the Capsule House,” replied Bucky while scanning the surroundings before fixing his gaze on Leo, who towered over him like a mountain range.
“Good. Now take a few steps and then try running to get used to the suit as soon as possible,” instructed Leo. “When you shrink, your energy will be compressed, so you’ll still have the power and strength of a Super Soldier but with fists the size of ant claws and the weight of an ant. So a seemingly simple movement, like taking a step, could launch you sky-high
”
Suddenly, Leo stopped and looked at the tiny Bucky, perplexed. “No, why are you able to move so easily and even run that freely?”
“Remember when you locked me up in the Capsule House a year ago? Back then, I already had a taste of this whole compressed-body-energy thing. And with all the bumps and shakes in that room, I’ve basically adapted to it!” Bucky suddenly raised his right fist, giving himself a thumbs up, and proudly declared, “I gotta say, my learning ability is not bad at all!”
“Well, then I don’t have to worry you’ll mess up my lab. I was actually thinking of taking you to an empty space to practice slowly.” Leo stood up and nodded slightly.
Pressing the enlarge button on his left hand, Bucky returned to his normal size. He lifted his hand and looked at his both arms, asking, “So I can only shrink to the size I was just now? I saw that you can freely grow to any size.”
“I can grow to any size, but I was afraid you wouldn’t get used to it at first, so I locked some of the suit’s functions and only opened two sizes for you to practice with.” Leo thought for a bit.
“But since you’re adapting so fast, I’ll just unlock the suit’s regulator for you now,” Leo closed in slightly and activated his Mechanical Force – Insight. Surging with Mechanical Force, his right hand swept in the air at Bucky’s waist.
“Done, I’ve unlocked part of the regulator for you.”
Taking a few steps back to give Bucky some space, he continued explaining, “That circular ring on your waist is the regulator for the suit. Turning it to the left will make you smaller while turning it to the right will make you bigger. It corresponds to the button positions on your gloves. You can try getting used to it first yourself.”
Bucky began experimenting with the regulator, enjoying himself as he alternated between enlarging and shrinking. He adapted to each size quickly and easily, showcasing his impressive adaptability and learning ability.
After messing around for a while, Bucky asked another question, “Leo, why can I only shrink to the size of a sesame seed at the smallest and grow to about twice my height at the largest? Can I become even smaller or bigger?”
“There’s something you must take note of!” Leo’s voice suddenly turned solemn, “The technology used in this suit is very groundbreaking. It can change the distance between atoms, allowing objects to freely shrink or enlarge. However, both the enlarging and shrinking functions have their limits due to the limitations of the human body. The enlarging limit depends on the individual’s physical condition, and some people have a stronger physique, like you, who can still move and fight while being very huge. But if an ordinary person suddenly becomes as big as you, they would probably consume all their energy instantly and faint, or worse, immediately suffer oxygen deprivation which ultimately leads to death. On the other hand, the limit of shrinking is fixed. The smallest you can shrink is close to the atomic scale because once you choose to shrink further, you’ll immediately enter the Quantum Realm and get lost there. Unless you are extremely lucky, you’ll never be able to come out again. In that case, it’s equivalent to being dead. So, the regulator on the suit you’re wearing only has some of the limitations removed. You can only enlarge to about twice your size and shrink to about the size of an ant. Do you understand?”
Swiftly, Bucky shook his head like a tambourine, indicating that he didn’t understand. The scientific nature of this information sounded like gibberish to him.
Leo let out a sigh of resignation, preparing to explain it to Bucky again.
But Bucky quickly raised his hand to stop him and said, “Although I can’t understand the science you were talking about, I know that I’ll be in danger if I become too big or too small, right? And since you’ve put the limits on the suit, I don’t have to worry about my safety, right?”
“If that’s how you want to simplify it, I guess it works
” Leo shrugged.
“That’s all I need to know then!” Bucky exclaimed, brimming with joy, “Thanks, Leo! For giving me such a powerful piece of equipment.”