The motorcade stopped in front of the Kingsman Academy building. Just as Ross and Blonsky stepped out of the car, the roar of a sports car engine echoed across the lot.
Turning around, they spotted the supercar that had recently been all over the media.
Whether it was out of envy or simple distaste, Ross scowled and muttered, "Show-off," before walking toward William, who had just gotten out of the car.
"Good God, what happened to you?" William said in feigned surprise upon seeing Blonsky. "The Americans still haven't developed a serum for you?"
"I—" Blonsky's eyes turned red at the question.
That feeling of watching yourself deteriorate from a superhuman into a cripple wasn't something most people could endure.
"It's fine," William said. "I'll take a look in a bit. Should be able to improve your current condition."
"Th-Thank you," Blonsky stammered, nodding gratefully.
William put on his smart glasses and walked in a slow circle around Blonsky, playing the part while furrowing his brow under the worried gazes of Ross and Blonsky.
"Your spine is severely deformed and enlarged. Your body has shrunk by at least 20%. Restoring you to normal all at once will be tricky."
Blonsky immediately lit up with hope and said, stammering with excitement, "Th-that's fine, Mr. Devonshire. As long as we can stop it from getting worse, we'll have more time for research."
"That makes it much easier," William smiled, then shook his head and said vaguely, "But it's not that simple. I've been thinking about this issue lately and even came up with a few improvements.
But after running the numbers, there are still some problems."
Ross quickly asked, "What kind of problems?"
Standing nearby, Harry Hart began frantically signaling William with his eyes.
But William ignored him, frowning as he said, "Based on my calculations, if strength increases too rapidly, the body will inevitably grow in size.
So I've been trying to find a way to return to a normal form afterward—like the Hulk does—but..."
This time Harry couldn't hold back. "Boss."
William acted as if he'd just noticed Harry's nervous expression and asked curiously, "What?"
Harry reminded him, "Boss, this isn't the place for such discussions. Let's check if the lab's equipment meets your standards first."
"Hm? …Oh, you're right."
Acting like he'd just remembered, William chuckled awkwardly, stroked his chin, and said, "Let's go. I'll fix Blonsky's deterioration first, then test whether the Blood Orchid is genuine.
We'll talk about the other stuff later."
Blonsky, who looked like he wanted to strangle Harry a moment ago, was overjoyed to hear that. Without a word, he handed William the alloy briefcase.
William took the case, tapped it a few times, then said to Sunday, "Send over Lab Sample No. 21."
A few minutes later, a drone the size of a briefcase hovered in front of William, carrying a metal cylinder about the size of a thermos.
Receiving the serum container, William silently praised Sunday for understanding the need to keep up appearances.
He deliberately opened the container, revealing a blue serum inside. Sunday informed him through the earpiece that it was made from ordinary blood—actually a food item regularly consumed by Selene and Nissa.
With a hearty laugh, William led everyone into the lab Harry had prepared.
Upon entering, over a dozen lab-coated researchers clapped excitedly to welcome William.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, William placed the alloy case on the table and pushed it toward Ross.
But after several seconds of silence, with Ross still unmoving, William lost his patience and said, "The password—what are you waiting for?
The thing's already in my hands. Do you really think a metal box can stop me?"
Hearing this, Harry and the researchers chuckled quietly, while Ross stiffened and reluctantly keyed in the code and his fingerprint.
Inside were glass vials containing about a dozen seeds. William immediately understood Ross's hesitation.
He smirked. "Hah, you really are calculating."
Taking out one of the bottles, he pointed at Blonsky and told the lab assistants, "Take him to the medical room. I'll be there shortly."
With the serum container in hand, he entered an isolated lab, had Sunday disable the surveillance, and began injecting natural energy into the regular blood serum.
Perhaps due to blood's innate compatibility with magic, it took about three healing spells' worth of energy to fully saturate the serum.
Now glowing with a rich green hue, the blue serum shimmered within the container. William nodded in satisfaction.
Just the appearance was impressive enough. With the power equivalent to three healing spells, it was hard to imagine it wouldn't work on Blonsky.
William deliberately dragged things out in the lab for nearly two hours. Once Sunday informed him that Richard, the Prime Minister, was on his way with several top-level UK officials, William tossed some materials and ingredients into a portal and, under the watchful and hopeful gazes of the crowd, finally stepped out of the lab.
"Well?" Ross rushed forward, eyes locked on the serum tube. "Is—is that the same serum?"
"Of course."
The green glow radiating from the serum was something none of the dozen scientists present had ever seen before.
William approached the medical room with a cheerful grin and said to Blonsky, who was already in a hospital gown, "You're in luck, my friend."
He held up the serum tube and casually lied, "I've done sixteen extraction experiments so far, and only five succeeded. That's less than a 30% success rate.
Didn't expect today's trial to work on the first try. Looks like the heavens aren't ready to send you to hell just yet."
Blonsky laughed in a daze. The glowing green serum, combined with the low experiment count, made him feel oddly at ease.
Especially with William personally saying he wasn't dying yet—Blonsky didn't doubt it for a second. "Th-thank you. I—I..."
"Alright, save your thanks for when you're better."
Just then, Richard and his party—under close mental surveillance by William—entered the lab. William handed the serum to an assistant and said, "Get it ready."
"Yes, sir."
Within seconds, everything was in place. William nodded to the assistant. "Begin."
"Wait."
The assistant, just about to press the injection switch, looked up and saw a group standing outside the medical room—most notably, Prime Minister Richard.
William, already expecting this, merely glanced at them. He snapped his fingers sharply, the sound echoing in the assistant's ears.
Then he said, "I said begin. Don't make me say it a third time."
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