After this period of development, the Liberators Organization grew stronger. Countless nobles were purged by them, turning into cold, hard wealth and resources.
Amidst the frenzy of total mobilization, the Sokovia royal family's prestige plummeted, their thunder completely stolen by the Liberators Organization. Now, the royal family's lengthy pronouncements were less effective than a single word from the Liberators Organization.
This deep-seated support did not come out of nowhere.
The Liberators Organization used concrete actions to improve the lives of every ordinary Sokovian. Not only was the oppression of those nobles gone, but the resources that should have belonged to them also returned to the people's hands.
The common people didn't care for grand theories; they would support whoever could keep them fed, clothed, and living in peace.
Now, the entire Sokovia seemed to be twisted into a strong rope.
Whether members of the Liberators Organization or commoners, everyone shared the same goal: to completely overthrow the decaying mountain that had long pressed down on everyone's heads!
Wanda strolled along the familiar streets, her mouth agape as she looked at the brand-new scenery before her.
Wanda: ● ０ ●
As a native Sokovian, she knew better than anyone what it used to be like here.
Precisely because of this, the changes before her made her feel even more incredible.
Was this still the Sokovia she knew?
And where did these future soldiers come from? Why were there so many Terminators and a humanoid yellow rat?
The art style was all wrong!
Darian took in Wanda's surprise and seized the opportunity to say, "Wanda, your homeland is changing. It needs every bit of strength, especially your unique strength!"
"Join us. With your help, we will surely be able to overthrow the corrupt royal family faster, completely liberate Sokovia, and establish a new nation that truly belongs to all Sokovians!"
"Okay, I'll join!"
Wanda blinked, barely hesitating, and agreed with a smile.
This quick response was within Darian's expectations.
After all, Wanda was originally a member of the Monthly Liberator Resistance Organization and, like all members of the organization, yearned to change the current state of Sokovia.
And now, the Liberators Organization had gradually changed the status quo of Sokovia, giving all Sokovians hope for the future.
Facing Darian's invitation, Wanda naturally wouldn't refuse; she also wanted to contribute to her homeland.
Darian grinned: "Very good. From now on, you are a glorious member of our Liberators Organization."
"What kind of work will I be responsible for?" Wanda asked curiously.
"Considering that your abilities have just awakened and still need time to grow, you can temporarily be my secretary. During this time, I will teach you some magic knowledge to help you build a solid magic foundation."
Darian didn't want Wanda to have any accidents.
Although Wanda's potential was indeed limitless, she was still a novice. If she were to encounter a passing BOSS and get conveniently killed, he would cry himself to death on the spot.
Wanda exclaimed, "magic? You can also use magic?"
Darian nodded: "Of course, I am a genuine, orthodox mage!"
These words immediately filled Wanda with reverence.
She had already learned from Darian that her awakened power was called Chaos Magic, which was equivalent to automatically becoming a mage class.
As a new player who had just created an account, she naturally held awe for a mage bigwig like Darian.
"So where should I start learning now?"
Wanda humbly sought guidance, already preparing to take notes.
Darian said seriously: "It's simple. Put all your attribute points into Health and Stamina. For skills, max out One-Handed Sword, Two-Handed Sword, Block, Critical Strike, Charge, Whirlwind Dance, Decapitate, and Armor Penetration. As for spells... a simple Lighting spell is enough."
Wanda: "..."
Are you sure this is a mage!?
Unfortunately, Wanda did not have the talent for a mage.
Her physical fitness was not outstanding; her arms would ache after only a few swings of a longsword, and her stamina would quickly run out.
Her progress in learning melee techniques was also quite slow. Whether it was the timing of blocks or the technique of exerting force, she always failed to grasp the essence, a world of difference compared to Darian's talent.
However, once she turned to magic-related knowledge, the situation was completely different.
She could always grasp those complex and convoluted spell principles and delicate energy guidance techniques instantly, learning them as soon as she was taught.
Darian, using the game's recording function, had borrowed magic ancient texts from Kamar-Taj. Even he needed to study the magic knowledge for half a day, but Wanda could easily comprehend its profound meaning.
She didn't even need to completely copy the complex steps in the book; she only needed to understand the core principle of the spell, and Chaos Magic would obey her will, perfectly reproducing the effect in its unique way.
Is that you, Hatake Wanda!
It must be said that Chaos Magic was indeed beyond imagination.
This ability to alter the rules of reality allowed Wanda to do almost anything she desired, truly a versatile magic.
Days passed. Wanda's melee ability remained stagnant, even the most basic chopping movements appearing clumsy, yet her magic attainments soared, advancing by leaps and bounds.
For Wanda, who had completely deviated in her learning, Darian was heartbroken and stated that he truly couldn't teach her, telling her to study the magic ancient texts on her own.
If he didn't run, his Dao heart would shatter!
However, after beating up a few mages in Kamar-Taj's training ground, Darian's conviction strengthened again.
Mages who only played with magic were ultimately unorthodox; only mages with strong physiques were truly orthodox!
Meanwhile, Strucker's research continued.
However, the biological development experiments with the lokis scepter were progressing extremely poorly.
Aside from the twins, Wanda and Pietro, who successfully awakened their abilities, all other volunteers failed without exception. Not only did they not awaken any abilities, but their survival rate didn't even improve.
Finally, Baron Strucker could only attribute the reason to Wanda and Pietro's inherent extraordinary talent and unusual physique. He had no choice but to temporarily halt the biological development experiments with the lokis scepter and focus on researching Pietro's abilities.
At Wanda's request, Darian took her to see Pietro.
Pietro possessed superhuman speed, exceeding normal humans, with his normal movement speed already breaking the sound barrier, reaching supersonic speeds.
Because of this, his physical strength and self-healing speed were also correspondingly enhanced. In a state of super-speed, he could crash through a brick wall without a scratch, and even if injured, his wounds could heal quickly in a short time.
It was normal to think so; without such a resilient physique, it would be impossible to withstand the immense wind pressure and physical load brought about by supersonic movement.
Darian racked his brain but couldn't understand how Pietro, with such speed and physique, could be killed by mere bullets.
Could it be that the person who shot him also had a skill like God of Death's Eye, just like himself?
Darian couldn't figure it out, so he turned to Pietro, who was chatting with Wanda, and said, "Pietro, can you dodge bullets?"
"Of course, I can. Mere bullets are not much faster than snails in my eyes!"
Pietro smiled confidently.
Ever since he awakened his super speed, he felt incredibly strong. Everything seemed to slow down immensely in his eyes, just like bullet time in The Matrix.
The only drawback was that he hadn't fully controlled his speed yet, always unconsciously using his ability, and often crashed when taking off.
"Very good."
Darian nodded.
The next second, he suddenly pulled out a golden Desert Eagle and shot Pietro in the calf.
Bang!
"Ahhh! My leg!!"
Pietro screamed, clutching his bleeding calf and rolling on the ground.
Darian: "..."
Wanda: "..."
"Where's your super speed? How can you not even dodge a bullet?"
Darian looked at Pietro in disbelief.
Pietro cried out indignantly, "At least give me some warning! I didn't even have time to use my ability!"
He was completely exasperated; who just shoots without a word?
Seeing Pietro shot, Wanda quickly knelt down, her hands glowing with crimson energy ripples, slowly extracting the bullet from Pietro's calf, then quickly healing the wound with magic and stopping the continuous bleeding.
After this period of practice, she was now proficient in her abilities. She might not perform anything too complex, but basic operations like this were effortless.
After stopping Pietro's bleeding, Wanda looked up at Darian with disapproval.
"Darian, that was too dangerous."
Darian chuckled: "Don't worry, I deliberately aimed for his calf. With his current self-healing ability, he'll be fine; at most, it'll hurt for a while."
"I see."
Wanda nodded as if enlightened, the worry on her face instantly vanishing.
Pietro: "???"
He couldn't believe his ears.
What did she mean, 'I see'?
His own brother was shot by him! Was it just brushed off so lightly?
Pietro suddenly felt a faint sadness, like his carefully nurtured cabbage had been snatched away by some blonde guy who appeared out of nowhere.
They had only been separated for a short time, yet how could Wanda, his blood-related sister, turn around and stand by Darian, an outsider, so quickly?
What Pietro didn't know was that after these days of interaction, Wanda's favorability towards Darian had skyrocketed.
On one hand, Darian actively helped her master Chaos Magic, even giving her precious magic ancient texts to study.
On the other hand, the atmosphere within the Liberators Organization deeply influenced her. Almost everyone regarded Darian as Sokovia's savior, and that heartfelt trust and adoration unconsciously affected Wanda as well.
In short, Wanda had been CPU'd!
Darian shook his head: "Pietro, your mastery of your ability is truly too poor. If this continues, you will eventually be killed by a bullet."
Although Pietro's abilities were far inferior to Wanda's, his potential ceiling was also not low.
Speed is everything.
As long as the speed is fast enough, it can produce a qualitative change, just like the Flash from DC.
Even if Pietro wasn't as amazing as the Flash, a weakened version of the Flash was still viable.
If his speed could be improved, it would be like having a super-efficient automated robot for leveling, completing a daily quest in one minute wouldn't be a fantasy!
Of course, the premise was that Pietro could develop and not die from a gunshot.
"How is that possible? I, I just didn't react in time."
Pietro was a bit embarrassed; he had just boasted, and then instantly got slapped in the face.
Darian chuckled: "That's precisely your biggest weakness. Enemies won't give you time to react. Once you're ambushed, you might not even have a chance to use your ability."
He wasn't lying.
Look at the Flash from DC; he always gets sacrificed at the beginning of any major event.
He's the fastest among all superheroes, and can even vibrate his entire body at high frequency to be immune to most attacks, yet he always gets successfully ambushed by enemies and forced offline, which is truly speechless.
Pietro didn't argue, as Darian's words indeed made sense.
Darian made the executive decision: "Since that's the case, starting today, I will have members of the Base shoot at you anytime, anywhere, until you can easily dodge all bullets and your ability completely transitions from active to passive."
Pietro: "???"
Are you a devil!?
"Oh, and I'll have someone procure a complete set of DC Flash comic books, as well as Flash-related event comic books. You must read them all, especially the scenes of Flash's sacrifices, to remember how he messed up."
Pietro: "..."
And so, a special group activity arose in the HYDRA Base.
It was called the Quicksilver Sacrifice Event.
Whether Base guards or researchers, as long as they saw Pietro and he was in an active state, they could attack him anytime, anywhere, with no limits on methods.
Aside from vital areas, other body parts could be attacked, as long as it didn't result in serious injury or death.
Successfully hitting Pietro with a bullet would earn a generous reward from Darian, including but not limited to money, equipment, and so on.
Rewards could accumulate, and accumulating a certain amount could even be exchanged for healing potions.
As soon as this activity was launched, the entire research Base instantly became lively.
Wherever Pietro was, gunshots were sure to ring out.
Some were there to complete a task, some for the rewards, and some purely for fun.
Initially, Pietro didn't take it seriously, thinking that being shot by Darian earlier was purely due to his carelessness and not dodging. With his speed, as long as he was prepared, bullets couldn't possibly touch him.
Who knew, someone quickly proved him wrong.
You see, this was a HYDRA Base, and there was no shortage of various talents and methods.
Some hid pistols in their crotch, somehow pulling the trigger with an unknown body part, while others used high technology to remotely control machines to shoot.
Some even disguised themselves as cross-dressing men, using a high-pitched voice to seduce Pietro, then shooting him the moment they got close, causing immense damage to Pietro's body and mind.
The most outrageous part was that this cross-dressing man succeeded more than once, each time changing into a different disguise to approach Pietro, and each time Pietro fell for it.
As a result, for a while, whenever he saw a woman, he would subconsciously question their gender, fearing they might suddenly say in a deep voice, "It's me, brother, did you forget again?"
Within a few days, Pietro was hit by over a dozen bullets, especially in his legs. Whether by coincidence or on purpose, everyone seemed to aim for his legs.
Fortunately, the Base medical team was always on standby, and coupled with Pietro's superhuman self-healing ability, he didn't suffer much damage beyond his dignity. He was quickly able to get back on his feet, with no lasting after-effects.
Otherwise, with that intensity of injury, he would probably be in for a bad time when it was windy or rainy.