Chapter 73: Meteorite Ink Formula
After Agnes wished to become a goddess like Aphrodite.
She felt her body growing stronger, gradually becoming otherworldly, like a true deity.
But along with it, her appearance and skin became increasingly ugly and rough, and her voice turned hoarse.
"Wait, this isn't right."
Unable to accept her appearance and figure, which she prided herself on, becoming like this, Agnes anxiously wanted to wish to return to her original looks.
But she suddenly remembered something was wrong, her face turning ugly as she looked at the Wishing Stone in her hand.
She had wished to become a goddess, and by all rights, she shouldn't have turned out like this.
Could it be, as Lex Luthor had said after her wish, that using this magical stone to make a wish might come with a price?
"And the price for my wish is that I lose my beauty!"
Agnes touched her face, unable to accept it.
Then, if she wished again to restore her looks and figure, would she lose something else... like her emotions, lifespan, or eyesight?
Wouldn't this be endless, preventing her from making any more wishes?
"You!
I want you to wish for me to have the beauty and figure of a goddess..."
Agnes's eyes changed as she turned her head and pointed at Luthor.
Even though her appearance had become ugly, her charm had become even stronger, a hundred times more potent than before, like a true goddess of love and beauty who could captivate all beings.
A smug smile appeared on her lips; she wanted Luthor to bear the price of the wish.
"Dear Miss Agnes, although this request is a bit presumptuous, may I also make a wish for myself?"
Luthor's eyes were filled with infatuation, as if he had forgotten that this Wishing Stone with infinite magical power originally belonged to him, and he asked Agnes for permission.
"What do you want to wish for?"
Agnes became instantly wary.
It wasn't that she suspected Luthor could break free from her control, but rather that he was actually making a request of her.
Love could make people blind, but it wouldn't turn them into mindless puppets; the other person would still consider their own interests, just not when it involved her.
"I'm standing right in front of him, and he's still thinking about himself. I can't believe how selfish this guy is when he's normally acting sane!"
Her eyes darted around, and a hint of something unusual appeared on her face.
"It's a wish I've been thinking about for a long time."
A look of longing flashed in Luthor's eyes.
"I want to give myself a brain with the world's strongest scientific talent."
In front of the person he loved, he didn't hide his thoughts at all.
"Is that all?"
Agnes was stunned. She feared Luthor would use the Wishing Stone to wish for her heart or something similar.
"Why don't you wish for infinite wealth, or to become the president of the United States, or even the Earth?"
This wish might be great for an ordinary person, but in her eyes, it wasn't anything extraordinary for Lex Luthor, the heir to a billionaire's fortune.
"As long as you have money and power, even the most brilliant scientist will work for you."
"No, my dear."
Luthor smiled slowly.
"No matter how good others are, they are not mine.
The reason humanity is where it is today, from ancient apes walking down from trees to becoming the overlords of this planet, no longer needing to worry about the elements or scarce prey, being able to speak to people on the other side of the globe with a flick of a finger, crossing oceans in less than an hour, exploring the moon and the deep sea to their heart's content, all of it is a gift from technology."
"If you want it, I'll give it to you."
Agnes didn't care about this. "But aren't you afraid of the price for the wish?"
"As long as you are by my side, my dear."
Taking the Wishing Stone, Luthor bowed with a gentlemanly gesture, placing his hand over his chest. "I fear losing nothing."
Agnes was overjoyed by his words. Although a single kiss could make anyone temporarily fall in love with her, someone who didn't understand romance wouldn't suddenly become sweet-talking because they fell in love with someone else.
She smiled and rewarded him with a kiss, handing him the Wishing Stone.
"And... we can have others make wishes for me."
After receiving the Wishing Stone, a sly glint flashed across Luthor's face, and his tone shifted.
When there were so many people available, why should he be the one to bear the consequences?
"..."
...
At dusk, in a junkyard on the outskirts of a small town, scrap cars were piled up like garbage.
David slowly arrived here, following the information he'd gathered at the bar.
"Who are you? Get out of here!"
Outside a two-story shack that served as the junkyard's security post, several people were enjoying beers and playing cards, living it up. Upon seeing a stranger approach, they dropped their cards and stood up, looking wary.
"What do you want here?"
The leader, a man of medium build with sturdy limbs, wore a bandana with a flame pattern wrapped around his hair and a black studded leather jacket, giving him a rock-and-roll vibe. His tone was unfriendly.
"Can't you see the sign outside? It's private property, no trespassing!"
"Are you the ones who robbed the bank with Whitney?"
David casually tossed a photo of Whitney onto the ground and sized up the group.
"What are you talking about?"
One of them paled and tried to play dumb. "Robbed a bank? What bank?"
But the middle-aged leader's face darkened. He shoved the man aside, a fierce glint appearing in his eyes.
"Who told you about this? Was it Whitney?!"
The men behind him secretly reached for their weapons – chairs, baseball bats – while he subtly moved his hand towards the gun tucked into his waistband.
As if unconcerned by their movements, David glanced at the green tattoo on the arm of one of the men, who was wearing a denim vest, and scanned them coldly.
"Who came up with the idea of mixing meteorite solution with tattoo ink?"
Knowing this wasn't enough; he also needed to know the brand of tattoo ink and if it contained any other ingredients.
That's why he had come to this place.
As David's icy gaze swept over them, a long-haired man covered in tattoos flinched and took a step back. For some reason, he felt an indescribable aura of power emanating from this young man. Just standing there, doing nothing, he was as unshakeable as a mountain, making him want to submit.
"You know too much!
Go on, grab him."
Upon hearing the words "meteorite solution" and "ink," the leader waved his hand, his expression like a ferocious wolf.
"I want to have a good talk with him about how he found out about this."
Except for the long-haired tattooed man, the others lunged forward with their various weapons like hungry wolves.
David had no intention of letting anyone here leave today. He activated his energy beams.
Zzzzt!
The searing beams swept across.
He had only intended to thin the air around the group.
Snap!
But to his surprise, two of them were sliced as if by a cleaver cutting through butter. They looked down at their waists, where red lines appeared on their bodies, then looked up at David in disbelief.
Their upper bodies separated at the waist, falling to the ground, blood quickly spreading.
The unexpectedly bloody scene made David frown.
There were two guys without abilities.
"Were they not trusted, so they weren't given the tattoos?"
Bang!
Witnessing the horrific scene, the bandit leader, startled, fired his gun. But a brass bullet dropped at David's feet, failing to even break his clothes.
Bang, bang, bang. More shots followed, all equally useless.
"You... what kind of monster are you?"
The remaining two men, unharmed, instinctively touched themselves. Seeing this terrifying and bizarre sight, their minds reeled, their legs went weak, and they could barely move.
"Go on, what are you afraid of?
He can't hurt you."
The leader urged his accomplices on urgently, but his face couldn't hide his panic and fear.
He's not even hurt by bullets. Is he some kind of robot made of steel?
"Spare me, please, spare me!"
A large pool of blood spread on the ground, the glaring crimson flowing to their feet. The two men's legs gave out, their courage shattered. They immediately knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.
"Boss, you know, our abilities have a time limit.
This guy is a monster!"
One of them, while begging, turned his head and cried out in terror.
"Damn it!"
The bandit leader activated his ability, his face turning fierce as he charged towards David.
"No matter if you're human or a robot, if you came here today, you won't be leaving alive!"
He raised his hands, trying to reach into David's head and kill him.
Whether human or robot, once the brain or control chip is destroyed, they are bound to be unable to move.
He had a beautiful plan.
But how could David give him that chance? Beams of energy shot from his eyes, sweeping in a circle.
Zzzzt!
They cut through the wall of the shack next to the trembling, long-haired man, slicing through steel and concrete as if they were paper, leaving him just a hair's breadth from being cut in half.
The high temperature steamed and burned the oxygen. The bandit leader, gasping for breath, didn't get far before he couldn't breathe, clutching his throat, his face turning red as he knelt on the ground.
The other two, begging for mercy, also collapsed powerlessly on the ground.
"Spare... spare my life."
David walked indifferently among them, their faces contorted in pain, as if passing by a few insignificant lambs about to die. He stopped in front of the long-haired man who had been standing at the back, not making a move.
"You're the one who thought of fusing the meteorite solution with tattoo ink."
"Y-yes."
Laurent's face was pale, trembling with fear, his teeth chattering.
"I'm just a tattoo artist from a small town, don't... don't kill me..."
After some questioning, David understood the whole story.
This tattoo artist named Laurent had accidentally discovered the meteorite's fluorescent ability and a wild idea struck him: grind the meteorite with water, add tattoo ink, and give people glowing tattoos...
He didn't even consider if it was toxic. After trying it on himself and one or two of his cronies, he discovered it actually gave people the ability to become intangible.
"And then, with this power, you boldly conceived the idea to steal from the bank vault?"
"Y-yes."
"The guy just now said the ability has a time limit. What's that about?"
David glanced at the person who had already turned into a corpse with a purplish-blue face.
"I don't know..."
Laurent wasn't a scientist. He just discovered that their bodies seemed to develop resistance to the meteorite ink, and the ability would gradually disappear. At first, they could turn intangible for half a day at a time. Later, using the ability became shorter and shorter, leaving only a few minutes, or even disappearing completely.
In just a few days, some of them completely lost their abilities, and getting more tattoos was useless.
"So you had to absorb fresh blood, like Whitney, to commit crimes with you and transport the jewelry?"
David raised an eyebrow.
He had been wondering why someone would casually recruit others and share such a marvelous ability.
"What's the formula?"
"Spare... spare my life."
"Don't make me say it a second time." Deep purple light flared in David's eyes, and hot air washed over him.
As if feeling the molten lava of hell churning, Laurent looked at the horribly dead bodies behind David and said with a trembling voice the brand of tattoo ink he used.
"Very good..."
David turned and left, walking out of the junkyard.
As the terrifying young man left, the long-haired tattoo artist, who had let out a sigh of relief, showed a smug look of having survived a disaster. An energy beam pierced his heart.
With precise energy control, the body fell straight down and began to burn.
The tattoo artist had gotten the ability earliest, and his own ability had long since disappeared.
Then, with a few more beams, he destroyed the bodies, causing the entire junkyard to catch fire.
Against the backdrop of raging flames, David left with a calm expression.
He was going home now to try out this formula.
The long-haired tattoo artist had mentioned that even without tattooing, just drawing the pattern would allow the solution to seep into the skin and work, although it was easily rubbed off.
"I wonder if this solution will be useful to me."
David's eyes flashed.
Although his defense was already strong enough and he didn't really need this ability, it could serve as a supplementary means, however small.
There have been some family matters going on at home recently, as an elder has fallen seriously ill. I'm taking a short leave today and will be writing a few hundred words less.
I will make up for it double tomorrow. Due to family matters, I've been a bit lax these past few days. Starting tomorrow, I'll guarantee at least six thousand words per day. I'm requesting your continued subscriptions.
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