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Chapter 197: Ch.196 Torchbearer

The crystal was brought back to the U.S., and the government immediately organized a team to study it. After more than a decade, they finally discovered that the stone contained a unique substance capable of reacting with human genes. This led to the development of another secret project that would run parallel to the human weapon program: the Synthetic Human Project.

Using this special crystal, they mixed it with chemical compounds and human tissue samples, and subjected it to massive amounts of radiation.

After countless sacrifices and an enormous expenditure of money, they succeeded.

Professor Phineas Horton and his team, funded in secret by the White House, conducted an experiment in which they created a man.

Yes, created. From glass slides to Petri dishes, from Petri dishes to beakers, and finally to experiment pods, this man grew like a salt crystal, eventually taking on a human form.

He had the intelligence of a normal human, normal biological responses, but he was not human.

He was like a rifle or a grenade, something that could be mass-produced in a factory.

Unfortunately, as with many black technology experiments, something went wrong. Upon contact with air at the moment of completion, the synthetic human turned into a living torch.

This strange flame provided him with energy, allowing him to fly, burn and melt objects, and shoot out red energy beams.

But the flame was uncontrollable. The expensive laboratory was destroyed instantly. The only way to stabilize the synthetic human in human form was to isolate him from the air.

An uncontrollable weapon is not a good weapon. This was a consensus among both the military and the government. The White House, led by President Roosevelt, was particularly unhappy and cut off funding for the laboratory.

Professor Horton was left with no choice but to take his "Human Torch" and rent a warehouse in Brooklyn, showcasing him like a circus act to raise funds.

The professor needed money to perfect his research, to find a way to prevent the synthetic human from igniting upon contact with air. After twenty years of work, this was the progress he had made. He had dedicated his life to science, and the synthetic human was like his child.

Horton hoped the synthetic human could live a normal human life.

The synthetic human himself was simple-minded, clueless about the world. He stood in a glass tank, motionless, like a mannequin.

This year, they even participated in the World\'s Fair. The professor carefully chose a good location, ensuring that anyone visiting Stark Industries\' booth would pass by theirs first.

However, their exhibit didn\'t even have an official name, and the only attraction was a "dummy" in a glass tank—hardly a match for the leggy dancers and floating cars at the other booths.

Not to mention the free samples of instant noodles and stew being handed out.

Su Ming didn\'t pay attention to the "dummy" at the time. There were too many similar displays at the exhibition.

Stark\'s booth was themed around the future of "transportation," while Wilson Enterprises focused on the future of "food." Naturally, other companies showcased the future of "clothing," with numerous fashion displays filling the venue.

It was a circus, chaotic and bustling everywhere.

Afterward, the professor performed his demonstration. He injected air into the glass tank, and the synthetic human burst into flames. But instead of awe, it caused panic among the onlookers.

People weren\'t marveling at the wonders of science; they were praying to God.

By that time, Stark and Su Ming had already left, unaware that protests erupted around the exhibition afterward.

That night, crowds gathered, waving signs that read, "God made man," and brandishing torches as they clashed with the military police. They protested the creation of monsters on an assembly line, calling it unholy and evil, something that God would never permit.

To quell the situation, President Roosevelt issued a secret executive order, commanding the professor to bury the synthetic human and make him disappear from the world.

The professor was heartbroken, but neither the president nor the agents cared about his feelings.

They sealed the synthetic human in an airtight metal container and buried him on a government property in Brooklyn, pouring 200 tons of cement over it overnight.

It was safe now—neither air nor German spies could reach him.

However, not only Hydra but even the newspapers got wind of the story. A few days later, the mustachioed man in Berlin saw it on the front page.

The secret was no longer a secret. After downing three large glasses of whiskey, President Roosevelt came up with a brilliant idea.

He would use the failed experiment as a smokescreen to mislead the Germans, diverting their attention from the X-gene to synthetic humans.

As for the synthetic human? The U.S. president knew better than anyone—the experiment had failed.

But they couldn\'t say that outright. Instead, the government machinery went into full gear, promoting the mystery of the synthetic human.

High-tech, devoid of humanity, massively destructive—it was portrayed as a warning from God, an apocalypse, and a harbinger of the end times. America promised never to allow such dangerous experiments again.

Roosevelt knew that Hitler loved this kind of thing. The more dangerous it sounded, the more intrigued the Germans would be. They would take the bait.

And Hitler reacted as expected—he loved the idea of doomsday weapons.

The Germans quickly accelerated their own research. They turned their attention to a mysterious race beneath the sea: the Atlanteans, whom they considered to be a superior race on par with the Aryans.

After all, compared to the Aryans, the Atlanteans had already demonstrated special abilities like living underwater.

If they could create loyal synthetic soldiers from Atlantean materials, mass-produced in factories like bullets, the future of the Reich would be brighter than ever.

Hitler sent destroyers armed with modified depth charges to bombard several Atlantean cities, then used trawler ships to haul up the dead bodies, bringing them back to Germany for experimentation.

This operation wasn\'t handled by Hydra but was personally overseen by Hitler\'s trusted officer, Heinrich Himmler. The future of the Aryan race was at stake, and it had to be kept strictly confidential. Himmler knew how to handle it.

Su Ming knew that the synthetic human, code-named "Torchbearer," or "The Original Human Torch," had likely been hidden by the government somewhere in New York. He was the spark.

But now, with all sorts of chaotic organizations popping up, Su Ming needed to reassess the situation.

The information he had from comics and movies was becoming less reliable, even misleading. He needed to gather intelligence himself and analyze the situation.

Especially with Hand\'s appearance, led by Naito Soma. Both the comics and films depicted them in a dormant state during this period, so what had drawn them to New York?

This group, obsessed with the "Beast of the Black Sky," shouldn\'t have any interest in the serum. Could there be dragon bones buried beneath Manhattan, or were they working for someone else?

Hand was similar to the League of Assassins. Now that Su Ming had killed some of their members, they would likely cling to him like leeches in the future.

At the top of Wilson Tower, Su Ming sat silently in a dark room, gazing out at the night. It was a moonless evening.

Manhattan was still brightly lit, but Long Island had already fallen into slumber. Listening to the waves crashing against the shore, he waited for the signal.

Just as he predicted, around midnight, a massive explosion echoed through the New York sky.

And then came the fire and chaos.