"Boss, Reacher's side has already transported those frozen big guys via cold chain. They're expected to arrive at the lab in about ten hours, where reverse engineering of the serum will begin imdiately."
"The formula Pierce sent over has also been delivered. They should be able to produce several batches of serum soon."
After they had eaten their fill—Needy even let out a small burp, then flushed in embarrassnt as Karla handed her a napkin—Karla reported the progress from the past two days to Matthew, who was sipping juice.
Hearing this, Matthew set down his glass.
"Keep Pierce's side separate from us. The two lines shouldn't interfere with each other."
He knew just how vast Pierce's operations were. If all those resources were focused on a single task, the results could be formidable.
Take the super-soldier serum, for example. With modern technological advancents, optimizing the formula wouldn't be particularly difficult.
Not to ntion, there were five frozen super soldiers in the Siberian facility.
Even so, Matthew had no intention of directly absorbing Pierce's branch of Hydra.
It was simply too difficult—far beyond a snake swallowing an elephant.
More importantly, those brainwashed individuals were too unstable. They were all lunatics and madn. What he needed was ti—to gradually take over their assets. As for the people themselves, he had no intention of keeping a single one.
Once soone had been brainwashed, their mind was already broken—it couldn't be fixed.
That was also why Matthew preferred building his own team from scratch rather than taking over an existing one. The cost-performance ratio was far too low.
For now, it was enough to let those people serve whatever remaining purpose they had.
At most, he would have Neagley sift through Hydra's research teams and select any scientists worth keeping.
"Understood, Boss." As Matthew's secretary and executor, Karla was aware of many secrets and understood his intentions.
"However, our current efficiency is a bit low. I'll need to recruit more personnel to help out, otherwise I won't be able to keep up."
"That's your call."
Matthew didn't concern himself much with such matters. As long as his subordinates were loyal, that was enough.
He had always been generous with compensation—nothing like certain stingy bosses.
With sufficient material benefits, those on the outer tiers rarely chose betrayal unless they were either offered sothing far greater or were simply ungrateful.
After all, a generous employer was a rare creature in this world.
As for the core mbers, there were only a few of them. They either had their own ideals or could clearly see how promising Matthew's future was.
With wealth, manpower, and strength—why betray him? Anyone who made that choice would have to be unbelievably foolish.
Wasn't staying alive better?
Everyone in the core group knew about the super-soldier serum. And what it was being developed for was obvious.
Very few people could resist that kind of temptation.
"As for you—are you really ready to say goodbye to your past? If you decide this, a lot of things from here on won't be up to you anymore, Needy."
Matthew looked at her seriously.
Needy didn't hesitate at all. "I've decided, Boss."
"Good. Next, Karla will take you for a physical examination. After that, for the next year, you'll be staying here. This place is well-hidden and fully equipped—it will provide everything you need for your growth."
When necessary, Matthew didn't mind teaching Needy a few things.
For example—the Six Powers.
First, because Needy had made a deal with phisto, he needed to keep an eye on her. Second, techniques like the Six Powers required a certain level of physical strength before they could even be practiced.
There was a threshold.
Even in the One piece world, among the Marines or World Governnt's intelligence agencies, very few people could truly master the Six Powers.
So Matthew found himself in a slightly awkward position—his individual combat strength was too high, while those under him were mostly ordinary people. Ironically, Needy, the most recent addition, was the strongest among them.
This ant that many matters still required Matthew to handle personally.
It couldn't be helped. That was how things were at the early stage of building sothing.
But once the super-soldier serum was successfully developed, this situation would improve significantly.
At the sa ti, he found himself increasingly eager for top-tier scientific talent.
The path of genetic technology was incredibly promising.
Captain Arica, Steve Rogers. The Winter Soldier, Bucky. The Hulk. And even the Sentry, who in the future would possess the power of a million suns—these were all products of genetic science.
At most, the Hulk was sowhat special, perhaps connected to the One Below All, the embodint of all evil, hatred, and negative emotions in the universe.
Regardless, this path couldn't be wrong.
The only question was how to walk it.
If successful, one day he, Matthew, could don the mantle of a ruler, establish his own domain, and wage war across the multiverse.
Of course, that was getting a bit ahead of things.
After giving instructions and letting Needy relax, Matthew had Karla take her away to rest.
As for himself, he needed to review what he had gained from his battle with phisto.
After washing up, he lay on the bed in an empty room Karla had arranged for him. Watching the falling snow outside the window, he could feel that his physique was more vigorous than ever before.
Every cell in his body seed to be alive with energy.
Even more active than during his most intense physical training.
If, before fighting phisto, his physical strength had been comparable to that of a Marine Vice Admiral, then now it had taken a significant leap forward.
This kind of improvent far surpassed what he could achieve through three or four months of solitary training.
His Armant Haki and Observation Haki had both reached advanced levels. Armant Haki could now be hardened, projected outward, and used for internal destruction. His Conqueror's Haki could also be infused.
Taken together, his combat power was now comparable to that of an Admiral candidate.
This level of progress was nothing short of astonishing.
From starting as a blank slate with only the Glint-Glint Fruit, to reaching a level comparable to an Admiral candidate—all in less than a year.
The path ahead was already clear. Once his plans were set in motion, all that remained was to wait for them to bear fruit.
"What am I still lacking?"
Having clarified his gains, Matthew began to consider his weaknesses. It didn't take long.
In the dark room, his eyes shone sharply as the answer surfaced in his mind.
Magic.
His combat power was formidable—he could defeat and repel phisto's mortal form. But from the very beginning, his objective hadn't just been to defeat phisto—it had been to kill him.
In the end, he had only achieved the first goal.
The second had failed.
Because he had no ans to keep phisto from escaping.
He possessed Conqueror's Haki to overwhelm willpower, Observation Haki to track opponents, the extre mobility of the Glint-Glint Fruit, and the devastating power of Haki infusion—
And yet, he still couldn't stop him.
Because phisto escaped using magic.
It wasn't even the sa system. There was no way for him to pursue.
Magic was one of the most important power systems in this universe. Many of his potential future opponents would use it. If he didn't understand it, Matthew would inevitably be at a disadvantage.
So yes—magic was good.
Magic had to be learned.
Silently, Matthew etched the decision to study magic into his mind.
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