As time passed, Hank gradually reached a reconciliation with his current self. Although his current self was ugly and wild, he had to admit that after becoming a beast, his strength and agility had both greatly improved. Especially after the outbreak of the quantum virus, Hank had precisely relied on his beastly power to escape the first wave of the zombie crisis.
Having survived, Hank saw the immense potential of the quantum virus. If it could be rationally developed and utilized, it might allow him to regain his human form while retaining the strength and speed of a beast, even becoming a genetic key for humanity to ascend to a higher level.
Soon, Hank was captivated by the power of the quantum virus, his thoughts gradually becoming extreme, even to the point of voluntarily infecting himself with the quantum virus to personally experience the changes within his body.
With this slightly extreme determination, Hank's experiments proceeded very smoothly in the initial stages. Not only did he use the means he had previously left behind to reawaken his intelligence while in a chaotic state, but he also recovered some of his emotions. However, as the experiments progressed, he soon hit a bottleneck, and remained stuck until Bai Qi finally broke through that barrier.
Looking at Hank, who was kneeling beneath him and pleading desperately, Bai Qi frowned and asked with a hint of mockery, "I can indeed help you. With my power, finding hope even amidst destruction is a simple matter. But why should I help you?"
Bai Qi's words struck Hank's heart like a heavy hammer.
Right, why should he help himself?
If they were to be precise, the two were still on opposing sides. Why would he help his enemy for no reason?
"I can pledge my allegiance to you."
Hank, as if struck by a thought, quickly said, "As long as you, no, Your Excellency, can help me complete this experiment, I am willing to swear my loyalty to you and never betray you."
Loyalty was the only thing Hank could offer at the moment.
To be honest, Bai Qi had never refused such mad scientists. After all, technological development was never a one or two-person endeavor.
There were many ways to accelerate technological progress. Besides directly obtaining it from civilizations with higher technological levels, if one were to develop it independently, in addition to having top-tier research personnel, a vast number of researchers was also indispensable.
Truthfully, Bai Qi was quite optimistic about the beastly Hank before him. From his ability to control Charles by implanting a chip, to controlling the entire city's zombies, it demonstrated his intelligence and resourcefulness. More importantly, there was his all-out, crazy dedication to scientific experimentation.
However, subjugation came in many forms. Voluntary surrender was one of them, but the importance of the beastly Hank to Bai Qi had not yet reached a level where Bai Qi would proactively extend an olive branch to him.
Under Hank's repeated pleas, Bai Qi finally accepted his loyalty, restored Hank's human identity, and pointed him toward the path for his future experiments.
However, Bai Qi's bestowal was not solely a reward; it also served as a warning.
Bai Qi gave Hank only five years. During these five years, Hank had to obey all of Bai Qi's commands one hundred percent. After five years, Bai Qi would come to assess Hank's research results. If he could not produce sufficient experimental results to prove his worth, Bai Qi would unhesitatingly eliminate him.
Hank was initially hesitant, but after his eyes met Bai Qi's, the hesitation in his eyes instantly vanished. His large head thudded onto the ground.
"I will obey your every command, my lord!"
Seeing Hank's head thudding on the ground, Bai Qi's lips curved slightly. It was done.
Indeed, a thousand words were not as effective as a single command from the Pocket Watch.
Compared to the foolish Derek, Bai Qi felt much more at ease with Hank's work. Afterward, Bai Qi used his magic to restore the identities of several super zombies, turning them back into humans. Simultaneously, he used the power of the Pocket Watch to implant psychological suggestions into them. With Bai Qi's superb acting skills, these individuals instantly became Bai Qi's loyal subordinates.
With manpower and a venue secured, Bai Qi then used the Pocket Watch to construct a machine capable of mining the world's origin energy.
After Bai Qi injected energy into it, the machine began to operate. Hank and the others were tasked with establishing a defensive perimeter around the machine, allowing it to autonomously mine the world's origin energy.
Of course, except for Hank, who was most influenced by the Pocket Watch, none of them knew the machine's true purpose. They were told that the machine would create a force field that would affect zombies, preventing them from approaching.
In reality, the machine Bai Qi had created did indeed have the effect of driving away zombies, but it was merely an auxiliary function added to mislead them.
Finally, to ensure the absolute safety of the machine, Bai Qi did not forget to set up magical wards around it. He also cleared the zombies around the school before leaving.
After leaving the city, Bai Qi did not linger in other cities, heading directly towards his initial destination.
Despite wasting a considerable amount of time along the way, Bai Qi still arrived at the SHIELD base that had sent the message ahead of Spider-Man and his companions.
Flying in the air, Bai Qi looked down at the dense horde of zombies below. However, it was strange that these zombies seemed to be influenced by something. Although they desperately wanted to rush into the base and feast, they all stopped when they reached the edge of the base. Bai Qi even saw that the barbed wire on the outer perimeter of the base was broken, yet the zombies refused to step further in.
As Bai Qi drew closer to the military base, the familiar feeling made him instantly understand that the force preventing the zombies from advancing further was none other than the Mind Stone of this world.
Due to the outbreak of the quantum virus, this world had been ravaged beyond recognition, and its plot had been severely damaged. The locations of the Infinity Stones would certainly have changed as well. Finding these missing Infinity Stones was Bai Qi's biggest challenge in this world.
However, things were much better now. As long as he obtained the Mind Stone and claimed its energy for himself, with the power of two Mind Stones, Bai Qi's mental power could easily cover the entire Earth. Then, as long as the Infinity Stones were still on Earth, finding them would be a matter of minutes.
With this thought, Bai Qi no longer hesitated. He accelerated his descent and landed perfectly within the military base with a dashing pose.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Before Bai Qi could begin his exploration of the base, a voice reached his ears. Following the direction of the sound, Bai Qi saw a yellow laser beam shoot directly towards him.