Chapter 70: The Hulk Potion

The air in the secret room was a bit stuffy, yet not hot.

Sun Fei carefully examined his surroundings and soon discovered several finger-sized holes drilled into the stone walls, presumably for ventilation. The level of ventilation design achieved in this Underground Grotto Labyrinth was truly astonishing. Inside such a massive subterranean structure, with numerous charcoal braziers burning and many prisoners confined, the air remained surprisingly fresh. It was a mystery how the enigmatic builders had accomplished that.

Crackle! Pop!

The burning charcoal in the braziers emitted faint cracking sounds, the flames flickered unsteadily, casting an incredibly eerie atmosphere over the entire stone chamber. The three chained mercenaries were clearly ruthless desperadoes. Despite enduring considerable torment, their expressions remained fiercely defiant. Seeing the jailors had left and noticing the young, richly dressed man before them – and having heard Oleg earlier address him as ‘Your Majesty’ – their faces twisted with savage malice as they dragged their chains forward.

“Perfect! Grab this little king as a hostage to escape this hellish prison…”

“Heaven-sent chance, hahaha! Quick, you block the door, don’t let him escape…”

Exchanging glances, the three mercenaries surrounded Sun Fei. Sneering viciously, they closed in, looking at him like he was already a dead man; their eyes said it all.

“Hmph! Overestimating yourselves! Seeking death!”

Sun Fei snorted coldly. With a casual grab, the bald mercenary, the strongest among them, offered no resistance and was easily snatched up like a toddler. Sun Fei slapped down with his backhand. Crack! A chilling crunch echoed as the terrifying strength of a Level 16 Barbarian slammed the bald man’s head right down into his chest cavity, transforming him instantly into a headless corpse.

Seeing this horrifying scene, the faces of the other two men drained of color. Utterly petrified, their souls seemingly fled their bodies. They crumpled to the ground, shaking uncontrollably like they were having seizures, unable to even form clear words. These three were heinous criminals deserving death by a thousand cuts. Half a month ago inside Shampoo City, over a single silver coin, they had brutally slaughtered a poor couple, cutting open their chests and bellies. They had even raped and murdered the couple’s 13-year-old daughter, committing crimes that enraged both gods and men. Brook, discovering this atrocity, had personally led soldiers in pursuit for over thirty miles overnight to capture them. Sun Fei had already reviewed their files. Dispatching one without hesitation held no psychological burden for him.

Ignoring the terrified mercenary, Sun Fei knelt, placing his right hand on the bald corpse’s chest. Suddenly, he gave a soft shout. A faint, mystical force erupted from his palm, surging into the corpse. Then came a muffled thump! The chest cavity burst open, revealing a massive wound where the heart, lungs, liver, and other organs had all dissolved into a thick pool of bloody sludge…

The Barbarian Skill [Find Potion] activated.

However, to Sun Fei’s disappointment, no potions were generated. At Skill Level 1, [Find Potion] did not guarantee that potions would emerge from every corpse cast upon; probability was a factor.

One corpse wasted.

Sun Fei grabbed another mercenary, this one a large bearded man farther away. Ignoring the man’s desperate struggles and screams, Sun Fei dispatched him swiftly. Placing his right hand onto the new corpse’s chest, he focused and gave a soft shout. Faint magic surged as he activated [Find Potion] again.

Thump!

Another light sound, blood splattered.

The corpse’s internal organs dissolved once more into viscous blood, but Sun Fei felt disappointment wash over him – still no potion.

Frowning, Sun Fei pondered, “Could corpses from the Azeroth Continent differ from those in the Diablo World, preventing potion finding? But I remember using the [Necromancer Mode] skill [Corpse Explosion] perfectly during the Stone Bridge battle. It shouldn’t be wrong…”

His gaze turned to the last remaining mercenary, a tall, gaunt man. Spotting Sun Fei looking his way, the man shrieked in abject terror, “Devil!!” His eyes rolled back, limbs twitched violently, and he fell unconscious.

Sun Fei decided to spare him. A live prisoner might still be useful. He turned and walked over to where the Silver Masked Man lay dead. He reached down and lifted the silver mask, revealing a very young face beneath. The flaxen hair still held a faint, lingering fragrance. An aquiline nose, an oval face framed by the hair, pale skin – signs indicating he came from a powerful, privileged family. Judging by his features, he must have been exceedingly handsome in life. But death made him just like the unfortunate mercenaries: dead, birds facing upward.

The Silver Masked Man wore intricate and exceptionally valuable armor. Though deceased, a faint magical radiance still shimmered over the metalwork. A visible blue light flickered ethereally. This was undeniably a high-tier Magic armor set. Sun Fei had chosen the precise throat strike earlier precisely to avoid damaging this potentially useful set.

Without hesitation or ceremony, Sun Fei carefully stripped the armor and equipment from the corpse, leaving only the cloth undergarments. He pressed his right hand onto the chest of the Silver Masked Man. Focusing his mind, he gave a soft shout. [Find Potion] triggered once more. A wisp of faint magic penetrated the corpse…

Thump!

Plop!

Two distinct sounds followed in quick succession. A bloody hole burst open in the corpse’s chest. A flash of green light! A small, vial-like green bottle materialized seemingly out of thin air amidst the splattered gore. It rose slowly, hovering gently in the air. Its surface was perfectly smooth, within gleaming a radiant green liquid possessing a mesmerizing, almost hypnotic brilliance.

Success!

Ecstatic joy surged through Sun Fei’s heart. He reached out and snatched the small green bottle.

A faint, gentle warmth emanated through the glass into Sun Fei’s palm. Soft, comforting… it felt almost alive. He could vaguely sense a subtle feeling of… affection?… radiating from it. The green liquid seemed to pulse with a faint mental energy, like a newborn yearning for its mother.

“Huh? This is strange. It’s not a red [Health Potion], not a blue [Stamina Potion], not a white [Stamina Potion], not a pink [Rejuvenation Potion], and not a yellow [Explosive Gas Potion]. What sort of potion did I just find?”

Sun Fei quickly noticed this green potion differed entirely from any he’d encountered before in the Diablo World. Doubt gnawed at him again. Without knowing the potion’s name, he couldn’t determine its effect. What if this was an exceedingly potent [Deadly Poison Potion]? Drinking it would be suicide.

He considered for a moment. Glancing at the unconscious tall, skinny mercenary pretending to be dead nearby, his eyes lit up with an idea. He walked over and kicked the vile man awake. Without a single word, he pinched the man’s jaws open, uncorked the green vial, and tipped a few drops of the liquid down his throat. The mercenary resisted desperately, but his strength was nothing compared to the terrifying force of a Level 16 Barbarian. The medicine slipped smoothly down his gullet. Covering his throat, the tall, skinny mercenary screamed in sheer, unadulterated terror.

Sun Fei watched his body intently, scrutinizing every change.

He was using the mercenary as a test subject.

One second…

Two seconds…

Five seconds…

The mercenary frantically clawed at his own throat, gagging violently onto the floor, desperately trying to expel the ‘evil deadly poison’. Hope faded quickly. Once the liquid entered his throat, it seemed to dissolve within him. Even if he vomited up his entire stomach, the potion was in his system.

Sun Fei watched, unblinking.

Ten or so seconds crawled by. Besides the mercenary’s frantic gagging and retching, no other symptoms appeared. No healing, no stamina restoration… Had he missed something? Was this green liquid actually useless?

A pang of disappointment hit Sun Fei.

But then, suddenly, unexpectedly—

An agonized, soul-rending howl erupted from the mercenary! Simultaneously, a faint green radiance bloomed on his face. It spread rapidly downward – neck, chest, arms, hands, legs – engulfing his entire body. His frame began to convulse violently, as if something living squirmed beneath the skin. Horrifying ridges bulged across his form, veins standing out grotesquely like thick cords.

Finally, his whole body turned a stark, unearthly green.

Gradually, the howling subsided and ceased entirely. The mercenary stared down at himself in stunned horror and utter confusion. Ten seconds crawled by. Like a receding tide, the green light and color gradually faded from his entire body… until it vanished completely. As if nothing had ever happened.

Yet, Sun Fei’s eyes burned with astonishment and fierce delight.

Because when the green light disappeared, the formerly gaunt and bony mercenary stood transformed! His frame had astonishingly swelled with solid muscle! Rippling cords of sinew bulged, visibly containing explosive power. His entire bearing pulsed with fierce vitality, utterly unlike his previously half-dead state.

Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!

Reacting instinctively to his strength, the mercenary struggled against the chains. A rapid series of sharp pops echoed as links shattered! Sparks flew from snapping metal! Sun Fei’s pupils contracted sharply, for he clearly saw— the four thick chains shackling the mercenary’s wrists and ankles had snapped apart like twigs under his effortless exertion!

“This guy suddenly gained at least two tons (4000 lbs) of terrifying strength!”

His innate Barbarian familiarity with [Might] allowed Sun Fei to instantly gauge it. A few drops of the mysterious green liquid had abruptly endowed this gaunt man with strength equivalent to a Level 5 Barbarian!

“Hahahahaha…”

Feeling the raw, titanic power surging like a tidal wave through his veins, the mercenary was overcome with exhilaration. Lashing out almost playfully, his fist slammed hard against the unyielding stone wall – CRUNCH! A deep, savage dent appeared in the solid rock. His fist remained utterly unmarked, not a scratch upon it.

“So, the potion enhanced both his strength and his body’s resilience tremendously. Newton’s Third Law – equal and opposite reaction – dictates that strike should have pulverized his fist bone against such hard stone, even if it dented the wall. The potion must have hardened him too.” Sun Fei deduced another crucial effect.

“Hahaha! Little King,” the mercenary sneered, turning his predatory gaze back to Sun Fei. “This was your own doing! Haha! I feel power like never before! Hahaha! Thank you! If you obey me nicely and lead me out of here… I might spare your puny life!” Fueled by the sudden, immense power, his arrogance soared to unimaginable heights. Malice gleamed in his eyes as he cracked his knuckles with loud, threatening pops. He advanced towards Sun Fei deliberately, step by menacing step.

“Protect His Majesty the King!”

Outside the door, Prison Warden Oleg, hearing that something seemed drastically wrong, hesitated briefly before drawing his sword and bursting into the chamber! Channeling the full power of his One-Star Warrior strength, he roared in challenge and charged the transformed mercenary.

CLANG!

The mercenary countered with a disdainful backhand punch directly onto Oleg’s sword blade! The brutal impact ripped the longsword clean out of Oleg’s grasp! It screamed through the air before embedding itself into the stone wall nearby with a mournful shing! Oleg staggered backward furiously, completely outmatched…

Successful repelling Oleg only inflated the mercenary’s confidence to bursting point. He accelerated now, lunging directly at Sun Fei— capture the king, take the monarch hostage! That was the swiftest exit strategy from this terrifying prison! In his mind, he was already planning exquisite tortures for that accursed commander Brook who captured him…

But—

“Hmph! Overestimating yourself!”

Sun Fei let out a cold, dismissive laugh. Utterly unconcerned, he executed a flowing, almost weightless backward slap. It arrived impossibly fast— lightning to the mercenary’s snail. Too late to perceive, let alone block, his palm landed squarely on the mercenary’s forehead with a sickening Squelch!

No suspense. None. The mercenary who moments ago radiated invincible confidence suffered the identical fate as the bald victim before him. Reduced instantly to a headless corpse, the body swayed momentarily before crashing lifelessly to the stone floor. The strength of a Level 5 Barbarian confronting a Level 16 Barbarian was utterly insignificant, like dust against a boulder.

Sun Fei turned his head, his gaze sharp as a honed sword blade, slicing toward Prison Warden Oleg who stood frozen nearby.

“Your Majesty… I… I heard things seemed wrong… feared for Your Majesty’s safety… so I…” Oleg stammered, throwing himself prostrate onto the floor, kowtowing frantically. “Forgive me, Your Majesty! Spare your humble servant! I should not have barged in!”

Looking down at the trembling warden shaking like rice chaff caught in a storm, Sun Fei’s stern expression softened minutely. Oleg hadn’t observed anything truly significant during his brief intrusion. Moreover, his intention was ostensibly protective. After a thoughtful pause, Sun Fei spoke. “This is your last trespass, Warden. Recognizing you act solely from loyal concern this once… no punishment is levied. Withdraw.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your boundless mercy! Thank you for sparing this unworthy servant!” Oleg scrambled backwards on his hands and knees towards the exit, kowtowing ceaselessly.

Inside the secret chamber, the torchlight continued its eerie dance of light and shadow. Four brutally eviscerated corpses littered the floor. There was also a magician lying there, barely distinguishable from a skeleton scrap, hovering in the valley between life and death. An atmosphere of unspeakable grimness permeated the air. Yet Sun Fei’s heart swelled with undeniable, fierce elation. He held the mysterious green vial delicately between his fingertips, examining it intently, sensing the terrifying latent energy contained within its shimmering liquid.

“This green potion… I shall name it the [Hulk Potion],” Sun Fei murmured softly to himself. He never imagined that the Barbarian skill [Find Potion], when activated in reality, would yield such an incredible harvest. Recalling the miraculous transformation suffered by the mercenary who ingested the potion, Sun Fei couldn’t help but recall the famous United States blockbuster film The Hulk from his previous life. The protagonist’s transformation and the immense power that followed bore an uncanny resemblance to the effects of this green liquid.

Only days before, Sun Fei had been agonizing over how to enhance the combat capabilities of Shampoo City’s soldiers and commanders. Now, with the [Hulk Potion], it seemed every obstacle could finally be overcome!