Chapter Fourteen: Injecting the Super Soldier Serum
Chen Feng suddenly became a sensation at school. Along with the news of his previous basketball game surfacing, more people started to learn about him. By noon, Chen Feng was surprised to discover that his achievement points had risen to thirty—an increase of three more points.
“How does it feel to be a top student?” Fang Yue asked with a broad smile as they walked home together at midday.
“It’s alright,” Chen Feng replied, smiling back at her.
“Didn’t you say you got sick in your first year of high school, and after being treated with hormones, your body was affected?” Fang Yue couldn't contain her curiosity. “So how come—?”
“To be honest, I’m not really sure myself,” Chen Feng answered slowly, looking at Fang Yue. “It’s only been about a month. Suddenly, my mind feels sharper than before, my memory seems stronger. I’ve been reviewing lately, and it all just feels so easy to learn.”
Fang Yue rolled her eyes. If those diligent students heard Chen Feng say learning was easy, they might want to strangle him.
“By the way, you still have that basketball match against Lin Hang this afternoon. Be careful!” Fang Yue reminded him thoughtfully as they arrived home.
“Don’t worry!” Chen Feng replied with confidence. “I don’t even consider Lin Hang a real opponent!”
Hearing Chen Feng’s self-assured laughter, Fang Yue was momentarily stunned. Chen Feng had already entered his house. Impatiently, he went to his bedroom, opened the Extraction System, and said, “System, activate!”
A virtual interface appeared before his eyes. Chen Feng spoke quickly, “System, I want to extract the Captain America serum that his body secretes automatically.”
Beep! Beep!
The system’s light flickered, and a holographic image of Captain America appeared on the interface. Then, the mechanical, icy voice of the system echoed in Chen Feng’s ear: “Captain America’s body automatically secretes the super soldier serum. Extraction option selected. Confirm?”
“Confirm!” Chen Feng replied swiftly.
“Consuming twenty achievement points. Extracting Captain America’s super soldier serum.” The system’s voice echoed, and suddenly, a new object appeared before Chen Feng.
It was a syringe filled with a pale blue liquid.
“So this is the super soldier serum?” Chen Feng muttered, picked up the syringe, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and jabbed the needle fiercely into his vein.
The pale blue liquid slowly entered his bloodstream.
Chen Feng waited quietly for the serum to take effect. Within a minute, he suddenly felt his body burning with heat, starting from his heart and spreading throughout his entire body. It was as if he were being roasted in flames.
A cry escaped his lips from the intense pain, and he collapsed onto the bed, feeling as if needles were piercing every inch of his body. The agony forced sounds from his mouth.
“Damn it, why is this so painful, System?” he gritted his teeth and asked.
“The super soldier serum has side effects,” the mechanical voice of the system nearly made Chen Feng cough up blood.
“System, damn it, why didn’t you tell me earlier!” Chen Feng felt his mind slipping away. He vaguely remembered in Captain America 1, there was mention of side effects. But the doctor had told Captain America that the serum would make good people better and bad people worse.
If that was all, Chen Feng wasn’t too worried. What he feared most was his body changing. He recalled that the Red Skull had also injected the super soldier serum and his face was ruined.
Thinking further, when Captain America was injected with the serum, half of New York’s electricity and various instruments were used, which ultimately created Captain America.
He had injected it so foolishly—wasn’t that a bit too reckless?
Curling up on the bed, Chen Feng felt as if his whole body was about to ignite, heat surging through him. Eventually, he could no longer bear the waves of pain and passed out.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before he finally felt the heat recede and his body recovering. Dazed, he climbed off the bed, noticing an unpleasant smell in the room, and black, disgusting liquid on his clothes and bedsheets.
But Chen Feng felt lighter, as if endless strength coursed through him. His mind was clearer than ever, as though he had shed all burdens.
“Is this what they call cleansing marrow and muscles?” Chen Feng hurriedly took off his clothes and showered, frowning as he noticed changes in his body.
His skin seemed finer and smoother, his muscles firmer. The only disappointment was that his physique hadn’t changed much.
He was still the same chubby guy, though he sensed he’d lost quite a bit of weight.
Checking the system, his weight was still at 107kg, unchanged. Yet he had a strange feeling: his body was still warm, not burning like before, but gently heated, as if his fat was being burned away.
If this continued, it shouldn’t be too hard to slim down.
“System, you said Captain America’s serum has side effects. What are they?” Chen Feng dried off and asked the system.
“The serum affects mental health and requires exposure to Vita Rays to stabilize. Mental damage may result in violent tendencies,” the system answered coldly.
“My mind doesn’t seem affected much?” Chen Feng asked, puzzled.
“The serum extracted from Captain America’s body is inferior to the original super soldier serum, so the side effects are less severe. The host’s mind has been affected to a certain degree, but not significantly,” the system replied calmly.
“So, if I want to extract the genuine super soldier serum, do I need Vita Ray exposure?” Chen Feng asked, furrowing his brow.
“Yes,” the system replied coldly.
Chen Feng frowned deeply. “System, can you provide Vita Ray exposure?”
“Yes, but the host must provide sufficient achievement points,” the system responded succinctly.
“So, as long as I get enough achievement points, I can extract anything? What if it’s a fictional character or even one I create myself?” Chen Feng realized he needed to communicate with the system more thoroughly—it would never remind him of anything he didn’t ask.
“Host authority insufficient. This system refuses to answer.”
“Damn!” Chen Feng cursed sharply. But since the system said the impact wasn’t significant, it was fine. Although he hadn’t lost weight instantly, this gradual process was just right.
Everything needed to progress step by step. If he suddenly slimmed down, people would notice something was wrong.
Unlike test scores, where he could claim he was hiding his ability, if someone lost weight overnight, they’d be dissected for research.
“Huh?” Suddenly, Chen Feng noticed something odd. The system’s option for extracting super soldier serum had dropped from over five hundred achievement points to four hundred fifteen.
Eighty-five points less for extracting the super soldier serum.
“System, what’s going on? Why did the extraction cost drop by eighty-five points?” Chen Feng was curious. He didn’t believe the system would lower the price without reason—there had to be an explanation.
“The host has extracted Captain America’s serum, which contains super soldier components. Extracting the genuine serum now saves achievement points.”
At that moment, Chen Feng found the system’s mechanical voice strangely endearing.
Spending only twenty achievement points saved eighty-five—a bargain. The system had inadvertently reminded him: next time he extracts something, could he use the same method to save points?
Earning achievement points was tough; he’d only accumulated thirty so far. If achievement points could be saved, they should be.
He breathed out, tossing his bedsheets and clothes into the washing machine. Glancing at the time, it was already past one in the afternoon. Injecting the Captain America serum had taken over an hour.
He changed into fresh clothes and realized, helplessly, that they were now too loose—his physique had indeed begun to slim down, even if his weight hadn’t changed.
Riding his bicycle, Chen Feng returned to campus full of confidence. Looking at the bustling school grounds, he felt, at that moment, as though he had been reborn.