Super Duper Short Chapter

Charlie's hacking abilities had grown so advanced that he could tap into the mission network and monitor nearly any data feed available. However, he wasn't omniscient—not yet. The mission network's surveillance was still in its infancy, with only Wendelani fully under drone coverage. His next target wasn't a bustling city, though; it was the desert "three-way zone," notorious for housing multiple terrorist organizations and military bases—a place ripe with opportunities to earn experience points in rapid bursts.

Experience bonuses also came through rescuing civilians, which the system flagged as high-value achievements with extra rewards, like single-draw tickets. When drones marked a target, the Iron Legion could clear out enemy camps in an instant, turning what would have been hours of reconnaissance and combat into a streamlined process. Charlie no longer had to personally patrol streets like he had in the early days, waiting for random mission triggers; instead, tasks automatically appeared on his interface, categorized by type and urgency. Low-level tasks were handled by idle heroes on "auto-hack," while complex ones waited for his manual review. With heroes spread across various cities, he could swiftly maximize points from the best tasks without being tied to one location.

His days were packed. His perspective constantly switched between heroes in different locations, sometimes crossing several cities in a single day. But combat wasn't his only focus. Scientific research demanded attention as well. Charlie kept a close eye on the tech list, planning equipment, assigning skilled personnel to development projects, and coordinating the mass production of successful prototypes. Each of these efforts fed back into his operations, ensuring a flow of upgrades to his heroes and the Iron Legion.

All of this paid off visibly. His worldwide points collection had skyrocketed, allowing him to advance at a pace that would have been impossible before. If he'd kept to the old methods, gathering enough points for a single A-level draw would've taken months. Now, he was consistently earning enough to try his luck in ten-draw rounds. It felt addictive—like a wallet that emptied itself as soon as it was filled. Once you got a taste, it was hard not to keep going back.

So, he set up another ten-round draw. Batman's grapple gun, the grenade launcher from the Winter Soldier—while still functional, these weren't particularly thrilling at his current level. The tools felt almost quaint, relics of the early days of his missions. Yet, they might prove useful in the hands of a newly recruited hero, like his next prize: a C-class Black Widow, Natasha Romanov. Given her relative experience, Charlie figured she'd be best deployed in a mid-sized city, where she could operate effectively without stretching his resources.

But then came a game-changer. The next draw yielded none other than Hank Pym—the original Ant-Man, a scientific genius from the Avengers' earliest days. Charlie's heart leapt. In the rankings, Hank wasn't quite a top-tier combat hero, but his value as a Marvel scientist was hard to overstate.

He clicked open the technology module and scrolled down, immediately spotting a newly unlocked "Ant-Man" tab. The list of technology expanded significantly, filling Charlie with a rush of excitement. Hank Pym's famous Pym Particles were only the beginning. Though popular culture knew him for his size-changing powers, Hank's true strength lay in his scientific achievements. With expertise in biochemistry and quantum mechanics, his reach extended far beyond just battlefield tactics. Hank had even created Ultron, a highly intelligent AI that had given the Avengers no end of trouble. In the original Marvel universe, Ultron had been powerful enough to challenge entire worlds.

As Charlie's eyes roamed down the list, they landed on the word "creation," hovering next to the Ultron protocol. It called to him. Building an Ultron-level AI would vastly accelerate his combat and strategic capabilities, allowing him to handle adversaries of unprecedented power.

But as his hand hovered over the option, a strange caution came over him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice whispered that this technology might be best left alone… at least for now.

[TL Note - Do it… push the button, Join us… Join the dark side]