Chapter 1

Pain!

Intense pain!

In a burst of excruciating pain, Syd Castell woke up.

"Where am I?"

Syd felt waves of severe pain all over his body, and it seemed he was currently in a cell.

At that moment, a voice of reprimand came from the iron bars ahead.

"Prisoner 37, get up, stop playing dead!"

With a thud, a large foot kicked over, causing Syd immense pain.

"Disgusting mutant!"

Clang, a tray faintly smelling of spoilage, along with a bowl of thin soup, was thrown on the ground.

Syd stared blankly at the spit floating on the soup and looked up at the initiator.

He saw a prison guard in a black uniform, looking at him with a face full of disgust and malice, as if he were looking at trash, utterly repulsive.

"Damn it, what are you looking at? Eat it up."

Gill, with a sneer at the corner of his mouth, glanced at the mutant slumped against the wall, turned around comfortably, and left the place.

Syd, out of breath with anger, then became puzzled.

"A mutant?"

Just as the thought emerged, a flood of unfamiliar memories surged into his mind.

"Damn..."

While holding his head, Syd sorted through the memories, quickly making sense of everything.

"Did I just cross over, into the Marvel world, and even into the body of a mutant?!"

Syd found it hard to believe. After dozing off for a short while while reading a novel last night, he had crossed over?

And not just crossed over, but into the body of a mutant?

Being a mutant was not unfamiliar to him—it was scientifically a genetic mutation, an awakening of a gene known as the X-gene, granting him superpowers.

If it were a usual day, having superpowers would have thrilled Syd, but now, he could not smile at all.

Because he was not only a mutant but also one who had been captured due to his exposed identity!

And his pain was due to various experiments...

Thinking of mutants, Syd suddenly understood why that man had treated him that way.

In the eyes of ordinary people, mutants are freaks, monsters; they are both feared and shunned, and mutants are even lower on the discrimination scale than all races.

For them, mutants are not human and shouldn't even have human rights!

Although he understood, thinking of that person's actions earlier made Syd wish he could kill him.

"I'll remember you, just wait..."

After muttering a curse, he had to face his current plight.

Feeling the pain all over his body due to the experiments, Syd couldn't help but frown.

"Right!"

"My mutant ability!"

His eyes brightened, and a glimmer of hope emerged.

Recalling the memories, he soon knew his own mutant abilities.

Looking up at the small window high in the cell, watching some golden sunlight filter in, he couldn't help but reach out his hand.

As soon as his palm touched the sunlight, Syd felt a warm sensation spreading throughout his body, slightly alleviating the pain.

In his unseen perspective, his blue irises even turned golden!

"Is this my mutant ability?"

"Absorbing sunlight to replenish my energy, and even relying on sunlight for sustenance instead of food..."

Thinking of this, Syd's face fell.

This ability only made his body feel better and healed his wounds faster; it was practically useless.

"No wonder I'm just a Delta-level, a second-class mutant..."

Recalling the memories in his mind, he felt indignant.

With such weak mutant abilities, how was he to escape this prison?

Was he to stay here forever, eventually being dissected and dying on an operating table?

Syd squatted on the ground, his eyes reddening, his emotions violently fluctuating.

He clenched his fists, his breathing rapid.

It was unclear if it was his intense emotions or something else, but suddenly a strong wave of energy erupted from him!

For a moment, Syd seemed to hear a cold, emotionless voice by his ear.

"Your emotions have caused a violent fluctuation..."

"It seems you've awakened something..."

"What's this voice?"

"Could it be a system?!"

Before Syd could feel elated, a series of beeping alarms came from his neck, along with the sound of electricity, and he immediately collapsed on the ground.

Feeling the pain from his neck, Syd glared at the collar hanging there.

A mutant controller!

A device used to control mutants and limit their abilities!

This collar was like a dog collar, not only restraining him but also binding his mutant abilities.

Even his non-offensive mutant abilities did not escape the constraints of this collar...

Syd felt as if his dignity had been trampled.

"Cough, cough..."

The injuries recurred, and he couldn't help coughing a few times, his palm bloody.

Enduring the intense pain in his body, at that moment, his mind was filled with a desire to destroy the research base!

It took him a while to calm down, and he had a chance to find out what exactly he had awakened.

"System?"

"Panel?"

Syd tried calling out for the system in his mind; there was no response, but when he called for the panel, a yellow, ethereal panel appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Syd Castell]

[Age: 16 (Remaining Lifespan: 83 days)]

[Mutant Abilities: Mimicry, Energy Absorption]

[Current Mimic: Orochi (Title: Sun God, Will of the Earth)]

(Unlock Progress: 1%)

[Abilities: (Unlocked)]

[Energy Points: 0]

Looking at the panel before him, Syd was stunned.

His attention was immediately drawn to the displayed remaining lifespan.

Eighty-three days?

Was it because of those experiments?

Syd's expression darkened, his heart filling with even more loathing for the research base.

Like grasping for a lifeline, he quickly turned his gaze to the mutant abilities section.

"Mimicry?"

"Energy Absorption?"

Energy Absorption was easy to understand; Syd quickly associated it with absorbing light energy. As for Mimicry...

"When did I gain such a mutant ability?"

"Could it be what I just awakened?!"

Syd was first shocked, then his heartbeat quickened.

He immediately shifted his gaze downward, focusing on the Mimic object.

"Mimicry, mimicry... I see..."

Syd muttered to himself.

"Orochi?"

He was familiar with the name, which appeared to be the final boss of a certain King of Fighters video game.

He was called the Will of the Earth, once allowing humanity to coexist harmoniously as part of nature, but when humanity detached from nature, he grew to despise them.

In short, as humanity began to damage the environment, Orochi, as the Will of the Earth, wanted to cleanse the humans who had separated from nature, thus becoming the final boss.

As for why he was called the Sun God, it was because in the game, he could use a move called "Sunshine," which appeared to harness the power of the sun to cause widespread damage.