Free Web NovelChapter 5: 05: Upgrading The Bloodline!
It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious for? One must use all resources at one’s disposal — connections, cunning, opportunity — to rise.
~ Adapted from Henry David Thoreau
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A-Train is coming to Brooklyn tomorrow.
Hillel stared at the news on his phone, mind racing.
The community run was nothing but a Vought PR stunt.
A-Train would follow a fixed route with crowds cheering on both sides, drones filming overhead, live broadcasts rolling, and afterward he’d sign autographs and pose for pictures to boost his image.
Perfect offline engagement.
But in the original story, it was during one of these public events that A-Train pumped himself full of Compound V, blasted through the streets at top speed to deliver a package of Compound V, and turned Hughie’s girlfriend into red mist.
He opened the full news article. The event route map was already out.
It started at Brooklyn Bridge Park, ran along Atlantic Avenue all the way to Prospect Park. Total distance around six kilometers.
And Hughie’s electronics store sat right next to Atlantic Avenue.
Looked like it was happening tomorrow.
[Current Ability Points: 6,217 / 10,000]
Hillel pulled up his panel.
The rate of points coming in from online sentiment was speeding up fast.
Mainstream media was shoving the name "The Guardian" down everyone’s throats.
But before that, he needed to level up first.
With his current strength, intercepting A-Train wasn’t reliable.
The kinetic energy of A-Train at full sprint was insane. If he fucked up the timing, the shockwave alone could kill everyone nearby.
Saving Hughie would definitely rewrite a key character’s fate.
But whether the system would actually cough up big rewards for that was a different question.
With four thousand points still needed, waiting around for passive online gains was too damn slow.
He had to get proactive.
Hillel scanned the Brooklyn streets. Superpowered crime was way down during the day compared to last night when it was everywhere.
Seemed like after he cleaned house, a lot of the criminals were staying hidden.
But he had a better plan.
That kid’s livestream from last night already had over a hundred thousand followers and was still climbing.
The most common comment in the section was "When is The Guardian showing up again?"
Hillel ducked into an empty alley, pulled off his hoodie, and revealed the cheap clothes underneath.
He shot straight up from the alley into the Brooklyn skyline.
Broad daylight, sun blazing.
A figure hovered thirty stories high, casting a long shadow over the streets below.
Very high-profile entrance.
"Look! It’s The Guardian!"
"He’s back again!"
"Quick, film it! Film it!"
Hillel didn’t fly off right away.
He deliberately hung in the air for a dozen seconds, giving everyone plenty of time to film him.
Then he kicked it into full subsonic sprint, pushing right to the limit.
An afterimage tore across the Brooklyn sky. He wasn’t fast enough for a sonic boom yet, but the airflow wake was clearly visible in the sunlight, like a white ribbon stretched across the blue.
The streets below exploded with shouts.
Phones were uploading videos like crazy.
Twitter, Instagram, TikTok... the hashtag #TheGuardianAppearsDuringDaytime rocketed onto the trending list in under ten minutes.
The numbers on his panel went fucking wild.
+87, +134, +56, +203, +91, +167, +78, +245...
Hillel curled his lips.
Traffic was all about constant exposure.
He couldn’t slow down. If he stopped, he was done.
He flew two full laps over Brooklyn, making sure people got clean shots from every angle, then dropped down into another street.
Right on time.
He heard the chaos.
Thick smoke was pouring out of a residential building, with flames licking out from a fifth-floor window.
Fire trucks were still on the way. A big crowd had gathered downstairs, people screaming.
"There’s still someone inside who hasn’t gotten out!"
A woman was clinging to the fifth-floor windowsill with a kid in her arms, thick smoke billowing behind her.
This scene was fucking perfect.
Saving people in front of a live audience was the best way to farm emotions.
Hillel dove straight down from the air.
Wind whistled past him.
The crowd below jumped at the sound of him cutting through the air, then spotted him clearly.
"It’s The Guardian!"
Hillel reached the fifth-floor window in three seconds. freewebnovёl.ƈom
A blast of heat hit him. The temperature was insane, but his bio-field kept it off his skin. He didn’t even sweat.
"Do not fear. Why? Coz’ I am here!"
The woman was already in shock, gripping the child with a blank stare.
Hillel didn’t wait for her to snap out of it. He wrapped one arm around her waist, used the other to shield the child, and flew them both out the window.
Three seconds later they touched down safely on the ground.
The woman collapsed the moment her feet hit the pavement.
The kid in her arms was three or four years old, face covered in soot but luckily unharmed, staring at Hillel with wide eyes.
Then the child reached out a dirty little hand and touched Hillel’s face.
Click! Click!
Camera flashes went off everywhere, capturing the moment.
The reporter’s eyes were burning with pure greed, hunting for the perfect angle.
This silhouette, this lighting, this composition, the meaning of the scene... I’m gonna win a fucking Pulitzer with this!
Seeing this scene, the whole crowd lost their shit.
Hillel stood in the middle of them as the panel numbers went absolutely berserk, like a dam had burst.
+346, +512, +287, +198, +423, +156, +378, +267, +445...
Total this time: +4,127
He froze for a second.
Over four thousand? In one fucking go?
He busted his ass all last night and didn’t get this much!
Current Ability Points: 10,344 / 10,000
The panel shook hard and golden text flashed up.
[Ability Points full! Bloodline upgrade conditions met!]
[Upgrade to Lv.2: Viltrumite Soldier immediately?]
[Warning: The upgrade process will take about 30 seconds. Your body may release energy fluctuations.]
Hillel glanced around.
Not here.
He gave the crowd a quick nod goodbye, pushed off the ground, and blasted straight up into the sky.
Full speed.
Ten seconds later he was floating above an abandoned industrial zone.
Below him were empty old factories and a deserted parking lot. Not a single person in sight.
Hillel hovered in the air and took a deep breath.
"Upgrade."
The next instant, an insane power exploded from deep inside his bones.
Every muscle fiber in his body started rebuilding. His bones grew denser. Inside his chest it felt like a star was slowly lighting up.
The burning heat spread from his core out to his arms, legs, and every bone.
His bio-field suddenly flared out. Shimmering ripples spread from his skin again and again, like water after you drop a stone in it.
He floated there as the force field shoved the air beneath his feet aside, forming a visible spherical shockwave.
Dust on the ground kicked up instantly.
The transformation took a full thirty seconds before it finally calmed down.
Hillel looked at his hands.
They didn’t look much different, but every breath and tiny movement felt completely new.
The real difference was night and day.
He clenched his fist hard.
The air popped loudly.
This was raw power on display. Just clenching his fist created a miniature sonic boom around it.
The panel refreshed with new info.
[Bloodline upgrade complete]
Bloodline Level: Viltrumite Soldier
Strength: 62 tons
Speed: 1.8 times the speed of sound
Defense: Immune to heavy weapons, such as missiles
Flight: Supersonic
Space Survival: 2 hours
Bio-field: Intermediate
..
..
New skills unlocked: Viltrumite Battle Cry, Bloodline Perception
Battle Suit: Soldier’s Battle Suit - Unlocked (Can be summoned)
Ability Points: 344 / 100,000 (Next Level: Lv.3 Elite Warrior)
Damn.. Sixty-two tons.
Almost eight times stronger than before.
Supersonic flight, and not even missiles could put him down.
Hillel let out a slow breath, his lips curling into a grin.
And the battle suit was unlocked!
Strength was one thing, but looking cool was forever.
With a single thought.
A layer of dark gray material seeped out from his skin, spreading like liquid metal and covering his whole body in two seconds flat.
It was a tight, dark gray combat suit with a metallic sheen.
Right in the center of the chest sat a winged "V" emblem. [S for Superman, so V for The Guardian :) S- Hope. V- Protection (Viltrum to be exact lol)]
Dark gold, low-key but instantly recognizable.
The design was clean and premium, a few levels above the cheap shit he’d been wearing underneath.
Hillel looked down at himself and nodded, satisfied.
