Chapter 66: The Wolverine of the Marvel Universe

If you asked Kyle who his favorite hero was in the Avengers universe in his previous life, he might not be able to answer right away. But if you asked which character he liked most across all the Marvel movies, it would undoubtedly be the Wolverine.

"Wolverine?"

Looking at the rugged man smoking in the corner, Kyle couldn't help but speak. He had never expected to meet this man on the battlefield.

"Who are you?" The rugged man glanced at him in surprise.

Taking a deep breath, Kyle introduced himself, "My name is Kyle, a major general in the U.S. Army."

"A major general... and you’d show up alone behind enemy lines?" The man looked at him even more suspiciously, as if he’d never heard of any American heroes, then asked, "How old are you?"

"Twenty-three, almost twenty-four," Kyle shrugged, stepping closer. As he entered the three-meter range around the man, the information from his ability cards became clear.

[Canadian Dialect Mastery], [Soviet Language Mastery], [Yoga Mastery], [True Assassination Mastery], [True Rifle Mastery], [True Combat Mastery], [True Ancient Martial Arts Mastery], [True Dual-Blade Style Mastery]...

At a glance, he couldn’t even count how many white and green cards there were. Just counting the green combat skill cards, there were at least a hundred—an astonishing number. Even though Kyle had collected cards across tens of thousands of soldiers and officers in the U.S. Army, he had only managed a bit over thirty.

Over a hundred green combat cards—what did that mean? It meant near-mastery of more than half of the world’s fighting techniques! It also indirectly revealed just how many brutal battles this man had survived to accumulate such skills.

And that wasn’t all...

Kyle’s eyes finally locked onto two cards on the man: one deep blue, one pale blue.

[Lone Wolf Gene]: A genetic mutation resulting in the physique and temperament of a solitary wolf. Rare blue ability card.

Three sharp bone claws can be extended from each hand, connected to the arm bones—tough and razor-sharp. The body takes on wolf-like characteristics and abilities: enhanced strength and speed, beast-like reflexes, sharp eyesight, keen sense of smell, innate aggressiveness, a preference for solitude, and a natural instinct for killing and hunting. Because of these lone wolf instincts, he is naturally solitary, uncomfortable in groups, and, when his wild side takes over, he can become uncontrollably violent.

Current status: ‘Rare Blue’ prefix—cannot be extracted.

In terms of lethality, the Lone Wolf Physique far surpasses that of a super soldier. That was Kyle’s assessment after reading the Lone Wolf Gene card. His super soldier card enhanced all human traits, but the Lone Wolf Gene took wolfish ferocity to its extreme—the former was stable, the latter deadly.

As if that wasn’t enough, the rugged man also had another card...

[Regeneration Factor]: A regenerative factor present in the body. Blue ability card.

The regeneration factor circulates constantly with the blood, attached to the bone marrow and impossible to remove, present in every modified genetic cell. All wounds heal rapidly and naturally, even life-threatening injuries can recover completely within half a day. (Sodium carbon steel can suppress the regeneration factor, but only to a degree—even suppressed, wounds heal given enough time.) The regeneration factor also drastically slows physical aging and extends lifespan.

Current status: Can be extracted; can coexist with other physique-enhancing abilities.

"Lone Wolf Gene, Regeneration Factor—he really is Wolverine. If he’s not, then who else could have such an extreme physique?"

Kyle was inwardly shocked, though his face remained calm. He looked at the rugged man and asked, "I’ve introduced myself. And you, sir?"

"I'm just a Soviet infantryman, nothing much to say," the man replied, waving his hand as he tossed his cigarette butt away and started to leave alone.

He still didn’t believe Kyle was a U.S. major general, and even if he was, it had nothing to do with him.

"Wait," Kyle called after him, but the man only quickened his pace toward the end of the street.

Kyle narrowed his eyes and sped up as well, not willing to let this encounter go to waste.

There weren’t supposed to be mutants in this world—he’d learned that back at the training base. Yet now, faced with a man who seemed to be Wolverine, how could he not be stunned?

"This guy’s persistent," muttered the man as he glanced back at Kyle, accelerating until his speed surpassed that of a normal human.

But soon he realized that Kyle was still right behind him, as tenacious as glue.

"What do you want—do I need to teach you a lesson?" The man stopped and turned, his expression cold.

"Are you alone? No comrades, no brothers on this battlefield?" Kyle looked around to confirm—he hadn’t seen anyone else since arriving.

If this really was the Wolverine he knew, where was his brother, Sabretooth—?

The man sneered, "No comrade can match me. Brothers? I’ve never had any brothers!"

No brothers?

Kyle frowned, suspecting the man was telling the truth. He truly was a lone wolf.

After a moment’s thought, Kyle reached into the holster at his ankle. The man's eyes grew wary, but Kyle simply materialized a pack of cigarettes and tossed it over. "Looks like you’re out—I’ll give you a pack."

The man caught the cigarettes deftly, glanced at the label, and nodded with some satisfaction. "American brand—not bad."

His expression softened a little as he looked at Kyle. "Alright, what do you want from me?"

"You remind me of an old friend. Tell me your name, and I won’t follow you anymore," Kyle said earnestly.

"If you’re American, you couldn’t have met me. I’ve never been to the Americas," the man replied, turning to leave and waving over his shoulder. "My name is Logan Strelle. Try to survive, and maybe we’ll meet again when the war is over."

His solitary figure quickly vanished into the darkness of the battlefield streets, never to be seen again.

"Logan Strelle—not even the same surname."

Standing there, Kyle murmured to himself, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Now he understood—the man wasn’t the Wolverine he knew, but rather someone similar in this Marvel parallel world.

Same appearance, abilities, experiences—yet not that person.