Melting Chapter 89: New Secretary, Ava Starr (Patreon)

Aaron wasn’t concerned about the presence of the obelisk at all.

His right hand reached for the obelisk.

“Wait, that thing’s extremely dangerous!”
Hill slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road.

“According to reliable intel, at least a hundred people turned to stone and died just from touching it. We still haven’t figured out its—”

Aaron ignored Hill’s words. Even though he hadn’t yet assimilated Skye’s Inhuman gene, that didn’t mean he feared any “petrification.” He was an ultimate life-form: inherently immune to 99% of the negative effects in the universe.

What’s more, after merging with a Celestial body, Asgardian flesh, and survival-of-the-fittest–type traits, his body possessed exceptional magic resistance. So why fear mere petrification? Even if it were technology-based, could it surpass the Primordial Furnace?

Under Hill’s worried gaze, his right hand approached the obelisk, and without the slightest hindrance, he absorbed and fused it.

[Petrification: You can turn lifeforms without Inhuman or Kree genes to stone. The effect depends on the target’s strength.]

[Gene Evolution: You can awaken Inhuman genes in a target, causing them to complete their metamorphosis.]

To be frank, compared to Zero Matter, the obelisk’s traits were nearly useless. Aaron guessed that, at most, the obelisk’s petrification could affect beings below god-tier. But it was no big deal.

His body was constantly strengthening anyway. Especially now that his energy absorption was reinforced yet again, he devoured surrounding energy like a whale feeding.

The temperature around him was actually a few degrees lower. Once his body gathered enough energy to hit a threshold, he would undergo “glorious evolution,” and all of his accumulated traits would be upgraded as well.

That was the might of infinite evolution. However feeble a trait might appear, it would continually grow stronger as he evolved—until he became omniscient, omnipotent, unstoppable.

Hill was staring at him as though he were some sort of monster, then silently refocused on her driving. She didn’t ask questions, and Aaron wouldn’t deliberately explain.

He picked up the other crates piled beside him, opened them one by one, and absorbed/fused their contents. Then he gained a new special energy – an isotope of the Space Stone.

That elemental property merged into the Eternal Phoenix Core, making his internal “little sun” shine even brighter, releasing even more terrifying power. Feeling his cells grow ever more active, Aaron’s lips curved into a slight smile.

That ceaseless feeling of strengthening by the second was wonderful. He didn’t need special training or absorption methods; even sleeping at night made him stronger.

Carefully sensing his body, he noticed his cells were drastically more advanced than a week ago—each cell bursting with vitality, practically overflowing with energy. In plain words, he felt each individual cell held as much or more power than Tony’s first-generation arc reactor. The gap to his second-generation arc reactor wasn’t huge either.

As for his raw physical might? It was probably off the charts by current technological standards. Maybe the world’s heaviest aircraft carrier would be a child’s toy in his grasp.

Thinking this, he attempted using the Primordial Furnace to create a second Eternal Phoenix Core, placing it in a second cell. His entire body tensed for a moment, but quickly, the mini-sun’s energy was absorbed by countless cells, and his body returned to normal.

Hill just glanced in the rearview mirror, saw Aaron with eyes closed in thought, then refocused on driving. Soon, the temperature in the car rose by a few degrees. Feeling puzzled, she cracked a window.

Some fresh air cooled it down a bit. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Aaron’s entire form seemingly glowing—only to see him back to normal when she did a double-take.

That struck her as weird. Her instincts as an agent warned that something peculiar was happening to Aaron. But if Aaron wasn’t talking, a subordinate mustn’t pry—S.H.I.E.L.D. experience told her so.

Maybe it was her imagination, but she felt as if Aaron’s aura had grown richer, like the sun in the sky, evoking awe.

“The fifth one… let’s place it on my forehead then!” Aaron installed four more Eternal Phoenix Cores in quick succession—right hand center, left hand center, left foot center, right foot center—and now his forehead.

The biggest consumer of energy in any body was the brain, and he was no exception. As he strengthened, his brain demanded more and more energy to evolve into a more perfect state. That was a colossal energy requirement. After all, he had so many abilities that leveling up meant an all-around evolutionary boost.

But after adding five total Eternal Phoenix Cores, Aaron noticed his current cell level couldn’t handle extra energy.

If he added a sixth, sure, his body could bear it, but the surplus power radiating from him would cause incalculable damage to the outside world—like wiping out New York in an instant by boosting local temperatures hundreds of degrees. “I’ll hold off until my cells strengthen further, or my energy absorption gets another upgrade, then I can add more little suns…” he thought. In the meantime, to avoid radiating that leftover energy, he deliberately shut his pores and used extra abilities to contain the mini-suns’ power inside. Otherwise, Hill would’ve been the first casualty.

“It’s too bloated!” he mused, “But it feels amazing!” The speed of his evolution was now more than ten times higher than before. One day’s progress might equal a hundred days’ worth for “Henry.” Possibly more.

Soon, their Rolls-Royce arrived at Osborn Group headquarters. Aaron and Hill went in using facial recognition. Everyone there realized their boss had a brand new female secretary.

Passing employees would greet Aaron and glance curiously at Hill—some with envy. Especially the ladies at reception, who wished they could take her spot. After a quick tour, nearly all employees remembered Hill’s face, so next time she came in, no one would block her.

“I’ve told Norman to handle your personnel file and other paperwork,” Aaron said as they walked. “Now I’ll show you to your workplace. The company’s been expanding fast, so there’s no time for new employee training. You’ll have to start adapting today. Any problems?”

“No problem,” Hill answered confidently. In S.H.I.E.L.D., she’d managed data from all over the world and had her own large office. She was used to bigger storms than some corporate tasks. It’s just Osborn Group—like that could be worse than S.H.I.E.L.D.?

“Great. I like your professional attitude.” Leading her into a certain room, Aaron watched the door slide open on its own. Hill paused to check. She didn’t see any advanced face-scanning hardware.

Possibly not an automated door. She frowned. But upon stepping in, she had no time to think about random stuff— seeing mountains of paperwork stacked like several little Himalayas. She looked left and right.

“That smaller stack with a desk… is that mine?” she asked.

“No, this is yours,” Aaron said, pointing to the biggest “mountain” of documents. Hill froze. “And you?”

“Mine’s that other empty desk there,” Aaron replied.

“!!!” She was speechless. Am I truly a secretary or is there something else going on?

“Yes, you’re an executive secretary. Got an issue?” Aaron pressed a buzzer. “Norman, come up here.” Then he slouched in his boss’s chair, leg over the other. “You can start now. By tomorrow there’ll be new documents too.”

Hill gaped, swallowing hard. “All that… in just one day?”

Aaron shook his head. She briefly felt relieved, before he added, “Let me think—this pile is from yesterday and half of today.”

A day and a half? Possibly more to come. She stared at him, wanting to tell him to do his own real job. Not even S.H.I.E.L.D. gave her so much at once.

Hill felt her future turn dark.

Aaron recognized how daunting the task was. “Don’t worry too much, you can pace yourself. Focus on this small mountain first, the rest can wait.”

You call that a small mountain? She thought, exasperated.

He went on, “Work with me and I can’t promise anything else, but your safety and benefits are second to none. Trust me—once you adapt, you’ll get unimaginable perks.”

She inwardly rolled her eyes. More empty promises, she’d eaten enough of those.

“Ahem, in two days I’ll bring another secretary to help you.” That piqued her interest, but one look at the monstrous workload showed even half of it was massive. Damn capitalists, she raged. Still, she decided to try for two days. If it was truly impossible, she’d bail.

Seeing Hill settle in, Aaron was satisfied. Now this is a pro. She’d gotten right down to business, quickly organizing the documents. Good synergy.

While she was working, Norman soon arrived. “Boss.” He greeted Aaron, took a sidelong glance at Hill to memorize her face, then handed a folder to Aaron. “Ms. Hill’s employment file is all set.”

Next he produced another file: “Here’s the first batch of product demands. Wealthy elites around the world are awaiting the first run of our ‘New Life’ line. And we have a bunch of late-stage cancer patients calling in, hoping we’ll release some anti-cancer meds quickly…”

“Boss, I think we should host a big recruitment drive. Our customer service staff have been working 24/7 for a day and a night—”

Aaron scanned the sea of numbers, seeing only zeros from top to bottom. The “New Life” line was unbelievably popular. The super healing serum, a painkiller serum, limb regeneration formula, were all in less demand relative to the anti-cancer or anti-aging lines.

The marketing team’s estimate was tens of millions of doses just in the initial batch—and sure to keep climbing. Countless billionaires waving money in desperation. Right now, the product hadn’t even hit shelves, yet on the black market, a single dose of the anti-aging drug was selling for a billion dollars, the anti-cancer drug nearly as much.

Because some super-rich folks were approaching death’s door, those formulas were their final hope. Like an 89-year-old gambling magnate, for instance. The globe had no shortage of wealthy elites. Some tried buying from Tony Stark, but he’d driven them away.

Stark might not be the richest man anymore, but Stark Industries was still massive—and with Aaron helming Osborn, it was like Everest overshadowing everyone, unshakable. Even these wealthy elites had to queue up outside the door.

“All these trifles are up to you,” said Aaron, giving them a quick look, then ignoring them. Hill looked up briefly at them, then went back to her pile of papers. To her, it confirmed that Aaron didn’t do any ‘real’ work. Maybe his previous secretary died from overwork. A chill ran down her spine.

“Boss, Empire State University’s student–teacher group will be touring Osborn Group. Anything we should note?”

Normally, Norman wouldn’t treat it as a big deal, but he knew Aaron had personally agreed to it, so he’d put in a lot of effort, turning away even wealthy VIP visitors to ensure no mistakes.
Aaron nodded. “Just don’t let them enter the top-secret departments. That’s all.”

Norman signaled that he understood, internally raising the priority. “Right… I heard that among these ESU students is someone extremely talented, so keep an eye out.”

“My firm’s still short a few secretaries…” Aaron added.

Realization dawned on Norman: “Got it, boss, I’ll head down to make arrangements.”

Hill gave a slight sniff, then buried herself in more work. Aaron nodded, satisfied. Dealing with a clever subordinate was so easy.

“One more thing,” Aaron continued. “Find me a man named Ian Quinn—he might have founded Quinn Worldwide. I want all his info.” Sure, Aaron could do it himself, but what’s the point of subordinates if you do everything alone?

If you can get your staff to do it, do so. Norman mentally listed it: new female secretary, find Ian Quinn, handle the ‘New Life’ line. He jotted it down and left.

Aaron left the office, heading for the storage facility. He fused various animals and plants that Osborn Group had collected, thereby enriching the Primordial Furnace’s database. Then he went on to the bio department.

He suddenly remembered he hadn’t had a thorough body check-up in a while, and recently he’d hired a private physician just for that.

He wanted to see Dr. Wu Jiaqi for a comprehensive exam— inside and out, carefully missing nothing. Also, he needed to handle something else: He felt a bit overheated today and needed some “physical method” to cool off.

…

Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s New York HQ…

“Ghost, you’re sure only you survived in that room?”

Looking at the white-suited woman before him, Nick Fury frowned.

Ava seemed uncertain: “I asked Professor Bill. Aside from me, there shouldn’t have been a fourth person.”

Fury didn’t look reassured. “All right, step closer. Look at this man— does his ability match yours?”

Fury pointed to a screen showing Aaron. Ava widened her eyes at the clip of Aaron turning intangible, phasing into a sealed container. She studied it carefully. “His power… is identical to mine! That’s quantum phasing! Who is he?” she exclaimed excitedly, ignoring Zero Matter altogether; she only cared that someone else could perfectly control quantum phasing with zero side effects.

“His name is Aaron,” Fury answered distractedly. Then he fell into silent brooding, unaware that Ava’s eyes burned with excitement.