Chapter 479: Psychological and Physiological Experiments

"Good evening, Lorelei."

Solomon never forgot about the sorceress locked in his underground chamber.

His erratic mix of cruelty and kindness had deepened Lorelei's Stockholm Syndrome.

She had no way to escape, and her limited physical contact with Solomon made her believe that every breath she took was a mercy granted by him.

Manipulating the human mind was no simple feat.

Solomon was learning as he experimented.

To ensure Lorelei's absolute loyalty, he needed to tame her—

To make sure that even if she returned to Asgard, she would remain devoted to him.

Normally, when a captive is reintroduced to external contact, their Stockholm Syndrome weakens.

But by alternating dramatic conflict with unexpected kindness, he could train her brain to crave the dopamine rush—

A reaction no different from addiction.

The experiment had now entered its second phase.

By deliberately distancing himself, Solomon forced Lorelei's brain to produce oxytocin, further intensifying her dopamine craving.

The external symptoms?

Lorelei became nervous and desperate for his attention.

She feared she had done something wrong.

She believed she wasn't good enough—that she had disappointed him.

This twisted, deep-seated dependency was her collar.

And the leash remained firmly in Solomon's hands.

But Lorelei was no fool.

Solomon wasn't arrogant enough to assume her feelings were real.

Perhaps she was merely waiting for the right moment to escape.

Who knew?

Thus, he continued testing psychological techniques on her.

Her psychological defenses had to be utterly broken before he could consider his work complete.

Like taming a wild horse, Lorelei was his first experiment in applied psychology.

Her case would lay the foundation for future conditioning of superhuman soldiers.

A sorceress with expertise in charm magic was the perfect test subject.

By repeatedly tearing down her defenses and rebuilding them, Solomon would ensure that Lorelei would never be able to live without him.

Of course, human society would consider this utterly monstrous.

But Solomon felt no mercy for Asgardians.

Currently, Asgard was under Loki's rule.

There was no better opportunity to steal their technology.

For Immortal City to compete with alien civilizations, it needed Asgardian advancements—

Especially in space combat.

Not all species could fight cosmic boarding battles in longships like the Asgardians.

Nature had already provided the optimal solutions.

Solomon just needed to replicate them.

As a beneficiary of Atum's divine power and a descendant of giants, the Asgardians' physical traits were extremely advanced.

Solomon's biological experiments aimed to reproduce these enhancements artificially.

For that, he needed Asgardian biological samples.

And Lorelei was the perfect donor.

By reverse-engineering Asgardian DNA, Solomon could design the blueprint for his super-soldier project.

His goal wasn't merely stronger humans—

He wanted demigods.

Warriors on par with Hercules.

Only such soldiers could descend into Hell with him, battling across lava-covered wastelands and toxic battlefields, enduring and slaughtering.

Their armor was already forged—

Now, he just needed the warriors to wear it.

Not everyone was genetically compatible with Solomon's own modified DNA.

And most failed test subjects simply served to validate genetic organ compatibility.

But alchemy-based genetic modifications had proven successful in the Malick family's experimental subjects.

Their lungs and hearts were entirely engineered. Special organs stimulated muscle regeneration. Muscle fibers were broken down and rebuilt stronger. Bone density was enhanced through molecular restructuring. Their livers regenerated like newborns, increasing Kupffer cells to fight external antigens.

But there was a problem.

Even with external intervention, unmodified subjects mutated uncontrollably after gene transmutation—

Resulting in nothing but misshapen, rotting flesh.

Autopsies revealed:

Swollen, diseased kidneys and livers Muscles crushing internal organs and blood vessels Massive internal hemorrhaging

Solomon was unsatisfied.

But he knew that his knowledge could only grow through incremental progress.

Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods, had provided theoretical foundations—

But theory alone wasn't enough.

He needed experiments.

So, he requested another batch of test subjects from Gideon Malick.

After all, Baltimore's death row inmates were plentiful.

In a country with skyrocketing crime rates, a few more executions hardly mattered.

If Asgardian DNA deconstruction failed, Lorelei would serve one final role—

A biological incubator, supplying Asgardian stem cells.

By transcribing DNA and RNA, he could reinforce his test subjects.

But this approach was a black box—a process he could not fully control.

Fortunately, he had one last solution.

A solution that required Merlin's assistance.

He needed to meet the Earth Mother Goddess, Gaea.

Meanwhile…

Stephanie Malick threw herself back into work the moment her vacation ended.

She realized that Immortal City was utterly dependent on a well-organized administrative system.

With Solomon's approval, she brought in a team of Hydra staff from the Malick family.

The difference between Hydra personnel and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents?

Hydra operatives never slacked off.

They worked overtime without complaints.

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents weren't all true believers—

Most just wanted stable government jobs with good salaries, health benefits, and some James Bond fantasy.

Hydra agents, on the other hand, were trained from birth, handpicked through rigorous selection, and wholly dedicated to their mission.

When they were told that they now had a new boss, they simply nodded and obeyed.

Under Stephanie's orders, they swiftly integrated into Immortal City's operations—

Dramatically reducing her workload.

Now, Immortal City had:

Accountants Actuaries Auditors

Stephanie divided them across different departments, ensuring no direct contact between teams.

She was fully aware that her power existed only because Solomon allowed it.

There was no need for her to build her own faction.

She was his secretary—and nothing more.

After clearing her backlog of paperwork, she snuck into Solomon's office.

"What are you doing here?"

Solomon glanced up briefly before returning to his documents.

Only he had the authority to sign off on critical paperwork—

Most of which concerned:

Equipment upgrades Food procurement

Since Immortal City still couldn't fully sustain itself, he relied on external food suppliers.

Tita's daily reports made up the bulk of his documents.

Solomon was pleased with the girls' training progress—

So much so that he planned to manufacture 100 more power armor suits as reserves.

Tita, known as "The Strict Lady", was highly efficient.

Solomon was very satisfied with her work.

"You said you wanted to see my tan lines."

Stephanie said playfully.

"What?"

"What?"

[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [www.p@treon.com/Mutter]

[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]