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Chapter 201: Ch.200 Face of Crisis

He extinguished his flames and transformed back into his human form, hiding in the second floor of a barn to rest.

He was naive and unaware of how to obtain food on his own. In the past, the Professor had fed him through a special tube system, but now he had to rely on himself.

Without any other choice, he fell asleep in the hay, ignoring his hunger.

However, not long after, some people arrived at the barn in a car, shouting and scolding below, which startled him awake.

It turned out to be a group of mysterious men dressed entirely in black. They had captured an accountant, suspecting him of providing the gang\'s financial records to the IRS.

God, the IRS really is the most terrifying elite force in America. Now, they were all doomed!

They planned to kill the accountant at this abandoned farm, venting their fear of the future in the most brutal way.

Hiding behind the hay bales on the second floor, the Human Torch recognized what they held—guns. He had seen similar weapons at the World\'s Fair, where their effects were broadcast on a giant screen. These things could shoot tiny projectiles that would take someone\'s life.

He had seen enough death tonight. He had accidentally killed people, and deep down, he felt that this was wrong.

So, he leaped down from the second floor, and flames instantly engulfed his body. He was a full-fledged superhuman, even if he didn\'t yet understand what his power meant.

But in the comics, the Human Torch and Namor were among Marvel\'s first superpowered characters, capable of going head-to-head with Hyperion. Hyperion, in short, is Marvel\'s version of Superman.

How could a group of ordinary humans stand a chance against a superpowered being like the Human Torch? Very quickly, they were driven off, terrified by his power.

In their panic, they crashed their car into a tree, and none of them survived.

The Human Torch felt lost—life was so fragile. He hadn\'t intended to kill anyone.

But the accountant he saved mustered the courage to approach him, despite his fear.

"I know who you are—you\'re that fire guy from New York."

"I... am a man."

"Hey, who cares? They called you a monster, but you\'re my hero. Come on, let me treat you to something."

Out of gratitude, or maybe just to save his own life, the accountant took the Human Torch back to his home, providing him with food and teaching him basic survival skills.

Here, the Torch learned how to read. He saw newspapers filled with stories about the rise of heroes.

Everyone praised these heroes; what they did was right.

The Torch knew he had made mistakes, and he felt he had to atone for them. He wanted to be a hero and do good.

He had a fireproof suit designed by the Professor, and the accountant made him a fireproof mask out of asbestos. The Torch picked words from the newspapers to create his name.

Now, he had a name: Jim Hammond.

The accountant was an honest man, which was why he had stood up against criminals and risked his life. He taught Jim many things, including the importance of a secret identity for a superhero—too much power would only instill fear in others.

"What job would let me openly help people?" Jim asked, confused.

"That\'s easy—become a cop," the accountant suggested.

With the accountant\'s help, the Human Torch obtained a legitimate identity. Using his sharp mind and powerful body, he passed the New York City police exam and became a street cop.

He enjoyed the job. Every day, dressed in a dark blue police uniform, he helped people on the streets. He learned how to disguise himself as an ordinary person, which felt like playing a game.

At night, he would don his red suit and, as another persona, work to make amends for his past mistakes by doing good deeds.

This era was interesting—many ordinary people disguised themselves as superheroes, while real superhumans disguised themselves as ordinary people.

Deep inside, Jim always felt guilty. This kept him from resting or relaxing. Within a week, he had solved more than 200 cases of varying sizes, becoming a star at the police station. His colleagues joked that he was a "super cop," but everyone needs rest eventually.

To his colleagues, this slightly wooden young man seemed to burn with an unquenchable fire of justice. A strange sense of duty drove him, pushing him to never stop.

This was good news for the police force, which needed some credibility after being torn apart by various media outlets.

But the police chief still gave Jim a few days off. As everyone said, normal people need rest.

Jim had learned many things during this time. His synthetic brain retained everything almost perfectly, though sometimes he lacked common sense.

Now, he understood that normal people couldn\'t work constantly—they needed relaxation and entertainment. So, he accepted his vacation and spent several days at Coney Island\'s amusement park.

Of course, this behavior was a bit odd.

No normal person would spend days and nights at an amusement park, let alone spend an entire day on the carousel. That was definitely strange.

Little girls with ice cream stared at him with envy as he laughed, riding the carousel, while their mothers quickly covered their eyes and whisked them away, as if shielding them from something filthy.

To Jim, who was as innocent as a blank slate, nothing seemed wrong. He just found it fun and relaxing.

Su Ming had kept tabs on the police department\'s activities, and he had noticed the Human Torch\'s emergence. But as he had anticipated, the story had changed.

Namor should have wreaked havoc at the amusement park, leading to a massive battle between him and the Human Torch, causing immense destruction in a battle of water versus fire.

But every report Su Ming received from his men was unrelated to such an event.

"Boss, Jim just ate 300 ice creams in a row today."

"Boss, that guy won this year\'s eating contest."

"Boss, he spent over 10 hours in the haunted house today."

Namor hadn\'t appeared.

And that wasn\'t good news for Su Ming.

Namor flooding New York was just the beginning, a way to establish relations with America. But without Namor, his arch-nemesis—U-Man, who sided with Germany—would go unchecked.

No one knew U-Man\'s real name, and Atlantean names were just strange noises when translated anyway. He was one of Namor\'s political rivals who opposed his ascent to the throne.

He had once been a general of Atlantis, resembling a blue fish-monster with limbs. His abilities surpassed even Namor\'s, but Namor had defeated him with the help of loyalists left by his mother, forcing U-Man to flee Bermuda.

During his escape, he encountered an underwater vessel with a large white "U" symbol on its bow.

He knew it belonged to humans, the strongest land-dwelling creatures. So, he decided to cooperate with them, following the strange submarine to their port.

There was some initial chaos, but soon a small man with a mustache welcomed them.

The little man told them they were the glorious Aryans, and like the Atlanteans, they were part of a superior race. They could help each other.

The general would help them seize control of the land, while the humans would help the Atlanteans dominate the seas. Noble bloodlines deserved to rule everything.

The general\'s and the little man\'s goals aligned perfectly. Though short, the little man was full of passion and courage. His speeches were always philosophical and inspiring, and U-Man admired him greatly.

Especially the way the Führer spoke about everyone else being worthless.

Of course, the general agreed. That had been his plan all along—to reclaim the throne of Atlantis.

He adopted the submarine\'s hull number as his own codename, calling himself U-Man. His followers, who had fled Atlantis with him, joined the Nazi forces, helping them establish dominance underwater.

Recently, this alliance had nearly halted British sea transport entirely. During America\'s neutrality, some aid had come through, as the Führer hadn\'t brazenly attacked American merchant ships.

But after America joined the war, the sea lanes became far less secure. Even Su Ming could no longer guarantee a stable supply of Wilson Corporation\'s goods to Britain.

Whenever a convoy was spotted, it was met with the Germans\' wolfpack tactics, combined with assaults from U-Man\'s elite forces. Caught between towering waves and underwater creatures, the surface ships stood little chance.

If things continued like this, Britain wouldn\'t last long. And once Britain fell, America would be next.

Su Ming had no intention of waking up one day to find the streets lined with swastika flags, or worse, having to salute every passerby.

And that would be the best-case scenario.

Both U-Man and the Führer were dictators. For now, they could cooperate, but what would happen after they defeated their enemies? U-Man\'s greatest desire was to melt the ice caps at both poles. Who knew what plans the Führer had hidden up his sleeve?

If the Führer had no real tricks, would Hydra remain subservient to him? That seemed highly unlikely.

This world was too different from the comics and movies. Past experience was no longer valid—Su Ming needed to rely on what he could see firsthand.