You have strength, and I have a cheat.

[System detected host awakening Apocalypse, gaining fourteen thousand points of Self-Destruction Source.]

The moment the explosion occurred, the long-silent system suddenly chimed with a notification.

[Task publishing...]

[Main Quest – Defeat Apocalypse: Complete the task by causing Apocalypse’s death, forcing him to flee, or rendering him powerless by any means.]

[Success Reward: Twenty thousand points of Self-Destruction Source, one SSR-level skill or item.]

[Failure Penalty: Since you already have Xiao Hei, naturally you’ll need an Illya, right? If you fail the mission, you’ll become Illya for a while to cheer up. Oh, and you’ll receive a complimentary year’s supply of tentacle suits~]

[Side Quest – You Got Upgraded: Allow Apocalypse to enhance you. Regardless of the outcome, you’ll gain at least 1000 points of Self-Destruction Source.]

[Hidden Quest: Not yet unlocked.]

With the addition of fourteen thousand points and new tasks on the system panel, Joss began to suspect something unexpected.

First, Apocalypse’s strength might be greater than he had imagined, or at the very least, awakening him now posed a far more significant threat than anticipated; otherwise, the system wouldn’t grant so many points.

Moreover, the system issuing such a mission confirmed that Apocalypse had not been seriously injured in the explosion.

Simply put, he had messed up badly.

But, on second thought, it made sense. In the movie, although Apocalypse appeared utterly unimpressive, it still took Charles Xavier, Jean Grey as Phoenix, Storm, Quicksilver, and a host of other powerful mutants to bring him down.

At this moment, Joss only had Xiao Hei and Laura by his side—the disparity in strength was glaring.

Of course, from another perspective, Joss neither had the obligation nor the inclination to fight to the bitter end as Charles and his companions had. If things looked grim, he would have no qualms about making a swift escape.

Still, despite the perilous situation, Joss wasn’t entirely without hope of turning the tables, for he had just discovered something: the newly acquired points weren’t immediately used to pay off his debt; instead, he could use them for the lottery!

This, without a doubt, gave Joss a slim chance of completing the mission.

“Who are you? How dare you disturb my slumber!” Amidst fire and thunderous noise, a towering figure burst from the ground, eyes glinting coldly as he fixed his gaze on Joss.

If not for the fact that his entire body was pitch black and he was emitting clouds of black smoke with every word, the scene would have been even more intimidating.

“Why are you yelling so loudly?” Joss immediately retorted at the top of his lungs. “Slumber, my foot! You’re just a loser buried here by your own underlings. Now that you’ve woken up, instead of granting me three wishes, you dare to shout at me?!”

“Uh? Three wishes? What do you want, then?”

At this righteous outburst, Apocalypse seemed momentarily stunned, as if his mind had short-circuited from the explosion or he simply hadn’t fully awakened.

But thinking about it, it wasn’t so strange; in the movie, Apocalypse, upon waking from his slumber, wandered about like a senile old man before regaining his faculties.

Joss, hearing this, thought there might be a chance after all.

“Let me think... How about you put on a dress for me first?”

“How long have I been asleep... What’s wrong with people these days?” Apocalypse was utterly baffled.

“If you won’t put on a dress, then go brush your teeth!” Seeing Apocalypse’s sluggish reaction, Joss wasn’t about to miss the opportunity. With a swift motion—hip and hand—a laser beam as thick as two fingers shot straight at Apocalypse.

At the same time, Laura extended her adamantium claws, while Xiao Hei’s hands morphed into twin blades, both launching attacks almost simultaneously.

This had been their plan all along: Apocalypse, newly awakened from his slumber, was at his weakest. His sand control was formidable, but his other abilities were largely ineffective in combat, and after a direct hit from C4, his physical condition was at its lowest.

If they couldn’t finish him off now, then escape would be their only option.

Everything happened in a flash—the golden laser struck first (as expected), blasting a gaping hole in Apocalypse’s chest.

Laura followed up, slashing off half his shoulder and neck, and finally Xiao Hei’s dual blades plunged into Apocalypse’s abdomen, tearing open a massive wound!

“Did we win?!”

As he watched Apocalypse hang in midair like a ragged doll, the thought flickered through Joss’s mind, but then he noticed the system panel remained silent—clearly, Apocalypse hadn’t suffered a fatal blow!

“You damned, lowly insects!”

Suddenly, Apocalypse erupted in a psychic roar, blasting Laura and Xiao Hei dozens of meters away as if struck by a tangible force. Even Joss, standing some distance off, felt as though he’d been hit head-on by a speeding car!

Fortunately, with the skill “Whoa There,” Joss managed to steady himself and avoid secondary injury.

But Apocalypse’s assault wasn’t finished. With a twitch of his fingers, strands of sand coalesced into razor-sharp threads, slicing toward Joss.

It was clear Apocalypse’s mastery over sand was entirely different from Gaara’s. He rarely used large amounts; instead, he turned small quantities into deadly weapons, rather than smothering his foes with overwhelming volume.

“As expected... his combat sense is a match for the film. Still not sure if it’s arrogance or just limited ability...” As the sand slashed toward him, Joss remained unflustered, evading with ease.

Apocalypse’s fighting style always struck Joss as odd—not only did he lack any semblance of technique, but he moved with remarkable sluggishness.

Even in the film, though Apocalypse managed to catch Quicksilver, he relied not on speed but on some combination of perception and prediction.

And whether he was winning or on the brink of defeat, he always moved at the same slow pace—evidently, his body simply wasn’t capable of any more.

“But even knowing this doesn’t really help...” Within a few heartbeats, Laura and Xiao Hei had returned to Joss’s side, but Apocalypse’s wounds were already healing before their eyes.

The classic boss trait—regeneration!

Even if not on par with Laura, Wolverine, or Deadpool, most Marvel villains boasted terrifying recuperative powers.

“Tch... At this rate, we won’t lose, but there’s no way we can win, either... Fine. Time to draw for new abilities. If nothing comes up to counter him, we’ll just bail.”