American Comics: Godhood Unlocked, I Choose Sci-Magic Dual Cultivation

If he wanted to become someone even better than Batman, then he could only go to the place that had once trained Batman—the legendary League of Assassins.

So he refused Dane's help and planned to treat this journey as a form of cultivation. He hoped to find that place himself.

"See? He acted like he didn't care about Batman at all, but he actually respected him deeply, so he unconsciously chose the same path."

Dane said with a smile to Clark, who nodded as well.

They had discussed Batman's past before, and Clark already knew that Batman was Bruce Wayne.

Clark had even secretly gone to Gotham and seen it for himself with X-Ray Vision.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that Gotham's famous Playboy was the Dark Knight who fought for justice in its streets and alleys every night.

The shock was no less than discovering a superhero in the real world, only to find out that he was someone like Wang Si Cong.

"Are our preparations sufficient now?"

"The preliminary preparations are more or less complete."

Dane nodded at Clark's question.

"I remember you mentioned some time ago that you'd designed a gathering place for the Justice League?"

"Yes. Umbrella built it—a building in the suburbs of the West Coast, close to the sea. The scenery is quite nice."

Clark was a little surprised. "Oh? It's already finished? I thought it had only been a few months."

Dane sighed and patted Clark on the shoulder.

"Clark, technology is the primary productive force. When will you understand that?"

"With the knowledge in the Kryptonian archives, this construction speed is perfectly normal. I was already holding back because I didn't want to be too shocking."

Umbrella's production workshops had now begun replacing their equipment with intelligent robots, all dispatched by Cortana.

To make it easier for her to control those robots and to give her a better working environment on Earth, Dane had specially designed a new "brain" for her.

It was a massive pillar of light standing inside that West Coast building. Clark's Kryptonian ship and the lifeboat from his childhood were also parked there.

To better protect those assets, Dane had also set up magical arrays around the building.

They carried spells to drive away idle intruders, along with protection and alarm spells, ensuring that they could defend themselves and send him an alert the moment someone attacked.

Over the past year, Dane had also learned many practical spells through the Wisdom of Solomon. He always felt that this gift from Solomon within Shazam's power was the real cheat—it was simply too useful.

He had once encountered Solomon's "spirit" while meditating and had exchanged a few words with him.

Unfortunately, it was a virtual spirit much like artificial intelligence, able only to answer questions according to preset programming.

Still, that was more than enough to guide him. He was beginning to understand why The Wizard had been so comfortable disappearing. Shazam's power came with its own instruction manual!

"So we can finally continue inviting new members now, right? To be honest, I've been so idle lately that I'm practically rusting."

Over the past year, aside from helping Martha at home, Clark had only been observing the prospective teammates Dane had mentioned. Overall, he had been extremely idle.

More importantly, now that he was a millionaire, he no longer needed to work outside. Managing Jonathan's farm had become his greatest hobby.

It felt as though Jonathan were still by his side.

But he had taken Dane's advice to heart and went into space to bask in the sun from time to time. His abilities were steadily improving as well.

"Don't worry. This time, we're inviting a hero with a strong sense of the bigger picture."

"Who?"

"Wonder Woman."

"Didn't you say she was in Paris?"

"Your information is outdated. I just received news that she came back because of a job transfer."

"Where is she?"

"She currently works at a museum in Washington."

"Then should we go now?"

"Don't rush. We should at least send an invitation first. Otherwise, how rude would that be?"

"What invitation?"

Dane swiped his hand through the air, unfolding a screen. He tapped open a file, and a black-and-white photograph appeared.

It showed a group of soldiers and a woman standing in the center. Her clothing was unlike that of ordinary people—she wore armor.

"This is..."

"This is a photograph from World War I."

Dane explained.

Even Luthor could obtain this photograph, so it was even less of a problem for Dane.

Diana certainly had the original photograph, but that thing was practically an antique. No matter how carefully it was preserved, it would be difficult to keep it intact.

So Diana must have scanned it into a digital file before the photograph was completely damaged and saved it on her computer. That computer was connected to the internet, and Cortana found it.

"Dane, isn't this an invasion of privacy...?"

Dane ignored him entirely. He composed a message, then sent it out together with the photograph.

Clark: Why Do We Have to Spar Again?

Washington, Smithsonian Museum.

Diana was carefully restoring a marble statue. The statue was already over a thousand years old and possessed a strong Greek artistic style.

It was the type she liked.

Just as she was focused on her work, an email notification sounded from the computer.

Diana continued working for another hour before putting down her tools and walking over to read it.

But her beautiful brows quickly furrowed.

There was a photograph attached to the email—the one she had taken with her comrades all those years ago.

Diana had no idea how it had gotten out.

Below the photograph was a message:

"Your Highness Diana Prince, we mean you no harm and merely hope to meet with you for a discussion."

"At this time tomorrow, we will come to meet you. We sincerely hope you can spare the time."

"Respectfully, your future good friends—Shazam and Clark Kent."

Diana's brows relaxed, and she suddenly gave a soft laugh.

"Future good friends...?"

Her gaze returned to the photograph, and a trace of nostalgia flashed through her eyes.

The next day, Diana deliberately arrived at her studio early and instructed her assistant not to disturb her.

She then sat quietly in the studio, passing the time by reading the latest archaeology journal.

She did not have to wait long. A light breeze soon swept through the studio, and Diana sensed the presence of magic.

At that moment, someone knocked on the studio door.

"Come in."

Diana knew that whoever stood outside could not possibly be a colleague.

Sure enough, when the door opened, an entirely unfamiliar scene lay beyond it.

It was The Rock of Eternity. Two tall, handsome men stood outside the door.

They were Dane and Clark. They wore appropriate clothing, neither overly formal nor too casual.

Diana recognized Dane at a glance, and her expression became somewhat subtle.

As the president of Pioneer Technology, Dane had always kept a low profile, but with Kuaidou's current popularity, he could not hide himself completely.

With media coverage and his name prominently displayed on wealth rankings, anyone paying attention could easily remember him.

Diana also had her own Kuaidou account. Though she was nearing a thousand years old, the Princess still considered herself young and was very familiar with current trends.

"Forgive the intrusion, Amazon Princess Diana Prince—or should I say, Wonder Woman?"

As usual, Dane opened the conversation first while Clark merely stood to the side and smiled.

Diana rose and shook Dane's hand.

"I never expected the famous president of Pioneer Technology, Dane Davis, to be a Wizard... Hm? That's impossible!"

The instant their hands met, Diana sensed a vast divine power from him.

It even contained the aura of her late father, Zeus!

Diana's relaxed expression vanished, instantly turning solemn.

Dane felt it clearly. This Amazon warrior had officially entered a combat-ready state. If his next words were wrong, a fight might break out immediately.

He first praised her combat instincts before calmly explaining, "Please set aside your hostility for now and hear me out."

It had to be said that being handsome had its advantages. Seeing Dane's extraordinarily handsome face, Diana found it difficult to associate him with evil. After hesitating for a moment, she relaxed.

"Thank you."

Dane then explained to her the origins of Shazam's power. This was also the first time Clark had learned about it.

He stared at Dane with wide eyes. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"You never asked." Dane was unconcerned.

At first, it was because they were not familiar enough, and Dane's cautious nature made him habitually keep something in reserve.

Later, they became too familiar, and though he wanted to find an opportunity to tell him, he never did. He couldn't exactly seek Clark out just to have a heart-to-heart and reveal his secret, could he?

It wasn't a confession. How disgusting would that be?

So the matter dragged on until he forgot about it.

Clark said nothing and sat to one side, sulking. Such a huge matter, and he hadn't even been the first to know!

Dane ignored him and continued speaking to Diana.

"Shazam's power is a magical contract with six gods. As long as I speak the incantation, I can obtain the power of all six gods at once."

"As the price—or responsibility—for obtaining this power, I must become a Defender of magic and a guardian of the human world."

He did not conceal this information because Diana possessed the Lasso of Truth. Rather than accidentally being forced to reveal the truth during future operations and causing a rift between them, it was better to make things clear from the start.

Diana did not readily believe Dane's words. Having lived in the human world for nearly a century, she was no longer the innocent girl who had just left the island.

Just as Dane expected, she spread her hands and produced a golden, glowing Lasso of Truth from somewhere.

"I presume this is the Lasso of Truth."

Dane smiled at the rope.

Diana's eyes flickered. "You know a great deal."

Dane modestly replied, "I only know what I should know."

"Then you must also know that even gods cannot resist the power of the Lasso of Truth."

Of course he knew. In the animated film Flashpoint Paradox, Wonder Woman had even used the Lasso of Truth to make Shazam shout "SHAZAM!" and undo his transformation, ultimately slaughtering the Shazam Family.

That was why he had originally put safeguards on the word "Shazam." Were Black Adam and Billy Batson idiots or something?

Why wouldn't they find a way to cover such a huge weakness?

Dane voluntarily wrapped the Lasso of Truth around his hand several times to show his sincerity.

Diana accepted his sincerity, and more than half of her wariness faded, though she still cautiously asked several questions.

They mainly focused on the great disasters awaiting Earth in the future and the Justice League. Dane had already shown her some glimpses of the future, but she needed to confirm them once more.

"Are the series of disasters you just mentioned really going to happen in the future?"

"They are. And they may be far more severe than you imagine."