Prologue

Zhou Xiao had never felt so exhausted!

No, that wasn't quite right. This wasn't just fatigue! The suffocating heaviness all over his body couldn't be explained by mere 'tiredness.' It was a weight that made his limbs feel alien, a powerlessness that he could sense but couldn't control, striking terror into his heart!

Furthermore, he wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but Zhou Xiao felt like something had been added to his mind, or perhaps his soul. Strange, inexplicable things... things that felt both familiar and foreign. It was as if his body's cells reacted naturally, even though he had never learned or seen them before. As if he was born knowing how to do them...

This dissonance left him deeply confused and panicked! With a flicker of will, Zhou Xiao forced his heavy eyelids open. He thought he was dreaming, "What a strange dream..." Before he could finish, Zhou Xiao was stunned by the yellow-orange expanse before him!

"What is this... huh!" Zhou Xiao exclaimed, spitting out a string of bubbles in alarm. That's right, he suddenly realized he wasn't in his familiar bed, but submerged in water!

"Help... huh?"

He struggled for a moment, but Zhou Xiao was startled to discover he wasn't drowning. The stinging in his eyes vanished after a few blinks, leaving him feeling anxious and uneasy as he looked around.

"Oh, damn it! Where is this?"

Zhou Xiao was shocked to find he was no longer in the familiar, cramped home he'd lived in for over a decade. Instead, he was in a strange place that resembled the bottom of a lake.

Zhou Xiao was too shocked, too terrified to speak. His body had transformed into that of an infant, and all around him were countless incubators and babies that looked just like him!

"Am I dreaming or..."

In the vast incubation chamber, and don't ask him how he knew it was an incubation chamber, everything was eerily still, except for Zhou Xiao, creating a terrifying sense of unease.

"..."

Having calmed down slightly, Zhou Xiao tried to control his body, but it was utterly futile. He seemed to feel something connecting him to seaweed-like tubes, supplying nutrients his body needed and removing stale substances from the nutrient fluid. These tubes controlled his body's nerves, keeping him floating in a bubble in a fetal position.

After trying for a long time, Zhou Xiao had to give up all his efforts. These tubes were far stronger than he'd imagined. No matter what commands he gave his body, his limbs remained unresponsive, as if paralyzed. Thus, Zhou Xiao could only diligently turn his only movable eyeballs, cautiously and fearfully examining his surroundings.

In a strange liquid, tens of thousands of sleeping infants were encased in individual bubbles, linked together by something resembling seaweed, forming chains like clusters of grapes...

"Where am I?" Zhou Xiao struggled again in panic. "Help! I'm just a *** Who is playing this joke on me? Catching me is useless, I..." A large amount of unknown liquid poured into his throat and stomach. Yet, even so, Zhou Xiao felt no discomfort or unease.

A creature resembling an electric ray but with eight legs was finally alerted by Zhou Xiao's actions and swam over, stretching its body.

Zhou Xiao froze, too scared to move. But it was too late. The creature's small, cold, yellowish eyes, typical of a cold-blooded animal, met Zhou Xiao's terrified and panicked gaze. Zhou Xiao's breath hitched, though he didn't understand how he could still breathe underwater...

The creature paid him no mind. Seeing that he was awake, it paused, then used its limbs to detach Zhou Xiao's bubble and swam upwards with him.

Due to his limited vision, Zhou Xiao only saw countless incubators flash past before being brought ashore by the eight-legged creature.

"Gurgle gurgle" Zhou Xiao let out a few gurgling sounds, which were meaningless to the creature.

Without even looking at him, the creature placed Zhou Xiao in a stone basin resembling a cradle and then jumped back into the water, swimming away.

Zhou Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and was about to look around when he was startled by the sound of footsteps. Zhou Xiao immediately closed his eyes.

Before long, he felt several people approach.

"Goo goo goo~"

Something that was clearly not a human spoke in a language Zhou Xiao couldn't understand, making him even more nervous.

Then, he felt himself being lifted high into the air.

"..."

"Hoo hoo!" A series of loud, energetic calls!

Zhou Xiao finally couldn't help it and opened his eyes.

An armored, powerfully built humanoid creature came into view.

"Goo goo goo~"

"?" Zhou Xiao.

The humanoid creature burst into laughter.

Several companions, who clearly belonged to the same species, offered congratulations...

Although Zhou Xiao couldn't understand them, he could discern the respect in their demeanor, which somewhat eased his anxiety.

"..." The leader, holding Zhou Xiao's bubble, spoke happily.

Zhou Xiao blinked blankly. The armored man's companions: "..."

His expression finally turned strange. Zhou Xiao couldn't help but laugh and cry at the situation. Am I reborn or transmigrated?!

Several years later, after Zhou Xiao became familiar with the local language, he finally understood what they had said.

"Hahaha, the next generation of the Zod family has finally been born!" the armored man, who would become Zhou Xiao's adoptive father, a Military Leader of Krypton, and a major villain from a past life in American DC Comics, General Zod, roared with laughter.

"My son!" he exclaimed, lifting Zhou Xiao. "Aeo Zod, son of Dru Zod, grandson of Phaelan Zod! The new Military Leader of the Fortier Empire!"

"Long live the Empire!"

"..."

This is truly bizarre!