Your Subordinates Are Not Bad

On the rooftop of the Three-Winged Building, Heisenberg's eyelids fluttered twice.

He'd slept, and when he woke, the sunlight was already gone.

Out of habit, he raised his left hand, intending to check the time.

Well...

He didn't have a watch.

But he had a way.

"System, how much Origin Matter do I have now?"

"From your multiple falls, you injured over seven citizens of the Marvel Universe. The subsequent Destructive Fist and Heat Vision caused more than eight hundred New York citizens to choose to move away from New York. In total, you have temporarily altered the fates of seven thousand six hundred and twenty-six people. Only changes of minor or greater degree to the fates of those involved allow you to harvest Origin Matter through easier fate manipulation. Therefore, you have harvested seven point six two six cubic units of Origin Matter."

Well...

Heisenberg rubbed his head.

When he thought he hadn't done anything, he'd actually already affected the fates of over seven thousand people?

That punch of his, causing a small earthquake, and his Heat Vision, nearly breaking out of the atmosphere, had made over eight hundred people choose to move out of New York?

After they moved, would they miss out on some kind of destiny?

The new jobs they found elsewhere might have been the only livelihood for someone else.

Would someone miss a chance to get rich because a new resident showed up in the city?

And their future lovers—might they have been meant for others in other cities?

Uh...

That actually felt kind of thrilling.

Anyway, if you say life is like chess, that's definitely not right.

What's the use of planning three moves ahead, or even thirty thousand moves ahead?

You can't figure it out.

Better to say life is like the roads in Chongqing.

Even with a navigation app, you can't be sure which fork to take...

Once you miss a U-turn or a certain intersection, your whole journey might never see the end...

By then, where will you stop?

Tangled in fate, Heisenberg opened his eyes, looked at the moonlight, then at the constellations so clear to his sight.

If I weren't a Kryptonian, but some ordinary office drone...

Even if I jumped off this Three-Winged Building, I couldn't affect the fate of a single New York citizen...

With that sigh, Heisenberg raised his left hand to his chest.

Staring at his empty wrist, he muttered in his mind.

"Give me a watch, the same one I wore in my past life—that H. Moser & Cie VANTABLACK."

The moment he spoke, the system instantly prompted.

"Origin Task initiated, target: H. Moser & Cie VANTABLACK... Requires three point six two six cubic units of Origin Matter. Confirm consumption?"

"Confirm!"

In an instant, the golden hands and pitch-black, nearly invisible dial materialized on Heisenberg's wrist.

He held up his hand, examining it for a long time, unable to tell this was made by the system.

Wait, no!

Heisenberg suddenly noticed something—on the lower strap of this watch, there was a tiny tear!

This...!

It was actually the watch he'd worn back then!

He'd thought the system would create a new one, but it had strictly followed his request and sent him the very watch he'd once worn.

Just then, the system gave a further explanation.

"Origin Task completed, consuming three point six two six cubic units of Origin Matter. The main consumption was used to support the watch's traversal across the multiverse."

"OK, then set up a few more tasks. First, tell me how much Origin Matter it takes to remove the Kryptonian genetic weakness to Kryptonite."

"Origin Task established. Removing the Kryptonian genetic weakness requires seventeen thousand four hundred cubic units of Origin Matter."

"What about removing my genetic weakness to Kryptonite?"

"As an ancient Kryptonian, your genes are more active than those of ordinary Kryptonians. Eliminating your weaknesses requires an additional 24,400 units of Origin Matter."

"Let me put it another way—how many units to turn me into a vampire?"

"To replace the host's bloodline with that of a Primal Vampire, the system will refund you a total of 8,420,000 units of Origin Matter."

"Wait!"

Heisenberg was stunned.

"How can you refund me Origin Matter for that?"

"Compared to the vampire bloodline you requested, the ancient natural Kryptonian Elder Leader bloodline is far more valuable. You are entitled to this compensation."

After the system's reply, Heisenberg nearly rolled his eyes.

Now this was what you called true user-friendliness.

This was the real deal.

There was even a price difference!

So Heisenberg excitedly said to the system.

"Let me try another one—how many Origin Matter units to bring Audrey Hepburn from the filming of Roman Holiday to me right now?"

"Transporting Audrey Hepburn from the filming period of Roman Holiday to Earth-19999 requires a total of 163 units of Origin Matter."

In an instant, Heisenberg fell silent...

This system... it could actually fulfill most of your wishes!

Heisenberg suddenly felt motivated. For enough Origin Matter to realize all his desires, he would work himself to death in the Marvel Universe without a single complaint.

As for now, his goal was equally clear.

That was, while ensuring plenty of sunbathing time, to accumulate at least 163 units...

Ahem...

Heisenberg shook his head, swiftly driving the wicked thoughts from his mind.

If he truly liked Audrey Hepburn, he could just apply to go to the universe of Roman Holiday.

Or any random universe set in 1960s Europe.

There would always be wild Audrey Hepburns to catch there.

His real goal, his true goal!

Was to accumulate at least 40,000 units of Origin Matter!

By then, he would first completely eliminate his weakness to Kryptonite.

Then he would remove his weaknesses to red suns, green suns, purple suns, black suns, and the like.

After that, he'd earn more Origin Matter to boost his resistance to elemental and magical damage.

That way, he could have a temporary sense of security.

Uh, this security was hard-won.

He'd clearly grown stronger, yet his weaknesses had multiplied. Sigh...

Maybe he'd been thinking too long, or perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D. was too impatient. Finally, the troubled Heisenberg was distracted by Barbara.

From seven kilometers away, Heisenberg could already hear Barbara's voice.

For Kryptonians, their hearing was exceptionally sharp.

So sharp that if they didn't control it, the myriad sounds they heard would drive them insane.

But once they adapted to Earth's environment and learned to actively control their hearing, they could tag specific sounds.

No matter how far away, as long as that sound fell within their hearing range, they could instantly pinpoint its location.

And that was why Superman always found his girlfriend when she was kidnapped!

In the movie Batman v Superman, there was a classic scene.

At that time, no one in the world could find Superman when he was deliberately hiding.

So Lex Luthor kidnapped Superman's girlfriend, Lois Lane, and took her to the roof of LexCorp.

There, he said to Lois Lane, "I've found the key to Superman!"

Then he pushed Lois Lane off the roof. As she screamed, Superman appeared instantly to save his girlfriend.

The reason Superman always showed up at the critical moment was because of Kryptonians' ability to identify and tag sounds.

And what did this incident prove?

It proved that when a person is powerful enough, whether they're flashy or low-key, the people around them will always be dragged down and hurt.

As strong as Heisenberg was, whether he hid or showed himself, it couldn't change the fact that others feared him, nor the countless ambitions of those who wanted to use him.

So...

Either make yourself dangerous and lethal enough!

Or...

Find women strong enough—so strong they can't be threatened—as partners...

Well, hearing Barbara's voice, Heisenberg's mind had wandered again.

He shook his head, dispelled the stray thoughts, and quietly listened to what Barbara had to say.

At the intersection of Hell's Kitchen and Queens.

The blocks the gangs had dubbed the Forbidden Zone.

Barbara was in a high-rise, talking to a fat man.

Their conversation seemed to have wrapped up; Barbara shook hands amiably with the man.

"Mr. Kingpin, thank you for cooperating with us. The Second Basha Nightclub under your name will become a key base for us.

I hope you and your men will sever all ties with the Second Basha Nightclub from now on."

"No problem. After all, you're being very generous—triple the price. I can't think of any reason to..."

Boom!

The massive floor-to-ceiling windows shattered instantly as Heisenberg arrived beside Barbara, surrounded by countless shards of glass.

Meeting the looks of the three people in the room—like they were staring at a demon—Heisenberg smiled at Barbara and asked.

"Got the bar I wanted? Second Basha?"

He shook his head in displeasure.

"The name's too tacky. Change it!

Let me think... how about the Academy of Sciences? Let those drunken idiots feel what it's like to be surrounded by knowledge?"

"What the hell, who is this? Bullseye!"

Kingpin, who had just snapped out of his shock, immediately ordered Bullseye to test Heisenberg.

He was Kingpin, the underground emperor of New York. He could accept some government agency buying his bar at triple the price, but he couldn't tolerate this kind of intrusion.

Even if the man crashing through the window was FBI, he'd kill him and show the FBI's bosses what happened.

He wanted everyone to know—and to remember forever—

Not everyone had the right to offend Kingpin!

At Kingpin's command, Bullseye—with a small target painted on his forehead—whipped out throwing knives.

In an instant, at least six knives flew at Heisenberg's eyes, mouth, and nose from different angles.

Seeing the harmless little knives, Heisenberg couldn't even be bothered to dodge.

He let the knives hit his face. When one struck his eyeball, he didn't even blink.

Clink, clink, clink...

The knives fell uselessly to the floor, but Bullseye's assault didn't stop.

He now understood Heisenberg was no ordinary man, but so what? Bullseye had killed more than a few extraordinary guys like him!

Of course, that was just his own assumption. He'd never had the privilege of clashing with someone as overwhelmingly powerful as Heisenberg before.

In Bullseye's mind, when facing someone with a tough body, he'd switch to electric knives.

Paralyze them, then look for weak points—that was his usual habit.

But before he could pull the special knives hidden in his jacket lining, Heisenberg was already floating in front of him.

He grabbed Bullseye's shoulder, and the poor man dropped straight to his knees.

Heisenberg glanced at Bullseye's forehead and said.

"Looks like there's something wrong with your head. You've got a special, obsessive love for circles.

But your execution is good. The moment your boss gave the order, right or wrong, you acted immediately!

That kind of tactical discipline and obedience to orders—not even all my former subordinates could do it."

Heisenberg smiled as he praised Bullseye, then turned to look at Kingpin.

"Just now, I heard Barbara had settled my business with you, so I thought I'd come meet you. After all, the bar I'm using as my rest stop used to be your turf.

Now that I've met you, I'm not impressed. You're too arrogant and cruel. Killing someone over a single word—that'll bring you bad luck. Trust me."

With that, Heisenberg patted the kneeling Bullseye on the shoulder, right in front of Kingpin.

"Your personality's not great, but your subordinate is genuinely good. Worth training.

I'm taking this subordinate. As for the price to trade him... how about I let you keep a whole corpse?"

Hearing Heisenberg's provocation, Kingpin laughed like he was mocking a fool.

Once he'd had his fill of laughter, he said disdainfully to Heisenberg.

"You want my turf, and you want to command my men—you're clearly out of your mind.

I don't care where you got the ambition to directly challenge me, the one who's ruled New York for over fifteen years.

At the very least, before you plan to have my men serve you, you should ask for their opinion yourself!"

At that, Heisenberg nodded in acknowledgment, then looked at Bullseye with full seriousness.

"Your boss is asking you a question. How about it—come work for me from now on?"

As Heisenberg's words fell, Bullseye pondered for a moment.

After a brief pause, he nodded, earning a satisfied smile from Heisenberg.

"See, that wasn't so—"

Ding!!!

A sound like metal scraping against metal rang out as the dagger Bullseye had secretly drawn was effortlessly blocked by Heisenberg's body.

Staring at the broken blade, Bullseye was stunned beyond words.

As for Heisenberg, he glanced at his torn pants, silent for a moment.

Then he nodded at Bullseye once more.

"Good, I've found another one of your virtues—enough loyalty!

But since you don't like betrayal, how about I just eliminate your original boss? Then when you take orders from me, it won't count as betrayal anymore!"

With that, Heisenberg released his grip on Bullseye and instantly appeared before Kingpin's massive frame.

He raised his right hand.

Smack!

A slap, delivered with a fair bit of force, sent Kingpin's head flying clean off his neck!

The fierce palm wind not only completely shattered Kingpin's head but also obliterated the wall behind him.

And only then did Kingpin's blood finally have time to spurt from his carotid artery.

Topped the charts!

Topped the new book rankings!

My heart is filled with emptiness.

But then I remember the contract is already signed.

Just need to print it, sign it, and mail it out, and this book will be officially contracted.

Then I'll have to fight on the contract rankings...

Just thinking about it gets my blood boiling.

I can't help but want to write a hundred thousand words overnight!

I'm on fire!