Solar System.
A spaceship... no, strictly speaking, for the sake of escaping at maximum speed with extreme streamlining, this was merely an escape pod of shuttle design with its energy about to run out.
As the alarm for critical energy levels beeped continuously, a black-haired youth sleeping inside a cryo pod slowly opened his eyes.
Detecting a waking organism, the white mist inside the cryo pod began to slowly recycle, and then, a strong yet sluggish heartbeat began to echo within the pod chamber.
The lid of the cryo pod slid open to both sides, and a moment later, a pale and powerful hand reached out, stirring up the lingering white mist and resting on the sliding edge of the pod opening.
So... so stiff.
Shane's brainwaves gradually became active.
How long have I been frozen?
Immediately following this, a dull pain, like countless tiny ants gnawing away, slowly crept over the youth's body.
Several massive, jagged tear wounds stretched diagonally from his right shoulder all down to his abdomen. The distorted ravines of the wounds were encrusted with blood-red crystals, which emitted tiny cracking sounds with his stiff movements.
As his nervous system recovered, his strong heart pumped powerful blood coursing back through his body, and with it came a pain that gradually grew intense enough to cause an ordinary person to faint.
Yet Shane's expression held only a familiar dullness; after using a little leverage to push himself up, he even spared his other hand to briefly grope around and check the condition of his body.
To escape from that terrifying environment, Shane had paid a horrific price. After killing several slightly older fellows who participated in the adulthood ritual with him, he seized an Escape Spaceship that did not belong to Viltrum and fled into the starry void.
Despite Viltrumite spaceships having complete medical repair equipment.
To prevent those cruel warriors from recovering from the civil war and following the spaceship's locator to hunt him down as a traitor to Viltrum, the only thing Shane could choose was the escape spaceship prepared for themselves by the broken civilization's survivors—a civilization whose adult ritual of blood had already destroyed over half of it.
Later, to shake off potential pursuit, he even abandoned ship mid-journey, making a simple and crude modification to just a single escape pod, and hauled a cryo pod along to prevent his injuries from further deteriorating during the long space voyage.
The result of this trade-off was that Shane's injuries had not improved. The moment the cryo-freezing ended, those massive wounds spanning his chest and abdomen began to deteriorate once more.
That was not all.
Four broken ribs, a mildly sprained spine, and a shattered nasal bone...
At least twenty life-threatening wounds all over his body.
However, these could not take a Viltrumite's life.
Especially since his bloodline also came from that exceptionally brilliant warrior in the civil war—an unconquerable man who was extraordinarily outstanding even on Viltrum.
Shane groped around for a moment, and after gaining a rough understanding of his condition, he stopped to rest and recover his strength. Waiting for the effects of the freezing to gradually fade, he propped himself up by the edge of the cryo pod and sat up.
The cryo pod faced directly toward the main pilot's window of the escape pod, and his bloodshot eyes reflected a blue planet.
Infinite hope immediately surged within Shane's heart.
Fucking finally here!
Damned Viltrum!
I time-traveled far too early; the civil war on Viltrum probably hasn't even finished yet, and there's certainly no Omni-Man, Invincible, or anyone else on Earth who can threaten my existence!
Shane thought excitedly.
Although this premature time travel had caused Shane to suffer bitterly for over a decade, now, as he was about to return to that frail "homeland," he finally could not help but be thrilled by it.
At this timeline, Earth doesn't have Omni-Man, Invincible, Atom Eve, or those canon powerhouses, and even that knockoff Justice League hasn't been formed yet. The only one who can pose a threat to me is Immortal himself!
Earth was recorded in Viltrum's database, after all.
It was a planet evaluated to take at least several centuries to develop into an ordinary-level threat, not even possessing the value of a special conquest.
Shane's plan was wonderful.
Just a few small lies would allow him to recuperate his injuries on Earth.
No one could stop him from enjoying life. If Immortal wanted to make an enemy of him, then Shane would not mind using some dirtier methods—like a sneak attack—to kill Immortal once, and then figure out a way to seal his remains.
By virtue of a Viltrumite's physique, even just an ordinary Viltrumite Warrior could reign supreme as a local tyrant on Earth at this timeline.
Yet immediately after, with a snap, Shane's expression turned as gloomy as the interior of the escape pod, which had now completely lost all illumination.
Although Viltrum's technological level was also quite good, Viltrum's technology entirely served combat or war.
They also had researchers, but those were basically the naturally flawed weaklings, or lifelong cripples who could no longer participate in combat due to the cruel competition and thus had to take up this profession.
Though Shane had been mentally exhausted by Viltrum's competitive mechanism, it did not mean he wanted to be crippled and tossed into those departments that remained in pitch darkness for a lifetime.
In other words, the time after Shane's time travel was precious, and he did not have much spare effort to spend on absorbing technological knowledge.
Consequently, his calculation of the total energy supply had contained an error.
The escape pod's energy was already on its last legs, and he was heavily wounded. Although Viltrumites themselves could cross space with their bare bodies, his remaining stamina was probably insufficient to support him in flying alive to Earth.
The corners of Shane's mouth twitched into a helpless smile.
We've made it all the way here, and Earth is right before my eyes.
Just as he helplessly crawled out of the cryo pod, intending to tear open the escape pod and rely on himself to fly the remaining distance.
An inexplicable enveloping sensation made his entire body shudder.
Years of competition and slaughter caused Shane to quickly realize that some powerful lifeform was rapidly approaching him at this moment, and the aura it possessed had already wrapped around him.
Or perhaps locked onto him.
What kind of person would possess such an aura?
Unlike the hostile peers of the past or the indigenous powerhouses of alien worlds resisting invasion, this aura lacked the bone-chilling coldness of killing intent and hostility, radiating warmth like the glow of the sun instead.
Yet regardless of whether it was cold or warm, Shane could affirm that the owner of this aura was incomparably powerful.
Powerful enough to make his muscles, already exhausted to the extreme, tremble uncontrollably.
He had once seen from afar the future absolute powerhouse of Viltrum. During a civil war mobilization, the future Regent had swept his indifferent gaze across Shane's batch of young warriors waiting to participate in a certain cruel trial.
And that lifeform emitting warmth—its strength, akin to a majestic sun, was no weaker than the future Regent's aura.
It might even be stronger.
Shane's movements were somewhat sluggish.
Earth during this period, or perhaps outside Earth.
Where did such a powerhouse come from?
Through the transparent glass, Shane stiffly stared at the rapidly approaching dark shadow outside the escape pod.
The extraordinary vision brought by his powerful physique allowed him to instantly lock onto the dense beard on the newcomer's face.
His brain frantically squeezed distant memories, and the only one matching a full beard was Immortal, whom he had not paid much attention to in his hypothetical scenarios earlier.
No way! Bro?
Shane could not conceal his shock.
What the hell! Can Immortal be this strong?!
Before you continue