Intimidating Wayne

Li Zhen had really wanted to say that before Tom mentioned the name, he had never expected Batman to come pick him up.

He politely shook Bruce Wayne's hand.

"Zhent Thragg. However, after coming to Earth, I discovered that one of your nations had black hair and black eyes, just like the Viltrumites. So I looked into that nation's culture and chose a more distinctive name for myself: Li Zhen."

He did not simply give his name.

"Please follow me."

Bruce Wayne nodded thoughtfully, withdrew his hand, and gestured for him to proceed. Then he turned and walked toward the interior of the building.

Li Zhen followed him into the lobby of Wayne Enterprises.

The lobby's design appeared understated, yet its details were undeniably luxurious.

The marble floor gleamed like a mirror, while the crystal chandelier hanging from the lobby ceiling cast dazzling light over the reception area.

The employees passing by were all dressed in neat suits. Whenever they saw Bruce Wayne, they stopped to greet him, their tones respectful.

Bruce Wayne smiled and responded to the employees' greetings, but he did not slow his pace.

He led Li Zhen into a private elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

Neither of them spoke as the elevator rose. The cramped space held only the faint hum of the machinery.

When the doors opened, the top floor revealed a spacious office.

Bruce Wayne led Li Zhen to the lounge area, indicated that he should sit, and then personally poured him a glass of water.

"I'm not very familiar with your preferred flavors. Would you like salt or sugar?"

Li Zhen accepted the glass but did not drink. He merely set it on the coffee table in front of him.

He stared intently at Bruce Wayne, trying to discern something from his expression.

Yet the Bruce Wayne before him looked exactly like a kind, approachable middle-aged capitalist, and even his tone carried a hint of humor and playfulness.

He was completely different from the mysterious, cold Batman Li Zhen had imagined.

To be honest, Bruce Wayne's current appearance was so much like Tony Stark from the neighboring Marvel universe—with his beard shaved off—that people might actually believe it.

Li Zhen had a whole stomachful of complaints, but unfortunately, he had no one to vent them to for the time being.

In his previous life, he had read quite a few Marvel comics and watched many of its movies. The Bruce Wayne before him really did have an eerily similar air to Tony Stark.

The resemblance was even stronger when he smiled.

Bruce Wayne had no idea how Li Zhen was mentally ridiculing him. He seriously began discussing the matter at hand.

"It isn't the first time that aliens or superpowered individuals from other dimensions have appeared on Earth."

"Wayne Enterprises has some private cooperation with the Justice League. You should already know about the Justice League, right?"

Li Zhen nodded.

"I've watched quite a bit of television these past few days. It's not like I had anything else to do."

Bruce Wayne spread his hands, looking somewhat helpless and troubled.

"Can't be helped. Some of them really enjoy the limelight."

Li Zhen really wanted to know which identity Bruce had been speaking from when he complained about that.

Unfortunately, he could not ask.

Bruce continued.

"So one part of that cooperation is providing those confirmed to be harmless—superpowered people with no official identity—with legal identities and somewhere to go."

Li Zhen said nothing.

He knew that what Bruce Wayne was about to say was the important part.

"Before that, though, I'd like to run some tests on your body."

Bruce Wayne's gaze settled on Li Zhen, his tone extremely tactful.

"You know that alien physiology differs greatly from that of humans. We need to understand the limits and weaknesses of your abilities. That way, we can help you integrate into Earth more effectively and provide more effective assistance if you encounter danger."

Li Zhen's eyes instantly grew wary.

Seeing that he had understood Li Zhen's concern, Bruce Wayne explained, "You don't need to worry. This isn't mandatory. The choice is yours."

After that, Bruce did not speak again. Instead, he walked over to the liquor cabinet and rubbed his chin, seemingly considering which bottle of alcohol to take out.

In reality, Bruce Wayne was closely monitoring Li Zhen's reaction through various methods.

Ten days earlier, the man who had carried the unconscious Li Zhen down from the sky had issued a muffled warning to Batman: he was not allowed to obtain tissue samples from Li Zhen while Li Zhen was unconscious.

Batman had been rather irritated as well. That big man's meticulousness was something the current Metropolis naive sweetheart could never hope to match.

Not only was he fully aware of Batman's methods, he had also taken away all sorts of ingenious little tools Batman had secretly prepared to extract "alien samples."

In the end, Batman had obtained only a pitiful single drop of blood remaining inside a syringe. Moreover, he had a feeling that this drop of blood had actually been deliberately allowed by that man.

"You know, once you leave, I have countless ways to get his samples."

A trace of irritation accompanied Batman's low voice.

"Whatever. As long as he's conscious, I don't care what methods you use. Actually, you could just be more direct."

Then that man had flown away with Li Zhen, who had received only basic treatment.

All that remained was Batman, silently gazing at the night sky.

Li Zhen thought it over carefully and decided that Bruce Wayne's proposal would actually benefit him as well.

Although he possessed a Viltrumite's physique, he did not have a deep understanding of it.

From the comics he had read in his previous life, he only knew that Viltrumites were powerful and had strong regenerative abilities. He did not know their specific weaknesses, or whether they had any besides noise.

If he could understand his own body through testing, it would be a good thing for him too.

It was certainly better than having some future opponent silently produce a countermeasure he himself did not even know about and use it to deal him a devastating blow.

Besides, if Batman wanted to obtain the samples, the difference in timing amounted to nothing more than sooner or later.

There was nothing he could do. He could not kill Batman, after all.

"Fine."

Li Zhen finally nodded.

"I agree to the testing."

Bruce Wayne turned around, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

"Excellent. The testing laboratory is on the other side of this floor. We can go there now."

He rose and led Li Zhen toward the inner section of the office.

Along the way, Bruce Wayne asked in an apparently casual tone, "I know you're from Viltrum. To be honest, I'm very interested in that planet. Could you tell me more about your planet's culture? For example, your methods of combat and the specific process by which you conquered other civilizations."

Li Zhen's footsteps paused for a moment before he continued forward.

He knew that Bruce Wayne had finally begun probing for the core information.

He did not resist, nor did he intend to lie too much to this man.

"Before I left, our planet was in the midst of a civil war that had lasted for many years. As a result, part of the Elite's education had become twisted."

A trace of undisguised disgust colored Li Zhen's voice.

"From the moment we were born, we were taught the belief that weakness was the original sin."

"When we were young, we were thrown into training camps and made to slaughter one another alongside the other children. Only the one left standing could receive further training."

He paused before continuing.

"Once we reached adulthood, we were dispatched to various star systems to conquer civilizations deemed 'valuable.'"

"Our method of conquest was simple. First, we sent a small number of warriors to launch a surprise attack and destroy the core of the enemy's military strength. Then we carried out a large-scale occupation. As for civilizations that resisted fiercely, we massacred them outright, without leaving any room for mercy."

After a moment of silence, Li Zhen deliberately slowed his speech and described the cruelest, most bloodthirsty aspects of Viltrumite culture in detail.

"The last I heard, the higher-ups of a certain faction on Viltrum had announced that they had improved an even more insidious strategy."

"They would dispatch a powerful warrior to the planet they intended to conquer. First, that warrior would disguise Viltrumite civilization as one eager to help others, then spend several years integrating into the planet until its native civilization lowered its guard. After that, on a certain day, they would catch it off guard and destroy the planet's most important defensive force."

Li Zhen turned his head and glanced at Bruce Wayne, whose face had darkened like the bottom of a pot, his expression filled with doubt and alarm.

"To be honest, the strategy is both cruel and excellent. Conquering a civilization that way might require sending only a single warrior, while also greatly reducing Viltrumite Warrior casualties. Direct invasion often provokes the fiercest resistance."

"With the slightest mistake, even a highly experienced and powerful warrior squad could easily end up in trouble."

Bruce Wayne instinctively voiced his doubts.

"The time cost—"

"Oh, our average lifespan is very long. I've heard that living for a hundred years is already remarkable for humans on Earth. But a Viltrumite Warrior like me serves for five thousand years after completing the Coming-of-Age Ceremony."

Li Zhen precisely caught the acceleration of Bruce's heartbeat.

Only now did Li Zhen realize how hard Bruce had worked to draw a clear line between himself and Batman.

With such powerful control that he could even disguise his emotions, if Li Zhen had not retained the memories of his previous life, he might have regarded Bruce as nothing more than an interesting, endlessly curious rich man.