Denying My Efforts

"Thanks, but no thanks. Get out of my body!"

Shock flashed through Alex's eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he refused outright.

When he heard that he could possess all sorts of abilities from movies, novels, anime, and more—Devil Fruit Abilities from One Piece, Zanpakuto Abilities from Bleach, Super Saiyan Genes from Dragon Ball, and all kinds of flashy, earth-shattering powers—Alex's heart wavered for a moment.

Just imagine it: in the DC world, facing people like Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Batman, standing atop a skyscraper with a Zanpakuto in hand and coldly shouting, "Bankai!" His black trench coat fluttered in the sky, matching his stern face as the Zanpakuto underwent a heaven-shaking transformation. Storm clouds churned behind him, and even the pitch-black night sky trembled in fear of him. He lifted his proud, icy head slightly and looked down upon the many superheroes with cold eyes. What an unbelievably cool scene!

Or perhaps he could stand on the ground and roar as he transformed into a Super Saiyan. Terrifying, densely packed muscles burst through his clothes as air currents flared and surged from beneath his feet like golden flames. His hair blazed gold, wildly whipping through the night sky. Rubble rose weightlessly from where he stood, and his cold pupils turned golden, shining with the most brilliant golden light in the darkness. With such violently surging battle blood, even if he became the enemy of the whole world, what was there to fear about fighting to the death!

It was fucking enough to make any man's blood boil! It was too damn cool!

If it were real, and if he could remain free, Alex could seriously pursue this invincible power.

But unfortunately, the system had to be harboring ill intent if it was telling him all this, trying to lure him in. So he refused.

Rather than gain power and be controlled, becoming the system's puppet, Alex would rather freely pursue the strength he wanted.

Besides, Alex felt that the system was merely tempting him.

He rejected it decisively!

Alex's refusal was so firm that even the system failed to react. It had happened too quickly. The moment it finished speaking, it was rejected.

Compared to all those violent, flashy, godlike abilities, Alex chose freedom without hesitation.

"Enough, Alex. The reason you possess strength at the Human Physical Limit today is because of the system's help!"

The system's harsh electronic voice rang beside Alex's ear, filled with intense dissatisfaction.

Yet Alex gleaned one piece of information.

The system is intelligent!

The thought flashed through Alex's mind!

Ever since earlier, Alex had been constantly testing the system. From the system recognizing how weak he was in the DC world, to asking whether he was certain about leaving it, to using abilities from all kinds of movies and anime to tempt him, and now practically angrily berating him in dissatisfaction—it was exactly like the emotions of an unhappy person.

This system was unlike any so-called intelligent system. Its intelligence seemed somewhat lacking, and... it desperately wanted to control him!

"Oh? How come I didn't know you helped me?"

"I have such a powerful body because since I was five, I persisted without fail, followed my own correct scientific methods, consumed all kinds of protein and vitamins, used medicinal baths, and spent enormous amounts of money on training until I forged this body at the human limit."

"And now you're telling me that all of this is your achievement?"

Alex's voice grew colder. Every day and night, he had trained relentlessly—stance work, stretching tendons, toughening skin, strengthening bones, deep marrow blood production, resonating blood cells, cultivating a breath within and training tendons, bones, and skin without. He trained through the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer.

He had started earning money as a child, using medicine, nutrition, and every moment of high-tech training to build this powerful body. And now it was saying that he owed all of it to the system?

It dismissed all my efforts so easily.

Did all my hard work mean nothing?

Did all the money I earned mean nothing too?

Alex sneered inwardly and sentenced the system to death in his mind.

"Hehe. Ever since you transmigrated into the DC universe, the system has fused with you, merging with your genes and soul. Without the system's fusion and its enhancement of your body's latent potential, could you have trained so easily to the Human Physical Limit?"

"Hehe!"

Inside his motorcycle helmet, Alex gave a cold "hehe." It meant nothing else—it was an insult.

That sounded awfully nice!

In truth, Alex had been the embodiment of frailty and illness as a child. His resistance was poor, he caught colds easily, and life had been difficult.

His mother had turned to drugs partly because she saw no hope in treating her son's weak body. Coupled with the social pressures of that time, she had used drugs to escape reality and eventually overdosed to death.

Now that the system put it that way, Alex felt certain that it had been tampering with his body, making him weak from the moment he was born.

If Alex had not relied on the money he saved from transporting illegal goods as a child, he would have died in the slums long ago.

And it still had the nerve to say it had enhanced his body's latent potential. He had nearly died back then, okay?

Sensing that Alex did not believe it, the system became enraged. Its heavy electronic voice echoed through Alex's ears.

"If not for the system's help, you would have died when you were nine!"

The system sneered and spat angrily. It could guess what Alex was thinking. This system had contributed so much, yet this host actually doubted it. What an ignorant and foolish Earthling!

Suddenly.

"Screeeech—"

Alex's pupils constricted. The moving motorcycle's tires scraped across the ground, dragging out a black trail as it skidded forward by a meter. The front dipped, the rear involuntarily lifted, then slammed down heavily with a thud.

Not far behind him, a Ferrari Portofino with a bright, sleek red body saw Alex stop abruptly in front of it. Its driver hurriedly spun the steering wheel and hit the brakes. With a half-arc braking maneuver, the tires screeched against the road, both tires and pavement giving off wisps of white smoke as black curved tire marks were left on the ground. The Ferrari Portofino entered the neighboring lane and completed an extremely elegant turn. From behind Alex, it curved around to stop in front of him.

Amid the endless stream of traffic around them, some people stuck their heads out to watch the excitement. Farther down the roadside, people who thought there had been an accident stretched their necks and stood on tiptoe to look.

At that moment, the Ferrari Portofino's owner opened the door. Out stepped a blond white man with a diamond stud in his right earlobe. He wore a white tank top that exposed his strong arms, whose muscular flesh was covered in tattoos of flowers and birds.

"Fuck! You son of a bitch, trying to wreck my car?"

"Do you know what road rage is?"

Furiously slapping his Ferrari, he twisted his neck with repeated cracks, then pounded one fist into his palm and flexed his finger joints until they cracked loudly.

"Today, I'm going to fucking teach you a lesson and show you what road rage is!"

With rage all over his face, the muscular blond man strode angrily toward Alex.

A blaze of anger rose from the depths of Alex's heart, making his blood feel as though it were boiling through his veins. He directly drew the Desert Eagle tucked into the back of his waistband and aimed it at the approaching muscular blond man.

The instant he saw the Desert Eagle pointed at him, the muscular blond man froze. The anger vanished from his face, and his expression tightened. Without the slightest hesitation, he began backing away as though a tape had been rewound, his feet constantly moving backward. Pale-faced, he retreated to his Ferrari, slammed the door shut with a bang, and stomped the accelerator in terror. The tires spun wildly, scraping the ground and throwing up massive clouds of white smoke. With a sharp screech, he reversed the Ferrari away from Alex, then quickly turned around, plunged into traffic, and disappeared from Alex's sight.

The slow-moving traffic around them sped away even faster. No one dared look at Alex. The crowd in the distance stirred in panic before moving far away from him, completely afraid to approach.