Ian's sophistry regarding his own human nature crumbled.
He didn't give Black Adam a chance to think about the strange things, and suddenly tilted his head back and slammed his forehead hard into Black Adam's forehead.
"Let me see what evil spirit has bewitched you!"
Ian's voice carried the excitement of a researcher, as if he were not facing an enraged Ancient God- king, but a precision instrument that needed to be disassembled and repaired.
Before he could finish speaking...
The collision of the two heads has already occurred.
The force of that impact.
There's a kind of beauty in Ian that he doesn't care at all about the integrity of his forehead.
It made Black Adam feel dizzy.
"Thump!!!"
A deep, resounding clang, like the tolling of an ancient temple bell, echoed in their minds.
The attack on Black Adam caused a sudden darkness before his eyes, with countless golden stars and black crows swirling and flying around in his vision, almost shaking his brains to their core! His prized magic resistance and physical defense seemed to become a rather ridiculous joke in the face of this completely unconventional mental (physical) attack.
Meanwhile, Ian, taking advantage of the moment when Ian's consciousness was shaken and his mental barrier appeared to crack, successfully transmitted his own incomparably "righteous" consciousness.
They forcibly intervened in the mindset of the shady business community.
His words just now weren't the goal; they were merely a means to create this opportunity for himself. Countless fragments of memory, raging emotions, and ancient incantation images swept past like an out-of-control torrent. Ian's consciousness darted through them, filtering out information that was irrelevant to the Outer Universe, pointing directly to the source of that abnormal dark power.
at the same time.
In the realm of reality.
"Bang!"
Two muffled thuds sounded almost simultaneously.
The two figures lay flat on the ground inside the specially made cage. Black Adam's limbs were twitching unnaturally, but Ian's eyes rolled back just like Black Adam's.
Black Adam began to uncontrollably foam from the corners of his mouth. However, Ian was clearly better prepared. The foam he spat out was not ordinary transparent liquid, but rather a colorful blister, like an overturned palette, and even carried a faint, sweet, Skittles- candy scent.
It doesn't mean anything else.
The main reason was that Ian had put an effervescent tablet in his mouth beforehand.
At least the foam that comes out looks a bit nicer.
That counts as a win.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet refracted a dreamlike luster under the cold light of the cage, like colorful ribbons sprayed during a festival celebration.
His current appearance, illuminated by the eerie blue force field, presents a bizarre and dreamlike visual effect. Of course, few people are capable of appreciating and judging it.
"..."
Mera Mera, blinked her large eyes and subconsciously tugged at Clark's cloak.
" Clark, is it really okay that your son's mouth is even more powerful than the most bubble-blowing Belemnoidea Fish in the Atlantic?"
Mera Mera's tone was full of uncertainty.
"Um."
Clark Kent.
This God of Mankind, who had faced countless cosmic crises, now watched his son roll his eyes and blow colorful bubbles, his face showing only a deep, habitual numbness.
He nodded heavily, about to speak, when Batman, with his cold, emotionless voice altered by a voice changer, preemptively took his place.
You'll get used to it.
The letter, though brief, contains countless painful memories.
Wonder Woman Diana rubbed her still-throbbing temples, looking at the two guys in the cage who seemed to be having a collective epileptic seizure, and asked helplessly, "So we're just going to sit here and wait? Wait for Ian to 'stir things up' in that ancient emperor's brain and come up with some kind of result?"
She always felt that entrusting such an important task to Ian was not a wise choice.
"We can find something else to do. At the very least, we can 'interrogate' this 'guest' from the parallel universe that Clark and his team brought back."
Batman turned around in his wheelchair, his gaze sweeping across the crowd beneath his mask before finally settling on the Injustice Superman standing on the broken wall not far away, still exuding an aura of philosophical despair.
As he spoke, the wheelchair glided silently to Injustice Superman. Injustice Superman still kept his head down, staring blankly at the ground, as if he were indifferent to everything around him.
Batman didn't beat around the bush, nor did he use any lie detector. He simply stared at the other person with his eyes that could see through all lies, and then dropped a bombshell.
"You wouldn't want someone to help you 'have a baby,' would you?" Sure enough, as the wise Batman, Bruce Wayne spotted Injustice Superman's belly in one glance.
He saw through the reason why Injustice Superman was depressed. This sentence was like a silent thunderclap, instantly striking everyone present except for Clark and Batman.
Aquaman spat out the mouthful of water he had just drunk; Mera covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock; Wonder Woman's expression shifted from shock to bewilderment, and then to a strange realization.
I still feel a little scared.
It was wonderful and exciting.
"Shut up!"
The Injustice Superman, who had been standing like a stone statue, suddenly raised his head! His cheeks, ears, and neck rapidly flushed with blood, eventually turning into an extremely rare liver color, the same as Batman's just minutes before! It was a color that mixed extreme shame, humiliation, and unspeakable collapse.
"You—!" Injustice Superman spat out through gritted teeth, his eyes flashing fiercely as he warned Batman, "The child you've let run wild—he doesn't belong to any of our universes! He's a heretic who shouldn't have been born! You have no idea what you're raising! He's a devil crawled out of Hell!"
It's obvious.
Injustice Superman got pregnant by Ian.
The psychological trauma is severe.
"Listen, this is none of your business." Clark frowned, stepped forward, and stood in front of Batman, giving Injustice Superman a firm rebuke.
"Oh."
Upon hearing this, the purplish-red color on Injustice Superman's face gradually faded, replaced by a deep, almost tragic, mockery. He tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile more painful than a grimace, "Fine. Anyway, I'm not the one who will ultimately face that 'disaster.' It's not my place to worry about it."
As he spoke, Injustice Superman gave Clark Kent of this universe a deep look.
"Disaster?"
Batman immediately grasped the key words, lowered his voice, and began to react.
"What ultimate disaster? What exactly is the Supreme Alliance sending you and that Golden Superman here for?" His intuition told him that the reappearance of Injustice Superman was not just a simple dimensional invasion.
"Of course we've been assigned tasks." Injustice Superman seemed to have given up all hope. He chuckled, "There are two tasks. The ostensible one is simple: to have you two ' Superman ' compete to see who is better and more in line with their standards of the strongest and most perfect."
He paused, his eyes flickering. "But I feel that the Supreme Alliance is more like using this as a pretext to search for something in your universe."
When he said this, Injustice Superman's tone was somewhat uncertain; it was all just his intuition, without any actual evidence.
"What are you looking for?" Clark pressed on.
Upon hearing this, Injustice Superman rolled his eyes.
"If I had known, would I still have been brainwashed and manipulated, turning into a biological weapon that only knows how to execute orders?" His tone was heavy with bitterness. "I am a loser, Clark. In our organization, a loser is just a stray dog on the street, no longer worthy of knowing the core plans."
His words made everyone frown. This cruel hierarchy was unsettling, and not a single member of the Justice League was willing to accept that the so-called Supreme Alliance was the advancement of the Justice League.
"I will investigate this matter in detail. Now, tell us, what exactly is this 'ultimate disaster' you just mentioned?"
Batman brought the topic back to the main point.
His tone was like that of someone interrogating a criminal, but Injustice Superman didn't care. The defeated hero shook his head, his eyes seeming to recall some vague and terrifying fragment.
It keeps flashing.
"Only those at the end of time can truly 'see' it—but all who try to return and tell it will forget—it's the rule, the protection, and perhaps also a curse." He withdrew his gaze, his voice low. "I can only guess—it must be related to an invasion from Outer Universe."
"The scale might be beyond our imagination." This was one of the initial ideas that Injustice Superman insisted on: the invasion from Outer Universe would eventually cause the entire Multiverse to collapse.
In response to this...
Wonder Woman also seemed lost in thought.
"You're not sure either? It's just a guess?"
She asked with some suspicion. As Amazon savage embraced by modern society, she didn't yet have a clear judgment on whether an invasion from Outer Universe was harmful. "Yes, it's just a guess. You should ask the Batman Who Laughs; he might know more about this," Injustice Superman added after a pause.
"Of course, you could also ask his collaborator. I vaguely remember being mind-controlled and know that there was a collaborator behind his the Batman Who Laughs."
He uttered the name of the Batman Who Laughs twice, but the eerie void chains did not appear, nor did any force attempt to Injustice Superman back to the headquarters of the Supreme Alliance.
This made Injustice Superman very uneasy.
Of course, it wasn't because of the unease of being unable to escape, but because he couldn't help but wonder what information was hidden behind the fact that his maniacal the Batman Who Laughs no longer seemed as concerned about being exposed as usual.
Just when Injustice Superman was truly on the verge of collapse...
"A collaborator? Who?"
Aquaman Arthur couldn't help but join in the inquiry.
He's still a member of the Justice League, so he has to make appearances a few times. Like how he might be a minor character in most battles, but that doesn't stop him from getting "group photos" after the fight.
"If I remember correctly."
Injustice Superman raised his head and looked at the gloomy sky, as if he were on guard against something.
"That was a woman named Paradox. I'm not entirely sure what's so special about her, but even that madman, the Batman Who Laughs, seemed somewhat wary of her."
His words were very informative.
While the others were still processing the information, Clark Kent's mind was in turmoil.
Paradox!
Clark Kent remembered the name very clearly, Kent upon hearing it, Clark eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.
His Super Brain instantly retrieved a memory—not long ago, in the eerie ruins of a military base, the woman who mysteriously appeared and resolved numerous supernatural riots, then tricked him during his search, and then quietly disappeared, left behind the name " Paradox "!
Be aware of this.
Even though Clark Kent's Super Brain didn't want to move, it still started thinking uncontrollably. He didn't make a sound, and his face remained calm.
No one else noticed.
However, the only person present who also possessed world-class observation and reasoning abilities, Batman, had already keenly caught Clark's fleeting, subtle reaction through his eyes hidden behind his white goggles.
" Paradox?" Batman remained unmoved, simply adding the name that Clark had already mentioned once to his list of dangerous individuals.
and.
The connection between this name and the Kent family remains uncertain, requiring further information to determine when this uncertainty will be resolved.
"You have to tell us everything you know about the Supreme Alliance, about that ' Paradox,' about your speculation about the 'final catastrophe.' Every detail."
Batman's wheelchair slid forward half an inch, almost touching Injustice Superman's knee. His voice, processed with a voice changer, carried an undeniable sense of oppression.
Injustice Superman slowly raised his head.
Instead of answering directly, he raised a hand and gently tapped his seemingly flat abdomen, which appeared to bear an immense weight.
"Want information? Sure."
Injustice Superman imitated Batman's tone, but with a touch of resigned mockery, "But on the condition that you first take care of the trouble caused by that underworld kid inside."
He emphasized the words "child from the underworld" and gave a meaningful glance at Ian, who was still blowing colorful bubbles in the cage in the distance.
This is clearly negotiating terms.
Batman's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly beneath his mask.
In his view, although Ian acted eccentrically and recklessly, most of the "trouble" he caused was still within a controllable range. With the technology of the Batcave and the physical characteristics of Kryptonian, it shouldn't be too difficult to resolve. Compared to the intelligence value that Injustice Superman might provide, this exchange was acceptable.
"Okay. We'll take care of your 'abdominal condition.'" Batman, unaware of the seriousness of the problem, thought it was just a minor issue and readily agreed.
He even used relatively neutral terms.
Injustice Superman seemed somewhat surprised by the other party's straightforwardness, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a numb feeling that "it can't get any worse anyway."
He nodded, about to say something more when Aquaman Arthur's voice broke in, tinged with embarrassment and urgency. He waved what looked like an old-fashioned pager in his hand.
I might have to leave for a bit.
The pager screen in Aquaman Arthur's hand was flashing red wavy signals.
Clark turned around and asked with concern, "Is there some emergency in Atlantis? Do you need help?"
He instinctively thought it was another rebellion by some underwater kingdom, or the awakening of some ancient sea monster. However, the Aquaman's face revealed a bitter smile that was more like a grimace.
" Clark, my friend, you can lift continental plates, you can move planets, you can fire lasers from your eyes, but you can't stop humans from relentlessly dumping garbage into my home." He shook his head, his smile filled with helplessness. "Yes, you can do many things, but you can't stop humans from polluting the oceans."
Clark fell silent instantly.
He certainly understood.
As a superhero, he can solve countless earth-shattering crises, but he truly feels a deep sense of powerlessness when it comes to this slow and continuous "poisoning" of the living environment by human civilization itself.
His superhuman senses had already told him what the ocean was going through, but it was a huge and complex systemic problem that couldn't be solved by punch after punch.
The Destruction of Krypton also stemmed from the inherent flaws that arose from the development of this civilization.
"Is it because of the nuclear-contaminated water?"
Clark's voice lowered, carrying a heavy, confirming tone.
Aquaman nodded heavily, his expression turning strange. "My brother Orm just contacted me via encrypted channel. He said his leg has probably undergone some unexpected 'mutation' because of that damn radioactive water. He begged me to go back and take him ashore to see a doctor or biologist."
"Oh, speaking of which, by the way, what do you think—in his condition, should I take him to a veterinarian, or just take him to an aquarium to see a specialist?" Aquaman Arthur scratched his head, looking at the land representatives present, his tone full of genuine confusion.
"...
"...
"...
Aquaman always surprises people with his unexpected remarks.
After an awkward silence, Diana couldn't help but turn her head away, her shoulders trembling slightly; Clark coughed awkwardly; even Batman's jawline seemed to soften for a moment.
"He can come to me first." Batman's voice remained calm, devoid of emotion. " The Batcave has state-of-the-art medical scanning equipment that can analyze his mutation."
"No! Thank you! Really, it's not necessary!" Aquaman shook his head like a rattle-drum, refusing almost reflexively. He would rather accept his brother growing more than twenty glowing tails than send him into Batman's "medical lab," which looked like a place where people were dissected and studied.
Wouldn't that really turn into a battle for the crown prince position?
"To be honest, I'd rather believe Ian's Miraculous Plan." As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and quickly pulled something out of the leather pouch at his waist—a bulging little bag woven from some kind of colorful fish scales and luminous seaweed, with the words " Miraculous Plan " embroidered on the side in crooked, earthy Chinese characters.
It seems that Aquaman had just discussed the issue of ocean pollution with Ian.
Everyone looked at the ominous-looking fish, then at Ian, who was happily blowing bubbles in his Cage of Karma, and suddenly began to doubt whether the Aquaman was really a fish.
"Then I wish you good luck, Atlantis." Batman didn't press the matter, simply offering a perfunctory blessing. After all, using Ian's "brilliant plan" to combat human-caused pollution was, in a way, fighting fire with fire. He bet that if things went well, Atlantis would no longer be a sovereign nation.
It's more or less mixed with a bit of what's been popular in Gotham lately—the Ian Virus.
In response to this...
Unaware of this Mera, Aquaman nodded and turned to summon water from the sewers. At that moment, Mera hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward and approached Batman.
Her beautiful face, which seemed to belong to an Indian who didn't even like independent toilets, was filled with worry.
" Bruce, I know you don't easily get involved in politics—but could you please use your influence in Wulu to at least make an appeal? It's not just a pollution problem anymore—"
Mera Mera's voice was low, tinged with a barely perceptible fear.
"I can feel the ocean's suffering intensifying, as if something ancient and terrifying, slumbering in the Deep, is being awakened by this pollution."
She looked at Batman, her tone earnest.
The atmosphere instantly became even more tense.
Just then, a slightly hoarse and mocking voice suddenly rang out.
"Or perhaps I shouldn't have expressed my opinion."
The previously silent Injustice Superman suddenly raised his hand, like a student asking a question in class. Clearly, while he said that, his behavior indicated he hadn't been able to resist the urge to lecture.
Everyone looked at him.
He faced the sunlight streaming in, his tone calm yet carrying a chilling coldness.
"Here's the simplest and most direct advice: mobilize your resources, locate and destroy all major submarine fiber optic cables, and sever all submarine energy channels and shipping routes."
"Once the people of land lose access to the global internet, instant communication, a stable energy supply, and transoceanic trade, 90 percent of humanity's industrial power will be instantly paralyzed. They will no longer have any 'extra' time or resources to argue, to bicker, or to dump pollutants they themselves dare not handle onto the seabed."
Injustice Superman paused, noticing the sudden change in everyone's expressions, and continued, "Survival will become humanity's sole objective. For survival..."
Life will find itself – a new beginning.
His move was undeniably ruthless.
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire ruins fell into a deathly silence. Everyone stared at this Superman from a parallel universe with an extremely complex expression.
Everyone realized the difference between Injustice Superman and Clark Kent.
This is the mindset of an iron-fisted ruler—efficient, direct, and reckless, willing to destroy the entire system that caused the problem in order to "solve" it.
Behind Batman's white-rimmed glasses, his gaze was sharp as a knife, as if trying to dissect him completely. Clark's brows furrowed tightly, his eyes filled with disapproval. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman and Mera sensed a kind of wariness stemming from ancient memories—a wariness of absolute power and ruthlessness.
Injustice Superman met their gazes, simply shrugged indifferently, as if it were nothing more than a casual suggestion about what to eat for dinner.
"It's just a suggestion."
He spoke softly, then lowered his head, resuming his silent, "it's none of my business" demeanor, as if the one who had just proposed the shocking plan was someone else entirely.
at the same time.
Ian and Black Adam are still blowing bubbles.
The main reason was Ian's consciousness intrusion, which brought a considerable burden to both himself and Black Adam. It wasn't just about gaining experience points; neither Ian nor Black Adam had anticipated what would happen.
At the beginning.
Things are progressing normally.
Ian's consciousness was like a slippery fish, freely traversing the vast and turbulent sea of memories of Black Adam. He swept past the ancient temple of Kahndaq, witnessing the bestowal of Shazam's power. He felt the pain of patricide and a thousand years of imprisonment, and also experienced the impact of modern society on Black Adam and his own desire for revenge.
Ultimately, Ian was drawn by a deeper, thicker dark force, and continued to descend until he sank to the very bottom of his consciousness.
That place was no longer a specific fragment of memory, but a chaotic, porcelain-like realm polluted by the will of the countryside. Suddenly, an irresistible suction force came.
Ian felt his consciousness being suddenly pulled in! When he returned to normal, he found himself not floating in the virtual space, but actually standing on a street.
The streets were lined with A-shaped, katakana-style buildings, wooden signs with illegible Japanese characters, and bustling pedestrians dressed in various styles of clothing.
A cacophony of excited chatter filled my ears.
The air was filled with the mixed smell of takoyaki and gasoline.
What happened?
Ian instinctively pinched his cheek.
"Echoes of the past? Illusions formed from fragments of memories? Or the alluring afterimages created by that cosmic force?" He hadn't expected that deep within the consciousness of Wu Black Adam, this ancient rough man, lay such a lifelike and seemingly normal scene. This was completely different from the evil lair and dark porcelain palace he had envisioned.
As Ian cautiously looked around, trying to find a flaw in the illusion, a little boy who looked about seven or eight years old, carrying a huge, strange egg, ran up to him.
The other person looked up at him with expectant eyes and uttered a shockingly bold statement.
"Big brother, are you still a virgin?"
That's why people find Japanese so annoying.
"?????"
Ian never expected to be silenced by a child so young. Even with his eccentric and unconventional personality, he was stunned for a moment by this soul-searching question.
"Shut up, if you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all. Whose kid is so rude? Believe me or not, I'll give you eight hundred sets of test papers!" This threat had no effect on Kangben.
The child, caught off guard by the harsh words, shrank back, but tightened his grip on the egg. He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a few coins from his pocket and said cautiously, "I... I'll pay! My egg needs the urine of nine hundred and ninety-nine virgin boys to hatch!"
Please, big brother!
His words didn't sound like something a normal person would say.
"Do I look like someone who needs a few steel bars like yours? And, little brat, let me tell you, although I have an amazing super bladder capacity..."
"But I'm way past the age of playing with poop and pee! Don't bother me with these low-level collection quests!" Ian rolled his eyes; he was almost fifteen.
This is precisely the age when people pay attention to their personal image.
certainly.
Ian's kind upbringing instilled in him a kind nature as well.
"Let me give you a tip. Go to an orphanage and dig up their sewers. You might just find a big prize. High-quality boy's urine with three parts sugar is hard to find on the market without a super bladder." Ian gave a very constructive suggestion. The child didn't listen at all, but still nodded thoughtfully.
Ian's matter-of-fact and righteous demeanor convinced the boy, who felt a sense of awe and respect, and thus began to believe that what this strange older brother said made a lot of sense.
The kid left.
With a wave of his sleeve.
They set off for the orphanage.
"What kind of universe is this? The kind with Pallet Town?" Ian watched the child's retreating figure, unable to discern the bizarre worldview behind the child's attempt to hatch the monster egg. He continued to wander aimlessly through the streets, observing this world that appeared normal to people but was permeated with a sense of incongruity.
Pedestrians, vehicles, shops—everything was lifelike, but he always felt something was off, as if a thin veil was shrouding everything.
Unbeknownst to him, Ian had arrived at a huge square in the center of the city. The square was bustling with people. He subconsciously looked up at the tallest statue in the center of the square—and his expression froze instantly. He opened his mouth wide in shock, and even the urge to complain vanished for a moment.
The statue stood tall and imposing, its material not ordinary stone or metal, but a special substance that seemed to condense endless darkness and emitted an ominous glow.
The statue is a huge, ferocious, and strangely beautiful giant!
It possessed sharp, claw-like fingers, its chest adorned with twisted, fragmented pieces of a colored timer, and its entire body was covered in sharp protrusions resembling humanoid skeletons. Its facial expression was distorted and ferocious, its mouth gaping open as if mocking and despising the entire universe. It resembled a statue.
Yet it exudes a chilling, almost lifeless sense of oppression.
"No way, no way, no way."
Ian's heart was pounding.
This design, this aura, this overwhelming sense of a villainous boss—he knew it all too well! Even under Ian's gaze, the statue emitted an eerie aura.
"Um?"
Ian felt that the statue's cold, lifeless eyes seemed to have "come alive," and two invisible wills, condensed with the ultimate darkness, were projected onto his retina as if they were tangible. But what he saw before his eyes was a blurry yet inextricably clear, huge, dark giant phantom exuding an aura of Destruction!
The next moment.
A deep, majestic voice, filled with absolute power and dark will, seemed to transcend endless time and space, resounding and exploding directly in the deepest recesses of his mind.
"Only darkness can rule the universe, and I am the embodiment of darkness! The creator of the new Land of Light! King Ultra Belial!" The figure became clearer and clearer.
Ian's consciousness blinked, not out of fear, but out of immense, indescribable excitement. He had long known that Ultraman definitely existed in this world.
As expected.
But this sudden moment.
He finally saw a live Ultraman!
Although Belial is a relatively low-profile Ultraman Belial, he is still considered a popular NPC, so Ultraman definitely has the potential to become Lord Ian's human form.
Who said the new Land of Light?