A Miracle to Those Who Meet My Gaze

After a comparison, the difference was obvious.

Ian already had his answer.

Compared to the Nightmare World he entered every night, he felt that his own goofy system had the closest relationship with him.

It asked for nothing in return.

There were no missions.

All it did was selflessly contribute.

It silently helped Ian record every bit of his growth—yes, to Ian, experience points were merely records of his own growth. That did not stop him from being moved by the system's selfless record-keeping.

"Why are you not only pale now, but trembling all over?" The female powerhouse tilted her head slightly, her black eyes filled with confusion at Ian's changing expression.

"Low blood sugar. I'm shaking from hunger and urgently need a kind person to feed me." Ian's gaze once again fixed on the Black Sphere in the female powerhouse's hand. He truly wanted to know what he would gain from eating it.

A new class?

Or an explosive amount of experience points?

Once a black pill entered my belly, I would know that my fate was mine, not Heaven's!

The female powerhouse had no intention of granting his wish.

"You can't have this. It needs to be properly dealt with." The female powerhouse lightly tapped the surface of the Black Sphere with her fingertip, and a dark-red nebula immediately churned within it.

"Just let me touch it?"

Ian tried to reason with her.

"I promise I won't put it in my mouth."

His promise did not earn the female powerhouse's trust.

"Your father was right... you really do have pica, don't you?" The female powerhouse pressed her other hand to her forehead. She did not think Ian's "sincere" expression was remotely convincing.

"But it's my trophy." Ian still wanted to argue. He truly could not bear to give up the temptation of [Compatibility Data]—even though he did not know what it was, his super intuition told him it would certainly benefit him greatly.

"Your trophy?" The female powerhouse glanced at Ian, as if she had encountered a life-form bold enough to act like this in front of her for the first time. "I've been watching you the whole time."

"This was clearly your father's trophy." She mercilessly exposed the truth: Ian had some screen time, but not much, and he had not played any decisive role.

"Huh?"

Ian really wanted to say that ordinary NPCs were just like that. No matter how moving things got, he would never be the one to play the decisive role. If anyone was to blame, it could only be the people who had set the main theme for a world like the DC Universe.

"What do you want to say?"

The female powerhouse saw his hesitation.

"But isn't what belongs to my dad also mine? At the very least, I should get one-third. Then I can beg Jonathan and Jordan, and the remaining two-thirds will definitely end up being mine too."

Ian ultimately chose to keep reasoning.

It actually made sense.

The female powerhouse opened her mouth, utterly speechless.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward. After a moment.

"This thing is not a toy, nor is it some source of power... since it has already left the present world, I cannot allow it to return. That would be a plague upon our world." The female powerhouse sighed helplessly and spoke in an extremely weary voice. "Don't worry. Your contribution will not go unrewarded. We will give you a sufficiently generous reward."

"If you want power, we'll give it to you." It had to be said that, aside from being unable to read Ian's mind, the female powerhouse had sharp judgment. She saw why Ian wanted to swallow a fragment from another world.

Therefore, one of the incarnations of the universe's supreme rules made Ian a promise.

"Okay, okay, come on! Show me!" Ian also happened to be someone who knew when to be satisfied. He knew he could always find other fragments later and swallow one before the powerhouses noticed.

Now, he only wanted an undying curse.

"..."

Seeing Ian spread his arms as though he were waiting to receive something, the female powerhouse felt that she had not been rendered speechless this many times in the past thousand years combined.

She stared at Ian for a long while.

When she saw that he had no intention of lowering his hands.

[Death Resistance: You will become completely immune to death for the rest of your life. Even if you become a neutrino, you will not truly die—She might genuinely not want to see you every day.]

Then, after sighing, the female powerhouse pressed a finger to Ian's brow. The Temporary Curse in Ian's status panel completely transformed into a permanent status.

"I can't die now? Does that mean I'm immortal?" Ian became greedy again. His contentment was Schrödinger's contentment—he would only be content when he had no choice but to be.

"Trust me, that would not be a reward. Some rules exist for more than merely restraining people." The female powerhouse shook her head and did not accept Ian's suggestion.

"Fine."

Ian blinked.

He chose to be content again.

In the end, he had gotten what he wanted. The DC Universe finally had its own Deadpool! Ian believed he would definitely be much more popular than the Deadpool from the Marvel Universe!

"This is a small personal reward from me. As for our reward to you, you will feel it in your future life." As she spoke, the female powerhouse seemed about to turn and leave.

Ian did not want to give up this chance to gather information.

"Wait, um... could you tell me about the fused worlds? I don't mean anything by it. I'm just eager to learn. You know, I'm a studious person at school."

Ian's attempt at concealment was not particularly convincing.

At the very least, the female powerhouse did not suspect him.

"Other universes are becoming compatible with ours, but this sort of compatibility is difficult to notice because it is not a brutal invasion. The things within the universe will not sense it at all."

"Everything will operate in a reasonable manner. Even we find it difficult to notice. It is like inks of different colors mixing into clear water—the closer their colors are, the harder they are to distinguish after merging."

There was a hint of heaviness in the female powerhouse's voice.

At that moment, Ian seemed to realize why his world recognition—his so-called status weight—had not increased after becoming a Death Knight Envoy.

The Death Knight, like him, was an outsider who had integrated into this world!

"So, is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Ian cautiously probed. He felt that even with a "legal identity," he still needed to prepare for the worst.

What if.

The powerhouses of the DC Universe were determined to eliminate every foreign element?

"Some are good, and some are bad. The cases that can be discovered are too rare, so even we still cannot determine which are good and which are bad."

"Of course, there will definitely be an impact. Like salt dissolving in water, you cannot see the salt crystals, but the water becomes salty. All we can guarantee is that the world's operation will not be greatly affected."

"After all, in this kind of fusion, all universes seek is survival." The female powerhouse's attitude toward universal fusion sounded rather tolerant.

She—or they—were only especially hostile toward the invasions of those Shattered Universes. It had to be said that this was perhaps very good news for Ian.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?" This powerhouse was clearly different from when Ian had first met her. She was now noticeably patient as she explained things to him.

And there was a reason the female powerhouse was doing this.

"If you discover a similar anomaly, you can tell me. I will always remain in a state of listening to your prayers—I think, little one, you clearly already know who I am."

The female powerhouse gazed into Ian's eyes with deep meaning.

"..."

Ian was clearly feeling guilty.

"How could I possibly discover something even you can't find? I'm only the Son of Superman, and an adopted son at that." He tried to hide his guilt with self-deprecating humor.

The female powerhouse saw through it.

"Yes, adopted son. Perhaps that is why you are special... Kryptonians are nowhere near this special." The female powerhouse's voice was as gentle as a feather brushing past him.

She raised the Black Sphere in her hand again.

As if examining it.

"Because of the rules, we cannot directly touch such things. Your father's first action allowed us to discover it, but figuring out how to force it to reveal itself again became a problem."

"That is why I need someone to assist me... and why I chose you is because I had no other choice." The female powerhouse's words left Ian feeling lost in a fog.

"What does that mean? Help me with the reading comprehension, will you?" Ian blinked, hoping she would not act like the Riddler. The Riddler deserved no good ending once he left Gotham.

"You're asking me? Who should I ask? I'm still waiting for you to discover it yourself and tell me what the reason is." The female powerhouse smiled faintly, as though she was not particularly eager for the answer.

Her figure began to fade.

The Black Sphere in her hand vanished along with her.

"To be able to block my omniscience is itself a miracle. And being able to interact with me like this is certainly not because of the favor of that old man you carry."

Lady Death gradually disappeared.

"I am the incarnation of rules. Not every life has the right to look directly at me and remember me... little one, think carefully. What kind of existence might you be?"

Her final lingering voice left behind only those meaningful words.

Then.

The black and white faded.

The world began operating once more.