Viltrumite, Is Your Mightiest Chat Group Fake?

It felt a bit like playing with a laser pointer with Hakimi back in his previous life—except the roles were reversed.

He still had the soldier in his left hand, while his right had already turned into a blade, an obvious threat.

"To be honest, sir, guns probably won't work on me. You should have them put those away. At your distance, getting hit by a ricochet wouldn't be good."

"That depends on how we choose to see you, Mr. Leon."

Cecil merely glanced at the hand blade before taking a seat on the couch.

He began establishing a psychological advantage.

"Are you a hero who wants to contribute to public safety but lacks experience, or a thug who destroyed a power plant and caused the government massive losses?"

But that slash really had looked cool...

Leon asked, "And if it's the latter?"

Cecil spread his hands. "I wouldn't want it to become that. Our prisons have never held a superhuman who can cut buildings apart with his hands. Besides, Immortal Man put in a good word for you."

"Same here. I've been having a pretty good time here."

Leon nodded in agreement, and the tension eased.

As the uninvited guest, Cecil first raised a hand and had the guns aimed at Leon lowered. Leon then released the soldier's head.

He even brushed the dust off him.

"What should I call you?"

"Cecil, director of the Global Defense Agency."

"Wow, a big shot. Have you had dinner? Want a sandwich?"

Leon turned and continued toward the kitchen.

The soldiers near him all instinctively took a step back. Only after seeing their boss seated on the couch did they restrain themselves from raising their guns.

When Leon had grabbed their colleague just now, they had not even had time to react. And he had the power to smash buildings apart.

Staying within five meters of him was hardly different from taking half a step into heaven.

Cecil looked at the fingerprints that had been forcibly pressed into the soldier's scalp and frowned slightly.

"I was in a rush getting here. I'll take one. No lettuce."

He watched Leon disappear into the kitchen, then adjusted his built-in earpiece.

Behind the earpiece, at Global Defense Agency headquarters, hundreds of screens displayed surveillance results gathered from various angles and devices monitoring Leon.

Likewise, hundreds of people there were working around the clock, analyzing every last detail Leon had shown.

Pupil dilation, heart rate, microexpressions...

Their preliminary conclusion was:

"Sir, so far, the target has shown no signs of lying—if he's human."

"That's not bad..."

Cecil crossed one leg over the other.

They had worked through the night for an entire week before finally pinpointing Leon's location and his connection to Mechanical Head.

In addition, they mixed a chemical into the drinking water that prevented the lighthouse people from seeing certain frequencies of light.

That allowed them to conceal certain things when necessary.

Cecil had tested it just now. Leon had shown no reaction.

Either he was resistant, or he had not been here long.

Soon, Leon returned to the living room carrying two plates of sandwiches.

"Just like you asked, no lettuce, Cecil."

He sat down beside him and picked up his own serving.

"Shall we talk while we eat?"

Being approached like this had naturally been within his expectations.

He had thought it through. He still could not determine how loyal Nolan truly was, but the change was real.

And the chat group's rewards were substantial.

If he got them a few more times, he was confident that, with the Global Guardians' help, he could deal with that old man in his normal state.

Why would he rush off in a panic to find villains, build NP, and use Noble Phantasms just to put on a show?

Only to get caught slipping and come up with a plan afterward?

Viltrumites did not have that kind of quick wit, right?

So everything was going according to plan.

Of the two, Cecil spoke first. "Leon. Leon. We can't find any record of your origins. It's as if you appeared out of thin air.

"I can let that slide, but why did you seek Mechanical Head's help?"

Leon raised a brow. "Cecil, do you have no idea how your own country works?

"If I went through the proper channels, I might get reported as an illegal immigrant and deported by my boss while I was hauling steel coils to save money, all because he didn't want to pay me."

"I doubt any boss would dare do that after seeing you lift a steel coil."

Cecil's sharp eagle eyes locked onto Leon's face, trying to see through him.

"Mechanical Head is a criminal, isn't he? Didn't you say you wanted to do good?"

"So I beat up his underlings and damaged his favorite door. Wasn't what came afterward simply payment for a righteous deed?"

He seemed kind of insane.

But his willingness to operate in gray areas was an advantage in Cecil's eyes.

Heroes Leon's age generally possessed a simple sense of justice.

It gave them passion, but it also made them uncontrollable.

Cecil pondered.

Earth had not been peaceful lately. Things like the trap designed for the Global Guardians all indicated that something major was about to happen.

He needed some new strength...

So Cecil decided to sound him out first. "What do you plan to do next?"

"I'm willing to operate on a contract basis."

Cecil curled his lips. He would have preferred to keep Leon within sight by employing him directly.

"Then perhaps you'll have to prove that we need you."

"The fact that you can sit here and speak to me calmly is the result of that proof. Or is there some building scheduled for demolition that needs me to split it open?"

Viltrumite aggression was taking over.

That made Cecil think of many things.

Nearly twenty years ago, when he had invited Omni-Man, Nolan had possessed the same sort of air.

Back then, he had also used a hand blade to chop that giant monster in half.

Then he had spouted a bunch of nonsense about the "World Improvement Committee."

But Cecil had never seen him use that move again, and after Nolan started a family, Cecil had relaxed his surveillance.

"Fine. I'll formally give you a contract. If you can't complete it, then there'll be nothing more to discuss."

Then, as if mentioning it casually, he added, "Oh, right. Are you an Earthling?"

"No comment."

That was hardly any different from answering.

Cecil met Leon's gaze and saw the deliberate implication in it.

"I'm starting to like you, kid."

Pentagon, training room.

Cecil made an exception and spent five million dollars on teleportation, sending Leon here with him.

To deal with the new situation, he supported expanding the hero teams.

Today was Teen Team's selection day. Beneath the steps, Leon spotted the main members, including Atomic Eve and Robot.

He recorded the process and shared it with the group.

[Viltrumite Honor Student: @All Members, I got myself on the payroll. Time to live off the government.]

[Yellow Weasel, Neither Man nor God: What kind of teleportation is that? Send that over for me to see too.]

[West China Tiger: Is it like a place for sorcerers? Seems like there are more people.]

[Kansas Farm Boy: Looking at their outfits... are the superhumans in your world—I mean, people like superheroes—under official control?]

Clark had taken the bait.

[Viltrumite Honor Student: That's what I've heard. What about your world, Clark? Are there other heroes besides you?]

[Kansas Farm Boy: I haven't had much contact with them, but Lois has looked into a lot of information while writing news stories.

[There's Batman in Gotham City, Kid Flash in Central City, and plenty of other rumors.]

Fuck. It really was the Justice League Universe.

Leon felt that no matter how strong he became now, he would never run out of opponents to fight.

Then Cecil, walking ahead of him, explained, "Teen Team mainly operates in Chicago. You'll run into them eventually."

He did not even turn around.

"I need this newly rebuilt team to work together and be put to use as soon as possible. You can help with that."

Leon swept his gaze over the group.

Today was also the day he was supposed to train with Nolan. Perhaps warming up first would be nice?

My Birth Family

Under Cecil and Leon's watchful eyes, Teen Team's new round of selections came to an end.

Their previous members had been:

Robot, the team's brain, who wielded high-tech weapons.

Atomic Eve, who could control atoms.

Rex Splode, who could make any material he touched explode.

Dupli-Kate, whose outfit resembled Clone Paul's and who possessed the same ability.

This recruitment also added three members: former Global Guardians member Black Samson, who relied on a technological suit of armor after losing his powers;

Shrinking Rae, who could freely shrink herself;

and Monster Girl Amanda, who could transform into a monstrous giant.

"Good afternoon, Cecil. It's an honor to have you here to watch our selections."