Viltrumite, Is Your Chat Group Claiming to Be the Strongest in the World Fake?

Leon spread his arms and dove through the clouds, trailing wisps of white before vanishing into the brightly lit city.

A sudden gust of wind swept up beside a newsstand, and the window of an empty house flew open.

When he reappeared, Leon was sitting on a rooftop, holding a warm sandwich in one hand, with several stacks of newspapers beside him.

He had checked a clock earlier. Midnight. It seemed the task's remaining time was based on time in the United States.

He had also calculated the required average speed. It was enough to provide a proper workout.

And it had thoughtfully required only the distance between Earth and the Moon. Otherwise, if Leon really flew back and forth to the Moon, even the Earth's surveillance systems would eventually notice him.

It seemed this chat group was genuinely trying to encourage its members to grow stronger.

Which worked out perfectly. One reason Leon had stood out among newborns was because he possessed an awareness of training.

But Viltrumites had no such thing.

Or rather, to them, the best—and only—way to train was through combat.

What? You say there's a safe way to grow stronger?

Then you're resisting combat, poisoning the Empire with the venom of cowardice. Traitor! Take my hand chop!

Even when Leon had been caught by an instructor, he had only managed to fool him with talk of simulated combat and a productive sparring session.

"I hope the system's scientific planning can help me get twice the results with half the effort."

Leon took a bite of his sandwich and began flipping through the newspapers.

An Earth with superheroes was naturally full of disasters, so newspapers basically had dedicated sections for them.

He had no intention of obeying Nolan's order not to use his abilities, but he also did not plan to expose himself too early.

So, he needed to understand how the local heroes performed, so he would not stand out too much.

Fortunately, there were plenty of heroes here who relied purely on physical stats, and flight was an extremely common ability.

Take the Global Guardians, for example. Aside from Red Rush, a parody of Flash, and Darkwing, a parody of Batman, they could all fly.

Suddenly, Leon's ears caught the sound of a gunshot.

His figure flashed, leaving only newspapers tossed into the air behind him.

The next second, he arrived at the scene.

A pitch-black alley. An armed robber. Fallen parents. A child standing alone.

And yes, pearls scattered and rolling across the ground.

Good heavens, what could possibly have happened here? So hard to guess.

Leon floated silently behind the flustered robber, not expecting to witness such a famous scene the moment he arrived.

Unfortunately, he could hear the man and woman's hearts beating. They had probably only fainted from the pain.

"I'm sorry, kid, but it looks like you won't get the chance to become a hero."

He spoke lazily.

The sound terrified the robber. He had just begun to turn and fire when Leon grabbed the back of his head.

The two vanished. In the narrow alley, wind scraped against the walls like blades. When it finally died down, only Leon returned.

By then, he had taken off his Viltrumite uniform and changed into the robber's clothes.

Ignoring the red-and-white viscous matter smeared across his cheek, he extended a hand toward the child, who had realized what was happening and now had shining eyes.

"Come on. Let me take you and your parents to the hospital."

The transport went smoothly. Even amid the most extreme slaughter, Leon had picked up some experience in dealing with fragile creatures.

After placing the couple on the gurney pushed over by a nurse, Leon prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, the child behind him tugged on his sleeve.

"Mister, are you a new hero? I've never seen you in the newspapers."

"Heh, of course not. Just think of me as a passing mercenary."

Leon waved his hand.

His experience saving people could not possibly have come from somewhere so dark.

Besides, he had already taken the pearls on the ground and the couple's money as payment. It was a perfectly fair transaction.

He pulled his sleeve free from the child's hand and used the droning ambulance as cover to reach the rooftop.

At that moment, time stopped once more. After a piercing alarm, a screen popped up.

[Emergency Mission—Group Member Amiya's life is under threat]

[A group of thugs attacked the convoy carrying Amiya's family. The ruins caused by the explosion have buried them, and Amiya's life is in grave danger]

[Mission Requirement: Amiya survives. Available Group Members: 0/1]

[Mission Reward: 1,000 points. Participating group members may receive a special reward from that world]

Then came a call from the group chat.

[Spicy Donkey Head: @Viltrumite Honor Student Mr. Leon, please save my mom and dad!!!]

First Come, First Served, My Friend

Time rewound a little.

Rim Billiton. A transport convoy traveled through the wasteland, its treads kicking up clouds of dust.

Inside one of the RVs, Amiya sat on her bed, fiddling with the chat group system.

Sometimes she frowned, sometimes she giggled. Her soft pink toes curled and relaxed with her emotions.

Today was a very special day for her.

For the first time, her parents had allowed her to travel with the convoy, and she had also encountered this wonderful chat group.

The embarrassment from before was still fresh in her mind, but now Amiya had redeemed herself and learned many of its functions.

Real-time chat, screenshots... she was having a wonderful time.

It was just that the group members all seemed rather busy. Nearly half a day had passed since the group was created, yet nobody had spoken.

[@Viltrumite Honor Student]

Amiya typed the words again and again, then deleted them again and again. She wanted to start a conversation, but she was simply too shy.

"But strongest in the world... what does that even mean?"

The girl lay down on her bed, her rabbit ears twitching in confusion.

Could it really mean being a pastry chef? Dad had tried my baking last time, and he praised it so much.

Or perhaps—

Amiya looked toward a corner of the room, where a birthday present from her mother rested.

A violin.

Mom said she would keep teaching me whenever we found time during the journey. Maybe I'll become the strongest violinist in the world someday?

Thinking of the Leithanien musicians from her books, she felt a little wistful.

A child's imagination ran wild. Countless dreams alternated in Amiya's mind before freezing on one image.

It was an infected child she had seen when they passed through a settlement earlier.

Growing black stones, dust drifting through the air, hollow eyes, weak howls.

Amiya could tell the other child was about her age. If Oripathy could be cured...

"Amiya~ Time to eat~"

Her parents' call interrupted the girl's thoughts.

Her nose twitched, and her gaze immediately locked onto the carrot pie her mother was carrying.

She hopped into her slippers, preparing to take the plate as she did every day.

Suddenly, her father glanced out the window. For some reason, his eyes widened sharply. He immediately grabbed his wife and ran toward Amiya with her.

A violent tremor followed, hurling all three of them hard against the wall.

Amiya looked toward her parents, but she could only see their lips moving.

The explosion drowned out all sound. Flames burst through the window, and then white light completely swallowed her consciousness.

When she woke again, Amiya was already buried in ruins made of twisted steel fragments, with a beam of light shining through a crack.

Beneath that light, a white-haired woman reached out her hand toward her.

"Child, open your eyes!"

Amiya instinctively reached back, but she could not muster any strength.

Today was a very special day for her.

Her fate had taken a sharp turn, and she had also happened upon another choice that could save her.

[Emergency Mission—Group Member Amiya's life is under threat]

Time froze, and Amiya's consciousness fully awoke.

She quickly found the reassuring name and tapped send.

[Spicy Donkey Head: @Viltrumite Honor Student Mr. Leon, please save my mom and dad!!!]

[Kansas Farm Boy: Kid, are you okay?]

[West China Tiger: What happened?]

[Viltrumite Honor Student: Tell me.]

Amiya anxiously scanned the group messages and only continued typing when she saw Leon's reply.

However, everything had happened too suddenly. In her panic, she could not provide the group members with any useful information.

This continued until Leon activated video chat.

He saw Amiya, weak and helpless.

And Amiya saw Leon, a young man of mixed Asian and European heritage, with defined features and refined brows and eyes.

He slowly said,

"Little bunny, I know you're scared right now, but think about it. Time is completely frozen here.

"No matter how bad things are, even if going there in person can't solve it, we have enough time to find a solution in our own worlds.

"So calm down, okay?"

"...Okay."

The girl nodded weakly.

Was this what one of the strongest-in-the-world candidates was like?

Once she calmed down, Amiya quickly explained a great deal of information.

Including where her parents had been before she lost consciousness, as well as her own rough judgment of the attackers based on things she had heard.

Meanwhile, Clark pressed his lips together in front of his screen.

Although he had long learned of his origins from his adoptive parents, he still hesitated to use his powers.

The looks his classmates gave him after he saved that school bus from the accident were still vivid in his mind. They had looked at him like he was a freak.

But then he remembered what his adoptive father, Jonathan Kent, had once told him.

"Clark, you only need to decide what kind of person you want to be. Because no matter what, whether you become a good person or a bad one, you will change this world."

Clark wanted to become someone like his adoptive parents—kind, brave, and warmhearted.

Then there was no reason to hesitate!

Just as he typed the first word, another group member had already spoken first.

[West China Tiger: I can go.]