Viltrumite, Is Your Mightiest Chat Group Fake?

The girl rolled around on her bed, picked up her phone, then put it back down. There were still a few minutes until the agreed time, but she was already getting anxious.

"When are they getting here?"

Meanwhile, outside the Grayson house, Leon arrived by taxi. Since he was staying within Chicago, he had not chosen to fly.

He was looking up at the sky.

"What just flew by?"

He had caught a glimpse of a red dot disappearing into the distance at the edge of the horizon.

With no spare thought to track it down, he began examining the building.

A dark blue roof, white walls, plenty of space, and a neatly maintained lawn and greenery out front.

A typical upper-middle-class home.

Still, he found the place oddly familiar. Was it just his imagination?

A Narrow Escape from Death?

Just as Leon tried to dredge up his memories, Eve and the other two walked over.

"Wow, it's our first time here, and you still got here before us."

She nudged Leon's arm with her elbow.

"Looks like someone's really looking forward to this?"

"Of course I am. This is my first time going to a classmate's house. It would be even better if it weren't for tutoring."

"Ha, you know that's not what I meant. Let's go."

Faced with her friend acting like this, Eve could only spread her hands helplessly.

If you were like this, and Marcia was like this too, then what the hell was there left to talk about?

She had always thought Leon was just shy, yet when she pushed him to take the lead and ring the doorbell, he showed no resistance at all.

Could he really see it that way?

"Ding-dong~"

The instant the doorbell rang, one of the two heartbeats Leon heard suddenly sped up.

Then came hurried footsteps descending the stairs, followed by footsteps already approaching the front door.

The one who opened it was an attractive middle-aged Asian woman.

The moment she saw Leon, her eyes held thirty percent astonishment, thirty percent appreciation, and forty percent just as I thought.

Leon and the three behind him greeted her together.

"Good morning, Mrs. Grayson."

"Oh, Marcia, where did this handsome young man come from?"

She hooked an arm around her daughter, who had just arrived, and smiled meaningfully. Marcia nervously twirled her hair, then shifted into an angle that better showed off her outfit.

Only then did she greet him.

"...Hey! Welcome to my home."

Eve went around Leon and walked into the house as if she knew it well. As she passed Marcia, she smiled.

"Am I the one you're welcoming? I'm guessing not."

Amber came next. She looked Marcia's outfit over and deliberately raised her voice.

"You did what I said. This looks good."

William came last, pumping his fist encouragingly.

"We'll back you up."

Marcia's ears grew redder and redder.

In the end, only Leon and the Grayson mother and daughter remained at the entrance. Leon nodded and was about to follow the others inside.

"Sorry to intrude."

Nolan had indeed reminded him that in Asian families, he needed to be more mindful of manners. They placed a lot of importance on that.

But that was somewhat unnecessary for him.

So was Amber's reminder. His sense of style had not been forcibly warped by Viltrumite education until all he could appreciate were skintight suits and battle skirts.

As he passed Marcia, he added casually,

"Nice outfit."

The girl who had been about to follow froze in place, a blush spreading across her face.

After Leon left, Debbie patted her motionless daughter on the shoulder, then headed for the kitchen.

"I'll go prepare something to eat."

Sometimes, perfect people made others feel too intimidated to approach them. But if such a person also had flaws, and needed your help, that sense of closeness increased dramatically.

At least, that was how Leon was to his friends.

He was dependable in most areas, but he was truly terrible at studying.

Marcia especially remembered one math class, when their Black teacher lost his mind at Leon.

"Look me in the eyes, Leon. Why did you leave Xiao Ming all alone at that distribution center? Do you think he can move all those shipping containers by himself?"

Leon answered proudly,

"Of course, sir. I think that would be effortless."

"Leon, are you trying to tell me you're Immortal Man or Omni-Man?"

"Sir, I think I'd be stronger than both of them."

"Fuck you, Leon."

Moments of humor like that ran through nearly his entire school life. Marcia herself had gotten plenty of amusement out of tutoring him.

Meanwhile, Leon was exchanging advice with two adults in the chat group.

He felt that the next time he saw Nolan, he should at least have something to show for it.

[Yellow Weasel, Neither Man nor God: Getting along with women? Isn't it enough to just stand there? They'll find a way themselves.]

[Kansas Farm Boy: Uh, I've been troubled by that recently too. You know, Lois, she...

But I think just asking for a phone number is pretty easy. That's how I do it when I'm conducting surveys.

Just walk up and ask. It works every time.]

The two stat monsters still thought they had plenty of moves to offer, but they had been no help whatsoever.

When it was time for a break, Leon went downstairs to get some water.

This house also felt familiar, but his brain was already smoking from the exercises and could not spare any more processing power.

Forget it. It probably wasn't anything important.

But as he was heading back, he saw Debbie carrying a heavy box outside.

She swayed as she walked, clearly struggling a little.

"Let me take that, ma'am."

He naturally took it from her and easily slung it over his shoulder.

"Helpful young men like you are rare these days. You must have been raised in a family with excellent discipline."

Oh, it was excellent indeed—personally guided by parents ranked among the top fifty strongest beings in the universe.

Leon walked through the living room with Debbie and entered the backyard.

"My family... was a little strict, but they cared more about my physical health than my studies, so, you know—"

He set the heavy box down where she indicated.

"If I hadn't met Marcia and the others, I wouldn't even know what to do about my grades."

Debbie had taken quite a liking to this honest and polite young man her daughter had taken an interest in.

His temperament was a little like Nolan's. It seemed mother and daughter had similar tastes after all.

"Her father will like you."

"I hope so."

Leon shrugged. It seemed Marcia really had grown up in a warm family.

As for his own...

Apparently, before he had transmigrated, if Thragg had not insisted on taking a look first, the two godlike beings would have been competing to purge weakness from the Empire.

And after the ceremony, while he was being transported to the training facility—

He saw those two things who were supposedly his parents.

They circled Leon, examining him from every angle, then regretfully discovered that he had inherited both of their traits evenly.

Fortunately, they did not extend their competition to gender. They merely burst into laughter in unison.

"Hahaha, the child who punched the Regent. Looks like this brat inherited my courage.

Grow up quickly, little thing. I can't wait to prove that my education is superior."

That instantly made Leon abandon the foolish idea of reaching out his hands in an attempt to awaken parental love in them.

He could only watch as the two began arguing again, rose into the air, and started beating each other up.

Fuck, they were Viltrumites among Viltrumites.

Because of that, the hardest period of Leon's childhood had been spent enduring twice the instructor's training load, plus both parents' fists.

It was hard to imagine finishing training, covered in injuries, and still having to find food for himself.

Then, at that moment, one or two people would descend from the sky in Viltrumite posture and say,

"Let's begin, boy."

Breaking free of his memories, Leon returned to Marcia's room.

Just as he was about to pick up his book, the phone in his pocket rang.

At the same time, Eve's wristwatch also started ringing.

He raised an eyebrow. Half the people who knew his number were already here, and for his phone and Eve's watch to ring at the same time...

Clearly, it was the classic superhero scenario. They had a mission.

I'll Avoid His Edge

Viltrumites had fast reaction speeds.

In the silent room, under Eve's astonished gaze, Leon was the first to explain.

"Uh, Eve and I need to leave for a bit. It's only noon, so we'll be back soon."

Eve, catching on, hurriedly followed up.

"Right, it's about one of our projects. If he's calling, something must have happened."

He immediately grabbed his backpack, climbed over the windowsill, and rolled to the ground. Eve followed right after him.

Leaving the other three in the room utterly confused.

After a long while, William finally muttered,

"Has his physical fitness always been that good? Could he really be a superhero?"

In a corner of the neighborhood.

"Nice to meet you, Atomic Eve."