Another Universe

"Metropolis!?"

Zhang Ye's eyes widened. A sharp ache quickly struck, and he rubbed them, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing before looking back at the giant screen.

The words on the screen had not changed. It was still that same message of blessing.

Yet those well-wishing words made Zhang Ye feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar. His hands and feet even began to go numb.

In Zhang Ye's memory, there had never been a city called "Metropolis" anywhere in the world. This city was entirely fictional, completely different from New York, where he and Iron Man were, Queens, where Spider-Man lived, and Brooklyn, where Captain America had been born.

Metropolis was a city created from fiction through and through.

And Zhang Ye could only think of one universe that had a city called Metropolis—the one and only DC Multiverse.

Metropolis, known as "the city bathed in light," was a place where all darkness ceased to exist. There was only one reason for that: in the DC Universe, the appearance of Metropolis was often accompanied by another figure, a being with godlike power—Superman.

Unlike other superheroes, Superman's life on Earth was like that of a human living on a planet folded from paper. Any movement he made could destroy that fragile world, so he had to restrain his strength and allow the planet to safely nurture him.

Because of that, there were truly few beings capable of threatening Superman. While other superheroes made the papers for saving the world, Superman could only make the headlines by rescuing cats from high places.

Overall, the DC Universe was not too different from the Marvel Universe. Both were bathed in the glory of heroes.

But that was not nearly so wonderful for Zhang Ye right now. Perhaps in movies and comics, he could happily watch the various events unfolding in this universe, but now that he had come here in person, all he felt was a chill running from head to toe.

No one liked the constant reboots, nor did anyone like this world's terrifying power scaling collapse.

"How... how is this possible? Why did we come to the DC Universe?" Zhang Ye muttered. The unease he had just put aside surged back up, and he abruptly pulled the Time Twister from his pocket.

"Miss Minutes, get us out of here!"

His fingers rapidly tapped the screen as Zhang Ye's composure began to crumble. But this time, the Miss Minutes he remembered did not appear. Instead, a red battery icon appeared on the screen, seemingly indicating that the device was out of power. After the battery symbol flashed twice, it vanished.

"Out of power? How could it..." No matter how Zhang Ye tapped it, the Time Twister's screen remained pitch-black, reflecting his anxious face.

"Zhang, what happened? Did we run into some kind of problem?" Sensing that something was wrong with Zhang Ye, Pietro turned back to look at him.

At that, Zhang Ye stopped what he was doing. He looked at Pietro's worried face, froze for two seconds, then quickly shoved the Time Twister back into his pocket.

The next moment, Zhang Ye smiled.

"It's fine, Pietro. Everything is under control."

Metropolis was located in Delaware on the American East Coast. Its creative inspiration came from New York City and Manhattan. It was a coastal island city, not far from Gotham City, another fictional city.

From the tallest building in Metropolis, one could even look across the sea and see Gotham's harbor. But compared to Metropolis, a city filled with light at every moment, Gotham City was likely its complete opposite.

Pushing Pietro to a relatively rundown motel, Zhang Ye readily took out money from his pocket and paid for three nights. Following the owner's directions, he found their room.

The room was small, with only two narrow beds and nothing else. There was not even a television. Still, judging from the motel's decor, Zhang Ye was not surprised by its poverty-stricken amenities.

Zhang Ye helped Pietro onto a bed and pulled up the blanket over him. Then, instead of sitting down, he said,

"Get some proper sleep here first. It'll help your leg heal faster. I'm going out to gather some information, and I'll bring back something to eat while I'm at it."

"Really? Then... you won't be in danger, right?" Pietro sat up in bed.

"Don't worry. It's safe here." Zhang Ye smiled, then turned and walked toward the door.

"Zhang."

Just as Zhang Ye reached the door and opened it, Pietro suddenly called out to him.

Hearing him, Zhang Ye turned around and looked at Pietro with some confusion. Pietro returned his gaze with a smile.

"Thank you. You kept your promise."

Zhang Ye did not answer. He merely nodded calmly, then walked out and closed the door behind him.

As he left the motel, Zhang Ye pondered matters related to the DC Universe. But the world-ending battles that happened at every turn still made his heart tremble. Heaven knew how Batman had managed to mingle among those monsters.

There was not much money left in his pocket. Though the two universes were from different eras, their currency was the same. Moreover, Zhang Ye's timeline predated this world's era, so the money he had brought over could still be spent.

Zhang Ye truly regretted not taking something valuable from President X's castle. He now had only seven hundred dollars on him. Aside from the powerless Time Twister, the most valuable thing he had left was a gun.

This was what worried Zhang Ye the most. He had no legal identity. For lodging, he could stay at small motels that did not check identification, but if the police stopped him and ran a check, his undocumented status would immediately be exposed.

Beyond that, there was an even more important issue. Zhang Ye desperately wanted to know exactly what universe this was. If it was merely the Prime Universe or an ordinary universe, that would be fine. But if it was some universe he knew nothing about, then his and Pietro's situation would become extremely dangerous.

And to investigate information about this universe, newspapers and the internet were often the most important sources. Just as Zhang Ye had done before, he would simply have to be a Scavenger for a while longer.

With that in mind, Zhang Ye stepped onto the street and headed toward a newsstand.

Suddenly!

A wave of electronic interference swept through the area. Zhang Ye's ears rang briefly, and the next moment, every screen around him went dark.

Not just the giant screens on the skyscrapers—even the phones in passersby's hands beside Zhang Ye went black. The televisions in the street-side display windows did the same, then quickly lit up again before anyone could understand what was happening, filling with static.

Watching this abrupt change unfold, nearly everyone stopped. They stared blankly at the static-filled screens, having no idea what had happened.

Zhang Ye frowned as well. Staring at the screen on the building, he took two steps forward, as though trying to see more clearly.

Soon afterward, crackling electromagnetic noise came from the static-filled screen. Then, a man's face slowly emerged from it. Static still flickered constantly across the display, making his features appear and disappear.

"...I come from a distant planet."

The voice was harsh and grating, but people could understand what he meant.

"...I crossed the stars... and came to this planet."

"...For a long time, your planet sheltered one of my people."

At that sight, Zhang Ye's pupils suddenly contracted.

General Zod!