A Mysterious Visitor Seeking Help

On the terrace of the Arbitrator Tower, colorful ribbons and neon lights intertwined, and the music was deafening. A champagne tower stood tall in the corner, and Deadpool was trying to catch the liquid sliding down from the top with his tongue when Natasha chopped him on the back of the head.

"Hey! That's my tongue!" Deadpool protested, clutching his head.

"That's public property," Natasha replied expressionlessly.

In the center of the crowd, a huge long table was completely surrounded.

"One more game! No, five games! Ten games!"

The blue-haired man—whose hair had now returned to its normal black—was brandishing a fork, banging it against empty plates. His eyes were strikingly bright, and sauce smeared from his lips; he looked like a homeless man who hadn't eaten for three days who had suddenly wandered into a buffet.

Tony stood to the side, holding a glass of champagne, his expression somewhere between shock and amusement.

"Friday, do we have enough supplies in the kitchen?"

"Boss, he's already eaten the equivalent of three Arbitrators' dinner," the AI butler calmly reported. "And he just asked for 'another cow.'"

Banner pushed up his glasses and muttered under his breath, "This digestive system is illogical..."

Steve stared at the man's profile, his brow furrowed.

"Tony, are you sure he has a relationship with Chen Tian?"

"Ha! Look at how he eats!" Tony exclaimed dramatically. "Even after Chen Tian became skilled in using sword energy, his appetite wasn't much different from his."

As if to confirm his words, the man suddenly raised his head, half a strand of spaghetti still dangling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed intently on the entrance to the terrace—

"Oh, you're back?"

His enthusiastic voice instantly silenced the entire party.

All eyes turned to the doorway.

Chen Tian stood there, followed by Kiana, Dante, Bayonetta, and Saitama. His gaze swept over the crowd and met the man at the table.

The air seemed to freeze for a second.

Then--

Tony rushed over almost instantly.

He placed his hands on Chen Tian's shoulders, his gaze sweeping urgently over his entire body—from his disheveled white hair to his dirty trench coat, and then to the tiny scratches on his knuckles.

"Kid!" Tony's voice suddenly choked up. He pulled Chen Tian into a tight hug. "You're alright...you're alright...that's great."

Chen Tian paused for a moment, then chuckled and hugged Tony back, gently patting his trembling back. "Don't worry, Tony, I'm fine." He deliberately lowered his voice, "I haven't painted your other robots Barbie or Hello Kitty colors yet."

Tony abruptly released him, bursting into laughter with reddened eyes. He grabbed Chen Tian's wrist, turned around, and raised his champagne glass to the entire audience. "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back our hero! Damn it! He saved the Multiverse!"

The champagne Utakata shimmered under the lights. Banner and Yinsen exchanged a smile and simultaneously raised their glasses to Chen Tian.

Banner's glasses reflected a warm light. "It seems we need to redefine the 'law of conservation of energy.'" Yinsen gently tapped the rim of his glass. "What science can't explain, let's call it a miracle."

Steve and Sam stood side by side, needing no words, the two Warriors from different eras saluting each other with the most standard military salute.

Natasha weaved through the crowd, her red hair like flames sweeping across a sea of champagne.

She suddenly reached out and grabbed Chen Tian by the collar, giving him a Russian bear hug before anyone could react. "Next time you try to be tough," she said through gritted teeth in Chen Tian's ear, "I'll freeze you in a liquid nitrogen chamber." As she released him, she quickly wiped her eyes and transformed back into the elegant Black Widow.

2B stood quietly in the shadow cast by Natasha. When Natasha left Chen Tian's embrace, she took half a step forward.

Chen Tian opened his arms, and the artificial girl nestled into his embrace like a bird returning to its nest.

"Welcome back, Master." Her voice was slightly distorted, like a radio finally receiving a signal after a storm. Chen Tian lowered his head and kissed the top of her silver-white hair.

A loud crash of shattering dishes suddenly came from the direction of the dining table. The black-haired man had somehow appeared on a chair, holding half a roasted whole lamb in his hand.

"Chen Tian! Come and eat something delicious!" He laughed as he tore off a leg of lamb. "The food here is so good!"

Chen Tian smiled and said, "Goku, slow down. We don't have much else here," he looked at Tony, "But when it comes to food, Tony can cover both room and board!"

Tony laughed loudly, "That's right! All you can eat! All you can drink!" Then he shouted into the air, "F.R.I.D.A.Y.! Why is Chef Dogdan still serving food?! Our heroes need more food! More desserts!"

"More meat!!!" Goku shouted, holding up a leg of lamb.

The party atmosphere exploded the moment Goku yelled, "More meat!!!"

Kiana grabbed 2B's wrist and rushed towards the dessert area, the artificial girl's skirt fluttering like White Dove.

"Strawberry tart! The three-tiered one!" Kiana's pupils reflected the creamy sheen, and 2B's tactical goggles kept displaying calorie analysis data, but the girl forcibly shut them down. "No calories allowed today!"

Saitama's bald head reflected the neon lights as he silently stood in the empty seat next to Goku.

The two looked at each other and could both feel each other's power.

"A contest?" Saitama broke off a pair of chopsticks. Goku tossed the last piece of lamb bone onto the empty plate. "When it comes to eating, I won't lose to anyone!"

Bayonetta's red lips brushed against Chen Tian's earlobe. "Darling, I'm going to take a shower. I've prepared some special clothes for you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tian's eyes lit up as he looked at Bayonetta. Bayonetta gave Chen Tian a flirty wink and then sauntered away from the party.

Tony jumped onto the DJ booth, and a robotic arm popped out a holographic turntable. "Friday! Switch to 'Galactic Barbecue March'!"

The sound system shook Stardust off the edge of the terrace, Deadpool, who had somehow gotten his hands on a lamb leg bone that Goku had thrown away, was using it as a microphone to howl "My Heart Will Go On"—in a death metal version.

In the kitchen of the Arbitrator Tower, Chef Dogdan was in a rage. "Raw! Cold! Are you trying to murder a hero?!" He grabbed a steak, still bloody inside, and slammed it against the wall; the meat slid down like a failed experiment. An apprentice stammered, "Stark said he wanted it rare..."

"He's just a rich playboy! Does he even know what cooking is?" Dog Egg roared as he turned to the pastry chef. "Tony wants a cake so sweet it'll give you cavities! Not French dark chocolate! And tell me! Did you stuff strawberries up your ass?!" The piping bag exploded in shock, spraying cream all over the pastry chef's face.

Upon seeing the olives on the pizza, Dog Egg's blood pressure soared. "Who put these olives on it?!"

"Ms. Natasha said she wanted to..."

"God! Please! No! Have you forgotten that old man in red? He almost chopped up my oven last time he saw olives on a pizza!!" The whole pizza flew into the trash can. "If you put olives in it again, I'll roast you all!"

Just then, Tony's voice came through the communicator. "Twenty more steaks..."

"Get lost, Stark!" Dog Egg smashed the communicator and yelled at his men, "Three minutes! Perfect food! Or sleep in the trash can!"

The kitchen instantly transformed into a battlefield, with flames and spatulas flying everywhere.

Hell's Kitchen - Deep in the Alley

The night wind, carrying the stench of rotting garbage and the pungent smell of alcohol, swirled through the narrow alley. Daredevil's baton twirled between his fingers as he slightly bent forward, his ears picking up the other man's heartbeat—steady, slow, like some lurking beast.

"Who are you?" Daredevil's voice was deep, his movements wary. "There is no one like you in Hell's Kitchen."

In the shadows, the tall figure slowly took a step forward. His silhouette appeared even more sinister in the dim light, his cloak draped down like a real bat.

"I'd also like to know who you are, Daredevil?" The man's voice, processed by a voice changer, was deep and hoarse, carrying a mechanical coldness. "A vigilante here?"

Daredevil didn't answer; his senses were fully engaged, trying to discern the other's intentions from his breathing and the subtle twitches of his muscles.

"I'm just like you," the bat-man continued, "A vigilante, dedicated to fighting criminals."

Daredevil's brow furrowed even more. "Why are you looking for me?"

"Because you are the only superhero I can find right now." Batman's voice remained cold, but a hint of weariness lingered. "And, our attitude towards criminals... is the same."

Daredevil tightened his grip on his baton slightly. "What do you mean?"

Batman emerged from the shadows and approached Daredevil.

Daredevil's senses clearly captured every detail of the other person's body—no abnormal heart rate, no mutated muscle tissue, and even the speed of blood flow was no different from that of a normal person.

The only difference was that scarred body, each scar telling a story of countless brushes with death.

"You... you're just an ordinary person?" Daredevil's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Twenty years more training than the average person." The Batman's voice finally shed the mechanical quality of the voice changer, revealing its hoarse and weary natural tone. "Do you know what happens when a superhero goes out of control?"

Daredevil's baton drooped slightly. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Batman looked up at Daredevil, Daredevil could sense the man's exhaustion, yet his unusually resolute spirit.

"I've seen it. They replaced the government and became the rulers of the world, even executing children who steal small things."

"Daredevil, I need your help. My resistance has failed."

"I don't know why I'm in this world, but I'm standing on the edge of a cliff now."

Daredevil didn't know what this guy was trying to say, but he understood—this was the world.

"You're not from this world?"

The bat-man shook his head. "No, in my world, they call me that."

"Batman."

Next chapter preview: "The New World"