Don't Actually Think You're His Dad

John leaned his little head closer curiously, staring at the glowing screen.

The video began playing. It was somewhat blurry surveillance footage of a bustling street.

Suddenly, several people dressed as onmyōji started fighting in the street. Multicolored light flew everywhere, ordinary people around them scattered in panic, and the street was smashed full of craters.

"Look at these people."

Lynn pointed at the onmyōji casually destroying buildings on the screen. "They have great power, but they're fighting on a street full of ordinary people, without caring at all whether they hurt anyone. Do you think they're good people or bad people?"

John stared at the rubble flying everywhere on the screen, his expression gradually darkening.

"They're bad people."

The little boy's voice was flat, yet carried a chilling coldness. "They create chaos. They don't protect the weak."

Lynn nodded and reached out to turn off the video.

"That's right. This world needs order, and order needs someone to uphold it."

He looked into John's increasingly deep eyes, silently thinking that he had finally planted this seed firmly.

After tidying up the things on the meal cart, Lynn slowly pushed it toward the door.

"Think carefully about what you just saw. I'll go get you some afternoon tea."

Lynn pushed the meal cart down the almost dazzlingly bright metal corridor, casually flipping over the ID badge on his chest.

An intermediate researcher's clearance was indeed much more useful than his previous clearance.

The most obvious difference was that he could now swipe his card to enter Sector B's central lounge.

He pushed open the lounge's glass door. The aroma of freshly ground coffee beans drifted through the room, mingled with the scent of some expensive home fragrance.

Several colleagues in white coats were gathered in little groups, chatting in lowered voices.

Compared with the lifeless atmosphere the low-level researchers faced every day, gossip was noticeably more prevalent here.

"Did you hear? There's trouble in San Francisco again."

A young researcher wearing black-rimmed glasses was gesturing animatedly to his companions. "Apparently, a few ronin who were smuggled in from Japan fought some local gang over territory. They even unleashed blade energy and shattered every window along an entire shopping street."

"How's the company's PR department going to spin this one?"

A middle-aged man with a bald crown beside him shook his head, holding a coffee cup. "They can't say it was another gas pipeline explosion, can they?"

"How else? Pay the media to keep their mouths shut."

"I heard the higher-ups are already pressuring those superheroes to hurry up and make an appearance, take a few pictures in costume to reassure the public."

Lynn walked over to the self-service counter, picked out an appetizing-looking slice of Black Forest cake, and poured himself a cup of black tea.

He pricked up his ears as he listened to his colleagues' complaints, gaining a fresh understanding of just how bizarre this world was.

It seemed Vought International wasn't having an easy time of it either.

Those superpowered beings flying all over the world didn't take ordinary people's rules seriously at all, while the superhuman heroes Vought took such pride in seemed rather like an amateur outfit that could only pose for photos when compared with true experts.

No wonder Director Madelyn was so eager to put John, her ultimate weapon, to use as soon as possible.

"Lynn?"

Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Lynn turned around and saw Dr. Sarah.

For once, she wasn't busy in the medical room today. She held a can of sugar-free soda, and the dark circles under her eyes seemed even worse than yesterday.

"I heard you got promoted."

Sarah looked him up and down, a teasing note in her voice. "How does it feel to climb the ladder on Bob's three severed fingers?"

Lynn swallowed the cake in his mouth and smiled helplessly. "Dr. Sarah, please stop teasing me. That job's a hot potato. Do you think an intermediate researcher's allowance comes free? I'm walking a tightrope every day now, afraid he might suddenly get the urge to crack my head like a walnut too."

"Good thing you know. That kid hasn't caused any trouble today, has he?"

"He's been perfectly quiet. He even ate a whole steak just now."

Lynn picked up his black tea and took a sip. "I'm trying to teach him some common knowledge about the outside world. We can't keep him locked in a box and raise him to be an idiot forever."

Sarah sighed and leaned against the edge of the counter. "No matter how you teach him, he's not a normal human at his core. You'd better keep that in mind. Don't actually think you're his dad."

As the two of them chatted, the television mounted on the lounge wall suddenly cut to breaking news.

Thick smoke billowed across the screen as a commercial building dozens of stories tall collapsed.

Several blurry black figures collided rapidly in midair, each clash accompanied by a shock wave visible to the naked eye.

The news anchor's voice trembled noticeably as they read out some unconfirmed report of a terrorist attack.

The conversation in the lounge instantly died away. Everyone stared at the screen, their faces pale.

Lynn narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched the footage on television.

That definitely wasn't some ordinary superhero fighting crime. With that kind of destructive power, it looked more like two out-of-control monsters demolishing buildings.

He stuffed the remaining cake into his mouth in a few bites, picked up his cup of black tea, and turned to leave.

"Not watching anymore?" Sarah asked behind him.

"There's nothing worth watching. Just a bunch of messes."

Lynn waved without looking back. "I've got to go check on my little handful. The more chaotic things get outside, the more closely I need to watch how his values develop."

Back at the sterile room's entrance, Lynn swiped his card to open the airlock door.

Inside, John wasn't playing with his blocks.

He stood before the one-way bulletproof glass, his little hands pressed against its surface, looking at something Lynn couldn't identify.

Hearing the door open, he turned his head, the room's pure white light reflected in his azure eyes.

"Lynn." The little boy's voice was calm. "Is everyone in the outside world bad?"

Lynn walked over to him and followed his gaze outside.

Beyond the glass was an empty corridor. There was nothing there.

But he knew John's hearing far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Perhaps he had heard the news in the lounge, or perhaps he had heard the hidden panic and whispers throughout the underground base.

"Not everyone."

Lynn sat down on the floor and patted the spot beside him, motioning for John to come over. "There are lots of ordinary people out there. They get up early for work every day, buy bread, watch TV, go to the hospital when they're sick, and use umbrellas when it rains. They don't have any power. When danger comes, all they can do is hide in fear."

John walked over and sat beside Lynn.

"What about the people flying around in the sky and knocking buildings down?" John asked.

"They're the people I told you about, the ones who have power but don't follow the rules."

Lynn handed him the black tea. "They don't care whether ordinary people live or die. They only care about whether they win or lose. That's why they're bad people."

John held the warm paper cup and looked down at the reddish-brown liquid inside, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Then when can I go outside?"

John raised his head, a startling persistence in his eyes. "If there are so many bad people breaking the rules outside, why keep me locked up here? I should go punish them. I'll break their legs so they can never knock buildings down again."

This blunt and violent sense of justice gave Lynn a bit of a headache, but at the same time, he felt it was far better than the overgrown baby in the original plot who only wanted to drink milk and kill people.

"You're still too young, John." Lynn reached out and ruffled his blond hair.