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Chapter 291: The Thunderous Buffoon
"This is the history of Kryptonian technology and the foundations of crystal-based technology."
"This is the basic introduction to Kryptonian technology."
"This is an integration of knowledge from twenty-eight galaxies, sourced from a Kryptonian spaceship's database—the introductory volume compiled by Kara."
Orin Vale spoke eloquently, dragging a bunch of complex interfaces in front of Stryker, the Kryptonian orange cat. The cat lay on the lab bench, blinking his small, dazed eyes. He looked at the circle of interfaces floating before him, then back at Orin Vale, his gaze weak, pitiful, and helpless.
It was as if to say, *I'm just a cat, why are you doing this to me?*
"These are treasures from your homeworld. As a survivor, don't you have an obligation to learn and pass them on?" Orin Vale coaxed.
"Meow..."
Stryker's cat ears drooped.
He kind of wanted to say he didn't think so, but he didn't have the courage to say it out loud. So, he could only extend a small paw, drag over a floating interface, and obediently start reading.
Even Kara, watching from the side, was momentarily at a loss for words.
A world-famous painting: an orange cat conducting scientific research.
At the same time, this gave Kara, who had been slacking off for two days, a sense of urgency. Although Stryker was a cat, he was, after all, a cat with a super-brain. What if she slacked off too much and was surpassed by a cat? Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?
Embarrassment was a minor issue. The real problem would be if Mr. Orin thought she was inferior to a cat and kicked her out of the laboratory, giving her spot to the cat.
That wouldn't do. She really had to hit the books for the next couple of days.
Watching the Kryptonian duo—one person, one cat—obediently move away from the game console to start studying seriously, Orin Vale nodded in satisfaction. He felt that he had maintained the positive and scholarly atmosphere of his shop. So, he returned to the laboratory to resume his preparations.
"Sir, I've found some interesting content on social media. I believe you'll be interested," said Pal.
"Social media?"
Orin Vale was a bit puzzled, but he still took the screen Pal handed him. Swiping it open, a flashy headline immediately caught his eye.
"Come and see Philadelphia's wonder, the Lightning Team Captain!"
Orin Vale: "?"
What the hell kind of name was Lightning Team Captain?
He clicked on it and was greeted by the sight of a muscular man in a flashy costume. With pectoral muscles that looked like they were about to burst out from the lightning bolt on his chest, the six-foot-three-inch-tall man wore a goofy, exaggerated expression on his face.
Orin Vale was stunned.
Wasn't this the chosen successor of the Old Wizard's power of the Six Gods, the Thunderous Buffoon... no, wait, wasn't it Shazam?
Could it be that the Old Wizard had finally made up his mind and chosen a successor?
Shazam was quite formidable on DC Earth. His attributes were on par with Superman in every aspect, he had extremely high magic resistance due to the source of his powers, and theoretically, he was a top-tier mage proficient in all sorts of magic spells—though, just like the Wisdom of Solomon, this skill was rarely used.
His main displays of magic were usually just conjuring some thunder, firing off some lightning, and that one time he joined the Justice League and materialized a ping-pong table out of thin air in the Watchtower.
And yet, this powerful guardian, renowned in the mystical world, possessor of divine power comparable to Superman's and top-tier magic power, the protector of the Rock of Eternity...
...was currently performing the "break a boulder on your chest" trick in a video.
Oh, and also performing a hundred-meter high jump, the "human torch" trick, and using his electrical discharge ability to play electronic music...
And what's more, the video's click-through rate wasn't low at all. He had even become an internet celebrity, making headlines in all of Philadelphia's major media outlets.
Orin Vale: "..."
Yep, identification confirmed. It was the Thunderous Buffoon himself, no doubt about it.
However, he still remembered a certain wizard vowing that he would rather die and let his magic power rot in his coffin than ever give it to a wet-behind-the-ears little brat.
Orin Vale thought for a moment, then went to the kitchen to find the Old Wizard.
The Old Wizard was humming a little tune as he continued his daily cooking routine, tossing all sorts of unidentifiable things into a poor, unfortunate pot.
Orin Vale sidled up to him. "Did someone find a successor?"
The Old Wizard raised an eyebrow, giving him a surprised look.
Then the old man folded his arms and shook his head repeatedly. "No, absolutely not."
He was probably refusing to admit it because of his vow to never pass on the divine power to a little brat.
"Oh, is that so."
Orin Vale nodded and casually flipped the screen around to play the video for him.
"Then I guess this has nothing to do with your divine power."
The old man narrowed his eyes, staring intently for a long while at the Thunderous Buffoon in the video who was breaking boulders on his chest and playing electronic music with lightning.
Then his eyes shot wide open, and his beard flew up in indignation.
"H-h-h-he took the supreme great power of the Guardian of the Current Reality, the defender of Magic, and used it to make short videos?"
"The traffic is pretty good," Orin Vale said with a straight face. "I think this kid has a bright future. Senior, your judgment is truly extraordinary."
"This'll be the death of me! The death of me!"
The old man threw the pot aside.
"This won't do. I have to go talk to him."
As he spoke, he fell over and lay down stiff as a board on the kitchen floor.
Orin Vale: "?"
After staring at him strangely for two seconds, Orin Vale couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
"I'm visiting him in a dream," the old man said sullenly.
Orin Vale: "..."
Without further disturbing the Old Wizard's dream-visitation, Orin Vale returned to the laboratory.
Just then, the news was broadcasting another story about the Justice League. It said that a military biological weapons expert named Samuel Stride had been infected by some kind of spore and lost control, turning into a monster that multiplied at hyper-speed. The military and A.R.G.U.S. were beaten soundly and were unable to clean up the mess, but fortunately, the Justice League arrived in time to bring the situation under control and resolve the monster crisis.
After that, there was a genius inventor named Winnster who built a giant robot and declared a challenge to the Justice League. This guy, codenamed Toyman, was one of Superman's major villains. However, the Justice League took action and dismantled his toy within a minute, throwing him into prison.
It was clear that the Justice League was quite busy these days, and the whole world was focused on them. So far, all their operations had been flawless. Any opponent that seemed overwhelmingly powerful to others would immediately be brought under control the moment they intervened.
Furthermore, they only did the work and rarely communicated formally with the public. This made The League's image seem even more mysterious and grand in people's imaginations.
Orin Vale found this to be a very interesting phenomenon.
Just as few people in the Ultraman Universe would ever imagine that Ultraman exists in human form outside of his three-minute appearances, it seemed people were unwilling to imagine that the members of the Justice League had their own separate lives outside of saving the world.
"The radar calibration and deployment on Brainiac's mothership are complete. We have currently marked energy reactions similar to the fear spectrum at multiple locations in the galaxy."
Pal said.
"Shall we take action, sir?"
"Of course. We can't let a big golden crawler slowly hatch a plan to take us out, can we?"
Orin Vale rose from his seat.
"Let's go and see what the situation is."
(end of chapter)
"This is the history of Kryptonian technology and the foundations of crystal-based technology."
"This is the basic introduction to Kryptonian technology."
"This is an integration of knowledge from twenty-eight galaxies, sourced from a Kryptonian spaceship's database—the introductory volume compiled by Kara."
Orin Vale spoke eloquently, dragging a bunch of complex interfaces in front of Stryker, the Kryptonian orange cat. The cat lay on the lab bench, blinking his small, dazed eyes. He looked at the circle of interfaces floating before him, then back at Orin Vale, his gaze weak, pitiful, and helpless.
It was as if to say, *I'm just a cat, why are you doing this to me?*
"These are treasures from your homeworld. As a survivor, don't you have an obligation to learn and pass them on?" Orin Vale coaxed.
"Meow..."
Stryker's cat ears drooped.
He kind of wanted to say he didn't think so, but he didn't have the courage to say it out loud. So, he could only extend a small paw, drag over a floating interface, and obediently start reading.
Even Kara, watching from the side, was momentarily at a loss for words.
A world-famous painting: an orange cat conducting scientific research.
At the same time, this gave Kara, who had been slacking off for two days, a sense of urgency. Although Stryker was a cat, he was, after all, a cat with a super-brain. What if she slacked off too much and was surpassed by a cat? Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?
Embarrassment was a minor issue. The real problem would be if Mr. Orin thought she was inferior to a cat and kicked her out of the laboratory, giving her spot to the cat.
That wouldn't do. She really had to hit the books for the next couple of days.
Watching the Kryptonian duo—one person, one cat—obediently move away from the game console to start studying seriously, Orin Vale nodded in satisfaction. He felt that he had maintained the positive and scholarly atmosphere of his shop. So, he returned to the laboratory to resume his preparations.
"Sir, I've found some interesting content on social media. I believe you'll be interested," said Pal.
"Social media?"
Orin Vale was a bit puzzled, but he still took the screen Pal handed him. Swiping it open, a flashy headline immediately caught his eye.
"Come and see Philadelphia's wonder, the Lightning Team Captain!"
Orin Vale: "?"
What the hell kind of name was Lightning Team Captain?
He clicked on it and was greeted by the sight of a muscular man in a flashy costume. With pectoral muscles that looked like they were about to burst out from the lightning bolt on his chest, the six-foot-three-inch-tall man wore a goofy, exaggerated expression on his face.
Orin Vale was stunned.
Wasn't this the chosen successor of the Old Wizard's power of the Six Gods, the Thunderous Buffoon... no, wait, wasn't it Shazam?
Could it be that the Old Wizard had finally made up his mind and chosen a successor?
Shazam was quite formidable on DC Earth. His attributes were on par with Superman in every aspect, he had extremely high magic resistance due to the source of his powers, and theoretically, he was a top-tier mage proficient in all sorts of magic spells—though, just like the Wisdom of Solomon, this skill was rarely used.
His main displays of magic were usually just conjuring some thunder, firing off some lightning, and that one time he joined the Justice League and materialized a ping-pong table out of thin air in the Watchtower.
And yet, this powerful guardian, renowned in the mystical world, possessor of divine power comparable to Superman's and top-tier magic power, the protector of the Rock of Eternity...
...was currently performing the "break a boulder on your chest" trick in a video.
Oh, and also performing a hundred-meter high jump, the "human torch" trick, and using his electrical discharge ability to play electronic music...
And what's more, the video's click-through rate wasn't low at all. He had even become an internet celebrity, making headlines in all of Philadelphia's major media outlets.
Orin Vale: "..."
Yep, identification confirmed. It was the Thunderous Buffoon himself, no doubt about it.
However, he still remembered a certain wizard vowing that he would rather die and let his magic power rot in his coffin than ever give it to a wet-behind-the-ears little brat.
Orin Vale thought for a moment, then went to the kitchen to find the Old Wizard.
The Old Wizard was humming a little tune as he continued his daily cooking routine, tossing all sorts of unidentifiable things into a poor, unfortunate pot.
Orin Vale sidled up to him. "Did someone find a successor?"
The Old Wizard raised an eyebrow, giving him a surprised look.
Then the old man folded his arms and shook his head repeatedly. "No, absolutely not."
He was probably refusing to admit it because of his vow to never pass on the divine power to a little brat.
"Oh, is that so."
Orin Vale nodded and casually flipped the screen around to play the video for him.
"Then I guess this has nothing to do with your divine power."
The old man narrowed his eyes, staring intently for a long while at the Thunderous Buffoon in the video who was breaking boulders on his chest and playing electronic music with lightning.
Then his eyes shot wide open, and his beard flew up in indignation.
"H-h-h-he took the supreme great power of the Guardian of the Current Reality, the defender of Magic, and used it to make short videos?"
"The traffic is pretty good," Orin Vale said with a straight face. "I think this kid has a bright future. Senior, your judgment is truly extraordinary."
"This'll be the death of me! The death of me!"
The old man threw the pot aside.
"This won't do. I have to go talk to him."
As he spoke, he fell over and lay down stiff as a board on the kitchen floor.
Orin Vale: "?"
After staring at him strangely for two seconds, Orin Vale couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
"I'm visiting him in a dream," the old man said sullenly.
Orin Vale: "..."
Without further disturbing the Old Wizard's dream-visitation, Orin Vale returned to the laboratory.
Just then, the news was broadcasting another story about the Justice League. It said that a military biological weapons expert named Samuel Stride had been infected by some kind of spore and lost control, turning into a monster that multiplied at hyper-speed. The military and A.R.G.U.S. were beaten soundly and were unable to clean up the mess, but fortunately, the Justice League arrived in time to bring the situation under control and resolve the monster crisis.
After that, there was a genius inventor named Winnster who built a giant robot and declared a challenge to the Justice League. This guy, codenamed Toyman, was one of Superman's major villains. However, the Justice League took action and dismantled his toy within a minute, throwing him into prison.
It was clear that the Justice League was quite busy these days, and the whole world was focused on them. So far, all their operations had been flawless. Any opponent that seemed overwhelmingly powerful to others would immediately be brought under control the moment they intervened.
Furthermore, they only did the work and rarely communicated formally with the public. This made The League's image seem even more mysterious and grand in people's imaginations.
Orin Vale found this to be a very interesting phenomenon.
Just as few people in the Ultraman Universe would ever imagine that Ultraman exists in human form outside of his three-minute appearances, it seemed people were unwilling to imagine that the members of the Justice League had their own separate lives outside of saving the world.
"The radar calibration and deployment on Brainiac's mothership are complete. We have currently marked energy reactions similar to the fear spectrum at multiple locations in the galaxy."
Pal said.
"Shall we take action, sir?"
"Of course. We can't let a big golden crawler slowly hatch a plan to take us out, can we?"
Orin Vale rose from his seat.
"Let's go and see what the situation is."
(end of chapter)
