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Chapter 377 You're Awake
"I don't think I need to remind you that the giant might be one of the most powerful creatures we have ever encountered," Commander Kahn said.
"He has only had two possible appearances, each for just a brief moment. But after evaluating the data we obtained, all our scientists unanimously agree with this conclusion."
"Twice?" Orin Vale asked.
"Oh, you might only know of one instance," Kahn said. "But I'm sure you've heard about it. Not long ago, a giant beast from Apokolips was pressing our lines.
"That defensive line should have been breached, just like in many other cities... until a teleportation vortex suddenly appeared. An energy blast, so powerful we couldn't comprehend it, shot out from the other side, instantly killing the giant beast from Apokolips and causing a series of shocking tremors."
Orin Vale understood. *So it was that time.*
Back then, it looked like something quite dangerous was about to emerge from the quantum tunnel, so just in case, he had blasted it back with a Spacium Ray. He hadn't gotten a clear look at what was on the other side of the tunnel at the time, but now it seemed he had given the people of this otherworld quite an Ultraman shock.
"Yes, after analyzing the trace light reaction remaining on the Gotham battlefield, our chief scientist believes there is a high probability that the Giant of Light was the one who acted at that time."
Kahn tapped the desktop lightly with his knuckles and said solemnly.
"So you should now understand that I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. That Giant of Light is stronger than most metahumans we know of... perhaps even as strong as Superman.
"Whether he is friend or foe, he possesses the ability to influence the outcome of the battle."
Orin Vale remained silent, thinking to himself that if Kahn was talking about this corrupted Superman, he would be no match for him in a fight.
Superman was different from an ordinary Kryptonian. To a normal person, it might seem like every Kryptonian was a god-like being, but that wasn't the case. There are thousands upon thousands of Kryptonians, but there is only one Superman.
On the surface, it might seem that a corrupted version is three times stronger, but Orin Vale knew that Superman's true strength, similar to that of the Ultraman Race, relied on a mind-over-matter power-up to level up without limits, ignoring the rules. A corrupted Superman, whether brainwashed or a counterfeit, obviously lacked this mind-over-matter blessing.
A Superman with a locked upper limit was nothing to be afraid of.
"Why are they all targeting Earth?" Commander Kahn frowned, seemingly unable to figure it out. "I have experts who say that the giant might be here to compete for resources. Perhaps in the invaders' eyes, Earth's fall is already a foregone conclusion, and they are now fighting for control over it. What do you think?"
Orin Vale: "..."
*What do I think? I think you can fire your expert.*
"Or perhaps they've come for the humans," Commander Kahn was still deep in thought. "There are signs that the people of Apokolips have a certain interest in humans, and one theory suggests this is one of the main reasons we've been able to resist for so long.
"The people of Apokolips don't want to exterminate humans because they see the potential hidden in our genes. Is it possible that the Giant of Light has come for the same reason?"
But he shook his head without waiting for a response.
"Then again, it's inherently difficult to fathom the thoughts of a being of that caliber. Perhaps their way of thinking and their perspective are completely different from what we can imagine. Who knows what he truly wants?"
Orin Vale's face was expressionless.
*Actually, that's not necessarily true.*
For example, right now, the so-called "being of that caliber" that Commander Kahn spoke of was currently contemplating whether to have chicken or fish for dinner, and whether it should be steamed or braised...
In the urban area, inside a certain building.
The lights of the entire building had gone out at some point, and Darkness raged along the floors. This wasn't a particularly rare occurrence in this day and age. The infrastructure was no longer what it was in the peaceful days of the past, and power outages and water cuts for various reasons were commonplace.
The young man ran through the dark building, his footsteps echoing on the empty floors, only to be seemingly swallowed by the Darkness.
He ducked into a room and slammed the door shut. After locking it, he quickly found a table and chairs in the room and pushed them against the door to jam it.
Only after doing all this did he stop for a moment, slumping against the door and collapsing, gasping for breath.
His heart pounded like a drum, and he couldn't calm his ragged breathing. An immense Fear seemed to mix with the Darkness, surrounding him. The young man tried to reach out a trembling hand and fumbled for the light switch in the room, but there was no reaction when he pressed it.
It was still pitch black.
The power had been cut. He was ninety percent sure it was the person—or thing—chasing him.
Then he heard footsteps.
Right outside this locked door. One step after another, as if with a certain rhythm, they approached with a dull thud, like the footsteps of the Grim Reaper.
The young man's heart felt like it skipped a beat.
*No, I can't stay here any longer.*
Whatever was chasing him, this door wouldn't stop it. He had to keep running, had to find a way out.
The young man looked around nervously, only to find that he seemed to have no other choice. In his panicked flight, he had trapped himself in a dead end.
*Right, there's the balcony.*
His pursuer must think he's trapped in this room. If he could climb over to the next balcony...
The footsteps sounded like they were getting closer, and Fear drove him to act. He climbed onto the balcony railing, moving forward inch by inch, practically hugging the railing.
He reached the end and tried to extend his hand towards the neighboring balcony's railing.
He couldn't reach it. Just a little further.
If he could just stretch a little further, just a little bit more...
His hand suddenly slipped.
The young man's pupils contracted as the sensation of weightlessness seized his heart. The darkened building rushed past his eyes, the neat rows of windows rapidly leaving his sight.
He felt as if he had become a feather, falling endlessly, with death as his only destination.
For a moment, he thought he was really dead.
Until it felt like someone patted his face.
The young man slowly regained consciousness, his eyelids feeling heavy as he struggled to open them. The sound of a girl's voice, crisp and pleasant, seemed to enter his newly restored hearing.
"Are you sure he's okay?" a girl asked. "When you caught him, you didn't accidentally let his head hit the ground or anything?"
"Of course not, he was still three stories from the ground," another girl said. "Besides, according to the little bit of superpower knowledge Kal taught me, my bio-force field was shared with him when I caught him. He must have just fainted from shock... Ha, what did I tell you? He's awake."
The young man dazedly opened his eyes and saw a stunningly beautiful blonde girl leaning over to look at him in a classic "You're finally awake" pose.
He was afraid she would suddenly say, "Congratulations, you're a girl now."
*Wait a minute, didn't I just fall from a building? Could I be dead...*
At this thought, the still-groggy young man instinctively said, "Are you an angel?"
Karen, who had just saved the young man, was taken aback for a moment. She couldn't help but smile, about to deny it.
However, the young man then caught a glimpse of her astonishingly large Skylight.
The young man gasped, awestruck, and quickly blurted out, "No, an angel couldn't be that big... you must be a succubus!"
Karen (smile suddenly vanishes): "..."
(end of chapter)
"I don't think I need to remind you that the giant might be one of the most powerful creatures we have ever encountered," Commander Kahn said.
"He has only had two possible appearances, each for just a brief moment. But after evaluating the data we obtained, all our scientists unanimously agree with this conclusion."
"Twice?" Orin Vale asked.
"Oh, you might only know of one instance," Kahn said. "But I'm sure you've heard about it. Not long ago, a giant beast from Apokolips was pressing our lines.
"That defensive line should have been breached, just like in many other cities... until a teleportation vortex suddenly appeared. An energy blast, so powerful we couldn't comprehend it, shot out from the other side, instantly killing the giant beast from Apokolips and causing a series of shocking tremors."
Orin Vale understood. *So it was that time.*
Back then, it looked like something quite dangerous was about to emerge from the quantum tunnel, so just in case, he had blasted it back with a Spacium Ray. He hadn't gotten a clear look at what was on the other side of the tunnel at the time, but now it seemed he had given the people of this otherworld quite an Ultraman shock.
"Yes, after analyzing the trace light reaction remaining on the Gotham battlefield, our chief scientist believes there is a high probability that the Giant of Light was the one who acted at that time."
Kahn tapped the desktop lightly with his knuckles and said solemnly.
"So you should now understand that I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. That Giant of Light is stronger than most metahumans we know of... perhaps even as strong as Superman.
"Whether he is friend or foe, he possesses the ability to influence the outcome of the battle."
Orin Vale remained silent, thinking to himself that if Kahn was talking about this corrupted Superman, he would be no match for him in a fight.
Superman was different from an ordinary Kryptonian. To a normal person, it might seem like every Kryptonian was a god-like being, but that wasn't the case. There are thousands upon thousands of Kryptonians, but there is only one Superman.
On the surface, it might seem that a corrupted version is three times stronger, but Orin Vale knew that Superman's true strength, similar to that of the Ultraman Race, relied on a mind-over-matter power-up to level up without limits, ignoring the rules. A corrupted Superman, whether brainwashed or a counterfeit, obviously lacked this mind-over-matter blessing.
A Superman with a locked upper limit was nothing to be afraid of.
"Why are they all targeting Earth?" Commander Kahn frowned, seemingly unable to figure it out. "I have experts who say that the giant might be here to compete for resources. Perhaps in the invaders' eyes, Earth's fall is already a foregone conclusion, and they are now fighting for control over it. What do you think?"
Orin Vale: "..."
*What do I think? I think you can fire your expert.*
"Or perhaps they've come for the humans," Commander Kahn was still deep in thought. "There are signs that the people of Apokolips have a certain interest in humans, and one theory suggests this is one of the main reasons we've been able to resist for so long.
"The people of Apokolips don't want to exterminate humans because they see the potential hidden in our genes. Is it possible that the Giant of Light has come for the same reason?"
But he shook his head without waiting for a response.
"Then again, it's inherently difficult to fathom the thoughts of a being of that caliber. Perhaps their way of thinking and their perspective are completely different from what we can imagine. Who knows what he truly wants?"
Orin Vale's face was expressionless.
*Actually, that's not necessarily true.*
For example, right now, the so-called "being of that caliber" that Commander Kahn spoke of was currently contemplating whether to have chicken or fish for dinner, and whether it should be steamed or braised...
In the urban area, inside a certain building.
The lights of the entire building had gone out at some point, and Darkness raged along the floors. This wasn't a particularly rare occurrence in this day and age. The infrastructure was no longer what it was in the peaceful days of the past, and power outages and water cuts for various reasons were commonplace.
The young man ran through the dark building, his footsteps echoing on the empty floors, only to be seemingly swallowed by the Darkness.
He ducked into a room and slammed the door shut. After locking it, he quickly found a table and chairs in the room and pushed them against the door to jam it.
Only after doing all this did he stop for a moment, slumping against the door and collapsing, gasping for breath.
His heart pounded like a drum, and he couldn't calm his ragged breathing. An immense Fear seemed to mix with the Darkness, surrounding him. The young man tried to reach out a trembling hand and fumbled for the light switch in the room, but there was no reaction when he pressed it.
It was still pitch black.
The power had been cut. He was ninety percent sure it was the person—or thing—chasing him.
Then he heard footsteps.
Right outside this locked door. One step after another, as if with a certain rhythm, they approached with a dull thud, like the footsteps of the Grim Reaper.
The young man's heart felt like it skipped a beat.
*No, I can't stay here any longer.*
Whatever was chasing him, this door wouldn't stop it. He had to keep running, had to find a way out.
The young man looked around nervously, only to find that he seemed to have no other choice. In his panicked flight, he had trapped himself in a dead end.
*Right, there's the balcony.*
His pursuer must think he's trapped in this room. If he could climb over to the next balcony...
The footsteps sounded like they were getting closer, and Fear drove him to act. He climbed onto the balcony railing, moving forward inch by inch, practically hugging the railing.
He reached the end and tried to extend his hand towards the neighboring balcony's railing.
He couldn't reach it. Just a little further.
If he could just stretch a little further, just a little bit more...
His hand suddenly slipped.
The young man's pupils contracted as the sensation of weightlessness seized his heart. The darkened building rushed past his eyes, the neat rows of windows rapidly leaving his sight.
He felt as if he had become a feather, falling endlessly, with death as his only destination.
For a moment, he thought he was really dead.
Until it felt like someone patted his face.
The young man slowly regained consciousness, his eyelids feeling heavy as he struggled to open them. The sound of a girl's voice, crisp and pleasant, seemed to enter his newly restored hearing.
"Are you sure he's okay?" a girl asked. "When you caught him, you didn't accidentally let his head hit the ground or anything?"
"Of course not, he was still three stories from the ground," another girl said. "Besides, according to the little bit of superpower knowledge Kal taught me, my bio-force field was shared with him when I caught him. He must have just fainted from shock... Ha, what did I tell you? He's awake."
The young man dazedly opened his eyes and saw a stunningly beautiful blonde girl leaning over to look at him in a classic "You're finally awake" pose.
He was afraid she would suddenly say, "Congratulations, you're a girl now."
*Wait a minute, didn't I just fall from a building? Could I be dead...*
At this thought, the still-groggy young man instinctively said, "Are you an angel?"
Karen, who had just saved the young man, was taken aback for a moment. She couldn't help but smile, about to deny it.
However, the young man then caught a glimpse of her astonishingly large Skylight.
The young man gasped, awestruck, and quickly blurted out, "No, an angel couldn't be that big... you must be a succubus!"
Karen (smile suddenly vanishes): "..."
(end of chapter)
