Chapter 42: New Template
Knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door.
Chloe, who had been napping, went downstairs. Her face still bore the marks of the pillow, and she looked at Clark outside the door, rubbing her sleepy eyes in confusion.
"Clark, what's up? Are you here to hang out?"
"Chloe, is your uncle home?" Clark, his earlier tough facade gone and replaced by his usual demeanor, peered inside.
"He's at the factory and hasn't returned. I ended up cooking for myself again at noon," Chloe complained.
Chloe's father worked as a department manager at the fertilizer plant managed by Lex Luthor and was usually very busy.
"My family has run into some trouble, Chloe. Can you help me?" Clark requested.
"Trouble? Come on in."
Despite her confusion, Chloe didn't refuse her friend's plea and welcomed him inside.
"Our family farm..."
On the living room sofa, Clark quickly recounted the events.
"I need information on this Mr. Rickman."
"Just a handshake is enough for someone to sell the land of their hard-earned farm?"
Chloe, who loved investigating such peculiar matters, instantly perked up.
"Wait a moment, I'll go upstairs to get my computer."
Thump thump thump!
She hurried upstairs.
Clark felt the blue hooded sweatshirt hidden in his pocket.
His plan was to first figure out if Rickman was a metahuman, then obtain the other party's address from Chloe, and finally go confront him to resolve the issue.
A moment later, Chloe came bounding down, excitedly holding her laptop. As she opened it to search for information about Rickman, she suddenly remembered something and glanced at the door outside with a puzzled expression.
"Oh, right, why isn't David here?"
With her family's farm and house about to be repossessed, such a big issue, how could David not be with them?
"David, he..."
Clark scratched his head, unsure how to explain. As soon as he heard his brother agree, he instantly activated his super-speed and arrived at Chloe's front door, afraid of wasting any time and losing to his brother.
As for what David was doing at the moment, he had no idea.
...
Outside the small town, in the vast, silent forest.
Whoosh!
A figure moving at near-supersonic speed appeared and stopped abruptly, the resulting gust of wind scattering fallen leaves ahead.
[Thanos template has fused 100%]
[Loading new template]
[New template loading... 1%... 3%]
Stopping his movement and observing that no one was around, David reviewed the information before him.
He had initially intended to refuse Clark's offer, but suddenly, the Thanos template fusion was complete.
After Clark ran off, he immediately came to this deserted forest, preparing to welcome the fusion of his second template.
"This is the first time two templates are fusing. I should be careful," David didn't want to cause any disturbances in front of the farm and worry his parents.
"What will the new template be?" His eyes lit up with anticipation.
Suddenly, his body grew hot, a persistent heat like molten lava surging through his veins. The cosmic energy contained within each cell churned and vibrated.
His bones crackled.
Deep within his body, something seemed to be fusing.
His heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably. David looked at his hands; his skin, which had turned purple from exerting more than human strength, was slowly fading.
He touched his chin; the previously沟壑-like纹路 were receding.
Zzzt!
A purple energy ripple, like an electric current, shot out from his hand.
A large tree in the distance was struck, immediately looking as if it had been hit by a laser. A deep, about ten centimeters, hideous wound, sparking with fire, appeared on the tree trunk.
Swish, swish, swish!
Energy ripples shot out, felling the surrounding trees.
The cosmic energy contained within his body roared. David felt that as the new template loaded and fused, the previously hidden energy within his body was breaking through some kind of obstruction.
Like a surging tide breaking through a dam, something felt lodged in his chest, a suppressed yet imminent feeling. With a low growl, he threw a punch.
Hum!
David's fist released a concentrated beam of purple cosmic energy that roared forward, instantly piercing through the tall trees in front of him and blasting hundreds of meters away.
All the trees directly in front of him now had fist-sized holes in their trunks, their bark and wood scorched to ash.
In the blink of an eye, the effect had spread nearly a mile. He quickly reined in the energy.
...
"Rick Rickman, forty-two years old. Attended Smallville High School and graduated from Western Kansas University. After graduation, he worked in farm equipment sales."
Chloe read out the information she found about Rickman on the computer.
Skilled in computer technology, she had once developed a program that could consolidate searched information, making it more convenient for her to write articles for the school newspaper.
"I can't believe Mr. Rickman, who's planning to open a chemical plant in our town, is not only an alumnus but also a local?"
Browsing through Rickman Enterprises' latest corporate plan, she pouted.
"Is this how he repays his hometown?"
"Is there anything strange about him?"
Clark was more concerned about other aspects.
"Let me see..."
She moved the mouse.
"After graduation, he worked in sales. He was nearly fired for being at the bottom of the performance list, but the following year, he made a huge leap, topping the sales charts for three consecutive years. He used the massive bonuses to start his own company and embarked on a journey in the business world..."
Recalling how Clark had inexplicably convinced Uncle Jonathan to sell his land and house, Chloe found this suspicious.
"Even though his corporate management was often criticized for being chaotic, he still had smooth sailing, closing big deals consecutively and earning hundreds of millions. Does that count?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the year he was almost fired was the same year the meteor shower happened."
Clark took a deep breath. It was just as David had guessed.
"Yes, it was 1991."
Chloe confirmed, not even needing to search for news to compare years. No one in the town would forget the year of the meteor shower.
"Where does he live now? Chloe."
There was only one question left. Clark stood up excitedly.
"146 Mont Street, Metropolis."
Chloe was a little puzzled by Clark's reaction but answered nonetheless.
"Thanks, Chloe. I'll treat you to your favorite caramel milk pudding next time. I have to go now."
Upon hearing the address, Clark thanked her and left quickly with joy.
Not only was his speed far superior to David's, but with Chloe's help, he had saved time on inquiries. He was sure he could win this time.
"Wait a moment!"
Chloe's expression changed as she saw a news item on the webpage. She ran out, wanting to call Clark back.
But she found that Clark's figure had already vanished from the open space in front of the door.
While running at extreme speed, unlike David's speed which left a visible trail, Clark was like a rapid electric current, so fast that he couldn't be seen. He quickly pulled a blue hood from his pocket and put it on with piercing eyes.
This time, he was sure he would be one step ahead of his brother.
But Clark didn't know that David hadn't even set out yet, and had even planned to let him handle this matter first.
...
Caw, caw!
Dust and smoke billowed within the forest, and dull thuds startled a flock of birds.
The energy on his purple skin receded. David clenched his fist excitedly, a surging, immense power rippling within him.
The cosmic energy he could only sense but never wield before was now completely under his command. He raised his palm again and fired.
The energy beam struck a dead, fallen old log in the distance.
Under the immense, condensed energy, the entire log was annihilated, not even a speck of residue left.
[New template loaded – Black King template fused 30%]
"Mutant Black King?"
A look of pleasant surprise flashed in David's eyes.
Now he understood why he could release energy that he couldn't before!
"Not only that, but there are other abilities too. The fusion of two templates with my body seems to be more than just a simple sum of one plus one!"
He clenched his fist, and dazzling purple light shot from his eyes.
I've written an extra seven to eight hundred words. Please continue reading. With the new template, the protagonist will start leaving town and Metropolis in the next day or two to briefly explore outside and meet new characters. (〃'▽'〃)
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