Chapter 39: If I Say No, I Mean No
By Rowing Without Oars 233
The night grew deeper. The streets of Gotham City were usually devoid of respectable pedestrians at night, and now they seemed even more deserted. Shadows silently veiled the city blocks, leaving only an inky blackness where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, punctuated by the glittering lights of the city's nightlife.
A bright light flashed through the darkness—a red and silver mecha. It left a trail of fire from its jets, and the bottom of its right foot crackled with a continuous shower of electric sparks. The propulsion flames flickered on and off, causing its entire body to sway as if it had lost its center of gravity.
It had only flown for a moment when a beam of white light shot from the night sky, penetrating the armor and entering its core. Countless light particles converged and assembled, transforming into a human shape that perfectly fit into the hollow interior of the battlesuit.
Orin Vale opened his eyes, having transformed from his photon state back into human form. The built-in UI appeared on the display before him, and the internal identity verification was approved.
"Welcome back, sir," Pal's gentle voice sounded. "Automated control disengaged. Switching to manual."
Regaining control of the battlesuit, Orin Vale suddenly had a sense of déjà vu, feeling like one of his predecessors who, after defeating a monster, would fly back to their aircraft and have to fool their teammates about what they were doing during their three-minute absence.
Come to think of it, the fact that his ride was still airborne after his transformation was probably a rare sight compared to his predecessors. The GUTS Eagle would fall silent and the Jet VTOL I would weep upon hearing this. Shinjo and Daigo would stay up all night, insisting people not believe or spread rumors—how could an aircraft possibly not have crashed after a fight?
"Anti-radar system operating normally. Stealth mode has been activated."
"Good. Let's head back and look at the data from this trip."
After returning to the laboratory, he eagerly accessed the combat data he had collected and began a detailed analysis and evaluation of the abilities of both the battlesuit and his enemy.
"The strategy was effective, but there's still room for improvement," Orin Vale reflected, summarizing his thoughts. "The main methods used this time all targeted the senses, and the approach was a bit repetitive."
"It would be more effective if I could find different approaches and design more techniques."
"Besides that, the main problem was still the armor."
It hadn't been apparent before because the opponents he faced weren't strong enough. But after a live combat test against a high-level opponent, he discovered that his original Mobile Ultraman Armor still had plenty of room for improvement.
The primary issue was likely the material.
The fact that its components were easily damaged by the opponent's super strength was mainly because the Nth Metal's purity was too low, making it insufficiently hard. Nth Metal was a universe-class divine artifact. In theory, not even Superman could easily break through the purest Nth Metal.
More importantly, Nth Metal possessed first-rate magic resistance. As a native of M78, a civilization whose primary talent lay in technology, he could handle magic, but it remained a relative weak spot compared to his technological prowess. He wanted to stack his magic resistance as high as possible.
Orin Vale thought for a moment, then walked out of the laboratory and into the kitchen.
The Old Wizard Shazam was leaning back in a lounge chair, squinting as he seriously studied a copy of *3600 Home-Cooked Dishes*.
He seemed to have fully embraced his role and had even recently become obsessed with the modern culinary arts.
Hearing Orin Vale's question, the Old Wizard didn't even lift his head. He continued to read the cookbook and said, "It's all gone."
"Really all gone?" Orin Vale didn't give up.
"Gone."
"Not a single drop left?"
"Not a single drop."
Orin Vale thought for a moment, then said casually, "I was just thinking, that new oven from Wayne Enterprises seems pretty good. We're thinking of getting one for the shop."
The old wizard's body trembled. He shot his head up, a glint flashing in his eyes for a moment.
But it was gone in an instant. He quickly buried his head back in his cookbook, adopting the air of a transcendent master, and calmly stroked his large white beard.
"Mere creations of mortals. A great wizard has no need for external objects. Why would you think I'd be interested in such a thing?"
Orin Vale laughed inwardly. When he saw the commercial for the new oven on TV the other day, the man's eyes were practically glued to the screen. And he was still trying to act tough?
But he kept a straight face and said with feigned regret, "Is that so? I was planning to buy one tomorrow, but if you're not interested, then forget it. It'll save some money... Sorry to bother you, senior. Please, continue."
With that, he turned as if to leave.
Hearing this, the Old Wizard immediately sat up straight.
"Wait, come back!" The old man's eyes darted around. "On second thought, some mortal creations are quite interesting. Though they lack a wizard's wisdom, there's no harm in trying one."
Orin Vale watched him with a smile.
The Old Wizard guiltily averted his gaze. "But I really don't have any more Nth Metal..."
Before Orin Vale could say another word, his tone shifted again. "But I know where to find more."
"Oh?" Orin Vale's interest was piqued.
Nth Metal was one of the most common god-level materials in the DC Universe, but "common" was relative to other similar materials. Orin Vale could instantly recall places from the source material that had Nth Metal, like the Batcave, the Justice League Watchtower, or in Hawkman's possession...
After a process of elimination, it seemed none of those places had it at this point in time.
"I once fought alongside the Greek Gods. They had a troop of valiant and skilled fighters under their command," the Old Wizard said. "A troop composed of the bravest female warriors, protected by the Gods to be eternally young..."
"Paradise Island?" Orin Vale's eyes lit up.
"Eh?" the Old Wizard said in surprise. "You know of it?"
"Of course."
It was impossible for any DC fan not to know. Paradise Island was the home of Wonder Woman, Diana Prince, an island protected by the Greek Gods.
The island was inhabited entirely by immortal female warriors who called themselves Amazons. Their island was surrounded by a magical mist; once one moved away from the island, it would disappear from sight. Trying to find the way back was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Was there Nth Metal on Paradise Island?
This was genuinely a blind spot in his knowledge.
However, the Amazons were notoriously hostile towards men. Even if they did have Nth Metal, obtaining it would likely not be so easy.
Of course, he could figure that out later. First, he needed to at least know where Paradise Island was.
"Do you know where it is?"
"No," the Old Wizard said, throwing up his hands.
Orin Vale stood up as if to leave, muttering, "I was just thinking that the shop's finances are a bit tight recently..."
"But I can divine it," the Old Wizard said quickly.
"Hmm?" Orin Vale sat back down. "I heard that no one can find the way to Paradise Island?"
"Hah, that applies to mortals," the Old Wizard said, confidently stroking his beard.
It occurred to Orin Vale that the early comics also stated that once Wonder Woman left the island, she could never return. Yet in subsequent stories, she popped back to Paradise Island every other day. It seemed the mist wasn't so absolute; you just needed the right way to get through it.
"You can calculate the coordinates of Paradise Island?" Orin Vale was surprised. "You're that powerful?"
The Old Wizard performed a tactical lean back. "What do you think 'Supreme Wizard' means?"
"Alright, I'll leave it to you then," Orin Vale smiled. "We'll buy the new oven right now. Uh... wait a minute."
Orin Vale thought for a moment, then leaned his head forward and used his x-ray vision to look into the trash can next to the kitchen.
"Huh? Where'd it go?"
The Old Wizard blinked. "What are you looking for?"
"That advertisement, the one for the oven. You get a discount if you have it."
Orin Vale frowned.
"Strange, I'm sure I threw it in here today."
Since his rebirth as an Ultraman, he had rarely forgotten or misremembered things. He replayed the scene from earlier that day in his mind and was certain he had crumpled up that advertisement and thrown it into this very trash can...
The Old Wizard stood by, saying nothing, and silently cast a spell. He formed a hand seal with his left hand, and with a flip of his right palm, a surge of magic power flowed out. A wrinkled and crumpled advertisement appeared, floating gently in his hand.
Orin Vale stared at the crumpled paper, silent for a few seconds.
"So," he finally couldn't help but ask, "you dug this paper out of the trash can?"
"No," the Old Wizard said, his gaze shifting elsewhere. "It was just a simple item-finding spell. There's nothing that Wizard Shazam can't find."
Orin Vale eyed him suspiciously.
"Young man, why are you staring at me like that? If I say no, I mean no!"
The Old Wizard huffed, his beard bristling with indignation.
"Alright then."
Orin Vale nodded and took the crumpled paper from his hand.
We'll just say you didn't, then.
(end of chapter)