Chapter 50: Who's Thinking About Me?
With the official completion of the first-generation Artificial Solar Radiation Simulation Device and a series of successful tests, Orin Vale grew increasingly optimistic about the project's prospects.
Especially in the highly probable event of a future conflict with Kryptonians, the Red Sun Simulation would play a crucial role. It could instantly strip an unprepared Kryptonian of 99% of their combat power, making it an almost guaranteed one-hit kill on first encounter. Moreover, he could absorb the corresponding radiation energy to replenish his own combat power.
Ultraman was no Kryptonian; he wasn't a picky eater when it came to energy absorption. It wasn't just stellar radiation. In the source material, Ultraman could absorb all sorts of energy from different sources and with different properties without any issue. Sometimes, absorbing energy of different attributes could even lead to different forms and abilities.
Therefore, whether it was a Golden Sun or a Red Sun, he welcomed them all; both could achieve the effect of recharging him.
It would be even better if there was a Kryptonian on his team for a mixed-team beatdown. He could apply a super-buff to his Kryptonian ally while simultaneously applying a debuff to the enemy. The epic Kryptonian battle from *Man of Steel* would turn from a hell-level challenge into a simple instance in minutes.
Over the next two days, Orin Vale also made a simple adjustment to the golden radiation's output, making it easier for Kara, who was still in her developmental stage, to absorb. Afterward, he scheduled a daily artificial sunbath for her, which served to both test the equipment's performance and accelerate her awakening.
As a result, when Orin Vale returned from an outing that day, he walked in to see Kara sitting at a dining table in the corner of the shop, holding a pose of gazing up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. Her pretty little face was filled with melancholy, and her blue eyes stared profoundly out the window.
As she stared, she was muttering things like, "I'm sorry for being born a Superman," and "I really want to love this world," and so on.
Not understanding what this was all about, Orin Vale curiously sought out the Old Wizard. "What's going on with her?"
"It's nothing, just her body developing." The wise Old Wizard saw through the truth at a glance, as always.
Orin Vale was puzzled. "Her body developing can make her like this?"
The Old Wizard gestured to his temple. "Her brain is growing."
Orin Vale finally understood. He realized the Old Wizard meant her Super Brain was beginning to develop.
The Super Brain was also part of a Kryptonian's standard package. It was described as a brain with computing power greater than a supercomputer, possessing the ability to think at super-speed.
Of course, that was how the lore described it.
But in terms of actual combat performance, the most common strategy the Super Brain offered was often: "Quick, use your invincible super strength and just charge in!"
Perhaps while her brain was developing, Kara had been surfing the internet, encountered some strange information, and ended up like this...
It seems there's a good reason for internet controls on teenagers after all.
Orin Vale sat down in front of Kara. The little girl looked up blankly. "Orin Vale, do you know why the sky is so blue?"
"Instead of having time to ponder such pointless things, you might as well take a look at these first."
Orin Vale slapped several large stacks of books onto the table.
Kara blinked with a cute, blank expression. "What's this?"
"Introductory textbooks for twenty-four different Earth languages," Orin Vale said. "You have to learn all of them within twenty-four hours. There's an exam tomorrow. If you fail, you'll lose tomorrow's dessert."
The little girl's eyes went wide, and the Ahoge (Stupid Hair) on top of her head stood on end again.
Her expression clearly seemed to say, "Are you sane?"
To be fair, though, Orin Vale felt the time he gave her was quite generous.
This was already taking into account that her Super Brain was in the early stages of development and her comprehension speed might be slower. Otherwise, by Kryptonian standards, he would have given her five minutes at most—ten if he were feeling merciful. It couldn't get any more lenient than that.
After all, the more a brain is used, the more flexible it becomes. This was just an appetizer to help train her mental capacity. Once her brain was fully developed, the knowledge of various civilizations from twenty-eight galaxies was waiting for her on the Kryptonian spaceship.
In the future, Orin Vale intended to develop Kara into his own little scientific research assistant. After all, an assistant with a Super Brain wasn't easy to find.
In the DC Universe, facing low-level villains could often be solved by just punching your way through. But against higher-tier villains, the importance of fists diminished, while wisdom and knowledge became increasingly crucial.
Therefore, in his view, one had to develop both fists and intelligence, and both had to be formidable.
When the time came, he couldn't be like Superman and let the Old Bat think he was all brawn and no brains.
Watching Kara pitifully hug the books and start digging into them, Orin Vale nodded in satisfaction. He felt that this way, the resource of a Super Brain wouldn't be wasted. He turned and headed back to the underground Laboratory.
He had just gone down and hadn't even turned on the lights when the negative-phase wave radar pinged.
Orin Vale swiped it open with great interest and found that it had tagged a reaction from a mass of dark energy on the other side of the urban area.
And this intensity... why does it seem a bit much?
A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters.
"That's the general situation..."
On the other end of the video call, Dell Smith's face on the display was full of apology.
"I'm very sorry, Ma'am. But we really did our best. The last alien raid caused severe damage to our Gotham branch, and this time our temporary stronghold is only half-built. We haven't had time to get our personnel and weapons properly deployed."
"Furthermore, the target is impervious, clearly possesses superspeed, and has the super strength to dismantle a turret with her bare hands. It's no exaggeration to say that an armored car's hull is like a piece of paper in her hands."
"After the last blow, we simply haven't had time to recover. There was truly nothing we could do."
In summary, it was one sentence.
It's not that I'm incompetent, I was just specifically targeted.
Amanda Waller's face was livid... though it was hard to actually see a change in color on her chubby, dark face. It was mainly inferred from her eyes.
She fell silent for a moment, then spoke coldly, "Say it again. What message did she leave?"
"She... she said we've detained her people and told us to release them immediately, or else they won't hold back," Dell said weakly.
"Understood," Amanda Waller said in a low voice. "Maintain alert. Contact me if anything else happens."
The video feed cut out. Amanda Waller sat back in her office chair, silent for several seconds.
Suddenly, her emotions erupted. She violently swept the computer screen off the desk, and the monitor shattered on the floor with a crack.
Amanda Waller was angry. Very angry.
Seriously, where did this bunch of fucking invincible alien idiots come from?
Amanda Waller wasn't afraid of death, nor was she afraid of facing aliens—after all, that was the duty of A.R.G.U.S.
The point is, who did we kill? Who did we capture? Would you fucking make that clear?
She had the inexplicable feeling that a huge black pot of blame, from God knows who, was being forced down on her head—pushed deeper and deeper without her knowing its origin. She was furious, but there was nothing she could do.
It had always been her, Amanda Waller, who schemed against others and made them take the fall for her. When had she ever suffered such a grievance?
[Impotent Rage.JPG]
Meanwhile, far away in the underground beneath the restaurant, the Ultraman seemed to feel something.
"Strange, why do I keep feeling like someone is thinking about me..."
(end of chapter)