Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 452 Save one person first upon landing

Did we really gain nothing?

As this question arose in Ma Zhaodi's mind, the force also found nothing unusual around it. It instantly returned to Superman's body, but this time it was not to delay Superman's resurrection time again. Instead, it directly found the spacetime anomaly point in his body—the teleportation point when the system remotely sent life force to this world.

"Replenish!"

Ma Zhaodi instantly realized what it wanted to do. Just as he was about to speak to the system, the system had already taken action.

No need to worry, the situation is as expected.

In a flash, Ma Zhaodi and Clark used up the last bit of their Speed ​​Force, and landed directly on the side of a busy street after a flash of lightning.

"We're back? No, that's not right."

Ma Zhaodi's keen senses made him instantly realize that the surrounding environment was quite strange. Many details on the street were completely different from what he had seen in the Speed ​​Force. This was not a difference in region or lifestyle, but a huge difference in technology and fashion trends.

For example, unfamiliar logos on the phones of passersby, brand clothing advertisements on large screens around you that you've never seen before, or street-side co-branded fast food restaurants that you've never eaten at.

Everything suggests that this is not any of the universes he is familiar with.

"This is not the Dark Multiverse or the main universe—this is The Boys."

Ma Zhaodi immediately came to a conclusion. He looked at the system and found that several more prompts had appeared on the system panel.

[Return to the Boys universe - Successfully returned]

The portal between "The Boys" and the "Dark Multiverse" has been severed.

[Environmental testing in progress—]

[An anomaly detected!]

Barbatos' energy suddenly appeared from the void and followed directly to Superman in the last few seconds before the passage was broken. A chilling sense of crisis resurfaced in Ma Zhaodi's heart. Before he could do anything, he saw that power enter Superman's body.

[Residual power of "Barbatos, the World-Devouring Dragon" detected]

[Energy clearing in progress—]

The system's mechanical voice was terrifyingly steady. Ma Zhaodi watched as Barbatos's energy was gradually eliminated from Superman's body, while at the same time, his own asset points were being rapidly depleted.

"Is this what you called 'estimated costs of 500,000 to 2 million'?" Ma Zhaodi couldn't help but curse, "Isn't there a solution that avoids getting stuck with this stuff?"

This is a necessary step. If this energy is not introduced into the Boys universe, it will continue to linger in the Dark Multiverse, leading it to another dark ending.

"You deliberately lured it here to kill it? But if Barbatos notices what's happening in that universe, it can project its power again."

[Barbatos had already performed a gaze when the first channel connection was completed, and no second gaze was detected during the timeline manipulation.]

The connection between this energy and Barbatos was severed when the intercosmic portal was broken. Barbatos can no longer receive feedback from it, nor is it aware that the timeline of this dark multiverse has been altered.

The Dark Multiverse is currently relatively safe – for the time being.

[Energy cleared] After the system's notification ended, the energy on Clark that made Ma Zhaodi extremely uncomfortable finally disappeared completely. At the same time, Ma Zhaodi's asset points balance dropped to $370,000. Barbatos's power level was very high, and the system consumed nearly two million asset points to complete the elimination work.

He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that at least he hadn't used it all up. He was about to turn around and say a few words to Clark when he suddenly froze.

"why is that?"

The morning sun pierced through the thin clouds and shone on the street, bringing a slight warmth—but when Ma Zhaodi saw Clark standing in the sunlight, he found that his body was still withered and weak.

"Superman? Where's my solar power? Where did you put my solar-powered Superman?"

[Because of Barbatos' dark energy, Superman's life recovery rate will be reduced for a period of time. This is a characteristic of Barbatos' power—it can weaken the abilities of superheroes across the multiverse.]

"So even if I use sunflowers, I can't save him immediately?"

[Barbatos's energy aura and persistent damage effects will continue for some time, during which most recovery effects will be significantly reduced.]

Ma Zhaodi sighed and handed Clark a dried and roasted fairy-grade chocolate with a liqueur filling.

"Eat this, Clark. Although this won't restore your temporarily lost maximum health, it will at least bring your health bar back up."

The sunlight had helped Clark regain some strength and consciousness. He shakily reached out, took the chocolate, and ate it.

"Don't worry, if one isn't enough, just eat a few more," Ma Zhaodi reassured him. "Even if percentage-based healing is weakened, it's still percentage-based. If you accumulate enough, you can fully recover."

Superman's body then recovered to health at a speed visible to the naked eye. His thin limbs and face returned to their strong and handsome state within a dozen seconds, and his strength and physical condition were restored.

“That energy… it’s so weird.” Clark took a few deep breaths and finally came to his senses. He said to Ma Zhaodi, “I have rarely felt so weak in my life. It feels terrible.”

“This was my mistake.” Ma Zhaodi shook his head. “You still have the aura of Barbatos on you. We can’t go back to our own universe right now. We’ll probably have to stay here for a while until your body is fully recovered. That aura will dissipate naturally.”

"What about our original universe?" Clark exclaimed in alarm. "Louis is waiting for me to come home for dinner!"

“Time flows at different rates in different universes; time is paused where we are,” Ma Zhaodi replied. “You don’t need to worry about that. Our priority right now is to find a place to settle down—”

He glanced at the system's taskbar, where the task completion rate had only increased by fifty percent—the meaning couldn't be clearer: they needed to change the future of the Black Robe Universe as well.

Can I buy a citizenship?

[Your status as a local member of the Boys – You and Clark together require 10,000 asset points. Thank you for your patronage.]

“Not expensive.”

After buying the identity, Ma Zhaodi was about to leave the street with Clark to find a place to stay when he suddenly heard a strange roar coming from the other side of the street. It sounded like something was forcibly breaking through the air at high speed—somewhat similar to Barry's state when he first mastered the Speed ​​Force.

Ma Zhaodi subconsciously looked in the direction from which the sound came. A blue blur crashed into a passerby on the street, and at the same time, Superman's figure rushed out.

"careful!"

(End of this chapter)