Special thanks at the end of the chapter...!!
After Hollow Technique: Purple leveled up to Lv.3, not only did its destructive power receive a massive boost, but Su Mu's control over the imaginary mass became increasingly effortless.
He could now perform highly precise manipulations with Purple. At Level 2, he could only execute rough shape transformations, such as stretching the spherical mass into a bar shape to form a "sword." But in reality, it was extremely crude—less of a sword and more of a glowing stick.
But now at Level 3, Su Mu could perfectly mold Purple into the exact shape of a sword, even engraving intricate patterns onto the blade to make it exquisite. He could even compress the imaginary mass into millimeter-thin threads for completely undetectable, stealthy severing.
He could also precisely control its destructive output. Initially, his Purple was always locked at maximum apocalyptic power. Now, he could control it so that it could make physical contact with objects without instantly annihilating them.
The upgrade to Purple brought Su Mu a significant enhancement. In fact, every single skill that leveled up past Lv.3 brought about a qualitative, conceptual metamorphosis.
However, despite his skills continuously boosting his overall combat strength, Su Mu's absolute priority was still rapidly increasing his Template Synchronization.
Compared to his skills, the Character Templates were his true foundation. He could unlock far more overpowered abilities from the templates, and once the synchronization reached 100%, he would perfectly and absolutely master every single skill associated with that template, completely freeing himself from the System's level restrictions.
Furthermore, if his next unlocked template turned out to be something like a Saiyan—a being capable of casually blowing up planets—his baseline strength would undergo a truly dimensional leap.
That would be vastly easier than painstakingly grinding skill experience!
Just as Su Mu was lost in thought, a beautiful silhouette wrapped only in a bath towel walked into the room. As usual, she intended to change into her pajamas in her bedroom, but today was different. She had completely forgotten that a "guest" was currently occupying her tiny cat-den.
The two of them stared at each other in the bedroom. Su Mu didn't stand on ceremony at all; his eyes immediately and unabashedly locked onto the magnificent, sinful twin peaks barely concealed by the towel.
He had to admit, Catwoman certainly possessed some serious "assets"!
Being stared at so brazenly by a strange man she had just met made even Selina feel deeply uncomfortable. Had it not been for the fact that this mysterious man was her incredibly wealthy "sponsor" with a terrifyingly supernatural background, she would have instantly knocked him unconscious.
But not knowing the true identity or limits of the mysterious man, the cautious cat didn't dare make a reckless move.
(Author's Note: Catwoman)
Looking remarkably like Anne Hathaway, she didn't scream at the top of her lungs like an ordinary girl would. Then again, "ordinary girls" barely existed in a city like Gotham, let alone its premier cat burglar.
Selina glared at Su Mu, subconsciously pulling her towel up a bit higher, and warned coldly, "Have you looked enough, sir?"
An ordinary person would have immediately averted their gaze and awkwardly apologized for their rudeness. But Su Mu was entirely different. He was someone who did exactly as he pleased—in short, he was completely shameless.
Not only did Su Mu not apologize, but he continued to boldly admire the beautiful scenery. "Of course not. It's impossible to look away from such a breathtaking view."
Seeing that Catwoman didn't take any extreme physical action, Su Mu knew that the alien jewels he had brought over from the Marvel Universe were working their magic. A greedy little cat could never resist shiny things.
"You..."
Catwoman wanted to retort, but Su Mu smoothly cut her off.
"I've just arrived in this universe and I'm currently lacking a highly capable subordinate. How would you like to be my secretary?"
Catwoman refused without a second thought. "Impossible. I am a free spirit. I don't work for anyone!"
But the moment a dazzling handful of priceless, otherworldly jewels materialized in Su Mu's palm, her eyes were completely glued to them. The words of rejection caught in her throat; she physically couldn't force them out.
Seeing the cat's eyes shining with absolute greed, Su Mu's face curled into a demonic, tempting smile. He produced even more exquisite jewelry, letting them cascade into his hand. Under the bedroom lights, the priceless gems sparkled brilliantly.
"Are you absolutely sure? These jewels are merely your advance payment for one month of work. Furthermore, aside from these vulgar material possessions, I can also grant you power. In Gotham—or anywhere in this world, really—you won't survive long without power!"
Behind Su Mu, the jet-black Symbiote began to writhe like a mass of tendrils, slowly extending outward as if preparing to completely envelop the cat burglar before him...
In the end, Catwoman completely surrendered to Su Mu's pitch and accepted the absolute power of the Symbiote. She had undoubtedly made the smartest choice. After all, Su Mu was absolutely not a traditional "righteous hero." He wouldn't have minded using the Mind Stone or the Symbiote to forcefully subjugate her. Who wouldn't want a drop-dead gorgeous, highly lethal secretary?
"Have the secretary do the work when there's work, and do the secretary when there's no work." This was the absolute peak lifestyle Su Mu had always dreamed of in his past life.
As for the saying, "A forced melon isn't sweet"—well, it certainly quenches your thirst!
Over the next few days, Su Mu didn't take any drastic actions. His absolute priority was confirming the exact timeline of this universe.
His newly acquired secretary was truly exceptional. Not only was she incredibly well-endowed, but she was also highly capable. Whether it was helping Su Mu "relax" mentally and physically, or gathering crucial intelligence, Su Mu gained a massive amount of information from the busy Catwoman during this period. Chief among them was the current timeline.
The intelligence Catwoman gathered slightly contradicted Su Mu's knowledge of the DC Cinematic Universe, but not by a massive margin. It was highly likely that this universe was a parallel reality running very close to the cinematic continuity.
Currently, the Batman was already highly active in Gotham, ruthlessly suppressing crime. Wherever the Bat-Signal lit up the sky, countless criminals scrambled into the shadows in absolute terror.
Meanwhile, iconic villains like the Joker and the Penguin had already taken the stage, acting as the Batman's beloved, chaotic arch-nemeses.
Other superheroes were also gradually surfacing across various cities. For example, a man living in a coastal town known as Aquaman; a speedster appearing in Central City known as the Flash; and Wonder Woman, who had historically been active on the battlefields of mankind...
However, what truly caught Su Mu's attention was the severe lack of intelligence regarding Superman. The "Black Zero" event had not yet occurred. This meant Superman had not officially revealed himself to the world, and General Zod had not yet invaded Earth. This realization made Su Mu incredibly excited. After all, Kryptonians could passively absorb yellow sun radiation to generate massive amounts of power. As long as he captured a few Kryptonians, he would secure an infinite, perpetual energy battery!
But that was merely Su Mu's backup plan. After all, dragging around captive Kryptonians was highly inconvenient, not to mention dealing with their inevitable resistance. Even though Su Mu's current absolute power vastly eclipsed a Kryptonian's, he didn't want to waste his time constantly suppressing a bunch of Men of Steel.
Therefore, Su Mu's primary, absolute objective was securing the three Mother Boxes currently hidden on Earth. These apocalyptic devices, forged from Element X, possessed a multitude of cosmic abilities—one of which was absolute energy transfer, capable of providing the user with a perpetual, near-infinite supply of power.
While they might not be absolute, infinite energy sources on the same conceptual tier as the Infinity Stones, the raw output of a Mother Box was absolutely not to be underestimated. They would serve as Su Mu's primary energy source in the DC Multiverse.
Currently, the three Mother Boxes were divided and guarded by three different factions. One was held by humanity, one was guarded by Atlantis, and the final box was protected by the Amazons on Themyscira.
Because he had crossed the boundaries of entirely different Multiverses, his Mystic Portal had been subjected to a degree of dimensional suppression. Su Mu needed to use Energy Absorption to gradually adapt to the fundamental energy laws of the DC Multiverse. Consequently, his Lv.4 portal had temporarily lost its "karmic" tracking ability—meaning he couldn't just magically open a door directly to the Mother Boxes based on mere thought alone.
It was worth noting that aside from the Mystic Portal, his other abilities had also experienced minor fluctuations. However, under Su Mu's rapid adaptation, they were swiftly recovering to their absolute peak and didn't affect his overall combat capabilities in the slightest.
During this period, Catwoman—now bonded with a Symbiote—continuously prowled across various cities gathering intel. The Symbiote had granted her a terrifying, exponential boost in combat power. While she couldn't go toe-to-toe with Superman, she could absolutely hold her own against the current Aquaman without losing ground. As for Batman? If it was a sudden ambush, she could easily beat the Bat to a pulp. But if it was a pre-planned, scheduled fight... well, even Su Mu felt he might not be a match for Batman in that scenario.
Everyone knew that Batman with "prep time" absolutely never lost. It was practically a conceptual, reality-bending law of the universe!
Thanks to Catwoman's relentless intelligence gathering, Su Mu finally hit the jackpot.
Selina lay curled up like a kitten in Su Mu's embrace, her face flushed with a deep crimson hue. Even though her new boss had been ruthlessly squeezing her dry over the past few days—sending her out on endless reconnaissance missions while he stayed cooped up in the apartment doing who-knows-what—she didn't have a single complaint.
The first reason was the absolutely astronomical compensation. He handed out priceless, otherworldly jewels like they were worthless pebbles, casually stuffing them into her cleavage.
The second reason was the absolute power he had bestowed upon her. Even though becoming "Catwoman" had granted her feline agility, her actual combat power had been relatively limited. But after bonding with the Symbiote, her physical strength had skyrocketed to near-superhuman levels. For someone who had lacked a sense of security since childhood, this intoxicating surge of power was deeply addictive.
The third reason was that her new boss could perfectly satisfy her every physical and emotional need, leaving her completely blissed out. If she didn't have missions to run, she would have loved to stay in this euphoric state forever.
Panting softly, Catwoman whispered her report to Su Mu: "Mmm... I found Lois Lane. I confirmed that in a few days, she's heading to a rural town near Metropolis to interview someone named Clark... Ah... I didn't find any trace of Cyborg, though. And there are absolutely zero leads on that 'Themyscira' place you mentioned. However, I can definitively confirm that in the small coastal town of Erice in Sicily, there is a man who can breathe and live underwater. The locals call him Aquaman. I assume he's the one you're looking for..."
"Excellent work..."
Su Mu pondered his next move.
Lois Lane was already preparing to interview Clark. That meant the core Superman storyline was about to kick off. He absolutely could not miss this; it was his one and only window to secure some prime Kryptonian batteries.
As for the lack of intel on Cyborg, Su Mu wasn't surprised. He either hadn't become Cyborg yet, or he was deeply hidden and isolated from the world. Finding him right now would be highly tedious.
If he wanted to secure a Mother Box immediately, starting with Atlantis or Themyscira was his best bet. Since the location of the Atlantean box was vastly easier to pinpoint, it was undoubtedly Su Mu's first choice.
As for the inevitable resistance of the Atlantean army?
A Demon never cared about such trivial things!
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