Proofreader&Editor:Howard Wong
David's resistance to psychic abilities was extremely high; Steve Dayton's psychic-amplifying helmet was utterly useless to him.
Whoosh!
In a flash, the helmet appeared in his hands.
Before Steve could react, his head felt suddenly bare. Frantically reaching up, his newly invented helmet was gone, vanished into thin air. Seeing it in David's possession, a chill ran down his spine.
As the creator of Promethium, after the military discovered the metal, he had no choice but to engage in a series of collaborations with them.
Steve Dayton had already seen the video of David destroying the armor, which was made entirely of Promethium. He knew what kind of monster the man in front of him, with his whole body emitting purple light, was.
With his speed, he could pluck my head off as easily as picking a flower from the roadside before I could even react.
"I was somewhat troubled about how to make you hand over the formula for Promethium." David weighed the helmet in his hand and chuckled, "Turns out you've done the research for me."
According to the historical trajectory of the characters, after inventing the psychic-amplifying helmet, billionaire Steve Dayton would become a superhero, known as Mento.
Regarding Promethium, in the comics, this man feared that the metal, capable of absorbing unlimited energy, could cause a world crisis if leaked. Convincing him to easily hand over the formula would not be an easy task.
"You're indeed here for the Promethium."
Sweat trickled down his forehead, and Steve stepped back as if facing a formidable enemy.
"The fact that I invented Promethium is top secret, so secret that even few in the military know about it. How did you find out?"
"That's none of your concern."
David slowly put on the helmet.
His immense psychic power extended out, enveloping the entire laboratory.
An invisible wave of psychic energy swept through, and Steve Dayton's mind was like a small boat in the ocean, drifting uncontrollably, leaving him dazed.
"What is the formula for Promethium?"
"You'll never know!"
Steve shook his head vigorously, staring at David with determination.
Even a monster that, by his estimates, could only be harmed by nuclear weapons wouldn't get any information he desired from him.
"Good or bad, every additional person who knows the formula for Promethium is another risk for a leak."
The man radiating purple light seemed to have some connection with the new vigilante Superman in Metropolis. From his rescue of Superman, it seemed that the man before him might not be bad, but regardless of the commercial value of the formula or its potential for destruction, he wouldn't tell anyone.
"Under high temperature and pressure, 33.1% vanadium, 59.7% titanium, 4.2% palladium, 2.3% rhodium…"
David recited an alloy formula calmly, then asked.
"Is this a consumable or a mutable type?"
"How did you know?!"
Steve's face turned pale as he listened to the alloy formula. He immediately realized his invention was a success.
But he couldn't use the helmet to break through the other's psychic barrier, while the other could easily read his thoughts with the helmet.
'Don't think of an elephant,' the phrase would inadvertently bring the image of an elephant to mind.
David's question was one Steve would never answer, but David read the answer from Steve's subconscious, and unexpectedly learned something else.
"So you stumbled upon the invention of Promethium by accident?"
Feeling a sense of novelty, with the helmet on, psychic waves extended like limbs, and Steve's brain was like an ever-updating book for David to peruse.
"No wonder."
David looked at him with fresh curiosity, resolving some perplexing questions.
Compared to Promethium, a metal as hard as divine artifacts, capable of absorbing unlimited energy, and granting superpowers, Steve's psychic-amplifying helmet, which he relied on to become a superhero, was like a child's toy.
He could have used that metal to create armor or to grant himself superpowers, but he didn't.
"Shut up!"
David's few words made Steve's face turn red with anger, his lips trembling.
He wanted to claim that Promethium was entirely the fruit of his intellect, but prideful and considering himself a genius, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Because it was just a lucky accident when he was researching an alloy for use in spacecraft.
"What's the formula for the mutable type?"
Steve's subconscious had already answered which type the formula was, and David turned to ask about the other type he was most interested in.
The Dionysus gene gave Jonathan's parents the ability to heal and be immortal, but they lacked any self-defense abilities.
Mutable Promethium could grant my parents superpowers, give them some self-defense capabilities, or be given to my subordinates in the future. It has great potential use.
David's eyes flickered.
In the DC world, there were few things like Promethium that could grant superpowers without side effects.
Steve, silent, quickly covered his ears, but it was too late.
"The formula is the same, but with lower pressure during production, and higher temperature?"
David raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Now, only one last question remains.
What method would allow mutable Promethium to grant superpowers? "
Simply wearing it was unlikely.
Covering his ears, Steve backed away, carrying the company's financial reports in his mind, rushing towards the laboratory exit, trying to call for his bodyguard team to protect him.
David's gaze shifted, and Steve froze in place, his hands falling to his sides.
"Answer my question."
Steve, controlled by psychic power, obediently answered like a puppet.
"Cut open the body, the more severe the injury the better, implant the metal inside, it's best to have a strong will to survive the awakening of the abilities?"
The somewhat gruesome method made David frown. Plus, the need for a strong will seemed to indicate it wasn't suitable for his parents at the moment.
"Do you have any mutable here? Bring some to me."
David commanded, and the controlled Steve turned to retrieve several cans of mutable metal from a tall safe.
"Alright, pretend I was never here."
***
Half a minute later, Steve stood in front of the test bench, coming back to his senses.
What was he supposed to do? The silver helmet lay before him.
"That's right, test the helmet."
Steve's eyes brightened, and he reached for the helmet but then frowned, feeling like he had forgotten something. After thinking it over, it seemed there was no issue.
Was he too tired?
He hadn't rested much in the past few days.
***
David didn't take the psychic-amplifying helmet with him.
"The helmet has severe side effects; using it can cause uncontrollable thoughts and lead to a descent into darkness."
Steve Dayton, because of the helmet's side effects, would later become a super-villain crime lord, using Promethium to create a group of superpowered individuals, forming the villainous organization known as the Hybrid, at his command.
As he sped through a desert in Mexico.
David, carrying a backpack full of Promethium, suddenly paused, feeling a sense of fulfillment within, his expression changing.
He looked intently ahead—
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David's eyes shone brightly.