Chapter 42 – New template


Knock knock!

The door was knocked.

Chloe, who was taking a nap, came downstairs. There were still traces of the pillow on her face. She saw Clark outside the door and rubbed her sleepy eyes, feeling a bit puzzled.

“Clark, what’s up? Are you here to play with me?”

“Chloe, is Uncle home?” Clark, who had returned to his usual self, looked inside and asked.

“He’s not back from the factory. I had to cook lunch by myself.” Chloe complained.

“We’re having some trouble at home. Chloe, can you help me?”

Clark requested.

“Trouble? Come in.”

Facing her friend’s request, Chloe, although puzzled, did not refuse and welcomed him into the house.

“Our farm…”

On the living room sofa, Clark quickly recounted the incident.

“I need the information of this Mr. Rickman.”

“Shaking hands can make someone sell the land they have worked hard to manage?”

Chloe, who loved to investigate strange things, instantly became interested.

“Wait, I’ll go upstairs and get the computer.”

Stomp stomp stomp!

She hurriedly ran upstairs.

Clark touched the blue beanie hidden in his pocket.

His plan was to first find out if Rickman had mutant abilities, then get his address from Chloe, and finally go to his place to settle the matter.

Before long, Chloe excitedly came running down with a laptop in her hand. She opened the computer and was about to search for various information about Rickman when she suddenly remembered something and looked outside in confusion.

“By the way, where’s David? How could he not be here when our farm and house are about to be taken away? It’s such a big deal.”

“What about David…”

Clark scratched his head, not knowing how to explain. As soon as he heard his younger brother’s agreement, he immediately used his super speed to arrive in front of Chloe’s house, afraid of wasting any time and losing to his brother.

As for what David was doing now, he didn’t know either.

In the outskirts of the town, in the vast and quiet forest.

Whoosh!

A figure moving at almost the speed of sound suddenly appeared and stopped abruptly, causing a gust of wind that swept up the fallen leaves in front.

【Thanos template integration completed 100%】

【Loading new template】

【New template loading… 1%… 3%】

Stopping his body and making sure there was no one around, David looked at the information in front of him.

He had originally wanted to refuse Clark’s proposal, but suddenly the integration of the Thanos template was completed.

After Clark ran away, he immediately came to this uninhabited forest, ready to welcome the integration of the second template.

“The first time two templates are integrated, I should be more cautious.”

David didn’t want to cause any commotion at the farm and worry his parents.

“What will the new template be?” His eyes lit up with anticipation.

Suddenly, his body heated up, a continuous heat. It felt like scorching magma was surging inside his blood vessels, and the cosmic energy contained in every cell was surging and stirring.

His bones crackled.

Something seemed to be merging deep inside his body.

His heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably. David looked at his hands, and the purple skin that had turned due to using superhuman strength was fading slightly.

He touched his chin, and the grooves that were like ravines were becoming shallower.

Crackle!

A purple energy ripple surged from his hand like an electric current.

A large tree in the distance was hit, and it immediately seemed to be struck by a laser, with a deep and grim wound several centimeters deep and sparks flying.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

One energy ripple after another struck out, sweeping and felling the surrounding trees.

The cosmic energy contained in his body roared. David felt that with the integration of the new template, the previously dormant energy in his body was about to break through some obstacle.

Like a raging tide about to break through a dam, something seemed to be stuck in his chest. Suppressing it, he had a feeling of wanting to let it out, accompanied by a low roar, he punched out.

Buzz!

David’s fist released a high-concentration cosmic energy beam of purple light, roaring and piercing through the tall trees in front, directly blasting hundreds of meters away.

There was a fist-sized hole in the trunks of all the trees in front, and the bark and wood were burned to ashes.

In the blink of an eye, it affected an area of nearly a mile. He quickly restrained the energy.

“Rick Rickman, 42 years old this year, attended Smallville High School, graduated from Western Kansas University, and worked in farm equipment sales after graduation.”

Chloe read out the information she found on the computer.

Being proficient in computer technology, she had developed a program that could concentrate and summarize the information she found, making it more convenient for her to write articles for the school newspaper.

“I didn’t expect Mr. Rickman, who wants to build a chemical plant in our town, to not only be our senior but also a local?”

Browsing through the latest business plan released by Rickman’s company, she curled her lips.

“So this is how he gives back to his hometown?”

“Is there anything strange about him?”

Clark was more concerned about other aspects.

“Let me see…”

She dragged the mouse.

“After graduation, he worked in the sales industry and almost got fired due to poor performance. But the following year, he made a breakthrough and occupied the top spot on the sales charts for three consecutive years. With the huge bonus he received, he established his own company and embarked on a journey in the business world…”

Thinking back to Clark’s inexplicable persuasion of Uncle Jonathan to sell the land and house, Chloe found it suspicious.”Even though he’s often criticized for his chaotic business management, he still manages to sail smoothly, continuously closing big deals and amassing a fortune of billions. Does that count?”

“Was the year he was almost fired, by any chance, the year the meteor shower arrived?”

Clark took a deep breath. It was indeed as David had speculated.

“Yes, it was in 1991.”

There was no need to look up the news to compare the years. The year of the meteor shower was something the townsfolk would never forget, Chloe confirmed.

“Where does he live now, Chloe?”

Now there was only one question left. Clark excitedly stood up.

“146 Mont Street, Metropolis.”

Chloe was a bit puzzled by Clark’s reaction, but he answered anyway.

“Thank you, Chloe. I have to go now.”

Upon hearing the location, Clark thanked Chloe and left quickly with joy.

Not only was he much faster than David, but with Chloe’s help, he saved time on inquiries. He was sure to win this time.

“Wait a minute!”

Chloe saw a piece of news on the webpage, his face changed, and he ran out the door to call Clark.

But Clark was nowhere to be seen.

Running at high speed, unlike David, whose movement could still be traced, Clark was so fast that he was almost invisible. He quickly pulled out a blue mask from his pocket, put it on with a determined look.

He was sure to be one step ahead of his brother this time.

But what Clark didn’t know was that David hadn’t even started yet, and had even planned to let him handle this matter first.

Caw caw!

Dust was flying in the forest, and a dull sound startled a flock of birds.

The energy on his purple skin faded, and David clenched his fist excitedly, feeling a surge of power within him.

The cosmic energy that he could only feel but never harness before, was now at his command. He raised his palm and released it again.

The energy beam hit a dead old tree in the distance.

Under the massive concentrated energy, the entire tree was annihilated, leaving no trace.

【New template loading completed —— Black Emperor template has merged 30%】

“Mutant Black Emperor?”

A surprise joy emerged in David’s eyes.

Now he knew why he could release the energy that he couldn’t release before!

“Not only that, but there are other abilities. The fusion of the two templates with my body seems to be more than just one plus one!”

He clenched his fist, and a dazzling purple light burst from his eyes.


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