After thirty years of growth, Liu A'dou had gained countless honors and become incredibly powerful. But with all of this came a delusion of being invincible. The knowledge in Liu A'dou's mind could indeed allow him to do things that the entire Earth combined could never achieve. However, this didn't mean that Liu A'dou was omnipotent. He wasn't a god; he was just a man, and he could make mistakes.
The future Liu A'dou had become immersed in an overwhelming amount of knowledge, forgetting his usual methods. In the past, when something was impossible for him, he would seek help. But the future Liu A'dou believed that if he couldn't do something, then no one else could.
Spending too much time alone had made him stubborn.
But is that really the case? Well, yes and no.
The Liu A'dou of 2045 was indeed incredibly strong and proud, but he hadn't forgotten that he needed help. He just didn't know who to ask. So, when the consciousness of 2015 Liu A'dou returned, the future Liu A'dou chose to have himself help himself. He opened his small universe to himself; otherwise, Liu A'dou could never have so easily invaded a brain wrapped in a small universe—even if the brain belonged to his future self.
Helping oneself—yet even the future Liu A'dou couldn't do it. Could the 2015 Liu A'dou do it? Liu A'dou himself didn't know, but he would certainly try because the daughter was his too, even though she hadn't been born yet.
The Intergalactic Travelers must never be activated, but that only solved a temporary problem. The real issue was still finding Liu Nono. How to find her? With Krypton exploding, who knows where the soul of the Lord of Time and Space would take her? The universe was so vast, where should he even begin?
Liu A'dou had learned everything, and he was growing more and more concerned. Even though he had many items brought from the future, it was still a difficult task. Liu A'dou ran his hands through his hair, feeling anxious after just two days. He didn't know how to do what his future self couldn't. Then he remembered X Professor from this world, perhaps the professor could help him. But then, thinking about it, the professor didn't have the ability to find a person in the vast universe. So, he gave up.
But opportunities often come unexpectedly. Liu A'dou saw a news report on TV.
"Suspected of murder and multiple assault cases, the criminal suspect Rorschach, who violated the 'Keen Act,' was arrested last night. Rorschach, whose real name is Walter Kovacs, is 35 years old and Caucasian." The screen showed a skinny man with short yellow hair, bruises all over his face. He was the solitary hero Rorschach, a vigilante who fought criminals and thugs alone in the dark. He struck ruthlessly and would not allow his sense of justice to be sullied by anyone.
Liu A'dou dropped the file in his hand and called out to Ada, who was busy checking data beside him. "Ada, do you know the Watchmen?"
"That's the government's darkest document, most of which was destroyed. But by now, we know they were just a group of ordinary people dressed in strange costumes. The most powerful among them, Dr. Manhattan, disappeared a few days ago. He vanished during a live TV broadcast." Ada suddenly seemed to remember something. "Are you looking for Dr. Manhattan's help?" She furrowed her brows. He had worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., but all the documents related to this dark history were vague, and no one knew the final fate of the Watchmen. "To be honest, I don't think they can help us."
"Can we at least wait for them to help us?" Liu A'dou knew it was time for him to take action.
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the American economy had entered a recession, with a severe deficit, while Japan's economy was booming. Many street thugs with samurai-style hair appeared in the United States, and the declining economy led to a skyrocketing unemployment rate and an increase in crime. Additionally, the growing number of nuclear weapons in the Soviet Union caused public panic, and the entire society was in turmoil.
It seemed as if a nuclear war was about to erupt, and no one could stop it. The American people pinned their hopes on Dr. Manhattan to prevent Soviet military activities, or for the doctor to strike first and nuke the Soviet Union.
The entire social environment was tense, like a powder keg, filled with corruption, gambling, and drugs. Even a stable life was at risk. Justice couldn't be upheld, and good people could only make way for evil. In this era, even superheroes had to learn to fall from grace. Those unwilling to accept it had no choice but to take off their masks and leave.
At this moment, a conspiracy was slowly surfacing behind the scenes of the world.
The Watchmen's elder, the Comedian, was murdered in his luxurious apartment. A fierce battle had ensued, and he was thrown from a high-rise, falling to his death. The police claimed the Comedian died in an accident, but Rorschach didn't believe it. He thought someone had planned a deliberate murder targeting the Watchmen. So, he warned a few members of the Watchmen, but no one took it seriously.
As Rorschach continued his investigation, he suspected that a pyramid-like international company was behind the scheme. However, when he went to interrogate people, someone had already beaten him to it, killing the informants. Rorschach was then framed as the murderer.
Rorschach would kill, but only those who deserved it. He would use violence to break people's limbs to interrupt them when questioning informants, but he wouldn't kill them. He also wouldn't use violence in front of civilians because they were the model citizens. Despite Rorschach's paranoia and violent tendencies, he was still a respected masked hero.
"Ada, do you have a costume? I think I need to go out."
Ada smiled slightly. She loved seeing Liu A'dou so full of determination: "Your watch. Just press the green button, and you'll instantly wear your costume, with the full set of equipment. Press the red button to retract it."
High-tech indeed. Liu A'dou looked at himself in the mirror as he instantly donned his Kaito Kid white outfit. "Good thing the costume hasn't changed." All the props were still the same: playing cards, the Kaito Kid's letter, roses, magic card guns, and tranquilizer darts.
That's enough. Liu A'dou was ready to go. He needed to break Rorschach out of prison, then have him take him to meet the other Watchmen, and later have a chat with Dr. Manhattan.
"Ada, you can't just stay idle either. I suspect someone will plan a nuclear explosion in Moscow, New York, Hong Kong, London, Beijing, and Paris. Can you stop it?" Liu A'dou thought that all conspiracies were based on murder, but this time, it would come at the cost of slaughtering millions of civilians. Liu A'dou wouldn't let it succeed.
Ada nodded. "A nuclear explosion? I can stop that."
"That's six cities," Liu A'dou said with concern, worried that Ada wouldn't be able to stop the explosions in six cities simultaneously.
Ada smiled slightly and said, "Even if the entire world were to explode, I could stop it for you."
This was Ada Wang, 30 years later. His wife from the future was so powerful. Liu A'dou really couldn't imagine how much they had grown over the course of thirty years. But since Ada had confidence, so did he. "Well then, Ada, it's time for us to save the world."
Liu A'dou flew out the window, transforming into a spiritual bird in the night, bringing new hope to this chaotic, decaying era.