Chapter 90: A Little Fix-Up
2023-10-23 Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
"All data encryption has been cracked."
As Orin Vale walked through the spaceship he had captured from Brainiac, Pal's voice echoed in his ear.
"All historical, cultural, and technological development data records from nineteen different civilizations have been accessed," Pal said.
"Only nineteen, huh," Orin Vale let out a faint sigh.
That was fewer than he had expected. He had originally thought he could get more out of Old Bu's spaceship, but it appeared this was just one of Old Bu's countless invasion warships scattered across the universe. It was only natural that the gains were limited.
There were miniaturized cities on this ship as well, but only nineteen of them, corresponding to the nineteen extinct civilizations whose data was on board. Krypton's Capital City, Kandor City, was not among them.
"All data on the miniaturized cities has been found," Pal continued. "The process for cities that have completed the Bottled Encapsulation is irreversible. At least, according to the database left by Brainiac, once the miniaturized encapsulation is complete, they can never be restored to their original size."
"Understood." Orin Vale nodded.
For cities absorbed by Old Bu, the shrinking process could be canceled and their size restored at any time within the first hour. After an hour, however, the encapsulation was complete. Rashly trying to undo it would have a devastating effect on the Bottle City.
In truth, it probably wasn't completely impossible to restore them. He remembered that in the Original Work, after Superman snatched Krypton's Capital City back from Old Bu, it took a long time, but they eventually found a technique to restore it.
There were still ways; they just required more research and discovery.
Overall, the spoils of war were quite good. After his first battle with Old Bu, he could feel that his base stats had improved significantly, and he had also obtained a spaceship loaded with the knowledge of extinct civilizations. Moreover, the ship itself could serve as a breakthrough point for further research into Brainiac's technology, allowing him to make further preparations for the eventual arrival of Brainiac's Main Body.
Orin Vale knew that after this battle, Brainiac had definitely set his sights on him. For a collector-maniac like him, the allure of a rare species that defied all common sense, like an Ultraman, was like an otaku seeing a naked figurine in a display case—utterly irresistible.
For Brainiac, turning such a rare creature into a specimen was probably more important than conquering ten civilizations.
Therefore, Orin Vale held no illusions; Old Bu would definitely be back. Before that happened, he needed to further understand Brainiac's technology to prepare for a true all-out war.
The amount of knowledge waiting to be absorbed had grown again. More technology and more problems were waiting for him to tackle, which made him feel exceptionally fulfilled.
Learning made him happy.
This was the personal discipline of an outstanding intern from the Land of Light Technology Bureau.
Brainiac's mechanical technology was truly skilled. The Elite Minions he created could almost go toe-to-toe with Superman in hand-to-hand combat, relying solely on their Strength and Physical Strength—though, of course, they were ultimately fated to be torn apart by Superman's hands.
Orin Vale also quickly absorbed and drew upon his technological concepts in related fields to upgrade his own armor.
After a full day and night of work, the third-generation Mobile Armor upgrade was complete.
It had higher energy efficiency, enhanced damage output for its Light Energy weapons, and its defensive structure was reinforced by the Light Energy power source, allowing it to withstand the Impact of a Kryptonian.
And the most significant improvement was the enhancement of its power structure.
By borrowing Brainiac's power structure design, which could rival Superman, and driving it with the Light Energy of the Ultraman Race, supplemented by Orin Vale's own Super Strength, the third-generation armor could achieve a terrifying level of power output.
As expected, Old Bu really delivered when it came to Black Technology, and this was just the Tip of the Iceberg of the spoils gained from him. If he could take down the warship where Old Bu's Main Body resided, the gains would be unimaginable.
"The Negative Phase Wave Radar is showing a reaction, sir. The reaction level is quite strong," Pal said.
"In Metropolis?"
The radar's reactions in Metropolis weren't as frequent as in Gotham.
"It's been marked on the map. Should we go take a look?"
Metropolis, the outskirts.
A strange creature was coiled in the dense forest on the outskirts, its large body unfurled. It was about four meters tall, with a pair of thick, powerful tentacles covered in tiny feelers. Its head was oval-shaped, with unique, cat-like eyes. Its grayish-brown skin was covered in hard, shiny scales, which shimmered faintly like armor.
The Red-haired Woman was nearby. She made a hand gesture, and her subordinates, the Strong Man and the Maid, quickly gathered around.
"Alright, 'Ucto' is now ready."
As she spoke, she glanced at the monster writhing in the forest nearby. Ucto was the monster's name.
"Now, Sas, repeat our plan," she ordered, turning to the Strong Man.
The Strong Man, called Sas, thought for a moment and said, "The plan is, we release the Fierce Beast 'Ucto,' and that guy named Super... Super-guy should show up..."
"It's 'Superman,'" the Red-haired Woman corrected with a frown. "The most powerful man in the galaxy!"
"Right, Superman. And then, Your Highness..." He hastily corrected himself when he noticed the Red-haired Woman glaring at him, "...oh, no, it's you, Sister, you pretend to be scared and take the opportunity to throw yourself into his arms..."
"Close enough." The Red-haired Woman nodded. "You finally remembered. What about our backstory?"
Sas tried hard to remember for a good while, then asked cautiously, "Um... our planet was destroyed, and we're the last survivors?"
The Red-haired Woman stared at him coldly.
"Uh... is it that we discovered Earth was in danger and came all this way to save them?"
The Red-haired Woman's face was expressionless.
Sas looked like he was about to cry. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, you have too many versions of the script! I... I-I-I can't remember them all..."
"There was a civil war in our planet's Royal Family, and we were chased all the way to Earth by a cosmic Fierce Beast to seek refuge, got it?" the Red-haired Woman explained impatiently. "He's a powerful man who sympathizes with the weak. We'll gain his favor more easily if we position ourselves as the weak ones in need of help."
"Got it, I'll definitely remember this time..."
The Maid at the side said weakly, "Um... Your Highness, there's something..."
"Whatever it is, it can wait," the Red-haired Woman said impatiently. "Can't you see I'm busy helping this idiot remember his lines?"
"No, Your Highness, but our Ucto..." the Maid pointed to the side, "...it's about to be killed by someone."
"Huh?"
The Red-haired Woman and Sas whipped their heads around in the direction she was pointing.
The moment they turned, they saw it.
A red-and-silver Steel Body was holding the cosmic Fierce Beast up by its tentacles, lifting its entire body and smashing it violently against the ground!
A series of deafening booms echoed, shaking the forest as if an earthquake had struck. After a few rounds of this, the Fierce Beast Ucto was lying on the ground like a dead fish, its breaths growing shallow.
The three of them stood stunned for a long moment.
The Maid slowly turned her head and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness... this doesn't seem to be the 'Superman' you were talking about, does he?"
"Obviously! Are you blind?"
The Red-haired Woman shot her a glare, gritting her teeth as her mountainous chest heaved with fury.
"How dare he ruin my plans! Sas, go teach him a lesson for me!"
After a moment's thought, she added.
"Just drive him away."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
(end of chapter)