The Black Dragon Fortress drifted in the upper stratosphere like a silent omen. The cloaking field—now powered by the hybrid Spirit-Fusion core—bent light and radiation around the hull, leaving it invisible even to the advanced orbital arrays of this world.
Inside the bridge, Su Chen stood before the panoramic projection.
A young man trained below, hovering above a shattered cityscape on a floating shield. Six throwing knives spiraled around him with precise, surgical intent—cutting arcs through the air under mental command.
Esdeath leaned forward, arms crossed. "He's sharp. His killing pressure is almost… feral."
"He's the son of this plane," Su Chen replied. "Fate bends around him."
He turned from the screen.
"But right now, he's just a walking archive."
He stepped toward the exit hatch.
"Lin Xiya—maintain full cloak. I'm going down. The AI in his wrist… I need it."
---
The Wilderness Encounter
Luo Feng exhaled heavily as the last commander-level beast collapsed at his feet. His uniform was torn, coated in dust and drying blood.
Then—
Danger.
A familiar scream cracked through his mind.
"Luo Feng! Above you! High-energy signature!"
Babata's shrill alarm jolted his nerves.
Luo Feng snapped upward instantly. His six throwing knives snapped into a defensive sphere.
Something descended from the clouds.
A man.
He wasn't riding a shield.
He wasn't using equipment.
He was simply standing on the air as if gravity had rules for everyone else but him.
The black tactical robe he wore fluttered weightlessly. His eyes glowed faint gold—calm, analytical, predatory.
Su Chen touched ground ten meters away.
Pressure rolled off him like a tidal wave. Not just Genetic Energy—something deeper. Ancient. Violent. Iron Armored Dragon might fused with Death Aura. Enough to make the beasts in the region flee instantly.
Luo Feng tightened his grip on his mental threads. "Who are you? Did the Dojo of Limits send you? An Inspector?"
"No." Su Chen's smile was faint. "Just a traveler."
His gaze drifted to Luo Feng's wrist guard—too precisely.
"And I'm here to talk to the demon hiding in your watch."
Luo Feng's breath hitched.
He knows?!
"Kill him, Luo Feng!" Babata screeched inside his mind.
"He knows too much! He might be from the wider Universe!"
Luo Feng didn't hesitate.
His fingers cut through the air.
"GO!"
The six throwing knives shot toward Su Chen like bullets fired at Mach 10. The air cracked around them.
Su Chen simply raised one finger.
Telekinesis — S-Rank.
Mind Authority.
PING. PING. PING.
The knives froze mid-flight. Inches from his eyes. Suspended as if caught in hardened resin.
They trembled under the pressure—Luo Feng's mental force being crushed effortlessly.
"Your control isn't bad," Su Chen said. "But your weapon is primitive."
He flicked his finger.
The knives slammed into the concrete beside them, buried deep.
"I'm not here to kill you. If I wanted that…" Su Chen stepped forward; the air distorted around him. "I would drop a mountain on you from orbit."
Luo Feng tried to move—but couldn't.
Space Authority: Lock.
The world tightened around him like glass.
Su Chen stood inches from him now.
"I want to see the Soaring Shuttle."
"How do you know—"
"Babata." Su Chen addressed the wrist guard directly. "Open the storage. Show me the weapon of the Yun Mo Planet Master. Or I'll crush your shell and wipe your core code clean."
The wrist guard's hologram exploded outward.
A small demonic child—red eyes, horns—materialized, furious.
"You arrogant primitive! I'm a high-level AI! You think you can delete—"
Su Chen's irises flashed bright blue.
Mind Stone — Mind Authority: Digital Override.
He reached for the hologram.
Touching light should be impossible.
But Su Chen wasn't touching photons—
He was touching the data behind them.
ZZZZRRRT!
Babata screamed.
"ERROR—! UNAUTHORIZED ROOT ACCESS—!"
"STOP—STOP—STOP—!!"
"Show me the Shuttle," Su Chen commanded.
Babata flickered violently, then obeyed.
The storage space opened.
A sleek, silver construct floated out—a simple shape with terrifying presence. Not a single blade, but 365 micro-blades held together by a magnetic matrix.
The Soaring Shuttle.
Su Chen placed his palm on the surface.
A duplicate shimmered into existence inside his Infinite Storage.
But he wasn't done.
"Babata. Upload the Soaring Shuttle Control Manual. Direct neural transfer."
Babata's projection shook violently.
"I—I—Yes… Admin…"
Streams of encrypted alien knowledge pierced into Su Chen's mind.
First Form — Mountain Drill.
Second Form — Golden Swordfish.
Third Form — Domain.
"Received," he said simply.
Babata collapsed back into the wrist guard like a dying flame.
"Luo Feng…" the AI whispered, traumatized. "That man… touched my core programming. With his brain. He's not human."
Luo Feng swallowed hard, chest heaving. "You… stole his weapon?"
"I copied it," Su Chen corrected calmly.
He looked at the wrist guard again.
"And you… you're quite useful."
Babata twitched as Su Chen ripped an entire civilization's recorded knowledge into himself.
"Thanks for the maps."
Su Chen stepped away.
He released Space Authority.
Luo Feng collapsed to his knees, gasping air like a drowning man.
"Work hard, Luo Feng," Su Chen said without looking back. "The Golden Horned Beast will appear soon. Try not to die."
And he vanished—Shadow Step, as if he had never been there.
---
The New Crew Member
Back aboard the Black Dragon Fortress, the engineering bay hummed with a new kind of energy.
Su Chen held a glowing data chip—manifested to carry the AI code he extracted.
"Saya. Lin Xiya. A gift."
They both turned.
"This," Su Chen said, offering the chip, "is Babata—Type-3 Civilization AI. He carries universal star maps, advanced tech, higher cultivation data, and ship engineering knowledge."
Saya blinked. "…You stole an AI?"
"I copied him," Su Chen corrected again.
He plugged the data chip into the mainframe.
LOADING…
SYSTEM REBOOT…
Lights flickered across the ship.
A new hologram formed in the center of the bridge—feminine silhouette, neon red hair, slender horns, gothic cyber-armor.
Su Chen had edited the code deliberately.
She bowed gracefully. "Greetings, Master. Integration complete. Beginning system analysis."
She paused.
Then frowned.
"Warning: This ship is a disaster. Who fuses a truck with a spaceship using spirit crystals and rune welding?!"
Saya's eyebrow twitched. "It's called creative design."
"It's called engineering heresy," Babata countered. "However… this Spirit-Fusion Drive is fascinating. I can optimize output efficiency by forty percent."
Su Chen clapped once. "Good. No fighting. Play nice."
He turned to the display window.
"Babata, do we have fabrication capability for the Soaring Shuttle blades?"
"Yes, Master. With the Dragon Steel Scales you harvested, I can forge your personal shuttle. And one for Lin Xiya."
"Do it."
He looked at the stars outside.
Now he had:
the Soaring Shuttle (Weapon)
the Five Hearts to Heaven (Cultivation Path)
the Black Dragon Fortress (Ship)
the Universal Database (Knowledge)
Earth was done.
This Earth, at least.
"Babata," Su Chen said softly, "plot our course."
"Destination, Master? Mars? Carolas Galaxy?"
He shook his head.
"We return to my Earth first. Integrate everything. Upgrade the base."
His eyes sharpened, a quiet hunger glinting there.
"And then…"
A long pause.
"We go to a world where my Gold Body can stretch its legs."
He raised his hand.
"Prepare the Dimensional Drive."
"Target World:
One Punch Man."