"Mom, Dad, don't worry—go enjoy yourselves!"
"I've got things covered at home!"
Jovian stood at the front door, waving as Debbie and Nolan stuffed bag after bag into the truck.
"Why the sudden urge to take a road trip?" Debbie asked, a little puzzled. Even so, since both Nolan and Jovian were insisting she should go relax, she didn't feel like pushing back.
"Because we've never actually taken one!" Nolan said, pulling her into his arms as he explained. "Every time, we just whoosh—from this city to that city. Or whoosh—from one country to another."
"I think we need to step outside the whole superhero routine for once. Drive to another city like regular people. Do a real road trip and enjoy it the way normal families do."
"Mm…" Debbie thought about it for a couple seconds, then her frown eased. "Yeah. That does make sense."
"Alright." Nolan straightened up. "Everything's packed. Time to get in and head out."
After he finished loading the last of the luggage into the huge pickup he'd gotten with a quick facial-recognition scan, he nodded to Debbie.
"Do we need to tell Mark?" Debbie looked around, but couldn't spot him anywhere.
"I'll let Mark know," Jovian said with a calm smile.
"You heard him." Nolan lightly guided Debbie by the shoulder. "This place is in Jovian's hands. The kids are grown up—parents deserve to retire a little."
"Okay…" Debbie stepped closer to Jovian and started rattling off reminders anyway. "I bought some microwaveable meals and put them in the fridge. If you get hungry, just heat them up. If you don't feel like it, go grab something at a diner…"
"Alright, alright." Jovian cut in, laughing as he raised both hands. "Mom, we're not little kids."
"Even Mark's a fully independent, fully capable superhero now. And I've been to Mars—so yeah, we understand. Really."
Hearing that, Debbie's worry finally eased. Like Jovian said—both her boys had grown up, and neither of them was someone she needed to fret over anymore.
"Nolan, let's go~" Debbie said, climbing into the passenger seat.
"Sure~" Nolan gave Jovian a quick wink—everything was going according to plan—then slid into the driver's seat, hit the gas, and took off down the street.
"Bye!" Jovian kept waving until the truck disappeared at the end of the road. Only then did he turn around and walk back inside.
"Now that every obstacle is gone," Jovian murmured, "I can start my modification plan."
"First, I need a few helpers…"
Thinking it through, he knew pulling this off alone would be a pain. He needed competent hands—and he already had a couple people in mind.
"System, connect to the One Punch Man world. Open a Spacetime Gate."
"The Spacetime Gate connection is complete. Please select the designated travelers…"
"The Spacetime Gate will automatically provide the travelers with open information from this world."
With Jovian's command, the system instantly linked to the One Punch Man world.
"Good. Designated targets: Dr. Genus and his assistant. Upload the information I prepared into their minds. Begin transmission."
"Upload complete. Transmission ready…"
The system finished Jovian's instructions almost immediately.
In the One Punch Man world, Dr. Genus—who had been working—suddenly froze. An overwhelming flood of information appeared in his mind.
"So it's finally time," he said, smiling as he organized the new knowledge.
"Snap."
Standing in his living room, Jovian casually snapped his fingers. At once, every curtain in the house yanked shut tight—and every hidden listening or surveillance device lost its signal.
Then, a golden, glittering Spacetime Gate opened right in front of him.
The next second, two figures appeared inside the room.
"Welcome to my world, Dr. Genus… and Armored Gorilla."
Jovian watched them arrive with a pleased smile.
"I didn't expect what you said to be true," Dr. Genus said as he stepped out of the gate, eyes sweeping across this unfamiliar world with fascination. "Another world really does exist. Interesting…"
At his side stood Armored Gorilla—wearing an apron—who had clearly received the information Jovian wanted them to have, yet still looked like his brain hadn't fully caught up to reality.
"I've already told you the key intel about this world," Jovian said, looking at Dr. Genus in his black suit. "So what to do next… I don't need to spell it out, do I?"
"Of course not." Dr. Genus smiled back. "But first, I need a new lab."
"Where do you plan to build it?" Jovian asked.
"Here." Dr. Genus pointed at the floor beneath Jovian's feet.
Jovian raised an eyebrow. "How long until it's finished?"
"If I have all my equipment," Dr. Genus replied, "I can put together a simple lab in about three hours, at the fastest. After that, I can keep upgrading it over time."
"Good." Jovian nodded. "Tell me what you need."
"It's all in here." Dr. Genus handed him a tablet. Everything he needed was listed in the notes app.
"Alright." Jovian glanced over it. "A few of the big pieces might be hard for me to get, but the smaller stuff is no problem."
He lifted a hand slightly.
A flash of light—
And countless machines and instruments appeared throughout the house.
"This is practically a miracle," Dr. Genus muttered, pushing up the glasses on his nose. "When I teleported, I didn't really feel it. But watching you summon equipment with a wave of your hand…"
"I am a god," Jovian said, smiling faintly.
"Of course~" Dr. Genus immediately bowed, reverent. "I've always believed you will become the great true god who leads all humanity's evolution—the emperor of human civilization!"
In the stories people told, God claimed the meek would inherit the world someday.
But God had never accounted for Jovian.
Dr. Genus stared at him with absolute conviction. Evolution belonged in Jovian's hands—and in humanity's own hands—not in the hands of some invisible, intangible deity that only existed inside prayers.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 10 extra free chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810