Five days later,
The supreme leader of the Argent Federation claimed full responsibility for the Gattuso Desert explosion and made a portion of the Project Minpaten files public.
"Following constructive discussions with Excellency Hyuk, the Argent Federation has resolved to actively cooperate under the guidance of the Navy-blues Alliance, dedicating our resources to rebuilding the post-war world..."
The Argent Federation did not formally join the Navy-blues Alliance. Without a concrete adversary to face, the alliance itself had lost its primary purpose of existence.
However, moving forward, the Argent Federation pledged to closely coordinate with the Navy-blues, genuinely contributing to the establishment of a stable and peaceful global order.
...
Navy-blues Alliance, Ranada City.
"Excellency Hyuk, it is wonderful to see you unharmed! We are truly overjoyed!"
The old geezers of the Alliance smiled with convincing warmth, though their true thoughts were far darker. In reality, they had desperately wished Hyuk had vaporized in the Gattuso Desert.
Whispers and rumors rippled through every corner of the city.
"Even a nuclear bomb couldn't kill her?"
"And that wasn't just any nuke. Its yield was far greater than a standard atomic bomb."
"So where has she been for the past three months?"
"Who knows."
"I heard the very first thing she did upon her return was pay a visit to the Argent Federation. Is that true?"
"Of course it is. Why else would the Federation put out that apology? Ten to one, she beat them into absolute submission."
"..."
"Right."
Hyuk ignored the military brass and the political elites. Cold and expressionless, she couldn't be bothered to entertain their superficial pleasantries. She preferred to be left in peace.
"Leave it. Don't disturb her. It will only annoy her."
General Whis stopped the military officers from approaching.
Just then,
A young girl ran up anxiously. It was Cynthia, who had crossed paths with Hyuk before.
"Excellency Hyuk, it is so good to see you are okay!"
Hyuk offered a faint smile.
She gently patted Cynthia's hair like one would comfort a child, remaining silent. Cynthia's face immediately flushed crimson, her eyes alight with pure excitement.
Was this what a successful fan encounter felt like?
In the eyes of her fanatical worshippers, Hyuk had become an absolute icon. She was invincible, immortal, a living symbol of faith.
On a broader scale, her presence had completely derailed Planao's preordained historical trajectory. Nations across the globe were rapidly establishing biological research labs, desperately trying to engineer superhumans capable of rivaling her power.
Since the first superhuman had already emerged, they believed it was entirely possible to engineer a second. Hyuk's terrifying power, after all, was plain for everyone to see.
Hyuk was aware of their efforts but had no intention of interfering. How this world chose to develop was of no concern to her; her only priority was to complete her mission.
With the strategic policies of the world's major factions falling neatly in line with Hyuk's will, a genuine era of peace was ushered in, and the reconstructed post-war order grew more stable by the day.
This mission was far from easy.
Hyuk waited for a full fifty years.
Over those five decades, the people around her aged one by one. The vibrant young boys and girls of her youth withered into old age, yet she remained entirely untouched by time, her youth eternally preserved.
She had long transcended the very concept of humanity. Strictly speaking, she belonged to the realm of dense astronomical bodies, categorized alongside white dwarfs and neutron stars.
During this half-century, quite a few Terrans and extraterrestrials managed to cross over to Planao through the Lotus City door. However, unable to see the door's remaining duration, none of them dared linger for long, and they quickly returned.
They caused absolutely no trouble for Hyuk.
...
The year 1990.
Cynthia passed away from an illness.
She had spent her entire life as Hyuk's devoted admirer. Following the end of the war, Hyuk's active presence and authority gradually faded from the public eye. She had no desire for fame, and the global clamor surrounding her eventually quieted down.
Yet, Cynthia and Hyuk had formed a genuine bond, becoming rare and cherished friends.
Perhaps no one else would remember Cynthia; she was simply too ordinary, a mere speck in the grand scheme of things. To Hyuk, it felt like only a blink of an eye had passed, yet the girl she knew had already grown white-haired and frail.
But to Hyuk, this girl was the only memory from these fifty years worth holding onto. Aside from her, this entire stretch of time had been utterly unremarkable.
At Cynthia's funeral, she placed a photograph inside the grave. It was a black-and-white photo of the two of them standing side by side.
It was also the only photograph Hyuk had ever taken with anyone over those long decades.
General Whis had already passed away thirty years prior.
The old guard of the Navy-blues Alliance had all passed away one by one over the decades. While the architecture of Ranada City hadn't changed much, the streets were now filled with far too many unfamiliar, cold faces.
In the blink of an eye, the world had reshaped itself.
It was in this very year that Hyuk completed the first stage of her main mission.
——
[Main Mission · Phase One · Completed]
[Reward: Evolution Rate · 10%]
[Evolution Rate: 95%]
——
Just a fraction more, and she would undergo another evolution.
Over the last few decades, the Navy-blues Alliance, the former Emeralds faction, and the Argent Federation had dedicated massive amounts of resources and effort toward forging a true global system, finally securing this stable era of world peace.
The underdeveloped regions of the world didn't instantly become advanced or wealthy, but securing basic necessities like food and shelter caused regional chaos and crime rates to plummet.
Still, a handful of territories and nations suffered large-scale rebellions and civil unrest. Hyuk had personally intervened on several occasions, suppressing the uprisings with swift, bloody, and iron-fisted ruthlessness.
She killed a great deal of people.
Since these were mostly obscure, minor regions with negligible international influence, the global community paid little mind. In truth, no one really cared how many lives were lost there.
There were only ever brief mentions in minor news broadcasts.
Hyuk was far from a mindless mass murderer, but her accumulated body count over those decades had grown into an intimidating figure.
[Strength: 20.48 million tons]
Compared to her stats from fifty years ago, her strength had nearly doubled. Hyuk was now one step closer to becoming a humanoid neutron star. Meanwhile, her next task followed immediately.
——
[Main Mission · Phase Two: You have brought an end to this planet's war, establishing a stable order and peace. Next, please guide this planet's civilization toward a superhuman-oriented path of development.]
[Mission Reward: Evolution Rate · 15%]
——
Completing this phase would trigger Hyuk's next evolution. She had no need to ponder whether forcing a superhuman path onto Planao was ethically correct; perhaps this was simply the destined future this Quadrant desired.
When Hyuk finally reappeared before the leadership of the Navy-blues Alliance, the newly appointed officials barely recognized her. She addressed the high-ranking officers:
"How is the Alliance's superhuman project progressing?"
"Cough... cough," a frail old man leaning on a cane replied with great surprise. "Is Excellency Hyuk interested in the superhuman project? If you'd like, I can personally escort you to review the details."
"Then I will trouble you to do so."
Hyuk nodded.
The old man's features bore a striking resemblance to her memories of General Whis. Hyuk recognized him immediately: "Are you General Whis's son?"
"Haha, I'm honored that you still remember me."
Gibson was genuinely surprised.
Hyuk was characteristically direct.
"He was the only one in the military I could call a close friend. I still remember seeing you at his funeral thirty years ago. You were much younger then."
"I was only in my thirties back then. But look at you, not a single day has touched your face."
As the two walked side by side, Hyuk easily looked like the junior. In reality, Gibson was her junior; when Hyuk first joined the Navy-blues Alliance, Gibson was still in school.
Time had completely failed to leave a mark on this legendary hero. Seeing Hyuk again filled Gibson with immense nostalgia; back in his student days, he had been one of her most ardent admirers.
In this peaceful era, large-scale wars had vanished, replaced only by isolated regional conflicts. Opportunities for military promotion were scarce.
Because of this, Gibson chose to enter politics.
Through decades of navigating the political landscape, backed by the substantial military and political legacy left behind by General Whis, he had finally secured a prominent position among the Alliance's leadership.
He asked Hyuk, "What made you take an interest in this field of research?"
"Just a passing whim."
It was a blatantly dismissive answer.
Gibson chose not to pry further. As he led the way, he said, "Ever since your appearance, nations around the world have been heavily investing in superhuman research and experimentation."
Hyuk was curious. "Any real breakthroughs?"
"Yes," Gibson nodded. "The earliest superhuman experiments were the Emeralds' super-soldiers. They were injected with a chemical agent that allowed them to fight for over ten days without rest. However, the side effects were catastrophic, it completely burned out their physical potential and drained their lifespans. Strictly speaking, it was a failure."
The two stepped inside a heavily secured research facility.
Gibson continued, "After the war ended, the Alliance seized a vast amount of human experimentation data from the Emeralds' nations. While we lagged behind the Argent Federation in atomic research, we have always been far ahead in this particular field."
This supposed lead, however, was merely a deeper theoretical understanding. In reality, the Alliance had still been unable to engineer a true superhuman, until they acquired a highly unusual cell.
It was a biological cell they designated XDS, commonly referred to as fusion cells. These fusion cells carried highly anomalous gene sequences that could seamlessly bind with human DNA.
Subsequently,
The Alliance utilized these cells to culture their very first generation of artificial superhumans.
Utilizing his high-level security clearance, Gibson accessed the facility's database and pulled up the archival records. "In 1947, the Alliance cultured the very first generation of superhumans."
In the grainy, black-and-white footage, researchers were seen testing the first-generation test subjects, measuring their running speed, weighted push-up limits, punching power, muscular flexibility, and bone density.
The metrics revealed that these superhumans possessed physical attributes three to five times greater than average humans. At the time, this was hailed as a monumental, exhilarating breakthrough.
Unfortunately, severe flaws quickly manifested. The first-generation subjects began suffering from a cascade of physiological and psychological disorders, eventually either dying from acute organ failure or collapsing into psychotic madness.
While the first generation was ultimately declared a failure, the progress made was undeniable. The Alliance pushed forward with their research into the fusion cells, aiming to engineer an even stronger, more perfect breed of superhumans.
As Hyuk flipped through the files of the second-generation candidates, her eyes locked onto a profile: a twenty-six-year-old man named Derek, codenamed Hercules.
She asked, "Was this superhuman modeled after me?"
Gibson glanced at the folder and nodded, confessing without hesitation. He knew better than to hide anything from her; trying to deceive Hyuk would only invite a much larger catastrophe down the line.
"Yes."
He retrieved a videotape and slotted it into the player. "In 1959, we successfully cultured the second generation. Their physical parameters completely eclipsed those of the first. Not only did they possess vastly superior physiques, but they also exhibited various unique abilities. Most importantly, they suffered from no physiological or psychological defects, our researchers had successfully patched the genetic instability."
The research team had managed to create what appeared to be a flawless superhuman. That man was Derek. He possessed an incredible physical capacity of several hundred tons, coupled with a virtually indestructible physiology.
Furthermore, he could fly.
He was, for all intents and purposes, a synthesized replica of Hyuk.
The scientists codenamed him Hercules, because he truly resembled the mythical hero, wielding colossal strength and possessing the ability to dominate land, sea, and sky.
"Initially, we were convinced he was the future of mankind, our next step in evolution. Unfortunately, our researchers were never able to replicate him. His creation was a complete anomaly."
"Is he still in active service?"
"We deployed him to suppress regional armed insurgencies. He's been serving for nearly thirty years now. Most of our other superhumans are deployed similarly."
Hyuk noticed a prominent high-risk warning flagged on Derek's profile. The notes explicitly described his personality as extremely arrogant, egocentric, and occasionally highly difficult to control.
In that regard, he shared a striking resemblance to Hyuk.
"Surely you put some contingency plans in place to keep him from going rogue?"
"We did." Gibson tapped his own temple. "The research team implanted a micro-bomb in Derek's brain. It's our absolute last resort."
That made sense.
Derek himself had no idea it was there.
Hyuk asked, "Which generation of superhumans are you currently culturing?"
"The third generation. In terms of pure physical strength, they can't match Hercules, but they excel in terms of versatile abilities. This has been a massive boon to our scientific research and industrial sectors. Some have become researchers, while others work as manufacturing technicians. That's how the Alliance's productivity managed to skyrocket so quickly."
Derek was an accidental masterpiece, his sheer power completely eclipsing the third generation. The Alliance had never been able to replicate that miracle in subsequent experiments.
Hyuk was more curious about whether rival factions outside the Alliance had made any significant progress in superhuman research. If not, the Alliance would have outpaced the rest of the world by too wide a margin.
Gibson provided an answer: "Generally speaking, the Alliance's superhumans are still vastly superior."
So they did exist.
The catalyst for everything was still the fusion cells. Without even investigating, Hyuk could guess that this material highly likely originated from some Earth superhuman or an extraterrestrial lifeform.
Before entering the door, she had been approached by a Merger. That extraterrestrial, Terminal, had mentioned that their race possessed a merging ability. The sheer genetic diversity of the superhuman traits within the fusion cells lined up perfectly with that characteristic. Perhaps the cells did come from a Merger. However, Hyuk couldn't be certain if the merging ability Terminal spoke of operated at a genetic or cellular level.
For all she knew, it could just be a physical fusion.
It was merely a theory.
...
A conflict zone.
Over the comms channel, the commander's voice rang out: "Derek, focus only on neutralizing hostile targets. Do not engage unarmed civilians."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Derek replied, his voice dripping with impatience. "Always the same script. Can't you say something else for once? I told you, I'll play it by ear."
With that,
He launched himself into the sky, flying toward an armed insurgent stronghold several kilometers away.
The commander's warning crackled over the channel once more: "We've received intel that the insurgent leader is a superhuman. His strength might not be much lower than yours. Exercise caution."
Hearing this,
Derek furrowed his brow.
BOOM!
He suddenly accelerated. His form shattered the sound barrier, streaking across the sky before slamming down like a meteor directly into the heart of the insurgent stronghold.
A deafening BOOM echoed.
A violent shockwave rippled outward, whipping up a gale of dust and debris.
"Enemy attack!"
The armed insurgents inside the stronghold shrieked in panic, raising their weapons to unleash a frantic hail of gunfire at Derek, who stood completely exposed. He didn't even bother to dodge, treating himself like a stationary target.
Bullets and rockets rained down on him in a relentless torrent, only to be deflected by his indestructible skin. Spent shell casings clattered onto the ground in heaps.
When the gunfire finally subsided,
Derek stretched and yawned, lazily scanning the surrounding insurgents.
"Out of ammo? Is that really the best you can do? Well, since you're done, it's my turn..."
The moment the words left his lips,
His figure blurred. His hardened body tore through the stronghold like a wrecking ball. He generated sporadic sonic booms that knocked the insurgents off their feet, occasionally tossing men high into the air just to savor their agonizing screams as they plummeted back down.
He treated the slaughter as a mere game.
"We surrender!"
"We're just civilians! We were forced into this! Their leader threatened to execute us if we didn't dig the mines for them! We had no choice..."
CRACK!
Caught up in the thrill, Derek failed to decelerate in time and plowed straight through a group of pleading civilians, reducing them to a bloody mist. He simply shrugged his shoulders, utterly indifferent to their lives.
Possessing such absolute, godlike power had led him to view ordinary humans as nothing more than ants and playthings. His twisted personality knew no restraint, and within minutes, the entire stronghold had been systematically wiped out.
"Is that it? Where's this supposed superhuman?"
Derek muttered, disappointed.
Just then,
He caught a faint sound in the distance, and his excitement immediately flared.
"Found you!"
He surged forward, eager to capture this rumored superhuman and test if the commander's intel was accurate. Frankly, he had never encountered a superhuman who could match him.
A long while later,
Derek floated high in the air, hoisting a blood-battered man by the collar. Derek's own combat suit was shredded in several places, and rare purple bruises marred his exposed skin.
He looked entirely disappointed. "You're just slightly stronger and a bit more durable. You can't even fly, buddy. How can you even compare to me?"
"Pl... please, spare me..."
"No can do." Derek cleanly snapped the man's neck with a sickening CRACK. "If I actually spared you, people might start thinking you actually had a chance against me."
He was obsessively sensitive about how others perceived him.
In particular, he absolutely refused to tolerate anyone being stronger than himself.
The unfortunate soul who died at Derek's hands wasn't a native Planao superhuman, but a Terran. He had been able to augment his physical attributes by absorbing a rare local mineral, which was why he had traveled all this way to mine it.
Too bad his luck ran out, ending his journey right then and there.
When the Alliance military reached the stronghold, the commander's face turned incredibly grim at the sight of the bodies blanketing the floor. He did his best to suppress his rising fury.
"Derek! I explicitly told you not to harm civilians! They were just miners held hostage by this insurgent group!"
"Couldn't be helped. They all came at me screaming for blood. I had to defend myself."
Lying was as effortless as breathing for Derek; he had pulled this stunt far too many times. He strode up to the commander, a heavy, threatening pressure in his gaze.
"And another thing, I don't like you talking down to me with that commanding, lecturing tone. Do it again, and I'll rip your head off."
"..."
The commander's fury instantly dissolved into fearful silence.
Back at the base,
"Hey, Derek!"
A fellow superhuman named Razor waved as he approached. Derek had little interest in entertaining this overly talkative pest and gave a curt, freezing nod.
Razor was in high spirits, rambling on. "I finally accumulated enough leave! I'm heading over to Ranada City in two days. Who knows, maybe I'll cross paths with the Alliance's great hero! I heard she's been living there all this time. I've been dying to test my luck."
The second-generation superhumans had been created relatively close to the era of Hyuk's active military exploits. It was only natural that many of them practically worshipped her.
After all, she was the very first superhuman to ever exist.
Derek, however, was highly sensitive about any topic concerning Hyuk. The researchers had specifically modified his genetic code using her as a baseline template to create him.
Hyuk was invulnerable, so he was invulnerable.
Hyuk possessed colossal strength, so he possessed colossal strength.
Hyuk could fly, so he could fly.
In the beginning, this comparison was a badge of honor. After all, she was the Alliance's legendary hero, an invincible savior adored by millions. Derek had basked in that reflected glory, brimming with pride.
But when the researchers expressed disappointment in his physical capacity, Derek's attitude soured. The scientists told him outright that he fell vastly short of Hyuk.
From then on, Derek utterly loathed being compared to Hyuk. Whenever his fragile ego was scratched, he would erupt into an uncontrollable rage.
Derek couldn't contain his irritation.
"What is there to admire about some washed-up old relic? Her era is long gone."
"It's not about her being outdated," Razor replied, his voice brimming with fanatical reverence. "Do you have any idea how many hostiles she eliminated during World War II? Ten million! No one will ever replicate a military record like that. Her power is unrivaled, peerless!"
Razor sounded like an obsessed fan, which only soured Derek's mood further.
"She was simply born earlier than me. If I had been the one active during World War II, I wouldn't necessarily have been inferior to her."
"Pfft, please."
Razor scoffed instinctively, letting slip a comment he immediately regretted: "Bro, without her, you wouldn't even exist, alright?"
Instantly,
The atmosphere in the room froze solid.
...
The next day.
Base soldiers discovered Razor's corpse. His head had been completely torn from his shoulders, and his body was ripped to shreds. The scene was sickeningly brutal.
After a swift forensic sweep, every piece of evidence pointed directly at Derek. Once the investigative report was filed, Derek was promptly ordered to report for interrogation.