Colt rolled over and sat up, hissing as he clutched his even more aching waist. He grimaced while changing his clothes, his movements slowed down again after reading the messages.
The 7:00 text asked Colt what he wanted for breakfast. The 8:00 text said he would be taking Robin Bird out today and wouldn't be back for dinner, telling Colt to stay safe.
Colt slumped on the sofa, covering his face with his jacket.
Dad definitely guessed it!
They had been careful last night, but just now in the bathroom, he had taken the initiative and didn't have time to grab any protection. It didn't matter; Timothy is healthy, he is very healthy.
Colt pulled the jacket covering his face even tighter.
Colt, oxygen is still a necessity for you." Timothy crouched by the sofa, lifting a corner of the clothing to peek at Colt through the gap, said with a smile, "Look, your face is all flushed red.
Was that a face flushed from lack of oxygen? No, it was capillary dilation caused by shame!
Colt pulled down his jacket, staring at Timothy, who was walking around without a shirt on. His symptoms of capillary dilation were even more apparent, spreading from his face to the tips of his ears, then down to his neck.
The sight was so beautiful that Tim could not take his eyes off it.
Tim liked Colt when he was calmly planning everything beforehand, being as serious as if he were tackling a research topic even in bed. Even when the first round ended, he would start critiquing the successes and failures before his breathing had even evened out. Tim also liked Colt when his reason was swept away by pleasure, chasing joy and forgetting all his plans. So, he opened a second battlefield, determined to make it impossible for Colt's brain to think. Tim also liked Colt like this now, blushing so deeply that his entire body turned pink after the act.
How could someone be so cute!
Timothy was also infected by the sentiment, his face flushing as he kissed Colt's sparkling eyes.
Good afternoon, Colt, I love you.
Good afternoon, Tim, me too.
Colt sat up, biting his lip as he looked down to find his shoes. He deleted the "I love you" following the name and replaced it with another word.
Love, love, love—it was just too mushy. Saying "I love you" face-to-face made him feel like he'd be right back in bed in the next second.
Timothy didn't let Colt wear shoes; instead, he carried him straight downstairs and placed him in a chair cushioned with soft pillows.
His cooking was barely enough to keep himself from starving. Since Colt didn't like cold food, he made cereal with hot milk, cooked macaroni with ketchup, even toasted mantou slices to dip in butter and strawberry jam.
It was better than expected.
Colt gave Timothy a seven out of ten; the extra points above a passing grade belonged to the steamed bun slices and the delicious strawberry jam left by Alfred.
Having filled their stomachs, they began to unpack the treasure chest, revealing a blank Golden Book.
The pages were not made of pure gold, but their color was like gold. Colt detected spatial fluctuations with his Spiritual Power and discovered that every single page contained its own space.
This is..
Don't tell me just yet, let me guess," Colt interrupted Timothy's explanation. "Is it the Two-Dimensional Foil?
Facing Colt's expectant gaze, Timothy answered with difficulty, "No. Only things that we understand the basic theories of, or things that have been seen in reality, can be brought into reality by the Dream Messenger, I clearly don't know enough about the Two-Dimensional Foil."
The theory of the Two-Dimensional Foil is to curl and compress a single dimension within three-dimensional space, dismantling and devouring space to change the original physical form of three-dimensional objects, compressing them into a two-dimensional plane." Colt opened the Golden Book, stroking the blank pages that were covered in magical runes at the header and footer. "Is this a magical portable space?
"Yes, I have worked with mages before and have seen them use magic to expand space and create spatial containers. Before you have researched a stable Space Knob, you can first place the Knowledge Explorer inside the book to carry it with you." Timothy understood Colt's research direction; he knew the principles of cutting, compressing, stabilizing space, that it could be fully achieved through dream manifestation to create a Space Knob. However, he felt that the research on the Space Knob was already only lacking spatial stability, perhaps Colt would prefer to complete that final step himself.
Colt was clearly satisfied with this gift. He first stored the Knowledge Explorer, after looking at the photos appearing on the pages, he packed the compressed biscuits and water he had in reserve into the second page.
The Golden Book's function was like an inventory in a game; the capacity of each page was determined by the type of item rather than its size. Ninety-nine copies of the same item could be stacked, while different items were packed into boxes, each counting as a single unit, though the bundles and boxes themselves could not be stacked.
Colt tried to pack the entire house into the book as a single unit, but the Golden Book refused to take it.
Fine, wrapping it in Spiritual Power doesn't count as packing.
..
Valentine's Day isn't for reading books!
Colt put away the Golden Book and went out on the date according to Timothy's plan.
They rode the Ferris wheel at the amusement park, gazing out at Gotham and Metropolis, which looked like a mirage, then went to see a movie.
To prevent Ghost from scaring the audience, Tim Timothy boldly held Colt in his arms. Instead, the nearby audience members were terrified by his behavior of hugging and kissing nothingness throughout the entire process, they fled with their friends before the movie even finished.
A candlelight dinner was arranged at Iceberg Restaurant. Because there were no reservations, Iceberg Restaurant had no extra seating available. Tim took over the owner's office, with a few "darlings," "sweeties," and "babies," combined with some performative, clingy hugs and puckered lips, he successfully disgusted the owner into leaving the office.
The Tim who had been acting like a lovesick fool just a moment ago returned to normal the second the door closed, waving to Colt, who had retreated to the opposite corner.
Colt, come here quickly and try out Big Red Bird's boss chair.
Timothy not only sat in Red Hood's executive chair, but also used Red Hood's computer to high-intensity monitor the business operations of the Iceberg Club, especially the nighttime business, acting with complete confidence.
The only one who was hurt was Red Hood.
Red Hood loathed the cloying scent of romance filling the Iceberg Club and returned to his safe house in Crime Alley, only to find Red Robin breaking in through the window of his safe house at eight o'clock that evening.
"Enough! Birdie! Stop turning every part of me into a part of your play!" Red Hood roared.
"Colt isn't here, it's just me," Red Robin said softly.
"Breaking up on Valentine's Day? Poor little Birdie, do you need your big brother to provide a shoulder to cry on?" Red Hood's expression was completely contrary to what he said.
No need, we didn't break up." Red Robin cleared his throat, clearing the resentment from his voice. "Last night, you used a hug as an excuse to swipe my bomb detonator.
Breaking up was impossible; it was just that romance couldn't interfere with studies and work!
Of course, the main reason was that, besides being prone to sudden surges of passion, a young body is even more prone to sudden drops in energy. But reality is not a dream, it doesn't possess the ability to remain vigorous through endless training. Even if Red Robin believed he could remain vigorous indefinitely, Colt's waist wouldn't be able to keep up, so they were always stuck together, which affected their physical health.
..
Colt was truly studying; after greeting Joseph, who had returned late, he headed down to the third basement level.
The Earth Simulator continued to run, the Virtual Earth rotated quietly there.
The time on Earth Simulator No. 1735 had already reached Year 42 of the Bat Calendar. Although a great war had occurred midway, causing prosperity to drop below 20 and turning the world into a post-apocalyptic ruin, the world never collapsed. After the war ended, prosperity began to rise again and has now returned to 70.
Colt magnified the Earth and saw Superman hovering in the sky above it again.
This world is highly high-tech, with skyscrapers visible everywhere and high-speed intercity rail transit leaping through the air. There is free healthcare, free education, everyone has a job, you don't see any homeless people on the streets; theoretically, it should be as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. But the entire world is just like Superman, giving off a cold, deathly feeling.
Colt stared at Superman, whose red eyes seemed to pierce through virtuality and reality to stare right at him.
It was truly similar.
Colt thought of the Justice League comic that appeared in his dreams, as well as the Lord World that had transformed from two dimensions into three.
Dreams within dreams are not uncommon; it is quite normal to dream of a world from a comic book after having seen it.
Is it really normal?
Colt could not convince himself. He turned on the history playback function in the Earth Simulator, which had never been used before, began watching from the birth of Earth-1735.
..
The birth of Virtual Earth was always accompanied by the sound of gunfire. Colt once thought this sound represented the Big Bang, but it wasn't until he saw the Waynes lying in Crime Alley that he understood why.
Batman lost his parents when he was eight years old, so Year One began on that very day.
Earth-1735 does not differ much from reality, with the biggest difference being Joseph and Alisa.
They fell in love and married, but they had no children. Joseph only had a single doctoral degree and was an ordinary university professor, while Alisa was merely a clerk at Wayne. Their lives seemed to approach the elite class, but in reality, their savings were less than 1,000 dollars.
Colt witnessed the birth of Timothy. Batman appeared in Gotham when Timothy was one year old, in the following two years, the lunatics from Arkham began to sprout like mushrooms after a spring rain.
When Timothy was three, the flying Graysons met with an accident, Robin appeared by Batman's side.
Tim began collecting information on Batman starting from the age of six. It began with newspapers, then evolved into the internet, by age eight, it had developed into him going out with a camera to follow him personally.
A logical development. If it weren't for me, Timothy wouldn't have started roaming the streets at the age of six, Oak Tree Manor wouldn't have been blown up, Gotham Elementary wouldn't have become the Joker's target.
Everything that happened next was similar to reality, until Luthor became President, Flash died, Superman decided to rule Earth with totalitarianism, Batman even supported Superman, switching to a gray uniform.
This development was exactly the same as the Lord World in the dream, even the uniforms of Superman and Gray Bat were identical.
Colt rubbed his face and fast-forwarded the playback.
The trajectory of Earth-1735 not only aligns with the Lord World in the dreams, but also fits the plot of Justice League: Future perfectly, including the death of Batman, Timothy leaving Wayne after Batman's death to expand Drake into a powerhouse, secretly resisting the dictatorial rule of Superman..
Colt sat before the Quantum Superbrain, silently watching the Virtual Earth 1735, which had returned to its normal size and was rotating quietly, watching Superman, who hung silently in the sky above the North Pole.
Is the Earth Simulator really just a simulation?
Colt fell into deep thought.
Is it possible that the simulator isn't simulating, but is instead searching for parallel worlds? If they are parallel worlds, could they be related to his grand plan?
Burn down the editorial department, which is a metaphor for seizing the Pen of High Dimensions. Since the main universe is strictly monitored and difficult to infiltrate, starting from parallel universes using a 'encircle the cities from the countryside' strategy is clearly a good idea.
To verify this hypothesis, it is first necessary to confirm whether Virtual Earth 1735 is a parallel world, whether the Lord World truly exists.
It is known that the Superman of the Lord World once traveled to the main world, Wonder Woman even stayed in the Lord World for several decades, Colt saw Wonder Woman flying over Gotham yesterday.
But this doesn't prove that the Lord World doesn't exist, because the Earth beneath their feet certainly isn't the main world from the comics; there is no Iron Man in DC's main world.
..
Quack
Red Robin's homecoming alert suddenly rang, Colt took one last look at the Earth Simulator.
Superman suddenly flew up, as if about to burst out of the Earth Simulator.
Colt stared at him for two seconds, packed away all his thoughts, went upstairs to prepare for sleep.
Tim finished his night patrol just as Valentine's Day was coming to an end, bringing back a heart-shaped piece of sea glass and a small flower.
“I went to Crimson Cape tonight, just as the operation to destroy the evil god's ritual was ending, my hand happened to land on this stone. Look, isn't the color just like your eyes? And it's even heart-shaped. This flower was given to me by a child, to thank me for helping him catch his cat. It's beautiful, isn't it? His family just moved to Gotham; I guess they used to live in Metropolis, where only Metropolis cats get spoiled by Superman, climbing high up where they can't get down on their own..”
Listening to Tim's sharing, night patrols sounded like a wonderful thing. But judging by the damage to the Red Robin uniform, as well as the bruises and abrasions on his body, he had clearly experienced a fierce battle tonight.
Colt carefully cleaned Timothy's wounds and applied some homemade ointment, then gave that chattering mouth a little kiss: "Even the cats in Gotham have grown wings and love flying around high up."
I suspect you're making a reference to me.
Tim deepened the kiss.
Clearly, you are Little Red Bird. I'm talking about Batman; some underground literature says Batman is a cat.
Colt cradled his head and closed his eyes.
Love makes one intoxicated.
They hadn't been drinking, yet they still felt intoxicated.
..
Colt had developed the habit of checking the Earth Simulator every single day.
The development of Virtual Earth No. 1735 had always been consistent with the Lord World in his dreams, until Timothy, because of leading the resistance, had his frontal lobe removed by Superman's Heat Vision.