[They have one minute.]
Wait for me! I'll be right back! Don't hurt yourself!
[Don't worry, this is just an attempt. I want to stay by your side for a very, very long time.]
It was a lie, it was also the truth.
Colt granted Red Robin access to Level -3 and sent a confirmation command to the Earth Simulator.
The source code for the last fifteen years of the Lord World was cleared, time began to flow backward as the Virtual Earth underwent a frantic reversal.
Colt's Spiritual Power was instantly drained away, his vision went black, he immediately lost consciousness.
..
Colt felt as if he had fallen into a Super Particle Collider, or perhaps as if he were experiencing the Big Bang. His soul was shattered into extremely fine particles, blending and fusing with countless other particles carrying diverse thoughts. Men, women, the old, the young—everyone's mental power sought to become the dominant force, Colt's consciousness was violently buffeted by the impact.
The operational principles of holographic projection combined with virtual reality interaction.. the differences between a Micro-Nuclear Fusion Reactor and an Arc Reactor.. how to utilize Quantum Entanglement to achieve stable teleportation.. how much power a FTL Module needs to provide for a ten-thousand-light-year interstellar jump.. the different active ingredients in rapid-acting healing medicine when dealing with Neuroblastoma and chemical burns..
Colt steadied his mind, reciting knowledge points, creating questions for himself and solving them.
Rows of profound and obscure formulas formed long lines, like tangled balls of yarn, consolidating his consciousness and spreading outward.
Wherever the formulas reached, the illusions of men, women, young, old that surfaced from the fusion particles dissipated rapidly like morning mist under a scorching sun; occasionally, some would persist in resisting, attempting to solve the problems, only to be crushed by the influx of even more formulas derived from them.
..
After a long time, all external thoughts and ideas vanished, leaving only pure power. Within the sea of consciousness where the Big Bang once occurred, only a single consciousness finally remained.
Only then did Colt stop unraveling the ball of formulaic yarn and reflect on his current situation.
In order to reverse the time of the Lord World, he was drained of his Spiritual Power and lost consciousness.
Just as he had figured this out, a tangled mess that looked like a ball of yarn played with by a cat appeared before Colt's eyes.
No, that tangled mess wasn't a ball of yarn, but the threads of fate for the humans of the Lord World!
The threads of fate also disrupted the Prime World!
The world where Colt resided was also shaken by the aftershocks. The invasion event that occurred on February 18th was erased; the dead were resurrected, buildings returned to their original states, people felt as if they had experienced a nightmare.
How much longer are you going to sleep?
In the darkness, Colt heard Timothy's voice.
If you don't wake up soon, you won't make it in time for the ACT Exam.
What? Miss the exam?
Colt began to get anxious.
He registered for the online exam, the extra services—which included not having to go to a designated location and having the proctor bring specialized equipment to his home for supervision—cost him 3,000 USD just for the registration fee, that didn't even include the cost of bribing the proctor!
The exam registration fee is non-refundable!
Colt was extremely anxious, so much so that he almost simulated a Super Particle Collider, intending to give himself another hit within his consciousness sea to see if he could knock himself awake.
Perhaps his brain's self-protection system was afraid; just as Colt had finished simulating the Super Particle Collider, before he could even begin the collision, his consciousness was kicked out of the darkness.
Colt snapped his eyes open.
Has the ACT Exam started?
All the loudspeakers in the room rang with inquiries simultaneously, before the sound had even finished, Colt felt that something was wrong.
He was no longer a Ghost, but in human form. He had nothing on him—no Spacetime Signal Stabilizer or Spiritual Power Inducer, nor a Quantum Terminal or Hearing Aid. Yet, his brain functioned like a computer; a light screen from a Quantum Terminal interface appeared before his eyes, his thoughts automatically sent voice messages to nearby speakers while simultaneously receiving audio information from the outside world.
His Spiritual Power had grown from a small lake into a vast ocean, this increase in quantity brought about a qualitative change as well.
Wait, why can Spiritual Power touch the ice crystal buildings outside?
Was my restraint completely ineffective? Or had the Ghost field vanished?
Colt found himself trapped in a canister, instead of the familiar room, he was in a hall made of ice, with a crowd of people surrounding the canister where he was being held.
More importantly, his clothes had been stripped off, they hadn't even left him any underwear!
Colt subconsciously covered his private parts, glaring at Timothy through the translucent medicinal liquid and the glass pod cover, as well as Joseph and Tony, also Batman, Superman, Steel..
Why are there so many people?
Colt was about to have a breakdown.
No Ghost field? Then won't he be seen by everyone!
“He's awake.” Timothy looked very calm, his complexion was good; his fatigue level was only 60↑.
Heart rate is changing, there are intense fluctuations in brain activity; he has indeed woken up." Tony stared at the data on the holographic projection, muttering, "If I'd known he could be woken up just by taking the ACT Exam, why bother measuring dimensional coordinates..
Everyone also gathered close to the canister, staring inside.
Colt was startled by the changes in heartbeat, thought fluctuations, dimensional coordinates coming from Tony's mouth. He instantly withdrew his dissipated Spiritual Power, the wires connected to his body immediately fell off.
Is the Ghost field still there?!
Colt poked his head out of the treatment pod and waved his hand in front of Steel's eyes.
Steel did not react.
That's great!
The illusion just now was because his Spiritual Power was growing too quickly, causing widespread leakage that maintained the environment at a critical point—one that could be felt but wouldn't pull anyone into the Ghost field—so others still couldn't see him.
Not exposed!
Colt breathed a sigh of relief, but he still covered his vital parts, after all, Timothy and Joseph could see him.
"He needs a set of clothes." Timothy stood behind the crowd and gave Colt a slight nod.
“It has to be his own or yours, right? I'll go to Gotham to get yours from Alfred.” Superman vanished in a flash.
Colt curled into a ball, lifting half of his face from behind his knees to look at Timothy with gratitude. He had realized that he wasn't trapped in a jar, but was lying in a Treatment Pod, soaked in diluted Spiritual Power, that the Ice Crystal Fortress was Superman's alien base in the North Pole.
Joseph tapped the lid of the treatment pod lightly. "Can you hear me?"
Colt nodded obediently toward his father. It wasn't that he was lovesick and only saw Timothy, but rather that Joseph was wearing a thick lab coat, making him as inconspicuous as an invisibility cloak in the snow-white environment.
Joseph asked again, "Can you speak?"
Dad, Tim, Tony, Batman, everyone, hello." Colt chose to use the Treatment Pod's intercom to speak. "Has the ACT Exam started?
“He's lying to you, the exam isn't until tomorrow.” Tony gave up on the instrument that had lost its monitoring effect and leaned close to the glass canopy, arms crossed, his tone quite dissatisfied. “So, are you a high-dimensional being trapped in a Dimensional Rift? I consider myself at least half your father. Joseph can see you, even your boyfriend who can break up with you at any time can see you, so why can't I see you? Child, you'd better give me an answer that satisfies me, otherwise don't even think about graduating from me.”
“Sorry, Tony, this isn't something I can control. I am willing to be your student for a lifetime.” Colt felt no apology in his heart, only relief. Adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, he used Spiritual Power to accelerate the absorption of the medicinal liquid's potency in the water.
"The time in the Lord World returning to fifteen years ago is always under your control," Batman said in a deep voice.
Colt's body stiffened, but he didn't stop absorbing the medicinal liquid for a moment.
This was indeed under his control, he was also well aware of the severity of the matter, willing to accept the blame and punishment. At this moment, Joseph stepped forward as a parent.
“He is still young; he wanted to help others but failed to control his own power. He has already paid the price, so please stop lecturing him. I believe he will be cautious in the future and won't make the same mistake again.”
Dad actually stood up to Batman for him!
Colt was deeply moved.
Although he hadn't lost control of his power, the price he paid was a massive increase in his strength, he would certainly make the same mistake again in the future.
Timothy also said, "Colt is still very weak. Once he recovers, I will take him back to the Batcave."
Timothy actually went against Batman for him!
Colt selectively ignored the second half of the sentence, but he was equally moved.
..
Superman finally returned with the clothes, kindly guiding him: "The bathroom is over there. Red Robin knows how to use it; just follow him."
Colt was very polite: "Thank you, Superman, can I use the network here?"
Superman replied politely, "You're welcome, feel free to use it. I have already authorized the use of the Fortress of Solitude for Red Robin; according to his logic, you share the same permissions as him, you can use anything here. But please do not go near the East Wing; that is the collection and cultivation area, it is quite dangerous."
Colt thought he could stand firmly in the Kryptonian base because of his power upgrade, but he didn't expect it was still thanks to Timothy's blessing.
Everyone watched as Red Robin was pulled by the invisible man and rushed out of the laboratory. Judging by the movement of the clothing bag, the invisible man was hopping and jumping, full of energy and spirit.
They looked at Joseph.
Joseph was busy cleaning the Treatment Pod, without even looking up.
Tony asked dissatisfiedly, "That's your son, aren't you going with him?"
Joseph replied expressionlessly, "I don't know how to use a Kryptonian bathroom, so how would I give him a bath?"
Tony looked more like an angry father than he did [himself]: "That young couple just survived a disaster, their adrenaline is pumping; what if they get a little too rough while bathing.."
Joseph and Batman glared at Tony at the same time.
Ha, you're all in this together. Since I'm no longer needed, I'll be going now." Tony rolled his eyes, stopped Superman from trying to pick him up like a cat, closed his helmet's visor. "Hold on, no need to see me out, I can fly myself. You guys can just wait patiently for the little couple to finish their shower and come out, see if they're willing to play a game of Q&A with you!
Chapter 63
As it turned out, only worldly adults would think of young people in the same worldly way they do.
Colt was truly taking a bath very seriously.
Timothy also seriously taught him how to use the Kryptonian bathroom, personally adjusting the ultra-high water temperature and pressure, which were originally meant for a body of steel, to temperatures suitable for a human.
“It feels like being sterilized all over.” Colt didn't like the Kryptonian way of cleaning himself, especially the final 360° warm air drying stage; he always felt like the air was blowing right up his backside.
“There are normal bathtubs here too, but you probably wouldn't like using one that someone else has used. We'll go back and have a proper soak then.” Red Robin handed the clothes to Colt, along with his Spacetime Signal Stabilizer, Spiritual Power Guide, Quantum Terminal, Hearing Aid four-piece set, the tracking watch.
"I've upgraded. My Spiritual Power can directly simulate a computer in my brain, so I don't need them to communicate with the outside world." Despite saying this, Colt still put on his clothes with Red Robin's help, donned his four-piece set and the tracking watch, then pulled Red Robin into the Ghost field, giving him a flattering kiss.
Tim, why am I in Superman's Krypton Fortress?
I found you on Sub-level 3. You were turning transparent at the time, so I notified Joseph. It took us two days to restore your physical form, but you wouldn't wake up, so we borrowed the Kryptonian Dimensional Observation Room from the Fortress of Solitude. Iron Man and Steel both came to help." Red Robin hugged Colt tightly, saying almost reproachfully, "Colt, you should have waited until I arrived before starting the experiment.
I was afraid you would stop me, I was also afraid that seeing you would make me lose the courage to move forward.
Sorry for making you worry," Colt said as he leaned back in, nuzzling Red Robin's cheek. "You've already seen the Quantum Superbrain, so you know everything, don't you?
“If you mean that Earth number 1357 in the Earth Simulator is the Lord World, then yes, I saw it. The historical operation logs are still on the holographic screen, right next to the holographic projection map of the Lord World. You turned back the time in the Lord World by fifteen years; Luthor Tech never became the President, their Justice League would never fall and become the Justice Lords, the Lord invasion in our world would never have happened. Everything that occurred during that event has been corrected, whether it be people or objects. The dead are still alive, the injured are as good as new, the insurance claim forms I signed have all turned back into blank paper.” Red Robin held Colt's face, looking into his eyes as he spoke, “Colt, that isn't some Quantum Superbrain; that is a power split from you, possessing a radiance just like your Spiritual Power. It is the tool you use to execute your grand plan.”