The reserved gems shattered one by one, filling the loss of power.
As the last of the dark world returned to light, the Dimensional Rift began to curl and collapse, Colt involuntarily floated upward.
The energy stone within the Eye of Agamotto shattered, replenishing Colt's power and allowing him to regain control over his body. He did not resist the powerful upward buoyancy, but instead shed his physical form, activated the soul source code planted within his mind, then forcefully hurled his body toward the New World Project.
The ascent was so rapid that before Colt could even determine where his body would land, his soul had already returned to Du Zhe's hometown. Du Zhe was still lying at the scene of the car accident, with Gotham pressed beneath him, soaked in blood.
Colt still thought Gotham was terrible; fortunately, Red Robin was just a pitiful side character, so his characterization wasn't as ruined as a protagonist's.
Now that he has returned to his body, Du Zhe can still survive.
Colt looked toward the school gate.
The middle-aged school doctor, having lost a shoe in the scramble, rushed to the scene to provide first aid. The ambulance was on its way; as long as Colt could return to catch his breath, Du Zhe would surely be saved and have the chance to become the greatest scientist of the 21st century.
Colt stepped back.
I'm sorry, but for those who have cared for and looked after me, I already have someone to hold dear in another world.
Colt drifted across the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, confirming that the knowledge in his mind was universal in this world, then he pinched them into tiny stars. From then on, these invisible stars would linger across these magnificent lands, entering people's dreams and becoming flashes of inspiration for scientists.
Perhaps we will meet again. By the time we do, you will surely be powerful enough to roam the sea of stars and traverse dimensions.
Colt took one last look at his homeland, sensing the anchor of his soul, used his remaining strength to leap into that bloodstained comic book.
The comic book was merely a medium; the place he was going was not Gotham, but rather one of the countless two-dimensional worlds. The sea of worlds was boundless, searching for his own Earth was like looking for a needle in a haystack. The sensation from the soul anchor was intermittent, Colt almost lost his way several times, but there was always a voice calling from the depths of his heart.
I am here.
[True Love Magic] might be real.
Colt saw Timothy's phantom. The phantom led him through one world after another, finally landing on the familiar Earth, where his weightless soul was sucked back into his body, becoming heavy and real.
With his strength completely exhausted, Colt felt incredibly tired. Before he could even open his eyes to confirm his surroundings, he fell into a deep sleep.
No dreaming.
..
A wisp of wind emerged from the desolate Spiritual Sea, the wind gradually grew stronger.
Colt's consciousness slowly awakened from the darkness, feeling a faint but definite presence. His spiritual power was slowly recovering, but he was trapped within his spiritual sea, unable to release it as freely as before.
The soul felt as if it were sealed within a container.
Colt snapped awake instantly.
The wind swept through the entire Spiritual Sea, but no familiar Dream Messenger could be found.
The Dream Station has disappeared!
Colt felt a sense of emptiness, within that emptiness, the steady beeping of an ECG Monitor reached his ears, along with the hum of equipment, faint ticking, the sound of wind, the distant sounds of crying and laughter..
These were sounds heard with his ears, not through a hearing aid.
Colt's heart skipped a beat as he realized he was lying in a bed, with many things pressed against his body, the air he breathed smelling of disinfectant, warm, bright light shining from his left..
This isn't the Dimensional Rift; he's back!
Colt's Super Brain stalled slightly, repeatedly emitting alarms for parameter errors.
Colt hurriedly modified the brain's response mechanism, changing it from spiritual power feedback to sensory feedback.
The parameter error alarm was cleared, the brain constructed a new mathematical model from the information received through the five senses, forming a blurred image.
Colt struggled to open his eyes, seeing the stark white ceiling and the tracks for the IV drip. A low hum and beeping came from the ECG Monitor, a faint dripping sound came from the IV bag, the sound of air came from the ventilation vent of the fresh air system, faint crying and laughter came from outside the door..
This is a hospital ward.
The IV drip is glucose, the indwelling needle in my hand has been there for at least two days. They even put a catheter in me? How long have I been asleep? Why isn't Timothy here? Where is Dad? Has Mom come back yet?
Colt wanted to sit up, but his body felt like a heavy clay figurine, barely able to move even a little.
Is Earth's gravity really this heavy?
Click.
The door was suddenly pushed open, the Bat Family's personal physician walked in. Seeing the awakened Colt, a smile instantly appeared on Dr. Leslie's serious face.
She can see me!
Colt's heart raced, upon hearing the beeping alarm from the ECG Monitor, he hurriedly regained his composure to slow his heartbeat down.
Hello, Mr. Little Reed, it's good to see you awake." Dr. Leslie set the trolley aside and pulled the gap in the curtains, blocking the direct sunlight behind the drapes. "The weather is lovely today. You've been asleep for many days, the direct sunlight might irritate your eyes.
Colt used ten times the effort just to manage a nod. He felt his eyes were doing okay, but without the Quantum Terminal, things weren't so good.
"This is Wayne Hospital. Your mommy and daddy have gone to the director's office and will be back very soon," Dr. Leslie said in a kind tone used for communicating with children, while checking Colt's physical condition.
Colt was cooperative throughout the entire process, although having that tube removed made him feel quite embarrassed, his eyes kept darting toward the door. He heard the sound of running footsteps getting closer and closer—one set was relatively familiar and likely belonged to Joseph, while the other was lighter and faster, his intuition told him exactly who it was.
The beautiful lady with blonde hair and blue eyes rushed into the ward. She possessed the maturity of a woman in her thirties, yet her appearance was as youthful as someone in her twenties, without even a single wrinkle at the corners of her eyes.
Mom!
Colt's eyes widened, the ECG Monitor began to beep with alarms once again.
Alisa threw herself toward the bedside, grabbing Colt's right hand. Tears fell in large droplets as she sobbed, unable to speak.
Damn it! Why is there no blanket in the ICU? If my navel isn't covered, I'll catch a cold! Let me pull up my pants!
Colt's face turned red with anxiety. He habitually used his Spiritual Power instead of his limbs, but his Spiritual Power was still tethered to his brain. He didn't dare pull away from Alisa, so he could only move the hand that was attached to the IV drip, but he couldn't control his strength properly. Either his strength was too weak to lift it, or it was too heavy and slammed into his own stomach, causing the back of his hand to ache from the strain.
Joseph was half a step slower than Alisa; seeing Colt's embarrassment, he stepped forward to help him straighten his clothes and trousers.
Colt breathed a sigh of relief, the alarm from the ECG Monitor also stopped.
“Little Reed has just regained consciousness; his emotions shouldn't be too intense.” Dr. Leslie tossed the removed tubes into the medical waste bin and glanced at the remaining third of the medicine. “Once the medicine has finished dripping, I will remove his IV and perform a more detailed full-body examination.”
Such things could have been handled by a nurse, but as the deputy director, Dr. Leslie personally overseeing Colt's care was clearly not for the money.
Joseph and Alisa thanked him repeatedly, only when the ward was left with just the family of three did Colt withdraw his gaze from the doorway.
"Timothy is on a business trip to Mars." Alisa spoke as if she knew who he was waiting for.
I didn't ask him! Do you already know? How long was I asleep?
Colt turned his head away, then shifted his gaze back to Alisa's face. He curled his lips into a slight smile toward Alisa, then nodded toward Joseph.
Alisa's eyes grew red, but she held back her tears. She sat on the edge of the bed, holding Colt's right hand with one hand while stroking his face with the other, gently brushing his drooping bangs behind his ear.
“Alisa's Xiao Ke'er has grown up, becoming so handsome and dashing. To think you actually got perfect scores on both the ACT and SAT; you're so smart, it's only natural that the children of the Wayne family like you.” Alisa's voice was so gentle, just like the mother in her memories.
Colt couldn't help but blush.
Timothy didn't cheat with a Virtual Laboratory or Colt's Super Brain, he also scored full marks on both the ACT and SAT.
Colt looked at Joseph, raised his hand with the IV catheter still in it, patted his own head.
Joseph put his arm around Alisa's shoulder and reminded Colt, "There's nothing wrong with your vocal cords; you can speak."
Hmph, he's neglecting his son now that he has a wife!
Colt looked at this, then at that, opened his mouth under Alisa's encouragement.
Mom.
He didn't make a sound.
"It's okay, take your time, everything will be fine." Alisa began to cry again.
Is she made of water? Colt remembered that Mom wasn't this much of a crybaby before; when she was angry, she would shout your full name loudly, Joseph was the one who was frequently shouted at.
Colt tried his best to smile at Alisa, signaling that he was fine, though it would be even better if there were a Quantum Terminal.
Once the IV drip was finished, Dr. Leslie pushed in a wheelchair, removed the indwelling needle and the ECG Monitor for Colt, had him put on some sunglasses before leading them to undergo examinations. The single intensive care ward was in the VIP area and used to be very quiet, but today it was somewhat bustling, with medical staff and family members coming and going, all of them surreptitiously stealing glances at Colt.
After the Easter miracle, more people have been coming to the hospital for medical treatment, so the hospital director has opened up all the private wards in this area, which is why the crowd is a bit mixed," Dr. Leslie said, pulling a hat out of nowhere. "It'll be better if you wear this.
Colt didn't care; as long as there was no malice, he actually quite liked the feeling of being watched.
Let them watch if they want; Colt was busy doing finger exercises.
His body had no issues; the main problem was his inability to adapt to Earth's gravity. Once he mastered the force required for movement and obtained precise parameters, the issue of his uncoordinated limb movements would improve rapidly.
Dean.
Hello, Dean.
Good morning, Mr. Wayne.
Good morning, Dean Thomas.
..
Compared to Earth's gravity, Colt found it even harder to adjust to hearing that lacked volume and range control. He could only rely on his brain to help record the sounds and issue reminders through keywords.
Wayne is a keyword.
Colt stopped his finger exercises and looked up toward the sound, seeing a version of Bruce with a mustache.
Mr. Wayne nodded gently toward the medical staff and patients around him and stopped in front of the wheelchair. He greeted Joseph and Alisa, asked Dr. Leslie about his condition, finally leaned down to speak to Colt: "Hello, Little Reed, I am Thomas, Thomas Wayne."
He looked very much like Bruce, even their ages were similar, except he had a mustache. But upon closer inspection, Thomas's facial features were a bit sharper than Bruce's, his eye color was also brown.
Colt established a file on Thomas Wayne in his mind, a beat late, shook the hand extended toward him with a smile.
Thomas followed them through the entire examination process, with doctors and equipment waiting for them the whole way. All the checkups were completed in less than two hours, after which more than a dozen doctors followed them back to the ward for a consultation.
Not allergic.
The patient's thoughts are extremely active; they likely have hyperthymesia.
Imaging shows no brain damage or neurological disease; it is a psychogenic type of aphasia.
Difficulty walking, suspected vestibular system disorder.
..
The result of the consultation was to continue observation.
Colt used his ears to receive sound, his brain to analyze the archives, his eyes focused on the phone he had swiped from his mother's bag. He had already regained control over his ten fingers, allowing him to use the phone flexibly to type and search for information.
Today is April 26th. Ten days have passed since Easter, yet news of Easter miracles still floods the internet. Most of it consists of gratitude and blessings, but there are always some people complaining about why their friends and family aren't on the resurrection list, why miracles can't cure their illnesses, or why miracles can't give them ten million.. There are even people arguing over whether Ghost is the incarnation of God.
Colt ignored those remarks related to the miracles, focusing instead on searching for content related to President Wayne.
No one questioned why Bruce could suddenly drop in as President during a non-election year; the middle class and the lower class were both cheering for Wayne's integrity and his reforms, such as raising the income tax threshold to $3,000, exempting a family's primary residence from property tax, implementing a highly convenient new type of citizen health insurance..