Chapter 141: Super Soldier Maeve Debuts
Lin Mo also breathed a sigh of relief.
"I told you, you shouldn't have any major problems."
Maeve smiled.
"Thank you."
"Lin Mo, thank you so much this time."
She looked straight at Lin Mo, the joy and gratitude in her eyes completely unmasked. With such precious things given away just like that by Lin Mo, it was hard for Maeve not to be happy.
However, the way she looked at Lin Mo made Joanna, standing nearby, feel a bit uncomfortable.
Joanna curled her lips. If you want to thank him, just thank him. Why keep staring at Lin Mo?
The things had all been obtained, Clara had been buried, and this place had been ruined into ruins by her. Staying here any longer had no meaning.
Joanna was just about to urge Lin Mo to leave quickly.
But Maeve seemed to have discovered something, her expression suddenly turning a bit strange.
"Wait a minute."
"I seem to have gained a new ability."
Joanna's words, which were right on the tip of her tongue, instantly stopped.
Lin Mo also became interested. He had originally thought that after Maeve injected original compound v, she would only be strengthened on her original foundation.
He didn't expect that she could also awaken a new ability?
"What ability?"
Lin Mo asked immediately.
"I'm not sure yet."
Maeve frowned, carefully sensing the changes inside her body. Aside from her vastly enhanced strength, she could also feel that a kind of energy she had never experienced before seemed to have appeared deep within her body.
That energy was flowing slowly along with her consciousness, and Maeve tried to control it.
The next second, her feet slowly left the ground.
One centimeter.
Ten centimeters.
Soon, her whole body was suspended in mid-air. Because it was her first time using this ability, Maeve's body was still swaying slightly, almost losing balance.
However, she quickly stabilized. Maeve looked down at her feet getting further and further away from the ground, and the expression on her face gradually turned into pleasant surprise.
"I can fly?"
Lin Mo also widened his eyes slightly.
She really could fly?
What the fuck.
Who could still say Maeve was just a super soldier now?
Although the original Maeve was very strong in strength, defense, and speed, she didn't have any special abilities. To put it bluntly, she was just a superhuman with fully enhanced physical fitness.
Now, after injecting original compound v, even her biggest shortcoming had been made up for.
Maeve tried to move in mid-air. Although her speed wasn't fast yet and her movements were a bit unfamiliar, she was indeed flying by her own power.
"And it's not just Flight."
She dropped back to the ground and raised one hand.
A visible energy began to slowly condense in her palm, and the surrounding gravel trembled slightly.
Maeve sensed it for a moment, then actively dissipated that power.
"I seem to also be able to release the energy inside my body."
"However, this energy is limited. After using it up, it should take some time to recover."
Lin Mo rubbed his chin.
Strong in power, tough in body, able to fly now, and also able to release energy.
The more he thought about it, the more familiar it felt. Wasn't this just an alternative version of Wonder Woman?
Lin Mo was just about to open his mouth to congratulate Maeve, but Joanna nearby took the lead.
"You can fly."
"Doesn't that mean you can fly back to the school by yourself now?"
"..."
The smile on Maeve's face stiffened slightly.
Lin Mo also fell silent, and both of them looked at Joannasimultaneously.
So the main point you were focusing on turned out to be this?
Joanna, however, didn't seem to notice anything wrong with the atmosphere, and instead felt that what she said made a lot of sense.
In the past, Maeve couldn't fly, so if they flew away directly, someone had to carry her. Now Maeve could fly by herself.
Wasn't that just perfect?
No one needed to carry her anymore.
Maeve opened her mouth, but in the end didn't say anything.
She had just been excited about awakening her Flightability, but now, after being said by Joanna like that, why did she feel like the biggest use of her awakening this ability was just so she wouldn't continue to trouble them?
Lin Mo gave a light cough, breaking the somewhat subtle atmosphere.
"Alright."
"Since everything is fine, we should also leave."
original compound v had already been obtained, and Clarahad already been buried. Staying here any longer truly had no meaning.
Moreover, Lin Mo could also tell that Joanna had long didn't want to stay here. In other words, she didn't want to continue watching Maeve stare at him with those grateful eyes.
Lin Mo put away the metal box containing the remaining three vials of original compound v and briefly checked the surroundings.
Clara Risinger's house had completely turned into ruins, and anything that could prove the existence of original compound v was also buried under the gravel and soil.
As for whether Clara Risinger's disappearance would attract Vought's attention.
That was for sure, but it didn't matter. Since Edgar dared to give Clara's address to him, he should have already guessed that she was going to kick the bucket, and right now he might be snickering somewhere.
Even if Vought really sent someone to investigate, in the end they would only reach a very simple conclusion.
Clara attacked them and then died in an accident. As for how accidental this accident really was.
That would depend on Vought's normal performance.
"Let's go."
Lin Mo's feet left the ground and he slowly rose into mid-air.
Joanna immediately followed. She very naturally stretched out her arms, hugged Lin Mo, and pressed her body against his chest, as if she couldn't fly at all herself.
Lin Mo lowered his head to look at her, and Joanna also raised her head, locking eyes with him righteously.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Lin Mo was long used to it. Anyway, this girl had been like this since she was a child. When she could walk by herself she wanted him to carry her on his back, and when she could fly by herself she wanted him to hold her. If one day she suddenly became normal, he would instead feel it was abnormal.
Maeve looked at the two people hugging together, her eyes showing some helplessness.
Now she finally understood why Joanna was in such a rush earlier to emphasize that she could fly back by herself.
So she was waiting for her right here.
Maeve took a deep breath, and the energy inside her body flowed once again.
The next second, she also slowly left the ground, catching up with Lin Mo and Joanna.
The three of them quickly rose into the high altitude and then flew towards the direction of Godolkin University.
At the very beginning, Maeve still flew a bit unsteadily.
She had never experienced this kind of feeling before, watching the ground getting further and further away, with nothing around to leverage strength from.
Every movement of her body had to rely on her controlling the energy within her body herself. A slight distraction would cause her Flight direction to deviate.
Once, she clearly wanted to fly forward, but her body suddenly tilted to the left, almost crashing headfirst into the tree canopy beside her. Fortunately, her reaction speed was fast enough, and she quickly stabilized her body again.
A few minutes later, Maeve had gradually mastered the trick of Flight, at least she wouldn't suddenly make a turn while flying, but her speed was still not fast.
In order to let her keep up, Lin Mo also kept suppressing his own speed.
Joanna leaned in Lin Mo's arms. At first, she didn't say anything, but after a while, she looked back.
Chapter 142 What If She Loses Track of Us?
Maeve was following right behind them, struggling to catch up with the exhaust fumes left by Lin Mo, but in fact, Lin Mo had a Bio-field and didn't leave any exhaust fumes at all.
Joanna looked up at Lin Mo again.
"Why don't we just fly back ourselves first?"
"Do we still have to wait for her here?"
At the speed of the two of them, it wouldn't take long at all to get back to the university, but now, to take care of Maeve, they were flying at a snail's pace.
Joanna felt that if she just tried a little bit, she could fly back and forth around Maeve several times.
"She just learned how to fly."
Lin Mo felt a bit helpless. Wasn't this bullying people too much? Bullying enemies was one thing, but Maeve was at least their teammate.
"Just take care of her a bit."
Joanna blinked.
"But isn't she already able to fly?"
"Knowing how to fly and being proficient at it are two different things."
Lin Mo glanced at Maeve behind them.
"In case we fly too fast, what if she loses track of us?"
In fact, compared to whether Maeve would fall out of the sky, Lin Mo was more worried that she would get lost.
This era wasn't like the future where you could just pull out your phone and tap to open a map. Phones back then could make calls and send text messages, which already counted as fully featured.
If Maeve were really left to fly back alone, Lin Mosuspected she'd have to circle around New York several times just to find the right direction.
Maybe by the time he and Joanna woke up, Maeve would still be outside looking for the school.
"That's why we go slower."
"Let's wait until she gets used to it first."
After hearing this, Joanna turned back to look at Maeve again.
Maeve was earnestly adjusting her Flight direction with a serious expression; she truly didn't look like someone who could just be left to her own devices.
"Fine."
Joanna reluctantly accepted this reason. She withdrew her gaze and snuggled back into Lin Mo's arms. Anyway, as long as it wasn't because Lin Mo couldn't bear to part with Maeve, it was fine.
Slower was slower; she'd just treat it as taking a stroll in the sky.
Before long, Godolkin University appeared in the three people's line of sight.
This wasn't downtown New York, so there was no need to worry about being surrounded by a large group of people asking for autographs and group photos right after landing.
Lin Mo and the other two couldn't be bothered to hide or cover up, landing directly from the air at the entrance of Godolkin University.
When Maeve landed, her body swayed slightly, but in the end, she still stood steadily on the ground without falling. For someone experiencing long-distance Flight for the first time, her performance was already quite good.
The appearance of the three quickly attracted the attention of some nearby students.
Especially after seeing Maeve also flying down from the sky, quite a few people who knew her showed expressions of astonishment.
Maeve didn't know how to fly before, but not many people gathered around. Some people just took a few glances from afar and continued busy with their own matters.
Not far away, a few other students were shooting a commercial. A boy who could control flames was standing in front of the camera, holding a bottle of energy drink, reciting the advertising slogan while trying hard to make the flames behind him form the brand's logo.
The director nearby had already called for a retake several times, and the boy's expression was looking uglier and uglier, but after all, he swallowed his anger and didn't blow up.
At Godolkin University, students were basically divided into two types.
One type was very free, while the other type was so busy improving their ranking that they didn't even have time to eat.
Taking commercials, participating in events, training abilities, cultivating fans, and finding ways to increase their exposure—after all, everyone was a superhuman, and even if they didn't say it out loud, deep down they somewhat felt superior to others.
Who would want to go do those grueling manual jobs that even ordinary people were unwilling to do after graduation?
Everyone wanted to join The Seven, or at the very least, join a city hero team and become a sought-after superhero.
As for those students with lower rankings, whether they could find a decent hero job after graduation...
That was another question entirely.
Maeve didn't mind the surrounding people's gazes; up until now, her face still carried an obvious excitement.
She looked down at her hands, then looked up at the sky again.
Flight, energy release, coupled with comprehensively enhanced physical qualities, the thing she wanted to do most right now was to immediately find an empty place and thoroughly test her new abilities.
However, before leaving, Maeve still looked at Lin Mo.
"I..."
Before she could finish her words, she noticed Joanna's gaze.
Joanna was watching her quietly, not urging her to leave, but the meaning conveyed by those eyes was already extremely clear.
"Aren't you supposed to leave?"
The corners of Maeve's mouth twitched slightly. Of course she knew Joanna didn't want her to stay any longer, but she had no intention of arm-wrestling with Joanna either.
Even now that she had received the enhancement of original compound v, she didn't think she could beat Joanna in a fight.
It was even less possible to directly defeat Joanna and then snatch Lin Mo away...
"Wait."
Why would she think of snatching Lin Mo away?
Maeve was somewhat distracted for a moment, and her mind even flashed with the image of her knocking Joannadown and then grabbing Lin Mo to fly away directly.
It was just that no matter how she looked at it, that scene seemed somewhat unrealistic; her current Flight speed was probably not even as fast as Joanna walking.
If she really dared to grab Lin Mo and run away, she might be pulled down from the sky by Joanna before even flying out of the school gate.
"Maeve?"
Lin Mo's voice brought her back to her senses.
"What's wrong with you?"
"It's nothing."
Maeve immediately shook her head, throwing those strange thoughts just now out of her mind.
"I'll head back first."
"Just in time to test my new abilities."
Lin Mo nodded.
"Go ahead."
"Don't be too anxious at first, especially when releasing energy. Find an empty place first, lest you tear down the dormitory."
"I know."
Maeve smiled, then glanced at Lin Mo again before turning to leave.
She originally wanted to fly straight back, but thinking about how she almost fell when landing earlier, she ultimately decided to walk first. Otherwise, if she got filmed by others, that would be a huge blot on her life.
It wouldn't be too late to practice slowly once she reached the training ground.
Watching Maeve walking further and further away, Joanna's mood instantly improved quite a bit.
The eyesore had finally left, and now it was just the two of them, her and Lin Mo, again. She hugged Lin Mo's arm, preparing to say something.
However, Lin Mo glanced around first. Several students nearby had already raised their cameras.
Obviously, they had also discovered the matter of Maeve suddenly acquiring the ability of Flight.
Some people even aimed their lenses at Lin Mo and Joanna, seemingly wanting to take a picture of the two of them hugging each other.
"Let's go home first."
Lin Mo said. If they kept standing here, Vought's news department would probably receive a bunch of photos tomorrow.
Joanna looked over along his gaze, and the next second, the flash of one of the cameras lit up.
The 'click' sound rang out, causing the corner of Lin Mo's eye to twitch slightly.
"Good grief, they're actually taking pictures?"
"Hmph."
"Do you know that this kind of behavior would be sanctioned back in China?"
Chapter 143: Isn't Efficiency a Little Too High
Joanna also saw those people holding cameras; with Maeve present just now, she had already been holding back for a long time.
Now that Maeve was gone, these people were still aiming their lenses at her and Lin Mo?
Joanna raised her head, saying nothing as her gaze shifted to the student who had just taken the photo, her eyes slowly glowing with red light.
The student had been holding up the camera and smiling happily, but seeing Joanna's glowing red eyes through the camera, the smile on his face instantly froze.
"I-I just casually took a picture."
Joanna didn't answer, but the red light in her eyes grew a bit brighter.
The few people next to him also saw it, hurriedly putting down their cameras and taking two steps back.
No joke.
If they stayed any longer, they really would die.
The student who had taken the photo ran the fastest, disappearing inside the school gate in the blink of an eye, and the rest scattered as well.
Only then did Joanna put away her Laser Eyes and wrap her arms around Lin Mo's again.
"Alright."
Lin Mo quietly watched her without stopping her; he had never liked others taking random pictures of him with cameras in the first place.
Especially those paparazzi who took photos just to sell them for money; if they weren't taught a lesson now, who knows, in the future they might even dare to squat right outside their villa's entrance.
"Let's go, time to head home."
"Mhm."
Joanna answered quickly, pulling Lin Mo as they walked toward the villa where they lived.
After returning, she was surprisingly quiet, neither pestering Lin Mo to compare who was stronger between herself and Maeve, nor asking again who the remaining three doses of original compound v were meant for.
Lin Mo glanced at her several times.
What kind of mischievous idea was this girl plotting today?
Right up until bedtime, Joanna didn't make any commotion, which actually made Lin Mo feel a bit unaccustomed to it, but he soon realized he had overthought things.
In the middle of the night, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.
Joanna walked in barefoot, familiarly lifting the blanket and slipping in beside him, the entire process light and stealthy as if she thought Lin Mo hadn't noticed.
But how could that be possible? Lin Mo opened his eyes with a helpless sigh.
"Joanna."
"I'm asleep."
She answered with her eyes closed.
"Can you talk while asleep?"
"Talking in my sleep."
After finishing, Joanna shifted a bit closer to him.
Lin Mo was silent for two seconds, having no choice but to silently wrap the blanket tighter around himself.
Fine, he finally understood why Joanna had been so quiet today.
So she had been waiting for this; seeing that he didn't drive her away, the corners of Joanna's mouth curved up secretly.
Lin Mo stared at the ceiling, suddenly feeling that it was necessary for him to further improve his strength. Should he find a night to bask in the moonlight and see if his Kryptonian Bloodline could still evolve?
Of course, that was just a joke.
The moon wasn't the sun; if he really wanted to bask in sunlight, he would have to go to space.
Tomorrow morning, he would go to Vought first to handle the matter of the shareholders' meeting.
When night came, he planned to fly out of Earth and properly test what it felt like to receive sunlight exposure in space.
At that time, he could also incidentally figure out whether Joanna could stay in the universe. As for whether she could breathe, there was actually no air in space at all.
What he wanted to know was whether Joanna could withstand a vacuum like he could.
Lin Mo lowered his head to take a glance; Joanna was already hugging his arm, sleeping with full satisfaction.
He gently sighed and closed his eyes as well.
Tomorrow morning, those shareholders of Vought probably wouldn't sleep as peacefully as they were tonight.
...
"Are they the ones?"
Inside the conference room of Vought Tower, Lin Mopointed to the other side of the long table. The expressions of the few shareholders pointed out by him changed instantly.
Edgar sat in the main seat with a list placed in front of him.
"Yes."
"They have consistently opposed you becoming a superhero under Vought."
After finishing, he glanced at the list again.
"After you and Joanna entered Godolkin, some of the negative news targeting you online was also promoted by them."
Lin Mo nodded.
Those few shareholders clearly still wanted to say something; one of them had already reached out to grab the documents on the table, seeming prepared to prove that they were merely expressing normal opinions.
Lin Mo didn't look at that document; instead, he raised a finger to point at those people, then looked at Joannabeside him.
Joanna instantly understood his meaning, and her eyes lit up with red light.
The next second.
Several crimson beams swept across the conference table, and those people collapsed onto their chairs before they even had time to speak a complete sentence.
The conference room instantly fell silent.
A pen in someone's hand dropped onto the table and rolled a long way, yet no one dared to reach out and pick it up.
Joanna blinked her eyes, and the red light within them vanished immediately. This time, she controlled her power very steadily.
Except for those people, not even many of the documents in front of them were burned.
Edgar still sat securely in the main seat, though his eyelids twitched twice.
No way.
Lin Mo, are you really Lin Mo?
How many days has it been?
Just a few days ago he was still negotiating terms with him, and today sitting in the shareholders' meeting, he just pointed at people and let Joanna take action.
Without even giving people time to make a two-sentence defense, isn't efficiency a bit too high?
However, Edgar quickly recovered his calmness.
Killed well. These people held power in Vought, yet whenever their effort was needed, each one of them pushed back faster than anyone else.
They were quite proactive in secretly hindering Lin Mo and Joanna, especially regarding the negative public opinion online; Edgar had people investigate it, and the few figures before him were all involved to some extent.
Did they think Lin Mo asked him to call for a shareholders' meeting yesterday just to drop a few harsh words in person?
From yesterday to today, Lin Mo gave them nearly a day and a night, and the news wasn't like it hadn't reached their ears. If they truly wanted to apologize, they should have at least come to Edgar to sound out his opinion.
Yet not a single one came. Now that people were dead, it was too late to plead for mercy.
Lin Mo glanced over the remaining people in the conference room.
He didn't have Edgar summon the shareholders immediately yesterday precisely to leave them time. Those willing to take a side could choose a side in advance, and those who felt they were in the wrong could come early to plead for mercy.
As a result, these few people did nothing. It seemed they thought that sitting in the positions of Vought shareholders meant no one would dare to touch them.
Lin Mo withdrew his gaze and looked at Edgar.
"These few have been dealt with."
He tapped on the tabletop.
"Next, it's time to talk about things from Joanna's childhood."
The Vought executives who had just breathed a sigh of relief turned pale again, and several executives among them could finally no longer sit still.
"Mr. Edgar, I only signed my name back then; I didn't participate in the specific matters at all!"
"I was just following orders from above!"
Several people chimed in one after another, anxious to clear themselves of involvement.
Edgar, however, acted as if he hadn't heard. Looking at the list in his hand, he raised his hand and pointed at several people among them.
"They participated in the cultivation program of Joanna's early childhood."
"Including the order to restrict her contact with Lin Mo."
Joanna's expression changed instantly. When she was little, there were several times she wanted to see Lin Mo, only to be blocked by people.
Back then she only knew she couldn't see him; now she finally understood that someone sitting in an office, with a flick of a pen, had decided whether she could see Lin Mo.
Chapter 144: Taking Off
As soon as Edgar put his hand down, Joanna's eyes turned red.
This time, they were truly turned red with anger.
A crimson beam instantly swept across the conference room, and the voices of the few people who had been begging for mercy just a moment ago abruptly stopped.
However, Joanna did not stop immediately. Her gaze shifted a little to the side, terrifying the two Vought executives sitting next to them until their entire bodies went rigid.
They had nothing to do with this matter—at least, they weren't on Edgar's list. But Laser Eyes wouldn't recognize the list on its own. One of them watched helplessly as the beam grazed his shoulder, burning a hole through the back of the chair behind him.
"Joanna."
Lin Mo called out to her, causing Joanna to pause for a moment. The red glow in her eyes persisted for another half a second before slowly fading out.
She looked at the spot where those people had fallen, her chest rising and falling twice.
Lin Mo took her hand.
"It's over."
Joanna didn't speak, instead squeezing his hand back tightly.
The remaining people in the conference room dared to speak even less. Just moments ago, they had felt that as long as they weren't on the list, they could sit securely until the meeting ended.
Now it seemed that whether they could walk out of this conference room alive depended entirely on Joanna's mood today.
If they had known earlier, they would have fled instead of insisting on attending some shareholder meeting.
Was this even a meeting?
It was clearly just waiting for Edgar to call names.
The subsequent matters were handled very quickly. Edgarchecked the list once more to confirm that no one who had participated in Joanna's childhood experiments and disposal plans had been missed.
Lin Mo had no intention of remaining in the conference room. He took Joanna and went with Edgar to the upstairs office.
After the office door closed, Edgar finally spoke.
"There shouldn't be anything else, right?"
With so many people dying today, Vought would undoubtedly be in chaos for a while. Shareholders would need to be rearranged, and high-level positions would need replacements.
And as for the incident in the conference room, they had to give the outside world a plausible explanation.
However, Edgar was confident he could suppress these troubles. At least starting today, no one inside Vought would dare easily go against him by bringing up Lin Moand Joanna's affairs.
Lin Mo sat down on the sofa.
"Not for now."
Edgar nodded. He had originally wanted to say something, but then he remembered the address he had given Lin Moyesterday.
Clara's residence.
After Lin Mo and the others returned, no one took the initiative to mention her.
Edgar looked at Lin Mo.
"There's one more thing."
"Is Clara dead?"
After asking, Edgar's gaze lingered between Lin Mo and Joanna.
In fact, last night, his subordinates had already visited Clara's residence.
The house was gone, and a large swathe of the surrounding woods had been destroyed. The scene was an absolute mess, looking nothing like a smooth conversation. Furthermore, his subordinates had found a mutilated, flesh-and-blood corpse in the freshly turned soil.
The remaining tissue taken for testing yielded results that matched Clara's profile.
Edgar had long since had an answer in his heart, but Clarawas, after all, the first person to successfully be injected with original compound v. Whether she was dead or alive was very important. Even after hearing his subordinates' report, he still felt it necessary to ask Lin Mo in person.
"She's dead."
Lin Mo answered very crisply.
Joanna, however, was not as natural as him. She looked away, pretending to examine the decorations in the office.
She knew better than anyone how Clara had died yesterday. Although she hadn't liked that woman to begin with, the incident of Laser Eyes losing control did make her feel a bit embarrassed.
Edgar glanced at her, then looked back at Lin Mo.
With his brain, he had already guessed most of it.
Clara was dead, yet Joanna wore such an expression; it was likely that events hadn't unfolded according to Lin Mo's plan.
However, he didn't intend to pursue the matter further.
"I roughly know."
Lin Mo stood up.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."
"As for Vought, I'll handle it."
Edgar said. Lin Mo nodded and left the office with Joanna. It wasn't until they walked all the way out of Vought Tower that Joanna looked up and asked him.
"Did he figure it out?"
"Most likely."
Lin Mo said.
"If he couldn't even guess this much, he wouldn't be sitting in his current position."
Joanna curled her lips. Lin Mo didn't continue talking about Clara. The shareholder meeting had ended faster than he anticipated, and right now there was nothing else to do.
Originally, he had planned to wait until evening to go into space, but now that he had time, there was no need to wait deliberately.
"Joanna."
"Hmm?"
"I'm taking you somewhere."
"Where?"
"Space."
Joanna was stunned for a moment.
"Now?"
"Right."
Lin Mo looked down at her.
"By the way, let's test if you can move normally in space."
A hint of doubt appeared on Joanna's face. She had indeed flown very high before, but she had never truly flown out of the Earth.
There was no air in space, and she didn't know what would happen to her once she got there. However, since Lin Mosaid he was going to take her, she didn't hesitate.
"Okay."
She reached out her hand, skillfully embracing Lin Mo, and buried her entire body into his arms. Lin Mo held her securely and their feet left the ground.
The next second.
Their figures shot straight up into the sky. The city rapidly shrank, the clouds were left behind them, and the sky overhead gradually grew dark.
Lin Mo kept paying attention to Joanna's reaction. She had just been injected with original compound v, and her body was much stronger than before, so she shouldn't get into trouble so easily.
Of course, in case she really felt uncomfortable anywhere, he could immediately take her back.
At first, Joanna hugged him tightly, but the higher they flew, the more curious she became, glancing down from time to time at her feet.
By the time they truly broke out of the atmosphere, Earth had already revealed its curvature behind them.
Joanna tried letting go with one hand and moved her fingers; she didn't seem to be experiencing any discomfort for the time being.
Lin Mo relaxed his mind slightly, then looked up. This was his first time facing that yellow sun directly in space.
Without the obstruction of clouds and with less attenuation of ultraviolet rays by the atmosphere, the moment the sunlight shone on his body, he felt the difference. Waves upon waves of energy were continuously pouring into his body.
To put it simply, sunbathing here for a day was probably equivalent to sunbathing on Earth for a month.
Lin Mo closed his eyes and carefully sensed it.
That's right, the rate of increase in his strength was indeed somewhat exaggeratedly fast. Previously, when he stayed on the ground, sunlight shone down through the atmosphere; although his body was constantly growing stronger, the change wasn't very obvious.
Now it was different; every second that passed, he could feel new energy pouring in.
At this speed, hadn't he been losing out a bit on sunbathing all those past years?
Of course, Lin Mo also knew that his current strength hadn't reached the average level of a standard version of Superman yet; it was still a bit lacking. After all, all things considered, he had only sunbathed for a dozen or so years.
When those Supermen entered the main storyline, most of them had already sunbathed for decades. Comparing his current self to them was somewhat like bullying a child.
And he was that child.
So what if he was Baby Superman? Baby Superman could also slowly grow up.
Lin Mo looked back at the yellow sun, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind: just coming outside Earth had increased efficiency by this much.
Then what if he flew directly to the surface of the yellow sun? Thinking of this, his gaze toward the sun became burning hot.
Chapter 145: Still Pretty Weak Right Now
Meanwhile, Joanna had been leaning against Lin Mo's arms. She was originally looking at the Earth behind them, but when she turned her head back, she found that Lin Mowas staring at the sun, looking so comfortable that he didn't want to leave.
She carefully glanced at the yellow sun, then turned her head to look fixedly at Lin Mo, asking a question.
"Lin Mo."
"Hmm?"
"Are you Jesus?"
Lin Mo was stunned for a moment.
"What?"
Joanna remembered that when she was at Vought's stronghold, she had read some stories about Jesus. She didn't remember the other details very clearly, but there was one sentence she had always remembered.
"I am the light of the world."
She looked at the sun, then at Lin Mo. This guy looked so comfortable illuminated by the sunlight; could it be that Lin Mo had some kind of connection with the sun? She remembered that Lin Mo liked to sunbathe whenever he had nothing to do.
"Maybe?"
Maybe Lin Mo was her Jesus.
After listening to her explanation, Lin Mo couldn't help but chuckle.
"What kind of logic is that?"
"Besides, by your calculation, Jesus isn't as awesome as us."
"Why?" Joanna was puzzled. Jesus was God's son after all; it shouldn't be like that.
"He can't fly."
Lin Mo said righteously.
"If he could fly, he wouldn't have been nailed to the cross."
Joanna frowned and thought about it seriously. It seemed to make sense indeed. She was silent for a moment, then suddenly came to a conclusion.
"Then God must have given up on him."
Joanna raised her head and looked at Lin Mo.
"And chose you."
Hearing this, Lin Mo couldn't help but chuckle. That might not be the case. Just because there was no God in this world didn't mean there weren't any in other worlds. Who knew what His Old Man would think if He heard Joanna's words?
Lin Mo reached out a finger and gently poked her head.
"Be careful He hears you."
Joanna didn't care much about it; she felt that what she said made a lot of sense.
Lin Mo didn't argue with her either. He glanced at the distant yellow sun, then lowered his head to look at Joanna.
"I'm going to take a look over there."
"Where?"
"The surface of the yellow sun."
Joanna also looked over. Standing near the Earth earlier, the sun was just an extraordinarily bright sphere of light.
Now that Lin Mo said he was going to fly straight there, she realized that he didn't just want to sunbathe a little longer here.
"I'm going too."
"Alright."
Lin Mo let go of the hand holding her, but didn't fly away immediately.
"Follow slowly behind me. If you can't bear it, stop and wait for me. Don't push yourself."
"I'll come back to find you."
From leaving Earth until now, Joanna hadn't breathed at all. Her body was indeed much stronger than an ordinary person's, and holding her breath for a long time wasn't a problem, but Lin Mo could tell that she still needed oxygen.
Flying further in the direction of the sun, who knew how long she could hold on?
Furthermore, once she left his Bio-field, the surroundings would be a true vacuum. Even if Joanna opened her mouth to shout at him, her voice wouldn't reach his ears.
Lin Mo added another sentence.
"If you feel uncomfortable, wave at me. I'll know."
Joanna nodded, and only then did Lin Mo let go of her, allowing her to float by herself in space.
As for himself, he wasn't planning to dive headfirst into the sun. He just wanted to test how close his current self could get at most, and whether he could fly inside the yellow sun—he would only know after flying over.
Lin Mo was very clear that although he had the Kryptonian Bloodline, he wasn't currently strong enough to casually drill into the interior of the sun.
The temperature in there was still a bit too scorching for him right now.
Well, to put it bluntly, he was still pretty weak right now.
If it were a youthful Kal-El being thrown directly into the interior of the sun, his fate would probably only be vaporization.
Joanna didn't know that Lin Mo had already compared himself to a young Kal-El in his heart.
She only understood one thing: Lin Mo wanted to go look over at the sun, and she could follow, but she shouldn't force herself beyond her limits.
So she obediently nodded.
"Alright, I'll listen to you."
After giving his instructions, Lin Mo flew in the direction of the sun.
Joanna followed closely behind him. At first, Lin Modeliberately suppressed his speed, actually wanting to see just how fast she could fly now.
It didn't take long for him to have a rough idea in his mind.
Converted according to the ground speed of sound, Joanna's speed was probably over two hundred Machs, which was about the same as the speed displayed when Homelander sent that tycoon into space in the original work.
This was already very fast, but the sun was simply too far from Earth. If they kept flying at this speed, it would take at least close to a month to arrive.
How could Joanna have that much oxygen to hold her breath?
Lin Mo turned his head back and waved his hand at her, signaling that he was going to accelerate.
Joanna looked at him, then looked at the sun in the distance, and immediately understood. She couldn't keep up, so she nodded at Lin Mo and turned to fly back in the direction of Earth.
It was more reliable to go back to a place with air to wait for him.
Confirming that Joanna wasn't pushing herself too hard, Lin Mo finally let loose with his speed.
In the blink of an eye, his figure disappeared from where he was, heading straight toward the yellow sun.
This was Lin Mo's first time flying at full strength. Previously on Earth, even with his Bio-field, he still had to look out for things around him; if he flew too fast, passing buildings and people might suffer. There was no such problem in space; he only needed to fly toward the sun.
The more he flew, the more Lin Mo could feel the power in his body growing. The yellow sunlight fell on him without any obstruction, replenishing his energy every single second.
When the sun grew larger and larger in his field of view, Lin Mo finally began to decelerate. He stopped near the surface of the sun and glanced at his watch.
From setting off from Earth until now, a little over an hour had passed.
Lin Mo looked back again at the direction of Earth, which was already blurred beyond recognition. Flying to the sun in a little over an hour already sounded outrageous enough.
But compared to the speed of light, he was currently only around one-seventh or one-eighth of it.
"I still need to sunbathe more."
Lin Mo felt a bit emotional. For those adult Superman, reaching the speed of light was considered normal; he hadn't even touched the edge of the speed of light yet.
However, he wasn't in a hurry. After all, he had only sunbathed for a dozen years or so. Now that he had found such a great place, would he lack opportunities to sunbathe in the future?
Lin Mo looked back at the yellow sun before him. The sunlight shone on his body, and the rate of his power growth was much faster than when he was near Earth.
He could even feel that his body was constantly adapting to the environment here.
No wonder they always said Superman was overpowered, this speed of getting stronger was indeed a bit unreasonable.
Lin Mo almost didn't want to go back. However, Joannawas still waiting for him; he couldn't just leave her alone on Earth while he sunbathed here for ten days or half a month.
Since he was already here, he should get down to business first.
Lin Mo flew forward, passing through the surface layer of the sun and trying to go deeper little by little. The further in he went, the more astonishing the temperature and pressure became, but at the same time, the rate at which his body absorbed energy was getting faster and faster.
Chapter 146: What kind of nonsense is this?
He didn't try to push himself, retreating a little bit the moment he felt any discomfort.
After trying repeatedly, Lin Mo finally found a position suitable for his current state, one where he could continuously absorb the energy of the yellow sun without putting too much pressure on his body.
He silently memorized this distance so he could come here often in the future.
Confirming that he could still handle it for the time being, Lin Mo flew out from the sun and turned around to fly back in the direction of Earth.
When Lin Mo returned to the vicinity of Earth, he quickly found Joanna; she had already returned to the atmosphere and was waiting for him above the clouds.
The moment she saw Lin Mo appear, Joanna immediately flew over and burrowed into his arms. Her actions were the same as usual, but the expression on her face was a little unhappy.
"What's wrong?"
Lin Mo hugged her and asked with a smile.
"It's only been a few hours, and you miss me this much?"
"Of course."
Joanna answered righteously. During this period, she had spent almost every day with Lin Mo, and they had truly never been separated for so long.
Earlier, when she returned to Earth alone and waited for a long time without seeing Lin Mo return, even though she knew he had just gone over to the sun to take a look, she still felt uncomfortable inside.
"You have to make it up to me."
"Alright."
"I haven't even said what I want yet."
"You speak first."
Joanna then began to talk about how fast he had flown just now, so fast that she couldn't catch up at all, and how the sun was so far away that he actually flew over there alone.
Listening to her chatter on endlessly, Lin Mo temporarily played mute for a while.
Once Joanna had finished running her mouth, he seized the opportunity to speak.
"How about we go out and play for a day today?"
Joanna stopped.
"Where to?"
"You choose."
Lin Mo touched his chin. It seemed he had never taken Joanna to play in other regions, so why not do this?
"In this world, any country is fine. I will take you to see them."
At his current speed, taking Joanna out really didn't require considering the distance much.
Hearing this, Joanna looked up at him, and the slight unhappiness from earlier instantly dissipated by more than half.
"Any country is fine?"
"All of them are fine."
"That's more like it."
She leaned back into Lin Mo's arms, her little head beginning to seriously consider where to go.
Just as the two of them were discussing this, certain places on Earth were already in chaos because of their previous actions.
The first to discover the abnormality were a few satellites responsible for monitoring near-Earth space.
The captured images were very clear: outside of Earth, two people appeared, and one of them was even holding the other, just staying like that in space.
The person responsible for viewing the footage stared at the screen several times, thinking he hadn't slept well today and was seeing things.
He magnified the image and checked the original records again.
The result was still two people.
The news quickly reached the US military. In the conference room, several officers gathered in front of the screen, none of them speaking immediately.
What on earth did their satellite capture?
That was space; why would two people stay outside of Earth?
One of the officers couldn't help pointing at the screen.
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Could they be superhumans?"
The general sitting in the front suddenly spoke.
The conference room went quiet for a moment.
It wasn't that they hadn't thought of this possibility earlier; after all, in this world, there were indeed quite a few superhumans capable of Flight.
But being able to fly and flying directly into space were two completely different things.
What the fuck kind of superhumans could already move freely in space?
When Vought used to promote them, they never mentioned having this kind of ability.
An officer stared at the screen, suddenly thinking of something.
"If they can stay in space indefinitely, does that mean we can have them explore other planets?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of several people changed. How much money and preparation did they need to send people into space? Yet now someone was holding another person and just flew up like that, and it didn't even look like they were carrying out any mission.
It looked more like they went up there on a date.
This made it a bit hard for them to accept for a moment.
However, shock aside, things that needed to be investigated still had to be investigated. For the military, with pictures, finding the identities of these two people was not difficult.
Especially since Lin Mo and Joanna had just been in the news recently.
Before long, two files were sent into the conference room.
"Confirmed."
"Lin Mo, Joanna, both currently study at Godolkin University."
"They are related to Vought. Both of them also participated in the incident of rescuing victims of illegal human experimentation some time ago."
Photos of Lin Mo and Joanna soon appeared on the screen.
Several officers looked at the photos, then looked at the footage captured by the satellite.
They really matched up.
The general who spoke earlier frowned. He had actually guessed it right—they were superhumans, which basically meant they could be confirmed as Vought's people.
Several people looked at each other in dismay.
Before long, a few government personnel were added to the conference room.
The content of the discussion also changed from why these two people could fly into space to how to deal with them.
"They must be restricted."
An official who had just finished reading the files placed the documents on the table.
"People with this kind of ability cannot be managed by a private company all the time. At the very least, before they do things like this, they should report it in advance."
An officer next to him glanced at him.
"How do you plan to restrict them?"
The official paused for a moment.
"We can first ask Vought to cooperate."
"We also need to figure out to what extent they can actually do these things first."
The leading general spoke, interrupting the two men.
"All we know right now is that they can enter space."
"What about other abilities? How long can they stay? How far can they fly? And how much does Vought know?"
The conference room fell silent again.
They weren't completely oblivious to Vought. They had never completely believed the things that company usually promoted in front of the public.
How many of the so-called hero stories were true, and how many were fabricated by the public relations department? Everyone present had some idea.
Furthermore, some of them already maintained private contacts with Vought.
Some things, once known, were just known. As long as it didn't reach the point where they needed to step in and handle it, they usually turned a blind eye.
But it was different now. Vought suddenly popped out with two superhumans who could fly directly into space. Those guys from before who could shoot electricity and withstand a few bullets were completely incomparable to them.
This was no longer a matter of Vought selling a few more hero movies or signing a few more advertisements.
"Contact Vought's current CEO, Edgar."
The general looked at the screen and said slowly.
"I want to know what on earth is going on with these two people."
Meanwhile, at Vought Tower.
Edgar was sitting in his office, looking at the increasingly tall piles of documents in front of him.
Headache.
Truly a bit of a headache.
How satisfying it was to clear out those people this morning; now that it was his turn to arrange replacements, he found that there were even more things than imagined, and right now he was truly suffering.
Waiting for more chapters on WTR-Lab