After leaving Egypt, Herman retrieved his off-road vehicle from the alternate dimension and sped down the road toward New York, USA.
During World War II, many nations were embroiled in conflict, so there were no traffic police checking license plates or border inspections to worry about.
Besides, with Herman's abilities, easily manipulating or controlling armed forces along the way was hardly a challenge. Detainment or interrogation by any military group was simply impossible. Controlling an entire military base would be effortless for him—his psychic power now far surpassed even Professor Charles.
If he focused, he could link directly to the minds of every living being on Earth without using any tools. Yet Herman chose to drive instead of flying. Though flying would be infinitely faster, it would also mean missing the scenery and historical atmosphere along the way.
After all, not everyone had the chance to travel from the future back to the past and witness history firsthand. To Herman, this journey was a rare and fascinating experience.
As for his destination, he had his reasons.
New York, being the absolute core of the Marvel Universe, was most likely where he could uncover traces of the mysterious voice calling to him.
Of course, this wasn't an absolute conclusion—merely a judgment based on his understanding of the Marvel Universe, supported by intuition that told him this choice was correct. Even if New York yielded nothing, it didn't matter. It would only cost him some time—and time was the least valuable thing to him now.
Having already reached the Universal-level and wielding the Myriad Radiant Wings, which allowed him to move freely between past and future, Herman had no need to hurry. Experiencing the landscapes and culture of the World War II era was an adventure worth savoring.
Truthfully, from the moment Herman chose to ride a white camel into the desert, he had already regarded this entire journey as a meaningful and entertaining trip.
"I'm fairly certain New York will hold clues. At my current level of existence, intuition is no longer just intuition."
Herman analyzed calmly. Indeed, for a Universal-level being, one's will was already beginning to connect with the cosmic consciousness.
What people called "intuition" was sometimes nothing more than feedback from interacting with that cosmic consciousness.
It was a mysterious ability.
Some beings maintained an especially close and clear connection with it—like the Daughter of Galactus—who could even achieve omniscience under its influence. It was like accessing a universal network encompassing the entire cosmos, allowing those linked to freely browse all its information.
Of course, certain information was encrypted and inaccessible, much like a cosmic "dark web." Thus, this state could only be described as omniscience within the limits of cosmic consciousness—not true omniscience. Still, it was an extraordinarily powerful ability.
The sum of all knowledge in the universe was enough to make even Thanos cry out, "Damn it! It's a curse!"
Though Herman's connection to the cosmic consciousness hadn't yet reached the "network access" stage, he could already receive certain information from it through intuition.
At this point, his strength had truly reached the pinnacle of the cosmos.
He could easily regard a Thanos without the Infinity Stones as no more than an insect. The only beings he truly needed to consider were those at the level of the Five Cosmic Entities.
If the [All-Seeing Eye] granted him even greater power and status in the future, perhaps he might one day seek out the One-Above-All for a casual conversation about life and ideals.
"Vorder Kaserne,
vor dem großen Tor,
stand eine Laterne..."
From the car stereo came a song perfectly suited to the era—Lili Marleen, a beloved World War II classic.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
At least in terms of musical taste, Herman had perfectly blended into this time period. Classics, after all, never fade with age.
Just as he realized he had crossed into Soviet territory, Herman began rummaging through his records, curious to see if he had a copy of Katyusha among them.
...
Splash~
From the dense jungle beside the deserted highway, a small, shadowy figure suddenly burst out.
She stumbled and rolled from the underbrush, tumbling straight onto the road—almost colliding head-on with Herman's speeding SUV.
"What the hell?"
If not for his telekinesis, which allowed him to defy physics and control the vehicle directly, Herman's car would've crushed the frail figure into a smear on the asphalt.
Fortunately, he caught a clear glimpse of her before impact—a little girl. If it had been just some wild animal, he wouldn't have bothered stopping.
But it wasn't.
It was a person.
And a child, no less.
Though Herman's hands were stained with the blood of countless lives, he wasn't cold-blooded. He hadn't yet become one of those emotionless gods who saw ordinary humans as nothing but ants.
Perhaps that was simply the consequence of youth.
Despite having reached a realm most beings could never touch in an eternity, in truth, Herman had lived just over twenty years.
He didn't know whether, as time passed, he would grow detached and indifferent—but for now, his values were still those of an ordinary human.
Hurting the innocent?
Unless absolutely necessary, he would always avoid it.
Click~
Under his telekinetic control, the SUV came to an impossible stop—no more than a centimeter or two from the fallen girl.
It wasn't luck or coincidence. It was precision.
"What the hell?"
Leaning out the window, Herman frowned, muttering like any irritated driver.
Whose reckless kid was this?
Trying to get run over on a deserted highway?
"Huff... huff..."
The little girl in front of the SUV was clearly terrified. Her wide eyes were filled with panic, and she sat frozen, trembling in shock.
She had fiery red hair, and looked to be around fifteen or sixteen. But her Western features had already matured—her figure well-developed, her face delicate and striking. In that moment of fear, she looked like a startled deer—fragile and pitiful.
"Hm?"
Herman's gaze lingered on her, and his expression shifted into mild astonishment.
Not because he'd nearly run over a beautiful young girl, but because her familiar, refined features sparked a sudden recognition.
It wasn't like Evelyn, with whom he'd shared only brief acquaintance.
This girl—he had actually met before.
A true old acquaintance.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on P@treon.
[Upto 50 chapters ahead for now]
[email protected]/PinkSnake