Chapter 349: Terrifying Secret Realm — A World of Despair!
"Chen Ye, that axe in your hand—where did it come from?"
Chairman Chen suddenly asked out of curiosity, "You've been carrying it since last night."
"Oh," Chen Ye replied casually, "Last night in the alternate world, a foreign race threw it to me."
Giant alien creature: ???
At that moment, Chen Ye frowned.
He had realized that ever since he got the axe, he hadn't been able to put it down. He had been holding it the entire time without even realizing it...
That was clearly not normal.
It seemed the axe wasn't just incredibly durable—it also had the ability to influence the mind.
Fortunately, Chen Ye had strong willpower and an exceptionally powerful spirit. With a single reminder from his father, he immediately sensed something was off.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Ye asked, "Dad, do you know anyone who works at a research institute?"
"Why?"
"This axe is a bit strange. I want to find a professional to study it."
Chairman Chen responded, "The best research facilities are, of course, the national-level ones."
Chen Ye frowned slightly at those words.
Chairman Chen continued, "You're worried that once you hand it over, you won't get it back? Don't worry. With your current ability, unless they've lost their minds, no one would dare pull something like that."
Chen Ye thought it over and still shook his head. "Forget it. I'll just find a regular private research lab to take a look. Honestly, I don't really care if they uncover anything or not."
He knew full well that once he handed over the axe, no one in authority would dare lay a hand on it.
He simply didn't want too much involvement with official channels at the moment.
His identity and strength had only recently been revealed. He hadn't yet decided how—or as what—he should interact with humanity...
As for the whole superhero persona, Chen Ye looked down on it.
Aside from earning some reputation, it brought virtually no real benefit. Worse yet, it came with the burden of protecting Blue Star. Even stepping outside meant having to worry about his public image.
How exhausting!
Seeing his son insist, Chairman Chen thought for a moment, then nodded. "That works too. One of your master's old friends runs a tech company. Their R&D capabilities are decent—just hand it over to them later."
Who it was given to didn't matter.
On this planet, no one dared covet Chen Ye's belongings.
Chen Ye reminded him, "This axe is pretty sinister. It can mess with people's minds. Even I almost got caught off guard without noticing. If ordinary people come into contact with it, it could be very dangerous. Dad, you have to warn them about that…"
"Oh? So that's why you want it studied." Chairman Chen nodded. "Alright, I understand."
…
Meanwhile.
On the other side—in the alternate world—the sun was rising.
The area where Chen Ye had previously killed the giant alien with a single punch was now surrounded by a horde of alien creatures, all seemingly searching for something.
But after a long search, they found nothing.
Then—
An even larger alien creature appeared. It sniffed the surroundings, then suddenly let out a furious roar, causing all the other aliens nearby to drop to their knees in terror.
The giant alien looked down coldly at the kneeling ones, as if looking at pigs or dogs.
The next moment—
It suddenly lifted a foot and stomped down with force.
Boom!
Instantly—
The ground split open, and the earth shook violently.
Many of the ordinary alien creatures died horribly.
Yet not a single one dared to flee or resist!
The aliens that had once been ferocious toward humans now looked like terrified mice in front of the giant alien. All they could do was submit, ready to be slaughtered.
After venting for a while, the giant alien finally stopped.
Its gaze turned toward the portal leading to Blue Star, hatred in its eyes mingled with a trace of caution.
From the descriptions of the surviving aliens, it learned that the blue planet on the other side also housed extremely terrifying beings...
It seemed that conquering that world would require a long-term plan!
…
Back on Blue Star.
At the military base, Chen Ye placed the axe inside a large lead box.
Lead could block radiation, making it the perfect container to store the axe.
As soon as Chen Ye let go of the handle, he felt an odd sense of loss...
He was surprised, staring intently at the axe inside the lead box, frowning deeply.
This thing was too mysterious.
It reminded him of the Mind Stone from the Marvel Universe.
"Chen Ye?"
His father's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I was just thinking about where this axe came from and spaced out for a bit…"
Chen Ye said as he closed the lid of the lead box, then immediately took off into the sky.
"Dad, I'll head back first."
Chairman Chen nodded.
Boom!
A sonic boom rang out.
Watching his son's silhouette vanish into the distance, Chairman Chen boarded a transport aircraft with the box in hand.
As for this area—
After the earlier skirmish, the authorities were now fully aware that the aliens were hostile. Additional troops would be stationed here for defense.
Also, Chen Ye now had a satellite phone with him.
If the military encountered enemies they couldn't handle, he would arrive immediately to provide support.
Given his flying speed, he didn't need to stay here to respond quickly.
After returning to Beijing—
Chen Ye went straight home.
At home, only his mother Yang Rongzhi was there. His elder half-brother wasn't around.
"Mom, where's big bro? Still not back?" Chen Ye couldn't help asking.
Yang Rongzhi smiled and said, "Your brother's already home, but he can't sit still. Said he was going out to catch up with some old comrades."
With both her sons back safe, Yang Rongzhi was naturally delighted.
Chen Ye nodded at her words, said nothing more, and returned to his room.
Tomorrow was the day the secret realm would open.
Chen Ye didn't plan to go out again for now. He wanted to prepare quietly for the secret realm.
If he remembered correctly, last time Tang Zichen deliberately avoided him. This time, she should be heading to Secret Realm No. 9.
As for Chen Ye, he was going to Secret Realm No. 10.
Why wasn't he waiting for Tang Zichen this time?
The reason was simple—No. 10 was a solo secret realm.
Only at No. 11 would the multiplayer mode resume. When that time came, Chen Ye would of course wait for Tang Zichen to join him.
That evening.
The family rarely had a chance to be all together, so they had dinner at home.
The next day.
Just after 10 a.m.
Chen Ye quietly vanished from his room…
The space before his eyes shifted, and time seemed to twist.
When Chen Ye regained his vision, he found himself standing in a desolate city.
From the ruins, it was faintly visible that this city had once been highly prosperous, filled with towering skyscrapers in the downtown area.
However, there was now not a single sign of human life. Yellow sand swept through the air, carried by howling winds, casting a dull yellow hue over the entire world. A thick layer of dust covered the entire city, making it appear utterly barren.
Chen Ye had excellent eyesight and could clearly see that many buildings were dilapidated, and the ground was scarred with enormous craters.
With just one glance, he could tell that this city had been through war.
And it had been a terrifying, large-scale war.
The human side had most likely used nuclear weapons.
That massive crater on the edge of the city—undoubtedly created by a nuclear blast.
As for the damaged skyscrapers and the gaping holes in their structures, those caused Chen Ye to frown slightly.
Those holes didn't look like the result of shelling. They looked more like... the impact of some massive object?
What kind of world was this?
A post-nuclear apocalyptic world?
Secret Realm No. 10, much like No. 9, wasn't tied to a fixed world.
The world one arrived in depended entirely on luck.
At this point, based solely on the appearance of this city, Chen Ye really couldn't determine what kind of world this was.
After a moment of thought, he decided to explore the city and find out.
A short while later—
Chen Ye arrived at a deserted street.
Abandoned vehicles were scattered messily across the road, rusted through.
He could even see many human skeletons inside the cars—likely people who hadn't managed to escape when the war broke out and had died on the spot.
Suddenly—
Chen Ye's ears twitched. He seemed to hear something.
But his expression remained unchanged as he continued walking forward.
Moments later—
Someone hiding in the shadows seemed to lose patience and quickly charged at Chen Ye.
Just as Chen Ye prepared to take down the sneaky figure, he was surprised to find—he couldn't track their speed!
With his current level, there were still creatures faster than him?
The figure moved like lightning—no, more precisely, they were as fast as actual lightning.
In just the blink of an eye—
Chen Ye found his body forcibly relocated to a nearby alley.
A human, seemingly familiar in appearance and still crackling with residual sparks of electricity, stood before him.
Seeing this person, the punch Chen Ye had prepared immediately relaxed, his expression turning to one of astonishment.
Because...
Standing in front of him was someone he recognized.
Barry Allen!
The Flash!!
'So... I've arrived in the DC universe?'
'But why does the DC world look like this?'
'Could it be… the DC world after Superman turned evil?'
Chen Ye was deeply shocked.
At that moment—
The Flash had already begun to speak:
"Hey! Man, what are you doing wandering around here alone? Don't you know how dangerous that is?"
Chen Ye was just about to respond—
When he seemed to hear another sound. His eyes immediately shifted toward the sky beyond the street.
Barry Allen looked too—and his face changed dramatically. He quickly raised a finger to his lips, signaling Chen Ye to stay silent.
Chen Ye cooperatively said nothing and quietly retreated with Barry into the shadows.
Out on the street—
Three terrifying, grotesque monsters were flapping their wings as they scoured the area in search of something, passing right by where they were hiding.
Chen Ye recognized them—creatures known as "Parademons," which had once followed Steppenwolf in the Justice League film to invade Earth.
Parademons themselves weren't all that powerful.
However, Chen Ye didn't make a move to eliminate them.
Because Parademons were bio-weapons created with Apokoliptian technology—beings engineered by "Darkseid" to conquer countless worlds.
Since these creatures were freely roaming the area, that meant the super BOSS "Darkseid" had likely already descended upon Earth.
Though Chen Ye was strong now, Darkseid wasn't someone to underestimate. It was safer to stay cautious for the time being.
…
Once the three Parademons had flown far away—
The Flash—Barry Allen—finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then he whispered to Chen Ye, "They can sense fear, but they didn't detect you? That means you're someone full of courage, utterly fearless!"
Chen Ye said nothing, calmly watching the Flash.
"Hey! Don't tell me you don't know who I am?"
Chen Ye finally replied, "Of course I know. The one and only Flash."
Seeing this, Barry Allen said, "Looks like you're not just some ordinary guy. Can you tell me why you were wandering around alone?"
Chen Ye replied calmly, "Sorry. I don't want to say."
Because he honestly didn't know how to explain it.
Right now, Chen Ye knew nothing about this world. If he tried to lie, The Flash could easily see through it.
Barry Allen sighed and said, "I get it... Actually, everyone who's still alive is just like you—lost their friends and family."
Chen Ye realized that The Flash had misunderstood him and filled in the blanks himself.
That worked fine—it saved him the trouble of explaining.
"Come on! Let me introduce you to some big names—the real big ones!"
As he spoke, Barry Allen took the initiative to lead the way.
Chen Ye didn't hesitate and followed.
He had a general idea of who The Flash wanted to introduce him to.
Most likely Batman and the rest...
Which was perfect. He needed to gather information about this world.
There was also something odd—
So far, Chen Ye hadn't received any mission prompts. He didn't even know what he was supposed to be doing.
…
To avoid the Parademons—
The Flash didn't take Chen Ye through any main roads but instead ducked through various alleyways, eventually even leading him into the sewers.
Naturally, the sewers had long ceased to be used by humans. Though dirty, they didn't have any unbearable odor.
Even after entering the sewers—
The Flash remained cautious.
As they moved forward, he whispered, "Man, I don't know how you've survived this long, but let me just warn you—if you encounter any of those flying monsters, the best choice is to hide! If they spot you, it'll attract something truly terrifying."
Chen Ye said nothing.
Looking at the weary, scruffy-bearded Flash, he felt a surge of emotion.
Back when he'd watched the movie, even just a few brief scenes had shown how despairing the world was after Superman's fall.
Aquaman was killed, Wonder Woman cremated...
Among the Justice League, many had died or been seriously wounded. Even the survivors lived like rats in hiding.
Just like the Flash before him now.
They traveled through the sewers for over ten minutes.
Only then did The Flash finally bring Chen Ye to a hidden underground corner.
"We're here. This is the place," Barry Allen exhaled in relief.
Chen Ye looked up, his gaze scanning the shadowed ceiling above.
There was someone there!
Sensing he'd been spotted, the person in the shadows leapt down and landed right in front of The Flash.
"Whoa…" Barry Allen jumped in fright and immediately complained, "Bruce, can you please not lurk in the darkness next time?"
The newcomer was tall and powerfully built, dressed in a black stealth suit with a cape draped over his shoulders and a bat-shaped mask covering his head—only his eyes and mouth were visible...
It was none other than Batman: Bruce Wayne!
(End of Chapter)
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