The Sun sank behind the mountains, night fell, and the sky was resplendent with stars.
And the earthquake had not stopped.
Starting in the afternoon, slight earthquakes occurred locally in the suburbs of Metropolis, causing many local residents to fear staying in their homes and choose to sleep on the streets.
The epicenter of the earthquake was a natural lake. The tremors were more pronounced in areas near it. Fortunately, due to the surrounding fields and forests, no residents discovered the lake's abnormality.
At this moment, the vast lake, with a radius of a mile, had truly turned into warm water, steaming with heat, like a super-large natural open-air hot spring.
The ice on the lake's surface had long since melted into water vapor. The lake water sometimes flowed upwards like a waterfall, and sometimes rushed like an ocean vortex, stirring up water that could reach a hundred meters into the sky, then falling like a torrential downpour!
After nightfall, it continued for some time.
The lake water suddenly split into two halves, and a Beast-like growl emanated from below, accompanied by an Angel's heavenly hum. Then the lake water completely erupted upwards!
Two figures, embracing each other, flew out of the lake. Their black and red capes flapped wildly. It was Vincent, wearing a black Superman suit, holding the slightly smaller Supergirl from the front. The two held each other tightly, like a human missile, crashing diagonally into the mountains!
It was like a special battle!
A battle between Kryptonians!
At the critical moment, Vincent still managed to turn over, letting his back hit the mountain!
Boom!!
Countless shattered rocks flew, and the top of the mountain was directly smashed by the two!
The impact that pulverized the mountain caused the two to embrace even tighter, with almost no gap between them.
Their trajectory remained unchanged, continuing to rush diagonally upwards towards the night sky, their speed constantly increasing. The sound barrier was easily broken in mid-air, followed by the breaking of the sky's clouds!
One moment the two had just emerged from the lake, the next they were already outside Earth! The black and red capes, one in front and one behind, perfectly concealed their bodies!
The endless radiance of the Sun cast a beautiful arc of light on the two, who seemed to be one!
Beside them were the curved, azure Earth and the silvery-White Moon, while the vast and dark Universe maintained its eternal, mysterious beauty.
There was no sound.
Supergirl couldn't help but bite hard into Vincent's shoulder, then quickly and involuntarily opened her mouth wide, tilting her body sharply backward to reveal her smooth, delicate chin.
She saw a hint of triumph and appreciation in Vincent's slightly reddened eyes.
Supergirl Kara immediately changed her tactics with a touch of annoyance. She spotted a landmass below, then, embracing Vincent, plummeted downwards. The two became a small, black and crimson meteorite rushing towards Earth.
Finally, the small meteorite landed in the western U.S., on a majestic snow-covered mountain where the ice and snow had not yet melted.
The sharply protruding peak was pressed down ten meters, causing the ground to shake!
An avalanche, like a volcanic eruption, crashed down, engulfing everything in the valley, including the green grass and forests... A night passed.
Golden Sunbeams broke through the night and shone down on the collapsed snow-capped peak, which resembled a volcanic crater.
A young man and a young woman, wearing black and blue Superman suits respectively, lay there. White frost and snow had fallen on their hair, capes, and suits.
Vincent used one arm as a pillow for Kara to rest on, and the other arm as a body pillow for her soft body. Perhaps it was because the energy field converter within their Superman bodies only stopped working late last night, combined with the comfortable warmth of her body, that he slept until nearly noon without waking up.
Until then.
Vincent's right hand, which rested on Kara, had a soft, cotton-like texture that suddenly turned as hard as steel??
No, it wasn't Kara who had hardened.
It was that the Kryptonian power on him had disappeared. Without Kara releasing her Super-power field, a normal person touching a Superman would feel like touching metal.
The duration of Lord of the Retinue had ended, which meant twelve hours had passed... As soon as his brain registered this, Vincent suddenly woke up.
He opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings, seeing the Sun almost directly overhead. He quickly patted Kara's shoulder, waking her from her sleep.
Kara sat up, rubbing her barely open eyes. A faint, translucent tear stain lingered at the corner of her eye, and her pink lips unconsciously mumbled, "Ah? Is it... over? I'm not dead, am I...?"
"Don't worry, Kara, you're more or less intact."
Vincent looked Kara up and down, helping to smooth out her wrinkled red dress.
However, Vincent quickly noticed something amiss.
This anomaly stemmed from—himself... Vincent didn't feel cold.
One must know that he had now lost his Kryptonian power and was situated on the high, snowy peak of the western wilderness.
Even if his black Superman suit could provide warmth, his palms, neck, and head had no actual cold protection measures.
"Something's not right." Vincent lowered his head and touched his own body. Although he had lost his temporary Superman abilities, his body still appeared tough and robust. The muscles, as if cast and forged from steel, were still there. Wrapped in the tight black Superman suit, his physique still presented a perfect, streamlined curve... Vincent tried clenching his fists, but it was still the same familiar feeling of an ordinary human's strength.
He stood on the snowy peak, gazing into the distance, his vision still only extending about ten kilometers.
Everything was unchanged. Except for his physical appearance, he still retained the Superman transformation.
What good was that? A bodybuilding enthusiast?
Vincent frowned, then suddenly thought of something and slapped his own cheek!
With a 'pa' sound!
Supergirl Kara, who had just gotten up, was stunned and said, "Senior, what are you doing?"
"It doesn't hurt."
Vincent didn't respond to Kara. His eyes lit up slightly, and his right palm continued to slap his own cheek.
This time, Vincent used all his strength!
Slap!!
On the flattened summit of the snow mountain, the slap was exceptionally loud.
"Vincent, what's wrong with you?" Kara was clearly frightened and quickly went forward to grab Vincent's hand, fearing he would continue to harm himself.
"I'm fine. I should say... I'm very well! Extremely well!"
A glimmer of understanding flashed in Vincent's eyes. He had used his maximum strength to slap his own face, yet felt no pain, and his palm had no numbness.
He vaguely understood what changes had occurred in his body.
"Kara, hit me."
"Ah, what did you say?"
"Hit me, you'll see. Use your fist, try with a little less force first." Vincent said seriously.
"Alright."
Kara hesitated for a moment, sensing that Vincent was serious, then lightly tapped his chest with her fist.
Don't be fooled by the gentle tap; in reality, it was several times stronger than human strength!
The inhuman force came, like a heavy blow.
Vincent couldn't help but stagger back a few steps before stopping, but then he laughed, "It doesn't hurt at all."
Kara's eyes widened in surprise.
"Kara, this time, use fifty percent of your strength, try it."
Vincent's face was full of confidence as he patted his chest. No sooner had he spoken than a fist swiftly slammed into his chest!
With a hurricane force!!!
Boom!!!
Vincent was instantly sent flying backward. Like a cannonball, he was carried by the gale and slammed into the opposite mountain peak. His human body sank deep into the rock, triggering another massive avalanche!
"Vincent!"
Kara quickly flew over and dug him out of the deeply embedded mountain. Although Vincent looked a bit disheveled, his body, like his black Superman suit, was unharmed!
"That punch of yours made my chest feel a tiny bit of pain." Vincent, pulled out by Kara, smiled. At the same time, a subconscious message appeared in his mind.
In his subconscious, the common sense notions of an ordinary human's instinctive defenses—scalding from hot Water, fear upon seeing a venomous snake's breath, and caution when facing blades and guns—were all corrected one by one.
That's right.
Vincent had gained a special ability from Kara's Kryptonian lineage, exclusive to Superman—
"Body of Steel!"
It wouldn't disappear with time, but would be permanently held!
"No. It's not just Body of Steel. In my opinion, my body is still as flexible as before. This is—Body of Steel optimized with an inherent biological force field." Vincent exclaimed in admiration. It wasn't easy; he finally obtained a permanently held extraordinary ability!
Even if it was only the defensive Body of Steel.
But one must understand something.
The ability Vincent gained would automatically optimize weaknesses. Therefore, his Body of Steel would not be weakened or rendered ineffective by Kryptonite or a red Sun!
A Body of Steel without weaknesses, what did that represent?
It meant that Vincent's survival capability had soared by more than a thousand times. Even if he lay still, let alone modern humans, most supernaturals couldn't harm him in the slightest!
To some extent, Vincent's frontal defense index had already surpassed Superman.
Of course, it was only physical defense. Everything else was still at the level of an ordinary human.
One could only say he was more resilient to beatings.
"How do I feel this ability is specifically for me to fend off cleavers..."
Vincent muttered to himself but was still incredibly excited.
This showed him another path, a path to truly becoming stronger!
It turned out that Lord of the Retinue could not only temporarily acquire all abilities but also acquire part of an extraordinary opposite-sex's abilities through other methods!
Vincent had an inexplicable feeling.
His own Lord of the Retinue ability might even be able to permanently acquire all physical abilities of an extraordinary opposite-sex, but he hadn't yet found the stringent conditions that could trigger such a situation.
Yes, stringent.
After all, even for the permanent possession of only partial abilities, he had to reach the level of last night.
To permanently acquire everything, Vincent truly couldn't imagine what extent he would have to reach... Unable to figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it.
Perhaps one day, he would unexpectedly meet the conditions and acquire it, just like today.
"Kara. Do you feel any changes in yourself?" Vincent collected his thoughts and looked at Supergirl Kara beside him.
"My body, changes?"
Kara tilted her head in confusion, then suddenly clutched her slightly distended lower abdomen, her legs squeezed tightly together as she said with shame and indignation, "It's coming out soon, does that count...?"
Vincent: "..."
"I wasn't talking about that..."
Vincent felt that not only had his own body undergone changes, but Kara's body should also have experienced some alterations; she just hadn't discovered them yet.
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