He turned around and waved at Ancient One and Wanda standing outside the magic circle as a final farewell.
Afterward, he tightly grabbed America's hand, took a step, and walked into the star-shaped Portal.
The next moment.
Homelander and America were standing on a bustling street.
Passersby hurried along, and not even a single person spared a second glance at the two people who had appeared out of thin air, as if they were just ordinary New York City citizens.
"Did we come to the right place?" America looked around, appearing somewhat bewildered.
But the next second, her complexion instantly turned pale as death.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Homelander looked at her in confusion.
"No… something's wrong…" America's voice trembled, "This Universe… is repelling me. This feeling is so uncomfortable. I've been to countless multiverses before, and I've never encountered this kind of situation."
As she spoke, she fearfully raised both of her hands.
Homelander's gaze narrowed.
America's fingertips were flickering slightly.
That patch of skin was gradually turning transparent, faintly allowing one to see through her fingers to what was underneath.
And this fading effect was gradually spreading toward her palms.
"I have a very strong intuition." America raised her head, looking at Homelander with a face full of anxiety, "I must leave this Universe before my body completely fades away. Otherwise… I will disappear!!"
She grabbed Homelander's arm and urged, "We must find that person you mentioned named Charles as soon as possible. But there's a sea of people here, how should we start?"
Seeing this situation, Homelander also furrowed his brows deeply.
To return to his own Universe, he still had to rely on America; once she disappeared, he would be trapped here forever.
Although to him, everything was nothing more than starting over.
But in that Universe, he had poured in a lot of effort and had sunk costs; unless it was an absolute last resort, he couldn't bear to give it up.
Homelander subsequently looked around.
Eventually, his gaze fell upon an open-air newsstand on the side of the street.
He stepped forward and walked over. The newsstand keeper was a drowsy, fat old man, completely failing to notice the bizarrely dressed Homelander approaching.
Homelander casually picked up a copy of that day's newspaper from the rack.
The front-page headline of the newspaper was printed with a striking line of bold characters: "New Era Has Arrived! President Arnold Srump Formally Enters the White House Today!"
Below the title, occupying half of the layout, was a photograph of a slightly plump man with a golden side-parted hairstyle, a red tie, and a slightly tanned complexion.
He was standing on the podium, waving his fist, his expression full of arrogance and confidence.
Homelander looked at the photo, revealing a meaningful smile.
"Looking for someone?" Homelander tossed the newspaper back onto the stall and turned to look at America, "The simplest method, of course, is to get it done through the most powerful person in this country, which saves the most time."
He casually threw the newspaper back onto the stall and turned to walk back to America's side.
"Hold on tight to me."
Homelander grabbed America's waist.
Boom!
Homelander carried America as they rose straight up from the ground, soaring directly into the clouds and flying straight toward the direction of the White House in Washington D.C.
...
Washington D.C., White House.
The newly inaugurated President Arnold Srump was walking aggressively down the corridor leading to the reception room.
But his complexion at this moment was redder than his tie.
There were no attendants following him.
There was no Chief of Staff, no Secretary of State, and even the Secret Service bodyguards responsible for close-up protection ignored his orders and dared not accompany him to see that person.
The reason was that he was now going to the reception room to resolve a problem that he considered utterly absurd.
Just half an hour ago, during the power handover in the Oval Office, former President Ozma had told him about a secretive unspoken rule.
Every past President of the United States, on this day of taking the oath of office, must secretly meet a man named "Yujiro Hanma".
Not only that, the President must also place a hand on the Bible and swear an oath to this man, representing the United States of America to sign a "Non-Aggression Friendship Treaty" with him.
A country, and moreover the most powerful superpower in this World.
Signing a non-aggression pact with a solitary human?
When Ozma spoke of this matter, his tone even carried a matter-of-course awe.
Arnold Srump's anger surged right then and there, feeling that he had heard a fantastical tale.
Unreasonable! Utter humiliation!
He, the President of the United States, the leader of the World, controlled the World's most powerful economy and a nuclear arsenal capable of destroying Earth ten times over.
Now, the former President actually wanted him to bow his head to a human? And even swear an oath to him with a hand on the Bible?
Even before coming, his Chief of Staff had advised him that that Yujiro Hanma was not just a human, but was also called something like the 'Strongest Creature on Earth'.
He could destroy the Military's heavy armored division bare-handed, his speed surpassed bullets, and his muscle strength could withstand missiles head-on.
The Military had once conducted an assessment: to deal with him, unless high-yield nuclear weapons were used to perish together, there was zero chance of winning.
"Fake news! Complete and utter fake news!" Arnold Srump muttered inwardly, "These are all lies fabricated by those incompetent generals in the Military to cover up their own failures! One person fighting an army? Is this a Hollywood movie? This is the real World!"
If this matter got out, the international prestige of the United States would be completely ruined.
And he, the new President, would also become the laughingstock of the entire World.
He would never accept it!
The great United States would also never bow its head to any individual.
He, Arnold Srump, was even less likely to subserviently swear an oath to a so-called "martial artist" on the very first day of his term.
This was a trample on the national dignity of the United States.
Arnold Srump stopped in his tracks, standing before the wooden door of the reception room.
He adjusted the buttons of his suit, holding his chest straight.
Those cowards didn't dare to come over, so he would go in alone.
He didn't care what kind of freak this guy named Yujiro Hanma was, nor did he care how much those good-for-nothings at the Pentagon feared this man.
This was the United States! This was the White House! He was the person in charge here!
He wanted to completely end this humiliation that had lasted through several administrations today, in his own hands.
Make the United States great again!
Arnold Srump took a deep breath, forcefully pushed open the doors of the reception room with both hands, preparing to angrily scold...
But the moment the door opened, a mere back view alone caused his brain to directly crash.
What kind of physique was that?
Inconceivably wide shoulders, with inverted-triangle back muscles bulging chunk by chunk.
The textures of those muscles were twisted and entwined, forming a ferocious demon face on his back that looked like a weeping evil spirit.
He prided himself on having seen countless storms and waves in the World, but the instant he saw that back view, his so-called power, status, and wealth all turned into powder.
He finally understood what was meant by "combat itself", and what was meant by an "unconquerable creature".
Standing there was not a human, but a prehistoric behemoth draped in human skin, a walking totem of violence.
*******************************
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