Villian Meets Parallax
A warrior must eventually face death.
Villian had imagined countless scenarios for her death, and the only one she never considered was a trash heap on some low-level planet.
The Violet Lantern Ring provided the user with a self-healing factor, but healing is not the same as regeneration. Missing half her body, she had no chance of survival.
"I am truly going to die."
"I'm so unwilling!"
Villian gritted her teeth, her eyes showing extreme defiance. Quickly, that defiance morphed into the terror that precedes death. The fear of a Zamaron is different from that of an Earthling; their superior mental aptitude amplifies fear countless times over.
"I smell the scent of fear."
Hector Hammond appeared in the alley. He lowered his enormous head, curiously examining the humanoid creature in the trash heap.
"Blue-green skin, no hair, half a body. Hohohoho!"
"What good luck. I've encountered another alien, and a live one at that."
Hector nodded slightly and offered a sincere and earnest greeting,
"Hello, friend from space. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Villian raised her right hand, and a sword materialized out of thin air, only to stop strangely right in front of Hector.
"Another metahuman?"
Villian's pupils contracted. Just as she was about to strike, her right arm froze in mid-air, unable to move.
"Friend from space, don't be nervous. I don't intend to attack you. I just want to chat with you as the host of this planet."
"I almost forgot, can you understand our language?"
"If not, I have another way to communicate, but that might cause a little damage to your brain nerves."
Hector was all smiles, like a warm and welcoming host, but his dark yellow eyes were incredibly strange. With every glance, Villian felt a deep, instinctive dread.
Yellow eyes! Fear!
Villian's expression froze. Remembering something, the remaining half of her face twisted in horror.
Parallax!
This Earth human is actually Parallax possessing a host!
Damn it, why would such a thing exist on a backward planet like Earth?
Recalling the terrifying power of Parallax, Villian involuntarily trembled and averted her head, refusing to meet his gaze.
"Friend from space, you seem to recognize me?"
Hector narrowed his eyes. "Or rather, you recognize my power."
"That's a problem. My greatest wish in life is to sit down and chat with intelligent life from outer space and understand what the world beyond Earth is like. Unfortunately, you happen to understand my power and are therefore consumed by fear."
"I'm sorry, friend from space, I can't save you."
"I love your fear."
Hector smiled gently, and his eyes emitted a nearly solidified yellow beam of light. Villian's face changed drastically. She clenched her fist, using the power granted by the Violet Lantern Ring to resist the yellow light beam. However, her body was too weak. After only a few seconds, her right hand went limp and fell to the ground.
The yellow light enveloped her body. Large quantities of yellow particles spilled from within, converging into a torrent that Hector opened his mouth and swallowed. As the yellow light permeated, Villian's body rapidly shrank. Her muscles lost vitality, her blood dried up, and she was ultimately reduced to only bones and some unabsorbable outer tissue.
Hector sighed contentedly. The fear of an alien was completely different from an Earthling's—it was so rich, so profound, and so satisfying.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed the ring on the corpse.
A purple ring!
It emitted an enticing light.
Hector reached out to grab it, but the ring suddenly lifted into the air and disappeared like a stream of light into the sky.
Hector frowned slightly, feeling like he'd missed something important. He stayed there for a moment. After confirming the ring wasn't returning, he left the alley to search for his next target.
In the vast night, countless people in the fear-shrouded Coast City would perish in terror.
The Soul of Villian
Villian was dead. Carol, who possessed The Defender, soon received this gratifying news.
Following The Defender's instructions, Luke found the half-corpse in the trash heap and brought it back to the dock base.
The surface of the corpse was withered yellow, devoid of flesh, and only bone remained, as if it had been in a coffin for hundreds of years. Carol asked with uncertainty,
"Are you sure this is Villian?"
Luke frowned but remained silent. He suddenly remembered Chief Hugo mentioning the shriveled corpse cases. Based on the characteristics of the case, Villian likely ran into the perpetrator of those murders, and that person reduced her to this state.
"Only one hour has passed, and she's already a dry corpse. That... that's too exaggerated!" Carol turned to the nutrient tank. "The Defender, can you confirm that this is Villian?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. This is Villian, my former mistress."
Carol immediately fell silent, her face pale.
A living person turning into a dry corpse in the blink of an eye—was it the work of a vampire? Or some other evil creature? These horror stories were best left alone; the more she thought about it, the more afraid she became.
Luke comforted her. "It's late. Go rest. I'll take care of things here."
Carol nodded, picked up the nutrient tank, and headed to the bedroom on the first floor.
Luke walked up to the dry corpse and pressed it. A hard, solid feeling came from it, like a piece of wood.
"Adam, take this to the secret laboratory."
The skin-scorched Adam picked up the half-corpse and followed Luke to the third underground level. There was a hidden door in the corner of the third level. Walking down the stairs for thirty meters led to the fourth level.
The secret laboratory was here, the core of the entire base. No one knew about it except Luke.
Adam placed the dry corpse on the analyzer in the middle of the lab and then left to guard the door.
"Ava, shut down the surveillance equipment."
"Yes, Young Master."
All four cameras in the lab were turned off. Luke spread his right hand, and a speck of green light seeped from his palm. The green light expanded, turning into a fiercely burning flame.
"You weren't my original target, but you showed up anyway, and you possess tempting psionic technology. I'd feel bad if I didn't absorb you."
Luke strode forward. His hand, enveloped in green flame, gently brushed the corpse, pulling out a fractured remnant of a soul.
"You are the fifth soul I've absorbed. I fulfilled the last wishes of the previous four, and you'll be no exception. So, in exchange, I hope you leave peacefully and don't have any strange desires. I've truly had enough."
Luke sighed inexplicably, opened his mouth, and swallowed the soul whole.
The green flame burned inside him. As the soul dissipated, images representing memories began to emerge.
Villian's life was condensed into a film: childhood, youth, family, friends, early years, her life as a warrior, and massive fragments of knowledge.
Luke automatically filtered out her daily life, focusing his attention on the knowledge.
Hundreds of subjects—including biological science, computer science, psionic science, spatial theory, principles and application of bio-alloys, and the development and extension of mental power—were presented in his mind.
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