With a deafening crash, Mesa clutched his head as he slammed against the Martian surface. The rapid charge of the yellow sun's energy was overwhelming, and his withered body could barely withstand it.
He had to expend a great deal of effort to control the rampage of his cells and senses. Münster activated the scanning device on its cube-shaped head, relying solely on its built-in analysis.
"Karl, the composition of your intelligent atoms is destabilizing. You're absorbing the energy of the star. You need to calm down and clear your mind." The little robot tilted its head, making beeping noises. "The lack of connection to the spaceship has reduced my processing power. Without a large amount of data for comparison, I can't figure out the underlying principles yet."
Mesa had guessed he might need an adaptation period after being exposed to the yellow sun, but he hadn't anticipated such a violent reaction. In *Man of Steel*, both Clark and Zod needed time to adjust and control themselves. Clark struggled psychologically, while Zod gained complete control in a short period.
His cells felt like fish dying of thirst in the desert, desperately gasping for air when a sudden downpour occurred; the tearing of his flesh made it difficult for him to think clearly. Fortunately, five years of military training on Planet Dimension allowed him to control his basic limb movements relatively well; otherwise, if he had crashed headlong into Earth, the surface would have been a mess.
"Many extraordinary individuals absorb stellar energy through solar disks to power their superpowers. The people of Planet Dimension abandoned this method long ago, opting instead for direct absorption of cosmic background energy through intelligent atoms. This ancient method isn't well documented; perhaps your cells are similar to solar disks."
Mesa focused his mind on Münster's words. He knew the robot was speaking rapidly to keep him engaged in the dialogue.
"Perhaps the star will grant you talents unlike those of ordinary dimensional beings, such as a wide variety of superpowers in the universe. Your Majesty, you are one step closer to conquering the galaxy and even the universe."
The AI's warlike nature remained unchanged. Mesa's lips curled up into a forced smile.
"There should still be a way to alleviate this." Münster searched through the scarce information. "Please recharge me with your excess energy."
A robot that resembled a blocky little dog jumped onto his shoulder, intentionally making physical contact with him. He mobilized his biofield to collide with it, and golden-red arcs of electricity flashed on the robot dog's body.
"Incredible! You can actually achieve your wishes so easily. My computing power is increasing!"
With Münster's company, a full week passed before the berserk state gradually subsided. Layers of air exploded as Mesa skimmed across the Martian surface. He stretched out his palm, touching the ground and carving a long, deep groove. Münster, perched on his shoulder, cheered, "Perfect evolution! Complete transcendence! This is the ultimate leap of life in the universe, and the universe has entrusted its future to Witrum!"
Feeling the comfort of his new body, Mesa listened to the AI's seemingly more emotionally charged words, then lay back, stretching out comfortably as he flew, easily circling the entire planet.
A sudden stop, without any inertial restraint, and Mesa looked at a rock. Golden-red beams of light shot from his eyes, burning holes in it—Superman's signature ability—heat vision.
He exhaled softly, and a biting wind swept through, freezing the rock into an ice block, which shattered into shards with a flick of his finger.
"Your Majesty, this is truly amazing!" The robotic dog hopped around the shards, its light waves scanning them repeatedly.
Crossing his arms, Mesa feigned profundity, lowering his voice as he said, "Now, I lack nothing!"
The robotic dog, already impatient, had flames burning brightly in its electronic eyes. "It's time, Your Majesty. The time has come for your conquest to begin. That blue planet harbors intelligent life, and they are calling for the Emperor's arrival," Münster declared eloquently.
*Actually, I already knew there were humans on Earth, but how did this AI know?* Mesa wondered.
"I intercepted quantum communication information. The humans on this planet, which is Earth, yearn to meet other life forms, and they have already communicated with another planet. Excellent! Now you have two planets to conquer. The other planet is located at the so-called Alpha Centauri, only 4.2 light-years away, completely within your military reach—how convenient!"
Wait, the more Mesa listened, the more something felt off. Was this still my Earth? This didn't sound DC at all, and the location of this star system sounded increasingly familiar.
"It seems some Earthlings still yearn for life on another planet to rule them. They call themselves the Adventists. They actually crave an oppressor! Humanity is prepared! Clearly, it's more suitable for you to rule. Perhaps we should first warn the centaur life and declare that Earth belongs to the Witrum Empire."
Münster excitedly stomped its feet, the beeping of electricity echoing through the air. "Earth, it's not their place to invade."
"Is the opposite star system a three-star system?"
"You are truly wise, Your Majesty. Earthlings call them the Trisolarans."
Mesa clapped his hands. Perfect! Isn't this Liu Cixin's *Three-Body Problem*? Recalling the Dark Forest, the two-dimensional foil, dimensional reduction attacks, and the universe being reduced to zero in the novel, this universe is not easy to navigate.
"In your opinion, what is the level of technology of the Trisolarans?"
Münster puffed out its chest, exuding an air of superiority. "According to the information we've monitored, Trisolaris is nothing to fear. A civilization that doesn't even have faster-than-light technology is like an ant under a rolling boulder before you."
Mesa felt a little tense. Wasn't it normal that they didn't have faster-than-light technology? The numbers filled in by comic editors looked strange compared to the hard science fiction worldviews that at least referenced physics.
When he reviewed spaceship information, he learned that a group of dimensional beings in a hurry had flown from the Virgo Supercluster to the planet Vitrum in 24 hours.
That's at least 20 billion times the speed of light! Although the dimensional beings, composed of intelligent atoms, were more like constantly teleporting through space than flying, this incredible data seemed like something the author had just come up with on a whim.
"We haven't found any special individuals on that planet yet. Their level of technology represents their war potential," Münster continued to analyze. "This pitiful potential is completely insufficient to withstand you."
"Wait, Münster, I'm starting to suspect that we're no longer in our original universe. That organism may have sent us to a completely different universe," Mesa raised his hand.
The electricity flickered on the screen, and Münster's iron box head shook. "We can't rule out that possibility. Civilizations on two planets so close together shouldn't be so isolated, but we also can't rule out that this is a remote corner of the Milky Way."
Its voice gradually lowered. Mesa patted its head, realizing that he was completely distancing himself from the Dimensional Empire, perhaps never to return—a fact that even an AI found hard to accept.
"Conquer another universe! This is a godsend! You will be the greatest emperor! The battlefields of the Milky Way and the universe are still too narrow!" Münster leaped up.
"I shouldn't have worried about this damn AI…" Mesa sighed.
...
Completely unaware that a terrifying monster had already landed in the solar system.
Mike Evans stood at the bow, immersed in his communion with the Lord, as streaks of light occasionally flashed across the night sky.