Facing the incoming whip of metal, Dio instinctively summoned The The World.
But before The The World could take a defensive stance, a streak of purple flashed across the edge of his vision.
“What is…?!”
The metal froze less than ten centimeters from his face.
Because…
“Ora ora ora ora—!!!”
The purple giant roared as its fists turned into a blur of countless afterimages!
It was so fast it shattered Dio’s understanding of what a Stand was capable of.
*Is this Father’s full power?*
Dio’s eyes dazzled at the sight.
To him, every single punch felt like a star shattering!
*BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!*
The metal giant’s body shattered inch by inch like fragile glass.
The liquid metal tried to reform, but under absolute force, it was pounded into fine dust.
Dio could even trace the silver particles drifting slowly through the air, like fireworks in slow motion.
“Dio, look out—!”
Clark’s cry cut off abruptly.
In his vision, the ferocious metal monster suddenly disintegrated.
Tens of thousands of metal fragments burst apart in the rain like a sudden silver storm!
Even though his vision could clearly track the trajectory of every single shard, he was utterly unable to comprehend what had just happened—
An enemy that had been thrashing viciously a second ago had become a sky full of metallic debris the next.
“W-What happened?”
Water droplets clung to his eyelashes, and Clark’s eyes were completely blank.
He turned to look at Dio.
“Did you do that?”
Clearly, he was still brooding over the punch Dio had thrown at him earlier.
Dio didn’t answer.
He just stared straight ahead, the corners of his mouth curling up uncontrollably.
Deep behind the curtain of rain, the man wearing mud-stained overalls was calmly holstering his shotgun, looking as if nothing had happened at all.
But Dio had seen it.
He had seen the towering purple phantom standing behind his father like a god of war.
Star Platinum slowly turned its head, gave Dio an almost imperceptible nod, and dissolved into the rain.
Like a pride leader demonstrating hunting techniques to its cub.
*Hmph, stupid Clark can’t even see this.*
Dio shoved Clark aside with a look of utter disdain.
Leaving the two oblivious boys behind for a moment, Rock crouched down and looked at the silver shards dissolving in the washing rain.
Using the barrel of his shotgun, he pried apart a few larger pieces of wreckage.
On the inner side of a piece of armor that hadn’t fully melted yet, he spotted a line of clearly etched laser code:
WEAPON X – REAPER-9
Weapon X—Reaper-9.
Rain trickled down Rock’s neck and into his collar, freezing cold.
He was all too familiar with this symbol… Find the original chapter at g.com.
Not from his life as a Kansas farmer, but from his memories as an American comic fan before transmigrating.
Wolverine, Captain America, Deadpool—these were household comic characters, weren’t they?
But very few people knew…
They were all products of the mutant experiment program known as Weapon X.
*To think Weapon X actually exists in this The World…*
Yet in his impression—
This The World had no Stark, and no Captain America.
Aside from a few beings known as mutants, Marvel elements were virtually non-existent here.
Squinting, Rock looked down at a few drops of liquid metal squirming in the mud.
As they came into contact with rain, they hissed eerily and dissolved.
He recalled a specific term:
Adamantium allotrope—
A knockoff developed to imitate genuine Adamantium.
While it possessed similar structural strength in the short term, it continuously leaked radioactive toxins, ultimately melting the host along with it into a puddle of toxic waste.
In the comics, this material was most commonly seen in suicide weapons used by mutant strike forces.
So naturally…
The truth behind Reaper-9’s appearance here was clear: it was an escaped test subject programmed with a kill directive.
No wonder it had plowed forward mindlessly, attacking every living thing in sight.
Who knew how the damn thing had even made it this far?
*Crunch!*
The heel of Rock’s boot crushed the last scrap of metal.
The silver liquid seeped into the soil, causing the surrounding weeds to wither and blacken at a visible pace.
But he didn’t really care to dwell on it.
After all, that was Weapon X…
And now he was somehow tangled up with it.
Who knew?
It might pull in a Weapon X recovery team later, or maybe even…
Rock let out a chuckle.
He stood up and slung his shotgun over his shoulder.
What did any of that have to do with him?
He roughly wiped the rain from his face.
Mutant weapon programs, Adamantium—what did any of that matter to a Kansas farmer?
He had oats to harvest tomorrow morning, Jonathan’s bull needed breeding next week, and Dio and Clark hadn’t finished their summer homework yet.
That was reality.
“Dad!”
Dio called out from behind, his wet blond hair plastered to his forehead.
The boy wore a forced expression of innocence, but the deep curiosity in his red eyes was impossible to hide.
Rock knew that look all too well.
Dio looked the exact same way every time he snuck a peek at Rock’s stash of *Playboy*.
“Come here, both of you,” Rock called back, turning to face the two curious boys.
He pointed off toward the nearby wheat field, where a disemboweled wild deer lay in the dirt.
“Grab that deer and let’s bring it back.”
“We can add it to dinner tonight.”
“But…
that robot…”
“Rusted out and scrapped.”
“But it just suddenly—”
“Severe lack of maintenance.
You know how it is, Clark.
Some metals just corrode and disintegrate when they age.”
“???”
Dio laughed softly.
Allowing his father to lead him and Clark forward, he suddenly whispered, “I’m not a big dummy like Clark.”
Rock’s hand stiffened almost imperceptibly.
“You brat,” he lowered his voice, grabbing Dio by the back of his collar.
“I haven’t even settled the score with you for sneaking out here.”
“When we get back, you’re copying the *Farm Safety Rules* ten times!”
“???”
Under the glum glares of the two silly boys carrying the deer, the roar of a tractor engine approached from a distance as Rock drove the steel beast over.
He tossed the wild deer onto the back bed, then grabbed Dio and Clark—one in each hand—and shoved them onto the vehicle.
“Uncle Rock…
I still think…”
“Clark.”
Rock suddenly asked, “Why is there a dynamite stick missing from the third crossbeam in the barn?”
“Dio did it.”
“Shut up, idiot!
You promised you wouldn’t say anything!”
“I’m sorry, Dio.
I don’t want to copy the *Farm Safety Rules* anymore.”
“Clark, you bastard!”
In the pouring rain, the tractor lurched and swayed toward the farm amid their squabbling.
Nobody noticed the silver liquid seeping into the soil, squirming like a living entity as it locked onto a direction before vanishing into thin air, leaving only faint fluorescent traces behind.
Nor did anyone notice a humble farmer effortlessly taking down a robot, averting what could have been a bloody massacre in Smallville caused by a botched recovery operation.
However…
Further down the interstate, a black Chevrolet cut through the curtain of rain, its onboard radar locked onto an energy signal that was rapidly vanishing.
“Damn it!
How could you lose track of him?!”
“That guy was completely unstable—it was a Reaper!
Before the heavy weapons arrived, who would dare jump in?!
We’re not mutant criminals!
Besides, he probably just blew himself up!
Why else would the signal vanish right over this farm?
You tell me!
What, did some farmer take him out, Agent Smith?”
“Hey!
You bastard.
I’m telling you, don’t underestimate farmers!”
The men inside the car were bickering loudly as well.