In the early hours of the morning, steam filled the bathroom.
A pitch-black, towering body—well over three meters tall—slowly rose from the scalding water of the bathtub.
Dragon claws covered in heavy scales braced against the wall, sinking five deep claw-print indentations into it.
His chest rose and fell with his breath, a dark red heat glowing faintly between the gaps in his scales.
A thick, powerful dragon tail swept casually across the wall as he turned, causing large sheets of plaster and tiles to peel and clatter down like fragile paper.
“I’m still alive?” Green blinked in confusion, still numbed by the sheer agony he had endured.
He tried to lift a leg and step out of the tub, but his movement far exceeded his estimation, his foot shattering the tiles along the bathtub’s edge with a single kick.
His heavy, massive body stepped into the rest of the bathroom.
The floor tiles groaned under his weight as cracks spiderwebbed outward.
The two pairs of dragon horns sweeping backward from his head easily punctured the ceiling as he straightened up, and as he walked, they plowed grooves through drywall and concrete without effort, sending debris showering down.
Green felt that everything around him was impossibly fragile, offering zero resistance.
Dropping to one knee, he delicately used his claws to unhook the mirror above the sink.
Perhaps due to the shockwaves from his unconscious dragon roar earlier, the mirror was covered in cracks, though its frame remained intact.
He gently wiped away the condensation on the glass and slowly angled it around.
Piece by piece, his pitch-black, ferociously beautiful body pieced together into a complete image in the fractured mirror.
The body was not bloated at all; instead, it presented an explosively powerful, streamlined shape optimized for speed and strength, designed to minimize air resistance to the utmost.
At his shoulder blades, two symmetrical bulges rose subtly with sleek lines, resembling the spoilers at the rear of a high-performance supercar.
But Green could feel that they weren’t mere muscle or bone growths—something was germinating inside.
His wings.
An organ for storing scorching energy had formed inside his body, allowing fiery heat to burst from his throat at a moment’s notice.
The scales covering his entire body were a multi-layered, barbed structure—hard, sharp, and entirely devoid of the texture of ordinary flesh.
Pale white bone spurs protruded from his joints at the elbows and knees, and his dragon claws were heavy and massive.
His head still maintained the basic outline of a human, though its features were sharper, more imposing, and covered in fine black scales.
His pupils had turned into vertical slits of molten gold.
Overall, he looked like a humanoid weapon of war born purely for destruction.
“Jie-jie-jie…” Looking at himself in the shattered mirror, he tried grinning, revealing a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.
“Looks badass.” [Your first template, [Heavenly Tyrant], has reached its growth threshold.
Evolution module unlocked.] [[Heavenly Tyrant] → [Heavenly Tyrant Max]: Evolution 0.2%] Trait: Automatically absorbs “Cursed Energy” generated by intelligent lifeforms within a five-meter radius.
The higher the target’s life rank, the more efficient the Cursed Energy generated.
Cursed Energy will be used to continuously reinforce the host’s base attributes, including physique, strength, and speed.
(Note: Cursed Energy originates from negative emotions—fear, hatred, jealousy, remorse, etc.—and is a form of spiritual energy common to intelligent beings.) The system prompt caused the corners of Green’s dragon-like snout to curl slightly.
“It can actually evolve.” His deep voice echoed through the steam.
It seemed that as he unlocked more templates, the system was gradually revealing a more complete form.
This was good.
It meant his growth path was far broader than expected.
However, right now, there was a more practical—and troubling—issue.
Green lowered his head.
“Too huge…
and all these spikes…” “Tsk…
totally unusable.” His aesthetic taste was, after all, still rooted in human norms.
No human woman could possibly handle this.
[Detected host’s (sole) adaptability demand.
Template [Unleash] module unlocked.] “Unleash?” With a thought, Green checked the system interface and found that under the entry for [Valyrian Dragon Scion: Drogon], a new option had indeed appeared: [Unleash Level: 100% (Controllable)].
He attempted to dial the Unleash Level down from 100%.
*Crack…
crunch…* The sound of bone grinding and muscle contracting echoed with a skin-crawling crunch.
His massive body began shrinking and condensing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The ferocious scales covering his body, the protruding bone spurs, and the thick dragon tail all receded like a tide, merging back inside him.
The furnace-like heat in his chest and abdomen quickly settled.
Within a few breaths, he returned to a basic human form.
“Basic,” however, was relative.
His height settled at two meters ten, his muscles bulging yet sleek, radiating explosive power.
A 15% Unleash Level remained on his hands, which were still pitch-black dragon claws with razor-sharp tips.
He flexed his new body.
“A bit…
restrictive.” Green clenched his claws, feeling the terrifying force compressed within them, then looked down at the rest of his body that had returned to human form.
It was a strange feeling; his life form had transcended ordinary humans, yet his soul’s cognition and aesthetics were still firmly anchored in being “human.” Still, as long as he could control it, that was fine.
Control meant finding a delicate balance between “power” and “everyday life.” He directly adjusted the Unleash Level to 0%.
The pitch-black scales covering his hands receded, revealing well-defined human palms beneath.
Inside his eye sockets, nictitating membranes blinked, and his dragon pupils swiftly shifted back to a human hazel-brown.
He then pushed open the bathroom door.
Billowing steam poured out, carrying the muggy heat unique to a bathroom.
In the hallway, the motion-sensor lights turned on automatically, illuminating his tall, erect silhouette.
Outside, Laura stood quietly, looking up at him.
She had heard the commotion.
“Did anyone drop by?” Green raised a hand and patted her head.
“A man in weird clothes looked over from outside, then walked into the house across the street.” Laura nuzzled against his hand comfortably, her peripheral vision darting to a certain strange big thing before quickly looking away.
“Yeah, don’t worry, he’s a friend.” Green ignored her glance, turned back into the bedroom, and pulled on a simple thick white T-shirt and black trousers.
Laura ran back to the living room, curled up on the sofa while chewing on dried mangoes, her eyes heavy with tiredness.
She had stayed up watching over him all night—a tough feat for a kid her age.
“You can rest now.” Green glanced down at the dumbbell plates scattered across the floor.
Laura had likely been affected by the aura leaking out during his evolution, keeping her wired for a long time.
“Okay,” Laura murmured weakly, her eyelids fighting to close.
Still, she forced herself to watch *Family Guy* playing on the TV—she liked it.
Green walked to the wall and pulled back the security switch.
The indicator light on the main control panel turned blue.
The heavy alloy steel shutters slowly rose, retracting into the wall.
He then opened the front door.
The early morning sky was somewhat overcast, and the street was eerily quiet, save for the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze.
The door to the villa opposite opened almost at the same time.
Homelander stepped out, holding a man’s corpse with its neck twisted at a bizarre angle.
He grinned sincerely when he saw Green.
“Hey, bro!” He raised the “thing” in his hand.
“In case I don’t see ya, good morning, good afternoon, and good night.” So you see, the person greeting you in the morning isn’t necessarily gentle and kind Truman—it might be Homelander, who could shove your head straight into your chest.
“Then you’re worrying over nothing,” Green said, leaning against the doorframe.
“I’m alive, and you’re going to keep seeing me.
And stop misusing movie quotes—it sounds weird coming out of your mouth.” “Come on, cheer up!” Homelander closed his door behind him thoughtfully and strolled over like a friendly neighbor visiting, even though he was holding a corpse instead of a freshly baked apple pie.
“Saving Tony Stark bumped my approval rating up twenty-three points.
With this incident, I reckon it’ll jump even higher.” “Overexposure in a short period will give the public viewer fatigue.” Green stepped aside to let him in.
“Though you make a point.
Even if I don’t really agree with letting useless things like public opinion restrict you.” “Don’t be so harsh, bro,” Homelander chuckled, patting Green’s chest as he walked in.
“What’s with that?” Green gestured at the corpse in his hand.
“Oh, this?” Homelander waved his “evidence.” “The ‘culprit’ behind this whole incident.
Identity?
A superhuman spy from the Russians, aiming to assassinate Deputy Secretary William of the Treasury Department.
After an entire night of my patient persuasion went nowhere, and after he tried to attack me, I killed him in self-defense.
Mind if I bring him inside?
There might be drones out there, and it won’t look good if captured.” He winked at Green with heavy implication.
“Whatever.” Green closed the door and headed toward the kitchen.
“I was planning to shelve this safehouse for a while anyway.” Hearing this, Homelander tossed the body right in the entryway.
Catching a bottle of orange soda Green threw from the kitchen, he took a sip as he strolled into the living room, flopping down on the sofa.
He flashed a friendly smile at Laura, who was curled up on the other end.
“Hi, girl.” Laura stared at him and silently shuffled further into the corner of the sofa.
“Come on, don’t be shy~” “Tone down that smile,” Green said, vaulting over the sofa back to sit between them, tossing a controller to Homelander.
“You’re scaring her.” “Your smile is way scarier than mine, okay?” Homelander retorted, grumbling as he caught the controller.
Laura peeked at Homelander, yawned, and simply laid her head on Green’s lap, squinting as she watched the two grown men begin a controller fight.
The game was *The Seven: Mortal Kombat*.
Homelander picked Homelander, while Green picked…
Soldier Boy.
“So, how are you feeling now?” Homelander asked while working the controller.
On screen, his “Homelander” was being pummeled by Green’s “Soldier Boy” with a shield.
“Great,” Green said, his fingers flying across the buttons.
“I’ve always been great, but now I’m even better.” “Ha!” Homelander grinned; he loved that kind of candidness.
“So where are you planning to move?” “Queens, probably.
Cantonese snacks in Chinatown over there are pretty authentic.” Green executed a slide kick into an uppercut, knocking another chunk off Homelander’s health bar on screen.
“Besides, I need to get this kid a legal identity.
If she wants to go to school, I’ll let her.” “Ooh—” Homelander drawled teasingly.
“Look at you, sounding like a model guardian.” “Maybe you could move into Vought Tower with me.
You wouldn’t have to worry about any tedious stuff.
Black Noir is mute, Translucent is a pervert, A-Train is busy hooking up every day, and The Deep?
He’s a complete idiot.
I need a normal person as a teammate.” “I’m not joining your slumber party,” Green countered, landing a precise parry that bounced back Homelander’s laser attack.
“Besides, isn’t Maeve still around?” Homelander’s hands froze imperceptibly for a microsecond.
“She broke up with me.
Not that I care, though.” He shrugged, keeping his tone casually offhand.
In that instant of distraction, Green’s eyes narrowed, and his fingers sped up instantly!
In the game, Soldier Boy seized the opening, landing a 13-hit combo followed immediately by his ultimate move—the shield sliced down through the air, cutting Homelander clean in half!
“Fuck!
Can’t you stop cheaping out for once, you bastard?!” Homelander slammed his controller onto the couch in frustration.
“Ah—sorry about that,” Green apologized with zero sincerity, patting his shoulder.
“You’re actually pretty good.
It’s just…
I’m simply too strong.” Homelander flipped him the bird.
“Again!” He angrily grabbed the controller.
“Sure.” “By the way,” Green said casually as he selected his character, “there seems to be something good over in Hell’s Kitchen.
Might be useful to you.
After all, your lifespan is about the same as an ordinary human’s.” “Pfft,” Homelander scoffed.
“Gods don’t age.” “When your midlife crisis hits and you wake up to find your underwear full of shed hair, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” “I…
cough…” Homelander tried to talk tough, but seeing the half-smile on Green’s face, his gaze wavered, and he asked as casually as he could, “What is it?” “Dragon Bone.
Supposedly extends life, maybe even brings back the dead.” “Have you used it?” Homelander grew interested.
“No, but the source is very reliable.” “Fifty-fifty split?” “The partners over there said they’d only give me forty percent.” “Ha,” Homelander saw right through Green.
“As if you’d settle for forty percent.” “Of course not.” “That’s more like it!
That’s the guy I know, hehehe…” Homelander nudged him with his elbow.
Fast asleep on Green’s lap, Laura smacked her lips, completely oblivious to the malice brewing between the two men.
Then, taking advantage of Homelander’s distracted smirk, Green seized the moment and launched the exact same combo again, forcing him straight into the execution animation once more.
Homelander inhaled sharply, his upper lip twitching in annoyance as he glared at Green, his eyes screaming *You fucking cheated again.* “Skill issue.
Git gud,” Green muttered with a shrug before carefully lifting the sleeping Laura into his arms.
“Let’s go.” “Don’t need to pack anything?” “Just this.” Carrying Laura, Green grabbed the potted cactus and his sunglasses as he walked toward the door.
“Paltry luggage.” Homelander followed behind, dragging the stiff corpse with one hand while casually draping his other arm around Green’s shoulder.
Green didn’t reply.
Walking outside, he stepped straight onto an electric sightseeing cart parked by the curb.
Bending over, he deftly pulled apart the wiring beneath the dashboard and hotwired it.
The motor hummed low and sputtered to life.
Homelander dragged the body onboard and sat in the back seat with his legs crossed.
The vehicle started up, rolling slowly away from the villa.
“Oh, by the way,” Homelander spoke up as if remembering something.
“Hm?” Green flicked a glance at him through the rearview mirror.
Homelander turned his head, his eyes suddenly flashing bright red.
*Sizzle—!* Two beams of heat vision blasted out, piercing through the outer wall of the villa opposite where the “Russian spy” had been hiding!
He tilted his head slightly, the crimson rays plowing from one side of the building to the other like a hot knife through butter.
Reinforced concrete vaporized and melted under the extreme heat, completely destroying the load-bearing structure.
*Rumble—!* Half of the villa crumbled and collapsed amidst deafening cracks, throwing up a cloud of dust that filled the sky.
Debris showered down onto the ground, burying the once-exquisite garden beneath rubble.
“Mmm.
Now that looks like a proper crime scene for the news cameras.” Homelander turned back, satisfied.
He looked down at the corpse in his lap, its eyes wide in death, and smirked.
“After all, you’re pretty tough.
I had a really hard time beating you.”