Chapter 12: Stirring Up a Hornet's Nest

Underground, in a private laboratory.

With the knowledge he had acquired over the years in the Land of Light, Shen You had managed to set up a makeshift lab in his basement using the limited resources available. This was where he conducted most of his research.

At this moment, he was tweaking a newly completed design blueprint displayed on the projection screen, making final adjustments before running a simulation on the computer.

This was a project he had been working on for a month. He named it "Mobile Ultraman."

Yes, just like the famous spin-off anime from the Ultraman series, it was something similar.

In simple terms, it was about creating an exoskeleton suit similar to Iron Man's. A full-body armor resembling an Ultraman, driven by the technology of light, with performance and strength far exceeding conventional Earth technology, and capable of integrating Specium weapons.

The design of the blueprint and the programming of the built-in systems were almost complete. Shen You had run two simulations and then hesitated over the issue of weapon materials.

DC Earth's black technology was indeed impressive. Materials used by Batman and Lex Luthor for their armor were undoubtedly extraordinary. However, most of that black technology had yet to be developed in the current DC timeline, and Shen You had no means of accessing it.

But a thought quickly crossed his mind—perhaps there was a way to access top-tier materials.

Right in his café's kitchen.

At this moment, the great wizard Shazam was in a battle with a newly bought electric oven in the kitchen.

Unhappy with either the oven's slowness or the difficulty in controlling the heat, the old wizard, glancing around to make sure no one was watching, muttered a spell and secretly cast a speed-up charm on the oven.

The roasted chicken immediately accelerated under the influence of the spell, turning into a deep brown, cracked-skinned piece of charred meat.

Realizing he had overdone it, the wizard's pupils shrank, and he quickly flipped his hand to cast a reversal spell. The charred chicken seemingly rewound in time, quickly reverting to its state before being burned...

A round, white-shelled egg?

Darn, he reversed too much.

Just then, footsteps echoed from outside the kitchen door, followed by the voice of the young owner.

"Wizard, sir?"

The old wizard's heart skipped a beat. In a moment of desperation, he muttered a levitation spell, and with a flick of his finger, the poor egg was launched out of the open window.

Thus, when Shen You entered the room, he found the old wizard standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring blankly.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

The old wizard coughed and stroked his beard with a calm expression. "A wise wizard must take some time each day to contemplate life."

"Uh, okay. I hope I'm not interrupting your thoughts—I have a question."

"Go ahead," the wizard said, maintaining his sage-like demeanor.

Shen You briefly explained his intentions and ideas.

The old wizard pondered for a moment, stroking his beard. "Materials, you say? If I remember correctly, there might be a small amount of Ninth Metal left in the sanctuary."

Shen You's spirits lifted.

Ninth Metal, could it be the legendary Nth Metal?

That would be one of the top-tier materials available in the DC universe. It is described as having the potential to "defy all physical and magical laws." Even without any processing, it possesses extraordinary properties.

For example, it grants anti-gravity capabilities, allowing the wearer to fly freely. It can enhance the user's strength, grant super healing abilities, and has the highest resistance to magic. The purer the Nth Metal, the more powerful it is. Although rare, the purest Nth Metal can grant immortality and even resurrect the dead.

This stuff is rare but not that rare. The homeworld of Hawkman, Thanagar, is practically littered with it, similar to how Vibranium is to Wakanda in Marvel.

"There's not much left, just a little," the old wizard shook his head. "I came across it many years ago. Most of it has been used up, and the remaining small amount has been sitting idle for thousands of years. It's of no use to me. If you need it, take it."

Shen You thanked him. Even a small amount of Nth Metal, being such a god-tier material, would be extraordinary. Besides, no one was wealthy enough to make weapons entirely out of pure Nth Metal; it was usually mixed with other materials.

Just then, a commotion erupted in the café outside.

"Don't be so cold."

A teenage hooligan was loitering around a table in the café, leering at a pretty girl.

Three companions surrounded him, all with malicious grins. They wore casual clothes, mostly ripped jeans and T-shirts with patterns or letters, exuding a dirty and wild vibe.

The girl clearly didn't want any trouble and moved slightly away from him.

"Don't be so cold, just want to make friends."

"Yeah, just chatting and hanging out," his companions egged him on.

"It's no fun if you don't play along."

The teenager slammed the table, the silver skull around his neck jangling.

The girl, frightened, moved further away and apologized, "I'm sorry, but I'm really busy..."

"Oh, is that so? Then let me help you make some time."

The teenager sneered and raised his fist as if to strike, scaring the girl into hugging her head.

But his full-force swing never landed.

Confused, he turned his head and saw Shen You, who had silently appeared beside him, smiling kindly while gripping his wrist.

"Sorry, but violence is not allowed in our shop."

The teenager squinted his eyes. "You the boss? This is none of your business. We're from the Cross Gang. If you know what's good for you, back off and don't get in the way."

"Cross Gang?" Shen You tried to recall.

No impression.

Mainly because Gotham had too many gangs, even the major ones were hard to remember, let alone the minor ones.

"We operate around 19th Street. We're here on behalf of Boss Elliott. Yes, 'Mad Elliott'!"

"Oh, I see," Shen You said, understanding.

No wonder some clueless idiots dared to cause trouble in his shop—they were from another district.

Out-of-towners, no surprise they didn't know better.

And Shen You's understanding expression seemed to be interpreted by the teenager as recognition of his boss's reputation, making him even more arrogant.

"So now, let go of my hand, apologize, and you can continue running your shop. I'll pretend nothing happened."

Bang, bang, bang, bang.

A series of four thuds.

Four hooligans lay flat on their backs, nosebleeds flowing, only feeling the pain when they hit the ground.

Too fast.

In the blink of an eye, the teenager, even lying on the cold floor, couldn't process what had happened.

Did I... get knocked out?

How?

The bewildered teenager then saw the young owner casually drag a chair over and sit beside him.

"Now, about that 'Mad Elliott'?" Shen You smiled. "Explain in detail."

The hooligans shivered.

They vaguely realized that this time, they might have stirred up a hornet's nest.