This time, Su Sheng saw clearly how the resurrection occurred. It was as if the body reversed or restored itself, returning to normal in an instant. Judging by the timing of both resurrections, the process seemed consistent.
In other words, it took the same amount of time for Vandal Savage to resurrect whether his throat was slit or he was blown to pieces.
As soon as he was revived, Vandal Savage instinctively jumped away from Su Sheng, his eyes filled with caution.
"Shall we talk?" Su Sheng asked with a smile, looking at Vandal Savage.
Vandal Savage's expression shifted several times before he finally smiled and sat back down. "You did that on purpose! All that about not wanting to talk, about not seeing clearly how I was resurrected—that was all a negotiation tactic. You used it to take control of our conversation. I believe you're a time traveler now, and if you can help me, I'm willing to give you the highest respect."
"Forget it. Don't try to overthink things. I was just too lazy to talk earlier. The fact that I'm stronger than you means I don't need to pay attention to your thoughts. You should understand that," Su Sheng replied nonchalantly.
Vandal Savage didn't know, but Valentina did.
Su Sheng was so powerful that he didn't care about anyone else's thoughts at all.
"And I'm not going to show off my power again. I'm afraid you'll start thinking you're the world's number one!" Su Sheng teased, once again making Vandal Savage's face twist with anger. "I've already discussed terms with Vandal Savage. You don't need to do anything or change anything. Just wait for things to unfold step by step."
"Any questions?"
"What's your name?" Vandal Savage asked after a moment.
"Su Sheng."
"I'll leave him to you," Vandal Savage said to Valentina before standing up and smiling at Su Sheng. "I'll be waiting for your good news."
"Don't hurry back," Su Sheng replied as Vandal Savage left.
Valentina, however, was left feeling humiliated.
If it weren't for the "wasting is shameful" incident earlier, things might have been fine. But now, facing Su Sheng, she couldn't help but recall everything that had happened.
People value their dignity.
Especially someone as outstanding as Valentina.
However, Su Sheng didn't seem to care at all about what had happened earlier, acting as if nothing had transpired. He continued to smile and chat with Valentina, sometimes addressing her as "my dear" in a gentlemanly manner and sometimes politely asking her for things. Gradually, Valentina found herself forgetting the incident, becoming more and more intrigued by Su Sheng.
After finishing his milk, Su Sheng had breakfast.
Then he and Valentina began systematically studying physics from the basics.
Physics, after all, is the foundation of all such research.
Su Sheng didn't plan to research Firestorm's abilities on his own. It was too easy for him to acquire powers. His two reasons for learning were: first, to understand the principles of Firestorm and be able to create one at will; second, to pave the way for more interesting experiments in the future. For example, he really wanted to get his hands on a steel suit.
If someone attacked him wearing a steel suit, he could replicate the suit's full capabilities but couldn't create one out of thin air.
While fundamentally, there might be no difference, the cool factor of having battle armor is vastly different.
Since Su Sheng didn't need a new partner at the moment and wasn't expecting any major developments, he decided it was better to be a diligent and eager learner. Besides, Su Sheng remembered that while his ability to infinitely replicate and stack powers was impressive, it seemed to be tied to his thought processes. There was no harm in learning more!
After all, it would be frustrating to copy interesting abilities but not have creative ways to apply them!
So, Su Sheng took his studies very seriously and devotedly.
He spent every day learning various foundational concepts with Valentina, progressing so quickly that she called him a genius.
And so, Su Sheng studied with Valentina during the day and sparred with Riley at night.
Time flew by!
Before he knew it, three months had passed!
"It's incredible!"
Lying on the bed in the bedroom, Su Sheng put down his book and spoke to Riley, who was bending over.
"What?" Riley looked up, momentarily confused.
"I didn't expect my enthusiasm for learning to last this long. Three months, right? With my personality, which loves the new and hates the old, I should be bored of even the most interesting things by now," Su Sheng reflected.
After three months together, Riley had come to understand Su Sheng to some extent. She hesitated before asking, "What about me?"
"You?" Su Sheng chuckled. "Your shelf life has lasted quite a while, but you're not as fresh as before. At least now I can read a book while you're... busy."
Su Sheng waved the book in his hand.
Riley couldn't help but feel a little sad.
"Don't be too upset. Eating delicious food every day will make you tired of it," Su Sheng tried to comfort her.
But this kind of comfort didn't help Riley at all; in fact, it had the opposite effect. Over the past three months, Riley had lived comfortably—going shopping every day, serving Su Sheng, and fully integrating into this era.
Now, Riley felt a sense of crisis. She had to do something, find a way to remain valuable.
She had been considering what to do.
So, in the following days, Riley interacted more with Valentina. Although she didn't understand the complex equations in the research, she knew that Firestorm consisted of two people, and Valentina couldn't become Firestorm on her own. So, Riley did her best to learn from these incomprehensible books.
At the same time, she used Valentina's connections to help Su Sheng find Dr. Manhattan.
Although she had heard from Laurel that Dr. Manhattan was no longer on Earth, Riley felt she had to do something!
"There's news about the person you're looking for."
Valentina returned from outside, took off her coat, and looked at Riley. "Now, can you tell me why you're looking for her?"
"Do you want to be Firestorm?" Riley asked seriously.
"You know?" Valentina was stunned.
Riley replied, "You help me now, and when the time comes, I'll help you."
"What do you mean by that?" Valentina frowned, but Riley didn't explain and simply stared back at her.
...