The global broadcasts and networks looped the same announcement.
"The purge operation has been a complete success."
Above the ruins, survivors wept and embraced. Amidst the rubble, reconstruction began.
A brand-new era, led by Huaxia, officially commenced.
North America, Crossed Ecological Zone, Sector A.
The heavy alloy doors slowly opened. A shirtless Soldier Boy, carrying a specially infected individual beaten beyond recognition, tossed him into a cage like a piece of trash.
He surveyed this kingdom ruled by him, watching them tremble under his iron fists.
An unprecedented sense of satisfaction filled his chest.
He had found the most perfect place in his life.
...
Sky Base, Main Control Room.
The cheers of celebration could still be faintly heard through the thick alloy doors.
Ian reclined in the commander's chair, his feet resting on the console, leisurely watching the massive holographic projection in front of him.
It displayed a globally updated, real-time energy depth monitoring map.
Suddenly—
Beep!!! Beep!!! Beep!!!
The entire base was pierced by the highest-level alarm, sharp enough to tear eardrums!
All the lights instantly turned a blinding blood-red!
On the monitoring map, an energy reaction point originating from the deepest part of the Earth's core lit up without warning.
The terrifying readings skyrocketed wildly, instantly breaking through all thresholds, pushing the entire monitoring system to the brink of collapse as garbled code and static danced across the screen.
Evil God and Azure Dragon violently rushed into the main control room, their faces written with horror and disbelief.
"What's going on?!"
"The energy source is coming from the Earth's core?!"
Under the horrified gazes of the crowd, Ian slowly lowered his feet and sat up straight.
He pointed at the frantically flashing screen and said, "The Crossed isn't just a simple virus."
"It's more like... a little bit of blood that leaked out of something."
"Our grand cleanup woke it up from its slumber."
The moment his voice fell, the alarm reached its peak!
The global earthquake monitoring system sounded simultaneously.
In the Pacific Plate, the deepest region of the ocean was forcibly torn open by an irresistible, mighty force from the mantle, creating a terrifying rift thousands of kilometers long!
Seawater poured in madly, only to be instantly evaporated into billions of tons of steam.
A colossal creature, impossible to describe in any known language, slowly rose from that planetary scar.
It had no fixed form.
It was a chaotic amalgamation of countless twisted flesh, billions of scarlet eyeballs, pulsating energy organs, and cold technological creations.
After merging with the rules of the DC Universe, hundreds of eyes the size of searchlights had even grown on its body, capable of firing devastating heat vision.
A massive maw filled with razor-sharp teeth split open, emitting not a sound, but a terrifying sonic wave capable of shattering all matter.
Its appearance was like a signal.
All surviving creatures infected with the Crossed virus globally, regardless of their location or whether they were conscious, felt a tremor originating from the deepest parts of their genes and souls at this very moment.
It was an urge mixed with boundless terror and absolute submission.
Even Soldier Boy, who had been throwing his weight around in the ecological zone, violently fell to his knees, his body trembling uncontrollably as he looked toward the Pacific Ocean.
Inside the Sky Base, Evil God watched the behemoth slowly change direction and move toward the Huaxia mainland, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot.
"You beast!!!" he roared.
His eyes widened to the point of tearing, an unprecedented murderous aura erupting from his body as his magnetic field power circulated wildly without reservation.
He was ready to burn everything he had and, together with Evil Dragon, unleash the ultimate profound truth of the Military Dao Killing Punch.
Even if it meant mutual destruction, he had to stop this monster outside their borders!
At this moment, a hand gently rested on his shoulder.
Ian had appeared beside him at some unknown time, a faint smile on his face.
"Don't be in such a rush to die. I'm here," Ian said.
While his voice still echoed in the main control room, Ian's figure had already disappeared.
In the next second, he appeared in front of that behemoth.
The screens in all survivor strongholds worldwide clearly reflected this scene.
In front of that chaotic monster that blotted out the sky and the sun, Ian's figure was as insignificant as a speck of dust.
Then, under the terrified, confused, and despairing gazes of everyone, two plants appeared out of thin air on Ian's shoulders.
On his left shoulder was a plant resembling a cattail, with a miniature red lawn mower resting on the tip of its green tail.
On his right shoulder was an icy-blue shooter radiating cold air and wearing an icy-blue crown.
They were precisely the Lawn Mower Cattail and the Divine Droplet Shooter.
Facing this creature before it that didn't even deserve to be called an ant, the ultimate behemoth's countless eyeballs simultaneously locked onto Ian.
The massive maw on its body suddenly opened wide.
A roar capable of tearing souls and twisting reality boomed out!
However, answering it was a gentle shake from the icy-blue plant on Ian's right shoulder.
Pfft.
A flawless blue water drop, as crystal clear as a work of art, was shot out by it.
This water drop ignored the spatial distortion brought by the roar, ignored the energy barrier on the behemoth's surface, and ignored its chaotic physical laws, advancing slowly.
It pierced through all the defenses, energy cores, and flesh tissues on the ultimate creature's massive body, leaving a gigantic hole.
The behemoth's roar came to an abrupt halt.
Its massive body began to leak unstable energy, like a balloon that had been pricked with a hole.
Before it could react to this incomprehensible trauma, the Lawn Mower Cattail on Ian's left shoulder also moved.
That miniature lawn mower let out a crisp beep and detached from the tip of the grass.
It didn't fall; instead, violating all laws of physics, it drove rapidly toward the behemoth.
In front of the screens, no one could see clearly what happened.
They only saw that red miniature lawn mower gently touch the behemoth's body.
The moment they made contact, that ultimate creature capable of destroying the planet, along with all the chaotic rules and terrifying aura it emitted...
Was instantly flattened.
Then its corpse simply vanished, as if it had never appeared.
The globe fell dead silent.
The brains of all the humans who witnessed this scene through the screens completely crashed.
They stared with their mouths agape and eyes wide, unable to understand, unable to think, and even unable to breathe.
What... just happened?
...
Months later.
The world was thriving.
A Divine Grace Potion that fused the Crossed virus and Compound V was successfully developed and popularized globally.
Everyone could become a superhuman, and the only price was choosing a spot on their body to brand a unique Crossed scar.
This scar could even be custom-beautified according to personal preference, ironically becoming the most avant-garde trend and status symbol of the new era.
Inside a VIP ward of the world's top private hospital.
A blonde, blue-eyed "woman" with a graceful and curvy figure stood in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling mirror.
She stared obsessively at the brand-new, perfect version of herself in the mirror, an intoxicated smile appearing on her face.
"Ms. Gillman, are you satisfied with the surgery this time?" a nurse asked as she pushed the door open and entered, wearing a professional, gentle smile.
"She" slowly turned her head, her meticulously sculpted facial features as exquisite as God's masterpiece.
If one looked closely at that face, they could find traces of Homelander on it.
He smiled incredibly brightly, incredibly bizarrely, and with heartfelt... satisfaction.
He thoroughly enjoyed this feeling.