The wind whistled loudly past his ears as Viktor floated high in the sky. Below him, a wide river separated two cities: one bustling like Metropolis, and the other dark and mysterious like Gotham.

  The wide river, shimmering with light, splits the two very different cities perfectly apart.

  Viktor's original destination had been Gotham, with the mysterious gray-robed person's file from Batman being his only current lead.

  However, for some reason, Tom's face appeared in his mind, rough like the sea breeze, along with the memory of a warm, delicious bowl of seafood soup.

  The seven days he spent healing at that house had been the most peaceful time since he arrived on Earth, with no harsh training, no suspicion about his identity, and no heavy memories of the past.

  Tom's kindness was like the gentle sunlight by the sea—soft yet warm enough to soothe.

  "Just chat for a bit, rex, and then leave."

  He murmured to himself, trying to convince himself.

  Diana's coldness felt like a mountain, and he desperately needed a pce to escape from the suffocating tension.

  He turned around, preparing to head toward the seaside suburbs of Metropolis, but suddenly the air around him became thick and sluggish.

  There was no sound of the air breaking, no energy fluctuations. A figure dressed in red and blue seemed to appear out of nowhere, silently floating a few meters away from him.

  Viktor's pupils suddenly shrank, and his muscles tensed up in an instant. This was the costume he seen countless times on TV.

  The tight blue suit showed off a strong, well-built body, with a red cape fluttering gently in the wind, and the "S" symbol on the chest gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

  Unlike the bck-armored Superman he saw in space that night, the person in front of him looked younger with a slight smile on his lips, and he stood with his hands on his hips, looking him up and down.

  "Hello, you must be Viktor, right?"

  Superman spoke first, his voice clear and bright, warm like the afternoon sun.

  "I saw your file in the Justice League database a few days ago. You're from the pnet Viltrum, right?"

  He stepped a little closer, his eyes filled with sincere curiosity.

  "Come to think of it, our backgrounds are pretty simir. We're both aliens from other pnets."

  Viktor's expression instantly turned cold, and the aura around him grew sharp.

  'Simir?'

  He certainly didn't think he had anything in common with the person standing in front of him who was revered as Earth's protector.

  He still remembered how kind and gentle Diana had been… right up until she learned about all the bloody, awful things from his past. Then that kindness turned into a cold wall that pushed him away.

  He never wanted to go through that process again—going from being accepted to being rejected. It would be better to just set clear boundaries from the start.

  "You and I are nothing alike."

  Viktor coldly muttered the words, no longer looking at Superman, and turned to fly away.

  "Wait!"

  However, Superman quickly fshed in front of him, raising a hand to tap his ear, and a helpless smile appeared on his face.

  "I know this might sound a bit intrusive, but I have super hearing. I can hear sounds from very far away. It used to bother me a lot, but eventually, I learned to filter out most of the noise."

  He paused for a moment, and his tone became sincere.

  "The sound of Diana tapping her bracelets earlier was really too sharp for me. I couldn't help but focus on what was going on in Salem... and that's how I overheard your conversation."

  Viktor froze in the air, his eyes instantly turning cold, and the murderous intent around him almost became tangible.

  "I'm sorry. I've never understood what guilt is. I know your power, and I also know I can't defeat you right now…"

  "Oh, but I wasn't pnning on fighting you. I don't mean any harm, I'm really sorry for eavesdropping on your secret."

  Superman quickly raised both hands to show he meant no harm, and his smile became a little more bitter and helpless.

  "Funny thing is, I just had a fight with my girlfriend, and she kicked me out of the apartment. Now, I don't even have a pce to go."

  Viktor was a bit confused, and his tense attitude slowly dissipated. He didn't understand why Superman was telling him all this.

  Superman sighed, not seeming to notice Viktor's odd expression.

  "You're an alien who ran away from your past. I'm an alien who can't even keep my girlfriend from getting mad at me. Our situations are kind of the same, and right now we both feel pretty down... How about we find a quiet spot and just talk for a while?"

  Viktor was completely stunned, his mind unable to process the words.

  He imagined that Superman would question him, would treat him with hostility like Doctor Fate had, or even immediately restrain him, but he never expected this kind of response.

  'This man actually compared his heavy past of killing millions of people to getting into an argument with his girlfriend and being kicked out?'

  As Viktor was still trying to process it, Superman had already stepped forward and gently pced a rge hand on his shoulder.

  A familiar warmth spread from his shoulder, almost the same as the warmth he felt when bck-suited Superman had embraced him in space, but the feeling was completely different.

  This young Superman exuded warmth mixed with a somewhat clumsy sincerity, with no sense of pressure at all.

  "Stop standing there, I know a great pce."

  Superman didn't give him a chance to respond and suddenly lifted him into the air. The speed was so fast that Viktor couldn't even react, and he was forced to fly along with him.

  The city below quickly shrank, soon becoming a blurry silhouette, and then a vast blue ocean appeared in their view.

  They flew over the turbulent sea and finally nded on a cliff on a deserted isnd. The waves crashed against the rocks, spshing white foam and creating a muffled rumbling sound.

  The salty sea breeze carried moisture, brushing against their faces with a refreshing coolness.

  Superman let go of his shoulder, walked over to the edge of the cliff, and sat down. He swung his feet in the air as he stared at the distant horizon.

  Viktor remained silent for a moment, watching the 'blue boy scout' with his back to him.

  He also walked over, sat down not far from Superman, and stared at the swirling waves below. Finally, he couldn't hold back and asked.

  "Why would you compare my past with something as trivial as an argument with your girlfriend?"

  There was no comparison between the two to him.

  One was a sin covered in blood, and the other was just a small quarrel between a couple. The former was heavy enough to crush anyone raised in a peaceful environment, and the tter was merely a small bump in life.

  Superman turned his head, his smile fading, and his expression became serious.

  "Then tell me, did you come to Earth to conquer?"

  Viktor was frozen, instinctively shaking his head.

  "Then that's settled."

  Superman shrugged and looked back at the horizon, speaking in a calm tone.

  "You escaped from Viltrum, a civilization that takes pride in domination and conquest. Doesn't that mean you fundamentally rejected their ideology? Even though you were part of those brutal massacres in the past, you chose to escape. That choice prevented even more, more horrific killings under Viltrum's orders in the future. That's enough to show that you're different from those Viltrumites for me."

  The waves continued to crash against the rocks, and the sea breeze howled past. Viktor sat on the edge of the cliff, staring at the Superman in front of him, his thoughts felt like a tangled mess.

  This was the first time he had looked at his past from this perspective without accusations, without hostility, and with only a simple and direct understanding.

  "You..."

  Viktor opened his mouth, feeling somewhat numb.

  "You must have been called a freak by your cssmates, right?"

  Superman stopped for a second, nodding slowly with a hint of nostalgia.

  "Yeah, I probably awakened my superpowers during puberty, and with everything that happened, I caused a lot of trouble."

  Viktor rubbed his face, still stiff from the shock.

  "You sure? It might also not be your superpowers causing the trouble."

  Superman was silent for two seconds before bursting into ughter.

  "You probably got beaten up on Viltrum too because of that mouth of yours, right?"