The Superman of Idealism was already immensely powerful, yet Supreme Little Superman surpassed him further. Before reaching adulthood, Supreme Little Superman could confront every superhero on Earth single-handedly. Upon maturity, his strength reached its true peak. He could alter reality physically, changing the rules of the universe with his fists and kicks. His most impressive feat was severely injuring the multi-cosmic-level Batman Who Laughs with a single punch, with aftershocks capable of destroying fifty-two Dark Multiverses.
In Marvel terms, Supreme Little Superman ranked at least at a super-Cosmic-Level. Infinite multiverses formed a super-Cosmic, and infinite super-Cosmics formed an omnipotent universe.
Malrick reflected on this vast hierarchy.
"Golden Superman is essentially a Kryptonian who has truly reached the end of evolution," he mused. "He has absorbed sufficient sunlight and unleashed all his potential. Different Supermen have different capacities, though."
Malrick felt his own cells still hungered for solar energy. His evolutionary path remained far from complete.
"I haven't reached my true potential yet, so I am not officially a Golden Superman," he acknowledged. Even decades of sunbathing in the future would not suffice, because his continual genetic research would endlessly expand his potential.
"That said, my current state has already transformed life itself," he realized.
Emerging from the blue giant star, Malrick perceived the universe anew. Previously, he had observed through his strongest Rejedo clone, seeing the essence of the universe and its rules. Now, with his own body, the secrets of the universe opened automatically. His strength had reached near-omnipotence within the universe, and omnipotence naturally brought omniscience.
He experienced a sensation akin to Golden Wolf Superman casually increasing his genes by a thousandfold. Observing his own genetic structure, he saw countless evolutionary paths and their consequences unfold in real time. In the process of evolving his 60,000-fold genes toward 90,000-fold, he was likely on the trajectory toward Silver Superman. The gene templates collected across worlds were fully utilized, and minor deductions allowed his gene level to rise steadily: 60,002, 60,003…
Initially, his genes improved every few seconds, but as levels approached 70,000-fold, each increase required minutes instead of seconds. Malrick did not lose focus; he delegated a portion of his consciousness to continue research while preparing to retrieve Tony Stark from the Three-Body Universe.
Upon entering the Three-Body Solar System, Malrick immediately noticed the transformation. Decades earlier, Earth had been a surface civilization, just selecting four Wallfacers to confront the Trisolarans. Now, outside the major planets, countless cosmic battleships and steel robots hovered.
Their power sources were Arc Reactors, engines driven by curvature technology, and the weakest armaments included high-tech gamma-ray lasers and high-energy ion beams. Many curvature-engine ships patrolled the system, creating a dense "dark domain" where light speed was drastically reduced. Light particles could not even escape the Sun's gravity, effectively rendering Earth's civilization non-threatening to external observers—a perfect application of the Dark Forest Law.
Malrick marveled at Tony's ingenuity in addressing this cosmic threat. Yet he wondered how the Trisolarans would be handled with such a solution. Surveying the system, he detected a Trisolaran invisible to ordinary three-dimensional beings approaching him. It appeared on his retina, accompanied by a subtitle:
"How about it? I told you we could clear it this time, Malrick."
The arrogant tone made it clear Tony controlled the Trisolaran. Malrick smiled wryly; decades later, Tony had even mastered the Trisolarans. With a thought, Malrick materialized in a command room on Earth, standing before Tony. Golden Superman could traverse space and time at will. Though Malrick had not yet reached that stage, performing such feats remained easy.
"You've done well, researching Trisolarans and curvature engines," Malrick said, patting Tony's shoulder.
Tony twitched in fright but quickly relaxed, offering a helpless grin. Others in the room, however, were less calm.
"Intruder! Let go of Mr. Stark!"
"Put down your right hand, intruder! Warning—put down your hand!"
Security personnel and researchers simultaneously aimed weapons at Malrick, some deploying anti-Superman armor composed of nanomaterials. Tony had become Earth's most treasured asset; his shadow influenced every technological creation in the room.
"Relax, everyone. This is my somewhat mischievous younger brother; don't frighten him," Tony said, smiling, and returned Malrick's pat.
Then he raised an eyebrow. "Why are you glowing golden? Did you eat a star? Damn, why didn't I know you liked sunbathing so much?"
Malrick shrugged. "Stars are just hydrogen and helium. Nuclear fusion burns the tongue when you consume it—it's spicy."
He gradually converged his internal energy, returning from his golden glow.
"So… you haven't turned into a Golden Superman yet?" Tony asked, surprised.
"Not yet… almost," Malrick replied, indicating a tiny distance between his fingers.
Tony blinked in astonishment, then smacked his forehead. "I thought my anti-Superman armor had progressed enough in these decades!"
Over decades in the Three-Body Universe, Tony had upgraded his armor with advanced weapons from this world, believing he could at least keep pace with Malrick. Yet upon reunion, Malrick was nearly a Golden Superman.
"Don't be discouraged," Malrick teased. "You've never caught up to my Shadow; nothing has changed."
Tony's face darkened. "You'd better not keep getting stronger this fast, or I'll catch up eventually."
"I'll go faster then," Malrick replied, smiling.
After exchanging a few sarcastic quips, Malrick asked, "Looks like you've completed Earth's rescue mission?"
Tony grinned, a light cough betraying his pride, and turned toward the control panel, eager to show off his work.
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