pertwk Chapter 1048 Leaning Backwards, Falling into History
Chapter 1048 Leaning Backwards, Falling into History
Chapter 1048 Leaning Backwards, Falling into History
(Oh no, I forgot to post it yesterday, now I've lost my perfect attendance bonus.)
Do you think I'm stupid?
Do you think I never considered the possibility that my plan might fail?
Chen Tao watched indifferently as the Pharaoh's plan succeeded rapidly with his help. As things stood, the Pharaoh's goal completely overlapped with Chen Tao's. It had been many years since Chen Tao had encountered a third-party force whose goal was exactly the same as his own.
He was pushing the other side toward their goal while also making worse plans.
He had a vague feeling that neither he nor the Pharaoh would easily achieve their goals: whether it was demanding that Dr. Manhattan return to the Watchers universe to stop the nuclear war, or seizing his power of connection after Dr. Manhattan's demise to stop Perpetua and the Void Hand.
Even so, he remained highly motivated, burning with a fierce determination.
Because just a second before he pushed Pharaoh to summon Dr. Manhattan, he discovered that someone had taken control of the Möbius Chair.
The Möbius Chair.
This artifact was forged by the Anti-Monitor, and because the Anti-Monitor granted Chen Tao the status of the Anti-Monitor's Bat, in a practical sense, this artifact has always been under Chen Tao's surveillance.
Although he didn't know when the Bat of Laughter and the Hand of the Void made their deal, Chen Tao assumed that they had joined forces the moment the chair lost its monitoring.
And of course—
The recorder from the omnipotent universe also lost the opportunity to return the position of observer to Mettron. (Chapter 1009)
Do you think Chen Tao doesn't know why the Omnipotent Universe's recorder violated regulations to resurrect the new god Metatron?
He didn't just want to learn the history of the DC multiverse from the other party; more importantly, if he didn't intend to continue observing the DC multiverse, he could throw Mettron back onto the Möbius Chair at any time and let him regain the position of Observer, so that he could get away at any time.
From the original perspective, there was nothing wrong with this idea, since Metron was the former observer. But the game had progressed to this point, and the Bat Who Laughs and the Void Hand suddenly pulled the Möbius Chair away, leaving the recorder dumbfounded.
Chen Tao left the Laughing Bat no choice.
The Miracle Machine is the target of the Void Hand. The Cosmic Tuning Fork is firmly in Chen Tao's hand. In the DC Multiverse, there are only a handful of artifacts that can guide enormous divine power. If you know the other party's purpose and then block their other means, this is the result.
This is exactly the kind of manipulation the Batman Who Laughs loves to pull: your actions are "all within the Batman Who Laughs's plan." If the multiple-choice question only has the answer he wants to give you, then no matter what you choose, it will be wrong.
The Laughing Bat was smart enough not to choose the Cosmic Tuning Fork. If he had tried to intercept the Cosmic Tuning Fork from another point in time upstream in the hypertime stream, things would have been much simpler. Choosing the Möbius Chair wouldn't have been much better.
While Chen Tao felt regretful, he was also filled with a heavy heart. It was certainly a good thing that the Bat of Laughter had been guided by him, but it also meant that the event of the Bat of Laughter merging with the Hand of the Void, which he least wanted to see, was now irreversible.
The Pharaoh's shouts in the distance had turned into a kind of sharp cat meow.
As the energy of the lamp furnace and the Pharaoh merged more and more, and the blue sphere condensed, Chen Tao knew he should find a way to escape.
After reaching an agreement with Papetua, Papetua would protect him in the Hypertime Stream, which meant Chen Tao wouldn't have to face Dr. Manhattan alone. However, he no longer dared to confront him face-to-face in his current state.
For Dr. Manhattan, the past may be meaningless, but for Chen Tao and Papetua, they are no ordinary people; they are not the kind of people whose history can be casually examined by Dr. Manhattan.
They can use time travel to conceal themselves, and avoiding the other party is the first step in concealing themselves.
He wasn't sure if Dr. Manhattan understood what he was doing, but he assumed the other party was aware of his actions:
Before things reached a dead end, he was already planning the "ultimate guarantee" to take everyone away together.
Losing more is better than losing only once. If his plan truly succeeds, none of them—Perpetual, the Hand of the Void, himself, the Bat who Laughs, or Doctor Manhattan—will achieve their goals. Therefore, when you've decided to do something evil—
It's best not to tell anyone and to hide quietly.
This hiding place will definitely come in handy.
So, Chen Tao silently left a phantom image in the spot, then vanished, slowly retreating to shield everyone in front of him, before leaning backward—
It has fallen into history.
Amidst the flashing lightning, a blue figure appeared before them.
A smile appeared on the Pharaoh's face.
"Hello, Joan," he said.
Dr. Manhattan looked at him without saying a word.
"I'm sorry to call you out like this, Joan, but I just want to talk to you, that's all."
Dr. Manhattan ignored Ozymandias immediately; his gaze flashed like lightning as he looked at Batman Dragon, who was standing not far away.
I am Dr. Manhattan.
Three minutes ago, I stood here and attacked Batman Dragon.
I caught a phantom.
Ten minutes ago, I attacked Batman Dragon.
It was still an illusion.
20 minutes ago, 30 minutes ago, 40 minutes ago —
History keeps regressing, and I exist at any point in time, just like a person stepping on every end of an asphalt road at the same time.
But he didn't find what he wanted at any point.
I also exist in the history of Batman and the Dragon from a long time ago.
I intend to change that history, and I reach out to grab Batman Dragon.
I am always chasing illusions.
Batman Dragon vanished from my sight; he was somehow protecting his history, avoiding my view.
Why?
A month later, I confronted Superman from the main universe on Mars, with Batman Dragon standing beside him. I reached out to Batman Dragon, but still only managed to grab a phantom. Even when Superman was facing me, he didn't dare to show his real body in front of me.
Why?
Never mind, it doesn't matter anymore.
Dr. Manhattan did pay attention to Batman: Dragon, but it was ultimately very little.
He quickly turned his gaze back to the Pharaoh before him.
"You want to talk," he said.
The next moment, blue lightning flashed, cutting a circle beneath their feet.
Then they shifted their position and disappeared in an instant.
"Let's talk about it then."
At this point, the Pharaoh was unaware that Chen Tao had already left, leaving only a remotely controlled phantom in place.
He was completely oblivious to the knowing look on Chen Tao's face that suggested he understood the negotiation, and was focused on persuading Dr. Manhattan to help him save the world, just like he had done in the past.
"I have no choice, you know that. You know our world is in crisis. I've come to ask for your help. I couldn't stop it from destroying itself, and you're the only one who can."
"You've traveled a long way and gained nothing, Adrian. I won't go back—and in fact, if you had the means to monitor our universe, you would soon discover that some otherworldly visitors have already helped you solve the problem."
"You said—wait, what did you say?!"
Pharaoh was trying to come up with a way to persuade Dr. Manhattan, but he almost choked to death.
"Oh, Witt, don't you know? Several visitors from this world have already been sent into our world by Perpetual." Dr. Manhattan only said that one sentence, and then the next moment, he stuffed all the information about the Watchers universe into Pharaoh's head, making him meow loudly in pain.
"No! He actually—he killed all the high-ranking officials in the world—idiot! This is useless. It will only make people in various countries feel like they've been the victim of a terrorist attack. By the time someone realizes what's happening, they'll have shifted the blame for the terrorist attack to enemy countries—"
Immediately following this, the reactions of various countries based on the threat of attack and decapitation strikes will be launched—if just one country launches a nuclear missile, all of humanity's nuclear missiles will go into space. He's gambling with the entire world. Damn Manhattan, you have to go back—Waaaaah!
Then Pharaoh was immediately rendered speechless, because Dr. Manhattan easily sealed his mouth with a single hand.
"No matter what, I won't go back. I got involved in some incident, and you think I've abandoned my humanity once again, so you asked Laurie to come with you to awaken me, but she refused. However, she introduced them to you."
Manhattan mentioned his wife, which caused a slight, extremely subtle shift in his tone.
Then he looked at the marionettes and pantomime.
"Erica Manson and Marcos Metz. I was with Laurie at Rockefeller and listening to her complain about the surveillance cameras installed in our neighborhood."
"And just as I was removing them, they informed me that a bank was being robbed a mile away. I went to execute the criminals. You think I hesitated to use lethal force because I knew Erica Manson was pregnant, but I didn't spare you because you're pregnant, Erica Manson. I saw what your child would do in the future, so I chose to spare him."
"What are you talking about? What did my son do?" The puppet didn't understand a word he was saying: "The time I was pregnant before—"
"Oh, right, sometimes I forget what happened and what hasn't happened yet. Not your last child, Erica. You're pregnant again. I'm talking about the new child you're about to give birth to."
The marionette was stunned.
She turned to look at her husband, mimed a hugging motion, and then the two of them embraced, weeping with joy for their newborn child.
The Pharaoh took a deep breath: "Joan—"
"Your pleas will not sway my decision. Adrian, I am disappointed in you, past, present, and future."
"Hey, Manhattan—" The second-generation Rorschach saw that Dr. Manhattan had his back to the Pharaoh, and he began to get a little anxious.
If Dr. Manhattan chooses to refuse, then isn't the Watchmen universe doomed? Are we really counting on those few DC multiverse visitors who carried out the massacre of the high-ranking members? Damn it, killing all the high-ranking members, how can you be so reckless? This is too dark.
"Witt is no longer the person you know. I was going to kill him because of what he did, but when I found him, I discovered he had changed. He was dying of cancer—"
"Cancer?" Dr. Manhattan finally reacted. He turned his head and glanced at Pharaoh, who lowered his head.
"Aridan, no cancer."
"No, no, wait a minute, take another look, he's sick," said the second-generation Rorschach.
"Let me talk to Joan, Rorschach. He's just trying to distract you." The Pharaoh tried to distract him, but the second Rorschach had already realized the truth.
"No, I—you have cancer."
"Stop, Rorschach—"
"You told me you fucking have cancer, that's why I didn't avenge my parents!"
"While we're still hanging in the balance, tell him the truth, Adrian. You know even if you don't, I will," Dr. Manhattan said.
"I have never had cancer, never," Pharaoh replied.
"What? Why—why did you lie to me—"
"Because I need your help."
"I don't understand—"
"Oh, Reggie, you only see what you want to see. And what you want to see, what you need to see, is the man who killed your parents and drove you mad, regretting his actions. I knew everything about you long before you stepped into my room, and I need someone like you, Reggie."
"Don't call me Reggie—" Rorschach II's hand reached from the Pharaoh's chest down to his neck. Then it gripped him tightly: "I am Rorschach!"
"Rorschach, please, it's the same with Rorschach. You only see what you want to see. You think you've taken over the mantle from your father's friend, but the truth is, Rorschach and your father were never friends. Not only did your father fail to cure Rorschach, but he also allowed Rorschach to completely destroy his strong and optimistic spirit, turning it into a living, empty shell."
"Your father and mother's love was a lie. Their relationship deteriorated to the point of being a mere shell of its former self. They left this world despising each other, rather than dying in each other's arms. You're still wearing the mask of the man who destroyed your father."
Chen Tao's phantom forced Luo Xia to loosen the Pharaoh's neck; otherwise, he would have strangled the Pharaoh in front of everyone.
"Alright, that's enough," he said.
He then turned to look at Dr. Manhattan, but his eyes remained fixed on Pharaoh.
"So, dear Witte, is there any other trick up your sleeve?"
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