Simultaneous Transmigration: We Share a Role-Playing System

Chapter 159 Witrum's Visitor, Loyal Nolan

At 7:30 a.m. on a late autumn morning, just as dawn broke, a cold wind swept fallen leaves across the street corners, and the coffee shops in the city center were already packed with people. After buying breakfast, the cattle and horses headed back to their respective pens in the city center's many office buildings to be milked by the unscrupulous farm owners and earn their meager wages.

As part of the horde of cattle and horses, Mike, coffee in his left hand, briefcase in his right, and a whole-wheat bagel in his mouth, glanced unconsciously at the ruins across the police cordon on his way. After finishing the last bite of his bagel, he said to his colleague, "I have to say, aren't these superhuman terrorist attacks a bit too frequent this month? I just bought a new car last month, and before I even had a chance to enjoy the down payment, it got a huge dent from that police car that overturned last time. The insurance company is still making me wait in line for the damage assessment, and I think full compensation is basically out of the question."

His colleague sighed, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Come on, you should be grateful that he's alright. These past two weeks, those lunatics have been acting like they're on steroids. Last time, with that incident in the chemical industrial park, the entire floor of the trading company next door collapsed. If it weren't for the Global Security Team arriving in time, I'm afraid not a single person in that building would have survived."

Mike pondered for a couple of seconds and agreed that it made sense. He nodded in agreement and, taking advantage of his colleague's inattention, leaned over and took a bite of his bagel. Lowering his voice, he chewed and said, "Speaking of which, Omniknight has really been on fire these past two weeks. He's climbed another spot in the online superhero rankings. But a few days ago, I came across a blogger who specializes in superhero analysis saying that Omniknight has been really ruthless these past two weeks, like he's been holding back a lot of anger and is now venting it out. If before he would just knock out villains and handcuff them, now eight out of ten end up in the ICU."

"I saw it too!" My colleague perked up instantly and came over, lowering his voice even more, as if they were gossiping about the company's top executives.

"Not only that, my neighbor works as a social affairs reporter at the Global Times. He said that for the past two weeks, the 'All-Round Hero' has had a cold face the whole time he's on a mission, not saying a word more than necessary. He's obviously holding back his unhappiness. Do you think—could it be some kind of relationship trouble?"

"Who can say for sure? Superheroes keep their private identities a secret. Besides, at Omniman's age, he's either single like Everlasting Man, or he probably already has kids. Maybe he's just going through a rebellious phase."

Mike raised an eyebrow, looking like he was watching a drama unfold, then took out his phone, opened a short video, and handed it over. "But seriously, compared to the cold-faced All-Round Man, I'm more into that new Superman from the Young Rangers lately. Take a look at this."

Just as the two were chatting and complaining on their way to work, a deafening explosion suddenly rocked the street.

The two men, almost instinctively conditioned by the frequent attacks, instantly dropped their coffee and briefcases, lunged at the roadside flowerbed, and crouched down to defend themselves.

After the tremors subsided, the two cautiously peeked out and saw that the asphalt road in the middle of the road had been torn apart, and a group of strange people with slippery octopus heads were emerging from the drill truck, carrying high-tech energy weapons, and were breaking out of the churning soil.

Just as the octopus leader opened its mouth to utter a harsh threat, a red and white afterimage suddenly ripped through the air, and the resulting gust of wind directly knocked away the weapons of the surrounding monsters.

Before anyone could react, the All-Round Hero had already pressed down on its head with one hand and dragged it for over a thousand meters on the asphalt road, leaving a jagged rut in the charred asphalt, with sparks flying all the way along the trail.

As the smoke cleared, an impatient Omniknight stood with his arms crossed, stepping on the head of the unconscious octopus monster. He glanced coldly at the limp minions on the ground, a chilling sneer creeping onto his lips. The next second, he raised his fists high into the air, leaving only a deafening sonic boom, before heading off to find his next target.

Upon witnessing this scene, everyone peeked out from their cover, simultaneously taking out their phones to capture the moment. Amidst the continuous flashes, Mike turned to his colleague and said, "That blogger was right. It's obvious there's a problem at home. Could it be his wife—"

"Perhaps we've fallen out of favor, but judging from the state of the water pipes, we can forget about using the restroom in the office today."

"It's okay, it won't affect anything. Anyway, that heartless vampire never lets us rest for more than five minutes."

"Too."

Just after this frequent and unusual attack was quickly resolved, the cattle and horses collected their phones and continued on their way to work. The all-around hero in the sky didn't care about this; he just wanted another punching bag to let him vent his frustration.

For the past two weeks, Nolan, the all-around hero, has felt like an incompetent husband. Debbie has clearly discovered that he has been hiding something and has been giving him the cold shoulder. In recent days, she has even made him go downstairs and sleep on the sofa.

Even his good son Mark, since awakening his superpowers, has basically stopped being close to him and doesn't seem to need his help with training at all. He spends all day with his grandfather Locke.

Yes! It's that bastard Locke. The moment he appeared, things took a sharp turn for the worse. His wife started having issues with him, his son stopped being affectionate with him, and even his influence at home kept diminishing. If he didn't make some changes, his position in the family would remain the same from now on.

No! A change must be made, otherwise, otherwise—

Just as All-Round Hero clenched his fists, feeling extremely humiliated, he suddenly realized that for the past two weeks, he seemed to have been preoccupied with family matters and swayed by emotions.

But the problem is, it seems like his primary mission is to conquer the Earth?

Just as Omniknight was wondering if his loyalty to Witrum had been corrupted by the sweet life on Earth, a smoked little shop was quietly tucked away on a street corner a few hundred meters away.

The cramped shop is crammed with a few worn wooden tables, the yellowed baseball posters on the walls are curled at the edges, the old ceiling fan turns slowly, and the air is filled with the smoky aroma of fruitwood-grilled meat all year round. It hardly attracts passersby, but it is a favorite of a small number of gourmets.

But today, a truly important person is sitting here.

Global Defense Director Cisel was sitting in the innermost booth, impatiently tapping the tabletop smeared with barbecue sauce with his fingertips, frequently glancing at his watch, his brows furrowed, his temper flaring to the point of being uncontrollable.

Just a second before he was about to slam his fist on the table and explode, the wind chimes at the door jingled, and Locke staggered in, drunk, carrying a half-full wine jug.

"Freddy! Two pork ribs and a salad!" He pulled out a chair and sat down with practiced ease, his voice booming.

The black man in the kitchen peeked out from behind the curtain, grinning and saying, "OK, coming right away."

Cecil glared at Locke and immediately guessed that the other party was doing it on purpose, but he didn't get angry. Of course, it wasn't that he didn't want to get angry, but that the other party hadn't given permission.

After they sat down, Locke first let out a burp, then said to Cecilia, "You know, a few days ago I found this pork rib restaurant that looks exactly like the one in House of Cards, and I immediately decided I had to take you to try it. By the way, does your world even have House of Cards?"

"Although I don't know what you're talking about, I think it's probably not true."

"Really? That's a shame. But you reminded me that I should work on a cross-dimensional TV sometime. That would be really fun."

After a few casual words, just as Cissell was about to get down to business, he noticed Locke pull out a bag of cigarette leaves from last time, which left Cissell stunned.

"What are you doing?"

Locke looked at Cecil with suspicion and replied, "Didn't you ask me for this?"

Cecilia slapped her face, utterly speechless, and said, "My God, what kind of image do you have of me?! Of course, it's not because of that!"

After saying that, he quietly gathered up the cigarette bags on the table, cleared his throat, and handed a document to the other party.

"In the past two weeks, twelve of the thirty-eight supervillains we have taken in have exhibited the same abnormal phenomena. Some say they have lost their minds, some say they can foresee the future, and some suspect they have received memories from another world. But no matter what, they all have one thing in common."

Locke picked up the paper bag and slowly pulled out the documents inside, but before even looking at them, he asked, "Let me guess, are there any memories related to Almighty and Invincible Young Hero?"

After hearing the answer he wanted, Cissell felt half relieved. As long as Locke admitted it, that was good, which meant that he didn't care about hiding the information.

"Yes, and we tried to piece together these pieces of information and came to a very ominous but not entirely unexpected truth, which I guess you probably already knew."

"Nonsense, I just came from that world with him, of course I know."

Upon hearing this, Cecilia's heart, which had just eased slightly, instantly tightened again, and his brows furrowed into a knot. What did he mean by "bringing him along"? Just as he was about to ask, the curtain at the back of the kitchen was lifted.

Freddy came over carrying two large platters of steaming ribs. The ribs on the iron plates were coated with bright red smoked sauce and sizzled with oil, while the lettuce salad was neatly arranged.

He expertly placed the plates in front of the two of them, grinned, and without asking a single question, turned and went back to the kitchen, completely unaware of the tense atmosphere in the booth, perfectly timing Cisser's most irritable moment.

Locke had just put down the documents in his hand, rubbed his hands together, and stared intently at the glistening ribs, his fingertips already touching the knife and fork.

But he paused, then brought up the important matter first, glancing up at Cisel and casually asking, "By the way, you haven't told the Global Guardians about this yet, have you?"

"No." Cissel swallowed the question that was on the tip of his tongue, leaned forward, and lowered his voice to a whisper, his voice trembling with barely suppressed tension. "Everyone who knew about this except me has kept quiet. Even the files are locked in a high-security encrypted database. The first thing I did when I discovered the anomaly was to contact you."

He stared intently into Locke's eyes and asked, word by word, "So now, you should tell me what exactly happened, shouldn't you?"

Locke leaned back, picked up the flask and took a swig, his tone as light as if he were talking about the weather, not taking it seriously at all: "It's too complicated to explain this. Just think of me as someone from a parallel world who plans to settle down here. My original home is in a huge mess, and even I can't handle it for the time being, so I have to run away."

He waved his hand, signaling not to ask any more questions. "I won't say anything more, so you don't get yourself into trouble. Remember, don't mention it to anyone."

As for Nolan's matter, that's our family affair, and we'll handle it ourselves.

As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed a rib and started gnawing on it without any hesitation. He didn't care that his hands were covered in sauce, and he ate with his mouth full of oil, leaving Cecilia with endless thoughts.

Sisel sat opposite him, his brows furrowed into a deep frown, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the tabletop smeared with barbecue sauce, pondering Locke's words one by one—"Is it just a temporary arrangement?"

Meanwhile, at the Grayson's house, after watching his mother's car drive away, Little Horse said to Old Horse in the closet, "Alright, you can come out now."

Old Ma breathed a sigh of relief as he came out, then complained, "Damn it, when are you going to awaken your superpowers? Every day after dealing with supervillains with the Young Heroes team, I still have to come back and train with my dad, and I have to pretend I don't know how to use them, otherwise we'll be exposed when you awaken them."

Speaking of this, Xiao Ma complained indignantly, "Do you think I don't want to? Do you know that Locke has been going too far lately? Yesterday he took me to an alien planet to collect some kind of super-powered crystal, and as a result, I got chased by a symbiotic crystal scorpion while he was chatting and drinking with an alien beauty!"

I almost got stung to death!

"An alien beauty? How do you know she's beautiful?"

"Is that the point?!"

"Okay, okay, relax. I know Grandpa Locke can be unreliable sometimes, but don't worry, he won't let anything happen to you."

At this point, Mark couldn't hold back any longer and poured out his doubts that had been lingering for the past two weeks.

"Why are you so confident? Aren't you from a parallel universe? What if—what if you abandon us just like you abandoned the original universe?"

Faced with this piercing question, Old Ma's Adam's apple bobbed, and he opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. He simply didn't know how to tell this boy, whose eyes were still full of clarity, about his father, about Witrum, and about the pain of his entire life collapsing.

But Little Horse didn't give him a chance to breathe. Clenching his fist, he poured out all the doubts that had been building up for so long: "And what exactly is going on with Witrum? Has Dad been hiding his true colors all these years?"

Has my entire life, up to this point, been built on a lie from beginning to end?

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Ma's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath to calm himself. Even he was surprised that after finally saying what he had kept hidden for so long, the weight on his chest lifted, and he felt much lighter. Perhaps the adventures he had undertaken with Grandpa Locke over the past two weeks had raised his tolerance level too high; he didn't experience the kind of utter collapse he had imagined.

But Old Ma on the other side was clearly genuinely concerned. He stood frozen in place, at a loss for what to do, his eyes swirling with guilt...

I felt heartache and helplessness, but I still didn't know what to say so as not to shatter this boy's world prematurely.

This hesitant, unspoken act only made Xiao Ma feel more suffocated. The boy gritted his teeth, turned around, walked out of the bedroom, and slammed the door shut behind him.

With a crisp "crack," Wan first felt the texture of wood chips breaking in his palm. Looking down, he saw that the doorknob had been shattered into pieces in his hand. Then, with a loud "boom," the entire solid wood bedroom door was shaken into pieces, scattering wood chips and shards all over the floor.

In an instant, both Old Ma in the bedroom and Little Ma from the door manufacturing company froze in place.

Two seconds later, ecstasy surged through the two of them—this was the power of the Witrum people, a sign that Little Pony had awakened!

Before the players could even utter a single cheer, a dark blue portal suddenly opened in the center of the room without warning.

Locke, who usually had a long face, stepped out of the portal. He suddenly realized what was going on when he saw the doorknob in Little Pony's hand. He then said to the two of them, "Perfect timing. You two come with me and help me clean up this mess."

Old Ma: "What happened?"

Locke: "It's a minor matter. Witrum's people have arrived. It seems the side effects aren't just happening on Earth; they can spread throughout the entire universe."

Old Ma: "?"

pony:"?"

Little Horse looked at Locke, then at Old Horse, and clutched his head in despair, exclaiming, "What else are you hiding from me?!"

Immortal: "Nolan, if you're free this weekend, how about we get together with your family? I haven't talked to Mark in ages. I heard he recently awakened his superpowers? Congratulations!"

Outside a secluded building, Omniscient and Immortal were dealing with the Giant Lizard Alliance, appearing quite relaxed and at ease. However, after hearing Immortal's request, Nolan frowned slightly.

No, not at all. Although I know that Yong Shengxia considers me a good friend, I, who consider myself a hero, always put work first and rarely have personal time, let alone the big deal of meeting up with someone for the weekend. Moreover, just like me, I never talk about life while working. Why has it become like this now?

That's exactly like that guy Locke!

To maintain his composure, Nolan resumed his nonchalant expression, casually tossing the Komodo dragon into the distance. He then asked, "You've never mentioned anything like this before, why all of a sudden today? Don't misunderstand, I'm just curious."

Faced with his friend's question, Immortal flew to the Lizard King's facebow, grabbed him by the collar and subdued him, then waved his hand and said to Nolan, "Oh, actually I should really thank your father-in-law Locke. I've been chatting with Wan a lot during my recent break. Wan is really a wise person. He guided me out of the shadow cast by immortality and helped me start over instead of numbly persisting because of the responsibility of a hero's career."

The immortal looked at Nolan with sincere eyes, completely unaware that every word he uttered had precisely stepped on a landmine. Nolan's jawline tightened, and he took two deep breaths to suppress his surging emotions. Just as he raised his eyes to refuse, his expression suddenly changed.

Wan's gaze passed over the Immortal's shoulder and was fixed on the sky behind him. Through the gap in the clouds, a familiar figure was suspended, wearing the iconic Witrum uniform, with a long silver whip fluttering in the wind.

"Immortal, can the Giant Lizard Alliance give you back? I suddenly have something that I must deal with immediately." Nolan's voice suddenly turned serious, with an unprecedented solemnity.

Despite his doubts, Wan remained solemn and nodded in agreement. Nolan patted Wan on the shoulder sincerely and thanked him, then transformed into a red and white streak, breaking through the clouds and flying swiftly towards his fellow Witrum.

Tura, clad in a silver-white standard combat uniform, exuded a sharp aura befitting an elite Vitrum warrior that seemed to freeze the surrounding clouds. She swept Nolan's uniform up and down with disgust, her icy tone filled with hostility as she sternly questioned, "Look at your incongruous and ugly clothes, and look at the absurd things you're doing now, Nolan. Are you planning to betray the mission Vitrum has entrusted to you?"

Nolan's jawline tightened instantly, the air around him suddenly felt heavy, and his tone was icy as he retorted without hesitation, "You'd better be accountable for every word you say. I've conquered dozens of habitable planets for the Empire. What right do you have to question my loyalty to the Witrum Empire?"

"So what are you doing now?" Tula took a step closer, his tone becoming increasingly aggressive. "Playing house with these fragile, mayfly-like, utterly meaningless creatures? The Empire's mission for you was to conquer this planet, so why, after all these years, hasn't it planted the Vitrum flag and accepted Imperial rule?"

Faced with the relentless questioning, Nolan frowned deeply, instantly realizing that this woman had come specifically to interrogate him.

But doubts also began to surface in his heart. Why now of all times? To accuse someone of betrayal simply because he hadn't finished conquering the enemy was an extremely baseless and abnormal charge.

In Witrum, where strength reigns supreme, Wan is a legendary warrior crowned with the title of "Great," whose status is far beyond that of ordinary elites like Tura. It is absolutely impossible for them to tolerate anyone trampling on Wan's honor and questioning the loyalty that is etched into Wan's bones.

Playing is Witrum's most loyal warrior!!!

Before Tula could utter another word, Nolan had already transformed into a red and blue shadow, instantly closing in on her face.

A hand like an iron clamp gripped her neck, pinning her in mid-air. The murderous aura surging around him seemed to tear the clouds apart. He gritted his teeth and uttered a threat, each word sharp and menacing: "No one can question my loyalty to the Witrum Empire, not even General Craig! If it weren't for the fact that there are so few of my fellow countrymen left in Witrum, I could snap your neck right now based on what you just said."

After making a series of threats, Nolan stared at the shock surging in Tula's eyes, as well as the suppressed forbearance and resentment, and loosened his grip on her neck.

Wan suppressed the murderous aura surging around him, his tone softening slightly, yet still carrying the absolute confidence of "Great Nolan": "With the merits I have made for the Empire, I have enough authority to postpone the mission. Moreover, my core mission is to confirm that the humans on this planet can stably reproduce and inherit the bloodline of Witrum. All of this needs time to verify."

That last moment had made Tula acutely aware of the difference in status between herself and Nolan. She clutched the clear red mark on her neck, coughed twice to suppress the metallic taste in her throat, tacitly acknowledging the playful explanation, and raised her eyes, coldly demanding, "So now, are you sure?"

These words were like a knife chilled to ice, instantly piercing the deepest, most torn part of his heart.

Nolan fell silent abruptly, his hands clenching involuntarily at his sides. His eyes flashed with images of Debbie smiling as she served breakfast, of watching Mark play in the past, and of his home, where he had lived for over a decade, filled with the warmth and life of everyday life.

But in his ears, he heard the admonitions etched into the bones of the Witrum Empire for thousands of years, the mission of conquest and expansion, and the images of his compatriots falling one by one on the journey. The conscience awakened by human warmth and the iron-blooded faith engraved in his genes were tearing and colliding wildly in his chest.

The surrounding atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive. Looking at his unpredictable expression, Tula felt a sudden alarm bell ring in her heart, suspecting that he had truly betrayed her.

She knew all too well the ruthlessness of the Witrum warriors, and even more so, Nolan's strength. Once he decided to kill, she would have no chance of survival. She subtly tensed her body, gathering power in her fingertips, ready to break through the air and escape at any moment.

Just then, Nolan finally spoke, his voice deep and resolute, like steel, carrying a do-or-die determination: "I originally needed a little more time to persuade my son, to let him know the mission I was born to fulfill. But since the Empire needs me to complete this mission as soon as possible, I won't delay any longer."

Wan abruptly turned his head, the last trace of warmth in his eyes completely suppressed, leaving only the cold hardness of a Vitrum warrior. He ordered Tula in an unquestionable tone: "Now that you're here, stay and help me. We must complete the Empire's mission as quickly as possible."