Nobody can stop me from drawing cards in Gotham!

Chapter 46 We are a team of four, a three-person team!

"Okay, let's do it again."

Jaeger took a deep breath.

"According to you, you come from another world that is similar to this one, yet different—and the reason you strayed into this place is because you were chasing a…"

"Energizers." The man who called himself Tony Stark unceremoniously took over the only sofa in the room, while holding a cell phone he had borrowed from Jaeger and browsing the browser.

"That guy is probably still hiding on this ship, at least according to my equipment's detection results, that's for sure."

“And as everyone knows, my equipment doesn’t make mistakes—so that guy is 100% here.” Tony narrowed his eyes. “Believe me, you don’t want to let a guy who can eventually devour the energy of an entire planet run rampant on your planet.”

"So that's why you call this creature an energy-devouring worm, because it lives by devouring energy?" Clark asked.

“Obviously,” Tony said. “That guy first invaded New York City in my world, nearly paralyzing the city’s power system, and then, while being hunted, he tore open a rift in the world and forced his way into another universe.”

"But if that bug brain of yours thinks it can evade Tony Stark's pursuit like this, it's incredibly naive," Tony said with no small amount of pride. "I tracked it down to where it left in just a few minutes using the residual energy trajectory, but when I went to check, I got caught in a turbulent current."

"Thinking back now, that turbulent flow must have been the world rift torn open by the energy-devouring bugs, which caused my armor to malfunction temporarily and forced me into this world." Tony clicked his tongue. "Damn it, I hate bugs."

"That makes sense, but I still want to ask, why do you feel like this is another world?" Jaeger stared at Tony. "Just because we don't know you?"

"That's only one aspect!" Tony retorted, refusing to recall the "who do you think you are?" look Jaeger and Clark had given him. "Damn it, do you think I'm the kind of person who dwells on something like that? And using that as evidence is just plain stupid. I'm not that narcissistic!"

Well, that's really hard to say... Jaeger was embarrassed.

After all, he felt that the guy in front of him was genuinely asking him and Clark if they wanted autographs and photos, in a tone that implied "everyone in America should know me."

"So, Mr. Stark, your basis is..." Clark quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Hmph, of course it's because of all these random cities that have suddenly appeared in America." Tony tapped his phone screen. "Metropolis, Gotham, Beach City... Our world doesn't have these cities!"

"Alright, we can talk about that later. Now let's talk about something more important." Tony scratched his hair in frustration. "—That is, catching the Energy-Eating Bugs."

Have you encountered anything strange on this cruise ship? Or have you heard similar stories from others?

"As far as I know, no," Jaeger recalled.

"Neither do I," Clark shook his head.

"Good news, this proves that the energy-devouring worm has entered a dormant state for some reason." Tony snapped his fingers. "The first possibility is that it absorbed a large amount of energy in an instant, and the second possibility is the opposite, that it consumed too much energy in an instant."

"But whatever the reason, we should at least be grateful for its dormancy, which has prevented it from taking action against the cruise ship it is temporarily hiding in."

"Otherwise, within half an hour of it starting to move, it would have drained the cruise ship of all its energy—and then we'd have to stage a Titanic-like scene, haha," Tony laughed.

"..." Clark looked at Tony incredulously. "Were you just joking?"

What's so funny about this hellish joke where everyone sinks into the sea?

"Hahaha." Jaeger chuckled in agreement. "Very interesting, Mr. Stark. It seems you are quite optimistic about our current situation."

"Of course." Tony jumped up from the sofa, abruptly patting Jaeger and Clark on the shoulder. "We... wait, what were your names again? Lance? Kraken?"

"...It's Langdon and Clark." Clark coughed.

"Oh right, Langdon and Clark." Tony seemed indifferent to their names, nodding haphazardly a few times. "Since you two saved my life, I officially approve you two as my henchmen. Let's arrest the Energy-Eating Bugs together!"

Jaeger: "..."

I've finally met someone even more shameless than me, and for some reason, I feel a bit emotional—I can't even bring myself to say something like, "I'll allow you to be my followers because you saved me!"

Meanwhile, the poison mist was earnestly asking Jaeger in his mind, "I'm curious, Langdon... does this guy named Tony Stark talk like this in his world too?"

"If he hasn't been beaten up by now, it would be a miracle."

"...I agree." Jaeger rarely echoed Poison Mist's words.

Meanwhile, Clark, seemingly lost in thought, suddenly looked up and said earnestly, "Alright, I'll join, Mr. Stark."

Ok?

Jaeger couldn't help but glance at Clark, surprised that the man was surprisingly enthusiastic...

Or perhaps he actually has his own motives? Is that why he's trying to capture the energy-devouring worm?

—In fact, Jaeger's guess was correct; Clark did indeed have his own purpose.

That's right, energy-devouring worms... alien insectoid creatures that devour energy... What did this remind Clark of?

Of course, it was when he passed over the cruise ship that he suddenly lost his superpowers!

As a Kryptonian, his various special abilities actually originate from the Kryptonian genes activated under the yellow sunlight... In simpler terms, they are solar-powered.

In other words, if Clark feels low on energy, he can recharge by sunbathing... The more solar energy he gets, the stronger his superpowers will be.

Conversely, if his energy is depleted and not replenished by the Yellow Sun, he will revert to being an ordinary person.

But he is currently in Hawaii, one of the sunniest places in the United States, so naturally he can't lack sunshine.

So the most likely explanation for Clark losing his superpowers is... that energy-devouring worm was behind it!

As he passed by, the energy-devouring insect locked onto the enormous energy body that looked no different from a delicious giant hamburger in its eyes. It devoured the energy on Clark's body and caused him to fall into the sea.

Then, just as Tony had said, the energy-devouring worms went into a temporary hibernation due to consuming too much energy.

So, to some extent, this matter is also related to Clark—although even if it weren't, Clark couldn't have ignored and allowed such a dangerous creature to stay on the cruise ship.

At this point, two people had reached a consensus, and Tony and Clark's gazes naturally turned to Jaeger.

"OK, OK, don't look at me like that, friends." Jaeger laughed. "Of course I'm in—so, what's the plan?"

"Great, friends, our three-man team is officially formed." Tony whistled. "As for the plan? I can give you a hundred unique plans for the Energy-Devouring Bug operation right now!"

Clark, with the composure of a liberal arts student, attempted to protest: "I think the name 'Operation Energy-Eating Bugs' is a bit... never mind, never mind."

But what Jaeger was thinking at that moment was that there were three people on the surface, but in fact, with the poisonous fog, there were four people in the team.

Is this the legendary... a four-person team of three?!