Emperor of the United States

Peter remained expressionless as he threw another punch, and Steve fought back with all his strength.

The same moves, the same level of power, yet Peter’s fists were now unbelievably heavy.

Writing reveals the heart, and fists reveal the mind.

Through Peter’s fists, Steve could deeply feel Peter’s pain and struggle, as well as clearly understand his resolve and will.

Every punch Peter threw blasted the realization in his heart into Steve’s mind.

Every punch Peter threw interrogated Steve’s own realization.

I can sever all my bonds for the sake of my beliefs, eliminate every weakness within me, and kill myself with my own hands!

Steve, can you go this far?

If this had been during the battle in outer space, Steve could naturally have answered Peter with a heavy punch, telling him that he could!

Everything Peter had done now was something Steve himself had once done.

He, too, had once severed all his bonds with his own hands, killed himself with his own hands, and then broken through his limits in a single leap, causing his level of power to surge.

But the insights he had gained at such a cost had been easily shared with others through Combination Synchronization Mode, allowing them to smoothly close the gap between one another. Naturally, this included Peter as well.

Precisely because Steve had done it before, he understood the pain and despair involved even more deeply.

Steve never wanted to experience that kind of pain a second time. Therefore, he could no longer throw a punch at Bucky, could no longer kill himself, and likewise could no longer defeat Peter.

He was now facing a second choice: the greater good or family?

It was still the same question as last time.

Last time, he had chosen the greater good, killed Bucky with his own hands, and buried himself along with him.

But after enduring that soul-piercing pain once, could he make the same choice again this time?

Steve knew very well that when he made his choice in his heart and killed himself once more, he would complete a thorough transformation and set foot on the path to the Final State.

He might not even need to actually attack Bucky again by then. As long as he truly made the choice in his heart, that would be enough.

But could he make that choice?

It was easy to deceive others, but difficult to deceive oneself.

The War God emphasized seeing one’s heart and understanding one’s nature. Could he truly sever everything for the sake of the greater good?

There was no need to wait until he made his final choice. The moment he faced the choice now, the pain had already descended upon him once again. The pain and despair he had experienced back then surged into his heart once more, leaving his entire body cold and rigid. As a result, Peter beat him savagely, repeatedly blasting apart the Astral Energy around his body and ravaging his flesh.

But the pain of the body was utterly incomparable to the despair of the heart. Steve interrogated his own heart again and again, experiencing the despair of losing Bucky repeatedly, yet he could never cross this threshold.

Each interrogation brought him another bout of pain, and each time, his fists grew weaker.

The Peter of now was unlike before. During battle, he no longer shouted and ranted incessantly, firing off all kinds of verbal attacks. Instead, he had become extremely quiet, without saying a word. Steve often had the illusion that he was fighting a corpse.

Yet the corpse’s fists grew heavier and heavier, while the aura around its body grew stronger and stronger. Finally, after one particular punch, the aura around Peter suddenly surged, crossing the limit of the Ninety-Seven Heavens.

Although the increase in his level of power was only a tiny bit, it represented a qualitative change. It meant that Peter had already begun advancing toward the Final State.

And starting from the Ninetieth Heaven, even the slightest difference in strength and level would be worlds apart, increasing by geometric multiples.

The sliver of strength Peter had gained this time was already far greater than the increase brought by advancing one Heaven before.

In a battle to the death, what mattered was who could improve faster.

The one who advanced first lived, while the one who advanced later died!

Peter’s punch blasted apart Steve’s raised arms as he blocked. The heavy fist slammed into Steve’s chest, suppressing him from the sky to the ground. Like a meteor, he crashed into the earth and created a massive crater.

The overwhelming force directly blasted apart Steve’s protective Astral Energy and smashed his body in half.

The battle was over.

The rain clouds that had been scattered by the aftershocks of their battle gathered once again, showering the ground with torrential rain.

Peter stood beside Steve, looking down expressionlessly at the half of Steve’s body that remained.

All the power in Steve’s body had already dissipated along with his blood. Without a heart, he could no longer store or use the power of Magnetic Field Rotation at all. Even so, Steve continued struggling, grabbing Peter’s foot with one hand and trying to launch another attack.

Peter’s expression did not change. He gently raised his foot and crushed Steve’s wrist.

"You… are… wrong…" Blood filled Steve’s mouth, but he still struggled to utter his final words in broken fragments.

Peter stood silently beside Steve’s body, watching him die completely. He released his Astral Energy defense and allowed the torrential rain to pour down from the sky, drenching his entire body and rolling down from his head and face.

After a long while, Tony flew back from outer space, carrying the unconscious Doctor Banner and bringing Pepper with him.

Seeing that the battle had ended, Peter standing motionless, and Steve mostly submerged beneath the rainwater at Peter’s feet, Tony handed Doctor Banner to Pepper, signaling for her to go farther away. Then he strode toward Peter.

Pepper looked worried, but did not say a word. She obediently carried Doctor Banner and flew into the distance.

"Peter, since you are beyond saving, I’ll send you to see Steve right now!" Tony’s voice was filled with killing intent. This time, he was truly enraged.

Originally, both he and Steve had liked Peter very much. It was not only because Peter was their little fanboy, but also because Peter himself was pure, kind, and overflowing with a sense of justice. Any normal person would like someone like Peter.

Therefore, even though they knew that Peter’s mental state was seriously abnormal, neither of them had been overly harsh with him. After all, Peter had suffered far too much during this recent period.

First, he had been manipulated repeatedly and made all kinds of wrong choices, eventually causing the death of the uncle who had raised him. Then, because he had trusted the wrong person, he had been deceived by someone else and driven Aunt May to the end of the road.

No one in their twenties could endure such tragedies.

But Peter was completely insane now. Even though he appeared perfectly normal on the surface, Tony could not see the slightest trace of reason in him.

Peter slowly turned his head and shifted his gaze to Tony. He opened his mouth slightly, and cold words emerged:

"If you dare attack me…"

He raised a finger and gently moved it toward Pepper, who was flying into the distance. "I’ll kill her!"

Tony’s footsteps halted, and he was furious.

"What did you say?!"

Just as Bucky was Steve’s taboo, Pepper was Tony’s Achilles’ heel.

"As long as a person has a weakness, it’s easy to restrain them."

Peter tilted his head halfway back and looked at the dark sky, his gaze vacant, as though he did not know what he was thinking.

"I have no weaknesses now, so I am invincible."

"No one can defeat me. Steve couldn’t, and neither can you."

Tony trembled with rage, but he could not ignore Peter’s threat and did not dare take even half a step forward.

Only after losing something did one understand how to cherish it.

Just as Steve had been unable to strike Bucky again after killing him once, Tony had lost Pepper once before and was no longer willing to let anything happen to her again.

Peter lowered his head and looked at Steve, who had been completely submerged by the water. He said woodenly:

"You hate this feeling, don’t you? The feeling of being threatened by someone."

"I hate it too!"

"So I want to rebuild this world, correct all these mistakes, and make sure no one ever encounters this kind of situation again."

Only when he spoke of establishing a New World did a trace of vitality return to Peter’s voice.

But Tony had no interest whatsoever in Peter’s so-called New World. The moment Peter threatened him with Pepper, their friendship had ended. They would never associate with each other again.

Tony did not say a word. He turned and left, called Pepper over, took Doctor Banner with them, and departed from the United States.

The Americas had already been destroyed, New York had long since been wiped out, and Stark Industries existed in name only. There was nothing left for him to miss here. Besides, although he did not know how Peter planned to rebuild the world, as long as he remained in the United States, he would inevitably come into conflict with Peter. By then, Peter had gone insane and was capable of anything. Tony had no intention of taking that risk.

After watching Tony and the others leave, Peter remained silent for a while. Then he rose and began dispersing the dark clouds, stopping the torrential rain, calming the earthquakes, dredging the rivers…

Destruction was easy, but construction was difficult.

Peter and Steve had fought for only a few days, yet they had smashed the Americas apart. Resolving all these natural disasters one by one, however, would take a hundred times as long.

Peter had no choice but to first eliminate the major disasters. As for the smaller ones, they could wait until the New Nation had been established, when ordinary Magnetic Field Warriors could lead teams to deal with them.

One person could not rule a country. Therefore, the first thing Peter had to do was build his own team.

All the disciples at the Martial Arts School had died, but there were still many Magnetic Field Warriors in the world who had left the school and gone to other countries and regions.

Peter first took control of S.H.I.E.L.D. After piling the corpses of the dissenters high in the square, he successfully acquired his first group of subordinates.

Through S.H.I.E.L.D.’s channels, he issued an order to every Magnetic Field Warrior throughout the United States, commanding them to assemble in the new capital, Chicago, by a fixed deadline. Those who disobeyed would die.

When Peter and Steve had just begun their battle, communications had not yet been cut off, and everyone learned that the two had started fighting. Many people watched their terrifying destructive power through the satellite network. In fact, many understood that the current apocalypse had been caused by their battle.

Perhaps countless people cursed them in secret, but the Magnetic Field Warriors did not dare do so.

Only Magnetic Field Warriors understood most clearly how terrifying their own kind could be.

Although they did not know that Magnetic Field Warriors beyond the Tenth Heaven could read minds, they still did not dare refuse Peter’s orders.

Thus, within the allotted time, Peter was very satisfied to see that all the Magnetic Field Warriors in the Americas had come to report.

With this force backing him, Peter’s New America was successfully established.

There were no votes, no elections, and no public-opinion surveys. Everything was cast aside.

New America was an autocratic country ruled under Peter’s leadership and centered around him.

Peter was New America’s sole Fuhrer. There was no House of Representatives and no Senate. Every existing system was overthrown. The existing island groups were divided into territories, each directly managed by Magnetic Field Warriors, who handled both military and civil affairs and reported directly to Peter.

Whether Peter wanted it or not, he was now the de facto Emperor of the United States.

In the eyes of Americans who had been brainwashed by freedom and democracy for decades, this system was clearly a step backward in history and a regression of civilization. As a result, people rose up in revolt everywhere.

Some held demonstrations, some rebelled, and some declared independence… There were people and organizations employing every kind of countermeasure.

Although their methods differed, their outcome was remarkably consistent: they all became corpses.

Peter now understood Killmonger’s actions in Africa perfectly. If one wanted to unify people’s thinking in the shortest possible time, the best method was to silence the opposition completely, then execute a few as a warning to the rest and make the fence-sitters follow the prevailing wind.

There were also some Magnetic Field Warriors who did not approve of Peter’s actions and refused to slaughter civilians indiscriminately. They were then sent to Peter and buried alongside the civilians they had protected.

Since the purpose was to execute a few as a warning to the rest, it naturally could not be done secretly.

Every massacre was carried out under the watch of the media.

It had to be said that media workers were the most pragmatic group of people. At first, many in the media opposed Peter’s rule, but once these massacres began, every outlet was filled with praise and adulation.

They called it a successful suppression of rebellion, the elimination of terrorists, and the removal of separatist forces that intended to undermine national unity… In short, they specialized in keeping their eyes open while spouting lies, becoming Peter’s mouthpiece completely. They changed so quickly that even Peter could not find a few chickens to kill as a warning.

After initially consolidating the power of the state, Peter began purging the powerful families, great clans, and major capitalists who had once joined Hydra.

Because of the turmoil in the Americas, these privileged figures had fled in private planes. Aside from a small number of unlucky people who encountered natural disasters and died on the way, most had escaped unharmed and continued living in luxury abroad.

How could Peter possibly allow these bastards to remain at large? He therefore had the new White House office send letters to every country, demanding that they extradite the people on the list to New America by a fixed deadline. Otherwise, they would bear the consequences.

Killmonger in Africa responded first, tying up and packing off several Black tycoons who had fled back to Africa and sending them to the United States. He did not want to provoke Peter. If he angered Peter and Peter came to Africa again and smashed the continent to pieces, he would be left weeping in despair.

Europe had long since been overrun by dark creatures, and the governments of the various countries existed in name only. Dark creatures were best at bullying the weak, so after extorting all the wealth from the tycoons who had fled there, they sold them off as well.

Some dark creatures were stupid and unwilling to part with easy wealth, while others harbored a sense of luck, thinking they could hide in the cities and avoid being captured. As a result, Peter sent a group of Magnetic Field Warriors over and had the entire city massacred. The other dark creatures immediately fell to their knees in obedience.

As for the uproar, curses, and attacks against Peter and New America from the media of various countries, Peter did not need to act personally. The other Magnetic Field Warriors naturally displayed their own initiative and offered their loyalty to His Great Majesty the Emperor.

All the "Hydra remnants" who had been captured and brought back—the former rulers of this country and even of the entire world—had now become prisoners awaiting final judgment.

These scum who had once considered themselves superior and believed they were the masters of their countries were no different from ordinary people in the face of death. They begged for mercy, wagging their tails and exposing their ugly faces.

They were willing to surrender to Peter and become loyal dogs serving his rule over the world, just as they had surrendered to Hydra.

They were willing to offer up all their wealth, connections, resources… anything to exchange for their lives.

They were certain that as long as they remained alive, their profound understanding of how society operated, their superior insight, their vast intelligence beyond the reach of ordinary people, the secrets hidden in their hearts, and the abilities they had honed through years in high positions… Given enough time, all of it would allow them to rise again.

But none of it had any meaning to Peter.

They were not important to Peter in the slightest. Their deaths were what mattered to him.

Under the media’s watch and before all the people of New America, Peter held a public trial for all of them, exposing every one of their crimes to the public.

There were no judges, no lawyers, no court proceedings, and no defense. The Magnetic Field Warriors Peter had appointed simply read out the charges on the spot and killed them there.

Not one was spared.

The entire nation was shaken!

But no one dared act rashly again. The whole country appeared peaceful and prosperous, and everyone worked on post-disaster reconstruction under the leadership of the Magnetic Field Warriors.

Although it had suffered multiple apocalyptic natural disasters and Peter had ordered the execution of countless rebels, New America still had more than ten million people. Peter ordered these people to migrate together to several relatively large islands, where they would concentrate on building new cities.

With the population too small and the labor force severely lacking, Peter once again turned his attention to robots. He personally went to the Montana Prairie and dismantled several more of the remaining robot production lines, bringing them back.

With the newly produced robots, they finally completed the construction of several new cities.

After enduring all these hardships, the original discrimination and hatred completely disappeared in the new cities. Whether they were White or Black, whether they were of Canadian or Mexican descent, they had truly resolved the problem of racial discrimination.

After the cities were completed, Peter gathered all the scientists in the country at the Institute of Scientific Research and assigned them the highest-priority research mission: the Babel Tower Project.

Legend had it that, in the beginning, all humans could understand one another’s true feelings, and no misunderstandings arose. Later, humanity joined forces to build the Babel Tower, which reached straight into Heaven. To stop humanity’s plan, God made humans speak different languages, preventing them from communicating with one another. The plan therefore failed, and humanity scattered in all directions.

The purpose of this Babel Tower Project was to enable everyone to understand one another’s true intentions directly, without using language, just like the mind-reading ability of Magnetic Field Warriors.

The core of the project was the development of the Mind-Reading Machine.

People deceived and exploited others for reasons such as personal gain.

Peter believed that he could not turn everyone into good people who would never deceive others, but he could make it so that people would no longer be deceived.

Mutual deception and exploitation between people were carried out through verbal misdirection, insinuation, and other methods. They relied on the fact that one could know a person’s face but not their heart, exploiting the trust between people.

But once the Mind-Reading Machine had been developed, Peter would distribute this machine to every individual. Then everyone could clearly hear the thoughts of others and understand their true intentions.

That way, whenever someone tried to scam another person, they would discover that the other party could completely understand their true intentions through the Mind-Reading Machine, making it impossible to deceive them.

Through this method, everyone could be forced not to lie. Over time, through subtle and continuous influence, the desire to deceive and exploit others could be completely eradicated from everyone’s minds.

After all, educating the people through moral means was fundamentally impossible, and Peter did not believe that the populace could be that self-disciplined. Using a method that allowed people to understand one another’s true feelings to indirectly eliminate deception and exploitation was therefore the best approach.

Although this Mind-Reading Machine could not read minds as completely as a Magnetic Field Warrior at the Tenth Heaven, and its performance would be weaker, it could still detect a person’s genuine thoughts from the recent short term.

But that was actually more suitable.

If it were too powerful and allowed everyone to know one another’s secrets, leaving no privacy at all, it would go too far in the opposite direction.

In the New World, the Mind-Reading Machine would be widely distributed, and the way society functioned would immediately change as a result.

Anyone who attempted to obtain power through democratic elections would reveal their true inclinations the moment they opened their mouth, and would immediately be despised by the entire population. Only those who genuinely wanted to help the people would stand out and win their trust.

When businesspeople met, they would immediately know each other’s bottom lines. There would be no need to waste time probing one another, the bargaining process could be omitted, and inefficient practices such as wining and dining could be canceled as well.

Workers would no longer have to rack their brains wondering whether there was some deeper meaning or implication behind every sentence their bosses said. At a glance, they would know whether a boss was making empty promises or setting a trap. Kind businesses could thrive for a long time, while unscrupulous bosses would have only one path left: bankruptcy.

The media also became completely restrained, no longer daring to fabricate news recklessly just to attract attention. In the past, spreading a rumor took only a few words, while refuting it took endless effort. Now, before news could be released, the editor-in-chief had to scan the reporter with the Mind-Reading Machine first. Otherwise, when the time came for the reporter’s head to be cut off, no one would plead for mercy on his behalf.

When a smooth-talking handsome man pursued a beautiful girl, was it true love or did he merely want to trick her into bed? Everything would be determined by the thoughts transmitted through the Mind-Reading Machine. Wealthy young heirs would no longer need to agonize over whether she loved them or their money.

As for whether the products sold by companies on the market were genuinely effective or simply scams, one only needed to use the Mind-Reading Machine to tell the difference. Ordinary consumers would never again need to worry about being deceived by unscrupulous merchants. All excuses and denials would be meaningless.

All illegal and criminal acts would no longer require sharp-tongued lawyers to argue over them. Whether someone had committed a crime could be known simply by listening. Future judicial workers would only need to study how to improve the law under the new social system. The legal profession disappeared completely from the New World.

Thanks to book friends Rampaging Black Bear, Meow-Squeak Alien, and Idealism for the rewards!