Ten Heroes (Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter)

"I think this would make an excellent secret operations base."

Green Arrow pulled back his hood and looked over the Batcave’s layout.

Its style was very similar to his own base. All he could say was that they had indeed been taught by the same teacher.

"Got any alcohol? If not, let’s wrap this up quickly. Those elders still don’t know I slipped out."

Arthur sat carelessly on the table and shouted.

"Mr. Arthur, since Master believes alcohol affects his judgment, the Batcave does not keep much liquor in stock. However, if you would like some, I can prepare some for you to take back. It is all fine wine."

Alfred emerged from a corner with tea in hand, smiling warmly.

Shimizu did not look around like the others. He merely swept the Batcave’s layout with the Transparent World, then began assessing the others present.

Batman and Superman were hiding in a corner, doing who knew what. Green Arrow was discussing the base’s decor with The Flash, and Diana soon joined them. Arthur was telling Alfred what kinds of liquor he liked.

Including himself, there were eight people.

These were the Justice League’s first members in this world.

Since Arthur had limited time, the eight of them did not drag things out for too long.

"Forming an alliance?"

Wonder Woman crossed her long legs and glanced around at everyone.

"I have no objections."

Arthur shrugged.

Before setting out, he had already discussed it with Mera and his mentor, Vico.

It would be best for him to join this alliance. He could serve as outside support. While he could not directly interfere in Atlantis’s internal affairs, he could draw upon this powerful alliance for assistance in external matters.

Arthur did not really care much about such things, but Mera was the woman he liked, and Vico was his teacher. Since the two of them had asked this of him, and were smarter than he was, he would listen to his external brains and do as they said.

The others had even less reason to object.

Superman and the young Flash, both sunny-hearted people, felt that everyone was friends. Batman was the advocate, Green Arrow believed that many troublesome matters could not be resolved by himself and required powerful allies, while Shimizu simply wanted the Destiny Value.

The only one who needed convincing was Diana.

"We are not forcing members to do anything. There are no restraints, Diana."

Batman spoke to Wonder Woman.

"All actions are voluntary. The purpose of forming this alliance is merely to bring together like-minded people. No matter how powerful an individual may be, there will always be dangers they cannot handle alone. That is why we have gathered: to confront incidents that threaten Earth and humanity."

"That sounds good. As long as it truly is as you say, then I’m in."

Diana spread her palms.

Batman nodded heavily at her.

To Batman, every person present was, in fact, a threat.

But protecting Earth required powerful allies like these.

At the very least, Batman believed he needed a way to reasonably monitor, guide, unite, and understand these powerful beings.

And, incidentally, devise several contingency plans for each of them.

By the time they had discussed the alliance’s basic charter, more than an hour had passed.

After discussion, the alliance would first establish a secret Hall of Justice in Gotham as its headquarters, providing some members with necessary logistical resources and the like.

Shimizu and Batman would jointly fund its construction.

Current Destiny Value: 58.31%

Wade Tower, Shimizu’s personal office.

"The Space Watchtower? A human space project jointly developed by Wayne Enterprises, Wade Group, and Queen Group…"

Shimizu flipped through the proposal in his hands.

"I intend to make this watchtower the alliance’s true base. The one on the ground will serve as a cover."

Bruce Wayne had changed out of his Bat suit and was now seated in Shimizu’s office in a tailored, high-end suit.

"There will be threats from other races in the ocean, and humanity will also face threats from other races in space. Take the diplomatic envoy sent by the Ancient Eastern Kingdom to participate in these negotiations, for example. So we must develop space capabilities as well, as a response.

"In my vision, the watchtower will serve as Earth’s first line of defense when facing threats from space."

Bruce spoke to Shimizu as he read through the proposal.

"The Ancient Eastern Kingdom?"

Shimizu closed the proposal curiously.

"Yes. This time, the Atlanteans also deployed some forces to land along the southeastern coast of Asia. However, what they faced was merely a feint. The main defensive force consisted of the local military, an official organization from the Ancient Eastern Kingdom called the Zi Qiang Department, and several of their cultivation sects."

"Do you have any information on them?"

"Yes. All the data I gathered is in here."

Batman took out a USB drive.

Shimizu did not dare accept it.

If he used that USB drive, Watos would probably end up infected with a virus.

"Just tell me directly."

"They are too far away, and we have had little interaction with each other, so I will only mention some of the more important points. For example, the Zi Qiang Department is an official response department established by the Ancient Eastern Kingdom to deal with supernatural disasters.

"Two forces in particular deserve attention. One is Kong Kenan, from a sect called the Yi Jing Sect. You can regard him as the Ancient Eastern Kingdom’s Superman. He has two forms, Yin and Yang. Combined, the abilities of both forms grant him the power to wield the Eight Trigrams. Do you know what the Eight Trigrams are? They are—"

"I know. Eight symbolic principles the Ancient Eastern Kingdom developed to explain the world and summarize its composition."

Shimizu interrupted him.

He knew quite a bit about that stuff.

Not only did he have memories from his previous life, but it was also connected to Sealing Technique—there was plenty in Sealing Technique concerning the Four Symbols, Five Elements, and Eight Trigrams. It was said that the Hyuga Clan of Konoha also used their Gentle Fist in conjunction with the Byakugan according to the Eight Trigrams positions.

"Besides him, the Zi Qiang Department also has a woman named Peng Dailan and the Ten Heroes. Peng Dailan is said to be a Green Snake from some legend who cultivated into human form. As for the Ten Heroes, you can ask Oliver when you have time. One of his teachers is Yao Fei, one of the Ten Heroes.

"The representatives the Ancient Eastern Kingdom sent to negotiate with the Atlanteans this time are two of the Ten Heroes: Fang Zhifu and Chen Nuo. Both came from the Ancient Eastern Kingdom’s military. The former is a general, while the latter is an air force pilot. During one mission, they came into contact with extraterrestrial power and gained superpowers."

"Fine. No need to go on about so much. I have no objections to developing space technology. As for building this watchtower, with Superman around, it should be easier."

Thank you, dear readers! One thousand monthly tickets!