: No means no.

Chapter 39: No means no.

The night grew deeper. Gotham City's streets were usually deserted at night, and now they seemed even more desolate. Shadows silently shrouded the area, with only pitch-black darkness and the flickering lights of neon signs illuminating the night.

A bright light flashed in the darkness; it was a red and silver mech. A jet of flame trailed behind it, and sparks crackled and popped from the bottom of its right foot, its propulsion flames flickering intermittently. Its entire body swayed as if its center of gravity was unstable.

After flying for a short while, a beam of white light shot from the other side of the night, piercing through the armor and entering it. Countless light particles condensed and combined, transforming into a human shape, its form perfectly fitting into the hollow of the armor.

Shen You, who had transformed back into human form from the photon state, opened his eyes. The built-in UI interface was displayed on the monitor in front of him, and the built-in identity recognition authentication was successful.

"Welcome back, sir," Pal's gentle voice rang out. "Managed mode deactivated, switching back to manual operation."

Upon regaining control of his battlesuit, Shen You suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, as if his predecessors had finished defeating monsters and flown back to their mobile suits to mislead their teammates about what they had been doing during the three minutes they had been AFK.

Thinking about it this way, the fact that the transformed vehicle is still flying in the sky is quite rare compared to its predecessors. Victory Eagle fell silent upon hearing this, while Flying Swallow No. 1 wept. Shinjo Daigo shouted overnight, "Don't believe or spread rumors—how can a plane survive a battle without crashing?"

"The anti-radar system is functioning normally, and stealth mode has been activated."

"Very good. Go back and check the data from this trip."

Upon returning to the lab, he eagerly accessed the collected combat data, conducting a detailed analysis and evaluation of both the armor and the enemy's capabilities.

"The tactics were effective, but there is still room for improvement," Shen You reflected and summarized. "The main methods used this time were all sensory-based, and the approaches were somewhat repetitive."

"If we can find different entry points and design more methods, it should be more effective."

"The main issue, however, is the armor."

Previously, his true potential wasn't apparent because the opponents he faced weren't strong enough. However, after testing him in actual combat against a high-level opponent, it was discovered that there are still many areas for improvement in his first-generation mobile Ultra Armor.

The main problem is probably with the materials.

The components were easily damaged by the opponent's superhuman strength, mainly because the purity of Ni metal was too low and its hardness was insufficient. Ni metal is a cosmic-level artifact; theoretically, even Superman couldn't easily break through its defenses with the purest Ni metal.

More importantly, N metal has top-notch magic resistance. As an M78 alien whose civilization talent mainly focuses on technology, magic can also be dealt with, but it is also a slight weakness compared to technology. Therefore, it is better to stack magic resistance as high as possible.

Shen You thought for a moment, then left the laboratory and went to the kitchen.

The old wizard Shazam was reclining in his chair, squinting as he intently studied a cookbook titled "3600 Home-Style Dishes" in his hands.

She seems to have completely embraced her role, and lately she even appears to be somewhat obsessed with modern culinary trends.

Upon hearing Shen You's question, the old wizard didn't even look up, continuing to look at the recipe as he said, "That's all."

"Is it really gone?" Shen You asked, unwilling to give up.

"That's all."

"Not a single drop left?"

"Not a single drop is left."

Shen You thought for a moment, then casually remarked, "I suddenly remembered that the new oven from Wayne Group seems quite good. We're considering getting one for our shop."

The old wizard trembled, suddenly looked up, and a glint of light flashed briefly in his eyes.

But it was fleeting. He quickly buried himself in his recipes again, looking like a wise hermit, calmly stroking his large white beard.

"Just a creation of mortals. A great wizard needs no external aids. Why would you think I'm interested in such things?"

Shen You found it amusing. He'd practically stared wide-eyed when he saw the new oven on TV that day, and now he was still being so stubborn?

But he remained outwardly calm, only feigning regret: "Oh, I was planning to buy one tomorrow, but if you're not interested, that's fine. It'll save you some money."

"I apologize for disturbing you, senior. Please continue."

He turned and prepared to leave.

Upon hearing this, the old wizard immediately sat up straight.

"Wait a minute, come back!" The old man's eyes darted around as he said, "I've been thinking, and some of the creations of mortals are quite interesting. Though they may not be as wise as those of wizards, it wouldn't hurt to give them a try."

Shen You looked at him with a smile.

The old wizard, somewhat guiltily averting his gaze, said, "But N-metal is truly gone."

Before Shen You could utter another word, he immediately changed his tone: "But I know where there are more."

"Oh?" Shen You became interested.

Nitrogen is one of the most common god-tier materials in DC Comics, but its commonness is relative to other similar materials. Shen You could immediately recall places in the original comics where Nitrogen appeared, such as the Batcave, the Justice League Watchtower, or in Hawkman's possession.

Anyway, after ruling out other possibilities, it seems that none of these places exist at the current time.

"I once fought alongside the Greek gods, who commanded a valiant army," said the old wizard. "A force of the bravest female warriors, protected by the gods and never aging."

"Paradise Island?" Shen You's eyes lit up.

"Huh?" the old wizard exclaimed in surprise. "You know?"

"certainly."

It's impossible for any DC Comics fan not to know this. Paradise Island is the hometown of Wonder Woman, Diana Prince, an island protected by the Greek gods.

The island was inhabited entirely by immortal female warriors who called themselves Amazons. Their island was shrouded in magical mist, and once you left it, it would disappear from sight. Finding your way back was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Does Paradise Island have nitrogen (N) metal?

This is indeed a blind spot in Shen You's knowledge.

However, Amazons are notoriously averse to men, so even if N metal really exists, acquiring it would probably not be easy.

Of course, we can figure that out later. First, we need to know where Paradise Island is.

Do you know where it is?

"I don't know," the old wizard said, shrugging.

Shen You stood up as if to leave, muttering to himself, "I suddenly remembered that the shop's finances have been a bit tight lately."

"But I can calculate it," the old wizard quickly said.

"Hmm?" Shen You sat back down. "I heard that no one can find the way to Paradise Island?"

"Ha, that refers to mortals." The old wizard confidently stroked his large beard.

Shen You immediately thought that, in the early comics, it was said that Wonder Woman could never return once she left the island, but in later stories, she would still frequently return to Paradise Island. It seemed that the mystery wasn't so absolute; it just required the right approach.

"You can calculate the coordinates of Paradise Island?" Shen You asked in surprise. "Are you that amazing?"

The old wizard leaned back tactically: "What do you mean by Supreme Wizard?"

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you." Shen You smiled. "Let's buy a new oven now. Uh, wait a minute."

Shen You thought for a moment, then peered through the X-ray machine at the trash can next to the kitchen.

"Huh? Where did it go?"

The old wizard blinked: "What are you looking for?"

"That flyer, the one advertising the ovens. You can get a discount if you bring that flyer."

Shen You frowned.

"That's strange, I definitely threw it here today?"

Since being reborn as Ultraman, he hadn't forgotten or misremembered anything in a long time. He replayed the scene from earlier today in his mind, confirming that he had indeed crumpled up that piece of paper and thrown it in this trash can.

The old wizard stood silently by, casting a spell. He made a hand seal with his left hand, then flipped his right palm, releasing a surge of magic. A crumpled piece of paper floated lightly into his hand.

Shen You stared at the crumpled piece of paper and remained silent for a few seconds.

"So," he finally couldn't help but ask, "you took this piece of paper from the trash can?"

"No." The old wizard's gaze drifted elsewhere. "It's just a simple locator spell. There's nothing I, the wizard Shazam, can't find."

Shen You looked at him with a suspicious expression.

"Young man, why are you staring at me like that? Just say no, and that's it!"

The old wizard was so angry he blew his beard.

"Alright."

Shen You nodded and took the crumpled piece of paper from his hand.

Then let's just pretend it doesn't exist.

(End of this chapter)