Just call me Thor

Chapter 581: The hope of humanity rests on you, Joseph



"Neigh-"

The "dead man" turned into a horse!

A wild horse bolted out of the funeral home, disappearing into the night.

Joseph: ...

He wanted to chase after it, but how could he possibly catch up to Maxen?

More importantly, Joseph realized something terrifying:

He had really encountered Apollo!

Why Maxen turned into a horse, or what he planned to do as a horse, were secondary

concerns.

The most critical issue was the presence of Apollo himself!

What should he do next?!

Countless thoughts flashed through Joseph's mind, leaving him frozen in place, dumbfounded.

Apollo glanced at the mess on the ground, shook his head, and said, "Let's go."

Since there was no longer a dead person, there was no need for him to offer prayers for the deceased.

It was time to go home and sleep.

Shadow Two followed behind Apollo, frantically making eye contact with Joseph, trying to signal him.

Joseph was equally desperate.

What could he do?

Kill himself on the spot to entertain everyone?

"Please wait!"

Joseph blurted out, his mind still blank.

Fortunately, Shadow Two's brain-split into two personalities-worked faster than most. She quickly added,

"Do you have more dead people who need a priest's prayers?"

Joseph: ...

Even if he wanted to find another dead person, it would be difficult.

Although he didn't fully understand what was happening, Joseph realized one thing:

Apollo seemed to think of himself as an ordinary person. He had kept Shadow Two by his side,

set up a fortune-telling stall during the day, and acted as a priest at night...

Was he short on money?

Joseph mustered his courage, stepped forward, and forced a smile.

"Well, uh... if you're offering prayers, you should be compensated, right? Travel expenses, yes, travel expenses!"

Apollo shook his head. "I walked here."

Joseph's mind raced, and suddenly, everything became clear.

"Forget travel expenses-how about a tip? You should at least accept a tip."

Apollo seemed to consider this.

Seeing that Apollo didn't outright refuse, Joseph began pulling out cash. He placed over $40,000 in front of Shadow Two.

"This is all my savings. It's yours."

Shadow Two looked at Apollo. "Third aunt, can we take this money?"

Apollo replied with a question, "Why don't you perform a talent show?"

Shadow Two's eyes lit up. She immediately pulled her head off her shoulders and started

kicking it around like a soccer ball. She performed with such enthusiasm that she nearly kicked her head into a sewer drain.

Apollo nodded.

"Since it's a tip from the guest, you can accept it."

With that, he led Shadow Two away.

They hadn't done anything, yet they left with over $40,000.

Walking under the dim streetlights, Apollo led the way while Shadow Two followed behind, counting the money and muttering,

"Third aunt, let's get a bigger house. The old one's too cramped for the three of us..."

Joseph remained rooted in place, questioning his life choices.

Once Apollo was out of sight, Joseph snapped out of his daze and immediately called Foreskin.

Joseph recounted his experience in detail.

Foreskin was already numb.

Shadow Two goes crazy and meets Apollo.

Maxen pretends to be dead and meets Apollo.

So, unless your brain is a little broken, you can't trigger this quest?

"Got it. I'll handle it."

Foreskin hung up and sighed deeply.

He knew in his heart that this time, Shadow Two's insane logic might actually be correct.

Only by living like ordinary people-experiencing birth, aging, illness, and death-could they have a chance of encountering Apollo.

"Birth, aging, illness, and death?"

A spark of inspiration flashed through Foreskin's mind.

As the second-in-command of Mystic Market, Foreskin knew Apollo well.

After all, only a handful of people interacted with Apollo regularly.

Foreskin was certain of one thing: Apollo hadn't come to the mortal realm just to observe.

If Apollo wanted to observe the mortal realm, he could do so from anywhere.

He came to experience it.

Foreskin's thoughts became clearer as he approached the truth.

What does the mortal realm have?

Birth, aging, illness, and death.

Shadow Two represented illness, and Maxen represented death.

That left birth and aging as the two remaining keys!

Foreskin grabbed his phone and started making calls.

"Buy out all the maternity wards and nursing homes in Florida!"

Foreskin was confident that this time, he'd find his boss!

The Next Day.

Outside a hair transplant clinic in Florida, a heated argument broke out.

A middle-aged man was fuming, shouting angrily,

"You said you could do hair transplants! I even brought the ad from the bathroom!"

The man had striking features, a sturdy build, and simple clothing, but he was incredibly

generous with his money.

He had only one request: a full head of hair.

The hair transplant doctor was equally frustrated.

"You're just here to cause trouble, aren't you?"

"You're completely bald! Where am I supposed to get hair to transplant?"

The middle-aged man was furious. He pointed to his shiny bald head and argued

passionately,

"Don't talk nonsense! I still have a dozen hairs left, and they're alive and well! How dare you

call me bald?!"

Nova Voidwalker, an Ultimate Lord who dominated the abyss and was invincible below the level of a Demon God, had one lifelong grievance: being called bald.

The two sides exchanged heated words for half an hour before the argument finally ended.

"Getting angry is bad for your health... bad for your health..."

Nova Voidwalker muttered to himself as he walked down the street, trying to calm down.

Stress could lead to hair loss.

For the past few days, he had been stationed near Florida. Yesterday, he received a bizarre

order:

Enter Florida and live like an ordinary person. Unless humanity faces annihilation, do not

intervene.

Living like an ordinary person wasn't a problem for Nova.

If he were to become a normal person, the first thing he'd want to do was... get a hair

transplant.

But his immense power had turned his scalp into an impenetrable defense, making it

impossible for hair to grow.

Hair transplants were out of the question.

Still, Nova was obsessed with the idea of having hair...

As he passed a wig shop, he couldn't resist going inside to browse.

Just then, a loudspeaker outside caught his attention.

A woman's voice, shrill and slightly deranged, shouted,

"Fortune-telling, five dollars per session! Priest prayers, guaranteed to cure all ailments!"

The voice sounded familiar.

What truly piqued Nova Voidwalker's interest was the claim of curing all ailments.

Baldness... surely that counts as an ailment, right?

Nova Voidwalker hurried outside and saw a middle-aged man and a lunatic walking down the

street.

Both looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't identify them.

"Huh?"

The bald Nova stared at the peculiar duo, suspicion in his eyes. He tentatively asked,

"Excuse me, priest... can my hair grow back?"

Hair growth?

Shadow Two stared at the bald man, feeling like he looked familiar.

The bald man was having the same thought about her.

Unbeknownst to them, a mysterious force had enveloped Florida, subtly altering reality.

Yesterday, Joseph had been able to recognize Shadow Two and Apollo.

But now, Nova Voidwalker-far stronger than Joseph-couldn't recognize them at all.

In fact, the stronger someone was, the more they were affected by this mysterious force.

Apollo looked at Nova and asked, "Why do you want your hair to grow back?" Nova sighed and replied helplessly, "I used to have hair. Now I don't." Apollo continued, "You used to be weak. Now... you're still weak. Do you want to go back to

how you were before?"

To Apollo, the difference between a Level 1 Nova Voidwalker and a Level 994 Nova Voidwalker

was negligible.

Nova shook his head. "Of course not."

Apollo seemed puzzled. "Hair?"

If you don't want to return to your weaker self, why do you want to return to your hairier self?

"That's different!"

Nova frowned, frustrated.

"Hair looks good. Being bald doesn't."

Apollo asked again, "Who are you trying to look good for?"

Nova Voidwalker froze.

For others?

Did other people's opinions really matter to him?

As one of the most powerful beings in existence, Nova had no reason to care about others'

judgments.

He had unmatched strength, no fear of death, and a prestigious status.

He had risen to prominence late, missing the Blood War, and had never endured unbearable

suffering.

Among humanity's many powerhouses, Nova Voidwalker's happiness index was undoubtedly

the highest.

If he took a few more steps forward and reached Level 1000, he could ascend to the Heavenly

Realm.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Other people's opinions had long ceased to matter to him.

"I... I guess it's for myself?"

The middle-aged man said nothing.

The lunatic moved.

Shadow Two dragged over a mirror, shoved it in Nova's face, and shouted,

"Then look at yourself!"

Nova stared at his bald reflection.

Slowly, his scalp darkened, and hair began to sprout.

In no time, he had a full head of black hair. Suddenly, Nova Voidwalker found the hair annoying.

He had grown accustomed to his bald head and hadn't realized how ugly he looked with hair.

He raised his hand and gently brushed it across his scalp.

The hair fell away, leaving him bald once more-except for the dozen or so hairs that had

been with him for years.

Nova let go of his attachment.

The moment he truly let go, the Temple of Truth appeared in the void, its doors slowly

opening as if inviting Nova Voidwalker to ascend.

Apollo glanced at the temple.

Pop-

Like a bubble bursting, the phantom vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

When Nova Voidwalker came back to his senses, the middle-aged man and the lunatic were

gone.

All that remained was a floating mirror and a pile of hair on the ground.

Looking at his newfound strength, Nova's lips twitched as a terrifying thought crossed his

mind.

He... had encountered Apollo.

But why... couldn't he remember anything?

Apollo and the lunatic continued walking down the street.

But this time, something was different.

As people passed by Apollo, they transformed into various animals-dogs, cats, birds, and

more.

Yet the moment they moved half a meter away, everything returned to normal.

No one noticed anything unusual.

The two walked through the bustling streets of Florida, clearly visible yet completely

unnoticed.

Meanwhile, as Shadow Two and Apollo continued their stroll, Foreskin contacted Joseph

again.

"Joseph, there's something you need to prepare for..." Foreskin's tone was grave, and Joseph straightened up, listening intently.

"This morning, we gathered enough evidence to confirm that Nova Voidwalker likely

encountered my boss..."

Foreskin's voice was filled with bitterness, as if he couldn't believe what he was saying.

"But Nova didn't recognize my boss-or Shadow Two!"

Joseph exclaimed, "How is that possible?!"

The duo was far too conspicuous.

Even if Nova Voidwalker couldn't recognize Shadow Two, as a fan of Apollo, how could he fail

to recognize Apollo himself?

Joseph was full of questions. How could this happen?

Then a bigger question arose in his mind:

Why was Foreskin telling him this? Foreskin answered his unspoken question. "We suspect my boss's talent is nearing its final awakening."

Apollo's talent, [The Heart of Omnipotence], was an SSS-level ability.

All SSS-level talents, upon their final awakening, gained a passive effect that was indiscriminate and all-encompassing.

Morpheus had it. Ares had it.

Even the white horse, when idle, wandered through the river of time.

Few people knew that Apollo's talent had not yet undergone its ninth awakening.

Because he hadn't yet figured out the final question.

Apollo didn't know whether he was a butterfly dreaming of being human or a human

dreaming of being a butterfly.

Only when he resolved this question could he take the final step.

In the past, this secret was known only to the highest-ranking members of humanity. Joseph

was not among them.

Now, Foreskin's sudden mention of it caught him off guard.

Joseph felt overwhelmed and asked bluntly, "What can I do?"

Foreskin replied slowly,

"Under Professor Gregory's guidance, we conducted some tests. When my boss's talent's

passive effect is active, anyone below Nine-Star Lord falls into an unconscious state."

The strange scene Shadow Two had witnessed on the street was a result of this.

Foreskin continued,

"As for Nine-Star Lords and above, their strength makes them more susceptible. They lose

the ability to recognize my boss entirely."

Hearing this, Joseph began to understand why Foreskin had contacted him.

Foreskin sighed.

"We now need a very special Nine-Star Lord-someone strong enough to resist the passive

effect's range but not so strong that their perception is altered." Foreskin paused, then spoke with utmost seriousness: "The hope of humanity rests on you, Joseph!"