Chapter 38: Failed Prank

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Failed Prank

Daniel pushed the meteorite forward from behind.

Maybe it was because he had become younger after transmigrating, or maybe his brain had regressed along with his age, but he seemed to be acting more and more like a chuunibyou teenager these days.

"Superman, charging in! Go, go, go!"

Daniel shouted nonsense behind the meteorite.

Although he hadn’t been away from Earth for very long, he was already starting to miss life back home.

Outer space was simply too lonely.

The scenery never changed.

Silence and emptiness stretched endlessly in every direction.

There was nobody to talk to and nobody to share the experience with.

He could only entertain himself.

Stay in space long enough, and it could drive a person insane.

’It would be nice if someone could come out here and play with me,’ Daniel thought.

He pushed the meteorite forward at tremendous speed while carefully avoiding satellites.

Not because he was afraid of them.

But because getting photographed would create all kinds of annoying problems.

Soon, Earth’s gravity captured the meteorite.

A little more than ten seconds later, it no longer needed Daniel’s help and began accelerating towards Earth on its own.

Daniel checked Wakanda’s location and nudged the meteorite several dozen kilometers to the right, lining it up with his target.

Although Wakanda was hidden beneath its energy shield and couldn’t be seen from space, Daniel remembered the surrounding terrain well enough to locate it.

Once the meteorite entered Earth’s atmosphere, friction ignited it.

A blazing trail of fire erupted behind it.

Thinking himself very clever, Daniel hid inside the fiery wake.

Unless someone looked very carefully, they wouldn’t notice him at all.

The meteorite continued descending.

As Earth rotated beneath it, the impact point gradually shifted.

Daniel had to adjust its trajectory several times.

...

By now, it was already the next day on Earth.

Carol was having breakfast with the royal family of Wakanda.

Since Daniel had disappeared for the entire night without warning, King T’Chaka felt Carol might feel lonely eating by herself, so he had invited her to join them.

Throughout the meal, Carol looked worried.

"Don’t worry, Carol," T’Chaka said reassuringly.

"Daniel will be fine. With his strength, there’s nothing on Earth capable of harming him."

The king had great confidence in Daniel.

Based on everything he had witnessed so far, he felt that unless Daniel did something incredibly foolish, getting injured was practically impossible.

"Yeah..." Carol forced a small smile.

She knew better than anyone how powerful Daniel was.

Aside from Daniel himself, she was probably the only person on Earth who understood his abilities the most.

Even so, she couldn’t stop herself from worrying.

The main reason was simple.

Daniel had always been by her side.

Now he had suddenly disappeared for an entire night.

The change felt strange.

Breakfast had just ended.

Carol was preparing to excuse herself and return to her room to wait for Daniel when alarms suddenly blared throughout the palace.

Woooooo...

Woooooo...

Woooooo...

The warning sirens echoed everywhere.

"Stay calm!"

T’Chaka immediately steadied the queen, who looked startled.

"You all stay here. I’ll find out what’s happening."

With that, he rose from his seat and headed toward the exit with his guards.

"I’m coming too."

"So am I."

Carol and T’Challa spoke at exactly the same time.

"Then follow me."

The king didn’t hesitate.

The queen stood there holding the infant Shuri, staring blankly as they left.

"What? Everyone’s gone?"

"Wait for me!"

Not wanting to sit around anxiously waiting for news, she hurried after them with baby Shuri in her arms.

When they arrived at the command hall, T’Chaka immediately spotted the captain of the guard.

"Report."

The king’s voice was calm and steady.

The captain answered at once.

"Your Majesty, one of our satellites has detected a meteorite heading directly toward Wakanda."

"How large?"

"Over ten meters in diameter."

T’Chaka frowned.

"That’s not exactly small."

He immediately asked, "Can the shield stop it?"

"It’s difficult to say."

The captain looked serious.

"This meteorite is unusual. It appeared suddenly, and its velocity is extremely high. If it impacts the shield at its current speed, the energy released will be enormous."

"So there’s a chance it could break through?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then destroy it."

T’Chaka slammed his hand down decisively.

"I will not allow the people of Wakanda to face even the slightest risk."

Hearing the exchange, Carol suddenly thought the king looked incredibly cool.

Even with his round belly.

The admiration in T’Challa’s eyes was obvious.

The queen’s expression wasn’t much different.

"How long until impact?" T’Chaka asked.

The captain checked the data.

"Less than five minutes."

At those words, the king’s body visibly staggered for half a step.

He quickly coughed.

"Ahem... Then what are you waiting for? Destroy it immediately!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The captain saluted and hurried away.

As he walked, he issued commands through his communicator.

"Prepare all batteries. Fire laser interception systems in three minutes. Bring it down!"

Throughout Birnin Zana, anti-air defense towers rotated toward the sky.

Their weapons locked onto the incoming target.

"Come on," T’Chaka said to Carol and the others. "Let’s go outside and watch."

He smiled.

"Maybe we’ll even get to see a beautiful firework display."

The group left the hall and entered the plaza outside.

A few moments later, the captain returned.

In his hand was a control device.

"Your Majesty, you’ll have the honor of firing the interception system personally."

T’Chaka smiled approvingly.

’Excellent.’

’Who else should handle this kind of moment if not me?’

"How much time remains?"

"Thirty seconds, Your Majesty."

"Good."

As the countdown entered its final ten seconds, T’Chaka raised his head proudly.

"Wakanda forev..."

Before he could finish, the captain suddenly shouted.

"Your Majesty! We have a problem!"

T’Chaka’s smile immediately vanished.

"What now?"

His tone carried a trace of annoyance.

He had only just started thinking highly of the captain.

And now the man had interrupted his dramatic speech.

"The meteorite changed direction!"

"...What?"

T’Chaka’s hand twitched.

He nearly dropped the controller.

"It was originally heading towards the plains outside Birnin Zana."

The captain’s face had gone pale.

"Now it’s changed course."

"Changed course?"

"Yes."

The captain swallowed.

"It’s heading directly for Birnin Zana."

A brief pause followed.

Then he added.

"If our calculations are correct..."

"It’s aiming for this plaza."

...

High above, Daniel noticed the trajectory was still slightly off.

So he casually pushed the meteorite another five or six meters to the right.

...

What?

T’Chaka nearly lost his footing.

"Then recalibrate the cannons immediately!"

"They’re already adjusting!"

"How long?"

"Approximately eighty seconds!"

"Good."

The king quickly regained his composure and discreetly glanced around.

Fortunately, nobody seemed to have noticed his earlier panic.

The countdown resumed.

"Ten... nine... eight..."

"Three... two... one..."

T’Chaka pressed the firing button.

This time, nothing unexpected happened.

The interception laser fired perfectly.

Everyone could already see the massive fireball blazing across the sky.

"Enjoy the fireworks," T’Chaka said with a smile.

He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wakanda Forever!"

"Wakanda Forever!"

Everyone except Carol mirrored the gesture.

...

Meanwhile, Daniel was preparing to stop the meteorite.

It was getting too close now.

If he waited any longer, something might actually go wrong.

Leaving the fiery trail behind the meteorite, he moved alongside it.

Then he noticed something strange.

"Huh?"

A beam of light was racing toward him.

Daniel blinked.

"What is that?"

While he was still confused, the laser arrived.

By an incredible coincidence, it struck the meteorite and grazed Daniel at the same time.

BOOM!

The meteorite exploded into countless fragments.

The debris scattered across Wakanda’s energy shield, where it was harmlessly blocked.

Caught completely off guard, Daniel lost his balance when the laser clipped him.

Before he could recover, he slammed directly into the shield.

Face first.

THUD!

A loud impact echoed through the air.

Daniel’s entire body flattened against Wakanda’s energy barrier like a giant human sticker.