World Traveler Villain-Chapter 198: CH: 196 The Departure PlansAnd Trunk and Branches

{Chapter: 196 The Departure Plans

And Trunk and Branches}

"William, you should take a few people with you—at least the strongest among us. That way, we'll feel a little more at ease," Peggy said softly, her tone a delicate mix of worry and determination. She stood close to him, her fingers lightly brushing his sleeve as if afraid he might vanish at any second.

William turned to her with a warm smile, catching the way her eyes lingered on his. "The strongest ones, huh?"

Terry nodded and gestured toward the two women. "Alice has unmatched reflexes, and Ada is a tactical genius."

"Agreed," Jill added, folding her arms. "If you're going into a new world—especially that one—you'll need them."

Su Yueming stepped closer, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked at William earnestly. "Even though I want to go with you too... I know I won't be much help in a fight. I don't want to slow you down. Just take those who can really support you. We'll wait here."

Alice stepped forward, her striking eyes steady and full of unspoken emotion. "I won't let you worry, William. I'll protect you just as fiercely as you've protected all of us."

Ada chuckled and tilted her head. "Same here. I didn't spend years mastering everything from hacking to infiltration just to sit on the sidelines now."

A murmur of agreement swept through the rest of the women.

"You should take them, William," Claire said. "You'll feel better, and so will we."

"Yeah," Tessa chimed in with a faint pout, "even if I want to sneak into your luggage and go too..."

William smiled, folding his arms and pretending to be reluctant. "You all seem very eager to shove me out the door. Is this a subtle way of saying I'm getting annoying?"

"No," Su Yueming replied with a small laugh, "this is our way of saying we love you and want you to come back in one piece."

Alice reached out and gently took his hand. "You'll come back, right? Promise?"

Their eyes met. There was a long, charged silence between them before William finally nodded. "Of course. I'd tear that world apart if it tried to keep me from coming back to you."

Ada smirked. "You better. I'll be keeping score."

"Well, since you all insist, who am I to argue?" William said with a grin. "I'm just a simple man... completely outnumbered by my wives."

Alice and Ada both smiled, "Don't worry, I will definitely not hold you back."

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Just then, Crosshairs chimed in from the side, posing dramatically. "Boss! Don't forget about me! I could be your personal chauffeur! Stylish, cool, sleek... I'm the total package!"

Su Yueming chuckled. "He's not wrong. A Transformer might be useful, especially in a world like that."

"What the mistress says is law!" Crosshairs said proudly. "Boss, let me show you how smooth a getaway vehicle can be!"

William groaned but couldn't suppress a grin. "Fine. Let's take the car, but don't get all clingy. I'm not into guys, and you're not even human."

"I love you too, Boss," Crosshairs replied dramatically.

"No, I'm not gay, and my partner is not a Transformer." William waved his hand.

White Queen stepped into the conversation with her usual calm confidence. "Realistically, the one you should absolutely take with you is me. I have such strong intelligence, and I can do many things for you: analysis, simulation, research, manufacturing. I can do all these. Are you going to leave your talent unused?."

The other women nodded in agreement. "She's right," Jill said. "She's helped you with so many things."

William nodded thoughtfully. "For sure, it's still up to you how T-cells and Transformium cells combined together."

White Queen gave a satisfied nod. "If the Marvel Main World truly contains advanced technology and superhuman research facilities, then I'll gain even more knowledge."

"Yeah, it's definitely high-tech," William replied. "It's like Disneyland for people who love science and destruction."

"Perfect," White Queen said. "I can learn new knowledge from it and constantly improve myself."

William turned to the group, nodding decisively. "Alright then. I'll take Alice, Ada, and White Queen."

"Boss! What about me?" Crosshairs cried again.

"You're the car, not the passenger. You're coming whether you like it or not," William said with a smirk.

Meanwhile, little Becky was tugging on Alice's sleeve, her eyes glimmering with unease. "Daddy... Mommy... you're going away again?"

Alice kneeled down and cupped Becky's face gently. "We'll be back soon, sweetheart. You'll stay here with your aunties, and they'll take good care of you."

Becky's lips quivered, but she nodded. "Okay... But you have to come back. Both of you. No dying again."

That simple sentence made everyone freeze for a moment.

Tessa leaned in curiously. "Sister Alice...So, is Becky actually your and William's daughter? You two don't look alike."

Becky pouted, puffing out her cheeks. "I'm not their real daughter. I have no blood relationship with Mommy and Daddy. Their clones were my mom and dad. I was created with implanted memories. But I don't care. They're my mommy and d@ddy now."

Jill raised an eyebrow. "That's... complicated."

White Queen stepped in with her usual cool clarity. "William and Alice both had clones—biological copies enhanced with combat protocols and emotional bindings. Becky was part of that project. She was implanted with a set of nurturing memories and bonded with those versions. After their deaths, she encountered the originals and, due to memory imprinting, continued to regard them as her parents."

Becky nodded fiercely. "That's right! I don't care what anyone says! They're my family now!"

Alice pulled her into a hug, gently rubbing her back. "And you're ours. No matter what."

Tessa tilted her head thoughtfully, her fingers resting lightly on her chin. "So that's how it is... I think I understand now. It feels almost magical—like something out of a dream, or a story you read as a child but never expect to live."

"Magical or not, it's a complicated kind of magic," Su Yueming said with a faint smile, then looked at Becky with a teasing expression. "Becky, just remember—your so-called dad is not a good guy. Don't let that innocent smile of his fool you."

William rubbed the bridge of his nose and gave a helpless chuckle. "Su Babe, that's slander. Please, let's not tarnish my glorious image as the best dad ever—especially in front of the kids. The children must be protected from the brutal truth."

"Don't call me 'Babe'—ugh, that's so irritating!" Su Yueming gave him a mock glare, though her lips twitched slightly at the corners.

Becky giggled and glanced up at William. "Daddy is a bad man... but I still like him the most!"

Her innocent proclamation stunned the room for a moment, then melted hearts. William's expression softened as he gently ran his hand through her curly hair, crouching down to meet her eyes. "My sweet little girl. Daddy likes you, too. You're my favorite troublemaker."

"See?" Su Yueming muttered. "Even his 'like' has layers of meaning. Alice, you better keep an eye on your daughter—or otherwise someone will be a monster."

Alice smiled warmly, crouched beside Becky, and brushed her daughter's hair back with motherly tenderness. "Don't worry. I've got her. No monster transformations allowed under Mommy's watch."

"I'll help, too," Tessa added as she bent down to give Becky a hug. "She's such a lovely sister can't be ruined."

"You evil people, what kind of thoughts do you have?" William dramatically placed a hand over his heart. "You're all conspiring against me. A council of beautiful, dangerous women planning my moral downfall... the irony." William shook his head.

"You are the most evil person, don't say you have no idea about Becky." Jill said contemptuously. "You're already fallen, William," Jill said with a sharp smirk. "Don't act like you're the victim here."

"And don't pretend you're not aware of how twisted this looks," added Terry with a laugh. "We all remember what Becky said before—she wanted to marry her father, didn't she?"

"Yep, she said that to all of us faces at once," K-Mart chimed in with a grin.

Everyone laughed, while Alice rolled her eyes affectionately. "You aunts are really worried, but can you all please stop planting strange ideas in her head? Becky is still young now, don't tell her these messed up things. Let her dream about being a princess or a

superhero, not... this mess."

"Okay, okay. Mommy has spoken," Su Yueming said, raising her hands in mock surrender. "We shouldn't get involved."

Ada, who had been quiet for a while, turned to Su Yueming with a puzzled expression. "You know, William... I've been meaning to ask. How is it that I look exactly like Yueming? It's not just a passing resemblance—it's exactly the same beside some body propositions."

"I also want to know the answer to this question. We are obviously not from the same world.." Su Yueming was also puzzled.

William glanced between the two of them. It was uncanny. Two different women from entirely different realities, yet nearly identical in appearance.

White Queen analyzed: "In William's world, you guys are characters in two different movies, but it's the same actor playing you."

"I've thought about it a lot," Su Yueming said softly, frowning as she looked at Ada. "I grew up with my own memories, my own family, my own pain and triumphs. It doesn't make sense. I'm real. I feel real. The idea that I'm somehow just... someone else's character? That doesn't sit right with me."

Alice and the other woman nodded in agreement, their expressions solemn.

"That's right," Jill said. "We bleed, we cry, we fall in love. We're not cardboard cutouts or figments of someone's imagination."

Alice and other girls also nodded, "That's right, we should not be characters played by others, this is unreasonable."

White Queen, who had been silently processing the discussion, finally spoke. "From my analysis, the answer may lie in the theory of overlapping parallel worlds. In the reality William came from—the one we call the 'original' or 'root' world—you two were merely characters in fiction, portrayed by the same actress. But that doesn't invalidate your existence here."

White Queen paused, her tone growing more introspective. "If anything, it suggests something deeper: that the so-called fictional worlds aren't fiction at all. They're branches—offshoots of reality. Each 'story' is a world in its own right, and this space we're in now, this Villain Space, is like the connective tissue. A bridge that threads between realities."

"Wait," Ada leaned forward, her brow furrowed. "Are you saying the movie world I came from isn't just a made-up story—it's actually a parallel world?"

"Yes," White Queen confirmed. "A world that evolved on its own, complete with history, sentience, and emotion. Your memories are real because that world is real."

She turned toward William. "And the world you came from—the one that created those movies, comics, and books—that's the trunk of the multiverse tree. A primary world. It births narratives that splinter into reality in other branches."

William whistled low. "So, according to you my world—the one I called 'real'—was just the trunk. The anchor that props up everything else?"

White Queen nodded again. "Yes. Without the trunk, the branches wouldn't exist, but neither could the tree be a tree without the branches. Both are real, both valid. Your memories are just as authentic as theirs."

The place fell silent as everyone absorbed the implications. Worlds within worlds. Lives that were thought to be fiction existing independently and with full agency. For some, it was a terrifying revelation. For others, strangely comforting.

"So... we're all real?" Becky asked timidly, looking around at the adults with wide eyes.

Alice pulled her close, holding her firmly. "Yes, sweetie. You're real. We all are."

Becky looked up at William again. "Then can I really marry D@ddy?"

William laughed awkwardly, ruffling her hair. "Let's... talk about that when you're older."

Su Yueming rolled her eyes. "Much older."

"Maybe in a few centuries," Terry added with a grin.

Becky frowned, clearly displeased with the postponement, but said nothing more, curling into Alice's arms instead.