msmithbooks Chapter 122 A Hug for the Loneliest You, Our Superman
Chapter 122 A Hug for the Loneliest You, Our Superman
Chapter 122 A Hug for the Loneliest You, Our Superman
Deep in the universe.
Brainiac's skull-shaped spaceship.
呲......
One by one, the metal tentacles reconnected to the pink connector on Brainiac's green head, and the broken expression and hysterical madness faded from his face.
Brainiac sat back on his throne, his expression surprisingly becoming somewhat amused.
interesting.
That's really surprising.
Brainiac lowered his head, then beckoned, and Black Zero, which he had shrunk and stuffed into the bottle, sidled up to him like a puppy.
Brainiac leaned closer to his face like a primary school boy observing ants, watching the Kryptonian's movements inside the bottle.
The Kryptonians on the Black Zero ship all rushed out of the ship in a frenzy. They desperately pounded on the transparent force field wall formed by the shrinking light. Their originally earth-shattering strength, after being shrunk, was like crickets trapped in a bottle pounding against a glass wall.
Brainiac moved his fingers, and the "bottle cap" was opened. A force field beam captured Ur, Krypton's current chief scientist, pulling him out of the bottle world and restoring him to his normal size.
"It's you, Brainiac!"
Upon seeing Brainiac for the first time, the Kryptonian scientist pulled a dagger from his waist, but instead of stabbing him, he swiftly attempted to slit his own throat.
Unfortunately, such suicidal behavior had no effect on Brainiac.
Brainiac even had the leisure to comment on him:
"You're the third Kryptonian scientist to try to commit suicide in front of me, but you're the worst I've ever seen."
"Compared to the elaborate suicide methods of your predecessors, you seem far too barbaric and frugal. After all, are you the last immigrant to Krypton? Even your technological means have regressed."
"No! Please, don't do this—"
Brainiac comforted him, "It's alright, it'll be over soon."
"you……"
But Ur didn't have a chance to say anything more. Dozens of metal tentacles spread towards him, filling his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes in just a few seconds.
"No, it's overflowing! It's completely full, no! Aaaaaaaahh ...
Gumbling—
A chilling, sucking sensation emanated from those dozens of tentacles, and Brainiac's eyes rolled back.
"Kryptonian knowledge..."
"Even stronger computing power..."
More!
With a thud, Ul collapsed to the ground, completely drained, his mind blank.
The knowledge remained in his brain, but his once agile mind was now like a rusty gear, with his creativity, imagination, and calculation abilities all suffering devastating damage.
Wisdom has departed from him, leaving only the remnants of past glories and the known realms that can never be updated.
But Ur didn't care about any of that anymore; all he wanted now was to survive.
He was genetically programmed to be a scientist, but unlike combat scientists like Jorel, he was just an ordinary Kryptonian.
"Brainiac, spare me! I'm a Kryptonian, and I'm a very precious thing to you..."
Ur struggled to find the words, but all he saw was Brainiac reaching out a hand and placing it on his head.
"It's alright, I've already read through your memories and know the key to resurrecting the Kryptonians: the Primordial Chamber and the Codex of Life."
"They're all on Earth. Once I get them, the Kryptonians can make as many as I want."
"But before that," Brainiac said, "I need your help."
"What...what kind of busy?"
"Look."
Countless materials were rolled up by nanobots and built and shaped in front of Brainiac.
Ur began to tremble, for he soon realized what was in front of him.
"No, you can't do that!"
He grabbed Brainiac: "Please, my genes weren't encoded as a warrior. I'm not a suitable candidate for modification. And my knowledge of it isn't 100% accurate, so..."
But his pleas had no effect whatsoever.
When the enormous modified culture dish took shape, Ur was grabbed by the face by Brainiac and thrown inside with a thud.
"Of course I know that what I've modified is likely to be a defective product, with less than 60% of the original's strength. I also know that it seems a bit too ambitious to start putting what I've just learned into practice."
"But unfortunately, I have a grudge against someone now, and I have to settle it right here and now."
Brainiac said, "Even a weaker version of Doomsday should be able to meet my requirements."
……
……
……
Clark Kent stood up.
He had already seen countless soldiers approaching the place where they were fighting.
One armed helicopter after another, messengers running around shouting orders, and negotiation experts meticulously refining their scripts.
Superman let them prepare like industrious ants.
General Ryan went to the front lines under these circumstances.
He stepped off the helicopter and faced Clark Kent in the middle of a scene of devastation.
Sam Lane was dressed in a military uniform, his black hair mixed with a few gray hairs. This did not make him look old, but rather made him look sharper and stronger with age.
He squinted and observed for a moment the enormous Batmobile behind Clark, which had risen upright and was launching into the sky.
What attracted his attention even more were the two Kryptonians handcuffed to the ground with Kryptonite handcuffs.
Then Sam Lane said:
"I'm sorry we're meeting for the second time under these circumstances."
Superman remained noncommittal. If Batman hadn't remained fixed to the ground like a signal tower, he wouldn't have considered contacting Ryan and the others.
He waited for Ryan to continue.
"Let me add what we didn't get to say in our rush when we first met."
Zod slowly woke up beside him. He silently observed Sam Lane and Superman, who were subtly at odds.
"Since World War II, there have been many cases of humans acquiring superpowers, but you are the first unfamiliar visitor from outside the country. Why have you come here?"
Clark glanced at the countless soldiers surrounding him out of the corner of his eye.
He noticed that the general's gaze kept wandering between the powerless General Zod and Ek, which made his heart sink slightly.
He said:
"I may indeed be different from you, Your Excellency. But I didn't just arrive here. I grew up here. I want to use my abilities to contribute to society, just like you and your men."
"Yes, helping others. I've heard about it, Superman." General Ryan nodded.
"But the key question is, why did you come here? What do you want to get from us?"
Superman stared at the camera on his collar. The other person noticed his gaze and tightened his grip. "That's right, many important people want to see your face. Please forgive my intrusion, let's get back to the point—"
"You are not a U.S. citizen."
Clark frowned. He sensed something unfriendly in those aggressive words.
Zod let out a sneer. He struggled to sit up, leaning against the still unconscious Ekko; his body, weakened by Kryptonite, made him dizzy. He groaned softly, yet with a hint of pleasure, and said:
"They don't even consider you one of their own, Karl. They only fear you, you traitor, do you see? Do you understand?"
Clark certainly heard Zod's words, but he ignored them. He said:
"I consider myself an American."
"But you're not. You can fly, lift cars overhead, and burn anything to ashes with your gaze. What else can you do?"
"I can still save lives, inspire people, and cut down evil, I think."
Clark said, "I can do all the good things I can imagine."
"But you're an alien."
Lane pressed on: "Did you tell Louis Lane? Because I saw you two getting along quite well. What would an alien want from my daughter?"
Sam Lane pulled out a stack of newspapers that read: "Louis Lane Exclusive: Meet the New Savior—Superman!"
Superman closed his eyes, then opened them again.
"Very well. I didn't intend for things to get so tense, General. But this conversation is starting to feel like an interrogation."
"This is interrogation, Superman," Samline said.
This remark immediately created tension. Even though Superman hadn't done anything, the soldiers around General Ryan instinctively raised their guns.
Then General Ryan's tone softened slightly: "I'm not unaware that this is extremely inhumane, especially considering what you and Batman just did."
Then the tone hardened again: "But I'm sorry, there's no room for complacency in any of this. Humans must be responsible for their own safety."
He said, "This is the conclusion we reached after discussion. I'm afraid we'll have to take those two Kryptonians behind you with us. We need to know exactly what we're facing."
Seeing that Superman didn't react, General Ryan gestured with his eyes, and a soldier tried to drag the two Kryptonians away. General Zod didn't say a word; he just looked at Clark Kent with a mocking gaze.
Ba-da.
Soldiers and Superman passed each other.
Then Clark grabbed his arm.
The soldier's profile, hidden beneath his helmet, met Clark's reddened eyes.
"Are you planning to stop us, Superman... or as I'll call you for now?" General Ryan said.
"This is treason."
Clark ignored the threats and went straight to the point.
"General, what will become of Zod?"
General Lane did not answer Clark's question; instead, he asked him in return:
"If you were to handle it, what would he do?"
"I will re-exile him to the Phantom Zone. A twisted, multidimensional prison."
"And those people won't let you take these two intruders away," General Ryan repeated. "My orders are to take both of them."
Clark keenly noticed the subtle change in the subject of General Lane's statement.
He was silent.
Will Zod be dissected? Will he be studied? Will he suffer inhumane treatment as a test subject?
General Ryan also fell silent.
Superman's eyes flashed red, and countless people held their breath.
General Ryan answered slowly, word by word:
"I swear by Almighty God and my deceased mother. I'm afraid I have to answer you honestly..."
"Yes."
In an instant, General Lane's headset burst into a cacophony of noise: "Sam Lane! We have not authorized you to reveal such state secrets to Superman—"
"The conclusion we reached at the meeting was..."
"...You have blatantly violated the prepared battle plan...Our experts told us..."
"You will be court-martialed—a military court-martialed!"
Sam Lane remained expressionless. He reached down, removed the headset, and slowly slipped it into his jacket pocket.
"I'm a soldier," Sam Lane said. "It's either victory or defeat, or peace. There's no fourth option."
"So make your choice, Superman."
He said:
"Either let us take them away, or go to war with us."
With Clark's hearing, he could certainly hear the noise coming from those earpieces.
With Batman absent, Clark finally used his super brain and came to a conclusion:
"Samline probably disagrees with those in power, but he is powerless to stop their decisions."
"So he deliberately provoked me into war with the army, hoping I would prove my strength to those in power and deter their foolish actions and demands that only angered me?"
"No, of course, there's another meaning." Clark's super brain worked at lightning speed, and in an instant he grasped the other meaning.
He discovered that without Batman around, he became more than 10 times smarter.
"If he discovers that my strength is not as great as he expects, and that I might even be killed by the army, then he wouldn't mind arresting me directly and trying to extract as much value as possible from me and Zod and the others..."
Then he heard General Zod's laughter:
"Hahahaha! How ridiculous, Karl El! You just saved this world from my grasp, and for that you were attacked alongside me!"
"But what did you get in return?"
What will this world give you in return?
Zod spat out a thick waft of cold phlegm, and his speech became much smoother:
"They'll never consider you one of their own, Karl Al! Everything you do is just self-pity. No matter what you do for them, you'll always be an outsider in their eyes! They'll never love you, everything you do is in vain!"
He shouted in a frenzied, ecstatic rage:
"Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! You'll never have a good ending, no one will accept you!"
Seeing that Clark ignored him, Zod's voice grew even louder.
Kryptonite weakened his body, making him acutely aware of his frailty, but this only drove him further mad; he knew he had failed.
He knew that whether Karl El made the decision or a human made the decision, he would not have a good ending.
Therefore, he only cursed viciously:
"Speak up! Why aren't you saying anything? You've noticed it too, haven't you? You understand now—they haven't killed you right away only because you're very strong!"
The moment you show the slightest sign of weakness, those very humans you've been desperately protecting—those filthy, laughable humans—will immediately rush up and tear you apart, skin you alive, and rip your bones from your skin!
He let out a laugh like an owl:
"They don't love you! They don't love you! Hehehe—Karl—El!"
"That's enough!"
Clark said.
General Ryan also heard Zod's words, but a complex expression of emotion only appeared on his face for a second.
"Crush the army behind me," he said. "Let those in power see how formidable you are. That's the best way I can think of."
He took off his hat: "It's the only thing I can do."
"So, please." General Ryan lowered his head, staring blankly at the newspaper in his hand.
The caption read: "Louis Lane's Exclusive: Meet the New Savior—Superman!"
He muttered to himself in a low voice:
"Our new savior, our savior. Fight us now! Use overwhelming force to crush our ambitions, our filth, and our darkness!"
"I'm sorry. Please."
He prayed softly.
General Zod's eyes gleamed with gleeful hatred: "Everything is exactly as I said."
"Oh! Our lovely savior, look at you, you are covered in wounds for them. You love humanity so much, but humanity—"
"No~ I love you!!!! It's so funny, so ironic, hahaha, hahaha, ahahaha!!!"
He shouted with jubilation, and as he shouted, the soldiers behind General Ryan raised their guns, and tanks were driven close, their cannons rotating, aimed directly at Superman.
"Look! Look!"
"You did so much for them, but what did you get in return? A weapon pointed directly at you?"
Clark's gaze lingered on the raised muzzle of the soldier's gun.
"Intrigue and scheming? A naked desire to dissect you? Or a gaze filled with hatred, fear, and dread?"
"Stop talking, Zod," Clark said. "I know everything. I've thought about this before, and my parents have told me about it before."
He hovered, speaking as gently as possible to the soldiers who had raised their guns:
"I will only destroy your weapons, but I will never hurt anyone. You don't need to be afraid of me."
But all that responded to him was the trembling body of a soldier.
So the god of the mortal realm sighed.
Under the protection of several other burly men, General Ryan quickly retreated to the rear.
Soon, only the voices of Superman and General Zod remained in the center of the arena:
"Hahahaha! Karl! What else can humanity give you besides these disgusting things?"
The soldier released the safety on his gun.
"What else could there be?"
Clark's eyes lit up red.
"What???"
Time seemed to stand still at that moment, and everyone heard someone whispering in their ears.
"There will also be a hug."
Clark turned his head and saw Chen Tao, swirling the drifting black sand and pulling at the clear sunlight like the sky, coming for him in the gentle breeze and drizzle.
His gaze was so pitiful and tender that it made one feel somewhat intoxicated.
"There will be another embrace, our savior, our god. After I've dealt with what's in front of me."
He passed by the Superman who was floating in mid-air, shielding his steel body behind him, and faced the long guns and short cannons of numerous soldiers.
"It seems I missed something when dealing with Brainiac."
He looked around at everyone: "So now, can someone answer me—"
The dinosaur's sharp teeth appeared on his upper jaw as silver particles refreshed his body, causing it to swell into a green dragon form.
A tube for injecting venom protruded from his back, and a black and white hood was woven over his face, with strands pulling out two pointed ears.
The enormous Tyrannosaurus Rex spread its wings, composed of black nanobots, and emitted a low, deep roar, like muffled thunder:
"What do you want to do to my Superman?!"
……
……
……
"Lord Ryan!"
Sam Lane was escorted to a safe location in the rear by the soldiers. As soon as he entered the command room, a messenger came to report.
"We've captured a Kryptonian, the female adjutant from the intelligence."
General Ryan immediately replied:
"Okay, I understand. Is there anything unusual?"
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency."
The messenger told Ryan, "A purple monster has attacked our troops."
Sorry, I fell asleep again yesterday and only just finished writing this. Waaaaah. I wrote an extra 1000 words as compensation.
And recommending books to friends!
Title: A Cat's Journey Through Anime and Manga Starting with One Person
Summary:
This is a little cat's journey through various anime and manga, starting from the world of "Under One Person".
Tentative titles include *Under One Person*, *Lanxi Town* (a prequel to *Luo Xiaohei*), *Luo Xiaohei's War Chronicles*, and *Fox Spirit Matchmaker*.
(End of this chapter)