In 1982, Raven tracked the League of Assassins, passing through Siberia, the Altai Mountains, the Tianshan Mountains, the Loess Plateau, across East Asia, and detouring through Myanmar, the Philippines, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Niger, Nigeria, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives… More than a hundred countries. All had League of Assassins strongholds. The scale of the organization was unimaginably vast.
She traveled nearly halfway around the world and finally, in the Arabian Peninsula, she sensed a faint trace of Trigon's aura. There, she discovered the headquarters of the League of Assassins and located the Lazarus Pit, a magical pool laced with the aura of Trigon. This mystical pool could prolong life and heal injuries. Raven sighed in relief and sealed the Lazarus Pit.
But in the end, the cunning Ra's al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins, managed to escape.
Later, Bardi personally took action and located him. The man who had managed to contend with Batman for so long, the father-in-law of Batman, was crushed to death by Bardi with one hand, dying without any resistance.
After that, Bardi took control of the League of Assassins, along with the vast wealth it had accumulated over hundreds of years. In that same year, he rose rapidly to power.
In 1983, at the beginning of the year, Universe Group officially changed its name to Barmulodi, directly named after Bardi, bearing the Ω symbol. Across industries—finance, trade, computing and networking, he created the world's first home computer, popularized electronic information globally, directly replaced Bill Gates, released the world's most widely used operating system, launched the world's first portable mobile phone, and rendered the bulky first-generation cellphones obsolete.
In metallurgy, petroleum energy, plastic materials and manufacturing, real estate construction, electronics, home appliances, trade and shipping, healthcare, food and catering, microelectronics and information product manufacturing, aerospace, atomic energy, modern pharmaceuticals, new materials, heavy machinery, and the electric power industry—every core industry and heavy processing sector—Bardi had gained deep influence.
This year, he single-handedly triggered a new era for the entire planet. The technological leap was staggering. Every day, across the globe, various degrees of progress unfolded. This kind of development was terrifying. It seemed as if every country suddenly had a great visionary, a super scientist, an agricultural reformer, an industrialist, or financier leading them in sync with the world's direction.
The whole world evolved by following in Bardi's footsteps.
Inexplicably, the world began to leap forward. Countless people, confused, followed the rhythm of this sudden evolution. Under Bardi's leadership, a collective fervor emerged.
In 1984, scientific, experimental, and application satellites bearing the Ω mark were launched into the sky. Nearly every day, one or even two satellites were launched under Bardi's command.
At times, the craziest thing happened... Bardi would hold two satellites in his hands, launch himself into Earth's orbit, place them, descend, and fly up again. In a single day, he could place up to twenty satellites into low Earth orbit. If not for his employees being too exhausted to keep producing satellites fast enough, Bardi could have launched hundreds in a day.
By 1990, he had over 1,780 satellites orbiting the Earth—more than half of all satellites—monitoring the globe and establishing his global network.
That same year, Lex made a great contribution. When Bardi asked what reward he wanted, Lex replied:
"I need the wisdom to match yours."
Upon hearing this, Bardi immediately modified his brain synapses, enabling Lex's brain to compute at nearly the same level as a basic computer, vastly surpassing the average human.
At the same time, Lex began to lose his hair from brain overuse.
In 1985, with Bardi's push into the Soviet Union, some began to realize Bardi wasn't truly human. This caused panic, speculation, and deepened the Cold War against the United States.
With Bardi's interference, the Soviet Union disintegrated early. He took tyrannical control of five countries and rose to dominance over a war-torn African empire. The oil-rich Middle East, long coveted by the United States, also fell under his direct control.
Nearly fifteen nations came under Bardi's direct rule. His indirect control through capital influence extended into countless others. Wherever the Ω symbol appeared, countries were caught off guard.
Bardi's forward-thinking vision allowed him to completely direct Earth's development. Everything involving technological progress over the coming years was forcibly accelerated under his will.
Lex continued to go bald.
In 1986, many of the heroes and villains Bardi had collected gradually matured into usable assets. But as Bardi created Kryptonian warriors, biochemical soldiers, Archons, and other genetically engineered beings using the Codex of Life chamber, these locally sourced heroes and villains became weak in comparison.
When facing the world, their individual combat power was far too insignificant. They could only handle minor tasks, serve as strategic pawns, or be forerunners.
Lex went full bald.
In 1987, Bardi directly took control of a nation through capital manipulation and became its president. At first, it seemed ordinary. But when he transformed the country into an absolute monarchy, nearly 23 million people became his citizens. The world trembled at the news. The United Nations nearly issued a unified condemnation, shaking the Earth and bringing the world to the brink of a third world war.
Ultimately, through Bardi's intervention, the UN Security Council did not pass the resolution. Bardi officially became king of a sovereign nation.
This was because the UN Charter states that national sovereignty is inviolable, and that sovereignty must exist to protect human rights. When sovereignty becomes a tool to destroy human rights, the Charter loses its validity.
Bardi had invested massive funds to build up this nation, pulling it from the depths of war. He became their savior. With minor control, he turned them into fervent followers and supporters.
Though Bardi had orchestrated the war in the background, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 300,000 civilians due to the conflict between two regimes, he ultimately emerged as king.
This triggered alarm across many major powers. Only then did they realize that every single thing used in their countries—from high-end instruments and aerospace technologies to everyday household pots, bowls, and chairs—were either embedded with Bardi's mark or tied to Bardi through shared interests.
Suddenly, those with insight and understanding realized the massive global structure Bardi had laid.
Using one country as a test case, he had gauged the world's reaction. It left the world breaking into a cold sweat.
In truth, Bardi had already measured the depth of Earth's power structure.
The U.S. government was shocked by Bardi's influence and realized he had reached an international level.
1988... This year, Metropolis, where Bardi was based, was designated a special administrative zone by the U.S. government.
1989... This year, Batman emerged in the night of Gotham! At the same time, Wayne Enterprises was brought down by Bardi. Batman only operated for three months before being hunted by Bardi and vanishing.
1990... The heroes of the world began to gradually emerge.
1991... This marked the beginning of the magical era. By this time, Bardi had created more than 7 million Kryptonian gene warriors across the world.
1992... The world entered a period of prosperity. This year, Atlantis and the two ancient Amazonian kingdoms officially emerged and announced their participation in the United Nations.
The deep waters of the Earth began to stir.
(To be continued.)
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