The next day, Lois Lane once again led Superman to a military base at the military's request.
Their stated reason was the one Lex Luthor had provided: they wanted Superman to help them study the Kryptonian world-shaping engine and spaceship that had crashed, so they could understand Kryptonian technology and better prepare for future alien defenses.
Given that Faora had left with the remaining Kryptonian forces, Superman didn't refuse. He wanted to live on Earth like a normal person and be accepted by its inhabitants. However, he possessed immense power, and there was the threat of his own kind from outer space. Therefore, he had to maintain trust with official organizations, at least to a certain extent, allowing him to assist with matters that didn't cross his moral lines.
That same evening, after Superman had left, at the harbor connecting to Metropolis, Lex Luthor, dressed in a suit, watched workers unload a container from a truck.
"The surveillance footage has been copied, Lex." A blonde woman in a business suit handed Lex Luthor a USB drive.
Lex Luthor inserted the USB drive into his laptop, opened the surveillance video, and dragged the progress bar. He saw Superman and masked military personnel entering the Kryptonian spaceship's cabin, and he nodded in satisfaction.
"Eve, encrypt the contents, and upload them to LexCorp's military project reserve database. Remember, use the old one, don't upload to the new one. Then, extract a few photos showing Superman's face and location, and contact a few newspapers that have good relations with us. Also, immediately transfer the remaining Zod blood."
Lex Luthor closed the video and looked at the container. Workers were welding thick lead plates onto its exterior.
Zod's body hadn't fallen into the hands of the military or Lex Luthor, but in Metropolis, with the influence of both parties, if they put in the effort, they could find blood left behind by Kryptonians who were injured during the battle at the original site.
Eve Teschmacher, Lex Luthor's trusted secretary and mistress, took back the USB drive and turned to leave. At that moment, the container was loaded onto a cargo ship—a cargo ship whose next destination was Gotham.
Lex Luthor watched the cargo ship depart, then turned his gaze back to the laptop on the table. Surveillance footage was playing in real-time. In the enclosed space, under dim yellow light, a two-meter-tall oval sphere pulsed rhythmically like a heart. Through the thin, translucent gel, a hideous, ferocious monster could be clearly seen incubating. This was what was inside the container.
...
...
"Bruce! I think you need to see this!" Barbara's call from the Batcave drew Batman, who was updating some plans, over to her. "You have to see this plan and video. It's LexCorp and the military's latest collaborative project. It looks like they're trying to create a biological weapon?"
Bruce Wayne, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, stood behind Barbara's seat, having just finished his workout.
"Initiate Virus No. 13 to unlock encrypted files."
"You put a virus on LexCorp's servers when you were in Metropolis last time?"
"Just did it on a whim."
Batman narrowed his eyes as he read the decrypted report. He trusted no one, not even Superman or himself.
"Bruce, what should we do next?"
"I'll investigate first. Regardless, some things must be done: destroy any potential biological weapons, confiscate all items related to Kryptonian technology, and prevent this kind of thing from happening. At the same time, we need to remain vigilant and have a backup Plan B. I'm not sure if Lex Luthor intentionally leaked this to me to achieve some goal, because if I were him, I'd definitely be using a new server right now to reduce the possibility of a virus intrusion."
"Okay? Do you need my help with Plan B?"
"Just keep monitoring relevant information."
Meanwhile, several carefully selected and edited images were delivered to newspaper offices and various news outlets. People always loved a good spectacle. Some reporters were even hoping for the biggest possible story.
The next day, when the topic of "Superman and the military jointly researching biological weapons" appeared in newspapers and on television, public opinion instantly erupted across the internet. Some supporters believed this was a precautionary measure for the next alien threat, while opponents argued it was an extremely dangerous move that could bring significant harm to humanity. Guided by unseen hands, both sides voiced their opinions loudly, leading to heated arguments. The more intense the arguments, the greater the impact.
As for the person at the center of it all, he had already returned to the military base.
"Hand over that Kryptonian experimental subject, or I'll take it myself."
With his red cape fluttering, Superman hovered in mid-air, looking at the soldiers and officers of the military base with a mix of anger and calm.
He felt like he had been played.
"I'm sorry, we don't know where that thing is either. I've already had people remove all the lead shielding in the base; you'll be able to see everything here very soon."
The base's military commander calmly addressed Superman.
"Perhaps you've hidden it somewhere else?"
Superman questioned.
"But that thing truly isn't in our possession, nor did we create it. The most likely person is Lex Luthor; he entered there the day before you, and he's also the one who invited you here."
The commander decisively sold Lex Luthor out.
Superman scrutinized the brigadier general.
His heart rate and the micro-expressions on his face indicated that the man wasn't lying.
Then, his eyes glowed red.
The brigadier general gasped, and all the surrounding soldiers raised their guns, aiming at Superman.
But Superman didn't attack them. Instead, he fired his heat vision into the ground, at the spot that had blocked his X-ray vision.
After about ten seconds, a large crater melted into the ground, and all the underground facilities used to store the Kryptonian spacecraft wreckage were destroyed.
"Mr. Superman, these are national assets; you shouldn't have done that!"
The brigadier general's face darkened.
No matter the reason for Superman's actions, he was definitely going to face repercussions.
"I'm sorry, Brigadier General, but these are Kryptonian assets, and they are my spoils of war. I believe I am more qualified to decide how these things are used. They should not be used to produce such dangerous weapons."
Superman shook his head at the brigadier general, then flew into the sky, creating several sonic booms.
"Sir, should we send someone to apprehend Lex Luthor?"
A lieutenant colonel asked the brigadier general.
The brigadier general shook his head.
"No, someone went as soon as the news broke, but Lex Luthor has disappeared."
Writing plots that involve characters with high intellect is always the most brain-racking…
The intelligence of the characters in a book depends on the author's intelligence. Lex Luthor and Batman are set to have peak human intelligence, incredibly high IQs.
But I, the author, only have an ordinary person's IQ.
Sometimes, when it comes to plots involving them, trying to make it fit their character settings and motivations is really a headache. That's why I feel these two chapters aren't as smooth as the ones from a few days ago, because I have to figure out how to write two people whose intelligence is far superior to mine…
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