Chapter 80: Where's My Armor?
Everyone could hardly believe their eyes.
The room in front of them was a truly indestructible fortress, one that could even withstand a howitzer bombardment.
And yet, this Alien had just walked out so casually?
Especially since Superman's pace was unhurried, as if he were strolling through a garden. The image was so impactful that for a moment, it was as if a series of jaws could be heard hitting the floor.
The Researcher at the console remained frozen, his hand hovering over a button. When he noticed Superman's gaze sweep over him, he shuddered, ducked his head, and quickly stood up, offering the chair behind him.
"Please, sit, please sit," the Researcher said with a forced smile, sweat beading on his forehead.
Superman gave him a slight smile, thinking to himself that this man was a researcher, after all—much more polite than that General.
Then again, it was probably hard for anyone to be impolite when facing Superman.
"Thank you, but that's alright. You can sit," Superman said politely, then turned his head toward General Lane and spoke gently.
"Like I said, I just want to talk. It's true I'm from another world, but I grew up on Earth. I just want to do good…"
"Do good, huh. Alright."
Although General Lane was also shocked by Superman's monstrous display, he still met his eyes without fear. He casually grabbed a newspaper and slapped it on the table.
"So you approached my daughter to 'do good' as well?"
It was a copy of the Daily Planet, the headline an exclusive report by Lois Lane, titled, "Meet Metropolis's New Savior: 'Superman'!"
"Uh… Miss Lane and I just have a lot in common, that's all," Superman said, scratching his head.
The Farm Boy felt a little guilty saying this, because he had indeed been paying a *tiny* bit of attention to the general's daughter.
"A lot in common? What could an Alien possibly have in common with my daughter? What do you want from her?"
Superman's eyes narrowed, the smile vanishing from his face.
"I'm sorry, General, but I said I came to talk, not to be interrogated. I thought we could understand each other. It seems it would be best if I left."
As he spoke, he was already taking a step to leave.
General Lane shouted, "If you leave here, you will be considered an enemy of this nation!"
Superman paused his steps and slowly turned his head.
All the soldiers caught in his gaze shuddered. American soldiers were notoriously ill-disciplined, and the more timid ones among them could barely keep a steady grip on their guns. Some even shot pleading looks at the General, their expressions practically begging, *Sir, just let it go. If you want to get yourself killed, that's on you, but don't drag all of us down with you! Who's going to be responsible for collecting the corpses?*
To be fair, the General's courage in the face of such power was commendable, but his actions were truly baffling. As an Earth General, it wasn't entirely wrong for him to be wary of Superman, based on the principle that 'those not of our kind are sure to be of a different mind.'
However, acting in secret was one thing; provoking him to his face was another matter entirely. Taunting him from a few steps away was like a three-year-old threatening a UFC champion with a bubble gun. The only reason the champion wouldn't retaliate was out of magnanimity, the sort of indulgence one shows with thoughts like 'it's a special occasion' or 'he's just a child.' And yet, the child would smugly think the champion had backed down.
Fortunately, Superman had a good temper. He didn't say another word and just turned and left.
The entire room of people let out a long sigh of relief.
"God, I thought he was going to…" someone muttered under their breath.
"I thought so too."
The Researcher's face was pale. "Did you see him break through that wall? My God, that was a blast-proof structure, and it felt like he broke through it more easily than I broke through my wife's… you-know-what… back in the day."
Everyone was so overwhelmed by the pressure of facing Superman that no one seemed to notice there was something off about his words.
General Lane's face was grim. "Superman's actions just now were tantamount to a declaration of war against us. Notify all departments. Prepare for combat."
The faces of the Researchers behind him instantly turned white.
Their gazes toward the General seemed to say, *You can't be serious, sir? Again?*
The guy finally decided not to hold it against you and was about to leave, and now it seems the General is dead set on the idea of, 'You're not leaving today unless you kill me,' is that it?
"Open access to Section Nine. Tell John Corben to get ready," General Lane said gravely. "Let's see how this Alien fares against the Zero Armor."
A moment later, however, a man in a white coat came running over, his footsteps clattering.
"Gen… General!"
The face of the man in the white coat was flushed, and he was completely out of breath.
"The armor… the Zero Armor is gone!"
General Lane's eyes widened.
"Are you kidding me?" the General roared. "Isn't the Armor in Section Nine?"
Section Nine was the highest-level, top-secret restricted zone in this base, with only a single direct elevator serving as its entrance and exit. Furthermore, that elevator could only be activated with General Lane's personal authorization.
"And it's not just the Zero Armor…" the man in the white coat said, sweating profusely.
General Lane's heart sank. He shoved the man in the white coat aside and strode hastily toward Section Nine.
His identity authentication was approved, and the elevator unlocked. He rode the elevator all the way down to the lowest level and walked into the pitch-black warehouse.
The lights flickered on, and a white light illuminated the entire room. General Lane glanced around, his pupils contracting. He nearly went into cardiac arrest.
The vast warehouse, where General Lane had collected alien artifacts for who knows how many years, was now more than half empty, cleared out without a single trace.
A vast section of the facility was empty. Above the vacant room, it was as if crows were flying over everyone's heads, cawing mockingly, "Caw, caw, caw."
General Lane's blood pressure shot through the roof; he almost blacked out and fainted.
He probably never imagined in his wildest dreams that his own base would one day be robbed.
"Where are my things?" he roared. "Where did all my things go!?"
Forget about the other things, but what about the Zero Armor? How could such a huge suit of armor just vanish into thin air!?
"We… we pulled the surveillance footage."
A sweating man in a white coat handed a tablet displaying the surveillance footage to General Lane.
"There's no direct surveillance footage of an intruder near Section Nine. But we cross-referenced the footage from other areas and searched for all personnel who might have gone to Section Nine. After comparing and eliminating possibilities based on the time of the theft, we finally found…"
General Lane narrowed his eyes at the surveillance footage. A person was walking down the monitored corridor on the screen.
He paused the playback, locked onto the face, and quickly ran an identification.
A.R.G.U.S. Senior Agent, Mike Williams.
General Lane's pupils contracted.
"That agent!" he shouted. "Where did that A.R.G.U.S. agent go?"
"He… he seems to have left a long time ago."
"Go after him! Catch up to him and bring him back!"
A trusted Officer beside him hurried off.
But in his heart, General Lane vaguely understood that it was probably impossible to catch him.
In an instant, he suddenly understood.
The anti-Superman countermeasures, the information sharing—it was all fake, all a smokescreen! These people had come prepared from the very beginning.
So their target all along was the alien technology in Section Nine!
Although it was outrageous, upon careful thought, he felt it was actually quite in line with the style of those A.R.G.U.S. scoundrels.
General Lane clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.
"Waller!"
At that very moment, far away in A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters, the heavy-set black woman, Amanda Waller, let out another sneeze. "Achoo."
She then rubbed her nose in confusion.
Strange, why do I keep feeling like someone is thinking about me lately…
(end of chapter)