Because the ship's internal atmosphere was in the middle of conversion, Lois did not have time—nor the opportunity—to put on an external breathing apparatus like she did in the movie timeline.
The other Kryptonians were primarily focused on preventing Clark from escaping, so all their attention was locked onto him. No one noticed Lois immediately.
As for Zod, his top priority was sealing the breach and stopping Clark from escaping through the hole in the hull.
To him, it no longer mattered that Lois was carrying Clark's child.
What he wanted were offspring cultivated in the incubation chambers—children born according to Kryptonian societal standards—not descendants of someone like Clark, who had completely abandoned Krypton's interests.
As a result, Clark could only watch helplessly as Lois was exposed to the vacuum of space.
At first, she could barely breathe by relying on the oxygen leaking from the ship.
But what humans feared even more than suffocation was the extreme cold and cosmic radiation of outer space.
Two seconds later, Lois's body began to twitch faintly.
A layer of frost formed across her skin as the temperature dropped catastrophically.
Then, under direct solar radiation, her body rapidly dehydrated.
Her skin burned, her moisture evaporated, and her body stiffened completely.
"No—!!!"
Seeing this, Clark's eyes instantly filled with blood.
A tidal wave of rage surged into his mind, shattering the rational restraint he had maintained his entire life.
"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"
Clark roared—
Only for Zod's fist to slam into his face mid-shout.
A dull impact echoed through the chamber.
Zod froze.
Clark's head hadn't moved at all.
Slowly, Zod looked down at the eyes beneath his fist—eyes now completely flooded with blood-red fury.
Clark had always been suppressing himself.
This was rooted in the teachings of Jonathan and Martha Kent, and in his own fear of losing control and destroying everything around him.
It was as if his subconscious had placed a mental restraint lock upon his body.
Much like human PTSD or subconscious psychological barriers, Clark had been limiting his own power.
Otherwise, how could someone who had absorbed yellow-sun radiation for thirty years be weaker than Kryptonians who had only done so for a few days?
Especially when Clark's genes were completely intact—untampered.
The Kryptonian Codex, fully integrated into his cells, had already transformed him into a true Kryptonian.
And the Codex itself originated from the legendary remains of the Kryptonian god.
At this moment, Clark's rage exploded.
All mental restraints shattered.
Every last barrier was torn away.
The radiation energy inside his body surged violently, flooding every cell.
Zod tried to withdraw his fist—
But Clark suddenly grabbed his arm.
No matter how hard Zod pulled, he couldn't break free.
Then came Clark's counterattack.
A ferocious punch shot straight toward Zod's face.
The speed was terrifying.
Even General Zod—an elite warrior with countless battles behind him—barely managed to raise his hand in time.
But the force of the punch was overwhelming.
Despite blocking it, the impact still slammed Zod's own arm into his face.
BOOM!
Zod was sent flying sideways, crashing violently into the ship's main hall wall.
The ten-centimeter-thick alloy wall caved inward.
And that was after Zod had already redirected and absorbed most of the force.
There was only one possible explanation.
Clark's strength had completely surpassed his.
The remaining Kryptonians reacted instantly.
Seven of them rushed Clark at the same time.
Previously, Clark could barely handle two attackers—and even then, only briefly.
Now, even when surrounded by seven Kryptonian soldiers, he could still fight back using his vastly enhanced durability, speed, and strength.
Zod spat out a mouthful of blood and charged back into the battle, turning it into an eight-on-one assault.
As a genetically engineered soldier, Zod had no concept of honor in combat.
Victory and objectives came first—methods were irrelevant.
Yet even under the assault of eight Kryptonian warriors, Clark was not immediately subdued.
This alone shocked Zod.
Clark, however, was drowning in rage.
His fury had nowhere to go and continued to build.
During the fight, he repeatedly caught glimpses—through the ruptured hull—of Lois's body floating in space.
The sight tore at him relentlessly.
The rage intensified.
And yet, he was still being forcibly restrained by the eight attackers.
Then—
A majestic voice echoed inside his mind.
"Are you angry?"
"Do you desire vengeance?"
"Do you believe you lack the power to achieve it?"
"Do you want strength?"
Clark roared in his mind:
"Yes! Give me power! I want revenge!"
"Very well."
"Do not resist. Accept my existence."
"Let us become one."
"I will help you achieve everything you desire."
"With blood and rage of crimson red,
Ripped from a corpse so freshly dead,
Together with our hellish hate,
We'll burn you all—
That is your fate."
Deep within one of Earth's most remote locations—the bottom of the Mariana Trench—
A ring that had once appeared plain and unremarkable suddenly erupted with blazing red light.
Wrapped in crimson energy, it shot upward at an unimaginable speed.
In just seconds, it crossed tens of thousands of meters, dragging massive volumes of seawater behind it.
The resulting shockwaves created hundred-meter-high tsunamis as the ring burst into the sky.
This anomaly was instantly detected by Lucas, who immediately accelerated at full speed in pursuit.
But the red light was far too fast.
In the blink of an eye, it left Earth's orbit—
And slammed directly into Clark inside the Kryptonian mothership.
"That's… a Lantern Ring!"
Lucas's expression changed instantly.
Lantern Rings were no joke.
If something like that fell into Zod's hands—even briefly—it would be catastrophic.
BOOM!
A violent explosion of red light erupted.
All eight Kryptonians were blown away instantly.
Zod and the others watched in shock as Clark was enveloped by the red light, forming an egg-shaped crimson cocoon.
They unleashed concentrated heat vision at it—
But the red shell didn't even ripple.
Zod narrowed his eyes.
"This red light… it feels familiar."
"General," Claire said grimly,
"That's a Lantern Ring—but not from the Green Lantern Corps."
"What?!" Zod's face twitched violently.
_____
T/N:
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