Coast City, by the seaside.
Aside from fishermen, people who are feeling down often come to this place.
They like to chug alcohol while facing the sea, pouring out all the suppressed emotions of the day, then drive home to continue their miserable lives.
Of course, occasionally someone will drink and then dive headfirst into the waves, challenging the World record for holding their breath, and no one has ever seen them again. Tonight, Hal Jordan was also one of those downcast people.
He parked his car by the road and walked toward the beach with an opened beer, the sea breeze hitting his face with a salty, fishy scent.
Hal was originally a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft.
Not long ago, the company painstakingly developed a new type of AI fighter jet, codenamed Sabre III, and prepared to market it to the U.S. Military.
Because the cost of training a top pilot was ridiculously high, coupled with the frequent occurrence of major events recently and the high casualty rate of personnel, budgets were becoming increasingly tight.
Consequently, the Military began to turn its eyes toward AI fighter jets, considering replacing human pilots with AI.
Ferris Aircraft certainly wouldn't let this opportunity slip by and immediately arranged a demonstration.
But who knows what the Military was thinking; they actually made the company send their own person to act as the opponent, having test pilot Hal fly an F-35 in a simulated dogfight against two Sabre IIIs.
When the company's executives heard this arrangement, they almost laughed out loud on the spot.
Pitting their own people against their own products—what was the difference between that and hitting your right hand with your left?
They even specifically instructed Hal in private to take it seriously and not get shot down in a few moves, so the Military wouldn't suspect they were intentionally putting on a show.
As it turned out, Hal actually took those words to heart.
That day, he brought out 200% of his ability, shooting down both Sabre IIIs in the simulated battle, and incidentally crashed a brand-new F-35, using it as fireworks to celebrate the victory.
The Military's observation team was very satisfied after watching, stating that the F-35 was still more awesome, and decided to continue ordering the F-35 later. This procurement contract worth billions just fell through like that.
Afterward, the company leadership was furious, held an emergency meeting that very day, conducted massive layoffs, and fired many employees in one go.
As for Hal, the culprit, he was naturally punished severely—given a harsh scolding—and then had to punish himself by drinking three cups at a party, and that was the end of it.
There was no help for it; after all, the chairman's daughter, Carol, was his ex-girlfriend and childhood sweetheart. She had known since they were kids that Hal had a weak stomach and proactively offered him a comfortable life.
Actually, Hal really hadn't done it on purpose at the time.
His performance that day stemmed largely from a scar left from his childhood.
His father had also been a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft and unfortunately died in a plane crash during a test flight. Little Hal was right there on the runway, witnessing the entire process with his own eyes, which almost caused him to shut down, leaving a huge trauma.
This kind of "family member sacrificed to the heavens" script is something most superhero are likely very familiar with.
If nothing unexpected happened next, then something unexpected was bound to happen.
Sure enough, afterward, Hal was suddenly swept up by a force and brought to the shore, where he discovered a dying purple alien who handed him a ring.
Hal was startled at the time.
Although he had always been quite confident in his charm—even making the list of the most attractive men in the U.S. would be no pressure—it shouldn't go so far as to have an alien he was meeting for the first time propose to him with a ring, especially a male alien.
Just as he was about to refuse, the purple alien, as if having completed a mission, kicked the bucket right there.
Before Hal could even react, he was taken by the ring to a Planet called Oa.
There, he was told that this was the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps, learned about the Green Lanterns and the Green Lantern ring, and was issued a Green Lantern uniform.
Just like that, Hal turned green and became a Green Lantern.
Then the Green Lantern Corps assigned an instructor to take him through the beginner's process.
It was called a beginner's tutorial, but in reality, it was just the instructor beating him up.
After a brutal beating, Hal finally learned the basic usage of the Green Lantern ring. The instructor announced on the spot that he was now the sector cop for Sector 2814, and then kicked him back to Earth.
It wasn't that the story had been edited down, but rather that the story itself was just that sloppy.
A dignified cosmic civil servant, yet the onboarding process was even more perfunctory than a gang recruiting on Earth.
Although Hal skipped most of the beginner's tutorial and still didn't quite understand what had happened or what he was supposed to do, he knew he was going to start killing... ah, no, that he had become a Superhero.
After becoming a Superhero, he naturally had to do things a Superhero should do.
For example, showing off, and saving a damsel in distress.
At a private party for Ferris Aircraft, Hal appeared in the public eye as a Green Lantern for the first time, saving his wealthy woman Carol and successfully protecting his comfortable life.
Then, as the Green Lantern, he specifically sought out Carol, intending to stage a scene where he would "green" himself, just like in the Spider-Man comics he had read.
However, Carol was too familiar with him, so familiar that she could automatically visualize the inner size, length, and contours even while he was clothed.
Even though he was blindingly green now, she could instantly recognize his true identity and expose him on the spot.
According to the normal plot, after the male lead saves the damsel, they meet again, and at this point, they should start taking off each other's clothes and go to bed, giving the audience a huge wave of fanservice, and then the scene shifts directly to the next morning.
But there wasn't.
They were in a pure ex-boyfriend/girlfriend relationship; Carol didn't want Hal to give up on himself, but Hal could never get past the shadow in his heart. They talked for a long time and eventually parted on bad terms.
In the movie, the progress bar would already be nearing the end at this point.
Now you know why the Green Lantern box office flopped.
It was bad enough there weren't many serious fights, but there weren't even any "not-so-serious" fights, so what the hell were the audience supposed to watch?
Afterward, Hal didn't go home; he came to the shore alone to clear his mind.
He looked at the Green Lantern ring on his finger and sighed: "Why was I chosen? I'm simply not cut out for this."
"You are indeed not cut out for this."
A voice suddenly came from behind him.
Hal was startled and immediately turned around to see Darian holding a Golden Desert Eagle, the muzzle pointed directly at his forehead.
He instinctively raised his hands and said: "Bro, let's talk this out. Please don't shoot."
Although he was already a Green Lantern and firearms posed no threat to him, the fear of firearms had long been engraved into the genes of Americans, forming a conditioned reflex.
Darian said seriously: "I am saving you. Take off the ring, or you will regret it for the rest of your life."
Hal's mouth twitched.
Who holds a gun to someone's head and claims to be saving them?
Hal assumed Darian was just an ordinary person who wanted to rob him, so he quickly tried to persuade him: "This ring of mine isn't valuable; it's just a toy. Look, it even glows."
As he spoke, he specifically shook his finger, the green light especially dazzling in the night.
Darian chuckled: "You call a Green Lantern ring a toy? If the Green Lantern Corps knew, they would probably strip you of your Green Lantern status immediately."
Hal's eyes widened: "You know about the Green Lantern Corps!?"
Darian nodded: "Of course. In the whole Universe, who doesn't know the reputation of the Green Lantern Corps? No matter how powerful the enemy, as long as the Green Lantern Corps comes out in full force, they will..."
"Easily defeat them?"
Hal finished the sentence, feeling like he had hit the jackpot.
With Earth facing constant disasters, having the backing of such a massive mountain as the Green Lantern Corps, wouldn't he be able to walk sideways on Earth in the future?
Maybe he would even have a chance to surpass Omni-Man and become the most famous Superhero.
Thinking of Omni-Man, Hal felt a bit depressed again.
The members of The Seven were all famous, and even Aquaman, who had the lowest presence, had been in news reports several times just because he carried the name of The Seven.
And the news on the day of his own debut barely made a splash, completely overshadowed by Wonder Woman's long legs.
Of course, Hal wasn't dissatisfied with that.
After all, he loved looking at those long legs too.
Darian shook his head: "Ah, no. It's total annihilation."
Hal: "..."
Is it too late for him to quit now?
Darian continued: "So I advise you to take off the Green Lantern ring, go be an actor, or a mercenary; just don't be a Green Lantern. Otherwise, you will be in great danger."
Hal asked, confused: "Why?"
Darian explained: "Because some idiot might run all the way here to kill you, a Canadian."
Hal looked confused: "No, what grudge do I have with him? Why would he run all the way here to kill me? And I'm American."
Darian didn't explain, shaking the muzzle: "Anyway, just take off the ring. Trust me, I'm doing this for your own good."
"Okay, okay, calm down. I'll take it off right now."
With the muzzle pointed at him, Hal had no choice but to reach out and grab the ring, looking like he was about to take it off.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a surge of green energy poured out of the ring, forming a huge fist in mid-air that smashed toward Darian.
Since this person knew about the existence of the Green Lantern Corps and wanted to obtain the Green Lantern ring, he was likely an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps.
Hal didn't hesitate and decided to strike first.
Darian stood still and threw a punch with one hand.
Crash!
The large and small fists collided, and that green fist exploded in mid-air, shattering into a patch of fluorescent light.
Darian shook his head and commented: "The Green Lantern ring can turn the user's willpower into power. It seems your will is not yet firm enough; you are far worse than that bat."
Hal couldn't hear what Darian was saying at this point.
Seeing the opponent shatter his attack with a single punch, Hal was greatly shocked, knowing he had encountered a powerful enemy.
Green light flashed all over his body, and he instantly switched to his Green Lantern form.
The oncoming green light made Darian narrow his eyes: "No wonder Wade complains about this look every day; with this much green filling the screen, who can take it?"
After transforming, Hal finally regained some confidence.
He activated the ring, and the green light suddenly spread out, forming four shackles on Darian's limbs, locking him firmly in place. Immediately after, he conjured a huge rock from above, smashing it vertically toward the top of Darian's head.
This was the exact move the Green Lantern Corps instructor used when beating him up, which he had directly copied.
But Darian was not a rookie like Hal. With a gentle tug, his hands broke free from the shackles directly.
He propped it up with one hand, steadily carrying the falling boulder, and threw it back at Hal with a backhand.
Hal hurriedly waved his hand to erase the incoming boulder. Regaining his line of sight, he saw that Darian had already raised the Golden Desert Eagle and was pulling the trigger continuously.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several bullets whistled toward him.
Hal pushed his hands forward, conjuring several green walls to block the bullets, then controlled the walls to close in, smashing toward Darian.
Boom!
Darian swatted it with one hand, and the entire wall shattered directly into a sky full of fluorescent light.
So strong!?
Hal swallowed his saliva, not daring to stop. He desperately concentrated his willpower, the green light twisting rapidly in mid-air, transforming into a huge pair of scissors, blades open, clamping down viciously toward Darian.
Darian spread his hands and directly grabbed the two blades of the scissors.
No matter how hard Hal pushed the ring, the scissors remained motionless, as if they had been welded into Darian's hands.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors? A game only kids play."
Darian squeezed with his ten fingers, and cracks spread from the tips of the scissors all the way to the entire blade. The next second, the whole pair of scissors shattered with a boom.
Before Hal could even react, Darian's figure had already rushed in front of him, a punch aimed straight at his face.
Hal didn't even have time to make any defense. His whole body was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the beach, creating a shallow human-shaped crater. Fortunately, Darian didn't use much force, so Hal was just stunned but not brain-damaged.
Darian looked at the fallen Hal and mocked: "The Green Lantern ring is capable of infinite changes, it can even create a Sun, yet in your hands, is that all the imagination you have?"
The essence of the Green Lantern ring's energy is to materialize the user's willpower. It is equivalent to the power of "I think it works"; as long as the user thinks it works, it works. The power depends entirely on the Green Lantern's own willpower.
Yet Hal, back and forth, only knew how to conjure common things, without any creativity at all.
If it were Darian playing, he would have probably done fancy tricks with it long ago.
Hal was both painful and annoyed, his anger rising sharply.
Getting beaten up on Oa was one thing, but could he really suffer such grievances after returning to Earth?
"You forced me to do this!"
Hal gritted his teeth and climbed up from the ground.
All the resentment and anger he had accumulated over these days churned together, turning into violent emotional fluctuations, and swept into the Green Lantern ring along with his willpower. The next moment, a dazzling green light erupted from his body, reflecting half the beach in green.
He began to outline in his mind the most powerful existence he knew of.
The green light condensed rapidly before him, gradually outlining a towering human figure.
That figure was wearing a sharp-angled battle suit, floating quietly in mid-air.
Although wearing a helmet, one could still feel an extremely handsome face underneath.
Just getting close, one would be intimidated by the powerful aura on the other party, making one unable to help but feel awe, and sigh that there could be such a perfect existence in this World.
The only drawback was that it was too green, green from head to toe.
Hal saw the surprised look on Darian's face and couldn't help but grin, smugly saying: "Hahaha, scared, right? You must have recognized who this is, right?"
"That's right! This is the most powerful existence on Earth, the Superhero Omni-Man!"
"Tell me if you're scared!"
Darian: "..."
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