Chapter 1947: U: Beyond the Major Event (Seventy-Three)

"Why!! Do we!! Have to farm this much land?!" Batman shouted.

"Because!! There's this much land here!!" Clark shouted.

"That completely!! Exceeds!! Our needs!!"

"We!! Actually!! Have no needs!!!"

"Then why... let's go down first!! The wind is too strong up there!!" Batman shouted.

After the two of them gulped down a bellyful of wind up there, they finally thought to land and talk; the moment Batman's feet touched the ground, he let out a breath of relief.

The Clark from his universe would not approach him without permission, or rather, he used to at first, but ever since Batman installed a Kryptonite taser on his own armor, Superman learned not to touch Batman lightly.

Later it became a habit, so even when Batman wasn't wearing armor specifically designed against Superman, Superman rarely made physical contact with him.

Turned out he forgot before coming that this universe's Clark might be a green small-town youth, and that the young-looking Bruce also didn't have the self-awareness to wrap himself up tight, so he was completely caught off guard.

Of course it was also this Clark's fault for grabbing him with such practiced movements; in the first two seconds after they went airborne, Batman didn't even feel a shift in his center of gravity — he guessed Clark must have grabbed Bruce like this many times to have developed the touch for it.

But Batman didn't think any Batman would like being flown into the sky by Superman; a Batman suspicious by nature didn't like the feeling of flight with no solid footing.

Wait, does that Bruce have wings of his own?

So the two of them fly together?

Batman absolutely didn't want to imagine that scene, so he decided to change the subject and steer the conversation back to the main point.

"There is absolutely no need for us to waste energy producing survival supplies beyond what we need." Batman spoke up; because he was facing a new Superman, he was still relatively tactful — usually he would just say "plant something else."

"Yes, if it were just the three of us it would indeed be a bit difficult, but our team has 5 members; if you count Little Bruce that makes 6. Although it can't dig with its claws, it can give us advisory opinions."

"Oh, right, you haven't met the other two members yet; they went to participate in the game and haven't returned, but they've already won two rounds — they're very formidable contestants, I bet you'll like them."

This was a good opportunity to gather intelligence, Batman thought, so he asked: "Who are the other two members?"

"You'll see when they get back, but before that we have to go find Diana; if she really bagged a deer, she'll need help."

After Clark finished speaking he tried to fly up and carry Batman into the sky again, but this time Batman was prepared — a sideways roll dodged Clark's move.

Clark hovered in the air, hands on hips: "Your shoes don't look like they can handle trekking through a primeval jungle; how about you stay and guard the base, and I'll go take a look?"

After hesitating a moment, Batman felt he really should inspect their base here, because in his estimation there would surely be a scene later where the two teams meet and probe and fight each other.

With this Superman and Wonder Woman being so high-profile, flying into the sky at every turn, they'd likely attract others' reconnaissance soon; having replaced the Batman on their team, he naturally had to serve as the strategic and tactical commander — scouting the terrain was key.

"You go, I'll stay here." Batman said.

Clark whooshed away.

Batman froze in place.

He had clearly just seen Clark not hesitate for even a second, turn and climb toward the distance, streaking into a distant speck on the horizon — this little combo was extremely fluid.

More importantly, he didn't ask anything.

This was not normal at all; Batman recalled — even the Superman who hadn't yet formed the Justice Lords would hover in midair with arms crossed staring at him for a while, until he turned and went back inside, before flying off with a slightly displeased expression, and would definitely complain to Wonder Woman after landing.

But Batman had only just climbed up the largest treehouse, preparing to look around inside, when he saw Clark and Diana fly back, one carrying a deer, the other a wild boar — from Clark's departure to his return, not even a minute had passed.

The two tossed the game at the base of the towering tree's roots; Batman stood above and shouted down: "Don't leave them there, might attract predators."

"I'll freeze them." Clark exhaled a breath of cold air and said: "Or do you have a way to make cured meat and bacon?"

Batman thought briefly again, then said: "Are there any tree hollows here?"

"There's one over there." Diana pointed at a slightly thinner tree nearby: "And it's very high up, above our house."

"Then throw the frozen meat in there and seal the opening, to keep raptors out." Batman descended the treehouse stairs, lowering his head to glance at Clark and Diana's game.

The deer was a fawn, but the boar was an adult wild boar; after circling around once, Batman said: "Can frozen meat stay fresh?"

"I can only do ordinary freezing." Clark said with some difficulty: "Like a freezer compartment; if you want that kind of flash-freeze locking in freshness, you'll have to wait for our other teammate to return."

"Let's process the ingredients for dinner first." Diana tossed the woven fish basket on the ground and said: "Those two should be back soon; maybe then we can look into setting a trap above the tree hollow — bird entrails are still very useful."

Then she turned to look at Batman and asked: "Do you want to go with Clark to see his fields, or cook with me, or just wander around on your own?"

Batman paused again and said: "We don't need to make the fields that big."

"This has to do with the reality of our universe; we need to constantly refine our farming techniques — this is a pretty good experimental field. If you don't want to bother, come help me start a fire." Diana said as she carried the fish basket toward the flat ground nearby.

Batman stood between the two, hesitated again, then discovered Clark and Diana were both walking off in two directions without looking back, neither paying him any mind; he ultimately decided to follow Clark.

Not because he wanted to farm, but compared to Diana who had lived a long time, Clark who had just left the small town was easier to pump for information; he wanted to know what the so-called reality situation was and what this universe of theirs was all about.

The people and things here gave Batman a strange feeling, and he didn't know how to describe it — the vocabulary to describe this feeling hovered in some hidden corner of his heart but couldn't rise to the surface to be spoken.

He followed Clark, one foot deep one foot shallow, toward the place just circled; the direction was easy to recognize because a large swath of trees there had been felled by heat vision, sunlight pouring in, making it much brighter than the surroundings.

They moved between towering trees, stepping through layers of shrubs; Batman looked at Clark and asked: "Aren't you flying?"

Clark shook his head and said: "If you're always flying in the sky, you can't observe in detail what the land beneath your feet is really like — whether the fallen leaves have decomposed, whether the soil is still moist; if you don't know these things, you can't build a home."

Batman seemed somewhat stunned; he slowed his steps, looked at Clark and asked: "Why would you think that way?"

"Because I'm a farmer's son." Clark smiled at Batman and said: "Before coming here, I was still driving a tractor plowing fields."

"You..."

Batman uttered a single word and then could make no more sound; he had wanted to respond to that statement, but on careful thought he found he had nothing to evaluate, because he rarely heard Superman talk about his family.

Of course he knew Superman's parents' names, knew there was a sizable farm at his home, but Batman had never heard Clark mention farming — he should have farmed, or had he not?

"Haven't you gotten into university yet?" Batman asked.

"No, I've already graduated from Metropolis University, and worked as a reporter in Metropolis for a while, but I quit recently." Clark sighed: "Too many things to deal with."

"You went back to inherit the farm?"

Clark shook his head: "My father doesn't have that plan yet; he thinks he can work at least another 10 years — of course he himself says 20, but I think that won't work; he'll end up rattling like our family's oldest tractor, and my mother doesn't agree either."

"I've been helping my good friend lately." Clark looked up at the land already cleared by heat vision and said: "But I'm not as amazing as him; can't accomplish anything great; lately I've just been doing this."

"What?" Batman asked.

"Just this." Heat vision shot from Clark's eyes again, a stretch of forest felled and roots turned up, then a beam precisely struck the freshly cleared earth, soil churning and settling, a straight furrow plowed out.

Batman was still somewhat puzzled; he asked: "What is this?"

"I'm farming." Clark looked at him and blinked, saying: "More accurately, I'm plowing, because we don't have enough tractors—most were taken for harvesting, so this is what it's like during busy season."

Batman finally figured out the key to the problem and asked: "Where are you farming?"

"Mexico."

"Why go there?"

"Because the people there need to farm." Clark then walked ahead, and Batman could see he was very skilled in using heat vision, at least quite proficient in plowing straight furrows.

Batman almost blurted out asking why the people there needed to farm, but then he realized the question was too stupid—there's no place in the world that doesn't need farming, human survival requires carbohydrates, and only land can provide that.

"What I mean is, do you guys have a farm in Mexico?"

"We have a lot of fields, but I don't think that counts as a farm." Clark sighed: "At least definitely not what normal people imagine a farm to be—there's land, seeds, and people, but planting is difficult."

Batman seemed to have thought of something, staring at Clark and asking: "Who is the friend you're talking about?"

"Oliver, Oliver Queen, and of course Hal Jordan—Louise also went there recently, she wanted to write a long report, but hasn't finished it yet."

Batman had a bad feeling, so he looked at Clark and said: "You guys have a large tract of land in Mexico."

Clark nodded and said: "And it wasn't bought."

Batman's lips twitched slightly.

"It was seized." Clark answered the question he was about to ask and said: "We launched a regional war in the southern part of Jalisco State, around Guadalajara, and now that land is ours."