Chapter 419

"How could I possibly stay calm?! I'm glowing! And it's green!" Dick shouted at him.

Clearly, he was utterly bewildered by this situation, like a real child, he said: "Oh my god! I can't believe it—how am I supposed to go to school tomorrow? How do I explain to my teacher that overnight, I've started glowing?!"

He added, slumping slightly: "Our school is strict—we have to stick to natural hair colors, even dyeing is forbidden. If the teacher sees my hair turned green, and my whole body turned green, she'll definitely call my parents!"

Hal was speechless; clearly, he had no experience raising children and didn't know how to respond to Dick's practical yet overly literal logic.

"And on top of that, I'm visiting my biological parents at the end of this month—they're old-fashioned types who use only deep green for Christmas. How do I explain why I'm now greener than a Christmas elf??"

Hal stared at the ceiling of Wayne Manor. When he first gained this power, he'd once fantasized how wonderful it would've been to have it sooner—but now, he realized adolescent minds were the greatest mystery on Earth.

Dick didn't seem to care about the miraculous teleportation ability, nor whether he could control this immense power—he only cared that his whole body glowed green.

At this very moment, while drowning in this mess, Hal suddenly had a different thought.

Was he truly awake?

A normal person who obtained a Green Lantern ring would surely question the bizarre appearance of their new form—but Hal realized he'd never felt any such doubt.

Even when his green glow caused a massive traffic jam by resembling a traffic light, he still hadn't questioned it.

Right now, Hal broke into a cold sweat—just like any human does when they realize they might be controlled by something. Freed unexpectedly from the ring, Hal noticed too many anomalies he'd previously ignored.

Recalling Alfred's earlier words, the sweat soaked his back—even his thick flight jacket couldn't warm him.

What exactly was he doing? Taking alien power and reporting Earth's intelligence to aliens? Had he been bribed—or controlled?

Undoubtedly, even a novice like Hal was a good person with solid morals, and his strong will made him unafraid to admit mistakes and immediately seek to fix them.

He strained to move his body, turning the chair back toward Batman: "The problem might be more serious than we thought."

"Indeed—if you can't provide a cure for Dick, then…"

"No, I don't mean that!" Hal interrupted Batman. Batman was rarely interrupted—he fell silent, watching Hal, who pressed on: "I think something's wrong here."

He sighed: "As you know, I accidentally obtained a Green Lantern ring that grants me extraordinary powers. The one who gave it to me was an alien who died with his ship— he told me about the Green Lantern Corps."

"Afterward, the ring's power connected me to the Corps. They told me their history. I was deeply moved—I felt honored to join such a force."

"My first official mission was to investigate the arrival of the Yellow Lanterns in Gotham. You know what happened after that."

"My second mission was to monitor the movements of Yellow Lantern members."

"According to the information I received, the Yellow Lanterns are described as a terrifying force—they interfere with Green Lanterns' duties and bring destruction and fear to the universe."

"The monstrous creature I saw in the dream world confirmed this—it made me even more convinced that the Green Lantern Corps is dedicated to preserving cosmic peace and tranquility."

"But I don't know…" Hal hesitated slightly. "I may have leaked too much information to this mysterious Green Lantern Corps. I've never even visited their headquarters—only communicated remotely…"

"I was eager to complete my mission, so I thought I should report everything—prevent the Yellow Lanterns they described as evil from harming Earth. So…"

As Hal looked up, he saw Batman's eyes narrowed. For some reason, that expression gave him a bad feeling.

"Why do you think Earth's safety should be entrusted to outsiders?" Batman asked a devastating question. Hal had no answer.

"Did they ever tell you the true origin of the Green Lantern ring?" Batman asked another question. Hal still couldn't answer. He said:

"I heard it was created by the first race to emerge in the universe, to maintain cosmic peace…"

"So it's still a creation of sentient beings—with leaders, divisions, departments, bases, and all kinds of members…"

Batman crossed his arms: "How do you ensure the data you upload won't be seen by those who shouldn't see it? How do you ensure the leadership of this Corps has no ill intent toward Earth?"

Hal shook his head. Batman stared into his eyes: "Is it that you won't answer—or that you simply don't know? I hope it's the former."

Hal felt his lips dry. He licked them, voice low: "... I don't know."

"You joined a company without understanding its nature, scale, organizational structure, or operational system—and uploaded all your personal, family, neighbor, and street data onto their network…"

As Batman's tone grew darker, Hal's dread intensified—until Alfred suddenly spoke: "Grandfather, your university professor, Rodriguez, just called to inquire about the situation here."

"He heard Elsa scream and expressed concern. He said he'll stay on the line until he confirms everything is safe. I think, to spare your respected professor a sleepless night, you'd better call him back now…"

Batman's atmosphere had sunk to its lowest point—but upon hearing Alfred's words, he fell silent for a moment, then turned toward the phone table.

The phone barely connected when Rodriguez's voice came through: "I assume you've caught Hal and are interrogating him about the Green Lantern Corps?"

"I didn't 'catch' him, nor am I 'interrogating' him," Batman immediately denied Rodriguez's wording. Rodriguez replied: "Alright, I suppose you've now had Green Lantern Hal sit on a chair and applied some safety restraints."

"And during casual conversation, you accidentally obtained certain information about the Green Lantern Corps."

"What do you think of the Green Lantern Corps?" Rodriguez asked.

"A group of aliens who could threaten Earth at any moment—and who have already planted spies here—with ulterior motives."

"As expected," Rodriguez said into the phone. "First, I have no idea why Hal ended up at Wayne Manor. Second, if you want to investigate the Green Lantern Corps, the best way is to start with the ring itself."

"Remember that box I gave you? You should already know what's inside…"

After hanging up, Batman felt slightly calmer. Using violence against Hal now wouldn't help—what mattered most was handling Dick's condition first.

While Batman was on the phone, Hal kept trying to communicate with Dick—but they might as well have been speaking different languages.

Hal kept stressing that Dick needed to calm down and control his power, but Dick panicked at his abnormal state—the two were utterly out of sync.

When Batman returned, Hal sighed: "I admit I'm not a good teacher—but I don't know how to teach a teenager how to wield willpower. At ten, I probably couldn't even spell 'willpower' correctly."

"I don't think I can teach him. But I don't know who else could. To teach him control, you'd need to have mastered this power yourself."

"But the Green Lantern Corps' standards are brutal—only one in a billion qualify. Where am I supposed to find another Green Lantern?"

The Green Gourd Immortal

Batman stared at him in silence. Hal met his gaze and said: "... No, there's no trick. And how can you still not understand? The ring demands extreme willpower—it's impossible for an ordinary person to meet."

Seeing Batman still watching him, Hal had to explain: "Alright, if you insist there's a trick—you must focus, and manifest your willpower…"

"Though I received this ring from another alien, earning the ring's approval took me…"

Just then, a familiar green light flashed past the window. Hal's eyes widened—a Green Lantern ring, glowing softly, hovered silently between him and Batman.

Hearing the familiar Green Lantern Oath ring out, Hal gaped: "Wait—I know rings can be replaced, but I haven't even reported mine lost yet—how did this…"

Before he finished, the glowing ring flew toward Batman, rubbing against him like a pet dog waiting to be petted.

As Hal stared in shock, something even more astonishing happened: Batman slowly opened his mouth and said: "I decline."

The ring hovered midair, then drifted slowly, reluctantly, out the window of Wayne Manor—too late, it never received Batman's change of heart.

"I was just testing whether this would actually work."

Hal cleared his throat: "Being chosen by a ring is incredibly rare—there may not be more than a handful of such people in the world. You just…?"

As Hal spoke, Batman left the hall. Moments later, he returned carrying a box, sat on the sofa, and, under Hal's watchful gaze, opened it.

A soft "clatter" echoed—

A pile of lantern rings spilled onto the table.