Chapter 4289: Steel Body (Part 1)

The lonely and desolate winter arrived as scheduled. The gray wall bricks of the cemetery became dark blue under the infiltration of snow water. The Gothic eaves decorations were covered with snow, whiter than white. The dense branches of deciduous trees paved a gray area in the distance. The moon merged into the paleness, showing only a faint outline.

A figure stood before a tombstone. His figure was tall and strong, but among the continuous tombstones, he appeared so small. Another person stood beside him, his side face hidden in the moonlight.

"You never told me about this." Clark Kent lowered his head, looked at the name on the tomb, and then looked at the person standing beside him. The other side was serious as always, and the sadness Clark felt was a void, which made him feel trembling.

And Bruce Wei En, this man who looked already a bit old, bent down, brushed the snowflakes off the tombstone, and then said: "This is not your responsibility. You don't need to know."

"I just..." Clark Kent paused suddenly, like a car that had hit something and had no power to brake. He lowered his head, closed his eyes for a moment, and then said, "The media never reported that you had a son. And no one knew he died. If I had known, I..."

"Would you be more polite to an old father who lost his son?"

Clark turned his head away and looked at the falling snow in the distance. He was distracted for a moment, starting to recall whether he had ever heard a child's call for help or heard a father's sad cry over the years. But he really couldn't remember, so he had nothing to say.

"This is you, Clark Kent." Bruce Wei En stood up, looked at him, and said, "The things you think you should carry will interfere with your judgment and eventually lead to a big mistake."

"I won't." He said stubbornly, "I can prove it. Those things won't crush me, only make me better."

"A month ago, the detector I set up in near-Earth orbit detected signal activity that didn't belong to Earth. I think he came to find trouble with you. Are you ready?"

"Won't do less than you did." He said, "You must admit this, Batman. No matter what kind of person I become, justice or evil, it will change this world."

Bruce Wei En turned around, took one last look at the tombstone, and then said: "I never deny this. Just, compared to me and ordinary people, whether you can withstand this change is the most important thing. As I said, the things you carry might pressure you into making a big mistake."

He walked toward the snow without looking back, and Clark Kent just stood there, watching his back merge into a gray darkness. He turned his head again to look at the tombstone. The small cracks of the name carved on the tombstone were also covered with snow.

"Damian Wei En." He said softly, "I've never been good at letting anyone down, including your father."

After he turned and left, when the last snowflake fell on the tomb, fine sand and stones rolled down from the surface layer of thin soil, falling into the white fine snow, like a series of tiny footprints.

"Hello, very glad to meet you, Ms. Prince. I am Schiller Rodriguez, a businessman and antique collector from England. This is my business card."

Diana Prince sized up the man opposite. He was wearing a slightly retro Scottish plaid suit, his hair was a bit long, but it was meticulously combed back, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses. He seemed to have just returned from vacation and still had some unfaded sunburns. His eyes were sunken in his eye sockets, his eyebrows were drooping, and the corners of his mouth were raised slightly, looking very approachable.

"Very glad to meet you, Mr. Rodriguez." Diana Prince also pursed her lips and smiled, "I have already finished reading the email you sent me about the 'Vanishing Snake Tail'. To be honest, this is really shocking. I really can't imagine that the 'Serpent of Frigne' collected in the British Museum is really a fake as rumored. If this matter spreads, the collection world will probably have another earthquake."

"As you said, Ms. This treasure from ancient Egypt was swapped by someone at some point. This is indeed shocking enough, but the more troublesome thing is that in 1961, the British Royal Family—strictly speaking, Her Majesty the Queen—had lent this exhibit for use in a royal charity exhibition held at the end of 1961. And before this, various evidence showed that this precious snake tail had no problems."

"Oh, this is really troublesome." Diana frowned deeply, and she said, "Royal scandal."

"We believe the Queen is unaware of this matter. Her Majesty must also be unaware of this matter. But we cannot hide this matter for too long. Due to changes in diplomatic policy, we need to return this precious collection to Egypt. This is the decision of No. 10. The Queen doesn't want to go against the Prime Minister."

"A huge trouble." Diana pressed her temples with her hands and said, "If we return the fake one, it will be a laughingstock."

"Exactly. The Queen must not lose such face, and No. 10 cannot change diplomatic policy because of this. Some people in MI6 found me. They need me to solve the trouble for them. I conducted some investigations, and all the clues point to another continent."

"You mean the United States?"

"Yes. During the Second World War, many collectors transferred their collections to this continent, which was still safe, forming a relatively mature system. And the place where the thief who stole the treasure sold the goods is also here. So I came to find you, Ms. I hope you can assist us in finding the precious snake tail."

Diana's head shook slightly, looking like she was shaking her head, but it also seemed to just express a kind of uncertainty. She pressed her temples on both sides of her forehead with two fingers, and then said: "I'm not any famous collector. How did you think of finding me?"

"We all know that the best collectors won't be the kind of clowns jumping around in the spotlight. Precisely because you are mysterious and introverted, we feel that you are the best candidate to do this."

Diana sighed lightly and said: "I don't hope for any diplomatic accidents between England and Egypt, and I also express regret for the encounter of the Royal Family. But I'm afraid I really can't help. I have no clue about this."

"Don't be anxious, Ms. You can look at this first."

Diana saw him put a few photos on the table. She took them over, just glanced at them, and frowned. These photos were all of her, and these photos were all old.

"Ms., in that era of undercurrents, the intelligence agencies of every country were trying their best to catch the other side's handle and take some confidential information. You should have expected that you would appear in the photos. After all, a person who doesn't change her appearance for decades will definitely be focused on by this group of hyenas."

Diana took a deep breath. Her eyes became cold, she looked at the man opposite and said: "You want to threaten me?"

Who knew the other side shook his head again and said: "Of course not. My employer and I won't be stupid enough to think that a person just has a long life and no other abilities. We won't go to threaten such a person. We just want to tell you that if you want to live better in the society of ordinary people, you need the help of some professionals. If you also help us, we can have a win-win situation."

Diana appeared a bit angry. She stared at those photos, flipping through them one by one. But just as she flipped to the end, the familiar man's face appearing in the photo made her deflate as if she had lost her breath.

"Steve..."

"Tell me about the snake tail." She heard herself say this, "I can't guarantee that I can really help you find it, I can only try my best."

"That's enough, Ms. Let's talk about this treasure. The Serpent of Frigne is a huge carved mural 3 meters wide and 1.5 meters high, which is divided into three sections, namely the snake head, snake body, and snake tail. And what we are looking for is the snake tail that has long been replaced by a fake. And the main reason why this section is called a treasure is the top-quality emerald inlaid on it with a diameter of more than 40 millimeters."

The roof of the tallest building in Metropolis was also covered with snow. And looking out from the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor, the whole city became like a castle in a crystal ball, brand new and even smaller.

A young man in a suit turned around. His face was still young, but his dress was a bit old-fashioned. He started walking around in the office, and also muttered something in a low voice.

"Let that liar in!" He said, "God will punish him."

A man wearing a Scottish plaid suit walked into the office. He nodded to the young man and then said: "Good afternoon, Mr. Lex Luthor. I am Schiller Rodriguez, a businessman and collector from England..."

"Alright, stop talking nonsense!" Lex Luthor pointed with his hand and then said, "I'll give you ten seconds to convince me to buy that pile of junk of yours. Otherwise, I'll dump you and the 100+ emails you sent me into the Atlantic Ocean together."

"Doesn't need that long, sir." His tone was still slow, he said, "I have the real snake tail of the Serpent of Frigne collected by the British Museum in my hands. This is a world-class treasure."

"Ha!" Lex Luthor let out a loud mocking laugh and said, "Treasure? A pile of junk buried in the sand from thousands of years ago?!"

"Since you have already read the emails I sent you, I think you have also seen the radioactive test report in them. I think the emerald on this snake tail buried in the sand can enter your eyes."

"Don't play these tricks with me." Lex Luthor put his hands in his pockets, walked over quickly, almost sticking to the other side's face, and then said, "Tell me what that thing is. If it can really satisfy me, you can name your price."

"I don't know what that is, Lex." He heard him say, "But I know you can know what that is. You can take it for testing first, and if you are satisfied, then pay."

Lex narrowed his eyes, shook his head, and backed away: "You said, that is a kind of radioactive substance. That is very dangerous."

"Yes. But I think you deserve such danger."

"Hahahahahaha!" Lex suddenly laughed wildly, he stretched out his hands and turned around, stopped, looked out the window, and then said, "Go kiss the Atlantic Ocean, bastard!"

"Should I call for help?" The voice coming from behind Lex was still light, sounding not half nervous, "Or, should I call 'Superman'?"

Lex turned around suddenly, staring at him like a poisonous snake. The other side just half-closed his eyes, and when his eyelashes drooped, he couldn't even see the pupil color.

"Perhaps I should indeed find another buyer for this dangerous treasure."

"Do you think Superman can afford it?!"

"If everyone is worried about radioactivity, then perhaps only this hero who is like a god can take over. I can accept however much he can offer; I just want to get rid of this hot potato."

Lex gritted his teeth, the muscles on his cheeks trembling slightly. After a while, he said: "Give it to me. Take the money and get out!"

"Thanks for the patronage, sir. The peerless treasure won't let you down."