Chapter 4305

Clark was referring to the dream that made him realize the truth. That dream was exceptionally real, even having an "air wall" that restricted him from escaping. And the timing of his father's figure appearing was also just right, helping him find the key details. His super-brain, no matter how powerful, wasn't that smart; someone must have tampered with it.

Clark recalled the conversation between that black military officer and Schiller. At the time, he only felt that the two of them were like they were in a Hollywood blockbuster. But thinking about it carefully now, there were hidden meanings everywhere. So the two of them had colluded long ago, and they had done it right in front of him?

Clark stepped off the machine, feeling a sense of defeat. He had thought for a long time in that dream before figuring out the simplest puzzle, while this group of people, in just a few words, wove such a huge conspiracy that was almost seamless, at least completely trapping him inside.

Even Lex Luthor, who had always been praised as a genius, hadn't been able to escape their calculations. At present, the only one who saw the whole context of the matter was probably Bruce.

Clark began to understand more and more why that group of Supermen all felt that Batman was very attractive. Sapiosexuality is human nature; no one dislikes smart people. Especially when that group of evil villains was about to drag the world into a huge conspiracy, a hero-like wise man stood up, dismantled all the conspiracies, and saved the whole world—it was truly charming.

But the more he thought this way, the more Clark felt a bit depressed. In his previous experience in the instance, he knew that Batman was an ordinary person with a fragile body, but because Batman died too early and went to another world too soon, leading to their separation, he only witnessed Batman's fragility and didn't really witness his power.

So much so that he had said those words to Batman with such certainty, taking the responsibility for his death upon himself, and even wanting to take on greater responsibilities, like saving all of humanity. Thinking about it now, it was simply a dark history.

He went from one extreme to another. Before, he hadn't been hurt much and didn't know how fragile ordinary people were, so he somewhat overestimated humanity. But after discovering that humans were fragile, he underestimated them a bit.

Facts proved that on the road of evolution, the human body, being so fragile, didn't come without trade-offs. Although most people didn't have such developed brains, the brains of these people who did have developed brains were truly too developed—more developed than a super-brain.

Not to mention whether these people needed him to be responsible for them or to save them, the key was, if these people became stumbling blocks on his path to saving others, could he really handle it?

Clark really couldn't help but feel some self-doubt. Because he hadn't noticed any of the series of conspiracies Bruce had described to him. He had indeed been blinded by anger before, leading him to be somewhat irrational, but thinking about it now, even when he was very rational, he might not have been able to crack this kind of conspiracy.

Now it was Clark's turn to sigh. Humans were still too complex.

"Stop sighing there," Bruce said. "You still have things to do. If I'm not mistaken, some people are preparing to do stupid things."

Clark was a bit distracted and only woke up when he heard this. He looked at Bruce and asked, "Who?"

Bruce didn't answer him, just walked back to the computer and started working. Staring at him was useless for Clark, and even when he asked, Bruce didn't answer.

Clark was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He really felt that Bruce's silence was mixed with some personal grievances, but he didn't dare say it. He wanted to get angry, but as soon as he thought of the big words he had said before, he deflated again, and in the end, could only sit on the sofa and sigh helplessly.

Suddenly, his phone rang. As soon as he answered it, a slightly familiar female voice came from the other side: "Clark, is that you? It's me, Lois."

Clark hurriedly stood up and said, "Lois, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I saw your wanted poster on TV. Are you okay?"

"What?!" Clark said, somewhat shocked. "I'm wanted?!"

"Yes, they also said you kidnapped an important scientist. But I don't think you're that kind of person. You... you're in some kind of danger, right?"

Clark felt a bit bitter. These things were too complex; he couldn't explain them to Lois, and he didn't want to explain them to her. He was really afraid that Lois might follow in Martha's footsteps.

"Listen, Clark. I know you might be facing some crises I can't imagine, and maybe everyone doesn't believe you, and they will try their best to slander you and threaten you. You might get hurt, you might be on the verge of death. But you must believe in yourself, and you must remember that you are Clark Kent."

Clark was somewhat shocked; he thought Lois would say, "No matter who doesn't believe you, I will believe you," but he didn't expect Lois to tell him to believe in himself.

She didn't ask him to believe in her, but to believe in himself; nor did she ask him to remember her, but to remember himself.

The moment Lois hung up the phone, Clark heard some noise. He immediately realized something, and his breathing started to become rapid: "No... no... Lois! Lois!!!"

In the closed room, Lois put down the phone. Her tone was not at all as gentle and intellectual as it was just now, but appeared very sharp, like a wolf walking down from a snowy mountain.

"You are dead wrong," she said. "Clark Kent is Clark Kent, and he will never become some unknown alien monster. You want to use me to provoke him, but you will only be counterproductive and suffer the consequences."

"Ms. Lane, I know Clark Kent once saved you, and you are both in the journalism industry, so you might have developed some feelings. But don't forget, you are a human, and he is an alien."

"Is that so? You mean you oppose love between different races," Lois's gaze was like electricity, staring tightly at the officer opposite her, "and you approve of racial discrimination and racial segregation. Can I understand it this way?"

"I haven't broken the law, you can't lock me up for a lifetime. When I get out, I will still be an investigative reporter, and in the dozen years I've been in the industry, I've had a good reputation and quite a few supporters. In the news industry, my words carry weight. Do you think the dozen editors I have a good relationship with will be interested in your attitude toward me and your statements while I was being detained?"

The officer's face turned livid. But an older-looking officer standing by the door gave him a wink, and he could only flick his hand and walk out angrily.

"You don't have to pretend to be a good person here either," Lois's patience was clearly exhausted, skipping the foreshadowing stage and entering attack mode directly. She turned to look at the older officer and said, "Do you think you've received some glorious mission? You are blinded by your own position!"

"For so many years, I have interviewed many people in the military system, and I am very clear that this is a radical and conservative system. Radical in that you are very willing to try to attack anyone to show off your power; and conservative in that you never want to bear the consequences of a failed attack, at least, not let the main body bear it."

"So when carrying out some new radical behavior, you will push out a few scapegoats, marginalize them in the system first, or simply find a few marginalized people, and then let them participate in this kind of dangerous project. If it succeeds, it's the military's credit; if it fails, as long as you let them disappear, you don't have to be responsible."

"Although you are triumphant in front of me, looking like you can dominate my life and death, the fact is exactly the opposite. Once there is any slip-up in this matter, all the blame will be pushed onto you."

"And I, only need to seek legal aid after leaving here and hire a lawyer to sue you in court. Your superiors, who are eager to get rid of responsibility, will only kick you out. I can sue you until you are bankrupt, and you and your family and children won't survive this winter."

That older officer looked like he hadn't expected Lois to say such things at all. After all, when they approached this reporter lady, she seemed very cooperative, and didn't even have any intention of resisting; he originally thought it was cowardice, but now it looked like she had nothing to fear.

Lois stood up from the chair, walked to the officer, and said, "Journalism is a very interesting profession; we have seen all kinds of people and dealt with all sorts of people. This kind of life has its pros and cons. The downside is that you will always encounter many unfriendly people, and as a voice, you can't avoid the fate of being misinterpreted."

"But the benefits are also obvious: everyone I see, every word they say to me, will become numbers in my bank account. Even a homeless person on the side of the road, or the most inconspicuous little clerk."

"In a society, the more people who can provide you with value, the easier it is for you to survive; and the more value you can provide, the better you can live."

"Clearly, the profession of a reporter is more inclined toward the former; even if I fall to the bottom, as long as I grasp a breaking point, or a certain word from a big shot, or some ambiguous gossip, I won't starve to death."

"But you chose the latter. You chose to show your value to your superiors. I don't deny that this can allow you to climb to a higher position; after all, being a general is much better than being a reporter. But once you fall to the bottom, who can provide you with more value? What will you use to ensure you don't starve to death?"

Lois stared tightly into his eyes. After a long while, the officer looked away. He didn't dare to look Lois in the eye because he knew in his heart that Lois was right.

People always say that there is no distinction between high and low in professions, but the nature of the profession is different, and the difficulties faced are naturally different.

Reporters are a group of hyenas that move at the smell of wind. In an era of entertainment to death, digging up some gossip can always get you a meal. This is a typical profession that is easier to use morality to exchange for benefits, and it is easily criticized, and being a well-known reporter for a lifetime is the most you can do.

However, being an officer is different. The upper limit of an officer is very high; if you go to the end, you can even control this country. But similarly, because of long-term disconnection from society, once you leave the closed system of the military, they have no means of making a living, and their previous connections are all useless.

When you are an officer, you can make money, but some money is earned with your life and you don't have the life to spend it. Wanting to keep this money requires a strong background, but once you leave the system and lose the protection of the system, no amount of money can be kept, and any lawsuit can sue you into bankruptcy.

The officer was already cursing in his heart. He knew that how could such a good thing fall on him. Reporters were indeed as difficult to deal with as rumors said. However, since the pros and cons had been pointed out, he had no way to cover his eyes and deceive himself.

The fact was that he was just thrown over to be a scapegoat. His superiors weren't unaware that he might face an alien monster that was angry to the extreme, but they still let him come. This proved that he had been abandoned. Then the things Lois predicted were very likely to happen, and he didn't even dare to think about the tragic situation he would face.

The officer took a deep breath and said to Lois, "What do you want?"

"It's not what I want, I told you, I won't be in danger. After leaving here, I will still be my reporter. The key is, what do you want."

Lois looked into the officer's eyes and said, "Not for yourself, but think about your family. You always have to leave yourself a way out, don't you?"