Chapter 4307

"At 9:00 this morning, the 10th generation royal family issued an announcement that the report by foreign media that British Museum collection artifacts were stolen and replaced by royal family members is untrue. The royal family and the British government will pursue the legal responsibility of the rumor-mongers. At the same time, in order to express their position to the public, the Queen decided to hold a three-day public exhibition of the ancient Egyptian treasure 'The Serpent of Frigne' collected by the British Museum..."

"This station reports that Prince Charles expressed his private position on this matter, calling it 'absurd' and 'unbelievable.' Other members of the royal family who did not want to be named also stated that if the artifacts of the British Museum could be so easily replaced, then what safety could the royal family have? This matter is completely nonsense."

"The well-known editor of the British 'Guardian,' John Trevayne, told the interviewer that the charity exhibition is indeed true, but the tail of 'The Serpent of Frigne' circulating on the internet, because its historical and cultural value is extremely important, and it has the most precious green gemstone on the entire mural, did not participate in the charity exhibition, and as for the theft and replacement, it is nonsense."

"Private collector Mr. Larry from France stated that in the past hundred years, 'The Serpent of Frigne' has never truly appeared, this public exhibition is of great significance, and he will immediately rush to London, hoping to see the treasure as soon as it appears."

"Well-known reporter Lois Lane from the United States also stated that if this incident can promote the appearance of ancient Egyptian treasures, it is also a coincidence, and at the same time stated that she is more interested in the artifact itself than in this news, and she will go to the exhibition site in person."

"Relevant staff of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States revealed that the museum is applying to the British royal family and the British Museum for artifact borrowing, so that the American public can also see the style of 'The Serpent of Frigne'..."

With a "click," Clark turned off the TV. He sat on the sofa and rubbed his forehead hard. The development of things was exactly as Lois said. Facing the scandal of stolen and replaced artifacts that had been disclosed, the British royal family adopted the simplest way to clarify the rumors—directly taking out "The Serpent of Frigne" for exhibition.

In the news report of this TV station, Clark saw the photos of "The Serpent of Frigne" located in the British Museum that they took, which were exactly the same as the photos he could find on the internet.

Actually, this is a bit strange, Clark keenly noticed. First of all, the time is too short: from the disclosure of the scandal, to the royal family's response, to entering the British Museum to take pictures, it was less than two days in total. This mural is more than three meters wide; it wouldn't be this fast even if it were carved now, right?

Secondly, the details are too similar. Clark used his super-vision to look at the pictures on the internet and the photos taken by the royal family several times, and they were really exactly the same, even the wear marks were identical. Can this be forged?

Clark had a premonition that this thing might be the "real thing"—that is, the "Serpent of Frigne" created by Schiller.

But thinking about it carefully, according to Bruce, even Lex Luthor only got the gemstone and didn't get the real mural. That is to say, except for Schiller, no one knows where the mural is. This thing might not be in the United States at all; it was transported to the UK by him long ago, just waiting for this day.

Clark stood up again and started pacing in front of the TV. Although he could roughly anticipate the development of things, he still had a feeling of anxiety. He wanted to do something, but didn't know what to do. What's more, his strength hadn't recovered yet, and he couldn't do anything, so he could only rest at home first.

The good news is that because Lois and a certain officer reached a deal, although his wanted poster was still hanging, no one was actually chasing him, so he could hide in the apartment to rest for a while, waiting for that damn gemstone powder to be metabolized.

But some people were not as leisurely as Clark. Lex Luthor, after seeing the photos posted on the official website of the British Museum, slammed his phone on the table and kicked the table hard.

"Damn bastard! That murderous scammer!!!"

Before he finished speaking, the phone rang. And the person on the other end of the phone was the "murderous scammer" he had just cursed.

"Mr. Luthor, I think you must be very angry now. You think I scammed you and used fake goods to fool you. But whether the gemstone is really effective, you know in your heart. It's just that the price you offered wasn't enough, and you still wanted to play dirty, so I had to find a new buyer."

Lex opened his mouth to curse, but was interrupted by Schiller. Schiller said on the other end of the phone: "If you have the energy to curse me, you might as well think about how to deal with the military. They should already be eyeing the gemstone in your hand, right? Be a good boy, give the gemstone to them, or think of other ways, it's all up to you."

Lex's rage vanished instantly, as if he had been splashed with a bucket of cold water. The reason he was so angry, besides being embarrassed and angry because the dirty play failed, was also because his current situation had become very awkward—the military was eyeing him.

The military had already found out that it was he who held something that almost killed Superman. The physical examination results of the injured Clark Kent by the military showed that the effect of this thing was too good; just cutting out some skin wounds could penetrate into the blood. Isn't this a sharp weapon for dealing with aliens?

They wouldn't allow any kind of lethal weapon on Federation land that wasn't in their hands, even if the person holding this weapon was Lex Luthor.

The military put great pressure on Lex, demanding that he hand over the gemstone in his hand immediately. Lex was working overtime to study it, while mobilizing all his power to mediate; even if he couldn't not give it at all, he had to find a way to keep some for himself.

It wasn't that he didn't want to keep it secretly, the problem was that the military didn't do things that way. They were just waiting for a time point to rush into Luthor Tower and Luthor Manor and scrape away everything green inside, leaving nothing. The samples he kept wouldn't be enough to do anything.

Although he was angry because of the news report, Luthor also realized one thing: there might be important information on the mural, but this gemstone was the key. The gemstone Schiller gave him was claimed to be picked off the mural, but there was another one on the one given to the British Museum, which proved that he possessed more than one gemstone.

Lex took a deep breath and said: "I know you did all this. Whether it's the mural or the gemstone, you played us all around, are you satisfied?"

"Far from it, sir. I'll tell you some good news: The Daily Planet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are actively promoting the borrowing exhibition. After the three-day public exhibition in London, 'The Serpent of Frigne' is very likely to be transported to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to continue the exhibition."

With a "pop," Lex slammed the phone again. That is to say, new gemstones will soon be transported to the United States, and he can't use the one in his hand to bargain with the military.

He stood on the spot, lifted the hem of his suit, stomped his feet hard, a surge of rage rose in his chest for no reason, so he kicked the table again.

As a result, this kick hit the corner of the table squarely. This place wasn't a soft persimmon; only a very crisp "click" was heard, Lex let out a scream, knelt on one knee, and then fell to the ground, covering his right foot, his face pale with pain.

The secretary heard the sound and rushed in, finding his boss lying on the ground. He called an ambulance without saying a word. After the ambulance sent Lex Luthor to the hospital, the doctor diagnosed him with a fracture of the right big toe metatarsal. Lex really felt a sense of despair.

If Lex had stayed in Luthor Tower, then the military people would have to apply for a search warrant and an arrest warrant to enter Luthor Tower to search. Although it would take some time to get them, Lex wasn't without the ability to fight back. He mobilized his connections to mediate, which could delay for a long time.

But now, he was sent directly to the hospital, and he was injured on his foot, unable to walk for a while, so Luthor Tower was completely undefended. Any reason, like a fire inspection, could be used to enter and search.

This actually has to do with American law. The Anglo-American legal system is typical of extremes: they judge non-injurious acts relatively lightly. That is to say, no matter if you rob a store or break into an empty house, as long as you don't hurt anyone, you won't be judged very heavily.

Conversely, as long as you hurt someone, even if you encounter the owner at home while breaking into an empty house, even if you don't have a conflict with the other party, you will be judged very heavily.

Even in some European countries, a thief can steal from you because he didn't hurt you, but you can't beat the thief because you hurt the thief. So if you beat him to prevent him from stealing, you might be judged much more heavily than him.

It sounds quite reasonable at first glance: using whether or not someone was hurt as a standard for judging to deal with criminals. But in reality, this way of sentencing is simply the dregs of human civilization.

The light sentencing for breaking into empty houses led to the world-famous "zero-dollar shopping" events, and some states even have exemption amounts, where stealing below a certain amount of money is not judged, which led to these people being more rampant.

Then, can meeting the owner be punished heavily to serve as a warning? In reality, it doesn't work at all; it only makes the robbers who encounter the house owner harden their hearts and kill them to silence them, because since they were seen, they will definitely be judged heavily, so it's better to just kill the person and gamble that they won't be discovered. This led to the world-famous serial murder cases in the United States.

So this is blocking both ends: non-injurious acts are punished very lightly, encouraging illegal and criminal activities; potentially injurious acts are punished very heavily, encouraging killing to silence.

This set of laws was designed to accelerate elimination: whether you went bankrupt from "zero-dollar shopping," or went to commit crimes because there was no cost for illegal activities and were caught and killed, or just witnessed the crime scene and were killed to silence, it's a death anyway, greatly accelerating the ecological cycle of the bottom-level people.

And for the upper-class society—that is, the society where Lex Luthor is—this set of laws is also very useful.

When you are in the house, they have scruples, you can hold on, then you will think of every way to reverse the situation. This will lead to you having to join their system, because no connections means you don't even have room to delay, which means death.

And when you are not in the house, because no one is in the house and no one will be hurt, the approval of various search warrants will be very loose, and it will be very easy to break in, and you can scrape away everything in the house very easily.

Don't think this is unrealistic; after all, a certain real estate developer's luxury manor was broken into, and the timing was when he wasn't in the house. Lex Luthor is the same.

When he was in Luthor Tower, those people didn't dare to break in by force, because Luthor could sue them later; but if Luthor wasn't there, then breaking in by force had no cost. After all, that golden-haired real estate developer didn't do anything to the group of people who broke into his house.

Lex couldn't accept that he would be at a disadvantage in the fight with the military, or even fail, and he had even prepared for failure. After all, holding this green gemstone wasn't very safe either; handing it to the military could be used to exchange for something. As long as he exchanged for enough benefits, failure wasn't unacceptable.

But the problem is, he hadn't even started fighting with the military, and just because he kicked the table, he handed over the victory to others. Those officers' faces probably weren't crooked with laughter, and he would definitely become a laughingstock for the next half century.

Lex, lying on the hospital bed, hammered the railing hard. He didn't understand how things could become like this?!