Chapter 4347: Justice League: Assembly (Part 2)

The congressmen shrank back with a "whoosh."

No matter how cold the conference hall was, it couldn't compare to the chill in their hearts. So, they had been waiting for them here?

That's right. Before the Capitol Hill staff had even arrived, reporters had already stormed into the base that Clark had moved over—the one Amanda used for alien autopsies. It wasn't a base belonging to the A. R. G. U. S., but a medical facility specifically used for human experimentation. There are many such buildings within the United States, where various factions can send resources they've acquired for dissection and research. Therefore, a massive number of corpses had piled up there.

Of course, if the source of the corpses were legal, there would be no need to set up a dedicated base. Places like this exist specifically for that kind of secret, evil research, so naturally, the corpses had no defensible origin.

If that were all, it might have been fine; after all, there are plenty of unidentified corpses on the streets every year, and it wouldn't be impossible for them to be collected and used. However, it was recently exposed that homeless people in Los Angeles had been disappearing without cause. Renowned reporter Lois Lane had nearly been silenced by the military for investigating the incident. Didn't these two things connect?

Although the corpses in this base were likely "old stock" and the batch from Los Angeles probably hadn't arrived yet, the reporters didn't care about that. They had been fretting over a lack of leverage for their new phase of misery-peddling, and now, this was perfect. The military had been attacked enough, and now the federal government had delivered itself to their doorstep. Now that the research base was less than a hundred meters from the Capitol building, they had to provide an explanation, right?

The congressmen shrinking back wasn't because they feared the reporters; it was because the reporters' questions reminded them of one thing: right now, a research base—likely studying some kind of virus or bacteria—was less than a hundred meters away from them. They were sharing the same air as those corpses that had undergone unknown modifications. It seemed that today, they could only hope to survive this far.

The congressmen were already in despair. They now felt a bit of empathy for the Superman of the past. They didn't know what they had done to offend Superman to this extent. From their perspective, having no past grievances or recent grudges, they truly couldn't fathom why Superman would do this.

They felt this was the most unjust time they had ever faced. In the past, they had at least done some bad things, but this time, they were truly only busy tallying votes; no one had interfered with alien affairs, yet in the end, all the retribution fell upon them. Naturally, they couldn't help but curse loudly.

Meanwhile, Clark was simply floating above the Capitol building. He could hear the cursing and wailing in the conference hall clearly. Yet, what he was thinking was that they had only been freezing for less than two hours in a house that could still shield them from the wind and rain on a night that wasn't even the coldest; what about those living in tents? How many snowy nights would they have to endure like this, only to eventually die silently and become an unidentified corpse in a research base?

Theft is a crime; robbery is a crime. Then, why is allowing people to spend their lives in such a way not called a crime, but rather politics and power?

Clark realized that the Federation was like a person: it had a brain that issued orders, limbs that executed them, a stomach that digested food, and a liver that filtered toxins, and this person was the greatest criminal on this land.

And those so-called thieves, robbers, and even murderers were merely germs bringing disease to this massive body. He could act as a white blood cell to kill these germs, or as an immune system to prevent the generation of more diseases.

However, the cells within a person's body cannot judge that person. A white blood cell cannot refuse to save you when you are sick just because you have committed a crime, because it is inherently a part of you.

If he became a superhero like a vigilante, he would be joining this society, like a newborn cell within a human body, and all he could do would be to defeat the germs.

But what would truly destroy this person and the society they inhabit is not some minor ache or pain generated within the body, but the criminal behavior of the person as a whole. This cannot be stopped from within.

To save a criminal, one must not save their heart, liver, spleen, lungs, or kidneys. On the contrary, the healthier their organs are, the less they are troubled by disease, and the stronger their body is, the greater the crimes they can commit. This is irresponsible to the entire human civilization.

Since ancient times, punishing criminals has required sufficiently powerful external forces. They must be threatened to have any possibility of regulating their behavior. This is also true for the entire Federation.

Therefore, if Clark chose to be an American vigilante, or even an Earthling, he might not have any way to externally and forcibly regulate the behavior of this giant.

To make the lighthouse shine again, he could only choose the lonelier path: to withdraw himself from human society and, as another individual, prevent this entire society from heading down the wrong path.

But how could he extricate himself? He had grown up on Earth and had almost forgotten that he was an alien. The only way was to reclaim his alien identity. I'm afraid he must go to Krypton to see for himself.

He needed to know what he would be like if he had grown up on Krypton. Compared to Earth, what was good about Krypton, what was bad, and whether there was the ultimate answer for society there.

Flying above Metropolis, before turning to leave, Clark took one last look at this massive city. On this snowy night before Christmas, every household was brightly lit. When he was still an ignorant small-town boy, he had been awestruck countless times by such a magnificent night view. Perhaps his hometown, Krypton, had also once had such lights in every home. But now, only an old ship that died in a foreign land remained.

Perhaps Lois was right; the significance of seeking the truth of history does not lie in the truth itself. In the process of seeking, the construction of social identity and self-identity is the gold leaf among the silt that has flowed down the long river of history to this day.

Thinking of this, Clark flew toward a building in Metropolis. He stopped in front of the balcony of Lois's apartment, but he knew Lois had already moved out; she should be recuperating in the hospital at this time.

However, he still couldn't help but want to come and see. But just as he landed on the balcony, a figure flashed inside the room, and then the curtains were pulled open. Lois Lane and he locked eyes, and both were stunned.

"I thought you would come here," Lois said. "Luckily, I have a good relationship with the landlord. I said I left something here, and he let me in."

Clark reached out to her but didn't hug her; he just reached out and touched her hair, then said, "You reminded me to remember who I am. I am Clark Kent. But there is too little Clark Kent can do."

Lois stepped forward, touched Clark's side profile, which was submerged in the night and had only a glimmer of light, and then said, "Are you leaving?"

"I'm going back to Krypton to see. I need to know what happened back then." Clark stroked the back of Lois's hand with his hand and then said, "Perhaps I won't come back."

Lois gently stroked his cheek with her thumb and then said, "When Jesus died, he warned all his followers: 'Three days later, I will return.' He did indeed resurrect. Afterward, he ascended to heaven and returned to his kingdom, and Christians believe that Jesus will come again to bring peace and eternal life to everyone."

"Unfortunately, Krypton will not be heaven, so you will definitely come back. Because the heaven you want can only be created here by yourself. Your hometown will only make you understand what it is you truly want... I'll wait for you to return."

Flying into the sky, Clark looked back at Lois once more. Her eyes were illuminated by the moonlight under the snow-covered ground, and the mist she exhaled seemed exceptionally thin in the cold night. Perhaps she was right again; Krypton wouldn't be the answer he was looking for either, but he had to go and see.

Bruce watched Clark's back as he flew away from low Earth orbit on the monitoring screen. He sighed again but still turned and walked toward the door.

Not long after, a figure pushed open the door. Diana walked in wearing thick winter clothes, shook hands with Bruce, and then said, "Nice to see you, Diana Prince."

"Bruce Wayne. Please sit, Ms. Prince. How was the trip to Battleworld?"

"In fact, it was terrible," Diana said, frowning. "Of course, my sisters were all very good; they tried their best to help me and told me a lot about the multiverse. But I went too late. In the complaints and suggestions column of the Battleworld system, I strongly condemned them for making the invitation look like a sales advertisement trap, and I don't know if it was of any use."

"High vigilance is a good thing," Bruce said. "Of course, their invitation does indeed look a lot like a trap."

"So you didn't go the first time either, right?"

"Yes, everyone in our entire universe went relatively late. We didn't catch the previous multiverse war either. However, it doesn't matter; let nature take its course."

Diana sighed and said, "I'm more worried about Clark; he looks different from all other Supermen. The other Supermen are very... I don't know how to say it. Innocent and lively, but silly."

"I am also different from other Batmen." Bruce stood up to make coffee and said, "I am older than most of them and have already reached the end of my vigilante career. But the good news is, Clark is still young."

"Don't talk about being old in front of me. You are still young." Diana took off her scarf, tidied her hair, and then said, "However, regarding the matter of you being older and having an insufficient lifespan, I went to find the Hesperides sisters to study it. As long as I do something for them, maybe I can get a golden apple, and then you can take a bite, and the matter will be resolved."

Bruce's hand paused, and then he said, "Is it the golden apple I have heard of?"

"That's the one. Of course, you don't have to go fight Troy first, and the amount you can use is very small, probably just a small slice; the rest can be used for other things."

Bruce walked back to the sofa, sat down, handed the hot coffee to Diana, and then said, "Is the effect really that magical?"

"For humans, yes. It can return you to a youthful state and greatly extend your lifespan. But for the gods, it mainly plays a role in styling."

Just as Bruce opened his mouth, Diana interrupted him and said, "It is only effective for the living. The gods cannot interfere with life and death either. The god of the underworld you know can only accept the souls of some believers. If someone tells you they can resurrect your important loved ones, then you must be careful." ===== CHAPTER 4348 =====