Chapter 490: Code Name Emerald (Part 2)

The next morning, in the Green Lantern Corps headquarters, Hal stepped out of his bedroom and was greeted by a strikingly beautiful female Green Lantern.

Ignoring her purple skin and six arms behind her back, she was quite a fiery beauty; Hal blushed and looked away, and the female Green Lantern smiled before saying to him:

"I didn't expect Ion Man to be such a shy little boy… Alright, no more jokes—the Corps Leader wants to see you. Go to his office after breakfast."

"O-okay, thank you."

After bidding farewell to the female Green Lantern, Hal took the elevator to the dining hall.

Here, every kind of creature could be found: star spirits floating in midair, spherical beings hopping across the floor, and even a long-necked dinosaur whose full body was invisible, its head only protruding through the window; Hal walked while staring, constantly amazed.

Wherever he went, everyone praised him, and even Green Lanterns who had not participated in the operation and had just returned from their sectors, upon hearing of Hal's deeds, could not help but express awe.

Though the events in Gotham were not as massive as some interstellar wars, they carried an air of eerie horror; every Green Lantern who had been there could deeply feel the chaos and madness, so their descriptions inevitably grew exaggerated, becoming more and more inflated with each retelling.

The Green Lanterns praised Hal as if he were unparalleled, and even the badly injured deputy, Carol, was no exception.

The one who attacked him was Constantine—he hadn't even lasted a single strike against the magician before being defeated; to cover up his failure, he wildly exaggerated Constantine's power, claiming Constantine had summoned Wuliu terrifying demonic lords from hell, conjured lava and hail, and fired hundreds of arcane orbs, battling for hundreds of rounds before barely losing.

Other Green Lanterns held similar sentiments, for attacking a city as a group and retreating in disgrace was simply too humiliating; as long as the enemy was portrayed as powerful enough, their own weakness wouldn't show, so every combat report submitted claimed the residents of Gotham were not ordinary Earth humans.

They were chaotic, insane, elusive, each equipped with dozens of massive bombs, capable of all kinds of magical arts, seemingly possessing x-ray vision, fearless in death, and remarkably intelligent.

Similarly, Hal himself was described as if a god had descended—until some began calling him "the greatest Green Lantern in history," claiming his deeds in saving them were unprecedented and worthy of being recorded in history.

Amidst these praises, Hal felt increasingly confused, for he was fully aware: this incident was nowhere near as terrifying as they described.

Perhaps the Green Lanterns' defeat had been somewhat undignified, but actual losses were minimal—most suffered only minor injuries; the only seriously wounded was Carol, who had encountered Constantine; the vast majority had merely depleted their Green Lantern rings' energy and suffered heavy mental fatigue, yet after one night's rest, all had returned to duty.

Yet Hal received unprecedented welcome and gratitude; amidst the cheers, he began to feel uneasy—not only because he received honor he hadn't earned, but also because he found the organization's culture too frivolous, its attitude toward failure too lax.

No reflection on strategic decisions, no assessment of tactical shortcomings, not even a single debriefing meeting—just as if painting the enemy as a terrifying natural disaster and elevating their savior as an unprecedented hero would make the whole affair vanish.

Any military-minded person would find this organizational style utterly amateurish.

With these thoughts, Hal arrived at Tyrone's office—a room on a side corridor of the central core, where Hal's own office was also located.

He knocked, and Tyrone's voice came from within: "Come in."

As Hal entered, he noticed Tyrone's expression was grave; before Hal could speak, Tyrone said: "I saw your report submitted last night requesting to leave headquarters—what's going on?"

"Uh… Earth's affairs aren't settled yet. I need to return to handle the aftermath, and Earth's sector needs someone to maintain order."

"No, Hal. I received orders to abandon the Earth sector entirely—to cease all security operations concerning Earth and Gotham."

"Why?" Hal asked, eyes wide with shock.

Tyrone pursed his lips, patted Hal's shoulder, and said: "You've only just begun your duties—you don't yet understand the situation. Though I've been Corps Leader only a short while, I previously handled personnel deployments."

"Sector security has priorities. Our manpower is limited, and the Central Lantern's energy is finite—we must focus on the most critical sectors…"

"But!" Hal raised his voice. "What makes a sector critical? Isn't Earth important?"

Tyrone sighed, sat behind his desk, and gestured for Hal to sit, but Hal remained standing; Tyrone sighed helplessly:

"I know every Green Lantern believes their home sector is the most important. I understand your desire to protect your homeworld—but all this is for the Corps' future."

"To achieve sustainable growth, we must channel our limited strength into the most vital places. Critical sectors are those more prosperous, with more advanced civilizations, and closer to headquarters…"

Tyrone gave a pained expression: "Earth's sector is remote and has few advanced civilizations."

"More importantly…" Tyrone lowered his head, his voice growing somber: "This operation failed at great cost—we drained nearly half the Central Lantern's energy, dozens of Green Lanterns were injured, and former deputy Carol was critically wounded…"

"Compared to Earth's strategic value, these losses are nearly unacceptable."

Hal stood silent, staring at Tyrone; his throat moved, his fingers trembled, yet he said:

"What about justice? What about peace?"

Tyrone spread his hands on the desk: "We must first ensure the Corps' sustainable growth to bring peace to more civilizations. Sacrifices are inevitable."

"And what of the civilizations sacrificed?" Hal asked.

Tyrone sighed again: "I know you were once merely a surface-dweller, new to the cosmos, unaware that among all civilizations born in the universe, only about one percent escape their homeworlds and reach space."

"And of that one percent, less than one-thousandth achieve interstellar travel, join the interstellar society, and become members of the cosmic civilization network."

"The rest—no matter where they were born, no matter how glorious their past—will ultimately perish in the cradle of their civilization."

"Civilizational advancement depends on timing, geography, and fortune. Only a tiny number of star systems with exceptional conditions can birth a civilization capable of joining the interstellar society—and those are precisely the ones we must protect."

"But clearly…" Tyrone shook his head: "Earth is not among them."

"I know you're disappointed—I once felt the same," Tyrone rose from his chair, stepped before Hal, and said: "But one day, you'll understand—it's all for a greater justice."

Looking into Tyrone's eyes, Hal fell silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head; his tone had calmed, yet carried a chilling weight: "Justice delayed is justice denied."

"In your pursuit of greatness, the civilizations you abandon, the peoples you sacrifice—they are living beings, just like my fellow humans on Earth."

"But if we waste our strength on hopeless places, we will only cause the Corps to collapse—and without the Green Lantern Corps, even more civilizations will fall into war."

"The Invincible Evil God"

Looking into Tyrone's eyes, Hal knew he could not convince him. He said: "I'm sorry—but I cannot accept this reasoning."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and with his other hand, forcibly pulled the Green Lantern ring from his finger.

"I renounce my identity as a Green Lantern. I will return to Earth and fight for my civilization as an ordinary human."

Tyrone's eyes widened slightly—he had never imagined anyone could so easily abandon Green Lantern energy, a power so readily granted and so immense, like a gift from heaven, never before willingly forsaken.

Yet in Hal's eyes, he saw another kind of strength—a brilliance that shone like the sun in the cosmos.

"I firmly believe my people will forge the greatest civilization in this universe."

"Perhaps I leave today—but someday, when humanity journeys deep into the cosmos, we will meet again."

Saying this, Hal turned and left. Tyrone watched his back, seeing in it the silhouettes of many others once called "the greatest Green Lanterns in history."

Yet Hal was utterly unlike those shadows—he bore no thick green aura of overwhelming power, no aura of might; like all weak surface-dwellers, he could not fly, could not teleport, could only walk step by step upon the ground.

Yet the less a race can fly, the more it yearns to soar. As an ordinary human, Hal could have chosen to become a Green Lantern and fly freely through the cosmos—but he gave it up.

Tyrone thought: perhaps, he truly will become the greatest Green Lantern in history… the true Green Lantern.