Chapter 518: Luthor: You Are Not Powerful
The Kryptonite Trap
"Who exactly are you?"
The mysterious man's behavior and manner of speaking were completely unlike the Kryptonian warriors Clark knew. It felt like a completely different person.
"Enough, Kal. Put the boring questions aside for now. Let's deal with the old men first."
As soon as he finished speaking, the pipes in the room sprayed out a large amount of green gas.
The gas appeared to be highly toxic. Before it even reached Clark, he clutched his chest and painfully collapsed to the floor. His breathing became abnormally rapid, and his face turned bright red.
"No wonder Zod hated you so much. As a Kryptonian, you adapted to the Earth's environment but can't adapt to the Kryptonian environment. In contrast, this body is completely unaffected. Even without superpowers, it can move as normally as anyone."
The mysterious man grabbed Clark, who was writhing in pain, and proceeded to viciously beat him. The scene of the beating was captured by a camera and transmitted to an office thousands of miles away.
Inside the office sat six elderly men, all high-ranking congressional officials, including Anders. These men belonged to a different faction than President Joel Nash. This was precisely why Lex Luthor chose to cooperate with them.
The beating lasted a full three minutes.
After the video ended, one old man couldn't help but say,
"Superman is nothing special, after all. Find his weakness, and he's just as vulnerable."
A neighboring old man stated solemnly, "We underestimated Lex Luthor. He is worth cooperating with."
"Anders, what do you think?"
Anders was the youngest and least senior of the six. When his superior questioned him, he paused for a few seconds before speaking.
"Lex Luthor is very intelligent. Like Luke Shaw, he possesses technology far beyond this era. Cooperating with him can reverse our current passive situation. However..." He paused, then stated gravely,
"He is very dangerous and difficult to control."
Senator Evans, seated at the head of the table, waved his hand dismissively. "That's how all geniuses are. If they could be easily controlled, they wouldn't deserve to be called geniuses."
"He has no other choice but us. That is enough."
Anders thought about it. That was indeed the truth. Due to his capture by the Kryptonians, Lex Luthor's identity had become extremely sensitive. The White House and the military had blacklisted him, and large corporations dared not extend an olive branch due to the bad publicity. He was now a frightened pariah, completely devoid of his former authority.
The Scum and the God
Meanwhile, the mysterious man, having vented his frustration, pushed Clark onto a chair and took out a rock glowing with green light from a freezer.
"Do you know what this is?"
Clark wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at him coldly.
"Very good. You can be angry, after all. I thought you were truly a god."
The mysterious man placed the green glowing rock in front of Clark. Clark immediately trembled violently, as if poisoned.
"This is Kryptonite, from your home planet, Krypton. After the Battle of Metropolis, it scattered across Earth with the spaceship debris. It took me a great deal of effort to find it."
"Orthodox Kryptonians are not afraid of Kryptonite. You are different. You grew up on Earth. To adapt to the Earth's environment, you forced your body to evolve. As a result, you adapted to Earth but couldn't adapt to Krypton."
"It's fascinating."
Clark clutched his chest and spoke weakly,
"Who are you? Why do you know so much about Krypton? Who told you?"
"I am Luke Shaw."
Clark remained silent, carefully assessing his physical condition and seeking a way to overcome the weakness.
"You don't believe me? Right. Luke Shaw is your ally. Why would he hurt you?"
Footsteps echoed from outside. A young man in a black suit, about thirty years old, with a large bald head, appeared in the room.
Clark's face changed drastically.
"It's you?"
"Yes, it is I."
Lex Luthor lit a cigarette and took a long puff. "I thought you would have guessed my identity. On the entire Earth, only four people know about Kryptonian civilization: you, Linda Danvers, Luke Shaw, and I, who was held captive by them."
"I gave you enough hints, but you didn't guess. Truly disappointing."
Clark ignored his sarcasm and asked with a serious expression,
"Why are you doing this? What exactly do you want?"
Luthor sighed. "If Luke Shaw were here, he would never ask such a stupid question. Did you not see the camera in the corner? It's been operating the entire time."
"Use your brain. Guess what I'm filming these videos for?"
Clark frowned, vaguely realizing something.
Luthor sneered, "I knew it. You're not stupid. You just haven't experienced pain. Just like the me in my teens—pure, kind, brave, full of compassion and a sense of justice, thinking he could save the world, yet unable to save even his own mother."
As he spoke the last sentence, a deep malevolence flashed in his eyes, but he quickly calmed down.
"Enough of this."
Luthor opened his briefcase and pulled out a pre-prepared syringe.
"I need you to contribute something. This might hurt a little."
With that, he inserted the syringe into Clark's shoulder and drew out two hundred milliliters of blood.
Clark was furious and ashamed. If he didn't understand the reason for all this now, he would be truly foolish. The Kryptonian warrior was clearly a cultivated clone, and Lex Luthor had somehow found a way to control him, turning him into a weapon.
A Kryptonian turned into a weapon!
Damn it!
"Humanity is the greatest race and the race with the most potential. We have the ability to solve our own problems. We don't need aliens to act as heroes."
Luthor put the syringe back into his briefcase and aimed a pistol at Clark's head.
"You're not a hero either. You're just a self-righteous fool. Your power comes from the sun. Without the sun, you are nothing. Like right now, a simple pull of the trigger can end your life."
"Power makes people have many inappropriate ideas, such as ruling the world, manipulating people's hearts, plundering wealth, setting rules, or becoming a hero, just like you..."
Luthor crouched down, staring intently at him.
"Superman of Metropolis, the embodiment of justice, the god among men revered by millions. All your courage, kindness, and sense of justice are built on the foundation of your power. It makes you fearless, omnipotent, and unreachable, like a god. But once that power is gone..."
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. Clark flinched violently.
The bullet grazed his scalp and hit the wall behind him. Looking at Clark's pale, bloodless face, Luthor laughed gleefully.
"See? You are afraid, terrified. You are trembling in the face of death. You are not a superhero at all. You're just a silly boy living in a daydream."
"You are far inferior to Batman. He can create fear and use it to protect Gotham. But you don't even know what fear is. But don't worry, it's here now, right in front of you."
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