"Li, Batman, it's great to see that both of you are safe."
Coulson greeted them with a wide smile the moment he saw Li and Bruce Wayne standing there unharmed. His expression brightened even more when his eyes landed on the lifeless body of General Zod being carried behind them.
"You actually did it," he said with visible excitement.
"That's incredible. Congratulations."
Then Coulson straightened slightly and spoke in an almost ceremonial tone. "On behalf of all S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, the citizens of New York, and the survivors around the world, I thank you for everything you've done today."
Li glanced at him with an amused expression.
"Coulson, what's the point of saying all that grand stuff?" he said bluntly. "Why don't we talk about something a little more practical?"
Anyone could make big speeches and empty declarations. Representing S.H.I.E.L.D. was one thing, but claiming to represent all of humanity was a bit much.
Coulson didn't seem offended at all. Instead, he laughed awkwardly and nodded quickly.
"Right, right. You must both be exhausted," he said. "I've already prepared a place for you to rest. Please come with me."
A helicopter soon carried Li and Bruce away from the battlefield.
Meanwhile, General Zod's corpse was taken away by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Considering the organization's habits, the body would almost certainly end up on an experimental table.
Before long, the helicopter landed on the rooftop of a towering building that housed one of the world's most famous five-star hotels.
Since the zombie outbreak, the entire structure had been abandoned. The original owners were gone, and zombies had once wandered through the halls.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had since taken control of the property.
All the zombies inside the building had been cleared out, turning the luxurious hotel into a temporary base.
Coulson personally arranged a presidential suite for Li and Bruce Wayne.
The room wasn't just luxurious—it was extravagant.
Cold drinks and expensive alcohol were already placed on the tables. There was even a functioning hot water system for showers, which had become rare after the disaster.
Coulson had also invited two beautiful female S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to keep them company.
After escorting Li and Bruce into the suite, Coulson left and walked into a nearby room where Melinda May was waiting.
Inside, several screens displayed the recorded footage of the battle against General Zod.
Coulson studied the video silently for a moment before asking with a serious expression, "May, what do you think?"
Melinda watched the footage carefully before answering.
"Based on the information we've gathered so far," she said calmly, "Li's strength, defense, and regenerative abilities have all improved significantly compared to the first time I met him."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"More importantly, he used portal magic and mirror spells from Kamar-Taj. As for what happened inside the Mirror Dimension, only Li and Batman know."
Her expression grew slightly more serious.
"In short, Li has far too many secrets."
Coulson nodded vigorously.
"You're absolutely right," he said. "Every time Li fights, he seems to become stronger. I've never seen anything like it before."
He crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"Fortunately, he's currently on our side."
Melinda's voice lowered slightly. "And if one day he isn't… he'll become the greatest threat to S.H.I.E.L.D."
Coulson didn't deny it.
"In that case, he might even become the greatest threat to Earth itself," he admitted.
But a moment later, he shrugged lightly.
"Then again, look at the Avengers. Every single one of them is technically a huge threat."
He leaned back in his chair.
"Our job is to make sure Li stays on our side forever."
Coulson's eyes narrowed slightly.
"We can't pry too deeply into his secrets, but we also can't ignore them."
Then he looked directly at Melinda.
"May, I'm assigning this task to you. You need to uncover Li's secrets, but at the same time make sure he feels that S.H.I.E.L.D. has no hostility toward him."
He paused briefly.
"In fact, we want him to believe we're helping him."
Melinda nodded without hesitation.
"Understood."
Meanwhile, inside the presidential suite, the atmosphere was completely different.
Whenever Bruce Wayne put on the Batman suit, he became a serious and intimidating figure. It was almost impossible to connect that image with Gotham's infamous billionaire playboy.
Now he had already removed his heavy combat armor and changed into his standard Batman suit.
He sat on the sofa with a stern expression.
On the other side of the room, Li had just finished taking a hot shower.
To be more precise, he had taken the bath together with the two female S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Coulson had sent.
Wrapped in a bathrobe, Li lounged comfortably on the sofa.
The two agents sat close to him, one feeding him grapes while the other poured wine into his glass.
Li looked over at Bruce and grinned.
"Come on, relax," he said casually. "We just saved the world."
"At least we didn't end up like Lex."
He took another sip of wine.
"Even if Catwoman finds out, she probably won't blame you."
Batman rolled his eyes.
"I didn't come all the way from Gotham just to watch you flirt," he replied flatly.
"Zod is dead, but Superman is still out there. We need to find him."
Before Li could respond, Coulson walked into the room with a cheerful smile.
"Batman, I actually agree with Li," he said pleasantly.
"Relaxation is important for maintaining peak performance. You just survived a major battle and saved the world."
He gestured around the luxurious suite.
"Everything here is well deserved."
Coulson's smile grew even wider when he noticed Li sitting comfortably between the two beautiful agents.
Learning that Li had even taken a bath with them, Coulson silently reached a conclusion.
Li clearly had a weakness.
And once you discovered a person's weakness, controlling them became much easier.
"Li," Coulson said warmly, "are you satisfied with my arrangements?"
Li nodded enthusiastically.
"Very satisfied," he said.
Then his expression suddenly turned serious.
"But Coulson, you're being a little unfair."
He leaned forward slightly.
"We've known each other for quite a while now, yet you've never brought me to a place like this before."
He gestured around the room.
"So Batman gets the VIP treatment, and I only get to enjoy it because I followed him here?"
Coulson laughed even harder.
"Li, you're welcome here anytime," he said quickly. "Consider this place your home."
"Good. Very good."
Li nodded as if he had just received a valuable benefit.
Bruce Wayne clearly had enough of the conversation.
"Coulson," he said bluntly, "any news about Superman?"
Coulson's smile faded slightly.
"I'm afraid not," he admitted.
"We've searched the entire city and even expanded the search to nearby areas, but we haven't found any trace of him."
During the battle with General Zod, everyone had focused entirely on that threat.
Superman's whereabouts had been overlooked.
"In that case," Bruce said as he stood up, "I'll return to Gotham. Contact me when you have information about Superman."
He clearly had no intention of staying any longer.
"Batman, wait," Li said.
"Even if we don't know where Superman is, we can still discuss how to deal with him."
Seeing that Li was finally getting serious, Coulson immediately gave the two female agents a subtle signal.
They quietly left the room.
Once they were alone, Coulson turned back to Li.
"So, what do you think?" he asked.
Li leaned back slightly.
"First of all, have you noticed something?" he said.
"Superman seems to be flying around randomly, but he actually has a specific objective."
Bruce immediately responded.
"The two times Superman appeared in New York, General Zod was present."
He narrowed his eyes.
"You think Superman is tracking Zod?"
Li shook his head slightly.
"That's just one possibility," he replied.
"More accurately, he may be tracking something Zod possesses."
Bruce leaned forward.
"For example?"
Li didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked directly at Coulson.
Coulson's expression changed slightly.
"Kryptonian spacecraft?" he said.
Zod had originally come to Earth searching for Superman.
His plan had been to use Kryptonian technology to transform Earth into a new Krypton.
That plan had been destroyed during his battle with Superman.
Most of the Kryptonian ships were destroyed in the process.
Li stared at Coulson calmly.
"As far as I know, the government should still have at least one Kryptonian ship," he said.
Coulson coughed lightly.
"I can't really comment on that," he replied carefully.
"All I can say is that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't currently have it."
He paused briefly.
"But if Superman is really searching for that ship, I can try to locate it."
Li smiled slightly.
Coulson really was a cunning fox.
The destroyed Kryptonian ships had almost certainly been recovered by the government.
Otherwise, how would Victor Stone—Cyborg—have been created?
Victor's father had used Kryptonian technology to save his son's life.
"Coulson," Li said calmly, "I'm not talking about the ship itself."
"I'm talking about the Mother Box inside it."
Now the conversation reached the real topic.
"If we obtain the Mother Box," Li continued, "we can lure Superman out."
The Mother Box was a mysterious high-tech device created by scientists from New Genesis.
Its abilities were extraordinary, and even the New Gods themselves didn't fully understand its power.
Each Mother Box seemed to share a mysterious connection with the universe itself.
General Zod had once obtained one by accident and stored it in his ship.
But during the battle with Superman, both the ship and the Mother Box were lost.
Coulson nodded slowly.
"If Superman's target really is the Mother Box, then yes, we could use it as bait."
Then he asked an important question.
"But Superman is now a zombie without consciousness. Why would he still search for the Mother Box?"
"What does he plan to do with it?"
Resurrection.
If the zombie crisis had never happened, Batman and Superman would have eventually fought a decisive battle.
After Superman's death, Bruce Wayne had once used the Mother Box to revive him.
Li wasn't completely sure whether Superman was truly searching for the Mother Box now.
But he knew one thing for certain.
If someone wanted to resurrect Superman, the Mother Box would be essential.
"In that case," Bruce said calmly, "we'll talk again once the Mother Box is found."
He walked to the window.
Moments later he summoned the Batplane.
Without hesitation, he jumped out and flew away.
Li watched him leave and shook his head.
"This guy," he muttered. "Why doesn't he ever use the door?"
Then he turned to Coulson.
"You know how to contact me," Li said. "Let me know when you find something."
A moment later, he activated the Black Dragon No. 2 mech and also flew out the window.
Not long afterward, Li and Bruce met again inside an underground parking structure in New York.
The location was hidden from satellite surveillance and had no cameras.
"Wayne," Li said directly, "what did you want to talk about?"
Bruce didn't hesitate.
"I don't trust Coulson or S.H.I.E.L.D.," he said.
Then he added quietly, "If you want the Mother Box… I might be able to get it."
Li raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Since you're offering," he said casually, "I'll leave it to you."
Bruce hesitated for a moment.
"Li," he continued, "maybe you're just using S.H.I.E.L.D. But you should still be careful around them."
"I will," Li replied calmly.
"Anything else?"
Bruce shook his head.
"It looks like you're in a hurry to return to your cat," Li said with a grin.
"Fine. I'll give you a ride."
He opened a portal.
Bruce stepped through it directly into the Batcave.
After sending him away, Li opened another portal and returned to his underground desert base.
Ada Wong had already grown accustomed to Li appearing out of nowhere.
At this point, even if he suddenly appeared while she was taking a shower, she probably wouldn't be surprised.
Li had two reasons for returning to the base.
First, he needed to repair Black Dragon No. 1.
Second, he wanted to see if Black Dragon No. 2's combat capabilities could be improved.
Both tasks were assigned to the White Queen's system.
Repairing Black Dragon No. 1 was relatively simple since it only required replacing damaged components.
Improving Black Dragon No. 2, however, was much more difficult.
The mech had already reached the technological limit of the White Queen's system.
Unless Li could obtain a more advanced artificial intelligence.
Several options came to mind.
The Batcomputer inside the Batcave was one possibility, but its intelligence level wasn't significantly higher than the White Queen's.
Stealing it would also cause Bruce Wayne a lot of trouble.
Another option was Jarvis, Iron Man's AI system.
If Li built a mech similar to Iron Man's armor and convinced Coulson to help, obtaining Jarvis might be possible.
There was also the Red Queen, which shared the same technological lineage as the White Queen.
But acquiring that system would require confronting Umbrella directly.
Finally, he could design a completely new AI system from scratch.
Unfortunately, that would take an enormous amount of time.
While the repair work on Black Dragon No. 1 continued, Li suddenly remembered something often overlooked.
Inside the Fortress of Solitude was an extremely advanced Kryptonian supercomputer.
Compared to Earth's technology, Kryptonian science was vastly superior.
Even a small piece of their technology could surpass the entire technological level of Earth.
Because Superman's powers were so dazzling, people often forgot that the Fortress itself contained one of the most powerful computers imaginable.
If Li could obtain even part of that system's technology, he could greatly upgrade the White Queen—or even build a completely new super intelligence.
After considering the idea, Li turned to Ada Wong.
"You mentioned Umbrella's base on the Kamchatka Peninsula before," he said.
"What's the current situation there?"
Ada replied calmly.
"The defenses are stronger than we expected."
"Alice's forces are still preparing for the assault."
Li raised a hand to stop her.
"There's no need for further preparation."
He looked at her calmly.
"This time, I'll join the operation with Alice's army."
On the surface, it would appear that Li was attacking Umbrella's Kamchatka base.
But in reality, his true target was the Fortress of Solitude hidden deep within the Arctic.
....
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