Ultimately, Darian still turned Clark in.
Clark was quite helpless about this, but since Darian had done him such a huge favor, he could only let him call the Police and turn himself in.
While waiting for the Police, Clark changed into his signature outfit: a deep blue tight-fitting battle suit, with that famous S-shaped emblem embedded on his chest, and a red cape draped behind him. It was the classic Superman look.
Darian looked him up and down, stroking his chin: "This look isn't fashionable enough; it's missing one important thing."
Clark asked suspiciously: "What's missing?"
Darian took out a pair of red briefs and said with a bright smile: "It would be even more perfect if you wore these red underpants on the outside."
Clark: "..."
He decisively rejected this suggestion, stating that fashion could be niche, but it couldn't be bizarre.
Darian was immediately unhappy.
You clearly dress like this in the comics, practically wanting everyone to know it's your zodiac year, so why can't you do it now?
The two were still arguing about aesthetics when the Metropolis Police arrived at the scene.
This time, their speed was much faster than usual.
Dozens of Police cars and armed Police vehicles surrounded the entire church, with several armed helicopters circling overhead. They had almost brought the entire Police force's firepower.
Given this formation, those who didn't know might have thought the bearded man had been resurrected.
The Metropolis Police Director personally led the team, bringing dozens of fully armed Officers to rush into the church, their guns aimed straight at the people inside.
Darian stepped forward to meet them and spoke first: "Officer, I am the one who captured Karl-El."
The Director nodded: "Well done, Officer Darian."
Clark was stunned on the spot: "Father, you are a Police Officer?"
"Yes, being a Police Officer is my main job; being a priest is just my side job. I can punish evil and promote good without neglecting either."
Darian said happily: "I won't hide it from you; criminals often come to me for confession and voluntarily admit their crimes. I always comfort them by saying that after confession, it's the beginning of a new life, and they can soon be reborn as new people. Then I turn around and send them to prison. I gain both merit and achievements."
Clark: "..."
Isn't this entrapment?
Wait, it seems he himself was entrapped by Darian.
Clark's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but ask: "You are a priest, wouldn't being a Police Officer cause a conflict?"
"Of course not."
Darian smiled warmly: "Criminals need salvation even more. I only ever fire one warning shot at criminals, then use sincerity to influence them, letting them realize their mistakes and turn over a new leaf so they won't commit crimes again. That way, I can save more people and reduce evil at its source."
Hearing this, Clark couldn't help but sigh: "It seems you are not only a good priest but also a good Police Officer."
"Of course."
They hadn't chatted for long before the Director gave an order. The surrounding Officers swarmed up and put silver bracelets on Clark.
Of course, for Clark, these silver bracelets could only really be considered bracelets.
Clark didn't resist either, letting the Police arrest him and take him out of the church.
Before leaving, Darian shouted at Clark: "Remember to say hello to Reporter Lane for me."
Clark: "?"
Before he could ask, he was shoved into an armed Police car.
The Director breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Darian, and said in a familiar tone: "Darian, I've heard about your affairs. I didn't expect you to cause such a big stir after going to Gotham City."
Darian had been transferred to Gotham from the Metropolis Police, so the Director naturally knew him.
The Director slightly regretted letting Darian go. If he had known the other party was so capable, he wouldn't have let Gordon have him no matter what.
"Can't help it, gold shines wherever it is."
Darian rubbed his hands and chuckled: "Officer, so about my bounty..."
The Director shook his head helplessly: "That's not under our jurisdiction. The bounty is issued by the government; you have to consult the relevant departments. We can only help you issue a certificate for registration."
After saying this, he didn't stay any longer and immediately led the team away with Clark.
Darian had no choice but to have Ultron find the contact information for the relevant departments to ask about his bounty.
Not long after, Ultron's voice came: "Sir, the other party refused to pay the bounty, citing that you called the general Police line instead of their official bounty hotline, so you don't meet the requirements to claim the bounty."
Darian: "???"
What the hell is the difference?
Darian instantly realized his bounty had been embezzled.
He had long heard of America's reputation for only posting rewards but never paying them. Eastern lottery winners and American bounties were listed as the World's two great mysteries—always heard of, never seen.
But he didn't expect that one day this would happen to him.
Previously, when Darian was on the main server, he hadn't done these kinds of bounties, but S.H.I.E.L.D. had always collected the rewards on his behalf, depositing the money directly into his card.
Over time, he had forgotten that America still had this traditional craft.
"To think they dare to embezzle my money, very good, very good!"
Darian narrowed his eyes: "Ultron, find out exactly which Commissioner Smith embezzled my bounty. I want to visit him personally to 'send warmth'."
On the other side, the news of Clark being arrested by the Police soon reached the government's ears.
The American government immediately sent several high-ranking officials to negotiate, but all were rejected by Clark.
He expressed his willingness to surrender, but he must ensure the safety and freedom of Lois Lane, and he wanted to meet her in person.
The top government officials didn't want to agree at first, but Clark's words were too persuasive—just as persuasive as how he easily snapped the alloy handcuffs and then punched a hole through the wall to walk out.
Ultimately, Clark was transferred to an air force Base and successfully met Lois.
Although they had only met once or twice, they seemed like old acquaintances with deep feelings for each other.
To put it bluntly, it was just love at first sight.
The two chatted while looking at each other, their eyes lingering, which made everyone in the observation room feel a bit nauseous.
After chatting for a while, Clark suddenly remembered something: "By the way, a priest asked me to say hello to you for him."
Lois looked confused: "A priest? Which priest?"
"His name is Darian, and it seems he is also a Police Officer."
Lois suddenly realized: "Oh, you mean the Gotham Gun God? I've done an exclusive interview with him before."
Clark asked suspiciously: "Gotham Gun God?"
Lois nodded: "Yes, didn't you know? Darian is currently the most famous Police Officer in Gotham City. His marksmanship is superb. He once wiped out an entire gang by himself. During the Arkham Asylum riot, he killed most of the prisoners. He basically only fires one shot at criminals, but every shot is a headshot."
Clark: "..."
So that was the salvation Darian was talking about.
You said let them be reborn, but you didn't say it was reincarnation!
Afterwards, the air force Base dispatched fighter jets to establish contact with the Kryptonian ship hovering at an altitude of ten thousand meters, which looked like an octopus.
Soon, General Zod sent his lieutenant, Faora, to take Clark away. Not even sparing Lois, she grabbed her onto the spaceship to use as a hostage to force Clark to comply and prevent him from playing any tricks.
But General Zod never expected that the one playing tricks wasn't Clark, but Lois, the reporter hero.
On the way to the detention cell, Clark quietly stuffed a key into Lois's hand.
And after being locked in the cell, Lois immediately inserted the key into the interface on the wall.
Don't ask why the cell had a key interface; perhaps the Kryptonian style was just unique.
This key stored the data consciousness of Clark's biological father, Jor-El.
Jor-El was no ordinary person.
He was Krypton's chief scientist, and most of Krypton's cutting-edge technology came from his hands. Before Krypton was destroyed, he copied and uploaded his consciousness, turning it into an artificial intelligence-like existence, achieving cyber immortality.
Once activated, Jor-El's consciousness seized control of the entire spaceship with thunderous momentum, guiding his daughter-in-law to escape and board an escape pod back to Earth.
Deep in the spaceship, Clark finally met the legendary General Zod.
General Zod, full name Dru-Zod, was the military commander of Krypton.
Hundreds of years ago, Krypton faced a resource depletion crisis.
To continue the Kryptonian bloodline, General Zod launched a military coup, attempting to take over the council in his own way and forcibly reverse the civilization's direction.
Here, one must mention Krypton's efficient yet rigid social system.
Their genetic engineering technology was superb, capable of modifying the brain and body's genetic encoding while the infant was still an embryo, according to the needs of civilization's operation, locking everyone's career positioning and social function from the cradle.
It was like choosing a class when creating a character in a game. No matter how they developed later, a warrior could never break through class restrictions to cast fireballs, and a mage could never pick up a blade to fight enemies in close combat.
From the moment a Kryptonian was born, their life's trajectory was written into their genes.
This system could maximize resource utilization efficiency, but it also locked the future of the entire civilization.
General Zod didn't want to watch his civilization head toward annihilation, so he chose to rebel.
Unfortunately, the coup was eventually suppressed, and he and his subordinates were exiled to the Phantom Zone, where they spent a long time.
As a result, General Zod and the others were blessed by misfortune, escaping the fate of Krypton's destruction due to the core explosion.
All the above information came from the intelligence Darian collected from DC comic books.
At this time, he had already received his due bounty.
As for the process, there is no need to mention it.
In short, his mood had turned from cloudy to sunny, and he was currently comfortably flipping through comics, studying General Zod's background.
The comics mentioned that Krypton had something called the Codex.
Kryptonians played with genetic technology to the extreme, building whatever character they wanted.
And the Codex was equivalent to the account's code database, containing all the DNA of Kryptonians. As long as you copied the corresponding code, you could create the corresponding account.
And this Codex had been fused into his son by Clark's biological father.
General Zod's search for Clark was to obtain the Codex to rebuild Kryptonian civilization and make Krypton great again.
But Krypton had long since exploded. Before rebuilding Kryptonian civilization, he had to find a new, suitable Planet to settle down on.
Oh, what a coincidence, there just happened to be a Planet rich in resources under their feet.
Even more coincidentally, a fellow clansman had already test-lived there for decades, with a full experience, and could beat up a crowd of indigenous people just by sunbathing.
General Zod didn't hesitate for even 0.01 seconds, immediately deciding to learn from Clark and treat Earth as his home.
As for those indigenous people on Earth who had been occupying their home for a long time, naturally, they would all be cleared out.
Earth had been the sacred territory of Kryptonians since ancient times, and no indigenous people were allowed to invade their home.
The veteran American player silently liked this.
The Native Americans disliked it and reported it by the way.
"So, General Zod's goal is the Codex and Earth."
Darian closed the comic, not surprised at all.
Whether in Marvel or DC, Earth was a popular property in the Universe, and every BOSS wanted to claim it as their own.
But strangely, these BOSSes never clashed; one would fail, and then the next would come, as if they had agreed upon it in advance.
Just then, Ultron's voice sounded.
"Sir, important news: in the town of Smallville, Kansas, Clark is fighting two Kryptonians. The U.S. Air Force has arrived at the scene and is attacking Clark and the two Kryptonians simultaneously."
Darian's eyes lit up: "It's finally starting."
Smallville town.
Just a short while ago, Clark and General Zod's negotiations broke down. Clark had learned of General Zod's ambition to rebuild Kryptonian civilization on Earth, but Zod wanted to save on demolition costs, not wanting to spend time killing humans one by one or flattening human buildings city by city, so he decided to simply use the World Engine.
The World Engine, Krypton's top transformation device, could convert an entire Planet's environment into a Kryptonian landscape.
Once deployed, Earth would immediately feel like home.
How could Clark agree to that? Earth was his home; Krypton was at most his ancestral hometown. Naturally, he could tell which was more important, so he decisively fled back to Earth.
However, General Zod did not give up there.
He went directly to find Clark's home on Earth, that old farm in Kansas, and attacked Clark's foster mother, Martha, demanding the whereabouts of the Codex.
Martha was Clark's Achilles' heel.
Clark's anger instantly maxed out. He dragged General Zod and plowed dozens of miles of road, blasting General Zod's breathing armor to pieces.
General Zod couldn't adapt to Earth's atmospheric composition and lost his combat effectiveness, being urgently dragged back to the ship by his subordinates, leaving only his lieutenant, Faora, and the combatant, Nam-Ek, to recapture Clark.
Although Clark had absorbed decades of sunlight and his abilities were terrifying, the two Kryptonians' abilities were not bad either. They wore heavy battle armor forged by Kryptonian technology, and their strength was not inferior to Clark's.
More importantly, they were natural warriors.
Combat instincts were carved into their genes, and they had received military training from a young age, far stronger than Clark, a small-town youth who had never fought.
Two on one against Clark, working with tacit understanding, they directly pressed Clark to the ground and rubbed him into it.
Bang!!
Faora smashed down with a punch, and Clark's body slammed into the asphalt road like a cannonball. Gravel splashed, and a shocking deep pit appeared on the ground.
Before he could catch his breath, Nam-Ek had already descended from the sky, his feet stomping heavily on his chest, and the ground collapsed again.
For a moment, Clark was unable to get up.
Faora said coldly: "Take him back."
Nam-Ek nodded, delivering continuous heavy blows to Clark's head, then grabbed him, preparing to take him back.
Boom—!
Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and Nam-Ek was blasted away.
"Hands up, alien bumpkins, you are officially under arrest for human trafficking!"
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