American comics: You're asked to fish, but you catch a Superman template?

Page 1393

"Then let's turn on the TV and watch it."

"Should I turn on the TV?" Helena asked, turning to Xu Fu and asking, "Which channel?"

"Every channel is the same."

Xu Fu turned on the television in the safe house, and all four of them stared at the screen simultaneously. The footage was aerial shot of a news helicopter, the camera shaking violently, with the roar of propellers and motors in the background.

If you looked down from the helicopter, you would see the streets below shrouded in darkness: the followers of the Black Knights, like ants, like an unstoppable army, filled every corner within the view. Each of them was covered in a layer of black material like armor, and dark currents of energy gushed from their palms, indiscriminately destroying everything in their path.

“Such scenes were happening almost simultaneously in major cities,” a reporter on the helicopter shouted amidst the noise. “We witnessed this live in the Riviera. These men in black suddenly charged into the streets with superhuman strength, unleashing some kind of black shockwave. Bullets couldn’t penetrate their bodies, couldn’t penetrate their bodies, couldn’t penetrate their bodies. They could unleash some kind of black shockwave; bullets couldn’t penetrate their bodies, couldn’t penetrate their bodies. The police were powerless against it. There are reports that they may belong to a former cult called ‘The Order’.”

The reporter paused for a moment, then said, "We'll get some important news from the Metropolis in a bit." Before she finished speaking, the scene abruptly switched to the Metropolis, but this time the camera was pointed directly at the sky. Miles from the Metropolis coast, a massive black shadow appeared on the water, obscuring the sky like plankton. A dark void, nearly ten kilometers in radius, stretched across the azure waters like an overflowing maw, and the Metropolis was not far from it.

“Dear viewers, this is the Metropolitan,” the reporter on the scene said, his throat dry and his voice almost trembling. “I don’t know how to describe what I’m seeing. Perhaps the only way to describe it is through the Bible’s end times.”

“The center.” Xu Fu stared at the screen with a serious expression and said in a deep voice, “But he should have been destroyed by now. I saw him swallow a nuclear bomb and then be engulfed by the flames of the nuclear explosion. He shouldn’t have come out of the nuclear bomb.”

"Survived a nuclear explosion?" Helena interrupted. "But you just did it, didn't you?"

Cisco continued through his headset, “This thing called the Center doesn’t seem to have been destroyed in the last nuclear explosion. Satellite images taken a few hours ago show it’s been hiding on the far side of the moon, evading our detection. Now it’s back, and it looks like it wants to challenge us.” He paused, then added, “There are troops everywhere now, and the fastest troops in Metropolis should be in the city center within minutes.”

“The army is useless,” Helena replied. “They can’t handle it. Send us your coordinates when you arrive and I’ll bring reinforcements to pick you up.”

After hanging up the phone, Wally immediately asked, "What? Are we at war?"

Helena glanced at her sideways and replied, "The biggest battle."

“Great.” Mike chuckled softly, clenched his green fists, and clapped his hands. “I’ve been looking forward to stretching my muscles.”

“Not yet,” Helena said. “Since we happen to be in Gotham City, we can wait while I call another deputy sheriff.”

The environment of the "metropolis" was almost indistinguishable from the seaside cities on television. Black smoke filled the air, roads were destroyed, police retreated, and black-clad cultists were everywhere. They looked like an army of warriors wielding dark weapons, and their mothership hovered on the water's "center." Many ugly black monsters constantly descended from the mothership onto the city, adding fuel to the already terrible fire.

A transparent green plane suddenly swooped into the street, machine gun muzzles protruding from under its wings. Long tongues of green fire, interspersed with transparent rockets, swept across the street, caught up with the enemies on the road, climbed the walls, and took off into the air amidst the blinding green flames.

Following closely behind was a black fighter jet, sleek and black, its wings like those of a bat spreading its wings in the night—one of Batman's vehicles. Several ground-based missiles launched from its underside, engulfing the surrounding area in thick smoke and flames. The flames exploded, shrapnel flew everywhere, and several hideous monsters fell in the flames, leaving only black slime behind.

The fighter jet slowly descended, its transparent fuselage dissipating into starlight to reveal four new Supermen: Huntress, Green Lantern, and Flash. The Batplane hovered not far from them, its bottom hatch opening, and Batman unzipped his cape and jumped out.

Ten seconds later, Cisco arrived at the designated coordinates. He said that several agents from the Superpower Investigation Department were on their way, but given the kind of enemy they were facing, they shouldn't expect them to be of much use.

Of course, since this was a metropolis, there must be someone else there. The red and blue figures appeared without hesitation from somewhere on one side of the city, defeating more than a dozen black monsters that had climbed over the outer walls. They soared through the air, whistling past buildings. Superman instantly traversed most of the city, landing before the crowd like the sound of war drums.

As the dust settled, Superman slowly walked over: "I just got back from Kansas and heard something happened in Metropolis. Can anyone explain what happened?"

"It's the same old story, nothing special," Batman said with a sigh of relief, then added after a pause, "Just like before, 5.8."

Seeing the arrival of one of the greatest legends of all time, Cisco couldn't help but swallow hard. He looked around and said, "Number Seven, is this all of us?"

“Yeah,” Mike chuckled softly. “Doesn’t it sound more motivating to have seven of us fighting against an endless army and a giant floating island more than twenty miles in diameter?”

Batman frowned slightly: "Perhaps there are more than seven of us."

Following his gaze, everyone saw a black helicopter fly in from the other end of a row of buildings and stop about ten steps in front of them. The rotors kicked up a thick layer of dust on the ground, and the airflow dispersed the surrounding black smoke, revealing the white letter "L" printed on the outside of the fuselage.

“Lex Luthor.” Superman frowned nervously, as if the mere mention of those letters annoyed him. “What’s that bald guy up to now?”

Chapter 1745 Plan

Thick smoke billowed, engines hissed, and a black helicopter circled and landed in front of the crowd. The wind from the rotors ruffled the capes of those present. A pair of gleaming custom-made leather shoes stepped down the ramp from the cockpit. Lex Luthor, dressed in an expensive suit and a neat tie, slowly emerged. The cockpit lights illuminated his bald head, and his unhurried demeanor contrasted sharply with the smoke-filled battlefield behind him.

"Luther," Superman said coldly, "has never been at his best since that plane with the letter "L" on it. "It's already chaotic enough here. What are you doing here?"

“Calm down, Superman,” Luther said, unfazed by his attitude. “I’m just here to help.”

Superman clasped his hands together: "The best help you can offer is to stay in your safe zone and behave yourself. The last thing we need right now is for you to come back at a crucial moment and escalate an already bad situation." He paused, then decisively added: "Just like last time."

“That’s all in the past, Superman. You’ve already gone through a life-or-death experience once, I believe you’ll understand,” Luther said calmly. “I really hated you in the past, I never hid it. But now I just want to help you. You always say everyone should have a second chance, why can’t I?”

"Because you are Lex Luthor, I believe every word you say." More than 11 people are still thinking.

“Well, perhaps the facts will change your mind.” Luther gestured toward the cubicle, where a female secretary dressed in an elegant business suit and skirt handed Luther a high-tech device resembling a metal backpack.

Superman raised an eyebrow: "What's that?"

“This is the key to your victory,” Luther explained. “Long before you knew it, I sensed something strange on Earth. While I didn’t know exactly what it was, I knew something ancient and immense was awakening from the depths of the Earth, and it was doing something. I was tracking unusual energy fluctuations, and these peculiar fluctuations ultimately led me to Cortland.”

Helena's eyes lit up immediately: "Deathstroke's employer isn't a government agency, is it? His employer is you."

“Yes, it’s me.” Luther nodded. “I asked him to give me the material samples from this center so I can study them and find a solution. This,” he held up the metal backpack in his hand, “is my solution.”

"Let me explain," Batman said this time.

“I thoroughly studied the black matter that Deathstroke collected for me and discovered that it resembles living matter. It can be said that the black matter that attaches itself to people, manipulates their minds, and endows them with immense power is alive. More specifically, it is an extension of the enormous life form floating in the so-called ‘center.’ This also includes the monsters that crawl out from inside the floating giant island; they are also extensions of the life form in the center.”

“You mean, many of the enemies we’re facing are actually common life forms?” Wally was incredulous. “They number as much as an entire army, maybe more.”

“Yes.” Luther nodded in confirmation: “The center is a living entity, a whole. Any living entity that is corrupted by the substance it comes from will become part of the center.”

“I emerged from the molten core of the earth. This path was unique, independent of all others. I developed qualities that transcended those of lower life forms,” Helena recalled the contents of the black-covered book, instantly captivated. “That was the Center.” The writer Wesley Diggron, desperate for life, became madly obsessed with the mysticism, somehow connected with the Center, and became its mouthpiece among the people. He founded a cult, and the Black Book became the Center's means of assimilating new life.

Hearing this, Xu Fu couldn't help but worry about Kara, who had been assimilated in the center, and asked, "What about those who have been assimilated? Do they still have a chance to recover?"

Luther pondered for a long time, then said somewhat uncertainly, "According to my latest research on this substance, its absorption should be reversible in the short term. However, this depends on the individual and the strength of their thoughts and will. But if the assimilation takes too long, he (or she) may become a permanent part of the center. For example, that writer you mentioned, what was his name again, Duglon, he had a hard time returning to his original state."

Xu Fu clenched his fist: "Then what is the best way to reverse the assimilation process?"

Luther glanced at him sideways and said softly, "That was a powerful enough blow."

Yes, it's very simple and straightforward.

"You said you've found a way to defeat him?" Helena asked. "How?"

"So we have this device. I've been working on it in the lab day and night, trying almost every element, chemical substance, and radiation, until yesterday, when I finally synthesized a beam of light that can kill this black substance. The device is equipped with a transmitter that can continuously emit a beam of light at this frequency for twenty seconds; the body at the center cannot resist this vibration."

“But its caliber seems to be no more than 50 millimeters,” Helena said. “Your so-called plan to save the world isn’t going to have us carry this thing like torches through hordes of monsters, is it? Do I need to remind you how many enemies are scattered across several cities?”

“No, of course not,” Luther said. “As I just said, the other church members and the monsters flying in the sky are just extensions of the center’s own consciousness. On the other hand, once we kill that big guy floating on the water, those cannon fodder will naturally become cannons.”

“But this thing is over 20 miles in diameter,” Superman said. “Are you sure your little toy will work with just a beam of light?”

“I can’t do it.” Luther shook his head. “The ray needs to cover at least 80 percent of the human body’s surface to be effective.” He paused and added, “That’s why I need you to do this. The plan is to have a superhuman fast enough to carry this device on his back, covering 80 percent of the floating island’s surface, and run at supersonic speed for no more than five seconds to ensure his death.”

“I can give it a try,” Superman said.

“No, I know your abilities, but you’re not fast enough.” Luther shook his head, then turned his gaze to Wally: “And you, kid, you’re the last one left in the Lightning family, 063. You have the potential to succeed.”

Wally paused, a little uncertain: "Who, me? But I've never been this fast before."

“You must be just as fast this time, because as far as I know, you are the only one on Earth who can do it right now,” Luther said solemnly. “This is a matter of life and death for humanity. If we succeed, we will all be saved; if we fail, we will all perish with you.”

“Okay,” Wally emphasized, “I will do my best.”

“There’s another problem I didn’t foresee when I was making the plan,” Luther said. “When the center first surfaced on Cortland, those idiots from Russia fed it a nuclear bomb. According to my calculations, that bomb hasn’t exploded yet; it’s still buried deep inside the center, constantly drawing energy from it like a nuclear battery.”

"So?" Superman asked.

“If we kill the center directly with a beam of light, its body after death may undergo unpredictable and drastic changes, which could very likely detonate the nuclear bomb hidden inside,” Luther said. “Therefore, the plan can only be implemented after the nuclear bomb has been defused.”

This would only complicate matters further. Luther didn't say it aloud, but everyone knew that the interior of the "center" was completely uncharted territory, and venturing in rashly would likely bring no benefit.

Finally, Superman stepped forward: "I'll defuse the bomb. Flash, the rest is up to you. You don't mind, do you?"

Wally nodded decisively: "I will do everything I can to make sure this doesn't happen, and I will!"

Chapter 1746 Public Bus

The invasion from the center came suddenly, and like almost every city, Metropolis was caught off guard. Cultists with superpowers and all sorts of dark monsters flooded the city almost instantly, giving it a preemptive strike when it awoke in the morning.

The battle covered a third of the city in just twenty minutes. The rooftops and main roads were the first to be occupied by the enemy, and people fled into alleys and dungeons far from the main roads like a flock of sheep.

The bus, packed with passengers, met its worst fate. As it crossed an overpass, a sudden black wave struck it, shattering the cab of a car parked parallel to it. Flying debris dented the cab door, the impact throwing the cab to one side and causing it to spin. The horizontal roof slammed heavily against the side of the bus. The right-side window shattered, and the entire bus, filled with screaming passengers, crashed to the ground. Its kinetic energy dissipated only when the front of the bus struck the guardrail, leaving half of the vehicle suspended in the air, swaying precariously. The suspended body trembled slightly, seemingly poised to plunge off the bridge at any moment.

Unfortunately, they were lucky compared to the taxi next to them. The yellow taxi was badly damaged, with blood and other gastrointestinal contents splattered all over the vehicle, and the bright red windshield was shattered. Clearly, neither the driver nor the passenger had survived.

But this seemed to be only the beginning of the bus's demise. Just as the long bus was about to come to a stop, a huge black shadow suddenly descended from the sky. Sharp claws ripped through the overturned bus like blades, and a tremendous force tore through the metal sheeting along the cracks, revealing a pair of pitch-black pupils and a half-meter-long sharp beak.

A colossal creature, over twenty meters long, landed on the bus, gripping its body with sharp claws. It had a pair of wings that blotted out the sky, was entirely black, and exuded the same dark aura as all the other creatures associated with the center. It had a long, powerful tail and looked like a Jurassic pterosaur.

Its long, beak-like mouth pierced the car's jagged cracks like a sword, eliciting frantic screams from the passengers. The dragon struggled to move its beak in the cramped space, looking like a crow trying to drink from a narrow bottleneck.

People huddled in the corner until they could no longer escape. A huge black maw lunged at them, trying to snatch the little girl standing in the corner; she looked to be no more than twenty years old. Just then, the dragon's gaping maw suddenly opened wide, and its long, beak-like mouth lashed out forcefully.

The girl who had narrowly escaped death was almost stunned, frozen in place, unable to move, her nose twitching from the stench of the dragon's mouth. One of the bolder ones went to the window and saw a blue figure circling in the air, grabbing the pterosaur's tail with taut, muscular arms and pulling it off the vehicle by its tail.

This is the new Superman.

Superman and the Flash, under Lex Luthor's orders, begin executing their plan to attack the center itself. Meanwhile, the townspeople caught in the crossfire need rescue, which is exactly what others are doing. Xu Fu has already cleared out the cultists from the streets, rescued over 300 people trapped in the mall, and dealt with a ten-foot-long lizard-like reptile.

As he flew over a bridge, he happened to spot a pterosaur entangled in a bus.

In the eyes of the desperate, the flame of hope is rekindled. The people of the metropolis have long been accustomed to this. No matter how dire the situation, as long as the crimson cloak flutters, they can always find the direction of light in the darkness.

"Get up!"

Xu let out a scream, his shoulders suddenly swung, and the black pterosaur was lifted into the air. The enormous creature roared with all its might, flapping its wings and creating a hurricane on the bridge, which blew the bus, which was half-suspended on the side of the bridge, a few more times, causing the passengers to gasp in surprise again.

Xu Fu noticed the commotion. He raised his arm again, then swung his tail violently, slamming it down on the pterosaur's shoulder like a heavy iron bar falling downwards. The force of hundreds of tons crashed onto the bridge, the shockwave spreading rapidly like cracks. The bridge shook and broke, and the pterosaur hissed and howled.

The entire bridge shook violently, and the bus stuck on the side of the bridge was not spared either. The rear half of the bus finally shattered into countless screams, and the entire bus, front end down, began to fall freely under the force of gravity. According to the formula for free fall, it would be reduced to scrap metal in less than a second from the impact, and the passengers inside would not fare any better.

Xu Fu had anticipated this, of course. In the instant the rear of the car detached, he shifted his feet, dodging the falling vehicle with incredible speed, and launched the car into the air the moment the rear wheels left the bridge surface. He carefully and gently placed the perforated car body on the roadside at the foot of the bridge, unaware that the moment his boots touched the ground, the black pterosaur on the bridge began its relentless pursuit of him again. Xu Fu had barely turned around when the pterosaur's long beak was on his body, its jaws gripping him, and it swept across the ground like the wind.

Xu Fu rolled around in its mouth, his left and right hands gripping the beak that bit his waist tightly. His red boots slammed deeply and violently onto the sidewalk, hurling tons of gravel and dirt, carving two deep gashes into the ground. His red cloak was torn by the wind, forcing the charging pterosaur to slow down before stopping in such a violent manner.