Page 1371
Page 1371
The dangerous gaze was first cast upon Batman, who was still lingering in front of him.
“Bruce,” he whispered the other man’s name.
Batman knew perfectly well what was about to happen, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Clark, don't..."
Superman shook his head firmly: "You and I both know how dangerous they are, Bruce. Don't try to stop me. Stay here, and at least this time, for the sake of the past, I'll let you live."
After saying this, he ignored Batman hanging from the ceiling, turned around and pounded hard on the locked door of the room with his fist, then walked out into the clean white corridor.
At this moment, under Talia's orders, the corridor had been completely sealed off: layer upon layer of heavy, golden composite doors severed the passageway from the outside world. As soon as Superman stepped out of the room, two rows of automatic Gatling guns spewed fire from the walls on either side of the corridor.
Bullets rained down on the blue steel hull, then ricocheted off instantly. The flattened, twisted cartridge cases crackled and echoed in the narrow passageway, the gunfire almost deafening.
Superman calmly walked through the long corridor amidst the hail of bullets, his eyes emitting intense laser beams that sliced through each gun barrel like laser scalpels, turning them into scrap metal amidst flames and explosions. He reached the next sealed, golden composite door, and with a light tap like a cannonball, the door panel was deeply dented and flew to the other end of the room before continuing into the next corridor.
A white floor tile sank slightly beneath his crimson shoes, triggering a pressure reaction device. A one-ton mechanism fell from the ceiling, landing squarely on his head. He didn't bother to look up; instead, he slammed his fist into his head. The immense force slammed the heavy mechanism back into the ceiling, the internal springs emitting a piercing snapping sound.
After cracking the third door, all the traps seemed to have finally been exhausted. In the long corridor outside, he saw a group of ninjas brandishing swords and spears. Superman paused, looking at the seven or eight ninjas' gleaming blades, and couldn't help but chuckle...
However, it must be acknowledged that the ninjas of the Assassin's Guild displayed immense selflessness in the face of an invincible enemy. Even realizing the impossibility of victory, they remained fearless, and half a second later, amidst the raging red and blue hurricane that swept through the passage, they all collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
While Superman's clones were wreaking havoc, Batman wasn't idle either. He had managed to break free of his wrist shackles using wire hidden in his glove and gave chase. He found his all-purpose belt in a room across the hall, put it on, and quickly followed the trail of destruction throughout the passageway.
He must stop the clone before he does anything more irreversible.
Chapter 1691 Cloning
The ninjas of the League of Assassins might be martial artists, proficient in various fighting techniques and weapons, but against the godlike Kryptonians, these skills were utterly useless. In just a few minutes, Superman's clone had penetrated the entire base, leaving behind a horrific scene of rivers of blood and corpses strewn everywhere.
However, even after the last ninja in his path fell, Talia-Algur did not appear. Superman used his light energy to quickly scan the entire structure, soon locking onto an area he had not yet explored. Leaking lead layers blocked the light, but it was the only lead structure in the entire base, standing out conspicuously like a "I'm here" sticker on the gate.
Superman grinned, forcefully passed through layers of walls, flew to the heavy lead door, and easily swung it open with a single blow, rushing into the room.
In the center of the circular open space is a gray-white room that looks like a laboratory. Around the perimeter is a ring of energy pillars called the "Eternal Stones." Inside the energy pillars is energy that looks like some kind of dark red liquid. This dark red light is both dangerous and beautiful.
Superman found it quite amusing to see the researchers in their protective suits huddled in a corner of the lab like rabbits in a wolf's den. Ignoring these harmless companions, Superman walked towards the next room at the far end...
When he pushed the door open with his bare hands, he saw a room that was extremely dimly lit. A dim, bluish light filled the entire room, and rows of two-meter-long biological culture tanks were neatly arranged on the floor.
Superman walked indifferently between the two rows of glassware, but as he passed the creatures floating in them, he was electrocuted.
He saw himself in these banks.
The dark blue liquid filled every glass container, countless bubbles rising from the bottom of the jar with a gurgling sound, disappearing as they reached the upper partition. Countless Clark-Kent eyes were tightly closed; they floated in the jars like sleeping boys.
The clone Superman's breathing became heavy and rapid. He seemed startled by the sight before him and involuntarily took two small steps back. But this was not surprising; for any human being, seeing an entire room filled with clones of themselves would likely be a normal reaction.
"Perfect, isn't it?"
Talia Gur's voice came from the shadows behind him. Superman seemed to wake up suddenly, turning his head sharply, his eyes flashing a burning red light again.
Talia calmly picked up her silver briefcase, and the lid, which had been closed for a long time, was lifted by gravity, revealing the kryptonite that she had taken for a billion dollars.
Superman's face fell. He took two steps back, knelt on the ground, and gasped for breath, one hand on the ground.
Talia took the glowing green stone from the box and tossed the box aside. She circled halfway around the kneeling clone Superman before carefully crouching down beside him. "It's a pity," she said. "I really liked you, after all, you were our first successful case. But because the Dark Knight pointed out a fatal flaw in the design, I had to eliminate you. We'll remove that flaw in the next new individual."
Superman collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Because the stone was so small, he needed all his strength to look directly at Talia's face. He gritted his teeth and forced out a sentence: "You didn't... succeed. Batman was right...you're just another heartless dictator."
“Is that so?” Talia grinned. “And you? How is what you do any different from what I do? You meddle in politics all over the world, fight armed forces, and single-handedly act as a judge, jury, and executioner. To me, that sounds a lot like a dictator.”
The clone Superman shook his head: "No, that's different... I just want innocent people to have a better life."
“See, our fates are all the same,” Talia sighed silently, groping for the cold dagger. “But unfortunately, your mission ends here. As our first test subject, you have perfectly completed your task.”
She paused for a moment, then held the kryptonite in her left hand and the dagger in her right, pressing it against Superman's neck. "I've heard that Iron Man becomes incredibly vulnerable when he comes into contact with this kind of stone, and I'd love to have the chance to experience it for myself."
Superman gritted his teeth, still trying to fight back, but the kryptonite pressing against his cheek seemed to drain all his strength, leaving him utterly weak. He could feel the cold blade against his throat; the tip had cut a small piece of flesh, drawing blood.
He gradually realized that he might really be going to die.
However, at that moment, Batman suddenly appeared in the doorway Superman had opened. As he assessed the situation in the room, almost without thinking, a batarang instinctively appeared in his hand, tracing a black arc between a row of incubation tanks, flying straight towards the stone held in Talia's left hand.
With a precise strike, the kryptonite was knocked away by the batarang, which traced a parabola that flashed green light across the ethereal blue space between the two culture tanks.
Almost as soon as he was freed from the shackles of Kryptonian radiation, Superman unleashed boundless power. He let out a low growl, shrugged his shoulders, and flung Talia off his back, his eyes bloodshot. He raised his head and stared intently at a pesky green rock beside him. A heat field with a temperature comparable to the photosphere of the sun struck him directly, instantly incinerating the billion-year-old rock to ashes.
Talia's back slammed against the metal wall behind her, sending shivers of pain through her bones. Nevertheless, she gritted her teeth, stood up, and quickly disappeared into a dark corner of the room.
Superman gradually regained his strength. He took a deep breath, reverted to his original form, and stood motionless in the dimly lit room. His cold gaze swept between all the glass bottles, in which floated clones identical to him. His pupils burned red once more.
“…Clark!” Batman shouted.
Superman's red eyes vanished instantly. He looked at Batman and said, "I do what I believe is right, Bruce. I never regret anything."
The red halo immediately lit up again, the clone hissed, and two thick laser beams swept across the room like two heavy swords. Glassware exploded one after another, and blue liquid flooded most of the room like a torrent. Large amounts of liquid evaporated at temperatures of thousands of degrees, and water vapor obscured most of the view.
Although they were clones of Superman, they were not yet fully formed and had never been exposed to sunlight, so their physical abilities were no different from those of normal people. The heat vision that swept through the entire building instantly claimed the lives of hundreds of clones, then sliced through the walls and destroyed the entire building.
Batman barely had time to back away before the entire building collapsed. Almost as soon as he rushed outside, the white building behind him also collapsed with a roar, the blast wave throwing him into the air. When he crashed to the ground, his cape was wrapped around him.
The uniform absorbed the impact, but he still felt a slight tremor. He took a deep breath of the smoky air, struggled to his feet, and saw a blue figure suddenly burst out of the building's ruins, hovering eight or nine meters in front of him, a red cloak fluttering against the backdrop of the night and black smoke.
Superman landed suddenly in front of him, and a shockwave rose around his boots.
The two stared at each other for a long time through the smoke before Superman coldly said, "Get out of the way, Bruce. I'm not stopping."
Batman straightened up and said in a deep voice, "Then you should also know that no matter how much time it takes, I will stop you."
"Fine, then you're making me choose, not the other way around." Superman closed his eyes, sighed softly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"...Then I'll lock you up here, once and for all."
Chapter 1692 The Battle for Superman
“They say Batman always has a backup plan, no matter what the situation.” Superman stared at Batman, who was ten meters away, and asked in a low voice, “Now tell me, in Bruce’s situation, what tricks do you still have up your sleeve before I vaporize you with my heat vision?”
As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Batman's hands hidden within his cape. He was absolutely certain that Batman's ten fingers were pressed firmly against his thighs, not touching any of the hidden compartments in his belt. Just as he had said before, from this distance, even if there were some spare kryptonite hidden in the belt, he could vaporize Batman with his heat vision before Batman's fingers even touched any of the hidden compartments in the multi-functional belt.
“You’re right,” Batman said in a weak voice. Superman noticed that Batman’s body remained motionless, without the slightest movement. “I have a plan called Retreat.”
Perhaps he was too focused on Batman to notice the sound of air being torn apart by the popping of burning debris until Superman uttered the syllable "reinforcements," at which point he became acutely aware of the enormous sound that seemed to tear space apart.
"Shh!"
The simultaneous, resounding booms of both fists striking out were perfectly synchronized, like two intercontinental ballistic missiles simultaneously bombarding Superman. The airflow exploded in a spiral, and the black smoke rising from the ruins and flames instantly dissipated. Superman was thrown backward by the immense force of the two explosions, his red and blue afterimages skimming the ground three times in succession, finally shattering the pillar-shaped structure beneath him.
Xu Fu and Kara landed in front of Batman from left to right. Kara glanced back at him and said with a smile, "It seems the world has truly entered a new era; even Batman is starting to ask for help."
Batman's white-rimmed glasses twitched slightly. "I had many other options, but Alfred insisted on this one."
"Of course, sir. Because as far as I know you, any other plan you make could involve the risk of losing an arm or a leg, and I would end up being the one who has to pay to stitch you back together."
A nearby collapsed columnar building rubble exploded with a loud bang, sending countless brick and stone fragments flying in all directions. A cloaked figure jumped out from the rubble, floating in the air, glaring angrily at the two Kryptonians (bbfi) who had just appeared at the scene.
“Uh, the news,” Xu Fu said. “He looks very angry.”
“That’s not Clark,” Batman reminded him. “He may look a lot like him, but he’s just a clone of Superman. He doesn’t have his own emotions and morals, which makes him no different from the real Superman.” He paused. “So you don’t have to swallow your pride.”
“Great.” Kara tapped her left hand with her right fist. “Just what I wanted.”
Superman remained silent, his fists clenched so tightly that his bones emitted a faint crackling sound. His cape billowed without wind, and the rubble beneath his feet began to spin in a predictable pattern, as if drawn by some unseen force. The flames burning on the ruins spread out like a vast backdrop, the brief, eerie calm a harbinger of an impending storm.
The pause lasted about three seconds, then the three Kryptonians exploded simultaneously, sending shockwaves and dust billowing to the ground. Batman had to take a few steps back, covering his mouth and nose with his cape, which billowed wildly in the incredible wind pressure.
The fierce battle quickly moved to a height of several hundred meters in the air. The loud bangs from the collisions were like the heavy, murky roar of cannons falling from the sky, and quickly moved to a more distant direction.
The League of Assassins' base was located in a dense forest on the outskirts of Gotham City, only four or five kilometers away. In the blink of an eye, three Kryptonians had already traversed the jungle and wilderness in fierce combat, rapidly landing in Gotham City.
During his fierce attack and defense, Xu Fu was hit by the clone Superman. His body flew through the air like a cannonball, crashing through a tall building with a huge explosion. The instant he landed on the sidewalk, a terrifying ripple was visible to the naked eye, and the asphalt road surface rolled along the ripple.
Xu Fu shook his dazed head and half-lifted himself out of the deep pit where he had fallen. Just then, two more figures attacked him from the sky, crashing into the ground about half a mile from where he landed, sending shockwaves flying in all directions.
The smoke was so thick it almost covered the sky. A few seconds later, Kara's figure emerged from the smoke, like a sharp blade slicing through the cars scattered on the roadside.
Kara sat on the ground, her back against the car, the door dented from her own impact. She rubbed her temples, feeling dizzy and seeing stars. But the enemy gave her no chance to catch her breath: another red and blue figure burst out of the smoke, shooting straight upwards with a sharp, screeching sound.
Superman raised his right fist high, his steel fist about to strike Kara's head, when an empty bus roared past, slamming into his side like a baseball bat. Superman soared through the air like a home run across a baseball field, leaping into the air, and seconds later, the glass on the exterior wall of another building a few blocks away suddenly shattered.
Xu Fu tossed the badly damaged bus aside, pulled Kara to her feet, and muttered to himself, "I hope they won't make us pay for it. Are you alright?"
“Ya? Very good.” Kara shook her head, rubbing the blond hair draped over her shoulder. “Hmm, maybe, except for being a little dizzy. This guy’s fighting ability is almost on par with Superman.”
"But we will succeed. We have two people, he only has one."
When Xu Fu saw the scene before him, he swallowed the rest of his sentence. Just a few streets ahead of them, a skyscraper dozens of stories high rose from the ground amidst billowing smoke. Through the smoke, with their superhuman eyesight, they could see the tiny figure at the foot of the building, supporting it as easily as an ant carrying an elephant.
Xu Fu muttered, "Hmm, this might be a little harder than I imagined."
The clone Superman let out a low growl, waved his hands, and the entire building instantly flew towards the two people's heads, trailing yellow dust. The sound was terrifying.
Chapter 1693 Iceberg Casino, Gotham Harbor on the Water
If there were a contest for the newest and most eye-catching building in all of Gotham City, it would undoubtedly be this casino located on the edge of Gotham Harbor. This shimmering, crystal-clear, aquamarine building looks as if it were constructed from countless ice axes. Its name, "Iceberg Casino," perfectly matches its appearance. The entire building resembles an Antarctic glacier, half of it protruding underwater, beautiful and translucent, exuding a chilling aura.
This is the private casino of Oswald Cobblestone, the Penguin, a member of the Gotham City mob. While supposedly operating legally and frequented by some of Gotham's most prominent figures on weekends, it's actually the casino owner's money laundering operation. Batman knows it, the Gotham City police know it, even the street thugs of Gotham City know it, but for years no one has been able to prove it.
However, today, the Penguin and his Iceberg Casino are clearly out of luck.
As the nobles in the casino were enjoying the thrill and excitement of gambling as usual, disaster struck suddenly. With a deafening crash, the cold crystal dome was shattered without warning, and an invisible shadow forcefully pulled down the almost scorching air. The gambling table broke in two, chips and bets flying everywhere.
Guests screamed and scattered, turning the huge casino into chaos. A huge dent appeared on the smooth, mirrored floor, and in the center of the crack, two Supermen dressed in almost identical suits were fighting. Each blow from them was accompanied by a whistling sound, causing the entire structure of the Iceberg Casino to rumble with a deep tremor.
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