thefictionvixens Page 1368
Page 1368
"Face it," Bruce told himself. "Clark is long gone."
He dejectedly downed another glass of wine, his eyes glancing out of the corner of his eye at a group of burly men sitting at a table in the corner of the tavern. Their eyes gleamed with a cunning light, and they were all glancing at Bruce's wallet pocket, though there was no mischievous expression on their faces.
Bruce was secretly pleased, not only because he had become the target of a robbery, but also because these wicked guys were hardly any better than the third-rate criminals of Gotham City. Their naivety in revealing their intentions made Bruce almost find them somewhat endearing as he looked at the new image of Gotham's various criminals.
He paid, stood up, and pushed open the rough wooden door of the tavern. As he stepped out, the local burly men stared at him, then suddenly rose without hesitation and hurried after him. Several locals, including the bartender, were aware of their actions but remained silent and ignored them.
Bruce, hands in his jacket pockets, pretended not to notice the men following him, though he couldn't bear to see them. He even deliberately chose a deserted field, providing the bandits with perfect conditions for an attack, while these simple-minded fellows remained oblivious to the danger and continued to enjoy themselves.
When a muscular, dark-skinned giant blocked Bruce's path like a boulder, he realized these guys had finally made their move, and he was almost impatient. He calmly turned around, only to find four more large men blocking his way. They were all tall and muscular. Bruce was nearly five feet nine inches tall, but compared to them, he had no height advantage. No wonder these muscular giants were so conspicuous: their sheer size was enough to intimidate most outsiders.
“We don’t want to make things worse, stranger.” A man who seemed to be their leader stepped forward and said casually, “Leave your coat, wallet, phone, and watch, and we’ll consider getting you down the mountain safely.”
· ·Requesting flowers····· ·······
It seemed this wasn't the first time they'd done this, and there wasn't a trace of remorse in their eyes. Bruce stared at them expressionlessly, mentally assigning them a simple score to determine how badly they would be beaten in a minute.
The five thugs silently tightened their encirclement. Bruce clenched his fist inside his jacket. The tension in the air grew stronger. Just as both sides were about to make a move, a troublemaker suddenly appeared.
Hey, stay away from that stranger!
All the robbers stood up simultaneously, including Bruce, a look of surprise on his face. They looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man in old-fashioned clothes standing about ten paces away. His bare arms were muscular, and his unkempt beard gave him a disheveled appearance, but his straight posture gave him a somewhat spirited air. His hair was curly at the front, and his clear, blue eyes seemed filled with righteous indignation, making it difficult to look directly at him.
0...
It took Bruce about twenty seconds to recognize his former friend's features from his almost unrecognizable face. His expression gradually changed from surprise to utter disbelief. When Batman also showed this expression, it meant the end of the world was coming.
The five robbers temporarily set aside the stranger they were about to rob and circled the newly discovered large creature again. The leader of the robbers angrily announced, "Can't you just ignore other people's business, you big idiot?"
The man who looked like Clark gave them a serious look: "I can't, because that's wrong, just like what you're doing."
"Oh, really? You know what? We're about to do something even worse."
The chief winked at his companions, who all stood shoulder to shoulder around Clark, forming a large circle. Bruce didn't take his hands out of his jacket pockets, remaining rooted to the spot. If it really was Clark, he wouldn't need any help: perhaps in the next second he'd use his superhuman speed to tie these clueless country bumpkins up like dumplings, or perhaps he'd stand still, letting them beat their fists until they were swollen, then give them a mocking smile.
But that doesn't seem to be the case.
"Shh!"
The fist struck flesh with a dull thud, and Clark-Kent spat into the dirt in frustration, a trickle of bloody saliva escaping his lips.
Chapter 1684 Deep Sea
As Amanda Waller noted, the week-long storm at sea was more intense than usual today. Gale-force winds howled across the water, whitecaps surged into the air, poised to crash against the surface once more. Thunder and lightning raged through the sky, flashing blue-white light across the sea.
Science could not explain this anomaly, and most locals turned to superstition for an explanation. More and more people began to believe that it was God's wrath, and some fortune tellers spread rumors that it was a harbinger of the flood that would destroy mankind in the Book of Genesis.
Experts estimate that even underwater, unidentified particles could affect electronic equipment, making submarine approach dangerous. Airplanes and ships are obviously unable to navigate the raging waves, and the extreme weather makes the area virtually inaccessible by any known human means.
But not all.
A red and blue shadow pierced through the dark clouds, like a gust of wind rushing into a storm. Xu Fu sped towards the sea in the storm at supersonic speed. Rain lashed his cheeks and glasses, his wet hair clung to his forehead, and his water-soaked red cloak stretched taut in the wind.
Yes, he did accept Waller's request for help because she said Helena had gotten lost there the night before. Waller said her oxygen would only last three hours because she had already been in the water for ten hours and her chances were slim.
But that's Helena Wayne; she couldn't possibly die in a place like that, could she?
Xu Fu remained optimistic, and with the booming sound of naval cannons striking the water, he suddenly jumped into the water. He plunged headfirst into the dark depths, leaving a long trail of bubbles behind him, and sank to the seabed at an extremely fast speed.
He was diving underwater, wearing only a Superman suit and no other equipment. There was no light, and it was pitch black all around, a loneliness that could bring despair. But what Xu Fu saw was different from what ordinary people saw. He saw countless creatures inhabiting the still seawater, countless plankton and microorganisms he couldn't name lingering in the dark green water around him. The seabed was dotted with corals and seaweed, and small creatures burrowed into the gently swaying blades of grass, turning them into a bright little world.
However, as he approached his destination, his vitality gradually diminished. As he flew toward the coordinates Waller had indicated in Helena's last signal, the plankton and aquatic plants in his field of vision dwindled until there were almost none left.
He found the last coordinates Waller had said Helena was lost, but when he arrived at his destination and landed on the seabed, he was stunned.
Before setting off, Waller showed him the sonar-drawn topographic map Helena had sent to headquarters. Xu Fu scanned it only once and memorized every detail. He was confident in his super brain's memory: it would never be wrong, not even for the smallest detail on the map. But now, standing directly above the designated coordinates, the terrain he saw bore no resemblance whatsoever to the terrain he remembered.
On the sonar map Helena sent him, there were cliffs of all sizes and heights everywhere, but now his combat boots were on flat ground. The most important thing on the map, the giant rock where Helena and her companions disappeared, Xu Fu had already drawn a map covering a radius of 50 miles, and there wasn't a single rock nearby.
At that moment, he seemed to hear a sound, like the sound of a machine running, coming from directly below.
Yes, he knew it sounded strange: the idea of a machine hidden a hundred meters underwater was absurd, unless it was a submarine equipped with underground drills. But he trusted his ears more than common sense, which rarely went wrong.
Xu Fu lowered his head, trying to see what was lurking underground, but the light seemed to be swallowed up by something deep beneath, like a stone sinking into the sea, unable to reappear for a long time. This made him even more alert, and also more certain that there was something else down there.
Drilling through underwater rock at unknown depths might seem incredible to some, but for Xu Fu, it was no challenge at all. Even setting aside the fact that this was just a layer of underwater rock, drilling all the way to the Earth's core wouldn't be difficult.
He stood up straight, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and brought his legs together, his whole body spinning like a top. His body gradually accelerated, and soon he became a red and blue whirlwind, with seabed dust mixed with floating bubbles rising upwards, and turbid seawater churning with the high-speed rotation of the air currents.
This was a trick he learned from Superman in the comic books: using his rapidly spinning body, he drilled through rocks like an electric drill, generating enough force to penetrate the Earth's core. As he plummeted to the ground at incredible speed, his red and blue figure quickly obscured the flying dust, and millions of tons of seawater rushed from behind him into the gap he had created.
It moved incredibly fast, drilling dozens of meters in a short time until suddenly there was nothing beneath its feet. After passing through the entire rock wall, it landed in a vast cavern, where millions of tons of seawater were blocked at the exit by an invisible barrier, creating a truly spectacular scene.
Xu Fu couldn't help but doubt his eyes, because everything he saw was meaningless. The underwater space was completely empty, supported by some invisible energy, without a single drop of water. His body could pass through the energy barrier without hindrance, but the water behind him was blocked completely. But at least the space was filled with a musty smell, which cheered Xu Fu up. If Helena had also come here for some reason, then she was very likely still alive.
He quickly located the source of the machine's noise. A massive metal and iron door blocked his path. The door was twisted and deformed, covered with a metallic material he had never seen before. He was quite certain it wasn't Earth technology, but rather the kind that absorbed light shining from his eyes and obstructed his vision.
But whatever it is, as long as it's broken, there's almost no entrance in the world that his fist can't open.
Xu Fu raised his fist and slammed it into the metal plate on the door like a heavy hammer. He controlled the force of his first blow, not wanting to disrupt the stability of the cave space by using too much force, but even so, the power of this blow was enough to open any door in the world.
Okay, maybe not all of them, but at least not this one.
The sound of his fist striking metal echoed for a long time. Gravel and sand fell from above like a drizzle, the heavy, loud noise reverberating in the confined space. The entire cave began to shake violently, like an earthquake. The metal door, however, remained completely still, without a single dent on its surface.
This was unexpected. Xu Fu frowned, raised his fist again, and prepared to strike again with greater force. But just then, a system inside the door seemed to be activated. Xu Fu heard the machines behind the layers of metal humming, and the component in the center of the door began to rotate and move, revealing a hand-shaped symbol in the center. A synthesized female voice murmured a long sentence that Xu Fu couldn't understand; he was certain it didn't refer to any country or region on Earth 5.8, then switched to English and said, "Please state your identity."
Xu Fu paused for a moment, then subconsciously glanced at the hand symbol, probably realizing that it meant an inspection was needed.
Without thinking much, he pressed his palm against the fingerprint, feeling like he was in a dead end.
Xu Fu's jaw nearly dropped when the door system quickly scanned his palm and emitted a crisp "ding." A synthesized voice told him in friendly English, "Kryptonian genes have been detected and verified. Welcome, Son of Krypton." Then, the door opened with a distinct rumble, revealing a narrow, black passageway before him.
Xu Fu stared at the metal door that opened so easily, his mouth agape for a long time. It was only after a long while that he finally realized an obvious fact: there was a metal door that could be opened so easily.
This is the entrance to the Kryptonian spaceship.
Chapter 1685 Ancient Kryptonian Spaceship
When Clark was knocked down by an ordinary big guy and blood spurted from the corner of his mouth, Bruce seemed to freeze in place. He never imagined Clark would be beaten to the point of vomiting blood, unless he was an apocalyptic monster.
Now, Clark Kent has been beaten black and blue by a few unfriendly residents in a small valley.
Bruce stood there for about ten seconds, until he was sure that the big guy with the overly long chin wasn't playing any tricks and looked genuinely beaten and helpless, before he stepped forward and did something he should have done a long time ago.
The fight wasn't difficult: the villagers all looked burly and strong, but they weren't actually good at fighting. Bruce easily broke one man's wrist, knocked out two leg bones, and inflicted mild, non-fatal concussions on the last two. All of this took less than thirty seconds, and the five thugs were lying on the ground in the sticky, muddy rain.
In their eyes, this richly dressed stranger was the devil incarnate; the moment Bruce turned around, they would beg for mercy. What they didn't know was that today was a rare day Bruce showed mercy; if the criminals of Gotham City knew these lucky guys had only suffered minor injuries in front of Batman, they would be green with envy.
However, Bruce wasn't in the mood for that today: he quickly dealt with the burly men and then completely ignored them. He walked over to the dirty Clark, kindly reached out his hand, and helped him up.
“Thank you,” Clark said, somewhat incoherently, “but if I had known you were so good at this, I wouldn’t have gotten beaten up for nothing.”
Bruce put on his presidential smile, which he only wore in social situations: "No, I should be thanking you. There aren't many people these days who take on as much work as you do."
“But someone has to step up,” Clark said seriously, “especially in this age when everyone is silent.”
He spoke with a serious expression, and Bruce stared intently into those blue eyes, increasingly feeling that he saw some familiar shadows in them.
Bruce decided to hold off for now. Pointing to the man's filthy clothes, he said, "Looks like you need to change your clothes and take a hot shower. Do you live here?"
“Follow Mr. Evans, he’s the best carpenter here,” Clark said. “I need to go back and change. Would you like to sit down? Unless you have no other choice.”
“Of course,” Bruce had no reason to refuse the offer. “Speaking of which, I don’t know how you address me.”
“Peter,” Clark said, “you can call me Peter, that’s what everyone in the village calls me.”
Bruce stared intently into those blue eyes from the side for a long while, but seeing no hesitation in them, he turned his head away curiously: "Is there a problem, sir?"
“No, no,” Bruce perfectly concealed his inner turmoil, maintaining his standard smile: “Bruce Wayne, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Peter.”
The depth of the seabed in the Philippines is unknown.
In such a place, the last thing Xu Fu could imagine was a Kryptonian spaceship. He didn't know if this counted as luck: as long as he pressed his handprint, he could open all the doors he had encountered inside the spaceship so far, and the journey would be unimpeded.
But as a spaceship, its size was simply too enormous; Xu Fu suspected it might be a Kryptonian mothership. As he mentally calculated that he had passed the eighth door, he was still faced with a narrow, dark tunnel, seemingly no different from the previous seven doors. He could no longer shake the thought that he was merely going in circles.
Fortunately, after the eighth door, the situation changed. When a friendly electronic voice announced, "Verification passed," the unchanging passageway gave way to a fairly spacious room. A Kryptonian computer console stood in the center, flanked by hibernation containers filled with dusty glass cabinets.
Xu Fu walked to one of the unusable carriages, brushed the dust off the carriage cover, and saw a skeleton in a black uniform lying inside. Its sunken eye sockets were like two black holes, shimmering with a desperate light.
Xu Fu gasped, feeling his heart pounding faster than usual. Yes, the millions of tons of seawater pressing down on the ocean floor couldn't drown him, nor would he suffocate, but that didn't mean that being alone in such a dark, enclosed space for an extended period wouldn't make him nervous. And having several skeletons, possibly from ancient times, with him certainly wouldn't alleviate his anxiety.
The people lying in these hibernation bunkers may be Kryptonians, Kryptonians from an unknown era, who may have been trapped here for some reason. They have to stay in the hibernation bunkers to slow down the passage of time until this little jar becomes their coffin.
Xu Fu stopped looking at the skeletons; they made his heart sink. He walked to the control panel. The Kryptonian technology did indeed seem quite reliable. This old machine was well past its prime, but it could still start up.
The machine started up, and the lights formed a virtual image in the air behind the control panel, gradually folding into a human face that greeted the user with a professional smile: "Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?"
Xu Fu thought for a moment, "What is this ship doing?"
The "Tansai 033 Ji" is a Kryptonian research vessel personally dispatched by the Kryptonian Old God Rao to explore new habitable planets.
Raul? The Kryptonian god Kara has been talking about?
"Then why is he on Earth?" Xu Fu asked again. "Is it related to the unusual climate in the ocean?"
"Unfortunately, this question cannot be answered," the AI said mechanically. "Kansai II never approached this solar system during its journey, and the reason for its appearance on Earth is unknown. About 20,000 years ago, Kansai II encountered an unexplained spacetime storm. The spacecraft was uncontrollably swept into an unknown spacetime turbulence. After a series of futile attempts, the captain decided to place all the crew members in hibernation pods and wait for rescue."
But they never broke free from their restraints, until they turned into dry bones in the hibernation chamber.
“One last question,” Xu Fu said, temporarily setting aside the tragic fate of his compatriots from 20,000 years ago and focusing on the current case, “I have two companions who are lost in this area; they are both Earthlings. Can you help me find them?”
"Yes, I can." The AI's answer was surprisingly straightforward: "They're on this ship right now. I can show you the way."