Superman in Metropolis doesn't know that his name has appeared in someone's notebook.
He will be watched closely as a threat, a ticking time bomb, for a long time to come.
Putting aside those distant questions, a week has passed since Clark officially announced his identity.
As time goes by, the heated discussions arising from various aspects show no signs of stopping, but are becoming more and more intense.
In this way, Clark lost the ordinary life of an ordinary high school student.
First, he got a call from his parents, who were still in Kansas.
Adoptive father Jonathan did not blame his son for his choice. He expressed understanding and concern.
Because of the strange looks from the town people, the interviews at the city hall, and even the governor’s personal visit...
Jonathan and Martha, an ordinary couple, were caught off guard and found it difficult to cope.
They are not willing to use the name of superhuman adoptive parents to become the focus of the public and live a better life.
Sadly, others apparently don't think so.
Those reporters swarming in, the paparazzi who are on duty 24 hours a day...
They couldn't find Superman, so they had to wait back home in Kansas, trying to find some useful material that could serve as a scoop.
Superman's childhood life, Superman's growing environment... As long as it's a topic about Superman, everyone likes to read it.
This is simply a new wealth code!
"Everything seems to be heading for the worse."
Clark looked through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city below.
For the first time, he understood that public opinion had such great power.
It seems to be pervasive and penetrate into my life.
"No, this is a good start."
Lex disagreed and pulled a bottle of whiskey from the liquor cabinet.
First he poured himself a glass, and then handed Clark a glass.
The latter waved his hand and refused on the grounds that he was not of legal drinking age yet.
I have to say, this answer is very superhuman.
Lex shook his head and laughed. In his opinion, Clark had such great power, but he followed the rules extremely well.
This is really a puzzling thing.
If it were me...
It may be like the idiom Solitaire, take the first step to do whatever you want, and then do whatever you want, and continue like this.
Lex looked at Clark with a hint of envy in his eyes and said softly: "Revealing your identity will inevitably cause some trouble to your family. This is inevitable."
"But what we need to pay attention to is that this is not the important thing. The key lies in the attitude of the government."
Clark crossed his arms. He had just completed a meeting with the President at the White House two days ago and shook hands publicly.
That photo was quoted by the Daily Planet and published on the front page of the day.
Apart from going to the White House? Participating in this boring political activity.
A general in the Pentagon has also summoned Superman many times.
According to what his eldest cousin said? Clark didn't obey at all.
While showing a friendly attitude, you also don't forget to show off your fists and muscles to ensure that someone will listen to you.
"The Godfather is already talking about it? His initial intention is that Superman does not belong to national property, but... the debut idol of Vought Company."
Lex said the next sentence with a strange expression on his face.
After hearing Luke's thoughts, his first feeling was that he suspected that he had heard wrongly.
"Will the military agree? I think General Lane's position is very firm? He hopes that I can become a weapon of the United States."
Clark frowned, as if he was worried about this.
"what are you thinking?"
Lex asked with a smile.
"They can't let me become a thug, a violent person, and do things that I don't want to do that go against my morals and conscience just because I was born in the United States."
Clark was filled with a sense of justice and shook his head decisively.
"Haha? Guessed it. But I think you should be worried about the negotiations on the Godfather's side. How could the federal government hand over the ownership of Superman to a private company? This is fantastic."
Lex narrowed his eyes, even though his instincts told him that Luke had a plan.
But after thinking for a long time? He didn't think about how Vought Company could convince the Pentagon and the White House.
The chips they hold are too few.
He is completely unqualified to sit at the same table as the person at the top of the power pyramid in this country.
The turning point for all this happened two weeks later.
NORAD.
The muscular black general strode into the command center.
Just now he received urgent news that an artificial satellite in near-lunar orbit had captured an unusual picture.
"Doctor, tell me what was discovered? A comet, or a meteorite from an asteroid?"
The black general stood in front of the control desk in the command center with a majestic face.
He didn't understand what kind of shocking discovery would cause the chief researcher responsible for monitoring outer space to wake him up in the middle of the night.
Could it be another alien
The black general named "Swanwick" thought jokingly.
Recently, the Pentagon has been busy discussing the existence of Superman.
Alien, superhero, Kansas farm boy...that red cape has too many labels on him.
"Comets don't make orbital corrections, general." The doctor shook his head and said hesitantly, "I hope you can see this before some amateurs find out."
General Swanwick narrowed his eyes and had a bad feeling.
The chief researcher of the North American Aerospace Defense Command directly called up the footage captured by the satellite.
In the dark outer space, blurry outlines appeared.
Judging from the appearance, it should be some kind of space flight tool.
"The spacecraft seems to have entered a lunar orbit synchronization state. The reason is not yet clear."
When the lead researcher first made the discovery, he realized that this important news should be reported to the Pentagon immediately.
A spacecraft remains in the Earth's lunar orbit, which is most likely a visit to the Earth by extraterrestrial life.
Or a sign of war
"Did you try to communicate with the ship?"
General Swanwick suppressed his inner shock. Once this news is revealed, it will inevitably cause turmoil and unrest in the world.
Although, as early as the beginning of the space race during the Cold War, various countries have been continuously launching unmanned satellites into outer space, trying to find the same life in the vast dark universe.
But when these unknown creatures really appeared in front of the public, people became afraid and panicked again.
Do unknown life forms from beyond the earth come with good intentions
Can humans on Earth live in peace with them
These are all questions worth pondering.
"They haven't responded yet."
The doctor replied helplessly.
General Swanwick looked solemn.
He needed to get through to the White House's encrypted channel as soon as possible.
Notify the White House in Washington and the Pentagon of this shocking news, which can be called a bombshell.
At least before those amateur astronomers find out, the federal government needs to come up with a reasonable explanation and discuss how to deal with the spacecraft staying in the lunar orbit.
"I have a bad feeling."
General Swanwick sighed.
As a professional soldier, if there were indeed unknown creatures in that spaceship, he didn't think those guys came with friendship and goodwill.
Especially, after Superman revealed his identity, the whole world knew that there was an alien on earth.
Now, here comes another spaceship.
Is there some connection between the two
Thinking of this, General Swanwick felt increasingly heavy.
…
…
White House.
meeting room.
The Pentagon's top brass gathered.
They all received horrifying news that an unidentified spacecraft appeared in near-lunar orbit.
Even if the other party doesn't take any action, there is no response.
But the unknown is always scary.
"Actually, just two weeks ago, a small earthquake occurred at our military base in Arctic Glacier."
The gray-haired General Lane said solemnly.
"Someone took a video of a huge spaceship disappearing into the night sky and posted it online, which caused a huge response."
Mr. President hurriedly walked into the conference room, rubbed his frown, raised his voice and asked: "Why has no one mentioned this?"
"That report has long been on the desk of the White House, but Mr. President, you were busy taking photos with Superman and being interviewed by TV stations, so you may have forgotten about it."
General Lane replied with a straight face.
Geng's straightforward words made the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly awkward.
"Ahem, go on."
Mr. President cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.
The change of office is imminent, and he has indeed spent too much energy on re-election and general elections, neglecting other issues.
"According to research data from the military base, the spaceship hidden under the glacier, based on isotope analysis of the surrounding ice holes, shows that it has a long history of at least more than 18,000 years."
General Lane took a deep breath, calmed down his inner emotions, and continued: "At that time, humans had not yet become the sole masters of the planet."
Eighteen thousand years
The president and his staff fell silent.
Long before humans gave birth to today's splendid civilization, were other life forms visiting the earth
Is there any connection between the Arctic glacier spacecraft and the one in near-lunar orbit
All kinds of problems popped up.
"Where's Superman? He's also an alien..."
Mr. President suddenly remembered the red cloak.
"Superman is in Kansas. I'm afraid he won't be able to make it for a while."
General Swanwick, who is responsible for monitoring Superman's whereabouts using satellites, replied.
"Vought seems to be hosting a homecoming event."
When Mr. President heard about Vought, his face darkened and he acted a little gloomy. He didn't like the young rich man who claimed that he wanted Superman to debut as an idol.
An extremely powerful alien should be under the control of the federal government.
Rather than leaving it to a certain person or a private company.
Of course, what Mr. President means in a nutshell, or to put it bluntly, is that he hopes Superman can become a tool in his hands.
"Can you find a way to communicate with that ship?"
Mr. President asked softly as he looked through the photos sent back from the satellite on the table.
"We tried, but we didn't get any response."
The manager of the North American Aerospace Defense Command shook his head.
"That spaceship is just floating in outer space. Ten minutes ago, we used various means to send messages there, but unfortunately it had no effect. All the messages were as if they were lost in the ocean."
"Can you knock it off?"
Mr. President has lost patience and has considered using force to solve the problem.
"This is the worst-case scenario. It is best to implement it after establishing communication channels and confirming that the other party is hostile."
General Lane said thoughtfully.
No one is willing to use force until it is determined whether there is unknown life on the spacecraft.
Who knows whether such a move will trigger a so-called "interstellar war".
"Then what can we do? Wait for that ship to crash, or let those damn aliens respond proactively?"
Mr. President asked, clearly irritated, slamming the table hard.
"This country has the largest intelligence agency in the world. Sixteen different departments supervise everything on this land. The purpose is to prevent any terrorist attacks from happening again! But right next to us, there is an alien. He He can fly, lift dozens or hundreds of tons of weight with his bare hands, and smash a tank with one punch!"
"And now, there is another spaceship parked in front of our home! But you will only tell me that this will not work, that will not work, I can only wait!"
Mr. President's angry voice echoed in the conference room.
Everyone present, from the Pentagon generals to the White House staff and top intelligence agencies, all remained silent.
"I'm in a hurry… "
While the president was furious, a staff member waiting outside suddenly rushed into the conference room.
There was a panic look on his face, as if something terrible had happened.
"Is the world coming to an end, Johnson?!"
The president looked gloomy. His staff broke into the highest-security conference room without permission.
If there is no good reason, I'm afraid the other party's political career will end here.
"I'm afraid so, Your Excellency."
The young staff member said seriously.
—Five minutes ago, a video that panicked countless people took the world by storm.
Whether it's the United States or other countries.
Television and radio have ceased to function.
The flickering snowflakes were distorted into blurry images, and the electronic signals covering the world translated the declaration of threat to the world into different languages and sent it to every corner of the planet.
"I am General Zod, from a distant planet. I arrived here across the vast sea of stars because you hid a member of my race. Now I ask you to hand him over. For some reason, he concealed his existence , worked hard to integrate into your society. He looks similar to you, but he is not one of you. If anyone knows about him, then the fate of your planet is in your hands... Kal-El, You hear me? You have twenty-four hours to think about it, or let the world suffer the consequences!"
People raised their heads and looked up at the sky.
Whether you are in a remote and uninhabited remote town or a bustling metropolis.
Everyone can see a giant spacecraft, hovering along the orbit like a satellite.
The threatening video that was broadcast around the world was even more frightening than Superman revealing his identity.
The news spread instantly and spread, setting off an uncontrollable wave of public opinion around the world.
No one knows how the alien life that calls itself "General Zod" forcibly occupied all the signals in the wavebands, translated them into different languages, and announced to the world.
Now, the President, who is far away in the White House, finally does not need to worry about hiding the news from the public. (End of chapter)