The pedestrians on the ground were screaming and fleeing. Those further away turned to watch the building slowly collapse. Just as everyone was shouting "No!!!", a figure flew beneath the building and lifted the half-fallen structure.
In the eyes of the people, compared to the massive Luther Hotel, his figure seemed insignificant. Yet, this tiny figure directly lifted the building and steadily dragged it, placing it on an empty spot in the nearby park.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden change and didn't know how to react for a moment. But there were always some quick responders; the instant the building started to collapse, they pulled out their phones to take pictures. Not to mention, this was the center of Metropolis, the golden spot of downtown, surrounded by cameras and numerous newspaper headquarters. Already, many reporters with their cameras and long lenses had gathered.
Lois raised her camera the moment Clark got out of the car. She captured the entire scene of Clark saving the building. But saving the building was obviously just the beginning. She continued to aim the camera at the Luther Hotel and indeed saw a few figures tightly wrapped in the lens.
Half an hour ago, on the spaceship from Krypton. Zod frowned at the information on the tablet. His fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop as if he were contemplating something.
A female adjutant sat down opposite him and said, "What's wrong, General?"
"I am pondering something," Zod said, "I fear this artifact may not be as simple as it appears. If, as the myths say, Kryptonians once visited Earth and were repelled or even killed with a green gemstone, and this gemstone was embedded in an artifact neatly stored in the British Museum, then where did the dust used to repel and mutate you come from?"
The female adjutant also frowned, noticing something was off. The anomaly lay in the discrepancy of the gemstone's quantity.
Now, the internet of the human race is flooded with legends about that mural. To prove the mural wasn't stolen, the Royal Family opened it for public exhibition, and the response was positive. The internet is filled with high-res images of the artifact, especially the motif resembling their small escort ship and the close-up of the beautiful green gemstone.
So the question arises: if the mural is authentic, and the gemstone is well-embedded on it, where did the military get the gemstone dust to create the weapon?
The ordinary people are unaware because, in their eyes, the artifact's theft wasn't necessarily a fact; it might just be a rumor. From beginning to end, there has only been one gemstone, the one on display.
Zod knew better; they had taken a hit. If the gemstone was intact on the display, the thing that attacked them couldn't have appeared out of nowhere.
Therefore, Zod leaned towards the theory that the gemstone had been stolen and replaced, meaning the one on display was fake and the real one had been removed by humans and used as a weapon. This was a trick of substituting one thing for another; to the ordinary observers, the display seemed fine, but the truly valuable part had long been replaced.
Under this logic, the current exhibit is a forgery; the most valuable bit to everyone is long gone. Yet, strangely, the various human factions highly regard this "fake gemstone."
Zod's mission was not specifically aimed at finding trouble with Clark. The small escort ship he sent established a network beacon on Earth that linked to the main ship, allowing him to access the human internet through it.
Kryptonian network technology isn't very advanced, but the human race isn't hiding anything. Headlines from some newspapers read, "Metropolitan National Guard continuously escorts to ensure the security of precious artifacts," "The US Military sends personnel to strengthen patrols around the Metropolitan Museum," "Congressman personally inspects to ensure the artifact exhibit is flawless"...
This clearly isn't right. Since the valuable parts were taken and significant progress was achieved in the battle against the aliens, shouldn't they strike while the iron is hot and take some action against the invaders? Why are they busy with artifacts instead?
After eliminating all the impossibilities, the remaining truth must be the real one. Zod thought the gemstone on the artifact might actually be real.
Or perhaps, the gemstone on the artifact is the one that genuinely defeated the aliens, and the one that defeated them might have been a human-made imitation or a secondary mineral of the gemstone. Proven effectiveness would spark interest in the real gemstone.
This could also explain why the artifact was rumored to be "switched," perhaps to study the gemstone's composition, hence its unexhibited years. The research may have resulted in the dust that beat them.
Although this explanation has its inconsistencies, Zod couldn't think of another possibility. Even with other possibilities, he couldn't risk it. Even if there was a slight chance that the gemstone on display and the dust that repelled them had the same effect, it couldn't fall into human hands. They must acquire it.
Zod also understood that everyone wanting the gemstone wouldn't leave the real one until the exhibit day; they'd find a way to replace it beforehand. So he too must act swiftly, or he'd lose all initiative.
However, after all, he wasn't human, challenging to discreetly investigate, unaware of who could swap the gemstone during handling. But there is a simple way: the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Zod only needed to find the person swapping the gemstone, followed them, and see whom they contacted, then locate that person. If humans can make their kind compromise, so can he.
Zod chose the military as his target. As a General himself, he knew military officers typically tackle matters straightforwardly and bluntly. They don't shy from kicking doors down or pointing a gun to force a compromise.
If we follow the politician, we might end up going around in circles, only to return to the starting point. Some smaller factions are even less reliable; they might not even know where the door is.
So, Zod sent people to track the officers. This wasn't difficult because the military personnel had such a unique aura that you could tell they were different from ordinary people, even if they were just wandering aimlessly on the street. At that time, the only people likely to be wandering on the street were those heading to that expert.
The three subordinates he sent discovered that the military seemed to have already targeted the Luther Hotel, where the expert they were looking for supposedly resided. The military did not disappoint; they flashed their badges, drew their guns, and went straight up to find the person.
The three aliens trailing them knew they couldn't just walk in openly without alarming them, so they decided to take the freight corridor at the back door, only knocking out two ordinary employees, and then took the stairs to catch up with the officers ahead.
The officers had already arrived at the hallway and were knocking on the door, while the three aliens lay in wait in the stairwell at the escape route. For some reason, once the door was opened, a dispute broke out, and they started fighting directly.
The three aliens realized that one party might be trying to silence the other, and if they didn't intervene, the mission might fail, so they rushed in with their guns raised.
The officers were no pushovers either. When they saw intruders draw guns, they started shooting. They were well-prepared and possessed strong firepower, nearly driving the aliens out. The aliens, unwilling to be outdone, fired back.
However, they had no proper understanding of the sturdiness of human buildings. Their laser guns could easily cut through a building's load-bearing walls, and they weren't shooting in bursts but holding the trigger key from left to right, cutting through three load-bearing walls in the presidential suite and making a huge gash in the outer wall.
With a loud boom, the building collapsed. Everyone toppled like detergent pods in a washing machine, screaming as they fell in one direction, including the aliens who had fired the shots. Only then did they realize the foolishness of their actions.
Thankfully, Clark arrived quickly, and the building only tilted slightly before he hefted it up, moving it to the side. Had he been a few seconds later, those responsible for the collapse would have been crushed to death.
After setting the building down, Clark rushed back. Worried that Shiller might have been harmed, he immediately began searching through the crowd upon return but did not see Shiller.
He slowly descended, first spotting the aliens. He squinted at them and said, "Where did you take him?"
The aliens looked as if they had seen a ghost because Clark was speaking to them in Kryptonian. For a moment, they didn't know whether to raise their guns or respond.
Clark, a bit impatient, asked again, "Where did you take Shiller?!"
The aliens were equally perplexed—they came here to find an expert, but before they found the expert, they demolished the building.
Thinking of this, they turned to check the room, because logically, the expert they were looking for should be there. However, apart from human soldiers, they only saw a pair of humans—a man and a woman—cowering in the corner, trembling.
The aliens hesitated; this didn't seem like their target, but since the military had found this place, it couldn't be for no reason. Should they take them back to try?
They rushed in that direction, but Clark snorted dismissively, punched them, sending one flying, and hovered in front of them saying, "I told you before, Earth is not your place. Get out!"
The one who was struck groaned in pain. Seeing the situation, the other two realized it was hopeless and quickly fled with their fallen companion.
Clark glanced at the man and woman. At first, he didn't notice anything, but on a second look, he realized the man looked familiar—it seemed like a congressman from New Jersey State.
But the woman was unfamiliar and wasn't his wife, who often appeared with him in the media. Had Zod gone mad, sending people down specifically to catch an affair?
The officers reacted quickly and said, "We were indeed looking for Shiller, but he isn't in this room; we got the wrong place!"
Clark frowned; the military's room number wouldn't be wrong, so it was likely that Shiller did something to lead the officers to a room with a congressman in a tryst, causing the conflict.
This guy is indeed difficult to handle. Clark thought again that these smart people always have their own agendas. Was his refusal to help swap the gemstone just to watch them fight it out at the exhibit?