Chapter 82
Kryptonite
Chapter 82 Kryptonite
Lex Industries, underground.
"You know I'm a cautious person."
Lex Luthor sat in a swivel chair, facing a huge video wall, and spoke coldly through a microphone on his headset.
"Yes, I know you are very capable; you have shown me. I respect you, which is why I am willing to talk to you. A great scientific mind communicating with another on an equal footing, an exchange of value."
But as I said, you've shown a lack of sincerity, my friend. I need more information before considering the possibility of further cooperation.
"What? You doubt me? That's an insult, but I don't stoop to the level of aliens. However, I assure you, my system is absolutely secure."
"This is my private laboratory located underground at Lex Industries. It has military-grade security, and no one else is authorized to operate it except me."
Absolutely no one else can get into this place; you can consider it the pride of the greatest mind on the planet.
However, Luther, who was speaking so smugly, was completely unaware that at the same time he was talking, the first security door was being pried open from the outside with brute force. The door panel was deformed by the monstrous grip, like two pieces of cardboard being forcibly pried apart.
A striking "S" appeared behind the door. Superman walked in from behind the door that had been forcibly pried open, glancing left and right as he went.
Luther crossed his legs: "The world's most advanced security system, designed by me personally, is functioning perfectly. Even an ant crawling in would immediately trigger an alarm."
"The security system has completely failed." The voice of the artificial intelligence Pal came through Superman's headset. "Lex Luthor is in the underground level."
"Thanks," Superman smiled.
Along the passageway, there was a row of robotic guards bearing the "Lex Industries" logo. However, instead of stopping the invaders, they raised their hands in salute to the red-cloaked intruders, as if to say, "Please come in."
Luther continued confidently, "Furthermore, the call line I use goes through my private satellite, which is specially encrypted and absolutely secure. It's impossible for it to be..."
Before he could finish speaking, there was a deafening roar, like an engine stopping. The system abruptly shut down, and communications were abruptly cut off.
"What the hell?"
Luther suddenly stood up, turned his head, and immediately opened his mouth wide.
The moment he saw Superman standing behind him with his arms crossed and a smile on his face, his jaw almost dropped to the ground.
"You and me... How could this be?" Luther exclaimed in astonishment. "My security system? My alarms!?"
"You have your tricks, and I have my technical assistance, Mr. Luther."
Superman said calmly.
"Alright, Mr. Luther, now. Tell me about your alien friend?"
LeBron James, being the number one fan of Superman's fan club, was surprised for a moment but quickly regained his composure. He sat back in his chair, adopting a nonchalant demeanor.
"sit?"
He gestured to the chair next to him, but Superman didn't react.
Luther shrugged, unconcerned, and continued, "I've long envisioned this moment. You and I, we're here face to face talking."
I knew it the moment you showed up. You appeared in my city, swaggering around in a cloak, helping old ladies cross the street, rescuing cats from trees, and then getting your Daily Planet fanatics to write a long, rambling report about it.
But you know what? This is my city, my world. It existed long before you came along, and no one can take it away, especially not a cloaked alien who can fly and burrow underground.
"So you brought in another alien?" Superman said calmly. "You don't even know who he is, you've never seen him, right? How do you know he's more trustworthy?"
"Who mentioned trust? I'm just using him against you. Because, to put it simply, he's really good at this. He's given me a lot of information and a lot of important knowledge, which is the most important thing for a top scientific mind."
More importantly, he also told me your biggest secret, the most fatal weakness of the Iron Man.
Luther abruptly opened a small lead box on the control panel and grabbed the small stone inside that emitted a deadly green light.
"This is it!"
Kryptonite.
Superman's most fatal weakness comes from the debris of his home planet Krypton's explosion. A small rock the size of a palm could almost hollow him out, and if exposed long enough, it could even be fatal.
However, at this moment, Superman crossed his arms and squinted at Luthor, who was smugly waving the kryptonite in front of his nose, as if he were looking at an idiot.
The smile on Luther's face gradually disappeared.
No, I must be doing something wrong.
So Luther changed his posture and shoved the small stone at Superman again.
"This is it!"
Nothing happened.
If we must say what happened, perhaps it was that Superman's expression gradually changed from scrutinizing the mentally challenged to showing "care for the vulnerable."
Luther's face instantly turned ashen.
With his low emotional intelligence, Lai Tu is now like a clown.
With his high emotional intelligence, after today he could consider debuting in Gotham and preparing to act opposite Batman.
"I knew it! I should have known!"
Luther angrily slammed the kryptonite to the ground.
"That alien liar tricked me! I should have known, how could anyone be afraid of such a small, broken rock? Despicable, shameless, and vile alien liar!"
Snapped.
Superman swung his hand and delivered a chop to the neck.
Lai Tu rolled his eyes and fainted.
Seeing Leyton faint, Superman flipped his hand, and a white bracelet appeared out of thin air on his wrist. A pale blue ripple slowly spread from the bracelet, and he casually tossed some bright green kryptonite into it.
A red and silver mech flew out from the ripples of light and landed on the dark ground. The armor clicked open from the back, and "Superman" entered. The armor closed, and the helmet's eyes shone with golden light.
Once inside the armor, "Superman" emitted golden light, his body and face shifted, and the light particles reorganized, quickly transforming into the appearance of Shen You.
"Kryptonite has been contained," Shen You said calmly. "You may come in now."
Two Kryptonian heads popped out from behind, one on the left and one on the right.
Superman and Supergirl approached and sized up Luthor.
"Hmm, he's just an ordinary person. You said he could be dangerous?" Kara asked, looking puzzled.
Superman's expression was also skeptical: "You're saying that little pebble could hurt me? Really?"
"Of course it's real. How about I pull it out now and let you guys test how powerful it is?"
"No, no, no, forget it."
Kara remembered the experience of testing the Red Sun Generator last time, and she shook her head vigorously like a rattle-drum.
"Alright, now let's check if there's any trace of Brainiac on the bald guy's server."
As Shen You stepped toward the control panel, the monitor, which had been dark, suddenly lit up.
"No need to bother."
A deep, mechanical voice seemed to come from all directions at once.
"You wanted to see me, so I've come."
(End of this chapter)