"Damn it, we've all been played by Luther!! It's definitely his doing!!"
In a military meeting, an officer gritted his teeth and said, "I opposed the plan to involve him in our experiment from the start!"
"It's easy for you to say! The top is desperate for results, and we don't have any experts. The most professional one is kept under Superman's watch, we can't even contact him. Who else can we find besides Luther?!"
"Previously, we completely offended Luther, of course he'll find a way to take revenge. Once others find out we created this monster, it's all over!!!"
"No, we can't let anyone know." One of the officers stood up and said, "Anyway, there's now an alien spaceship parked above us, let's claim it came from there. Who can verify it?"
The conference room instantly buzzed with discussions, but many nodded in agreement. "That's right, let's say it's an alien monster. They've never seen what aliens look like, as long as it's not related to us, it's fine."
"I agree. As long as we can explain it to Congress, it's fine. Those senators don't really care about the actual losses."
"No, that's not enough. That's the downtown of the Metropolis, causing such a big issue, just pinning a culprit isn't enough to calm public opinion—we must find a way to divert attention."
"I've got an idea." An officer spoke, "Let's say Superman is also an alien, it's an internal war among aliens. Many worship Superman; this news would certainly shock them. By then, everyone will be discussing Superman and not pay attention to us."
"I think it's workable, let's do it. But how do we prove he's an alien? After all, he looks nothing like that monster."
"That's a bit tricky, he looks too much like a human. No one will believe he's an alien."
"By the way," a young officer suddenly said, "do you remember the Egyptian mythology that was circulating some time ago?"
"You mean that snake thing? The one currently exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum?"
"Exactly. The content of that myth states that the alien who came to Earth was a red and blue long snake... Isn't Superman's costume also red and blue?"
"Isn't that too far-fetched? His costume is red and blue, not his skin..."
"Who cares! Those journalists can spin black into white; as long as we put in some effort into PR, it will surely spark discussions."
"Ahem." The General sitting at the head cleared his throat and said, "Everyone's proposals sound good, let's proceed as planned. Prepare to contact the journalists; we absolutely cannot let anyone realize this matter is our responsibility."
The officers gradually left the conference room, and the last one took out his phone, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately pressed the name "Louise" in the contacts.
Louise walked briskly, almost leaving Clark behind. She passed through the corridor, stood in front of the elevator, and pressed the button. After entering the elevator, she turned around, nodded slightly, then said, "To manipulate your identity, there must be evidence. You don't know what ridiculous things they'll dig up from some corner, letting journalists twist and turn the story to fool the public.
"The best way to deal with this issue is to completely destroy the soil where rumors grow. I already have a plan..."
Louise entered her studio. It's Clark's first time here, but he's in no mood to appreciate the décor, simply following behind Louise, asking: "What should we do?"
Louise sat down, picked up a nearby cup of water, took a sip, cleared her throat, and then said: "First law of communication: Whoever is faster has the advantage. People tend to believe the first one to speak; subsequent reversals see a significant decline in dissemination strength. So we need to be faster than the military."
"They want to create a sensational news to divert attention, we should also create a sensational news to shift focus onto them. If they compete against us, they'll be a step behind and can never overshadow our hotspots; if they choose to suppress public opinion first, they will miss this explosive point, and further news will struggle to attract as much attention."
"Creating news? Is it spreading rumors? But this..."
"Of course it's not spreading rumors. In fact, I suspect this monster was created by the military, and I have reasonable grounds. You mentioned in the previous reports that you heard the corpse collector in the tent area say the demand for corpses increased because someone wanted to experiment on a new weapon against aliens. Could it be the military?
"Certainly, we have no evidence that they are indeed using corpses to test new weapons or that the military is testing them. But one undeniable fact is that many homeless people have recently died.
"Fact is, on the East Coast, it's due to freezing death, while on the West Coast, possibly due to urban management. But people won't think deeply. They'll only notice that during this time, many homeless people have indeed disappeared, and along with the possibility we propose of testing new weapons, they'll naturally think the military tested new weapons, failed, and eventually created mutants. This kind of conspiracy theory is very popular.
"This way, we haven't spread rumors, only raised reasonable doubts, while also explaining where the invading monster came from, pointing out the culprits of this matter, capturing public attention."
As Louise spoke, she began writing the article; by the time she finished talking, the article was almost halfway done. Clark admired her tremendously, feeling he could never become such a brilliant independent journalist in his life.
Louise, parched, picked up the cup and took another sip of water. Suddenly, her breath quickened, and she clutched her throat, beginning to cough and retch violently.
Clark was stunned, and quickly rushed up to hold her. He glanced at the cup and realized the problem, urging her for emesis. But after a slight convulsion, Louise fainted.
Clark hurriedly carried her to the hospital, watched her being taken into surgery, his anger almost igniting his brain.
Clark stood outside the emergency room, taking deep breaths. The remaining sliver of rationality controlled him as he left the hospital; he could not lose control now, he had to find a way to solve this, he needed to complete Louise's report.
But he's not as experienced as Louise, able to conjure up a report from thin air. So, he flew back to the Daily Planet to review the details of the article he previously wrote.
"Editor, where is the report I gave you earlier?"
"Which one?"
"The one I asked to be published independently this morning..."
"Just got published."
"What?!" Clark was stunned.
The editor's eyes flashed with a hint of insight, and he said, "You mentioned in there that the number of homeless people in Los Angeles has recently plummeted, and you heard the corpse collector say someone is researching alien weapons and needs bodies, right?"
The editor spun around in his office chair twice and said, "Before that monster came, this kind of waste paper wouldn't even be used for wiping. Just repeating people's daily lives isn't news. But with the monster coming, this really has the potential to blow up."
Clark couldn't help but cover his forehead. Good grief, none of the people who studied journalism are easy to deal with; their noses are keener than hyenas. The editor and Louise had the same idea, both wanting to use his previous investigative report to make big news.
"Aren't you afraid the military will cause you trouble?"
"I didn't say who did it," the editor said, spreading his hands. "I merely repeated the daily lives of Los Angeles people, just as usual, publishing a boring report like toilet paper. Where they want to jump to, is none of my business."
After saying that, he picked up the cup on the desk, intending to drink some coffee. Clark flashed to his side and slapped the cup away.
"Crack!!"
"Clark Kent, have you lost your mind?!!"
"I'm doing this for your own good," Clark said. "The last person who suggested this method is now in the emergency room; someone poisoned her."
After saying this, Clark didn't want to talk further, and he turned to fly away. But behind him came the editor's urgent shout: "Wait!"
Clark turned back to look at him, seeing the editor's eyes light up as he asked, "Who? Who poisoned who?!"
"Louise. My friend, she's a journalist..."
"Louise? Louise Lane? That famous independent journalist?!"
Clark had no choice but to briefly summarize. The editor immediately stood up from his chair and said, "Quick, grab your cameras, call the office people, we're going to the hospital!"
Clark was hustled into the office by the editor. The editor stood at the office door shouting: "Everyone! Grab your gear and follow me!!!"
The editor ran outside while taking phone calls, until he reached downstairs, still muttering without stopping, one call after another.
When they drove up to the hospital entrance, it was already surrounded three layers deep. Police and journalists crowded the door.
Clark was directly dumbfounded. But the editor squeezed through while putting on a sorrowful expression for various reporters' cameras.
"Yes, I really couldn't believe they'd dare commit such evil against a colleague who dares to speak out. If this continues, who else would dare speak for the people?!"
"I simply can't believe it, this is a tragedy against humanity! Someone wants to cut off the road to truth, preventing the public from obtaining facts!"
"Yeah, right after my report was published, poor Lady Lane met such foul play. Of course, I have no intention of accusing anyone, but you all know how bizarre this is."
"I can't answer that question. I also don't want to believe that the loyal soldiers cultivated by the Federal Government would in fact commit such acts to shirk responsibility and suppress discourse! If this is true, what else can be trusted?!"
"Naturally, I'm not attacking the ruling party. However, the incompetence they once displayed towards the alien issue possibly contributed in some way to this tragedy, and it warrants serious reflection..."
Clark just watched as the editor kept talking along the way, and when they reached the hospital entrance, the entire event had already evolved into "the independent journalist who provided the investigation report on Los Angeles homeless people, Louise Lane, was poisoned and silenced by the military."
Clark suddenly felt that if he wanted to be an independent journalist, he probably still needed more practice.
Returning to the hospital, Clark hurried to ask the doctor about Louise's condition. The doctor didn't seem too nervous and said, "Acute metal poisoning, the toxicity is very weak, after stomach pumping there's not much issue. However, the patient is physically quite weak and may need some time to recuperate..."
Clark found it strange; Louise's body isn't weak at all, someone physically unfit couldn't possibly do journalism work. That last sentence sounded odd.
Just as he was about to further inquire, he heard with super hearing a familiar voice coming from upstairs, seemingly Shiller.
"I told you to use less, so you wouldn't be puking so badly. Lady, you're being too harsh on yourself."
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Ugh... I knew long ago, Clark's origins would be a risk. You see, preparing early pays off, right?"
"You really went all out to create big news. But now it's great, if anyone says Clark is an alien again, everyone will think it's the person who tried to silence you targeting you, making up such a rumor. But you two..."
"Now's not the time to be talking about that. Ahem, our hugging photos should have already been sent out, but I'll have to trouble you..."
"No trouble at all, people love gossip, moreover Superman just saved Earth. His gossip will surely explode, I don't even have to put in effort to spread it."
"That's good. He should be here any moment, you better leave first."
As Clark pushed open the door, Shiller who was heading outside, walked straight into a wall. Clark went in, arms crossed, squinting at Shiller.
Shiller took a step back, pointed at Louise, and said with an innocent look, "She made me do it."