The congressmen shrank back instantly with a "whoosh."
No matter how cold the assembly hall is, it's not as cold as their hearts. So they were waiting for them here, huh?
That's right. Before Capitol Hill had even arrived, journalists had already stormed into the research base Clark had moved, which Amanda used for alien dissections. It wasn't an A.R.G.U.S. base, but rather a medical base specifically used for human experimentation. There are many such buildings within America, where various forces can send the resources they've obtained for dissection and research. As a result, it accumulated a large number of corpses.
Of course, if the sources of the corpses were legal, there wouldn't be a need for a dedicated base. Such places are meant for secretive, evil research, so naturally, the sources of the corpses are not legitimate.
If that were all, it might not be such a big deal, considering there are many unidentified corpses found on the streets every year, and bringing them back isn't entirely unacceptable. But recently, it was exposed that homeless people in Los Angeles disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Renowned journalist Louise Lane almost got silenced by the military for investigating these incidents. Aren't these two events connected?
Even if the corpses in this base are likely "old corpses," the batch from Los Angeles probably hasn't come in yet, but the journalists didn't care. In need of something sensational for the next stage, and now that military attacks have mostly subsided, the Federal Government has presented them with a story. Now, with the research base less than a hundred meters from the Capitol Building, they demand an explanation, right?
And the congressmen shrank back not out of fear of the journalists, but because the journalists' questions reminded them that now there might be a research base for viruses and bacteria less than a hundred meters away. They are in the same airspace with corpses that may have undergone unknown modifications. It seems today they can only endure.
The congressmen are already in despair. They're starting to empathize with the Superman of old. They don't know what they did to offend Superman like this. From their perspective, there were no old grudges or new enmities with him, they genuinely can't understand why Superman is doing this.
They feel it's the most unjust time for them. At least in the past, they might have done something wrong, but this time they were genuinely just busy tallying votes without interfering with the aliens, and yet all the consequences fell on them. Naturally, they couldn't help but curse out loud.
And Clark just floated above the Capitol Building. He heard the cursing and wailing in the conference hall clearly. What he thought was that they were only enduring not even two hours of cold in a house that keeps out the wind and rain on one of the not-so-cold nights; what about those living in tents? How many snowy nights do they have to go through like this, only to die silently and become yet another unnamed corpse in a research base?
Theft is a crime, robbery is a crime. Then why is letting people live like this not considered a crime but politics and power?
Clark realized that the Federation is like a person: with a command-issuing brain, order-executing limbs, food-digesting intestines, and toxin-filtering liver, this person is the biggest criminal on this land.
And those so-called thieves, robbers, even murderers, are but germs bringing disease to this massive body. He could act as a white blood cell to kill these germs or as an immune system to prevent more diseases.
However, cells within a person cannot judge that person. A white blood cell cannot refuse to save you when you fall ill because you are part of it.
If he becomes a superhero like a vigilante, he would be joining this society, like a new cell within a human body, only able to fight off germs.
Yet what would truly destroy a person and that person's society isn't minor ailments produced within the body but rather the criminal behavior of the person as a whole. This can't be prevented from within.
To save a criminal, it's not about rescuing the heart, liver, spleen, or lungs. On the contrary, the healthier his organs are, the less troubled by disease, the stronger his body, and the greater crimes he can commit. This is irresponsible to human civilization as a whole.
Throughout history, punishing criminals has required strong external forces. They must be threatened to have their behavior regulated. It's the same with the entire Federation.
So, if Clark chooses to be an American vigilante, or even an Earthling, he might not be able to forcibly regulate the actions of this giant from the outside.
To reignite the lighthouse, he can only choose the lonelier path, to detach himself from human society, adopting a different individual identity, to prevent this entire society from heading down the wrong path.
But how can he detach himself? He grew up on Earth, almost forgetting he's an alien. The only way is to rediscover his alien identity. Perhaps, he must visit Krypton.
He needs to know, if he had grown up on Krypton, what would he have become? What makes Krypton better or worse than Earth, and is there an ultimate answer to society there?
Flying over Metropolis, before Clark turned and left, he took one last look at this vast city. In the snowy night before Christmas, every household was brightly lit. When he was an ignorant small-town boy, he was countless times awed by such brilliant night scenes. Perhaps his homeland, Krypton, also had such bright lights from thousands of homes. But now, there's only an old ship that died in exile.
Perhaps Louise is right, the significance of seeking the truth of history doesn't lie in the truth itself. It's in the identification with society and the self-identity constructed during the pursuit that are the gold leaf fragments within the silt brought by the river of history flowing to today.
Thinking of this, Clark flew toward a building in Metropolis. He stopped in front of the balcony of Lois's apartment, but he knew that Lois had already canceled her lease and she should be resting in the hospital now.
However, he couldn't help but want to come and see. Just as he landed on the balcony, a figure flashed inside, and then the curtains were pulled open. Lois Lane met his gaze, and both of them were stunned.
"I thought you would come here," Lois said. "Luckily, I have a good relationship with the landlord. I told him I left something here, and he let me in."
Clark reached out to her, but instead of hugging her, he just reached out to touch her hair and said, "You reminded me to remember who I am. I am Clark Kent. But, Clark Kent can do so little."
Lois stepped forward and touched the side of Clark's face, which was left with a slight glow in the darkness, and then said, "Are you leaving?"
"I'm going back to Krypton to see. I need to know what exactly happened back then." Clark caressed Lois's hand and then said, "Perhaps I won't come back."
Lois gently stroked his cheek with her thumb and then said, "When Jesus died, he warned his followers: 'After three days, I will return.' He was indeed resurrected. Afterwards, he ascended to Heaven, returning to his heavenly kingdom. Christians believe that Jesus will come again to bring peace and eternal life to everyone.
"Unfortunately, Krypton won't be Heaven, so you will definitely come back. Because the heaven you desire can only be created by yourself here. Your hometown will only make you realize what you truly want... I'll be waiting for you to return."
Flying in the air, Clark looked back at Lois once more. Her eyes were illuminated by the moonlight beneath the white snow, and the fog from her breath seemed particularly light in the cold night. Perhaps she was right again; Krypton may not be the answer he seeks, but he has to go and see.
Bruce watched Clark's silhouette leave near-Earth orbit on the surveillance screen. He sighed, then turned towards the door.
Soon, a figure pushed open the door. Diana entered wearing thick winter clothes, shook hands with Bruce, and then said, "Nice to see you, Diana Prince."
"Bruce Wayne. Please have a seat, Mistress Prince. How was the Battleworld journey?"
"In fact, it was terrible," Diana said with a frown. "Of course, my sisters were very good; they did their best to help me and told me a lot about the Multiverse. But I went too late. In the complaint and suggestion section of the Doujie System, I strongly condemned them for making the invitation seem like a sales ad trap, though I'm not sure if it helped."
"Being vigilant is good," Bruce said. "Indeed, their invitation did look like a trap."
"So you didn't go immediately, right?"
"Yes, everyone in this entire cosmos, we all went pretty late. We also didn't make it to the previous Multiverse war. But that's fine, let it be."
Diana sighed and said, "I'm more worried about Clark. He seems different from all other Supermen. The other Supermen are very... I don't know how to say it, naive and lively, but silly."
"I'm different from other Batmen too." Bruce stood up to make coffee and said, "I'm older than most of them, already reaching the end of my vigilante career. But the good news is Clark is still young."
"Don't talk about being old in front of me. You're still young." Diana took off her scarf, tidied her hair, and then said, "However, about the matter of your age and insufficient lifespan, I did some research with the Hesperides Three Sisters. If I help them with something, maybe I can get a Golden Apple, and let you take a bite, and it'll be solved."
Bruce's hand paused, and then he said, "Is it the Golden Apple I've heard of?"
"It's that one. Of course, you don't have to go fight Troy first, and you can only use a small amount, probably just a small piece, and the rest can be used for other things."
Bruce returned to the sofa, handed the hot coffee to Diana, and then said, "Is the effect really that magical?"
"For humans, yes. It can restore you to a youthful state and greatly extend your life. But for the God Clan, it mostly has a cosmetic effect."
Just as Bruce opened his mouth, Diana interrupted him and said, "It only works on the living. Even the God Clan cannot interfere with life and death. The Underworld God you know can only accept the souls of some believers. If anyone tells you he can resurrect your important relatives, then you need to be cautious."