Luke immediately understood what was going to happen next based on the changing expressions of the two men, and he couldn't help but smile.
"It seems you haven't mentioned the massacre of the Fourth Mechanized Infantry Division."
Hal Jordan looked incredulous, his hand instinctively loosening its grip on Sinestro's arm.
"This…is this true?"
Sinestro offered no explanation, nor would he. Seeing this, Hal's expression became extremely complex.
He hadn't been a Green Lantern for long, but he knew every law of the Corps clearly.
The Fifth Law strictly prohibited the large-scale massacre of intelligent species; once discovered, severe punishment was inevitable.
Sinestro had killed so many people yet remained unpunished, appearing perfectly fine beside him. What did this mean? Hal clutched his hair, finding it hard to believe.
Sinestro stepped forward. "Earthling, state your purpose."
"I should be asking you that. Don't forget, this is Earth, our nation."
Sinestro fell silent. Perhaps out of guilt, or for some other reason, he abandoned his aggressive stance.
"We are pursuing an extremely dangerous entity. It's on Earth, likely possessing a human. If it finds an opportunity, it will not hesitate to devour you, to devour the entire planet."
"I must warn you, it is very dangerous, far beyond your ability to deal with."
Luke asked curiously, "What is this dangerous entity you speak of?"
"The source of all terror, the physical embodiment of yellow energy, called Parallax."
Indeed!
Luke's heart stirred, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued, "This matter has nothing to do with me, does it?"
"Parallax has an infected host on Earth, Hector Hammond, the culprit behind the mummified corpse case.
When we were besieging Parallax and about to destroy it, Hector summoned it to Earth through a ritual, indirectly saving its life.
According to the intelligence we gathered, the meteor that appeared over Coast City is directly related to you.
You were the last person to see Hector and the first Earthling to see Parallax."
"We had to find you!"
Sinestro's tone was very serious, and Hal also stopped his wild thoughts, looking at Luke with a stunned expression.
Hector?
Meteor?
Could he be the mysterious hero of Coast City rumored online?
Luke was noncommittal, saying indifferently, "So the reason you're looking for me is to get information about Parallax and, incidentally, to see if I've been infected?"
"Precisely."
Luke spread his hands. "And now?"
Sinestro shook his head. "There are no energy fluctuations from Parallax on you; you haven't been parasitized by it."
"It seems I can leave with peace of mind."
Luke got up from the sofa and walked out.
"Wait a moment."
Sinestro's expression was exceptionally serious. "Earthling, I hope you understand, this is not a game.
Parallax is the source of fear, greedy, powerful, and will devour all intelligent life it can consume.
If it grows stronger, Earth will become a dead planet, like many others it has ended."
Luke stopped, thought for a moment, and replied,
"Thank you for your warning, Mr. Sinestro. I'd also like to remind you of something: this planet is not as simple as you imagine.
If you have nothing else, go back quickly. If you stay here, you will die. As for that yellow worm with many limbs and a segmented body…" He paused, then shrugged under their shocked gaze, "It no longer exists."
With that, he turned and left, leaving the astonished duo standing in a daze.
"No longer exists?"
What did that mean?
Hal's tone was exaggerated. "Did he kill Parallax?"
That was the physical embodiment of the yellow fear, one of the seven emotional spectrums.
An immortal, indestructible being—how could that be?
Sinestro frowned in silence. After a long time, he finally spoke, "Is he Luke Shaw, the one who took your ring?"
Hal nodded bitterly. He and Luke were potential romantic rivals, yet their interactions were few. Today was, in fact, their first.
"A terrifying first."
This was Hal's immediate feeling. No wonder the other party could become the underworld boss of Coast City at such a young age, and no wonder Carol was so devoted to him. This guy exuded too much pressure.
In front of him, Hal felt like prey wrapped in layers of a spiderweb, not daring to even breathe.
"He's a very dangerous guy; you need to be prepared."
Sinestro said only that, then said no more. He materialized a healing pod with his power ring, lay inside, and began to recuperate.
As for Parallax, the investigation had to continue. He couldn't just stop and give up because of an Earthling's words; that wasn't his style of doing things...
At the same time, the White House entered an unprecedented state of alert.
Secret Service, FBI, CIA, special forces…all available resources were concentrated at the White House residence, fortifying the presidential mansion into the most secure military fortress.
Dick Cheney's ordeal struck a blow to all high-ranking officials. If aliens could abduct the Vice President in broad daylight, they could certainly abduct others.
This was the most terrifying aspect!
Concerning personal safety, the constantly feuding White House bigwigs united their front as never before, mobilizing their forces to strengthen security.
In the short two-hundred-plus-year history of the United States, there had never been a case of a Vice President being kidnapped. This matter was too serious to conceal.
Soon, news of Vice President Dick Cheney's abduction by aliens spread, causing an uproar in public opinion.
Major web portals unhesitatingly designated this news as the top headline of the year.
The internet was abuzz, with unsubstantiated conjectures spreading like wildfire.
Some speculated that aliens were invading Earth, others that the Vice President had been implanted with a bug by aliens, and some even claimed it was a self-directed play by the White House, with no aliens involved at all...
The public was agitated, and the internet was boiling with excitement. Many celebrity singers, wealthy individuals, and socialites also joined in.
Traditional media resources were insufficient, so many chose to become members of ShowMe.
This incident caused ShowMe, whose user base was mainly young people and university students, to leap several stages, becoming a must-have choice for the American public.
ShowMe's market value soared, reaching 1.3 billion US dollars in just ten days.
It's worth noting that just a few months prior, ShowMe was a small company with only two employees. Of course, these are all later developments.
Because of this incident, Dick Cheney's political career came to an end, and he was confined to a secret base, guarded 24 hours a day.
Even if the people in the White House were foolish, they wouldn't dare let someone who had close contact with aliens hold a high position.
That wasn't confidence; that was courting death, like keeping a nuclear bomb at home—only a fool would do that.
The Vice President was finished. The network of power he had painstakingly built over decades crumbled in an instant.
The military also lost its spokesperson and began searching for new partners.
It was at this moment that Amanda appeared, entering the White House conference room as a special security advisor.
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