"You...!"
Clark took half a step back, his eyes flashing with disbelief. Google Search Reading
"Lex once said that all the data for his Project 1138 was stolen. Was it you who stole his data?!"
Clark asked, somewhat disbelievingly.
"What... what exactly is your purpose?"
Forcing himself to calm down, Clark took a step forward, glaring into the other's eyes, and demanded sharply.
Watching Clark's angry expression, Brainiac's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Impatience is indeed humanity's most pathetic trait. It seems that a Kryptonian raised by this primitive race also possesses such a characteristic."
Brainiac said to Clark.
"Is that so? Then I must tell you, I happen to care about this primitive race far more than I care about the so-called Krypton."
Clark looked at the several college students, who now had long fangs and eyes glowing with a reddish shimmer, and a wary expression crossed his face as he took a step back.
"You are always so different, Kal-El."
Brainiac extended a long tentacle from his hand, aiming it at Clark.
Clark was not afraid of the powerful aura the other party displayed, and asked, "You know that name of mine. Are you a Kryptonian?"
"Of course."
Brainiac had no intention of hiding anything from Clark, and said with a smile, "I know Krypton even better than you can imagine, including your father Jor-El. He was a tyrannical dictator, ruling Krypton with an iron fist of fear and coercion. Everyone who dared to oppose him was imprisoned, including General Zod, whose name you may have heard. If he hadn't been arrested, he might have been able to stop your father from draining Krypton's essence."
"You... you mean, Krypton was destroyed by my father?"
Clark asked the other party, somewhat disbelievingly.
Brainiac nodded.
"Of course, I am generally not one to deceive humans with lies. Billions of people died on Krypton, but... he allowed his son to survive safely, to continue using his superpowers to enslave Earth, and to make Earth the new Krypton."
Brainiac's smile faded as he took a step closer to Clark and said, "This is the mission your father entrusted to you, and I... Kal, I am here to assist you. As long as the two of us work together, we can accomplish the goal your father gave us: to make Earth the new Krypton. This was your father's long-cherished wish, and it is why I am here."
The sudden news that his birth father, Jor-El, was the culprit behind Krypton's destruction, shocked Clark.
"No, that can't be!"
Clark's expression became slightly flustered, and he took a step back, his eyes flashing with disbelief.
"All the data for Lex Luthor's Project 1138 was stolen by me. I possess unparalleled intelligence. I created artificial intelligence for Krypton, and it was also endowed with emotions. The development of the vampire virus, for me, was merely an unchallenging task."
Brainiac did not hide the fact that he stole Lex's data and created the vampire virus capable of infecting superheroes and supervillains.
"Coincidentally, I encountered a pair of alien twins and discovered that the elder brother among them had blood with magical effects, an erosive power that even Kryptonians could not resist. Thus... the highly infectious vampire virus was born. By the way, there's one more thing I'm best at, and that's controlling people's minds. So... once infected by the virus I created, everyone will obey my will."
Brainiac explained the effects of the vampire virus he created.
"So... you intend to rule the world next?"
Boundless anger surged within Clark as he spoke to Brainiac.
"I have no interest in ruling the world, Kal."
Brainiac's eyes showed a complex light as he said to Clark, "I merely enjoy the process of destroying a civilization, and collecting my spoils along the way."
Although Brainiac did not state what spoils he intended to collect, Clark could imagine that it would not be anything good.
The fire of rage in Clark's eyes was about to erupt. He glared fiercely at Brainiac: "If that is your purpose, I have only one thing to say to you—Go to hell!"
Knowing that he would not easily escape today, Clark immediately lunged at the other party.
He intended to quickly subdue the opponent while they were momentarily off guard.
But the several students who had already been transformed into vampires by Brainiac stood in front of Clark, blocking his movements.
After being transformed into vampires, these students who had previously troubled him had increased their strength and speed by more than a notch.
They directly grabbed Clark's arm and threw him to the ground.
After throwing Clark to the ground, the vampires, their eyes radiating ferocity, lifted him up.
Clark, having lost his superpowers, could only endure the one-sided abuse.
Although he struggled desperately, he could not break free from the vampires.
Grabbing his arm, one vampire bared his fangs and bit at his neck.
Though Clark resisted with all his might, he was continuously pulled closer to the sharp fangs.
"Ugh!"
Struggling and showing a pained expression, Clark desperately pressed his hand against the other's neck.
"Whoosh!"
At the critical moment, a beam of golden-yellow light pierced the dark night sky, illuminating the entire night.
The vampires in the dark shadows shrieked in pain as they were exposed to the sunlight, which was like a scorching sun.
The light emitted by the Star Scepter contained a strong will of radiance, penetrating the vampires' skin and causing irreversible damage to them.
"Ah ah ah ah!"
The screaming vampires covered their eyes and cried out, their skin smoking as if scorched by the intense sun, constantly dissolving.
While the vampires were wailing, Clark, who was on the ground, grabbed the Star Scepter from the air.
Although he could not use the Star Scepter now, the Star Scepter, which had a strong independent consciousness, still appeared at Clark's most critical moment.
Clark, gripping the Star Scepter, stood up and aimed it at the vampires in front of him, retreating while enduring the pain in his body.
At this moment, he had realized that without his superpowers, he would definitely not be a match for this group of guys.
Even if he held the Star Scepter, because he couldn't use it like Stargirl and Eric, he couldn't form enough combat power.
But Brainiac obviously wouldn't give Clark a chance to escape. With just a slight movement of his body, Clark was instantly sent flying.
Bang!
Clark spat out a mouthful of blood and rolled on the ground.
The Star Scepter also flew out of his hand and was caught by Brainiac.
The Star Scepter, which had been radiating golden light, instantly dimmed and lost its starlight the moment Brainiac grasped it.
"Kal, you forgot the most important thing, and that is that you, as you are now, have abandoned your mission and responsibility. You... are just an ordinary person! An ordinary Earthling. All your power and might have become shackles you cast aside. Now, you are incredibly fragile!"
Clark, feeling like his ribs were broken, watched the light of the Star Scepter gradually dim and disappear in Brainiac's hand, and the light in his own eyes also gradually faded.
Brainiac looked at the unconscious Clark, shook his head, and casually threw the Star Scepter onto Clark's body.
"Kal, your foolishness has led to your current situation, so... do not lament your fate. This is the outcome you chose."
Brainiac said to Clark.
The moment the unconscious Clark's body touched the Star Scepter, a warm current flowed into his body.
As his consciousness plunged into darkness, the unconscious Clark suddenly found his consciousness in an unfamiliar place.
Amidst dark, continuous emerald mountains, no light could be seen.
And his consciousness floated in the air, as if constantly chasing the only point of light that suddenly appeared.
Swish swish!
In the uninhabited path amidst the mountains, a faint light constantly leaped forward, like a firefly in summer.
Clark, like a calm, observing third party, followed the firefly-like light, his body leaping forward.
When he got closer, he realized it wasn't a firefly, but a faint flashlight beam.
The one holding the flashlight should have been a woman.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see the woman's face clearly.
The woman carried two children on her back, hurrying along the rugged path.
He also couldn't make out the faces of the two young children.
In the chaotic space of consciousness, there seemed to be a blurry black shadow obstructing the faces of the several people, preventing his vision from penetrating.
But he had a vague intuition that one of the two children carried on the woman's back was Eric!
He could feel Eric's aura and presence, and his consciousness kept reminding him that he was experiencing Eric's innermost emotions and memories.
Thump!
The woman, stepping on the ground, reached a cliff and stopped.
He had thought the woman was lost, but he didn't expect her to grit her teeth, say "Mommy is sorry for you," and then throw the two boys from her back down the cliff.
"Stop!"
Clark, his eyes wide with fury, reached out, trying to stop this scene.
But at this moment, he was merely an observer, completely unable to stop any of it!
In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the two young boys fell down the cliff.
Because the two young boys were tied together, as they fell, they happened to hit a dead tree growing in the middle of the cliff and got caught on it.
Seeing that the two had not fallen to the bottom of the cliff, Clark breathed a sigh of relief.
The two young boys, hanging in the middle of the cliff, slowly climbed up along the cloth strips tied to their bodies, finally reaching the dead tree.
Clark's consciousness floated in the air, watching the two boys' climb, his heart constantly anxious for them.
Only when the two safely climbed onto the dead tree did he finally relax.
"Brother Tong, I'm scared!"
A voice entered his ears.
Although the voice was blurry and the intonation was strange, unlike English, he could still understand the meaning of the other's words.
"Don't be afraid, Xiao An, I... we will definitely be rescued! As long as we wait until dawn, someone will pass by up there."
What seemed to be Eric's voice comforted the young boy.
"Brother, did Mom not want us anymore? Why... why did she throw us down here!"
Xiao An's voice, tinged with a cry, asked Eric.
"No, Mom was just careless, she didn't realize we were lost. Maybe she'll come look for us later. You must hold onto the branch tightly, don't fall."
"But I'm scared, boo hoo... My arm hurts so much, it hurts with just a little movement, Brother..."
"If you fall, you might never see Mom again, little brother, you must hold on tight."
Eric said to Xiao An urgently and nervously.
Clark's consciousness floated in the nearby sky, watching everything before him, his fists tightly clenched, his teeth grinding audibly.
"Do you still remember Superman I told you about? He can fly, and he's incredibly strong, and he can shoot lasers from his eyes. Whenever anyone is in danger, he comes to rescue them, little brother, you like Superman the most, don't you? As long as you hold on, Superman will definitely come to save you!"
Eric, clinging to a branch suspended in mid-air, said to his younger brother Xiao An.
"Really?"
Xiao An's tone became somewhat high-pitched, but soon his voice dropped again.
"Actually, I know there's no Superman in this world. Think about it, Brother, if Superman really appeared to save us, wouldn't that mean there are a lot of bad people in our world? Actually, there are no bad people in this world, so Superman doesn't need to appear to fight bad people."
"But..."
Xiao An's voice grew softer and softer, "Brother, I want to be Superman. He can fly like a free bird, he'll personally rescue a cat stuck in a tree, he'll take unhappy children on a flight to cheer them up. He's amazing, he always acts like a true man, and he never runs away like me, running away from Mom, running away from bad grades. I... I want to become that kind of person too!"
As he spoke, Xiao An slowly reached out to untie the cloth strips binding the two of them.
It wasn't until he had almost completely untied them that Eric reacted.
"What are you doing?!"
Eric roared, reaching out to stop the other from untying the strips.
But because the knot of the cloth strip was close to the other person's position, Eric couldn't stop him in time and could only watch his brother untie the cloth strip.
"I'm sorry, Brother, your diary from before... I tore it, I... I didn't dare to tell you."
Xiao An's voice grew fainter and fainter.
"I... I'm a little sleepy, sorry, Brother."
Saying this, Xiao An's head drooped, his hand gripping the dead branch slowly loosened, his body unable to support itself, and he fell from the dead tree.
"Ah ah ah ah!"
Eric, who had climbed over with all his might, desperately lunged forward, trying to grab his brother's hand.
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