The Investor's Bet
An hour later, Amanda left with a box. Inside the box was Luke's hundred-dollar investment, which was, to be precise, a single head: the head of Hector Hammond.
A war was about to break out between the White House elites and Amanda.
Luke was certain she would use this perfectly preserved head for many "meaningful" purposes.
He was eagerly anticipating the conflict, curious to see how the war would end. Based solely on power, Amanda was at a complete disadvantage. However, political maneuvers cannot be solved by force alone. Armed with "absolute evidence," she was a venomous snake covered in poison, while the powerful Dick Cheney and the military brass were strong, capable tigers.
A battle between a tiger and a venomous snake was sure to be entertaining.
As an investor, Luke naturally wanted the enterprise he invested in to win, but he also held the identity of a gang boss, and no gang boss dislikes a government in chaos.
Testing the New Power
After settling the matter with Amanda, Luke went to Base #2 alone. He needed to test his new abilities.
According to the video recorded by the Phantom Armor, the yellow halo was consumed by the Green Flame and dissolved into an energy sphere that fused into his body. This suggested that Luke now potentially possessed the powers of Parallax:
Generating Fear
Manipulating Fear
Consuming Fear
If he could harness these powers...
Soon, four restrained pieces of garbage—three drug dealers and one butcher—were brought to the underground base by Adam. All were men who would never see heaven.
Luke put down his drink and walked up to the butcher. A faint green light erupted in his eyes. The butcher's pupils contracted to pinpoints; he appeared to be witnessing something utterly terrifying and began to wail loudly.
The green light intensified, turning into a spectral green column of light that enveloped his body.
The butcher stopped struggling, his eyes rolling back to show only white. He knelt motionless. His skin began to shrink and shrivel, and large yellow particles emerged from his body, much like what happened to Hector.
"It really works!"
Luke's heart stirred. He opened his mouth, attempting to consume the yellow particles, but after more than a dozen tries, nothing happened.
The yellow particles completely ignored his command, merely hovering in the air, emitting a faint glow.
Luke reached out to grab them, and his hand passed right through without resistance.
"That makes no sense!"
Luke refused to give up. He brought the three drug dealers over and tried each one, but the result was the same. The yellow particles could not be absorbed; they existed as another form of energy.
For the next hour, he tried every method he could think of, but none were effective.
"Three abilities, I inherited two, but missed the most important one."
"What a shame."
Luke shook his head helplessly, opened the secret door, and descended to the third underground level of Base #2.
This was his private vault, stocked with many fine treasures.
Prometheus Metal, Amazonian Metal, a prototype of the Phantom Armor, the Golden Key from the Kryptonian space station, and Hal Jordan's Green Lantern Ring, among others—all rare, world-class artifacts.
Of all the collectibles, the one Luke cherished most was the Green Lantern Ring.
The Green Lantern's ability was incredibly convenient, practically a necessity for travel, home life, and violent crime.
"A pity."
Luke looked reluctantly at the Ring, picked up the Prometheus Metal and Amazonian Metal, and left the vault.
The two metals were essential for building the Phantom 3.0 armor. Besides them, Luke planned to incorporate one more super-metal—a metal located in Gotham.
Starting today, half of his energy would be dedicated to the construction of the Phantom 3.0, aiming to complete it within six months.
Sinestro's Visit
Earth is an exceptionally beautiful planet. Blue oceans surrounded brown land, interspersed with mountains, rivers, forests, and seas of clouds. A tapestry of various colors, forming a breathtaking vista.
The databases on Planet Oa contained many records about Earth, the most famous being the Apokolips Invasion.
Thousands of years ago, Apokolips' military commander, Steppenwolf, launched a new round of colonial wars with his Parademon army. After destroying countless civilized planets, he arrived in Sector 2814 and found this beautiful planet.
There, Steppenwolf, who had never known defeat, tasted failure for the first time.
He was driven back to his homeworld by a coalition of the Green Lantern Corps and Earth's three major races, and hadn't dared to leave for thousands of years.
The detailed process of that war was not recorded in the database, only one sentence passed down: Earth possesses a very powerful force, capable of contending with the Green Lantern Corps.
Therefore, upon arriving on Earth, Sinestro did not use Oan technology for a full search as he normally would. He treated the planet with full respect.
Inside a dilapidated apartment in Coast City.
The red-faced Hal Jordan stumbled through his front door. His vision, blurred by drunkenness, took a long time to clear enough to make out the strange figure sitting on the sofa bed.
"A red-skinned weirdo?"
Hic!
"Just a few days ago, there was a big-headed monster, hic! and now there's a red-skinned weirdo... Motherfucker! Can't I get a moment of peace?"
Hal Jordan belched, fumbling in his pocket for his phone to call the police and force those useless cops to actually patrol the streets.
Sinestro watched him expressionlessly, his face growing darker, his eyes colder. He raised a finger, and a ball of cold water descended, drenching Hal to the core.
The icy sensation shocked Hal, and he shivered violently.
"Hal Jordan, you disappoint me greatly."
Sinestro stood up, staring straight ahead, his face hard as iron.
"You are a soldier of the Green Lantern Corps, the successor of Abin Sur, entrusted with the great mission of maintaining universal peace. Yet, all I see is a drunkard, a coward, a worthless wretch who can't even walk straight."
"Where is the Ring? I am taking it back. A person like you is not worthy of possessing the Ring."
The aura emanating from Sinestro was overwhelmingly powerful, like a mountain. Hal instinctively took two steps back. His vision quickly cleared, and when he realized the red-skinned monster standing before him was Sinestro, the Corps' Commander, his face instantly went white.
"I... I... I..."
"I don't wish to hear the excuses of a coward. Where is the Ring?"
Hal opened his mouth, an extremely complex emotion flashing across his face. Finally, he hung his head.
"It was taken."
Sinestro: "..."
"Who took it?"
Hal hesitated for a few seconds, then mumbled in a voice like a mosquito.
"Luke Shaw!"
Sinestro looked at the other Green Lantern Corps soldier in the room. The soldier activated his equipment, transmitting all the retrieved information about Luke Shaw onto Sinestro's retina.
"Seventeen years old, underage, gang leader, founder of ShowMe. He is the one who defeated you." Without waiting for Hal to respond, Sinestro continued.
"I give you two days to retrieve the Ring. If you fail, I will act on behalf of the Green Lantern Corps."
"Abin Sur's Ring will not be allowed to remain a trophy."
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