General

The living room of General Simon Gilson's villa was quite pleasant. Sunlight spilled generously across the red velvet carpet, baking the entire room with a natural warmth. Various potted plants were arranged throughout the living room, each one soaking up the sunlight and stretching out its branches comfortably, making the air in the whole space seem twice as fresh.

"Sorry, I only have tea here." The old man handed a cup to Jay. "The doctor said it would be best for my condition not to drink anything else. This Eastern beverage is good for me. But they're all premium tea leaves. You can give it a try."

Under normal circumstances, Jay might have appreciated the old man's kindness, but he had no leisure to taste tea now. His head was crammed with questions, to the point that he barely knew where to begin.

General Gilson poured himself a cup as well, then sat down unhurriedly. "The Space Dimension Explorer Project, abbreviated as S.D.E. That's the project you wanted to ask about. It was initiated by the military with NASA's full support. At its inception, it was a research project focused on exploring the unknown."

"So what did that have to do with me?"

"Patience, child." General Gilson took a sip of tea and sank into the sofa bathed in sunlight. "At first, this project was no different from countless other exploration programs. Similar attempts had never ceased since humanity became aware of its place in the universe. But what set this project apart was the result it produced, which fundamentally changed its nature.

After Superman entered the public eye, we truly realized for the first time that we weren't alone in the universe. Space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life reached an unprecedented pace as a result. Every year, governments around the world allocated far more money than before to aerospace exploration programs. The S.D.E. Project came into being under those circumstances. They spent a fortune building an unmanned space rocket—but it wasn't an ordinary rocket. It was a navigational rocket. It would record its entire flight path and journey, continuously broadcasting them in radio waves in all directions. The goal was to draw the attention of extraterrestrial life, express goodwill, and extend an eager invitation for them to visit Earth."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "That was certainly a bold attempt. Weren't they afraid invaders like the Apocalypse army would follow the signal here?"

General Gilson gave a bitter smile. "That was before the Apocalypse Invasion. Our understanding of the universe was still extremely limited then. The only alien we knew of was Superman, and he had been very friendly. If this had been proposed after the Apocalypse Invasion, people would fear unfamiliar alien visitors like monsters and floods. Naturally, such a proposal would never have passed."

"And then?" Jay asked. "The project succeeded?"

"Judging by the outcome, I suppose it did, though there were a few minor complications along the way." General Gilson said, "A little over ten hours after our rocket was completed and launched, it seemed to collide with an unidentified black hole in space. Its immense gravity dragged the rocket in and cut off all signals between it and us. At the time, we all thought the project had failed. Everyone was deeply disappointed, until—"

He paused and stared at Jay with a complicated look. "Until three months later, when you came to Earth."

Though he had vaguely anticipated it already, Jay still could not help being startled when he heard that.

The old man abruptly changed the subject. "I'm guessing you already know that, like Superman, you're a Kryptonian?"

"I know."

"Then do you remember General Sam Lane?" he asked again.

Jay frowned. "I don't remember him, but I know of him. I heard he was a staunch opponent of Superman. He insisted Superman would one day become humanity's enemy."

"Yes, Lane didn't just talk. He took action long ago. Ever since Superman revealed his existence to the world, Lane had begun establishing a specialized department to study Superman's data, analyze his weaknesses, and prepare every possible method to defeat him if he ever lost control." General Gilson said, "He was extremely paranoid, but that made him unquestionably one of the people in the military who understood Superman best. That was why, when the government learned that a new Kryptonian had arrived on Earth as the project's response, they appointed General Lane as the new head of the S.D.E. Project."

Jay finally understood why Gilson had said the project had "initially" been an exploration program. From the moment he arrived on Earth, the entire project's nature had fundamentally changed.

"Experts speculated that the Kryptonian spaceship you were aboard had entered a dormant, stranded state somewhere in space, until the navigational rocket we launched awakened it and led you to Earth."

"So after that, you locked me up in one of your facilities for research? Never letting me see daylight?" The thought made Jay somewhat angry—though, strictly speaking, that past had not been his own experience, since he had not yet transmigrated into this body at the time.

"Imprisoned? No, no. You had complete personal freedom, and we made sure you received plenty of sunlight every day. You were very cooperative. Under General Lane's instructions, you even helped the military resolve quite a few troubles. Secretly."

"So I was a Superman working for the government?" Jay raised an eyebrow, not particularly fond of the idea.

"More or less. That good cooperative relationship lasted for a long time. Until the Apocalypse Invasion arrived."

As General Gilson spoke, his expression darkened instantly. Clearly, he had been drawn into some very unpleasant memories. He said in a low voice, "That black giant—the ruler they called Darkseid—came directly to our research base. He was clearly there for you. None of us had the slightest chance of resisting him. Hellish, blood-red beams shot from his eyes. With a single strike, every life in the entire building was instantly erased—including you, an invulnerable Kryptonian."

"Wait." Jay frowned. "You're saying I was hit by Darkseid's Omega Beams and died?"

"At least, that was what we all believed at the time. After that invincible wave of energy swept through, every trace of life in the facility completely vanished, including yours." General Gilson sank into painful memories. "Then he left, leaving behind nearly endless Parademons. Everyone was torn to pieces by them. Even Lane wasn't spared—"

At that point, a puzzled expression appeared on his face. "But your life readings should have completely disappeared at the time. How were you... still alive?"

Jay shook his head. "I don't know. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't even remember any of this happening."

Perhaps at the instant Darkseid's Omega Beams struck, this Kryptonian's consciousness had truly died, and only afterward had he transmigrated into this body. If that was really the case, then in essence, his soul had been completely replaced by that of an entirely different person.

"But if everything you said is true," Jay frowned and asked again, "then after what happened six years ago, this should have been a project that was completely abandoned. So why would someone, six years later, want to get rid of my friend to cover up a secret that had long since expired?"

The question seemed to strike a vital point. General Gilson's expression changed ever so slightly for an instant. But the old man was no simple man. In a moment so brief that ordinary people would have struggled to notice it, he regained his composure and said, "I don't know that. As you can see, I retired four years ago. Now I'm just an old man tending flowers and plants."

His expression looked convincing enough. Perhaps ninety percent of people would have been fooled by him, and if Jay had not possessed super senses, he might have been among that ninety percent. General Gilson had held an important position for many years and was clearly skilled at lying. His concealment was practically flawless, but the instant his heartbeat quickened, amplified by Jay's super hearing, it sounded as loud as a drum kit. And his pupils, which had dilated in that instant, could not escape Jay's eyes either.

"If you truly understand Kryptonians that well, then you should know lying is useless, General Gilson." Jay looked straight into the old man's weathered eyes. "Tell me the truth."

General Gilson felt an even greater pressure from the young man without realizing it, making him swallow involuntarily. He hesitated for a long time, seeming to undergo an intense internal struggle before lifting his head and saying, "In the southern Utah desert, you should be able to find a top-secret military base. It's very well hidden, but you should be able to find it. Go take a look. It should answer your questions."

Jay was completely confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means I can only help you this far, child." General Gilson said firmly. "My son was once my only family, but he died during the Apocalypse Invasion. My friends, my comrades—they all died at the hands of Apocalypse Parademons. They could threaten me or intimidate me for saying things I shouldn't have, but what do I have left to fear? I'm already an old man with nothing left to lose."

As he said this, the corners of his deeply wrinkled eyes actually grew slightly moist. Jay could not help sympathizing with the old man. He still had many questions, but his instincts told him that this stubborn old man would not say anything more, so he could only take his leave.

Jay rose from the sofa and was about to leave when his ears suddenly caught a faint "click," far too soft for ordinary people to hear, like someone flipping a switch. The crisp sound seemed to come from some empty pipe, echoing without end.

Jay froze. He instinctively looked toward the kitchen, and his eyes, activating X-Sight, immediately saw an electronic bomb lying inside a natural gas pipe. In that brief instant, his mouth fell open in shock.

Jay moved quickly, far faster than a bullet. But unfortunately, sometimes even that was not fast enough. The bomb exploded almost the instant his X-Sight fell upon it. The demon of flame roared as it burst from the kitchen, its unrestrained shockwave sweeping through the entire building in an instant. The beautiful little villa became a sea of fire, and every flower and blade of grass in the garden outside burned to ashes.