Ruler

The Utah desert.

General Simon Hilson hadn't exaggerated when he told Jay he could find a very well-hidden base in this place. The base was by no means small in scale, but its concealment was excellent. It was nestled between desolate mountains in a valley filled with swirling sand, the natural terrain providing perfect cover. If an ordinary reconnaissance plane flew overhead, there was a ninety percent chance it would overlook the base.

But it couldn't escape Jay's super senses.

If Helena were here, she might have a professional infiltration technique to silently slip into this heavily guarded base. Unfortunately, Jay wasn't familiar with that sort of thing, so he chose a simpler, more direct approach. He descended vertically from a thousand meters up, landing directly in the center of the base. The moment he touched down, sand surged outwards in all directions like a tsunami, causing a considerable earthquake throughout the entire valley.

Such a high-profile entrance inevitably drew a lot of attention. Soldiers in camouflage uniforms immediately raised their weapons without question and unleashed a barrage of fire at the mysterious intruder. The result, naturally, was just wasted ammunition. Jay initially intended to ignore them, but the incessant gunfire was too irritating. So, he turned and blew out a breath. Layers of sand, propelled by his Freezing Breath, formed walls tens of meters high, scattering the soldiers in every direction.

The base was quite large, with numerous buildings and facilities, but Jay found his target without hesitation. Strangely, from the moment he landed, he felt something appear in his mind, as if a route had been drawn in the depths of his brain, calling him forward.

He instinctively walked towards a hemispherical building in the very center, inevitably encountering obstructions in the form of a hail of bullets. But he let the bullets ping and deform against his steel body, unheeding, and continued towards the target building. Along the way, he flipped over a tank that fired at him with one hand – the only reason he didn't use his Heat Vision to detonate it was because he didn't want to harm the soldiers inside the cockpit.

The hemispherical building seemed to be the most technologically advanced facility in the entire complex. A three-layered reinforced alloy door blocked Jay's path, and the lock required multiple authentications: password, fingerprint, and magnetic card. Even Jay had to admit that this door was the sturdiest he had ever seen. After taking a punch from Jay, it only caved in deeply, proving it had at least missile-level defensive capabilities.

But it couldn't withstand a second punch. The moment the heavy door fell, the entire hemispherical building seemed to tremble violently. Jay strode inside, and a small, exquisite spacecraft immediately caught his eye. It was a white and gray ship, shaped like a bullet, with dark lines painted on its hull. Around it were inscriptions in a language Jay couldn't understand but instinctively felt a sense of familiarity with. Perhaps it was Kryptonian script.

He could clearly feel that this ship was calling him.

The moment he stepped into the room, the ship activated on its own. A faint blue glow from the cockpit shone through the transparent glass, the engine emitted a green light, and a humming sound like idling filled the air. A transparent holographic projection formed in front of Jay, creating a virtual figure with a blue face. Based on its build, it might even be female.

"A warm welcome!" she said in a voice as clear as a silver bell. "Star Child, son of the Great Star and the Bright Moon."

Jay pointed at himself blankly. "Are you talking about me? Who are you?"

"I am Hygeian, the artificial intelligence of the ship that brought you to this planet," she said in a voice that was devoid of fluctuation yet incredibly gentle. "I am connected to all data within the local human network, and I can answer any of your questions."

This was a completely unexpected turn of events. Jay hadn't anticipated encountering the Kryptonian ship that brought him here in a place like this, which made him feel an exceptional sense of familiarity. Countless questions flooded his mind, but he forced himself to set aside the momentarily unimportant ones – he hadn't forgotten what he initially wanted to find out.

"The project codenamed S.D.E. Project," Jay asked tentatively, "can you find any information on it?"

"Of course," Hygeian replied directly, without seemingly spending any time searching. "It was initially a project initiated by humans with the purpose of exploring extraterrestrial life. In response, we followed the clues to Earth. The project was subsequently handled by General Sam Lane, and its nature changed to a top-secret project using Kryptonian children as secret weapons. The project was terminated six years ago after the invasion by Apocalypse's army."

It sounded the same as what General Simon Hilson had told him, but that didn't answer all the questions. Jay frowned and pressed further, "Is that all? Is there anything else?"

"That is all regarding the S.D.E. Project," Hygeian said. She paused for a moment, then added, "However, two years later, the S.D.E-NEO Project was developed from this plan. Would you like me to explain?"

Jay's expression shifted. "Yes."

"Many years ago, within the S.D.E. Project, humans launched rockets and numerous signals into outer space inviting extraterrestrial visitors to Earth. Those signals were also received by another alien. However, he did not arrive on Earth until a year after the invasion by Apocalypse's army. The name of that alien is Mongor."

Jay's heart skipped a beat. He was already beginning to anticipate that what he was about to hear might be difficult to accept.

"Mongor is an alien tyrant, the ruler of the mobile fortress 'Warworld'."

"Skip this part, I know who Mongor is," Jay said urgently. "Tell me what happened next."

"Certainly," Hygeian said. "When the alien monarch Mongor came to Earth following the signal, the planet was in a state of complete chaos. Apocalypse's invasion had severely weakened Earth, and the global economy had regressed by decades. Heroes had disappeared into the darkness, the system had fallen into disarray, and the mental state of humanity was generally at an unprecedented low. This gave Mongor an opportunity.

Mongor secretly promoted the establishment of the World Federal Government of humanity and turned all its high-ranking officials into his puppets. He lurked behind human society like an invisible shadow, yet he possessed supreme power over it. He turned human society into an appendage of 'Warworld'. For years, he plundered vast amounts of resources and energy from Earth for 'Warworld's' use, while also capturing humans as slaves to labor on 'Warworld' or to be modified into enhanced monsters for 'Warworld's' gladiatorial combat."

"Stop, stop," Jay interrupted urgently. He had to confirm this wasn't some wild dream before Hygeian continued. "You mean to say that an alien tyrant has ruled our world for so many years, and we've all been kept in the dark??"

"Yes," Hygeian replied calmly.

Jay felt a bit dizzy, and it wasn't his fault. This was indeed too much to digest, even disheartening. He began to feel a little scared. He had expected the enemy to be very powerful, but he hadn't anticipated it would be this outrageous. If Hygeian was telling the truth, it meant he wouldn't just be fighting Mongor, but the entire world under his rule.

Perhaps this was no longer within his capabilities. For a rookie superhero just starting out – he didn't even consider himself a superhero yet – facing an alien with such resources seemed a bit too difficult. This should be handled by the real big players.

He quickly realized that there weren't many big players left.

Superman was gone, the Justice League was gone. This world had lost its support.

Perhaps he could try to find Batman. But Helena had said that Batman's mindset had changed greatly, and he was completely indifferent to anything outside of Gotham. Jay wasn't sure if Batman would make an exception for this.

Perhaps if he didn't do anything, no one would.

Just then, a heavy tank shell seemed to hit the top of the building. Jay's feet vibrated violently, and imperceptible dust fell from the roof. A clear, loud voice amplified through a loudspeaker came from outside the door: "Listen up, you inside! Drop your weapons, put your hands on your head, and come outside! Otherwise, we won't be polite!"