Zhang Ye hadn't lied to Pietro about that.
As a general of Krypton, General Zod was incredibly powerful. Even if he had initially struggled to adapt to the Yellow Sun's rays upon arriving on Earth, he quickly grew accustomed to them and, empowered by sunlight, became a force capable of destroying the world.
Superman—or rather, Kryptonians—drew their primary power from the Yellow Sun. Its light could alter their cells, turning them into a Man of Steel and awakening their Bio-Field, granting them terrifying strength, speed, reflexes, and more. They could even fire lasers from their eyes.
Their abilities were enough to make one's scalp tingle. Once they reached their peak, even Earth's old gods would have to avoid their edge. That alone showed just how powerful Kryptonians were. Stopping Zod would be no easy task.
"Wouldn't a nuclear bomb work? Those Kree were taken out by nukes," Pietro asked curiously. He recalled the alien invasion in his own universe, as well as the Kree who had become prisoners.
"It wouldn't be that easy. Nuclear bombs can indeed hurt Kryptonians, but they aren't like the Kree. A Kryptonian's individual combat ability is terrifying. It's not even certain a nuke could hit him. Besides, under the Yellow Sun, even a direct hit might not be enough to kill Zod."
Zhang Ye shook his head. He had also been considering ways to stop General Zod, but based on the things he remembered, there really weren't many methods available at present.
First, there was Superman. The main reason Superman had been able to snap General Zod's neck was that he had grown up on Earth and spent thirty years under the sun. His body had been strengthened to an incredibly terrifying degree, far beyond what General Zod, who had only just arrived on Earth, could compare to.
At first, Superman had been beaten down by General Zod and that female lieutenant because they were soldiers. They had been bred from the genetic codex for combat, and their fighting experience completely overwhelmed Superman's.
But later, Superman used his super brain to learn continuously and adapt to all kinds of battles. He gradually turned the tables and suppressed General Zod. In the end, though he had been reluctant, he still killed General Zod to protect humanity.
But now, there was no Superman on Earth at all. There was only a young girl who had been imprisoned for twenty years and had never seen sunlight. Although she was also a Kryptonian and had just been empowered by the Yellow Sun like General Zod, sending her into a direct fight against a battle-hardened general would be no different from sending her to her death.
And it truly was sending her to her death. Though Supergirl Kara had displayed impressive suppressive force in her fury, she hadn't actually inflicted any effective damage. Even fighting alongside The Flash, she still could not escape her fate of death.
That was hardly surprising. The gap in their attributes was simply too great. Losing was only natural.
So even if the Justice League truly came together, Zhang Ye didn't think they could defeat Zod without Superman. After all, the entire Justice League had once been overwhelmed by a newly revived Superman.
What was more, without the older Flash arriving, the younger Flash would never have been born in this world at all.
This universe had been a closed-loop universe from beginning to end.
The older Flash had traveled back in time to save his mother, while he had come here because the "future" younger Flash had kicked him here halfway through his journey. The reason he had been sent here was simple: for the younger Flash to obtain the Speed Force, he needed the older Flash's help.
According to this universe's original course, the younger Flash, who had never suffered the pain of losing his mother, would never experience that "fated" lightning accident. Naturally, he would never become The Flash, and there would be no Reverse-Flash either.
But the timeline was just that "fragile." The future younger Flash, a remnant of time, had intervened, bringing the older Flash into this universe and allowing the younger Flash to gain the Speed Force. As a result, the future younger Flash was born naturally, and the entire universal timeline became a closed loop.
It was precisely because of this closed loop, which should not have existed, that this universe began to collapse under the older Flash's reckless actions. Several nearby parallel universes were also in grave danger and could be destroyed if they were even slightly affected.
Of course, it wasn't the future younger Flash's fault. His intentions had been good. He merely wanted to save his world from being destroyed by General Zod, which was why he had traveled through the timeline again and again.
But how could it be that simple? To defeat a Kryptonian without absolute superiority in combat power, one could only rely on kryptonite.
Kryptonite, as its name implied, was radioactive planetary debris left behind after Krypton's destruction. While the remnants of an entire planet might sound plentiful, in the vastness of the universe, they were no more than a drop in the ocean.
If Zhang Ye remembered correctly, Lex Luthor had found a massive chunk of kryptonite in the Pacific Ocean in Batman v Superman. But Zhang Ye didn't think he could find it in such a short time.
And more importantly, since this universe was destined to be destroyed, the timeline could not possibly leave him such a huge "loophole."
So the most likely possibility was that there was no kryptonite anywhere on Earth right now. Even if kryptonite had fallen onto the Moon back then, it would not have landed on Earth.
"Is he really that strong? Even I can't beat him?" Pietro still couldn't wrap his head around it.
"Put it this way: if you took a running start around the Earth at top speed, then punched him, he'd be sent flying, brush off the dust, and get back up. You, on the other hand, would be instantly blasted into a pile of bloody mush by the recoil." Zhang Ye spread his hands.
"How could that be?"
"If you could bring President X or Scarlet Witch here, we might be able to go toe-to-toe with him. Kryptonians have no immunity to magic, and their resistance to psychic powers and magic is weak. But that's impossible now."
What a joke. If President X came over, he would probably possess General Zod directly. At that point, invincible psychic power, an invincible body, and reality-altering chaos magic combined would make that monster a threat to the entire Multiverse!
"Is there really no way? Can we only watch this world be destroyed and do nothing?" Pietro looked dejected. He wouldn't mourn for his own universe, because that hopeless universe didn't deserve saving. But this world was different. There were still so many beautiful things here.
They shouldn't be heading toward destruction.
Seeing Pietro's sorrowful expression, Zhang Ye sighed, then smiled. "Actually, it's not completely hopeless. I have a plan, but I can't guarantee it will succeed one hundred percent."
"Really?!" Pietro's eyes immediately lit up. "I knew it. I knew nothing like this could stump you."
"Stop flattering me. We have a lot to do next, and there's no time left for you to play games." Zhang Ye smiled and patted Pietro on the shoulder.
"Haha, games can be played anytime." Pietro tossed aside his headphones, rose to his feet, and looked excitedly at Zhang Ye. "Zhang, what do we do next?"
"First."
The corners of Zhang Ye's lips curled upward.
"We're going to Gotham to meet an old friend."
Before you continue