Barry's terrified, piercing scream echoed three times through the solemn church.
The originally sacred and tranquil atmosphere of confession and inner dissection was instantly disrupted by Barry's goofy attitude.
The old priest silently made the sign of the cross, feeling that he had seen more strange people tonight than he had heard of sins in his entire life.
Chen Mo turned his head and gave Barry a disdainful look from head to toe.
"Hey Barry, if you don't need these eyes, you can donate them to the Central City Red Cross."
Chen Mo casually patted Clark's shoulder, which was as solid as a steel plate.
"Open your dog eyes and look carefully. This is the Krypton countryman you've been looking for, the 'Number King 'Big Super."
Clark frowned slightly, his handsome face filled with confusion. "... Wang Big Super? What's that codename?"
Barry stumbled back three meters, nearly stepping on his own battle suit Cloak.
"Holy crap?! He's that alien?!"
Barry instinctively raised his arm, and the Speed Force arcs at his fingertips began to race uncontrollably again.
"Wait a minute, he looks like a pure, sunny young man who drinks protein powder every day at the gym! He even has that classic look of someone who refuses injections."
Clark looked at the astonished Barry, then glanced at Chen Mo, who was watching the show with amusement.
Although the two of them together created an odd scene, the confusion and struggle in his eyes had completely faded away.
"Um, my friend whose name I don't know, I am indeed not from Earth, but! I am definitely not an invader either."
Clark took a deep breath, his broad chest rising and falling slightly, his eyes calm as the sea.
"My adoptive father taught me from a young age that power is for protection, not conquest. Since Zod is demanding me from the whole world, I can no longer hide in the shadows."
Clark raised his head slightly, and a faint light seemed to shine from the statues in the church onto his face.
Even if the military sees me as a monster, even if humanity is full of suspicion towards me, I must turn myself in. Trust doesn't come from nothing; someone has to take the first step and bear the risk.
Barry listened, stunned. He opened his mouth, his own sense of shared experience as a superhero instantly stirred within him.
Chen Mo leaned back on the bench and let out a affected exclamation.
"Wonderful, so touching! If you're not one of the ten most touching people in America this year, I won't even bother watching."
Chen Mo stood up and slowly straightened the wrinkles in his coat.
He knew all too well the true character of the human elite, the military, and those politicians.
Big Super tries to win people's hearts with sincerity, but he'll most likely end up losing out.
However, Chen Mo did not intend to stop him.
Some moral exemplars will never learn their lesson unless they personally experience the consequences of their actions.
"Alright, since you're so eager to get yourself killed, we won't stop you."
Chen Mo put his arm around Barry's shoulder and grinned at Clark.
"Let's go. Agent Barry and I, representing National Special Service Section Nine, will personally escort you and serve as your bodyguards."
Barry looked completely bewildered. "Wait, when did we start offering alien escort services?"
Chen Mo slapped him on the forehead. "Shut up. This is a business trip paid for on company pay; consider it overtime pay."
Barry scratched his head and took two steps.
Wait a minute! Wasn't the Secret Service something that bastard made up?
The three of them pushed open the church doors together and stepped into the cool night of the Metropolis outskirts.
On the empty, flat desert highway, the night wind howled, stirring up clouds of dust.
However, before they had gone far along the road, a deep, piercing roar suddenly came from the depths of the night sky.
ratttttt--!
The violent air currents tore through the deathly silence of the night sky.
Several heavy Apache attack helicopters tore through the night, their blinding high-wattage searchlight beams ripping through the darkness like swords, instantly enveloping the three in a ghastly white light.
Immediately afterwards, a dense array of car headlights lit up on the horizon at the end of the highway.
Dozens of heavily armored Humvees, sirens blaring, sped in.
Sizzle--!
The tires scraped against the asphalt road, kicking up plumes of burnt blue smoke.
Fully armed Delta Force soldiers swiftly jumped from the vehicles, their movements efficient and ruthless as they established a tactical defensive line.
Hundreds of infrared laser aiming points were densely packed onto the chests and foreheads of the three men.
Several vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns even had their safety pins pulled, and the personnel on board were still requesting further heavy firepower support.
Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
Logically speaking, the military couldn't have discovered Superman's whereabouts so quickly, let alone completed such a precise encirclement within just a dozen minutes of Zod issuing his ultimatum.
The reaction speed of this encirclement was a bit too fast.
It seems that the Batman Who Laughs, that rat, has already infiltrated and made arrangements within the local military or intelligence agencies.
Just then, a cold and stern warning came from the loudspeaker on the lead armored vehicle.
"Everyone in front! Put your hands up and kneel down immediately!"
"Any unnecessary action will be considered a direct act of hostility towards the United States of America!"
"I'll repeat myself! Everyone in front! Surrender immediately!"
Faced with the dark muzzle of the gun and the overwhelming infrared sights, Clark showed no intention of resisting.
His expression was calm and composed as he slowly raised his arms, preparing to demonstrate his sincerity to the military.
Barry tensed up, instinctively reaching out to pull Clark. "Hey, wait, big guy, they don't look like they want to invite you for tea..."
"Alright, Little Barry, he's just experiencing life, don't bother your brother Big Super. He has a bunch of toys, there's nothing he can do about it."
Chen Mo clapped his hands casually, completely ignoring the hundreds of guns around him.
He turned to look at Clark, who was as tall as a mountain, and grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth.
"Big guy, have a good chat with these politicians."
"If you find out they lack sportsmanship later, or if some alien folks from heaven beat you to a pulp and you want to ask us for help..."
Chen Mo gestured to his ear, his eyes arrogant and unrestrained.
"Just yell for help anywhere, buddy. My ears are sharp; I can hear you."
Before he could finish speaking...
Sizzle--!
Two violent arcs of electricity, one dark red and the other golden red, exploded out of thin air.
The strong winds instantly overturned two warning signs beside the road.
Just a second ago, Chen Mo and Barry were standing under the spotlight, but in an instant, they turned into two afterimages that tore through the air and vanished without a trace, beyond the reach of the naked eyes of hundreds of elite soldiers.
On the deserted highway, only Clark, with his hands raised, and the military soldiers, holding rifles and looking at each other, were left, sweating profusely.