The green nutrient solution churning inside the heavy water tank emitted a nauseating fluorescence.
Dr. Collins lay face down on the thick, shatterproof glass, his nose pressed directly against the cold glass surface.
His bloodshot, cloudy eyes reflected the enormous, grotesque, grayish-white wreckage.
"Look... what a perfect creation!"
Collins ' voice trembled slightly with extreme excitement.
"It has no aging, no disease, and even death cannot truly define it! Even a single shed keratinocyte possesses Infinity adaptability capable of overturning the entirety of modern biology!"
The old man suddenly turned around, opened his arms, and looked at Clark with a frenzied expression.
"Your Excellency, do you know what this means?"
Before Clark could even figure out how to answer, the old man started shouting again.
"Since we unearthed these remains deep within the Arctic ice three years ago—a gift from God! —the Foundation has extracted targeted serum from them that can completely cure twelve types of advanced malignant cancers!"
"This is the only way for human civilization to survive! This is the supreme ladder for us to escape this fragile body!"
Clark stared intently at the monster's corpse inside the cabin, a chill running down his spine.
The terrifying aura emanating from the corpse sent alarm bells through every cell in his body.
This could absolutely not be a gift from God.
This is clearly a biological nuclear bomb that could send the Earth into space.
"You're playing with fire, Doctor."
Clark's handsome face darkened completely, his jawline taut.
"What I see before me is not a ladder of evolution or a gift from God; it is merely a monster. Everything you pursue should not be built upon plunder and mutation."
Dr. Collins's fervent expression froze for a second, then turned into deep disappointment and pity.
"Alas, even a compassionate deity like yourself cannot understand us?"
The old man sighed, his tone turning cold.
"This body has long since lost its vitality; no matter how we use high-energy electric shocks, strong acid stimulation, or inject isotopes, we cannot restore its activity."
"We originally thought this great project was going to be shelved."
"Until General Zod's fleet appeared in near-Earth orbit, until we learned of your existence!"
A glint of almost morbid greed flashed in Dr. Collins' eyes.
"You're Krypton People too! As long as you're willing to make just a little sacrifice..."
"Then we can awaken it! And usher in a shared evolution for all humankind!"
Clark's eyes narrowed sharply.
I will never let you succeed.
Clark took a step forward, and his superhuman intelligence told him it was time to use his superpowers!
The hard ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded into a spiderweb of debris.
He raised his Iron Fist and smashed it towards the central control console, attempting to shatter the entire system with a single blow.
"I apologize, Your Excellency, we anticipated this moment. Please forgive our despicable actions."
Dr. Collins showed no sign of panic; instead, he grinned.
Buzz--!
The tens of thousands of high-voltage lights on the ceiling of the hall all went out the instant Superman raised his hand.
Instead, thousands of eerie green laser emitters are densely packed inside the ceiling and surrounding walls.
A blinding, cold, viscous, almost tangible, ghastly green beam of radiation shone down on Clark from every angle.
"Hmm..."
Clark's Iron Fist, which was originally powerful enough to shatter mountains, suddenly froze in mid-air.
An unprecedented sense of powerlessness swept over my entire body like a tidal wave.
He felt as if every cell in his body was being scorched by raging fire, and the immense power that could lift the world was gone from him in the blink of an eye.
Clark grunted, his burly body collapsing heavily to one knee, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"How could this be...?"
Above the ventilation duct, Barry nearly fell headfirst off the steel beam.
"Holy crap! How did he kneel down so quickly?!"
Barry pulled at his red mask, speaking so rapidly he was practically a lightning bolt.
"What the hell are those green lights? Have those UV lamps come to life?!"
Barry's fingertips crackled with electricity, as if he were about to plunge downwards. "No! I have to get him out of here!"
"What's the rush? Just stay put for now."
Chen Mo grabbed Barry by the back of his neck and pressed him back onto the beam like a kitten.
Chen Mo held Barry down, his eyes slightly narrowed, looking down at the green light trap below.
Artificially synthesized simulated Kryptonite radiation wavelengths.
And there's the wreckage of Doomsday lying in the heavy water tank.
And the strange origin of the remains that Collins mentioned.
Even the internal structure of this underground base exudes a familiar sewer aesthetic.
"The case is solved; this place was definitely his doing."
A bloodthirsty and cruel smirk curled at the corner of Chen Mo's lips.
The Batman Who Laughs.
The mentally Joker in bat skin, or the mentally ill bat in Joker skin, never made a direct appearance in the Metropolis.
This guy used the Foundation's group of self-righteous research fanatics as Doomsday, and then tricked Superman into a specially made radiation cage.
He was so skilled at using someone else to do his dirty work that you wanted to applaud him.
In the hall below, Dr. Collins looked down at Clark, who was kneeling exhausted, his eyes filled with increasing smugness.
"No need to struggle anymore, great deity. We have spent a considerable amount of time preparing to analyze the radiation frequency that can neutralize your immense power."
Dr. Collins pressed a button, summoning a group of fully armed guards who took out a half-meter-long, ultra-high-strength tungsten alloy puncture needle from the briefcase that was handed to them.
"Please rest assured, we only need a small amount of blood and bone marrow samples."
Just as the needle tip was about to touch Clark's skin...
Glug... Glug...
A sudden, violent burst of bubbles shattered the silence in the hall.
Inside the massive heavy water isolation chamber at the rear, the previously steadily flowing green nutrient solution suddenly began to boil violently.
The heavy water layer, tens of meters deep, surged with towering, turbid waves, crashing violently against the explosion-proof glass with a dull, thunderous roar.
Dr. Collins froze, then abruptly turned around to look.
"How is this possible? Did any of you touch the wreckage?"
The massive, grayish-white corpse, which had been submerged in heavy water for years without moving, began to spasm and grow violently at a speed visible to the naked eye.
And right in the center of its torn sternum—
The scarlet bloodstain, which had long since dried and turned black, and resembled a twisted, grinning Joker, was now gone.
Suddenly, a blinding, scarlet light blazed on!
Thump--!!
A deep, terrifying heartbeat, like the beating of a drum, seemed to transcend dimensional abyss, resounding throughout every corner of the entire underground base!