Superman of Metropolis didn't know that his name had already appeared in someone's notebook.
He will be watched closely as a threat, a ticking time bomb, for a long time to come.
Putting aside those distant problems, a week has passed since Clark officially announced his identity.
As time goes by, the heated discussions arising from various aspects show no signs of stopping, but are becoming more and more intense.
In this way, Clark lost the ordinary life of an ordinary high school student.
First, he received a call from his parents who were still at Kansas.
The adoptive father Jonathan did not blame his son for his choice. He expressed his understanding and concern.
Because of the strange looks from the townspeople, the interviews at the city hall, and even the governor's personal visit...
Jonathan and Martha, an ordinary couple, were caught off guard and found it difficult to cope.
They are not willing to use the name of Superman's adoptive parents to become the focus of the public and live a better life.
Sadly, others apparently don't think so.
Those reporters swarming in, the paparazzi who are on guard 24 hours a day...
They couldn't find Superman, so they could only wait in Kansas's hometown, trying to find some useful material that could serve as exclusive news.
Superman's childhood life, Superman's growing environment... As long as it's a topic about Superman, everyone likes to read it.
This is simply a new wealth code!
"Everything seems to be heading for the worse."
Clark looked through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city below.
For the first time, he understood that public opinion had such great power.
It seems to be pervasive and penetrate into my life.
"No, this is a good start."
Lex had a different opinion and took out a bottle of whiskey from the wine cabinet.
First he poured himself a glass, and then handed a glass to Clark.
The latter waved his hand and refused on the grounds that he was not of legal drinking age yet.
I have to say that this answer is very Superman style.
Lex shook his head and laughed. In his opinion, Clark had so much power, but he followed the rules extremely well.
This is really a puzzling thing.
If it were me...
It may be like the idiom Solitaire, take the first step to do whatever you want, and then do whatever you want, and continue like this.
Lex looked at Clark with a hint of envy in his eyes, and said softly, "Revealing your identity will inevitably cause some trouble to your family. This is inevitable."
"But what we need to pay attention to is that this is not the important thing. The key lies in the attitude of the government."
Clark crossed his arms. He had just completed talks with White House and the President two days ago and shook hands publicly.
That photo was quoted by Daily Planet and published on the headlines of the day.
Except go to White House and participate in this boring political activity.
A general of the Pentagon also summoned Superman many times.
According to what the eldest cousin said, Clark didn't obey at all.
While showing a friendly attitude, he also did not forget to show off his fists and muscles to ensure that his words would be heard.
"Godfather is already in talks. His initial intention is that Superman is not national property, but... Vought Corporation's debut idol."
Lex said the next sentence with a strange expression on his face.
After he heard Luke's thoughts, his first feeling was that he suspected that he had heard it wrong.
"Will the military agree? I think General Lane's position is very firm. He hopes that I can become a weapon of the United States."
Clark frowned, seeming worried about this.
"What do you think?"
Lex asked with a smile.
"They can't let me become a thug, a violent person, and do things that I don't want to do that go against my morals and conscience just because I was born in the United States."
Clark was filled with a sense of justice and shook his head decisively.
"Haha, I guessed it. But I think you should be worried about the negotiations over Godfather. How could Federal Government hand over the ownership of Superman to a private company? This is fantastic."
Lex narrowed his eyes, although his intuition told him that Luke had a plan.
But after thinking for a long time, he didn't think of how Vought Corporation could convince the Pentagon and White House.
The chips they hold are too few.
He is completely unqualified to sit at the same table as the person at the top of the power pyramid in this country.
The turning point for all this happened two weeks later.
North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The muscular black general strode into the command center.
Just now he received urgent news that an artificial satellite in near-lunar orbit had captured an unusual picture.
"Doctor, tell me what was discovered? A comet, or a meteorite from an asteroid?"
The black general stood in front of the control desk in the command center with a majestic face.
He didn't understand what kind of shocking discovery would cause the chief researcher responsible for monitoring outer space to wake him up in the middle of the night.
Could it be another alien?
The black general named "Swannick" thought jokingly.
Recently, the Pentagon has been busy discussing the existence of Superman.
Aliens, superheroes, farm boys from Kansas... that red cloak carries too many labels.
"Comets don't make orbit corrections, general." The doctor shook his head and said hesitantly, "I hope you can see this before some amateurs find out."
General Swanwick narrowed his eyes and had a bad feeling.
The chief researcher of North American Aerospace Defense Command directly called up the footage captured by the satellite.
In the dark outer space, vague outlines appeared.
Judging from the appearance, it should be some kind of space flight tool.
"The spacecraft seems to have entered a lunar orbit synchronization state. The reason is not yet clear."
When the chief researcher first discovered it, he realized that this important news should be reported to the Pentagon immediately.
A spaceship remains in the Earth's lunar orbit, which is most likely a visit to the Earth by extraterrestrial life.
Or a sign of war?
"Did you try to communicate with the ship?"
General Swanwick suppressed the shock in his heart. Once this news is disclosed, it will inevitably cause turmoil and unrest in the world.
Although, as early as the beginning of the space race during the Cold War, various countries have been continuously launching unmanned satellites into outer space, trying to find the same life in the vast dark universe.
But when these unknown creatures really appeared in front of the public, people became afraid and panicked again.
Do unknown life forms from beyond the earth come with good intentions?
Can humans on Earth live in peace with them?
These are all questions worth pondering.
"They haven't responded yet."
The doctor replied helplessly.
General Swanwick looked solemn.
He needs to dial Encrypted Channel at White House as soon as possible.
Report this shocking news to Washington, White House, and the Pentagon.
At least before those amateur astronomers discovered it, Federal Government had to come up with a reasonable explanation and discuss how to deal with the spacecraft staying in the lunar orbit.
"I have a bad feeling."
General Swanwick sighed.
As a professional soldier, if there were indeed unknown creatures in that spaceship, he didn't think those guys came with friendship and goodwill.
Especially, after Superman announced his identity, the whole world knew that there was an alien on earth.
Now, here comes another spaceship.
Is there some connection between the two?
Thinking of this, General Swanwick felt increasingly heavy.
White House.
conference room.
The top executives of the Pentagon gathered together.
They all received horrifying news that an unidentified spacecraft appeared in near-lunar orbit.
Even if the other party doesn't take any action, there is no response.
But the unknown is always scary.
"Actually, just two weeks ago, a small earthquake occurred at our military base in Arctic Glacier."
The gray-haired General Lane said in a deep voice.
"Someone took a video of a huge spaceship disappearing into the night sky and posted it online, which caused a huge response."
The President hurriedly walked into the conference room, rubbed his frown, raised his voice and asked, "Why has no one mentioned this?"
"That report has been on White House's desk for a long time, but at that time the President you were busy taking photos with Superman and being interviewed by the TV station, so you may have forgotten about it."
General Lane replied with a straight face.
Geng's straightforward words made the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly awkward.
"Ahem, go on."
The President cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.
The change of office is imminent, and he has indeed spent too much energy on re-election and general elections, neglecting other issues.
"According to research data from the military base, the spaceship hidden under the glacier, based on isotope analysis of the surrounding ice holes, shows that it has a long history of at least more than 18,000 years."
General Lane took a deep breath, calmed down his inner emotions, and continued, "At that time, humans had not yet become the sole masters of this planet."
Eighteen thousand years?
The President and his staff were silent.
Long before humans gave birth to today's splendid civilization, were other life forms visiting the earth?
Is there any connection between the Arctic glacier spacecraft and the one in near-lunar orbit?
All kinds of problems popped up.
"Where is Superman? He is also an alien..."
The President Suddenly remembered the red cloak.
"Superman is at Kansas. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it in a while."
General Swanwick, who is responsible for monitoring the whereabouts of Superman using satellites, replied.
"Vought Corporation seems to have held a return to his hometown event."
When the President heard Vought Corporation, his face darkened and he acted a little gloomy. He didn't like the young rich man who claimed that he wanted Superman to debut as an idol.
An extremely powerful alien should be under the control of Federal Government.
Rather than handing it over to a certain person or a private company.
Of course, to summarize what the President means, or to put it bluntly, he hopes that Superman can become a tool in his hands.
"Can you find a way to communicate with that ship?"
The President asked softly as he looked through the photos placed on the table and sent back by the satellite.
"We tried, but we didn't get any response."
A general from North American Aerospace Defense Command shook his head.
"The spacecraft was just floating in outer space and did nothing. Ten minutes ago, we used various means to send messages there, but unfortunately it had no effect. All the messages were like nothing."
"Can you knock it off?"
The President gradually lost patience and began to consider using force to solve the problem.
"This is the worst-case scenario. It is best to implement it after establishing communication channels and confirming that the other party is hostile."
General Lane said in a deep voice.
No one is willing to use force until it is determined whether there is unknown life on the spacecraft.
Who knows whether such a move will trigger a so-called "interstellar war".
"Then what can we do? Wait for that ship to crash, or let those damn aliens respond proactively?"
The President was obviously very angry and asked, slapping the table hard.
"This country has the largest intelligence agency in the world. Sixteen different departments supervise everything on this land. The purpose is to prevent any terrorist attacks from happening again! But right next to us, there lives an alien. He can fly, lift dozens or hundreds of tons of weight with his bare hands, and smash a tank with one punch!"
"However, until he reveals his identity, we know nothing about him!"
"Now there is another spaceship parked in front of our house! But you will only tell me that this will not work, that will not work, I can only wait!"
The President's angry voice echoed in the conference room.
Everyone here, from the generals of the Pentagon to the staff of White House, as well as the top brass of the intelligence agencies, all of them unanimously maintained Hush.
"I have something urgent..."
While the President was furious, a staff member waiting outside suddenly rushed into the conference room.
There was a panic look on his face, as if something terrible had happened.
"Is the end of the world coming, Johnson?!"
The President looked gloomy. His staff broke into the highest confidentiality meeting room without permission.
If there is not a sufficient reason, I am afraid that the other party's political career will end here.
"I'm afraid so, the President."
The young staff member said seriously.
——Five minutes ago, a video that panicked countless people swept the world.
Whether it's America or other countries.
Televisions and radios all over the world have ceased to function.
The snowflake spots of Blink were distorted into blurry images, and the electronic signals covering the world translated the declaration of threat to the world into different languages and sent it to every corner of the planet.
"I am General Zod, from a distant planet. I arrived here across the vast sea of stars because you hid a member of my race. Now I ask you to hand him over. For some reason, he concealed his existence and worked hard to integrate into your society. He looks like He is similar to you, but not one of you. If anyone knows about him, then the fate of your planet is in your hands... Carl-Al, do you hear that? You have twenty-four hours to think about it, or choose to let the whole world bear the consequences!"
People raised their heads and looked up at the sky.
Whether you are in a remote, deserted town or a bustling metropolis.
Everyone can see a giant spacecraft, hovering along the near-lunar orbit like a satellite.
That threatening video that was broadcast around the world was even more frightening than Superman revealing his identity.
Like a virus, the news spread instantly and spread, setting off an uncontrollable wave of public opinion around the world.
No one knows how the alien life that calls itself "General Zod" can forcefully occupy the signals of all bands.
And translate it into different languages to announce it to the world.
The President, who is far away from White House, finally no longer needs to worry about how to hide it from the public and make up lies.