"Cough, cough." Under the spotlight, Clark sighed deeply, adjusted the microphone higher, blinked lightly, and then said, "Hello everyone, I am Superman."
"Oh——!!!!!!"
A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd below. Everyone gathered around the square, countless cameras were aimed at him. The red and blue uniform appeared even more vivid and brilliant in the dazzling early winter sunlight.
"Today I stand here to primarily resolve two issues," Clark sighed softly and said, "I know everyone is deeply saddened and regretful about the Luther Hotel building accident that occurred a couple of days ago. Many are mourning the deceased and taking care of the injured. I completely understand your feelings. As the accident's firsthand witness, when I heard your cries of anguish, I empathized; I couldn't help but take action at the fastest possible speed to save lives. But unfortunately, I couldn't save everyone."
"Oh..."
The people below all let out sighs, but there were more voices comforting him. This was because the media had built up enough coverage a few days ago.
First, there were deeply tragic images of the accident, then the building collapsing, the crowd fleeing, and the injured sobbing and accepting interviews. Finally, Lois's footage of Superman rescuing people like a descending celestial circulated widely, naturally leading people to think without Superman, more would have perished.
Of course, this was also because someone was deliberately trying to shift the blame to Luther, suggesting that Luther Group should take the fall. They used some not entirely ethical business competition tactics to hint at the poor building quality of the Luther Hotel. So the public's ire mainly pointed at the Luther Group, while Superman was less conspicuous.
"But I also want to announce good news to everyone. After collaborating with the military and Federal Government, the three-day search operation has concluded, and we found most of the missing persons. The estimated casualties have reduced from tens of thousands to hundreds, most being minor injuries. But due to psychological shock, people's reactions were overly intense, which affected early treatment, hence the hospital's heavier diagnosis of injuries."
Immediately, hushed whispers broke out below. Clark had anticipated this scene and cleared his throat, saying, "Of course, tragically, some people did perish in this accident. I hope they can receive our remembrance in Heaven and feel happy for that."
The voices below subsided a bit. Clark sighed inwardly; sometimes, people prefer to believe what they already do rather than face the truth. Saying no casualties directly wouldn't be believed at all — he could only try to restore the reality as much as possible.
"And the second thing, which is crucial for this appearance: the collapse of the Luther Hotel was not an accident, nor due to Luther Group's building quality issues."
The crowd erupted in amazement. Clark quickly seized the moment to speak, raising his voice, "Everyone can fully believe, I haven't been bribed by Luther Group. I'm saying these words here because the Federal Bureau of Investigation and military have already found concrete evidence. Do you remember the spaceship that once appeared above Metropolis, which I punched and destroyed?"
Upon hearing this, the crowd fell silent. Most people nodded affirmatively. That night was quite sensational — an alien spaceship suddenly appeared over a major American city and got blown up by another superhero. Such a big event, how could it not be explosive?
It's just that time has passed and recently, more bombshell news has emerged, so people haven't talked about it much.
"I want to say that the spaceship was indeed an alien ship, but it was merely their small escort ship used to probe surface conditions. That night when I discovered the spaceship, I immediately realized Metropolis's citizens might be in danger. So I acted quickly to destroy it, preventing it from landing. Otherwise, even if they didn't activate weapons, things would've been troublesome if carrying alien viruses."
The crowd applauded for him again. Clark quickly continued, "But unfortunately, it's not just this small ship that came to Earth; there's a huge mother ship anchoring in near-earth orbit."
Clark pointed to the projector, which timely showed the Kryptonian mother ship's image. Everyone was shocked.
In fact, up to now, this alien arrival, basically only Earth's governments and high officials knew. Regular citizens were unaware, even if some guessed through Egyptian mythology and the spaceship images that appeared over Metropolis that night, the full picture was unknown. And now, you're telling me such a huge ship is right above us?!
The crowd visibly panicked. Clark quickly spoke to reassure, "Don't be afraid, everyone! These aliens aren't that strong; didn't I already destroy their ship?"
"Besides, to be honest, they sent more than one ship; another landed near the American Military Base and was bravely repelled by our soldiers!"
The crowd was skeptical. But luckily, the U.S. Military's recording equipment was quite complete; almost all details from the battle were documented — although they didn't show the footage of being trapped in trenches, they displayed the part where special forces came and knocked down the aliens.
Once this video got released, most people believed it. It wasn't that they wouldn't suspect falsification, mainly because the U.S. Military's previous fabrications were so poor, full of flaws. This video looked real, obviously beyond their usual level of forgery.
Besides, this video also received confirmations from various countries' governments. Not every nation's government lacks credibility like the American Federation Government. Hence, most people believed it.
Seeing that the time was about right, Clark said, "Indeed, it's a critical period now, but throughout history, the human race has endured many upheavals. The Black Death that killed countless people, the wars that claimed countless lives on the battlefield, the sacrifices made for the moon landing and exploring the cosmos... none of these have defeated us, but rather made us stronger."
"If the cosmos isn't an empty black hole, then the third kind of contact is inevitable. External enemies will come one day. What we can do is unite with one heart and one mind. Only in this way can we go further in the cosmos. Right?"
On television, on the building's advertisement screens, on phone screens, on the conference's computer screens, all showed Clark Kent's handsome face and his calm and resolute voice.
Bruce picked up the remote and changed the channel. Clark threw himself onto the couch, but then suddenly sprang up, staring straight at Bruce and asking, "Did I do okay?"
"If at that time you were as lacking in confidence as you are now, then I could only give you a negative answer," Bruce sighed, "In just two hours, you've already asked me this question 53 times."
"It's my first time doing something like this!" Clark closed his eyes and collapsed on the couch, saying, "Even though I'm a reporter, I'm an investigative reporter, not an interview reporter. I've never appeared on the big screen. My god, I can't believe my speech is being broadcast during prime time on all the world's major channels. Ah—"
"You did great," Bruce said, "You've successfully united the Federal Government, the military, and the Luther Group. That's a monumental achievement that no one has ever accomplished before."
"Did I do this?!" Clark couldn't help but say, "Clearly, it was that guy named Shiller. I really don't understand why he didn't do it himself and had to make me do it..."
After complaining a bit, Clark fell silent again. He sank back into thought because he suddenly realized that actually, it seemed like this whole scheme wasn't targeting Luther, nor the aliens, but himself.
First, fabricate an artifact scam to simultaneously fool Luther and Diana. Then provoke Luther, letting him have an adverse reaction toward aliens, leading to the foolish decision of kidnapping Martha. Then have him take the green gemstone specifically designed to counter Kryptonians, defeat Clark, stripping him of his super strength, and letting Diana pick him up, forcing Clark not to use super strength but rely on wisdom to solve the issue.
Notify Bruce to rescue Martha, let Clark chase to Wayne Manor, understand part of the truth, then use the urgency of the military, urge the military to find Lois, then send Lois an email, use her to disclose a royal scandal, forcing the royal family to publicly exhibit, then facilitate the Metropolitan Museum to borrow the exhibition.
Then, provoke Luther leading to his hospitalization, allowing the military to seize the opportunity, obtain the gemstone, develop new weapons, then use Clark to draw the aliens to the military base, win a victory, making everyone realize the importance of the gemstone, so they all focus on the borrowed gemstone, ceaselessly fighting overtly and covertly.
At this critical juncture, bring the aliens to the Luther Hotel, causing the hotel to collapse, use media opinion to exaggerate the level of disaster, circulate rumors about the poor building quality of the Luther Group, accuse the Federal Government and the military of inaction, instigate international public opinion, and at the same time weaken their side's prestige.
All of this, for the sole purpose: to make Superman stand out at the critical moment to save everything.
First, he must have the ability to stand out at the critical moment. If he remained in the previous sulky state like a puffed-up pufferfish, he wouldn't think rationally, wouldn't know what to do at any given time, couldn't detect subtle changes in the situation, and wouldn't have the ability to handle these complex relationships, then of course he couldn't stand out.
Second, he must be willing to stand out. He must realize that he is Clark Kent, an Earthling, and as a citizen of Earth, his responsibilities are similar to those of the Luther Group, the Federal Government, and the military. He is willing and able to take on this kind of responsibility.
Lastly, there must also be an opportunity for him to stand out. If everything progresses smoothly, for instance, if Luther found the Kryptonite, first defeating Superman, then defeating the Kryptonians; or if any party had an overwhelming advantage, they wouldn't need Superman. They would undoubtedly view Superman as an enemy, if not fabricate charges to capture him, then at least marginalize him.
However, under Shiller's series of operations, Clark has made great progress, and the whole situation is stirred into a mess by him.
Luther, the extremist who resolutely refuses to cooperate with the aliens and is determined to destroy all aliens, has no choice but to seek Clark's help. The military and the Federal Government, who are eager to restore their damaged reputation and want someone to take the fall, also have no time to worry about whether Clark is human or not.
And Clark stood out, not only clarifying for the Luther Group by placing the blame on the aliens; but also openly and covertly praised the Federal Government and the military's rescue efforts; subsequently showed off the military's heroic stance against the aliens; and finally, everyone was happy with the outcome.
In fact, the plan, in simple terms, is about creating a god. It's just that while others create a god by raising the deity high, Shiller does it by digging three feet into the ground, making the god appear taller.
The so-called times of chaos bring forth heroes, so what if there is no chaos? Naturally, you create it yourself.
If the situation were all fine, it wouldn't highlight Clark's importance; but if the situation turns into a mess, then Clark becomes the only one capable of standing out to lead humanity.