"So tell me," Barry was very unconvinced. "Shooting at someone's neck, and you call that not trying to kill him?"
"What if I use a car bomb, then what would you do?"
Barry opened his mouth, momentarily unsure of how to retort. Theoretically, a bomb isn't any easier than a gun at killing Superman; the difficulty is like 99 to 100, the difference is not really significant. Even with Kryptonite, both methods essentially have no fundamental difference, simply different tactics of precise sniping versus shrapnel explosion, both aiming to drive Kryptonite into Superman's body.
But the issue is, a sniper rifle hits the target precisely, not harming the people around, whereas a car bomb does not.
At that time, the place was already jammed like a snooker game, several cars crowded together, and a large number of people sitting outside the cars, insisting on coming out to argue. If a bomb in one of those cars exploded, it would definitely be a tragedy.
"If I were the assassin, I would orchestrate a car bomb," Lex said shamelessly, "I know Superman is a good person, he would never abandon protecting ordinary people. So I would precisely control the bomb's power to injure but not kill, injuring a bunch of people, so Superman can't leave."
"Even if the bomb doesn't hit Superman, as long as he's busy rescuing the injured, you wouldn't need a great sniper to hit his vital parts. Isn't this method much simpler and more effective than using some kind of trap compound bow, which requires precise timing—brutal and efficient?"
Barry couldn't hold back anymore, he slapped him. This time, Diana didn't stop him; she too couldn't understand how someone could be inherently full of malice, with one mischievous idea after another, without any cooldown time.
However, he did have to admit that Luthor's method was more sinister and poisonous and effective than the attacks Clark had suffered.
The assassination attempt on Clark seemed more like an idealized scenario of a presidential assassination: very professional elite assassins, pre-arranged traps, a precise and deadly shot, killing one person within ten steps, leaving no one behind for miles.
But in reality, this is very hard to execute. Sniping requires very precise timing, even if various things are used to induce someone to perform a particular action exposing their weak spot, as long as the target makes an unexpected movement, it's easy to miss.
Moreover, the trajectory of the bullet is too easy to judge. Once you miss the shot, there's basically no chance to escape; usually, you don't even bother running, just wait in place to be captured; it's no different from a suicide attack.
The operating of the compound bow to attract attention is even more risky. Simple physical mechanisms are not reliable; though a compound bow can indeed deliver strong force, the arrow still has to follow aerodynamics and is subject to Earth's gravity, and nobody knows if a sudden gust might deflect it.
In Lex's view, the entire assassination process reveals a kind of "elite arrogance", thinking "I can perfectly master aerodynamics, ensure that the simple physical mechanism lets the arrow land exactly where I want; the target person will definitely perform the intended action under my guidance, with no surprises; that bullet will absolutely slow Superman down so he can't catch me."
Even Lex, who is quite arrogant himself, couldn't comprehend where this person got such confidence. Need to remember, this could fail in the underworld way. Provoking Superman like this is extremely unwise; why would he be so fearless?
And the idea Lex proposed is basically the current common assassination strategy worldwide: use a bomb if you can, there's no need for any precision, the main feature is heavy and brute force.
Using ordinary people to buy time for Clark also has an advantage, which is if you can't physically kill him, you can still socially kill him. No matter how you argue it, the assassin caused this much casualty to assassinate a president. Although Clark is also a victim, had he not walked into the crowd, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
Not everyone can judge rationally, especially those who lost loved ones. This wasn't an occasion a president had to appear; it was just Clark meddling unnecessarily, causing such widespread casualty that public opinion would undoubtedly lash out harshly at Clark.
Clark naturally thought of this point. Even if a car crash situation had been orchestrated to bait him, it's hard to articulate clearly, and even if explained, it could be seen as shirking responsibility. Regardless, damage to his reputation is certain.
"Too sinister," Diana commented.
Lex felt no shame, instead pride. He snorted and then said, "In any case, this guy is either a rookie fresh out of training camp using textbook methods; or he didn't really want to harm you or the bystanders."
"The first possibility is impossible," Diana stated, "If he were a rookie, how could he have shot so accurately? Even if a natural marksman, using compound bow traps requires great confidence and skilled techniques, not something a novice would use."
"He didn't want to kill me..." Clark murmured to himself, "But if that's the case, why would he use Kryptonite... Wait a minute, he knows Kryptonite can't kill me???"
In terms of who knows Kryptonite can harm Clark, that's quite a number of people. Lex has been hands-on, Diana witnessed it firsthand, Batman also knows. Even those who care can deduce from legends.
But only a few know Kryptonite can't kill Clark. Even Diana, knowing he'd undergone desensitization training, just thought Clark had increased resistance, not complete immunity, thinking Kryptonite could still hurt him, just less severely.
Those who know he's completely immune to Kryptonite are probably only the ones involved in the Man of Steel project. This project can basically be said to have been concocted by Shiller and Batman.
That's right, Clark actually already knew that the previous death crisis he suffered was actually engineered by those two to give him magic and Kryptonite immunity. However, since nothing happened to him, he can't be bothered to argue with them.
It seems now that this so-called assassination event is probably their doing as well. Clark let out a long sigh in his heart. He really doesn't even want to know what they're up to again, but since the topic has come up and everyone's looking at him, if he doesn't say something, he seems insincere.
Shiller! Clark gritted his teeth inwardly, knowing this damn trickster wouldn't give up so easily. Even the president's secretary attempted an assassination on the president. And Batman, isn't he keeping me busy enough?
Clark's thoughts raced as he said, "I think I can guess who it is, but I need your help to figure out what they're up to."
Lex obviously had also figured out who did it. He said somewhat sourly, "Now you're just being mysterious, who's worth our honest Mr. Superman hiding things for them?"
Clark waved his hand like shooing away a fly, "Knowing too much does you no good."
Although Clark's attitude and tone weren't very pleasant, what he said was true. Shiller and Batman were like two massive whirlpools; even if you don't get close, they still might proactively suck you in. If you get closer, it's like being thrown into a washing machine, spinning until even your mother wouldn't recognize you.
Lex is already a bad seed, churning out bad ideas like they cost nothing. Bruce is rich and smart, so shrewd it's almost supernatural. Shiller is even more of a troublemaker, banging the drum at ten different places with his presence. If these three join forces, they'd be as delighted as finding a confidant in the breeze, but what about me? After this Christmas, will this be the end of me?
Lex gave a cold snort, tightened his lips, and said nothing. The expression on his face was clearly, "I know, but I'm not telling you."
Others ignored him. Diana thought for a moment and said, "Could it be similar to what I experienced? Trying to assassinate you to warn the public that Mars people are dangerous, and have targeted the Justice League, so that they remain vigilant?"
"Not very likely," Ron said, "there's a saying, sweet cookies are best with black coffee, a bite of bitter and a bite of sweet is the right way. Being framed and set up was already pressure enough, giving it again shortly after would be overwhelming."
Diana nodded, feeling Ron made sense. The so-called giving a stick just to give a sweet jujube, what happened before was already a big hit, considering the high-level humans may have been deeply infiltrated, already giving ordinary people a lot of pressure. If the president's assassination attempt adds to it, it could completely crush them.
Applying pressure also requires moderation. Pulling a string that's already tight can easily break it. Even if more pressure is needed, it should wait for a bit, at least half a year or a year, before another event. Doing it back-to-back is too likely to cause panic and loss of confidence. Smart people wouldn't do that.
"Could it be to force you to kill someone?" Barry proposed another possibility, "Deliberately using something that can't kill you to provoke you, so you have the power to resist, and in anger, kill the culprit, ruining your reputation?"
"No," Clark replied, "the bullet he fired was meant to stall me, indicating a clear intent to escape."
He added internally: How could Shiller and Bruce plan something like this? Those two are like thousand-year-old turtles, who could outlive them? Sacrificing themselves to cause trouble is impossible.
Even if they hire assassins, they'd never send someone to die. Things like this, only a fool like Amanda Waller might...
Wait a minute. Clark was suddenly taken aback, blurting out, "Amanda!"
Everyone's eyes turned to him. Clark scanned the room and then said, "Amanda Waller, the former head of A.R.G.U.S. Could it be that she's been resurrected too?"
Ron squinted his eyes. He pondered and said, "That makes sense; there's no reason to revive our loved ones and not our enemies. Now that reviving loved ones doesn't seem to do much good, reviving our enemies to confront us is entirely possible."
"Are you saying Amanda orchestrated the assassination? Is she that formidable?" Diana was skeptical.
"I understand now," Clark said, everything piecing together, "it was indeed Amanda's doing, but she chose the wrong executor—if I'm not mistaken, she probably entrusted the task to Shiller."
The room fell silent.