The Aftermath
The horizontal repulsion force unleashed by the Golden Key was simply too violent.
The secret chamber was ruined, and Linda was in dire straits. She was embedded in the wall, and what little size her "white steamed buns" had were flattened into "small passenger pigeons."
Pressed this flat, what's going to happen later?
Luke shook his head, worried. He quickly examined her body. Only after confirming she was merely unconscious and in no immediate danger did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Linda was the owner of the Fortress of Solitude. If she died, that damned A.I. named A.I.R. would definitely not give him any chance for special access.
In a sense, their destinies were now linked.
There was one more person in the room, lying unconscious on the ground like Linda.
Luke walked up to Dar. A flicker of killing intent crossed his eyes before he suppressed it.
"Considering you closed your eyes and resigned yourself to death just now, I'll spare your life for now, but..."
He spread his five fingers, and a pale green flame erupted. He swiped it over Dar's body, and a phantom figure appeared in his hand. The figure, surrounded by the green flame, looked to be in extreme pain, its face twisted and hideous, like a vengeful spirit.
Luke's expression remained neutral. He didn't dispel the flames until the figure was nearly transparent.
"You're better off as an idiot."
After dealing with Dar, Luke picked up Linda and left the space station, returning to the Fortress of Solitude.
The Fortress had a robust medical system, and the girl's injuries could be treated quickly. He also needed recovery time. The impact force released by the Key had damaged his body as well as the Phantom 1.
He looked fine on the outside, but his internal organs were injured.
Luke coughed. Feeling the increasingly strong metallic taste of blood in his throat, he cursed: That damn Key. I'll definitely dye you sht-green later.*
The Kryptonian Prisoners
Fortress of Solitude, Sub-Level 2.
Faora regained consciousness. Her head was throbbing painfully, and she instinctively wanted to rub it, but her arm stopped midway. Energy lock restraints bound her hands and feet, allowing only minimal movement.
She lost!
She lost completely and utterly, with no room for recovery.
Recalling the scene of being pinned down and beaten, Faora bit her lip, her body trembling intensely from the exertion.
"Lex Luthor!"
"One day, I will collect the humiliation you inflicted upon me, with interest!"
The sound of chains rattling came from nearby. Faora's body stiffened. She shouted sharply,
"Who's there!"
"It's us."
Accompanied by weak echoes, Edwin, Hill, Dru-Thut, and the other Kryptonian soldiers revealed themselves.
They were shackled by energy restraints to pillars not far from Faora, but the room was so dimly lit that they weren't easy to see at first glance.
"You..."
Faora opened her mouth, a bitter look on her face. "You were all captured."
Everyone was silent, the atmosphere thick with shame.
"What about the General? How is he?"
Someone replied, "The General is severely injured and is currently receiving medical treatment."
After that single sentence, the air fell silent once more. No one knew what to say. They felt so miserable they wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
They had arrived swaggering, completely disregarding the Earth native, and had even mentally prepared ways to torture him if he refused to cooperate.
Who could have imagined that the outcome would be this?
Elite soldiers of a high-level civilization, in a situation where they had superior numbers and position, were completely wiped out by a native from a low-level civilization.
If this news got out, they would never be able to live it down.
"Lex Luthor, I'm going to kill him."
Edwin gritted his teeth, consumed by hatred. As the captain of the elite squad and General Zod's top warrior, he had never endured such humiliation.
The others chimed in, one after another, all cursing Lex Luthor.
As more people spoke, the atmosphere gradually intensified, but ironically, a strange sense of camaraderie and dark humor began to fill the air.
The Deal
On the floor above, watching the scene, Luke's face was deeply displeased.
"I think it's necessary to beat them up again."
Linda looked helpless. "You have no right to say that! Your name is Luke Shaw, but you deliberately lied and told them you were Lex Luthor. What if they come to Earth someday and unleash their hatred on that poor, unlucky Lex Luthor? Who will be responsible?"
Luke shrugged carelessly. He thought, If these fools kill Lex Luthor indiscriminantly, Clark will wake up laughing in his sleep.
Of course, the chances of that happening were extremely low.
As the CEO of LuthorCorp, a genius with a ninth-level intellect, Lex Luthor wasn't that easy to take out.
"How are you planning to deal with them?"
Linda remained silent.
Luke continued, "Listen to me, just kill them all."
"I can't do that. There are so few Kryptonians left. They are my people. I can't bring myself to do it."
"So, what then?"
Luke shrugged. "Don't tell me you're going to let them go."
The girl glanced at Luke cautiously. "Is that not allowed?"
"Of course not allowed."
"Don't forget, these guys were defeated by me. By the rules, they are my spoils of war. You can't just release a man's spoils without his permission. That won't do. However..." Changing his tone, Luke suddenly smiled. "If they pay a price, it's not impossible."
The girl's expression turned strange.
"What scheme are you planning now?"
Luke chuckled. "Don't you think that spaceship outside suits me perfectly?"
Linda was stunned, her eyes wide like two quail eggs.
"Are you crazy? The Odyssey is General Zod's ship. If you take his ship, they'll hate you forever!"
Luke waved his hand dismissively. "There's an Eastern proverb: 'Many lice don't bite, many debts don't worry.' Besides, they hate Lex Luthor. What does that have to do with me?"
The girl's mouth was half-open, completely overwhelmed by Luke's shamelessness.
"Did you plan this all along? Is that why you made up a fake name to trick them? Doesn't doing this bother you at all?"
"Don't talk about useless things. Yes or no, are you going to agree?"
Linda shook her head. "It's useless even if I agree. Kryptonian ships are secured with a genetic code. You're not Kryptonian, so even if you take the Odyssey, you won't be able to start it."
"It doesn't matter if I can't use it. You can!"
"Me?"
The girl frowned, confused about how she fit into this.
Luke lowered his voice. "Even though you haven't explicitly said it, I've figured it out over the past few days. The highest authority for the Fortress of Solitude belongs to your cousin, doesn't it?"
Linda pursed her lips, her expression darkening slightly.
Luke continued, "Whether you admit it or not, the owner of the Fortress of Solitude is your cousin. Right now, you're like a poor relative staying at someone else's house—you have the right to use the room, but you don't have the deed."
"Suppose one day you and your cousin fall out over something. He can use the highest authority to disconnect you from the Fortress of Solitude at any time. What will you do then?"
"Someone else's property, no matter how good, is never as reliable as your own. A person always needs to prepare for the future, don't you think?"
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