At Dr. Erdel's house, he looked at the Martian Manhunter, who had just woken up from a nightmare again. He didn't know how to comfort him, so he just silently patted his shoulder.
Just then, J'onn's expression changed, and he immediately flew up, phasing directly through the wall to appear in the courtyard outside the house.
A figure in a black battlesuit stood silently in mid-air, as if waiting for him to appear.
The moment he saw J'onn, Zod couldn't help but be slightly surprised.
Then he sighed in his heart: "Martian Manhunter, I didn't expect to meet another founding member of the Justice League so soon."
"You are... a Kryptonian?"
The moment J'onn saw Zod, he spoke with some uncertainty.
Zod wasn't surprised by this; after all, Martian civilization was also an ancient and powerful civilization.
Moreover, Martians' innate psychic abilities didn't require exposure to a yellow sun to activate. In earlier years, when Krypton was aggressively expanding in the universe, the two civilizations had come into contact.
Even Krypton's knowledge base contained some knowledge of Mars.
Zod relaxed his expression and replied, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zod, former Kryptonian military commander, now a survivor of Krypton."
"Survivor? When did Krypton get destroyed?"
Since there were no records of Krypton on Earth, Martian Manhunter's impression of Krypton was still from several hundred years ago, when Krypton had not yet been destroyed.
"A year ago, all of Krypton exploded into a pile of fragments. We are the last survivors."
Listening to Zod's understated tone, Martian Manhunter seemed to feel a shared sorrow.
Although his home, Mars, hadn't exploded, his people had all been wiped out!
Then he murmured, "So we're all the same!"
"My name is J'onn J'onzz, just an incompetent coward who couldn't even protect his wife and daughter."
Looking at Martian Manhunter's current state, Zod understood that he had likely just arrived on Earth and hadn't even overcome his psychological trauma.
Looking at him, Zod had the idea of bringing him under his command.
Although Martian Manhunter wasn't the strongest in overall strength, he was definitely the most versatile, earning him the title of "Swiss Army Knife" among superheroes.
And his psychic abilities were uniquely gifted; he could be considered one of the top psychic power users.
"Ahem! So, that inexplicable sorrowful weeping sound in my mind was because of you?"
Zod lightly coughed, then asked knowingly.
Hearing Zod say this, Martian Manhunter seemed to realize that he might have unconsciously used his telepathic abilities during his nightmare and connected with Zod.
Therefore, he said with a face full of guilt, "I am very sorry, I didn't intentionally disturb you. Please forgive me."
"No, it's just a small matter to me."
"However, according to the information I've obtained, your Martian race seems to have been wiped out several hundred years ago due to certain events. I didn't expect there to be survivors. We can be considered fellow sufferers!"
Zod appropriately displayed a hint of sadness.
"Actually, perhaps I should have died in that disaster, but fate made me live on in pain."
Immediately, Martian Manhunter recounted to Zod the full story of how Dr. Erdel had used a teleporter to bring him from several hundred years ago to the present.
Although Zod already knew this, he still put on a moved expression.
"Perhaps fate allowed you to live not to let you wallow in past pain, but with some mission, you never know."
Just as Zod said this, Dr. Erdel also bravely walked out of the room.
Looking at the two figures quietly suspended in the air under the moonlight, without any external force, he, as an Earthling, felt as if he was looking up at legendary gods.
At this moment, Martian Manhunter fell into a brief contemplation because of Zod's words.
"Perhaps it's true, as he said, fate allowed me to live because there's some mission it wants me to complete."
However, suddenly, he thought of something and looked at Zod, asking excitedly, "Since you can come to Earth, you must have a spaceship that can travel through the universe, right? Can you lend it to me? I want to go back to Mars to see it."
Although Martian Manhunter had the ability to fly in space, he couldn't endure the extreme environment of space for long periods.
Ding! Detected that the host has received a request from an ancient alien race. Please help him fulfill his long-cherished wish to return to his homeland. Successfully arriving grants +1 to the roulette draw!
Zod, who had no intention of refusing in the first place, had even less reason to refuse after hearing the system prompt!
At the same time, he smiled inwardly: "I'm not afraid of you having requests, I'm afraid of you having no desires."
"That's certainly no problem. If you don't mind, I'd like to go to Mars with you."
Zod still remembered that there was a guy waiting for Martian Manhunter on Mars, his good brother Malefic J'onzz.
After all, in the future, to hunt down his brother, that guy traveled from Mars to Earth and eventually died in the sun.
"I don't mind, I don't mind. It would be my honor to travel with you."
Listening to their conversation, Dr. Erdel below felt a surge of emotion.
"J'onn, can you take me with you? If I could truly see an alien civilization in my lifetime, I would have no regrets even if I died immediately!"
Hearing this from what could be considered his first friend on Earth, Martian Manhunter was momentarily in a difficult position.
Emotionally, he didn't want to see his friend disappointed.
But rationally, his eyes possessed X-ray-like abilities, allowing him to clearly see that Erdel's heart was already overburdened and simply couldn't withstand the stress of space travel.
So, he still reluctantly refused, "I'm sorry, Erdel, your body can't handle going into space. If I take you, it would take your life, and I can't do that."
"No, I don't fear death. I only fear dying with regrets. Even if I truly die during the journey, burying me on Mars would be the greatest blessing for me."
Looking at his friend's expression, Martian Manhunter really couldn't bear to refuse.
However, this time he was borrowing Zod's spaceship, which required Zod's approval. In such a dilemma, he looked at Zod with an expression of deep apology:
"Mr. Zod, I know this request is very rude, but please allow my friend to board the ship with us."
After speaking, he bowed deeply to Zod.
"This isn't too difficult a matter. However, I hope your friend will not reveal any related information afterward."
Zod didn't say the rest of the words, but the meaning was already very clear!
Dr. Erdel quickly spoke up, assuring him, "Mr. Zod, please rest assured, I promise not to reveal even a single word of information about you. If I break my word, you can directly take my life."
"In that case, then follow me!"
Upon hearing this, J'onn immediately manipulated the magnetic field to lift Erdel, and after setting up a protective force field around him, he chased after Zod.
Experiencing this feeling of free flight for the first time, Erdel felt a surge of emotion.
At this moment, Martian Manhunter's voice sounded in his mind: "Erdel, you need to calm yourself. Your heart cannot bear too much burden."
At the same time, he felt a force soothing his emotions, and he knew it was J'onn helping him.
So he also reined in his emotions, preventing himself from getting too excited.