amaotonovel Chapter 4361 The Justice League Assembles (9)
Chapter 4361 The Justice League Assembles (9)
Chapter 4361 Justice League: Assemble (Part 9)
When Barry woke up again, he saw a somewhat familiar ceiling. He opened his eyes abruptly and saw Louise standing in front of him.
"Thank goodness you're alright," Louise sighed. "How could you be so reckless as to rush into the Capitol? It's a good thing it wasn't in the District of Columbia, or you would have been shot."
Barry sat up in bed, looked around, then hugged the computer next to him tightly.
“Sorry,” Barry said, “but I might really need to borrow your computer. I…”
"Do you want to release those photos?"
Barry nodded. "I can hack into the internet and put this stuff on the homepage of a news website, so everyone can see it," he said. "That might..."
Louise shook her head and said, "That will only make you a fugitive, it won't do you any good."
Barry wanted to argue, but then he suddenly remembered that Louise was a well-known journalist. Since she had already taken these photos, she could have published them. Why didn't she do so?
“Unfortunately, there is no real freedom of speech in the United States. If you post something that doesn’t align with the mainstream media, you’ll be in trouble very quickly,” Louise sighed. “And all the mainstream media outlets have the same mouth.”
Louise gently picked up the computer and pulled up another video. Barry watched it for a while and then froze.
The video was unremarkable; it was just a series of news reports. But what was frightening was that in different studios, with different presenters, and at different times, everyone was saying the exact same thing.
Not only was the content the same, but the tone, pauses, details, expressions, and the images shown on the TV behind were all exactly the same.
Barry even saw many news channels he recognized, as well as many sharp media commentators, all saying the same thing.
“Barry, you’re in college, which proves you’re smart. So you should understand that in a big city like Los Angeles, there are homeless people everywhere, almost everyone has seen them, so why doesn’t anyone pay attention to it?”
Louise sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Barry, and said, “Never assume that the news media is benevolent. In most cases, the purpose of the mainstream media is not to let people see what they see, but to let people not see what they see, or to let people ignore what they see.”
"The amount of information a person can obtain in a given period of time is limited. As long as this portion is filled with mainstream media news with a unified message, it will be beautified as the truth because people no longer have the capacity to receive more information."
"To break through the mainstream media blockade, it's almost impossible to do it from the media level alone, especially within the United States, because some people won't try to break through your defenses just through the media, understand?"
Barry understood, of course; he wasn't stupid. Simply put, this wasn't a fair game at all. If the mainstream media controlled the game, and he had the exposure, creating a media showdown, then he might not necessarily lose.
However, they don't want to play this kind of online battle with you. They can directly cause trouble for you offline, send agents to break down the door, and take care of you physically.
Expositors are always at a disadvantage when facing mainstream media. They have no state apparatus to rely on, and physical execution is the most effective method, which means they are destined to never win.
"Then what should I do?" Barry said, somewhat dejectedly. "Could I really go and move those homeless people to a warmer place? That way they won't freeze to death, and it wouldn't be a big deal for me."
Louise shook her head again and said, "Where they are in their original places, they may still have some order to rely on, whether it's gangs, mutual aid societies, or even drug dealers. But if they leave there and suddenly appear in a place where they don't know anyone, they will really die."
“They could have done it,” Barry said. “They didn’t even have to do it themselves. They just had to issue an order, give them some food, give them a place to stay. Why didn’t they?”
Barry grew angrier and angrier, eventually standing up from the bed. Just as he was at his angrier, a phone call came in.
"Hello, this is the Sky Eye Society, Mr. Allen. We contacted you before regarding joining the superpowered team to move Capitol Hill back to its original location..."
"roll!!!!!!!!"
Listening to the intense roar on the other end of the phone, Schiller held the phone further away, put it down with a hint of helplessness, turned to look at the female agent, and said, "The other party's resistance is too strong, there's nothing I can do. It looks like we need to find someone else."
Before the female agent could say anything, Schiller interrupted, "Fortunately, while the Flash is strong, his advantage is only in speed. If we're talking about all-around ability, I have a better candidate."
He picked up the phone again, dialed a number, and said, "Hello, is this Mr. John Jones? This is the Sky Eye Society. We have something we'd like to discuss with you..."
Schiller then identified himself, made his request, and said, "We are a legitimate organization and will not force you to do anything. On the contrary, if you encounter any trouble, we can certainly help you..."
"The one in trouble now isn't me, it's yourselves." The person on the other end of the phone scoffed, then said, "Are you in such a hurry to move Capitol Hill back because the congressmen are afraid to go out?"
“Of course not. We can explain this matter.” Schiller was very patient. He said, “The official statement has already been issued to refute the rumors. The research base that Superman moved to Metropolis is used entirely for normal medical purposes. In fact, many excellent original drugs come from this base.”
"Look, it's in the news. They've recently developed two new asthma medications, and they've also previously developed an effective drug for Marfan syndrome, a genetic disease. If you don't believe me, I can send you the information. Just wait a moment, I'll send it to your email address right away..."
The agent standing behind Schiller was about to say something, but Schiller stopped him with a look. After hanging up the phone, he turned to Schiller and said, "Don't treat everyone like fools. Without concrete evidence, how can you expect them to believe you? This Mr. Jones isn't one of those hotheads. He used to be a policeman and doesn't have a good impression of the federal government. If you want him to rescue the congressman, you'll at least have to change his bad impression first."
After Martian Manhunter Ron hung up the phone, his brow remained furrowed because he had heard a very familiar word—"Marfan syndrome."
This is a genetic disease that affects the health of many parts of a person's body. Surgery can reduce its lethality, but it cannot be completely cured and requires long-term medication.
Ron is a Martian, so he certainly couldn't have this kind of genetic disease in humans. However, there is someone very important to him who suffers from this disease, and that is Dr. Ode, who was the one who sent him to Earth.
Sitting in the chair, Ron recalled the scene from back then: a completely bewildered Martian and a terrified researcher staring at each other in the laboratory.
"You, you, you, you..."
"Where...where am I?" The tall, green-skinned figure looked around warily, but because he was so tall and overly cautious, he took a step back and, in doing so, knocked over a piece of equipment that looked very important.
About a week later, the researcher stood in front of the lab bench and said, "I'm sorry, this thing is completely broken. You probably won't be able to go back for the time being."
“I…I want to…” At that time, Ron’s English wasn’t very fluent yet. He gestured and then said, “Mars, I want to go back to Mars, to my wife and children…”
“I’m really sorry,” the researcher said, “but it will take time to repair this thing. You should stay here for now. I promise it will be done soon.”
Another week passed, during which Ron gradually learned to speak English and also learned that the researcher was Dr. Ode, who specialized in studying Mars. His observation device had malfunctioned, sending Ron back to Earth.
However, just half a month after arriving on Earth, Dr. Ode told him some shocking bad news—the Martians had perished.
Because he was accidentally transported to Earth, Ron successfully escaped the Martian extermination, but he was already disheartened and spent his days hiding in the laboratory, just waiting to die, and didn't even want to leave the house.
To encourage him, Dr. Ode tried many methods, not only taking care of his daily life and telling him stories about human beings, but also studying psychology on his own and gradually using psychotherapy and hypnosis to help him out of the shadows.
Looking back now, Ron always placed Dr. Oed in the same position of importance as his deceased wife and children. They were his first human friend and his best friend.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, or perhaps the Martian hunter was destined to be alone. After Ron was willing to go out, he met many humans and discovered that Dr. Oed's physical condition was far below average. It was at this time that he learned that Dr. Oed suffered from a genetic disease called Marfan syndrome.
He was relatively lucky; his condition wasn't too serious, but he needed to take medication long-term, and his body remained weak. Just a few months after Ron arrived on Earth, Dr. Ode tragically passed away from a heart attack.
Thinking back to what happened back then, Rong En remained silent in his seat for a long time before finally opening his email. Sure enough, he found a document sent by the Sky Eye Society. He wasn't interested and didn't intend to read it carefully at all, but just as he was about to scroll down, his finger stopped, because he saw a familiar name again—the name of a medicine.
Martians also possess super brains; their memories are exceptional. He clearly remembered seeing the packaging of this drug in Dr. O'Dr.'s lab. At that time, his English wasn't very good, so he asked what it was. The other person only said it was a drug, emphasizing that it was a newly developed one.
With a "whoosh," Ron appeared in the sky above Colorado. Relying on his memory, he found Dr. O'Dr.'s laboratory, which seemed to have been abandoned, so he easily found the room from back then.
Rong En moved between the lab benches, glancing at the clutter at his feet. He suppressed his memories and grief, and sure enough, on the desk that Dr. Ode used most often, he found the medicine box, with two unfinished pills inside.
Rong En picked up the box and examined it carefully. He found that the name was correct, and this medicine was the one that had been researched at the secret base in Metropolis.
The main symptom of Marfan syndrome, or rather, the most fatal symptom, is heart problems. Many patients die from ruptured blood vessels in their middle age. Therefore, Ron never doubted the cause of Dr. Ode's death.
But now it seems that things are not so simple. He was taking the medication regularly and was in good condition. Apart from being a little weak, he was not in any life-threatening danger. Why did he die so quickly after the new medication was switched?
More details of the memories surfaced in Rong En's mind: a month before Dr. Ode died, he became very depressed and often stared blankly at the computer. At that time, a new project had just started, which should have been the time when he was most motivated. After that, he died.
Rong En gripped the medicine box tightly, his heart growing colder with each passing moment.
The material I gathered in Ami is enough for me to write another 20 million words.