amaotonovel Chapter 4344 Body of Steel (49)
Chapter 4344 Body of Steel (49)
Chapter 4344 Body of Steel (Forty-Nine)
As Clark entered the guest room, he looked up and surveyed it. This was absolutely the most luxurious room he had ever stayed in, bar none. Even the star-rated hotels he stayed in during business trips and leisure travel weren't this beautiful. He felt his vocabulary was lacking. All he could say was that he now truly believed the window frames in Bruce's study were from a 16th-century French castle.
Bruce escorted him to his guest room, said nothing more, and turned to leave. Clark sat on the edge of the bed packing his luggage, not forgetting to call his friends and family to let them know he was safe.
Clark wasn't overly worried about their safety. He didn't need to worry about Diana; the Sky Eye gang couldn't threaten her. Lois was currently in the eye of the storm, and Amanda, if she had any sense, wouldn't mess with such a well-known reporter. Martha was the most vulnerable, but Bruce had already sent people to protect her.
So, after arriving at the manor, Clark felt relieved and prepared to rest well. After washing up, he lay on the bed, looking at the exquisitely carved ceiling, and couldn't help but sigh.
If my future self, fresh out of the fighting world, were to encounter my past self who had traveled through time, and he told him that one day I would be living in Batman's house, then that future self would definitely punch him and see who was in disguise.
Things had taken so far beyond what he expected. He was now lying in Bruce Wayne's guest room, intending to get a good night's sleep. It was insane.
With these thoughts, drowsiness gradually crept in, and Clark slowly drifted off to sleep. The next morning, he was awakened by his phone ringing. He squinted and fumbled to turn it on, then was startled by the icy touch as he brought it to his ear.
"Hello?" Clark rolled over and opened his eyes wide. But when he heard the voice on the other end, he was immediately startled awake.
“It’s me, Mr. Kent. Do you know that woman named Amanda Waller? Yesterday, she stormed into my lab and claimed she was going to arrest me for illegal human experimentation…”
The person who called Clark was the expert who had conducted his desensitization test. Clark practically jumped out of bed. He exclaimed, "She came to see you?! That damn lunatic!"
“Don’t worry,” Clark said, starting to change his clothes. “I’m on my way right now. I promise she won’t hurt you…”
"No, the reason I called you was to tell you absolutely not to come. She came to me to force you to show yourself..."
“But,” Clark paused, then said, “what if they really arrest you if I don’t go?”
"Then let her arrest her, and prosecute her if necessary."
“No,” Clark said immediately. “If convicted, you could go to jail.”
"She wants to charge me with illegal human experimentation, but all the experiments I've done recently have revolved around you—are you even human?"
"Uh……"
Clark was truly stumped. He thought about it again, and realized the expert made a valid point. Now that his past was public knowledge, everyone knew he wasn't human. Therefore, the experts who conducted the desensitization training on him couldn't be considered to be conducting illegal human experiments.
They're just conducting experiments on aliens. Whether the aliens cooperate or not doesn't affect human experimental ethics. Therefore, charges of human experimentation are unlikely to succeed. As for other matters, that depends on how capable Amanda Waller is.
However, the fact that she managed to break into the lab proves she's quite capable. Keep in mind, the military was already pressured to reveal his identity, yet they still couldn't get into the lab. While Officer Jones certainly played a part, it also shows the military isn't as powerful as he imagined. The fact that this inexplicable Sky Eye Society could do it shows she shouldn't be underestimated.
Having figured this out, Clark had no desire to rest. He quickly got out of bed, ready to deal with this trouble. He grabbed his things, intending to go to the Sky Eye Society's base to demand an explanation from Amanda Waller. But just as he was about to leave, he stopped.
Clark thought it over and decided he couldn't just rush over like that. After all, the enemy had already exposed their base location, yet they still dared to do these things to him, which meant they weren't afraid of superhumans attacking their base at all.
In the past, both the federal government and the military have been wary of the combat capabilities of superpowered individuals. But this organization that specifically manages superpowered individuals seems fearless in this regard; perhaps they really do have some skills?
If that were the case, they would have already laid an ambush at the base. For him to just run straight there would be like walking into a trap. He couldn't do something so foolish.
So he stopped what he was doing, sat back down on the edge of the bed, and began to think. The Sky Eye Society must be a secret organization, meaning the public was unaware of their existence. In this situation, a propaganda war wouldn't work against them.
Clark couldn't reveal their existence because doing so could land him on charges of leaking state secrets or endangering national security, which would play right into the enemy's hands.
If you can't expose the other party's existence, you can't use tactics like propaganda warfare. Organizations like the federal government or the military mostly have some sense of shame; even if it's for votes, they don't want to be embroiled in scandal. Public exposure might make them behave somewhat. But this tactic won't work on organizations like the Sky Eye Society; they don't care about being popular.
Clark increasingly felt that this matter was extremely troublesome. Of all the crises he had faced before, none had been as pervasive and difficult to deal with as this intelligence organization. These people had few weaknesses, yet they always managed to annoy him, making everything in his life go wrong until he gave in.
But Clark was absolutely not going to give in. This kind of thing could happen twice; if they could use these methods to force him to join today, wouldn't they use the same methods to make him kill someone tomorrow? Given the nature of this organization, it wasn't impossible.
Moreover, being coerced leaves room for future conflicts. Once people perceive you as someone who compromises, they'll think of you first whenever compromise is needed, leaving you with no choice but to give in time and again.
Clark is a very tough person, and even if it's just to save face, he would never compromise with the Sky Eye Association.
But now he understands that holding a grudge is useless. Refusing to compromise is the outcome, but he absolutely cannot pay such a high price and let those people harass him for the rest of his life just to refuse to compromise. He needs a way to solve the problem once and for all.
Clark stood there, deep in thought, sometimes recalling his time in the Fighting World, sometimes thinking about Martha's kidnapping. The actions of Bruce, Diana, Louise, and even Schiller—these intelligent people—when dealing with trouble kept flashing through his mind.
Clark vaguely sensed that he had grasped a bit of the key, so he continued to think along that line of thought.
What is the best way to deal with an enemy that cannot be confronted head-on?
Clark realized that if he couldn't deal with the Sky Eye Society, then someone else must have a way. As long as the Sky Eye Society could be dealt with, it didn't matter whether he was the one who intervened or not, as long as the outcome was good.
First, he needed to determine who could handle the Sky Eye Society. There were many candidates; in fact, all his friends could do it. However, Clark wouldn't choose them. He didn't want to exploit his friends, nor did he want to cause them further trouble. Even if he needed their help, he would be direct, rather than resorting to underhanded tactics.
Conversely, the only people he'd be willing to use are his enemies. And among his enemies, both the military and the federal government are capable of dealing with the SkyEye Society. But Clark estimates that it will be difficult to incite these two sides to deal with the SkyEye Society.
He was self-aware enough to know he lacked the brains to navigate the treacherous waters of a group of shrewd military officers and politicians, avoiding trouble while cleverly using them to deal with those he wanted them to deal with. If he had that ability, the Sky Eye Society wouldn't have been a match for him at all; they would have been easily dealt with.
After much deliberation, Clark concluded that he shouldn't overestimate his abilities. He probably wouldn't be able to control other forces. That required not only intelligence but also a certain amount of talent, something he simply couldn't do.
The best approach would be for the target he chooses to conflict with the Sky Eye, and then for the two of them to cooperate. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and that's exactly the case.
But who would have a grudge against the Heavenly Eye?
Clark had too little information, and waiting here wouldn't yield any more. He decided to go and investigate. This time, however, he didn't bring any kryptonite; dealing with this cunning organization required extreme caution.
Clark has discovered that after a period of desensitization training, he not only doesn't react as strongly to this thing anymore, but his abilities have also genuinely increased, possibly due to the prolonged weight-bearing. Take his heightened senses, for example; now, if he concentrates, the range of sensations he can perceive is more than twice as large as before. Clark can now, with a little effort, even hear the wind on Mars.
He knew that the Sky Eye was constantly monitoring superpowered individuals on Earth, including himself. Therefore, to ensure that his investigation went undetected, he decided not to monitor from Earth, but instead to fly directly to the moon.
He's on the moon; the other side can't just launch a rocket to keep an eye on him, can they? As long as he's far enough away, the other side's information is one-way transparent to him. Moreover, being far away makes it easier for him to have a comprehensive view and monitor the movements of all parties.
Without further ado, Clark grabbed some things, mainly water and food, and also took a very comfortable recliner from Wayne Manor. He flew out of Earth's atmosphere, soaring upwards, and soon landed on the surface of the moon.
There are actually quite a few lunar rovers launched by humans on the moon, but the moon is quite large, and it's not that easy to encounter technological equipment there. At least when Clark landed, he didn't see any traces of human activity; everything there was very primitive and looked desolate.
Fortunately, the beautiful Mother Earth was quietly rotating in the distance. Clark put his things on the ground, propped up a bench, and prepared to begin monitoring.
However, the moon has a low-gravity environment, and this recliner wasn't designed for that environment, so it didn't stay in place. Clark had no choice but to fly back to Earth, get some nails and other things, and finally nailed the chair to the lunar surface before he could lie down comfortably.
After lying there for a while, he felt uncomfortable again. The recliner was quite comfortable, but not as comfortable as the one he used to lie on at Wayne Manor. Looking down, he realized he hadn't brought a cushion. Clark flew back to Wayne Manor and brought back a cushion.