amaotonovel Chapter 4321 Body of Steel (26)
Chapter 4321 Body of Steel (26)
Chapter 4321 Body of Steel (Twenty-Six)
Clark had a gut feeling that Schiller was indeed the kind of person who enjoyed watching the world burn. His way of doing things proved that he must have done this many times before.
But precisely because of this, Clark also felt that this time was different. He wasn't there entirely to cause trouble. Otherwise, with the skill he had in designing and executing this scheme, the Earth would have been reduced to ashes.
There were indeed some perverse and manipulative elements in the plan, but that's not the point. He didn't focus all his energy on that; he must have had some more utilitarian purpose.
Therefore, it's unlikely he chose to avoid cooperation at this time simply to get these people to gather at the exhibition and cause a huge disturbance. He must have some other purpose. What could it be?
Clark didn't intend to ask Louise, even though he felt she should have the answer. But he couldn't rely on others forever; he had to learn to think independently, and at least succeed on his own once.
In some ways, Clark is very stubborn. He has a strong obsession with proving his existence. He doesn't want to rely on Batman, nor does he want to rely on Lois. Even if he ultimately has to rely on them, he can't give up from the start; he must try his best until the very last second.
"Calm down, Clark, you can do it." Clark encouraged himself mentally. He thought this hurdle wasn't actually that difficult, because there were many known clues. Bruce and Louise had already analyzed it very clearly, and Schiller's behavior patterns were also traceable. As long as he combined them and made inferences, he would definitely be able to figure it out.
Clark has discovered that while his super brain operates at a high speed, it may lack professional knowledge, resulting in an inefficient reasoning method. He doesn't know how to filter and integrate clues, so much so that when he's about to start reasoning, he can't even find a starting point.
Well, we can't ask Louise for help with this, but we should at least ask her how she usually thinks. Clark found an inconspicuous alley, went through it, and got into the car by blending into the crowd.
As he drove away, Clark hesitated several times, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped. He wanted to know, but he was afraid that Louise would see through his intentions. He struggled with this for a long time, his expression changing several times.
Finally, Louise couldn't hold back any longer: "Are you feeling unwell, Clark?"
“No.” Clark shook his head, mustered his courage, and finally said, “You usually… I mean, if you want to find the truth about something, how do you think about it?”
"You're interested in this?" Louise seemed a little surprised.
"Yes, shouldn't I be interested in this?"
"You must be much smarter than humans, right?"
"not necessarily."
“But if you don’t have a smart enough brain, you can’t control such a powerful force, Clark. I know you’re smart.”
Although it was a compliment, Clark only blushed slightly, because he felt that it sounded more like a sarcastic remark.
“You might not be able to think the way I do,” Louise said, “because my brain isn’t that powerful. It’s very difficult for me to recall the details of something; just recalling countless details takes a lot of my energy. If your memory is better than mine, you can skip these steps and also notice many details that I might miss…”
"Yes, after you've omitted all of that, is there any trick to it?" Clark persisted, asking again.
“It can’t be omitted.” Louise shook her head and said, “Details are everything; you can deduce everything from the details.”
Upon hearing her mention this, Clark recalled that his earlier confirmation that Martha hadn't actually been kidnapped stemmed from noticing some odd details in the horrific scene at the Kent farm. These included things like the scattered bundles of straw, the tire tracks, and the fact that the spilled oatmeal porridge didn't even fill a pot.
Therefore, there might have been some hidden details in the scene he just witnessed. And these details revealed Schiller's purpose.
When Clark began to recall, he realized Louise was right. One of the greatest advantages of a super brain is its exceptional memory. Although he had only been there for a short time, every detail of every item there was etched into his mind without a single mistake. Now, he could see it all clearly whenever he wanted to recall it.
Clark took a deep breath. He first took Louise back to her place, politely said goodbye, and then returned to his own apartment. He closed the door, lay down on the bed—he had to go back to the scene.
Clark closed his eyes, trying to recall the feeling after he fainted at the military base that day, and began to recreate the scene in his mind using his memory. First, the simplest room structure, then the furniture, and finally the people and various traces and details.
When Clark opened his eyes again, he found himself back at the Luther Hotel. Everything was frozen in that moment.
An alien warily holding a gun, an officer lying on the ground with a grim face, a senator huddled in a corner with his lover, a somewhat messy room...
Clark first examined the aliens. He wasn't suspicious that Schiller was impersonating an alien, but rather worried they might have some kind of mark on them. Of course, there wasn't. Then he went to the officers and checked them over. One of them had some injuries on his arm, but not from a laser; they were from debris falling from the shattered ceiling, nothing particularly unusual.
He then went to the congressman and glanced at his face. Clark began searching his memory and found a somewhat blurry news report. It wasn't blurry because he hadn't memorized it, but because he hadn't paid attention to it at the time—after all, he didn't follow political news. The congressman was probably only on screen for two or three seconds; he hadn't remembered it.
His instincts told him that the key wasn't the identity of the senator. Then he glanced at his female companion; she was unremarkable, nothing out of the ordinary.
Clark glanced at the sheets; the edges of the bed were slightly wrinkled. He frowned, then took flight, looking down from above the hotel room.
The senator stood up and sat on the bed, his lover sitting on his lap. As they were flirting, an officer burst in. The interrupted senator was furious, and an argument ensued. Then aliens rushed out, and a shootout ensued, resulting in the building's collapse.
Seeing that there were still no problems, Clark was completely puzzled. How come he couldn't see any details?
They looked around again, inside and out, but this time it was different from the Kent family farm. The Kent family farm was badly damaged, with details everywhere to examine. However, although this hotel room had been through a shootout, not much was actually damaged; at most, there were a few bullet holes in the wall, a broken vase, and the wall was cut open.
This is too difficult, really too difficult. Clark was already pulling his hair out: "What can we possibly deduce from this?!"
Having racked his brains without success, Clark was truly at his wit's end. He could only change his approach and began to think: if he were Schiller, why would he do such a thing?
If he didn't want to be found, he could have simply hidden away. The fact that the officers were able to trace it to the Luther Hotel means Schiller must have been there recently. In other words, Schiller deliberately led the military to the Luther Hotel. Why would he do that?
Suddenly, Clark had a flash of inspiration. The point of Schiller leading people to the Luther Hotel wasn't Schiller or the group he brought, but the Luther Hotel itself.
The Luther Hotel is a property of the Luther Corporation, and Luther is the most important person in the Luther Corporation. In other words, Schiller's actions are very likely aimed at Luther.
Although Clark was happy to see Luthor being targeted, Schiller and Luthor didn't really have any grudges, so why target him?
Since it's not due to the past, it's probably for something in the future. Schiller wants to achieve something by targeting Luther. What could it be?
That's easy; Clark figured it out immediately. The entire Luther Hotel was cut in half. Even if Luther only injured his big toe, and was paralyzed from the waist down, he'd still have to get up and take a look.
The Luther Hotel is a well-known landmark in the metropolis and the face of the Luther Corporation, generating substantial revenue for the group every quarter. As long as Lex Luther is alive, he will inevitably have to show up if anything happens to the hotel.
In particular, this time the problem wasn't with the hotel itself, but with the entire hotel. Such a large hotel collapsing from the middle is arguably the most significant architectural disaster of the 21st century. If this problem isn't handled properly, the entire Luther Group will be finished.
The crucial point is that others don't know it was done by aliens; they only believe that the Lex Luthor Corporation cut corners during the hotel's construction, causing the building to collapse. Although Superman arrived in time to prevent greater casualties, however…
Thinking about this, Clark suddenly seemed to understand: this was another attempt to use him to provoke Luther.
Think about it: Luthor was first completely outmaneuvered by Schiller, then lost the gem due to a ridiculous mistake, and now, at this critical juncture, the Luthor Hotel is in trouble. He was already furious, but in the end, the Luthor Hotel was saved by Superman, whom he had been wary of and had been targeting for so long. Clark felt that if he were Luthor, he would want to jump into the Atlantic Ocean right now.
Clark is really starting to back down; isn't this going to drive Luther crazy?
But the thought that the damned bastard had actually hired someone to kidnap his mother instantly extinguished any sympathy Clark had felt. Luther truly deserved it.
But what he didn't expect was that Schiller did far more than that. Clark had just woken up from his dream, habitually turned on the television, poured himself a glass of water, and then heard the host's voice coming from the TV:
"Major disaster! The Luther Hotel building has collapsed, with an estimated 10,000 affected and over 2000 casualties. The biggest building collapse disaster of the 21st century is unfolding in the Metropolitan!"
Clark spat out a mouthful of water.
(End of this chapter)