At this moment, Clark finally grasped that thunderbolt. He finally understood why exactly he was angry.
When he was young, he wasn't angry about the classmates' ridicule because he knew they could never hurt him. The difference in their strength was too great; they could only boast with their words.
He wasn't angry about the school bus falling into the water because not only falling into water, even falling into magma couldn't hurt him.
Colleagues' rumors also had little impact on him. Just with this strength, he could easily find a job, and the salary and benefits were decent.
And even with the person who made him angry before, he quickly calmed down because he realized the other person was too fragile. He could hang their car onto a tree with ease, arguing with such people had no meaning.
However, ever since meeting Bruce Wayne, the reason he's been angry is that he started encountering things he couldn't handle.
In the first copy they participated in, their strength was strictly limited, making him an ordinary person. Forget about flying, even a less-than-half-meter small bump, a wrong walking posture could sprain his ankle, truly fragile to an absurd degree.
The enemies in this game happened to be powerful. The evil spirit that killed Bruce was not only fast, but its claws were also sharp and lethal. And Bruce, as an ordinary person, was instantly killed when hit.
Clark must admit, at the moment he saw Bruce's death, he was fearful.
Because he understood that at that moment, he was no different from Bruce, equally fragile. Bruce would die because a monster attacked his artery, and he would too. But he couldn't do anything, he was powerless.
Just like facing the death of the lamb, it was the first time he felt helpless. He could move mountains and fill the seas, but he couldn't reverse time, couldn't change death. That's why he was so furious.
And later, he saw the spaceship appearing above Metropolis. He knew that some things beyond his handling were about to happen. That spaceship's appearance signified that his kind had arrived, and meant he had to make a choice. However, even if he chose the Human race, they wouldn't trust him. He couldn't be a happy, ordinary person on Earth anymore.
He was powerless in all these situations. He couldn't make the spaceship never appear, nor could he make the human government trust him in such circumstances, and couldn't avoid revealing his identity, allowing Earth to be destroyed.
This intense helplessness made him feel angry.
But Martha's disappearance further ignited everything. When he arrived at Kent's Farm, when he saw that tragic scene, every molecule in the air reminded him that some irrevocable tragedy had occurred, and he couldn't do anything.
The rage at that moment clouded his mind, nearly leading to a disastrous mistake. If it weren't for Batman arriving in time, if his mom truly was kidnapped, all his subsequent actions were pushing Martha into the Abyss of Death.
And Clark finally understood why Bruce would say, "The responsibilities you want to shoulder may force you to make big mistakes."
Everyone is like that; the more they understand, the more they realize they understand too little; the more they want, the more they realize their helplessness.
People feel helpless because they want to change, be it their environment or themselves. And change requires strength.
People often advise depression patients to either change their mindset or environment. But in reality, neither their spirit nor body can provide the strength needed for change, hence the need for medication rather than just thinking differently.
And once they partly free themselves from the pure depressive mood and truly decide to change, then they will need strength. Due to their body and spirit not providing such strength, they will feel helpless. This helplessness breeds anger, which will cause them to cycle between depression and anger, developing bipolar disorder, commonly known as manic depression.
Many bipolar patients switch during their recovery from depression due to them partly freeing from depressive emotions wanting to change, but realizing their powerlessness. This helplessness breeds anger, making their spirits excited, leading to tendencies of mania.
If a person is never satisfied, wants endless things, they will always want to change, always need strength. But no one's strength is infinite, not even Superman; he has tasks he cannot accomplish.
And because he wants too much and always cannot achieve, he will feel helpless, always angry. Eventually, this accumulated anger will burst out like before, utterly destroying his rationality.
If he were just an ordinary person, the greatest mistake he could commit might be a crime resulting in imprisonment. But he is Superman; once he loses his rationality, the destruction he can cause is extremely terrifying, possibly even destroying the entire Earth.
Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Clark's skin. He realized that Batman taking Martha away and arranging the scene so tragically was actually to stimulate him.
Because only this way, can he realize how terrible losing rationality is. If it weren't Batman who took Martha, his irrationality would make him lose his mother forever. Forever.
Clark's current feelings suddenly coincided with his previous feelings. He realized that those words Bruce said that night might come from true experience, perhaps precisely because he had also eternally lost someone due to his own irrationality.
Damian Wayne. Clark silently recited this name in his heart. He recalled those terrifying images flashing through his mind when he saw that tragic scene at Kent's Farm.
To him, Martha's death only existed in imagination; but to Bruce, his son Damian Wayne's death was a real scar.
When Bruce took Martha away, did he think about his child? Wouldn't he wish that at that moment, someone like him had taken Damian Wayne away and then told him it was all just a joke, how great would that be?
Clark found himself unable to control his emotions. He took deep breaths and rubbed his face hard, trying to numb his tear ducts this way. But clearly, it didn't work very well as he felt the tears welling up.
He found it hard to describe what he was feeling now. To say it was sadness wasn't precise, and saying it was touching wasn't exactly right either. If he had to say, he suddenly realized that Bruce had told him he believed what he said, "No matter what one becomes, justice or evil will change everything," was true.
Bruce really believed this. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to uncover his own scars just to remind himself this way. He believed he would change the world, and he hoped it would be for the better.
At this moment, Clark felt an unprecedented calm. Some questions he had prepared but had not asked, some thoughts that had been swirling in his mind without forming complete ideas seemed meaningless now.
Because ultimately, these questions boiled down to just two: Where did he come from, and where was he going?
Whether it was about the Kryptonian civilization, his own physique, the green dust, or how to deal with his kin, they could all be summarized with these two questions.
And now, he had the answers.
He didn't care where he came from. What he wanted to do was change this world and make it better.
Once he was firm with this goal, all problems ceased being problems. Injuries could be healed; when enemies came, he could hit back. If worried about problems, he could keep an eye out. If that didn't work, he could always seek Batman.
Strangely, as his thoughts became more resolute, Clark felt he wasn't as weak as before, and his chest didn't hurt as much.
He stood up from the sofa, exerting a gentle force and found himself actually flying.
Clark had never been so shocked by his ability to fly. But he really felt like it was the first time, not only shocked but also excited, flying two laps around the empty living room of Wayne Manor before landing.
He instinctively reached out to rub his chest, but it still hurt, making him grimace. So he walked back to Bruce and said, "Lex Luthor injured me with a strange green crystal. Do you know what it is? Can you remove them?"
Clark heard Bruce sigh.
He immediately got nervous, like someone who was asked to go to a big hospital after a doctor sighed at a community clinic. It's no different from receiving a visit note from the God of Death.
Then he heard Bruce say, "If even one of you had the slightest real knowledge of history and ancient artifacts, none of this would have happened."
Clark blinked, not understanding what Bruce meant.
"What? What ancient artifact?"
"Let me tell you some good news," Bruce looked at him and said, "The main culprit you think is hiding behind the scenes running everything, Lex Luthor, is just an unfortunate fool, duped and searching the internet with only basic search engines like a literate."
Clark was even more confused. But seeing Bruce go downstairs, he followed him. They arrived at the Batcave, and as soon as he got in front of the screen, Clark was stunned.
He saw the green gemstone and high-definition photographs from countless angles.
"You..." Clark hadn't finished speaking; his journalistic instinct kicked in, making him start reading the text beside it.
"'Frenes Snake'? Egyptian artifact? British Museum? So this thing was an artifact in the British Museum?"
Bruce sighed again.
"Don't sigh," Clark couldn't help but say, "So what's the matter?"
"Here's a cold fact," Bruce began, "Google search results can be manipulated, Wikipedia pages can be edited, photos can be synthesized with software, and artifacts can be faked."
"This so-called ancient Egyptian artifact 'Frenes Snake' sculpture mural that supposedly existed in the British Museum does not exist at all. The emerald embedded in the Snake Tail is nothing but some damn scammer's bait."
"And you, Clark Kent, along with Diana Prince, Lex Luthor, the U.S. Military, and Congress, are all the dumb fish on his hook."