Clark was completely bewildered. The facts he knew weren't enough for him to understand what Bruce was really talking about. He only vaguely understood that something was fake and that this thing had fooled them all.
He felt quite embarrassed to ask Bruce again. Fortunately, as a journalist, his reading skills were decent. He started to carefully read what was displayed on Bruce's screen. Overall, it was a series of introductions about Egyptian artifacts, somewhat headache-inducing to read.
Clark read for half a day but still didn't get to the point. Just relying on these introductions, he couldn't see what Bruce had just mentioned. However, when he saw the picture of the three-dimensional mural, he suddenly slapped his forehead.
The largest snake depicted didn't seem significant; it looked like something out of an Ancient Egypt mural. But the problem was, in the background of the snake's tail, there was a ship design identical to the deep-sea squid-shaped ship he had once destroyed.
"How could this be?!" Clark was shocked. "How could there be a Kryptonian ship on an Ancient Egypt mural?! Could it be that aliens had already visited Earth back then???"
Bruce, who was busy checking his gear nearby, sighed again.
Clark finally realized and said, "Wait, that's not possible. A Kryptonian ship from thousands of years ago couldn't look the same as today's Escort Ship. Cars from a few hundred years ago don't look the same as today's..."
"If this mural is fake, then why would someone include this alien ship in it? What does this have to do with Diana Prince and Lex Luther?"
Clark was utterly confused. He couldn't hold back any longer and turned to look at Bruce, only to find him deeply focused on adjusting his equipment. Hesitating a bit, Clark finally walked over and silently stared at Bruce.
"Do you remember what Luther used to injure you back then?" Bruce looked up and asked.
"A green gemstone," Clark said confidently, "He first threw that thing at my back, knocking me to the ground, then hit my forehead and chest. It wasn't very hard and shattered the moment it struck me. My wounds were filled with fragments of the gemstone. The doctor said that it entered my bloodstream, causing my weakness."
"Which doctor?"
"Uh..."
Clark then realized that the one who treated him was Shiller. He mainly lay in the surgery room, and with Shiller dressed in full gear looking very professional, he completely forgot that Shiller didn't seem to be a real doctor.
"So, he did all of this?!"
Bruce nodded and said, "He forged a sculpture mural called 'Frenes Snake,' fabricated a Wikipedia page, and manipulated Google search results. Then he took this mural to Lex Luther, falsely claiming he wanted to sell it."
"And Luther didn't suspect a thing?"
"That's why I said he's an illiterate fool. However, Shiller's tactic was quite clever. Egyptian artifacts, given their sheer number and age, have always been a hotbed of mixed authenticity. As far as I know, even items in the British Museum include some that are not truly Ancient Egyptian artifacts but later replicas or fabrications."
"Without expertise in Ancient Egyptian culture, it's tough to distinguish authentic artifacts from fake ones. Moreover, some replicas are so old that they're almost half-True, half-fake. Even true experts might misjudge."
"Shiller leveraged this, creating a non-existent artifact. Lex Luther isn't a professional, nor does he have a hobby of collecting ancient artifacts. The avenues available to him to obtain information about Ancient Egyptian artifacts are limited, and he couldn't find any experts to consult immediately, leaving him to rely on search engines."
"I still don't get it," Clark said, "Since he doesn't have a hobby of collecting artifacts, when this con artist approached him, shouldn't he just have kicked him out?"
"That's the issue. You just destroyed a ship over Metropolis. Suddenly, this so-called thousands-of-years-old Ancient Egyptian artifact depicts the same ship. What would you think?"
Clark suddenly understood and said, "So Luther was interested not because of the artifact itself, but because of the resemblance to that ship."
"Right, that's the trap Shiller set. What truly attracted Luther wasn't the artifact's value but the information it contained. If I'm not mistaken, he used hunger marketing techniques, telling Luther that if he didn't take it, someone else would. Luther couldn't tolerate not having it himself, let alone it falling into someone else's hands, especially mine."
"I see. But why would he do this? I mean, why create a fake artifact to trick people?"
"Actually, the information contained in the artifact isn't the key. The key is that gemstone. Once Luther discovered that information related to aliens appeared on this artifact, he would undoubtedly speculate whether the gemstone embedded in it held any special power. He would certainly try to get the gemstone and study it."
"By that time, you had already learned that your mother Martha had been kidnapped, and you rushed angrily to confront Luther. A Luther with the gemstone would probably discover its effects on you. Even if he didn't outright injure you with it, he would realize it could make you weak."
Clark broke into a cold sweat because he suddenly remembered that it was Shiller who told him about Martha's kidnapping.
He must have calculated the timing perfectly, leading Clark to confront Luther right when Luther was studying the gemstone.
Clark had been so furious at the time that he didn't notice the effect, but thinking back, he did start to feel uncomfortable as he flew into the office. Lex Luther, being a smart man, would have recognized Clark's odd behavior and realized that the gemstone could control him, even if they didn't fight.
But Clark still didn't understand why Shiller wanted Luther to realize this. So he asked, "So he went around such a big circle just to let Luther know my weakness?"
"That's right. If I'm not mistaken, he probably wove a similar myth just to make those who know about this think that your kind came to Earth before, and then they were defeated by this gemstone. This gemstone is the only solution to defeat the aliens."
"Well, the fact is indeed like this, this thing can indeed harm me, it can even make me so weak..."
"No, this thing can indeed harm you, but the impact is not as great as you think."
"But now I..."
"Your condition now is because Shiller did something extra to you." Bruce pointed to an instrument next to him, signaling Clark to stand on it. Clark was a bit reluctant, but there was no other way.
It's not that he thought the instrument would harm him, but he was still unwilling to let Bruce see him in such a weak state, especially now that his wounds hadn't completely healed, and his chest looked terrifying.
Clark stood on it, and Bruce operated the machine. But it wasn't an X-ray machine, it was a full scanning analyzer. After reading the results, Bruce sighed again.
Clark felt uneasy from his sighs, stomping his feet in place, then said, "Stop sighing, what's wrong with me?"
"The powder of this gemstone has indeed integrated into your body, into your bloodstream. But no matter how powerful Luther is, he couldn't have shattered the gemstone into such fine powder just by smashing it a few times. Someone injected you with a powder solution."
"Damn it, it must have been that Shiller! I told you I wasn't that uncomfortable originally, but ever since I came off the operating table, I've been in bad shape!"
"This also led to you being captured by the military again. I suspect that when you were unconscious, they did a simple check on you, sensed your weakness, so they also believed that the gemstone could completely restrain you, and just a few hits could hurt you that badly."
"God." Clark couldn't help but exclaim, "It's a genius-level conspiracy. The only problem is, why would he do this? What does he gain from it?"
"Although some people just want to watch the world burn, and Shiller seems like that kind of person, I don't think he just wants to cause trouble on Halloween." Bruce shook his head and said, "It's still impossible to speculate on his ultimate goal, but what he's doing isn't entirely harmful to us."
"What do you mean?" Clark felt a bit confused again.
"Do you think letting Luther and the military overestimate the harm of the gemstone to you is a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Uh... I don't know." Clark said.
"I think it's a good thing." Bruce said simply and directly, "If the gemstone can't completely restrain you, they will certainly come up with other methods. However, in the lie that Shiller created, the person who possesses the gemstone successfully repelled the aliens that came before, and it indeed proved that this gemstone can cause you great harm, so they only need to rely on the gemstone and don't need to prepare other contingency plans."
"Oh, I get it." Clark suddenly realized and said, "Luther must think that he can kill me with just the gemstone, so he won't think of other tricks."
"That's right, so it's a good thing for you. Especially now that you know about this."
"Wait," Clark interrupted him again and said, "Is it important whether or not I know about this?"
"Of course. Because you will know that they will use the gemstone against you, and the gemstone isn't as powerful as they think. This is a very important information gap that can even decide victory in crucial moments."
"But it was you who told me, not Shiller."
"Yes, but the thing about Martha being kidnapped, Shiller told me that. He knew I would definitely go to save Martha, and you would eventually come to me, and I would tell you the truth, allowing you to obtain the information gap through me."
"Oh my God." Clark could only sigh like this, "Are you sure he doesn't want to watch the world burn?"
Bruce shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, but definitely not now."
"But... but..." Clark thought for a long time and came up with another question, "How does he know that I could definitely find you? What if I didn't realize it was you who took Martha?"
"There will be someone to help you realize it, won't there?"
In Clark's mind flashed the face of that Black officer.
"I knew that dream wasn't simple!"