The disturbance outside the door grew louder. At first, it was just the sound of running, then came the shouting, and then it turned into gunfire. It was clear from the start that it was single-shot rifles, then came submachine guns, and soon even machine guns were used. One didn't even need to use Super Hearing to clearly hear the sounds of conflict outside the door.
Another minute passed, and hearing was hardly necessary to understand that something had happened, because the people in the interrogation room started running outside. Initially, the soldiers guarding the door were reassigned, then the officers left, and soon, even the staff in the adjacent break room and tea room had vanished.
Clark gently stretched his limbs, and the handcuffs crumbled like freshly baked butter cookies. He stood up, twisted off the doorknob, and peeked outside. The corridor was eerily quiet, all the armed soldiers were gone, and nobody was paying attention to him.
Thus, he began to saunter outward casually. The closer he got to the entrance, the more he could hear the sounds of gunfire and artillery, interspersed with cursing. Clark waited for a while in the corridor until he heard the sound of helicopter rotors, which prompted him to stride to the main entrance.
Outside was a scene of devastation, with remnants of ammunition and explosions everywhere. However, there were no bodies. The soldiers had taken cover behind the base's rear defenses, with no casualties as of yet.
Yet, Clark spotted an injured soldier. One of his arms was charred, seemingly struck by some Laser Weapon. Clark navigated around the trenches to reach him, and the soldier was visibly shocked upon seeing him, but Clark waved his hand at him.
"My God!" Another voice sounded from behind him, and turning around, Clark saw another helmeted soldier.
"Alright, Superman. Wherever you're from, help him out of here. He needs to see a Doctor," that soldier said.
Clark first returned the soldier to the base, then went back to the base entrance and picked up two more wounded soldiers to carry back, until armed helicopters appeared in the sky above the military base.
By this time, Clark had reached the front lines. That's when he discovered that the invaders causing such a commotion were actually just three Aliens. They were clad in pitch-black full-body Armor, with very peculiar designs that were tightly wrapped and seemed extremely inconvenient for movement. They held laser guns in their hands, with immense power capable of burning a hole directly into concrete.
Clark did not rashly approach, instead crouching in the trench to observe. His fellow beings appeared somewhat strange, certainly not the Kryptonians he had imagined. If anything, they resembled highly advanced Humans.
Their movements were heavy and awkward, far from smooth and free. Despite being quite adept with their weapons, they seemed fearful of the Human race's arsenal. For example, when a Rocket was launched, they cautioned each other to avoid it.
Mind you, for Superman, not just a Rocket but even a nuclear bomb wouldn't be lethal to him. He took no heed of conventional firearms. You wouldn't stay indoors forever just to avoid mosquito bites, would you?
Yet, these Aliens fought timidly, exhibiting a discomfort due to the planet's gravity. Even with such formidable weaponry, after nearly half an hour, they had yet to breach the first layer of defense.
The more Clark observed, the more he felt he might have overestimated them. Listening to the orders from military officers in the trenches, he believed the military felt similarly. These Aliens didn't seem as strong as imagined.
As armed helicopters entered the fray, another group leaped down from them. This group's attire clearly distinguished them from ordinary soldiers, resembling more of a special forces unit. The weapons they wielded were quite unusual, resembling something like a horn.
The leading special forces soldier, after jumping down, rolled at the spot, dodged a beam, then charged forward swiftly. Upon getting close to one Alien, he pulled the trigger of that horn-like weapon.
"Bang!"
The tremendous shockwave stunned Clark momentarily. Shortly after, he felt nauseous and uncomfortable. Seeing the green gemstone powder dispersing in the air, he knew the reason.
Damn it, these guys got crafty fast, turning the gemstone into a weapon so quickly. Clark couldn't help but curse inwardly. He tried to hold his breath, only to realize he actually didn't need to breathe, but that powder wasn't something he could avoid simply by not breathing.
The Alien closest to the special forces soldier was knocked over by the blast. Clark used his Super Vision to see the Alien's mask cracking, with the green powder inhaled directly into his helmet, causing him to fall to the ground convulsing.
The other two companions seemed terrified, somewhat at a loss, ultimately resulting in the mask of one being shattered by a single bullet from another special forces member. That Alien soon followed suit, falling to the ground while clutching his throat and convulsing.
A large net ensnared the two Aliens, indicating the military intended to capture them alive. Fortunately, the remaining Alien reacted quickly, using a laser to repel the special forces soldiers, then hastily burned through the ropes of the net, activated the emergency Life Support Device on his two companions' Armor, and quickly retreated to the nearby small Escort Ship.
The special forces tried to target the remaining two. However, as the spacecraft approached larger than anticipated, they hesitated and refrained from advancing, then a beam of light swept down and took the two comrades lying on the ground away.
Seeing this, Clark let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, his fellow Kryptonians weren't too dumb. If the military managed to capture one or two alive, it would be troublesome.
After enjoying the show, he returned to his cell. Not long after, he heard some cussing and swearing. The tall white military officer he'd seen before walked in, glaring at Clark.
"Staring at me won't do any good," Clark said. "I've told you before, I'm not one of them. If each of them had my strength, Earth would have been destroyed long ago."
The officer opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to argue, but didn't know what to say because Clark was right. Those aliens who came to invade didn't seem to have any superpowers, just advanced equipment and weapons. And now, the military had mastered the weaponry that could counter them, making the seemingly world-ending crisis seem trivial.
So, even though the officer suspected Clark might have lured the aliens here, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as they successfully defeated the aliens, meaning their influence might increase.
The white officer was about to say something when his subordinate came in with a phone. He answered it and said, "Yes. That's right, we've already won. No, we didn't capture any alive, just repelled them. Yes, the new weapon is very effective. I can responsibly say that we currently have the only method to defeat them... What?!"
Clark watched as the officer performed a facial transformation in front of him, initially looking slightly smug, but then his face darkened.
"How is that possible?! The British Museum... already en route? Are the gemstones on it real?! But... okay, I understand. Make sure to intercept those artifacts!"
Clark couldn't help rubbing his eyes. Why are you everywhere? British Museum? What's going on???
Then he suddenly remembered, what did the news say earlier? The Metropolitan Museum is borrowing from the British Museum, and the exhibit being borrowed is the "Frenes Snake." This means the so-called "real" Frenes Snake will soon be displayed at the Metropolitan Museum.
And there's a gemstone on this "Frenes Snake," identical to the green gemstone Luther had, meaning this too is a weapon against the aliens, and it's about to be publicly exhibited.
After the officer rushed out, Clark opened his phone, and sure enough, stories about Ancient Egyptian Civilization repelling aliens were going viral online.
Unintentionally, he really did make a wise move. Previously, there was nothing to prove the story was true. After all, a legend is just a legend; no matter how true it sounds, it's a tale from thousands of years ago, and no one knows what actually happened back then.
However, Clark's third trip directly lured the aliens to the American Military Base, allowing the military, which had just developed new weapons, to win a victory, proving that weapons made with green gemstone powder truly work. From this perspective, the legend must be true.
And with armed helicopters deployed, the base's activities certainly couldn't be hidden from others. Once other forces within the Federation learned of this, they'd surely try to acquire the gemstone powder. Undoubtedly, whoever possesses weapons capable of repelling aliens will have the upper hand in upcoming clashes.
Originally, acquiring them could only be done through the military, allowing the military to set exorbitant prices or simply deny access, threatening the entire world with this advantage. But now, the so-called real artifact will appear in Metropolis, with a gemstone identical to the one on the Snake Tail. Who wouldn't want it?
The military surely wants to maintain its monopoly, while others wish to break it. Well, this is going to turn into a mess, isn't it?
However, compared to the situation on Earth, Clark was actually more curious about the chaos aboard the spaceship. His arrogant fellow Kryptonians are probably scared out of their wits.
Clark previously didn't realize he enjoyed watching the spectacle so much; he thought it was inappropriate, but he wasn't willing to return to work right now either. After thinking it over, he decided to slip out while the military base was busy and began flying toward the atmosphere.
Not long after taking off, his phone rang. Upon checking, he saw Bruce calling.
"Come to Wayne Manor and bring the machine I left on the roof up to low-Earth orbit, thank you."
In the past, Clark definitely wouldn't have run errands for him, but after thinking it over, eavesdropping on low-Earth orbit seemed a bit foolish, especially if he got captured by satellites. Better to borrow bat technology. He could enjoy hot coffee in Wayne Manor while watching the spectacle.
So he changed direction and came to the rooftop of Wayne Manor, where he saw the machine Bruce referred to. It was about the size of a phone. He took the machine and flew to near low-Earth orbit, specifically choosing an angle not easily spotted by the spaceship and tossed the small device over.
By the time he returned to Wayne Manor, Bruce was already sitting on the couch watching the projection screen. Clark went over to greet him and sat on the other side of the couch.