Arthur looked at the news headline and said somewhat confusedly, "What is this Frenes Snake thing? And what does it have to do with Mars? Are there snakes on Mars?"
Mera rolled her eyes next to him and said, "You've been on land for so many years, how come you can't read?"
"Sorry, I have a bit of a reading disability, especially when I see a bunch of words that mean basically the same thing." Arthur rubbed his eyes, nodded at the server who was bringing the dishes, and then asked, "Have you heard of Mars civilization?"
Mera thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I really haven't, but maybe the Ancient One would know. Do you still remember when we went to inquire about information on the Mother Box, he mentioned that the Mother Box came from a powerful extraterrestrial civilization?"
"Could it be Mars? But if the Mars people were so strong, how did they become extinct?"
Mera shook her head, indicating she didn't know either. Suddenly, there was a startling exclamation from the table next to them, and the man was holding his phone, saying something to his female companion in shock.
Arthur leaned over and vaguely heard something about "Mars." But the news he saw didn't seem worth such surprise—wasn't it all just speculation?
Thinking of this, he casually swiped, and a new headline caught his eye—"Latest photos taken by the Mars Rover: Is there a city on Mars?!"
Arthur gasped, enlarging the image to examine it closely. He realized it was no fake; it really was Mars City, with a skyline exactly the same, and even the spaceship belonging to Darkseid hovering above the city was exactly as he had seen before. This photo was real!
What shocked most people was this spaceship, as they had just seen it hovering over the East Coast of America a couple of days ago. Does this mean that the invaders a few days ago were Mars people?!
Connecting this to an earlier report, that is, the alien spaceship in the Frenes Snake mural, which was pointed out by Diana, the art critic, to possibly be related to Mars civilization. Now everything links together.
Years ago, Mars invaders once visited Earth, but were defeated by the Pharaoh. Later, their evil intentions persisted, capturing people from Earth to experiment on, which explains the source of those unidentified flying objects. Today, they sent powerful monsters to Earth, thankfully repelled by the Justice League. But they haven't abandoned their evil invasion plans and are still sharpening their knives on Mars.
This is merely what the public knows, lacking certain evidence. However, the upper echelons know far more than this.
When Savage Wolf appeared in Metropolis, there were many military helicopters present, and footage showed he appeared to be searching for something. His subsequent moves to Amazon and Atlantis did not escape the vigilance of the Special Agent Organization.
Everyone is convinced he indeed came to Earth looking for something. As for what he's looking for, no one knows better than these top-level figures.
The "Red House" is a safe house established by the military and controlled by the Federal Government, specifically for containing superpower users and alien artifacts, among which there are quite a few extremely powerful items. However, the most mysterious of all was the "cube" that mysteriously vanished in an earlier incident.
This incident was one orchestrated by the military to gain control over Victor's father, Dr. Selas, and to harness the powerful energy of the cube, staging a car accident and revival scheme.
Indeed, the backdoor location device on Victor's mother's phone wasn't planted by Shiller, but it was real.
Back then, the military already knew the cube was an extraterrestrial object and enlisted extraterrestrial field expert Dr. Selas to study it. Dr. Selas succeeded in his research but called the box Pandora's Box, believing humanity should never open it. No matter how hard the military pressed him, he refused to give in.
Therefore, the military installed a tracking device on his family's phones, creating a tragic car accident that killed his wife and severely injured his son, with the aim of forcing Dr. Selas to use the cube's power to save them.
Dr. Selas indeed did so, but what the military didn't expect was that the cube's power far exceeded their imagination. Victor immediately broke away from their control, and subsequently, Dr. Selas, with Superman's help, also freed himself from the military's grip. At this point, the cube was entirely beyond control.
The military is certain that Savage Wolf is seeking the cube because during the battle between the Justice League and Savage Wolf, they discovered that this monstrous figure was incredibly powerful beyond imagination. Even combined, the strong superpower users of the Justice League could not defeat him. Thus, among all items in the Red House, only the cube would be of value to him.
Another piece of evidence backing this claim is the fact that, during the final beach battle, Savage Wolf showed particular interest in Victor, making two consecutive attempts to capture him. Victor was fused with the cube, proving that Savage Wolf was indeed looking for the cube.
The higher-ups have long known the cube is an extraterrestrial artifact, accidentally lost on Earth, and the aliens will very likely come looking for it. When Savage Wolf's ship arrived, it could not possibly go unnoticed by them, so the ship's final stopping place would be considered by the higher-ups as Savage Wolf and the cube's origin.
Of course, the Justice League eventually boarded the ship, but because Bruce had Victor hack all surrounding cameras and similar devices, the higher-ups were unaware that the Justice League got on the ship.
From their perspective, the sequence of events was as follows: Savage Wolf was defeated by Batman, after which, seeing things not in their favor, the accomplices on the ship prepared to flee. When the ship took off, it caused electronic interference, during which time, no footage was captured on cameras. Once the interference ended, both the ship and the Justice League were gone.
Their main concern was not where the Justice League went, but rather, the ship's departure causing electronic interference—was it because they had guilty consciences?
After all, Earth is not far from Mars, and this spacecraft looks so advanced, it's just a matter of stepping on the gas. If there's no interference, they might find out that the spacecraft went to Mars. Doesn't that make sense?
Moreover, many high-ranking officials also know that Amazon has some tricks, they're not ordinary humans. Amazon even came forward to say that Mars people have once visited Earth, which makes the matter almost true.
Even though the spacecraft in the mural and the one that Superman punched and exploded look similar, it should logically belong to Superman's hometown. But who says Superman's hometown can't be Mars?
Most people only know that Superman is an alien, but they do not have the ability to investigate which planet he specifically came from.
Ultimately, the human race is still a weak Earth Surface Civilization, and the means to explore the cosmos are too limited. The Federation's only person who could be called an expert has been driven away by them. This resulted in their inability to prove that the spacecraft in the North Pole, the alien Superman, the spacecraft Superman punched and exploded, the aliens who once descended upon Ancient Egypt, the spacecraft in near-Earth orbit, the spacecraft Savage Wolf rode in, and the cube do not all come from the same planet.
In their view, these things all came from one Alien Civilization with super advanced technology. Compared to Krypton, which doesn't even have a trace, the evidence is clearer with Mars, where they directly captured colossal cities.
Of course, some people noticed that the small Escort Ship that got punched and exploded, resembling a giant Squid, and the large spacecraft hovering over Mars City have a slightly different style.
But the problem is, this small Escort Ship, the spacecraft in the North Pole, and the Krypton Main Ship in near-Earth orbit all have different styles.
The Squid Escort Ship looks like a bionic spaceship, the North Pole spacecraft looks like a flying saucer, the Krypton Main Ship resembles the Millennium Falcon while Savage Wolf's spacecraft has a minimalist style, and none of these aligns with each other.
Not to mention, Superman looks like an ordinary person, Doomsday resembles a mutated Ninja Turtle, Savage Wolf looks like a yak with essence, and Type Demon is a hybrid of biomechanical modifications. These so-called alien beings do not look alike at all, so judging if something came from the same planet based on style doesn't work.
After all, humans come in several colors, and the country's buildings and creations have very different styles. Who's to say outer planets don't have several countries, with very distinct appearances as well? Therefore, it's not reasonable to use different styles as evidence they don't come from the same planet.
In fact, when the photos of Mars City were exposed, it only caused a stir among the public, the upper echelon had a few meetings, and then it was left unresolved.
After all, they are used to this kind of thing. The Krypton Main Ship is still parked in near-Earth orbit, yet it doesn't stop the Capitol Building from continuing to argue over voting issues. As long as the aliens don't invade, they remain unbothered.
What truly added fuel to the fire was the day a completely "Martian" Space Station was launched into the sky.
Once this thing was launched, it hung out with the International Space Station, visible from the windows of the International Space Station, looking like something that defies the laws of physics and resembles a telescope.
This made the high-ups restless, what does this mean? It means Mars people have already infiltrated! Otherwise, how would an odd thing that screams Alien Civilization be launched from Earth?!
Even if aliens attack from outside, the Justice League will be there to hold up the sky. Savage Wolf was so strong, but wasn't he ultimately taken down by Batman? With one punch forming the world's largest trench, what alien invasion should Earth fear?
What really troubled them is that now is a crucial time to decide whether to revote!
To politicians, the alien invasion, Earth's destruction, and Mars City are not as important as getting re-elected.
And now you claim Mars people infiltrated among us, does that mean Mars people are voting? Are Mars people counting the votes? Are Mars people the ones stopping a revote?
No matter if you are a Mars person or not, as long as you are against my interests, you must be a Mars person because Mars people do not have the legal right to vote and certainly cannot obstruct a revote. Just label the opposition as Mars people, and the goal can naturally be achieved.
Bruce's launch of the Mars Space Station was like a depth charge thrown into the Federation's political scene. For personal and party interests, politicians spontaneously launched a massive witch hunt, ranging from Congress to county councilors, engaging in denunciations and counter-denunciations, hunting and being hunted, battling fiercely with no compromise.
In just a week, the entire upper echelon of the Federation seemed to boil over.
Initially, it was only about mutual accusations and manipulating public opinion, but after the first murder case broke out, everything started spiraling toward chaos.
Clark Kent, who had just returned to Earth and was ordered by his editor to interview the Minister of Metropolis Municipal Planning and Management, looked incredulously at the corpse dropped in front of him, his hands shaking slightly holding the camera.
Someone is dead, and he is the only one in the room. The good news is, he's an alien, the bad news is, it's aliens being targeted.