Clark flew into the air bubble Arthur created, let out a long sigh, and said, "Sorry, I've gotten used to breathing."
Arthur laughed and said, "Me too. When I first learned to swim, I could even make myself choke on water, can you believe it?"
Clark also laughed, patted Arthur's arm, and said, "I'm not here for anything serious, just to remind you that hurting Diana, that kind of power is very strange. So far, only you don't have effective defense measures, so you have to be extra careful."
Arthur's expression turned a bit serious, and he said, "Is it really so powerful?"
Clark nodded and said, "I know you can perceive all changes in the ocean, but no one knows if that thing exists in the real world. When attacking you, it might not go through the seawater, so you have to be extremely careful."
Arthur pursed his lips and said, "I will. I heard you're looking for your ancestor's tomb?"
"That's right, I've been searching for the Tomb of Atlas. Honestly, the Earth's oceans hide too many secrets, and I even feel like I can find clues related to the Power of Death here."
"Do you think he came to Earth?"
"Hasn't everything been to Earth?" Arthur retorted, "I think the center of the cosmos should be moved to the Solar System. This place is practically the cosmos's must-compete territory. All sorts of strange things leave a fragment here, and they always end up falling into the sea."
Clark couldn't refute this, as it was indeed true. They'd witnessed quite a few strange things recently, and finding some God of Death fragments in the sea was not impossible.
"Then stay in the sea for now," Clark said, "For one, you'll have more resilience in the sea and might evade their ambush; for another, you might truly encounter some clues that help us better understand that mysterious God of Death."
Arthur nodded and led him to the palace, then said, "We've started collaborating with Amazon; soldiers from the Zebel Kingdom are fishing, and people are using special Water Magic to transport the freshest fish ashore. Just in time, you grew up inland, and Amazon also has many land tourists each year, mostly wealthy Middle Easterners. The seafood must suit their tastes. Come help us taste the dishes."
Clark nodded then said, "I happen to be a bit hungry. The burger joints in Metropolis have ridiculously small portions, a single-cheese burger not even half the size of my hometown's burger joint."
The two arrived at the palace restaurant, where a table was set with dishes that were clearly not in Atlantis style: various fried fish, stewed fish, pan-fried fish, and sashimi.
Clark grew up in inland areas, but he's been in Metropolis for quite a while. Although he can't afford high-end restaurants, he gets to eat plenty of seafood at company gatherings.
He speared dish after dish with a fork, giving very candid reviews: "This dish is good. Let me tell you, inland people love salmon because it's fatty yet tender, like not-too-greasy fatty meat. The fat can really neutralize the fishy smell. On the contrary, this dish is a bit fishy; probably due to too much lean meat and blood."
"How could it be?" Arthur picked up a fork, tasted it, pursed his lips, and said, "Isn't this the fresh flavor?"
Clark shook his head vigorously, saying, "Many of you from Seashore City find seafood quite fresh, but inland people think it's fishy. It's a taste developed from childhood, there's nothing you can do about it."
Clark tasted several more dishes, expressing his preferences. His suggestions were quite valuable because he's a thoroughbred American redneck farmer, Kansas State's eating habits do resemble those of the Middle East, with main dishes being various grilled meats, potatoes, and sausages.
Though Middle Eastern tycoons are used to all kinds of high-end seafood, what the Atlanteans catch is genuine deep, deep, deep sea seafood, and some flavors are indeed still too strong.
Clark's stomach is like a bottomless pit; he ate as much of his favorites as he could. This allowed Arthur to gauge the popularity of the dishes by the amount Clark left.
After some time, they basically decided on the main dishes. Clark still had work, so he bid farewell to Arthur. Before leaving, he repeatedly urged, "Never let your guard down, Arthur. Though there's no signal in Atlantis, Batman surely left plenty of surveillance equipment. If anything happens, just call out to Batman, and he'll surely come to help you."
Arthur felt amused but nodded nonetheless, then sent Clark out the door. But as soon as Clark left, Arthur felt a bit regretful—he forgot to remind Clark.
In the Justice League, he really isn't a very important figure. Though he successfully drove the Savage Wolf to the surface before, above the sea, he has no means, unqualified as an attacker.
Clark, however, is different. Although he hasn't officially joined the Justice League, he is now its spiritual leader and a hot global figure. If enemies target someone, it'll undoubtedly be him first; he's the one who should always be ready to call Batman for help.
Clark returned to the surface, flying towards the Presidential Palace. The route from the Metropolis Coast to the Presidential Palace is fixed, and Clark doesn't fly in circles, choosing the shortest path. He ascended and flew directly towards the Presidential Palace.
But halfway through, he felt something was off, though he couldn't pinpoint what. Just as he was about to inspect closely, he heard noises rising from below. Clark frowned. Though it's winter and cars easily slide, making everyone irritable, this much noise seemed excessive.
Below, dozens of people were shouting at each other. Clark felt this indeed impacted the city's image, so he decided to go down and mediate.
Upon descending, he saw four cars hit each other like a game of snooker, and three others followed along behind the cue ball, with one car 'potted' at the front.
Clark sighed. This chain reaction car accident was really unsolvable. When he flew down, everyone saw him, the arguments lessened somewhat, but it was clear they were still dissatisfied.
Clark still felt something was amiss around him, but seeing this group in front of him already starting to get physical, he had no choice but to pull them apart. After all, he couldn't let them fight here; otherwise, he'd end up on the front page of The Daily Planet.
"Stop arguing, stop arguing," Clark stepped forward to separate them, then said, "No one wants something like this to happen..."
"Who says!" One person excitedly pointed at his car and said, "I clearly had winter tires. If he hadn't hit me, I wouldn't have hit the car in front..."
"I had them too, it was the car behind me that hit me, why are you scolding me?"
"I was using chains! And I clearly avoided it, but you had to steer and hit me..."
"You hit me first!"
Clark helplessly sighed. By now, the traffic police and insurance company had arrived, but the accident was too complicated, making it hard to determine the main responsibility. However, without a clear determination, the insurance company was reluctant to compensate, leading to a tug-of-war here.
"Alright, alright, I'll talk to them, have them handle the claim quickly, and then I'll help you move the cars, okay?"
He said so, and the others had nothing more to say. So Clark went to negotiate with the police and insurance company. Everyone recognized he was the President, so the insurance company didn't dare to act superior in front of him, quickly clarifying responsibilities in preparation for starting the claims process.
Clark was about to start moving the cars when he suddenly heard a scream from the crowd. He turned to see that the owner of the truck had actually taken a little girl hostage!
The girl's family was stunned too. They were one of those involved in the four-car collision and hadn't even reacted when the child was taken. The girl's mother, holding her, screamed and was about to rush over but didn't dare upon seeing the kidnapper's sharp blade near her daughter's neck.
"No, no!! Tana!!!"
Clark became immediately enraged. How dare you do such a thing in front of me, you must not know the power of aliens!
Clark was ready to shoot a heat beam right away—of course, intending not to hit the person, but to force the kidnapper to move aside. His eyes were charging, but the little girl suddenly started crying loudly.
Clark halted his action. He feared scaring the little girl, so he pretended to step forward to mediate, extending his hand while slowly moving in that direction, saying, "Don't be impulsive! Don't be impulsive! Speak calmly!"
Before he finished speaking, he flashed behind the kidnapper with his super speed, fastest conceivable. He directly twisted the person's wrist, pinning him to the ground. The little girl ran back to her mother with all speed, looking tearfully this side.
Clark kept his gaze on the little girl, worried she might be hurt. Seeing her safely away, he breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up, and gestured to the police to come and take the kidnapper.
But just as he straightened up, the kidnapper made a reverse stab—a dagger plunged into Clark's chest.
Clark was stunned. He blinked, even his super brain was a bit stuck. His first reaction was: How dare you???
Normally, no criminal he's subdued dared to resist. Seeing this person seemed to teleport to pin you down, that arm felt like a hydraulic press, anyone with any sense wouldn't think of resisting, let alone stabbing with a knife.
But in the next second, he realized: The dagger actually went in? What about my Man of Steel???
He looked down and understood immediately. The dagger was green—isn't this Kryptonite? Previously, he had integrated Kryptonite's power, so now the dagger penetrated, but it didn't hurt at all, allowing him to daydream here.
No wonder he felt something was off earlier. After integrating with Kryptonite, he can vaguely sense Kryptonite around, but he'd never used this ability before, so he didn't realize what that strange feeling was. Plus, with the crowd arguing here, distracting his attention, he didn't realize someone on-site had Kryptonite.
Clark grabbed the kidnapper off the ground. Seeing the other person's panicked face, he realized this guy was just a tool, a desperate hireling. So he tossed him to the police.
Looking down at the dagger in his chest again, Clark realized the attacker's version might be somewhat outdated. But precisely because of this, it's a good opportunity to round them all up.
Clark immediately switched to a pained expression, as if dealing with the kidnapper earlier was just strong willpower. He leaned on the nearby car, half-kneeling, starting to cough constantly. To deceive the perpetrator, he even forced some blood out, today's burger and seafood wasted.
People around immediately started shouting, "Mr. President, Mr. President, how are you!!!"
"The President's been attacked, call an ambulance! Quickly call an ambulance!!"