Three items were placed on the table.
"A key, a passcode, and a program lock!"
Luke spread his hands, making the most sincere invitation.
"From now on, the Grand Journey is ours."
Linda's head was spinning; it took her a while to come back to her senses.
"You... you..."
"What about me?"
Luke had a calm smile on his face. "I didn't use torture, nor did I coerce him. General Zod willingly gave them to me to save his subordinates' lives. I have to say, he's truly a great man!"
Linda gritted her teeth, feeling inexplicably annoyed.
"Luke Shaw, you're going too far. Zod is a Kryptonian general, after all. You can kill him, but you can't humiliate him."
"I didn't humiliate him. You saw it yourself; it was just a negotiation. Both sides sat at opposite ends of the table, engaging in a battle of wits and psychology. Who wins and who loses depends on their brains."
"I was lucky enough to discern General Zod's weakness early on, while he didn't understand my intentions."
"As for the methods used in the process: asking for the moon, bargaining, feinting, coaxing and deceiving, and so on—these are all indispensable tactics."
At this point, Luke suddenly sighed, "A few days ago, when I was studying Kryptonian knowledge, I learned a lot about your reproductive mechanism. I have to admit, controlled reproduction is beneficial for civilization's development. People's futures are defined at birth, and with a certain amount of learning, they can become useful talents for society."
"Unfortunately, after interacting with General Zod, I changed my original thoughts. He is a warrior, destined to be one even before he was born. And the warrior's mindset is diametrically opposed to the merchant's mindset; the stronger one is, the weaker the other becomes. In the era of Kryptonian civilization's prosperity, this approach was not wrong. On the contrary, due to clear division of labor and coordinated operations, efficiency soared.
But once civilization declines, the weaknesses of controlled reproduction will be infinitely magnified. Just like Zod, he is a brave and fearless warrior, and he can only be a warrior!"
Linda sneered. A native of a low-level civilization actually dared to evaluate the high-level civilization of Krypton. Childish!
Luke saw through her thoughts and chuckled, "What, not convinced?"
"If you hadn't threatened him with the lives of his companions, he wouldn't have fallen for it. Kryptonian soldiers value honor above all else and would never sacrifice their comrades to save their own lives. You don't understand anything at all."
"Perhaps!"
Luke shrugged, too lazy to argue.
"In any case, my part is done. The rest is up to you. Whether to kill or release them is your decision. And the Grand Journey, I need its materials to repair the Phantom Suit. You must help me then."
With that, Luke got up and left.
Linda pondered for a moment, then gave an order to the intelligent butler.
"Send three robot guards to the Grand Journey to check its defense system. If there are no problems, take control of it."
"Understood, Kara."
"I need to confirm one last time. Do you really want to seize the Grand Journey from General Zod?"
Linda nodded silently.
The butler AI said no more. Following the command, it dispatched three intelligent robots, designed for hacking, to the Grand Journey. With the passcode and program lock, they quickly took control of the Grand Journey's central system.
Subsequently, Linda boarded the spaceship and injected her genetic information into the central system. From this moment on, the Grand Journey was no longer Dru-Zod's spaceship; it belonged solely to Kara Zor-El.
After doing all this, she turned and went to the underground prison.
Dru-Zod was inside, along with other Kryptonian soldiers.
Linda looked at them, and they looked back at the girl with the same gaze. They were silent, and the atmosphere was heavily oppressive.
Dru-Zod let out a strange laugh, his cold tone mixed with a faint hint of sarcasm.
"A child of the House of El, conspiring with alien natives to harm your own kind. Your father, though a softy,
fought for Krypton until his last breath. If he knew his daughter was a traitor, I wonder what he would think."
Linda retorted angrily, "If you hadn't tried to overthrow the council and establish a military dictatorship, Krypton wouldn't have perished so quickly."
Zod closed his eyes. Though his hands and feet were bound, he still raised his head proudly.
"I will not explain anything to the ignorant. The people of the House of El are not worthy to stand before me."
The other eight also closed their eyes, their faces showing undisguised contempt.
That scorn stung the girl. She wished she could chop them into pieces and throw them into a fish pond to feed the fish.
Villains! All villains!
You were the ones who struck first. Ambushing me was one thing, but you also tried to occupy the Fortress of Solitude. After failing, you didn't apologize, and then you acted superior and called me a traitor.
How could you do that!
You're blaming me for your mistakes. Do you expect me to just surrender and let you do as you please?
Bad people, all bad people!
Worse than Luke Shaw, at least he wouldn't bully me.
Tears welled up in the girl's eyes. The actions of her compatriots broke her heart. She had gone to great lengths to return to Krypton, hoping to find survivors and offer as much help as possible, never expecting to encounter something like this.
Linda wiped away her tears, her expression becoming serious.
"Since you don't want to talk, then so be it. Out of kinship, I won't kill you. I will exile you to a space station. Whether you survive or not depends on your luck."
Soon, the robot guards seized the nine individuals and threw them out like garbage.
The Grand Journey docked with the Fortress of Solitude, their external passages connecting to form a single, independent spaceship, then vanished like a streak of light.
In the space station, the Kryptonians who witnessed this scene gritted their teeth, filled with extreme unwillingness. That damned daughter of El, those damned Earthlings, they actually stole their spaceship! That was Krypton's last remaining medium-sized warship!
"Lex Luthor!"
Edwin roared, punching a metal door.
"General!"
Faora looked at Zod with concern. After this series of blows, everyone's confidence was severely shaken.
Zod raised his hand. "This is a war. If we lose, we must bear the consequences. There's nothing to explain. But..." His hawkish eyes swept over the crowd. Wherever they landed, the Kryptonian soldiers straightened their backs.
"As long as we live, as long as the golden key is in our hands, Krypton has a future. Remember that man, Lex Luthor. Remember that name. One day, we will conquer Earth, and rebuild Kryptonian civilization on the corpses of countless Earthlings. And Lex Luthor will witness it all, becoming a sacrifice for the new era."
"Krypton will never perish!"
Everyone saluted, saying in unison, "Krypton will never perish!"
Just then, the soldier in charge of medical work rushed over.
"General, it's... it's bad!"
"The key, the key is gone!"
Zod's face changed drastically, and he rushed to the secret room.
The dilapidated room seemed to have been hit by a bomb. On the central counter, the key that should have been glowing golden was gone.
"Why did this happen?"
"Who, who took the key?"
Zod mumbled to himself, his face a mix of green and red. He spat out a mouthful of clotted blood, then fell backward to the ground, unconscious. Before losing consciousness, he was still muttering Lex Luthor's name, his hatred so deep it was moving.