Was Hal Jordan a bad guy? Of course not.
He merely suffered from a common ailment many young people experience: impulsiveness, narcissism, and arrogance.
Carol Ferris was his dream girl, whom he had secretly loved since childhood. However, she was taken by a scumbag, who stole her heart and soul. Hal, who wasn't even a backup, naturally couldn't stand by and watch.
The unfortunate truth was that the scumbag was too exceptional; he was even a legendary mob boss. Hal, fresh out of the military, had no way to compete with such a person. He could only draw circles in a corner, cursing the bastard to pee on his shoes, spill soup on himself, tear the toilet paper when wiping, fart out poop, and so on.
It was this mindset that led Hal Jordan to display an arrogant side when he received the Green Lantern ring.
Just like a fictional character who turns their life around, a poor boy who suddenly comes into wealth and marries a rich and beautiful woman, the Lantern ring gave him immense self-confidence. He felt capable of defeating his rival in love and, while he was at it, saving the citizens of Coast City who were being oppressed by the gang.
And then a series of events unfolded.
Many things in this world come with a price. The Young Master's gang was no charity organization. If you messed with their turf, they'd take your life. Losing three fingers and being covered in wounds was already considered light punishment.
Upon learning that his friend was going to see Luke Xiao, Tom immediately tried to stop him, but to no avail. He could only grit his teeth and go along.
The two arrived at the company, but Luke had already left. After some inquiries, they learned his address and quickly drove to the manor in the northern suburbs of Coast City.
The North Suburb Manor, also known as Billy Manor, was the most famous concentration of wealthy people in the world. Those who lived there were either celebrities or rich bosses.
The two stopped and started, dazzled by the various beautiful women on the street. It took them a long time to find Luke's residence.
Outside the villa stood several men in black, one of whom was Dio Clay. Seeing him, Hal instinctively trembled, and the dozens of knife wounds on his body faintly throbbed.
Dio also noticed the two unexpected visitors, took a few steps forward, and said in a deep voice,
"Hal Jordan! Who told you to come here?"
Hal rasped, "I need to see Luke Xiao."
"The young master is busy and doesn't have time for you."
Hal gritted his teeth and said forcefully, "I'm here to see him because of Hector Hammond. I have a way to deal with him. You're also citizens of Coast City; do you want to see that demon devour our city?"
Dio pondered in silence, while Tony Wu, standing nearby, spat and said disdainfully,
"Kid, last time we made an exception and spared your life; that was already the boss's mercy. Don't be ungrateful, now get lost."
With that, he waved his hand, and two of his subordinates stepped forward to grab Hal.
"I must see him! I have something very important to say! I must see him!"
Hal shouted towards the villa, "I know Hector's origin; he will devour everything, he will destroy the Earth! Come out, we must talk!"
"Luke Xiao, let me in!"
Tony sneered, about to kick the verbose fellow out, when the main door opened and Wang Hu walked out,
"The boss said to let him in."
Tony reluctantly retracted his right foot, muttering to himself that the guy was incredibly lucky.
Dio walked up to Hal, checked his body,
After confirming there were no dangerous items, he walked into the villa with him.
Passing through the corridor adorned with famous paintings, they immediately saw Luke leaning on the sofa, watching the news. After some time apart, he was still as calm and composed as ever, as if everything was within his grasp.
Looking at him now, and then at himself, Hal felt a surge of inexplicable sadness and indignation.
"Luke Xiao!"
Luke nodded slightly and said, "What do you want?"
Hal took a deep breath, suppressing the negative emotions in his heart, and said with a serious expression,
"I have important information about Hector; I can only discuss it with you alone."
Luke picked up his coffee, "Dio is not an outsider."
The implication was: talk if you want, otherwise get out.
Hal gritted his teeth and glared angrily at Dio, who curled his lips into an extremely mocking smile.
Hal had no choice but to say,
"Hector's power is not a superpower, but a yellow will from outer space, belonging to the emotional spectrum, one of the seven emotional forces..."
Luke raised his hand, "If you want to tell me about Parallax, the yellow impurity, and such, there's no need; I already know all of that."
Hal's face was filled with shock, "How is that possible? How could you know?"
This information came from the Green Lantern ring; it was knowledge transmitted to him by the ring. Logically, he was the only one on Earth who knew Hector's origin, unless... He didn't know what he was thinking, his lips trembled violently, his expression desolate and bewildered, like a little girl abandoned by her mother.
Luke said, "Is there anything else?"
Hal lowered his head, and after a long while, asked in a hoarse voice,
"How are you going to deal with him?"
"That's none of your business."
"I... I... I... I..." Hal was speechless, his cheeks gradually reddening. He summoned all his courage and said, "I can help you, as long as... as long as..."
"As long as you get the Lantern ring back, right!"
Luke shook his head in amusement. This guy must have had his head stuck in a door. He thought he could get the Green Lantern ring back with a few words. Did he think he was Zhuge Liang or Socrates?
The conversation could end here.
Luke waved his hand, and Dio immediately grabbed Hal's clothes. Without giving him a chance to speak, he directly threw him out of the villa.
The door closed, leaving the two men with complex expressions.
Tom sighed, "I knew it wouldn't work. Luke Xiao would never give you the ring back."
Hal said with a pale face, "I just wanted the ring back to save this city; I didn't mean to oppose him."
Tom remained silent, his gaze sweeping over his friend's right hand.
Only two of his five fingers remained, meaning he would never be able to fly again. Being a pilot was Hal's biggest dream. With his dream gone and his body crippled, how could such hatred be easily erased... After seeing Hal off, Dio returned to the living room,
"Young Master, how should we handle the mummy case? Many people have called, hoping for our protection, and ideally, for us to eliminate Hector and restore peace to the city."
Luke asked curiously, "Who called?"
"A total of over four hundred calls. Familiar neighbors, influential wealthy people with whom the gang has cooperative relationships, and so on. They are clearly frightened. Some even hope to temporarily take refuge at headquarters to avoid risk. Besides these, there were calls from Chief Hugo, friends from the police department, friends from the government, and friends from the FBI."
When mentioning the last sentence, Dio clearly emphasized his tone.
Luke smiled, "Do you think we should help?"
Dio nodded, "If we can step in now and take out Hector, the Young Master's gang's prestige will rise to a new level. By then, no one in Coast City, or even the entire Northwest region, will dare to have ideas about us."
"You're absolutely right."
Luke put down his teacup, "It's just not the right time."
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