"No, you're wrong, Lex, I'm not the sinner who opened Pandora's box, you are!"
Lionel grabbed Lex's arm and said, "That crystal from Egypt was originally stolen from me! My archaeological excavation team discovered the tomb, and then your people entered the tomb and plundered it at will."
After pushing Lex away, Lionel immediately moved to the desk in front of him, took out a pistol, and aimed it at Lex.
"I know you found a crystal in Egypt and also visited the Magic City in China. You now have two crystals in your hand; even if you lose one, you still have another. Yes, you're right, the last crystal is in my hand."
With the pistol in his hand, Lionel felt he had gained the upper hand in their confrontation. He looked at Lex, who was being pointed at by his pistol, shook his head, and said, "Three years ago, my archaeological team discovered a statue of the Mayan Rain God, with very strange symbols engraved on it."
As he spoke, he took out a fragment of the Mayan Rain God statue from a drawer and placed it on the table.
"My people found this statue fragment in the underwater ruins of Honduras. I sent countless people to search for things similar to the symbols that appeared in Smallville. These mysterious written symbols have appeared in Egypt, Central America, and in the caves of the Native Americans here."
Lionel's eyes flickered with complex light. "The fragment of the Mayan Rain God statue you see before you, I found a crystal inside it, and the ancient Mayan text on it means 'water.' Water is an element that can flow and merge with each other."
"And in Mayan prophecy, there are three crystals in this world, representing water, air, and fire. As long as the three crystals are combined, immense knowledge and treasure can be obtained! Coincidentally, legends in China and Egypt also mentioned that combining these three elements would grant people infinite power!"
Lionel tightened his grip on the pistol, aiming it at his son. "Lex, give me the crystal representing air that you have."
Being pointed at by his father with a pistol, Lex showed no signs of panic. With a look of disdain in his eyes, he shook his head and sarcastically said to Lionel, "You would point a pistol at your son for some ethereal legends. Ambition and selfishness are already written all over your face!"
"I have no choice!"
Lionel's complex gaze fixed on his son. "I've been diagnosed with liver cancer, and in one month, my liver will fail. If clinging to life is a sin, then the crime I commit will surely be forgiven by God, for the struggle to survive, the hymns sung for life, are all sincere means of praising life."
Hearing Lionel say he had liver cancer, Lex froze, a look of shock appearing in his eyes.
"When?"
"Perhaps not long ago, perhaps a long time ago, Lex, we are father and son, it shouldn't have come to this!"
A hint of warmth appeared in Lionel's eyes. "As long as you give me the crystal you possess, I can be saved and gain new life. I haven't told any lies; if you investigate thoroughly, you'll know what I say is true. We have an unbreakable blood relationship. I don't believe you would just stand by and watch me die!"
"Is that so?"
Lex hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
"I will give you the only crystal I have, not for any gain, but purely for the little remaining family affection between us."
"I knew you would make the right choice, Lex."
Lionel smiled slightly at Lex, put down the pistol, and prepared to shake hands with his son.
Lex hesitated for a moment, seeing that his father had already put down the pistol and seemed to be reconciling with him, and finally chose to trust his father.
"Clap!"
Their hands clasped tightly.
"You know, Lex, looking back on my life, there are many things I regret, but there's one thing I've never regretted, and that is—"
Lionel held Lex's right hand, looked into his eyes, and said, "I love you!"
Lex was about to say something when he suddenly felt a pain in his right hand.
A drop of blood flowed from where their hands met, down the gap between their palms.
His finger had been cut somehow!
Utterly astonished, he looked up at his father, "You—what did you do?"
"I love you, Lex, but I have no choice! I'm sorry!"
Lionel shook his head slightly, giving Lex an apologetic look.
"Ugh!"
Lex immediately felt a sharp pain assault him.
It felt as if his soul was being torn out by an invisible hand!
This unbearable agony, like intense pain rising from the depths of his soul.
The tearing, as if his soul was being ripped apart, made him unable to help but cry out in pain.
At the same time, a strong gust of wind generated in the place where the two were.
His consciousness was being pulled, as if entering a pitch-black sea of consciousness, unable to move.
When he came to, he found himself standing in the position where Lionel had been sitting.
And Lionel was sitting opposite him.
No!
It shouldn't be said that Lionel was sitting opposite, but rather "himself"—Lex—was sitting opposite.
Lex, utterly shocked, extended his hand.
He found that his hand had become the hand of an old man, somewhat aged.
Still somewhat disbelieving, he turned to face the mirror.
After seeing himself in the mirror, he was completely stunned!
He had become his father, Lionel, and Lionel had become him!
In other words, the two had completed a soul swap?
His soul had entered Lionel's body, and from then on, he possessed a dying body; while Lionel's soul had occupied his body, and from then on, he possessed a young body.
But how was this possible?
Lex stared in shock at "himself" opposite him.
Lionel, after the soul swap, was also very shocked. He extended his hands and looked at his young, unwrinkled hands, showing a look of astonishment.
"Incredible! I always thought it was just a legend, but I didn't expect it to actually come true. The 'flow' of water really did achieve a soul swap."
"What did you do to me?"
Lex, with Lionel's face, stood up angrily and questioned his father.
"Just as I said before, Lex, our two souls have swapped. I'm sorry, I need to temporarily use your body to do some things."
Lionel, now occupying Lex's body, stood up and said without any apology, "The result of our body swap is that we can experience each other's lives. I want to experience the difficulties of being a father; this should be a good life exchange for you."
"You despicable fellow, how could you do such a vile thing!"
Lex angrily opened the drawer, preparing to pull out a pistol.
But Lionel quickly got up, pounced on him, and choked his neck.
At this moment, Lionel had become Lex, with a young body and swift, powerful movements, while Lex's body, whose soul had been swapped, was that of a frail, sick old man, so his movements were not as fast as the other's, and his neck was directly choked.
"Now, hand over the other crystal you have, Lex, or I'll snap your neck like a twig."
Lionel threatened Lex viciously.
"Alright, then kill me!"
"You!"
Lionel saw that Lex showed no sign of backing down, and shook his head.
Finally, he released Lex's neck, pushed him to the ground, and taking the pistol from the drawer, quickly walked out.
Watching his own body disappear like that, Lex, lying on the ground, reached out, trying to grab the other.
But in the end, he could only helplessly drop his hand. His body had now become Lionel's body, and this shock and panic, coupled with the physical pain, caused him to pass out.
At the same time, the instant the crystal in Lionel's hand touched blood, hundreds of miles away, an astronomical observatory suddenly detected an incredible scene on its radar.
Staff at the University of Kansas's astronomical observation department suddenly found that the detection radar was issuing a warning.
After observing the information provided by the radar, the staff immediately called their superior.
"Professor Wellington, the right ascension seems a bit unusual."
Professor Wellington walked over and looked at the radar image, discovering a large area of meteorites appearing in near-Earth orbit.
"How long has this phenomenon been ongoing?"
Wellington, putting on his glasses, asked the staff.
"Not long at all. Everything was normal ten seconds ago. I don't know what happened."
Upon hearing the staff's reply, a shocked and incomprehensible expression appeared on Wellington's face.
"How could this be? Such a large-scale meteorite impact shouldn't occur for no reason; something we don't know about must have happened. And the meteorites are very likely to impact Earth."
A grave expression flashed in Wellington's eyes. "Immediately call and notify the Metropolis government."
After instructing the staff, his eyes fell on the computer screen, which marked the possible impact location—a certain area in Kansas. Wellington shook his head.
In Smallville, Eric had just returned to the farm from school when he met Jenny and Bart.
"Hey, Eric."
Bart greeted Eric, "I heard you're graduating. Are you planning to leave Smallville?"
"No matter where I am, I can be back here in seconds, if I wish."
Eric asked him, "Haven't you been staying at the Justice Society Headquarters lately?"
"That's right, but it's still a bit regrettable that I can't go to college with you."
Bart looked at the newly built house on the farm, saying with a hint of melancholy.
The newly built house in front of him was constructed with his super-speed assistance, so he felt an unusual sense of familiarity looking at it.
"My current courses are still a bit hard to keep up with, but Bart keeps suggesting I skip grades, preferably to follow you, teacher, into college. But I don't think I can keep up with the pace once I enter college."
Jenna Scott, Alan's daughter, who could only use her Green Lantern ring to emit light wave attacks, said to Eric, clutching her schoolbag.
Looking at the two chattering individuals in front of him, Eric suddenly thought of Jonathan's concern about farm labor.
And wasn't Bart the best free labor right in front of him?
Washing dishes and cleaning took less than ten seconds, and building a house with his help took less than a week.
He was simply the best labor to replace himself and Clark.
And Jenna, her cooking skills were praised even by his mother.
Thinking of this, Eric turned his gaze to the two of them. "If Clark and I leave the farm, you two should move in."
"Move in?"
Both of them were stunned.
"Since neither of you has a home, it's not impossible to temporarily consider this place home."
Eric said, then turned and walked towards the farm. A car quickly drove up behind him.
The car stopped in front of them, and a flustered Louise Lane anxiously got out.
"Something's happened!"
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