President Ellis's resolute gaze swept across everyone present as he continued:
"We must pull ourselves together and return to our respective posts."
"I hope each of you will carry out your duties to the best of your ability, so that this national machine can operate at maximum speed and efficiency—because what we are facing is a crisis for all humanity."
As his words fell, a middle-aged man in the conference room suddenly raised his hand.
It was the Speaker of the Senate—Creson Rivers.
With Ellis's permission, Creson spoke at once:
"Mr. President, if you'll forgive my bluntness—have you informed that person?"
Ellis paused briefly, then immediately understood.
"You mean the Terminator?"
Creson nodded.
"Mr. President, what I'm about to say may sound unpleasant, but I don't believe Earth's current weapons are capable of dealing with those aliens."
"The war with the undersea civilization already proved this. Our weapons had very limited effect on them."
"If the Terminator hadn't intervened, I don't think we'd even be sitting here discussing this calmly right now."
"So if possible, we should contact him as soon as we can and ask for his assistance."
After the Speaker finished, the people present exchanged looks—then nodded in agreement.
It wasn't a matter of lacking confidence. America was still the most powerful military force on Earth.
But as the saying goes, the stronger you are, the more clearly you understand the gap between yourself and your enemy.
Ellis sighed inwardly.
How could he not want Lucas's help?
But when he had tried calling Lucas earlier, the call simply wouldn't go through.
He had then contacted Lucas's home and learned from Kara that Lucas had already left Earth—and would not be returning anytime soon.
However, even though Lucas was unavailable, Kara had given him a promise:
If the aliens truly threatened Earth's survival, she had a powerful friend who could help defend the planet.
Ellis looked around the room and said gravely:
"I know exactly what everyone here is thinking."
"But let me ask you this—since when did humanity begin choosing to rely on others?"
He suddenly slammed his fist onto the table.
"Every time a crisis appears, you immediately think about asking them to solve it for us! Then why are we spending billions every year on weapons research?"
"Why do we even maintain our armed forces?"
"And what are we here for?"
"If that's the case, I might as well resign right now and let someone else govern America!"
The conference room fell into complete silence.
No one dared provoke President Ellis—and more importantly, everyone had been forced into reflection.
Once proud and dominant, America now found itself shrinking in the face of extraterrestrial forces.
Seeing the troubled expressions on their faces, Ellis finally relaxed.
This was exactly what he wanted.
Only when they truly listened would they reflect.
Only when they reflected would they feel anger and frustration.
And only then would they show expressions like this.
"Humanity has come a long way—from primitive apes standing upright to the civilization we are today," Ellis continued.
"When we faced predators far stronger than ourselves—tigers, wolves, and beasts—what did we rely on?"
"Even if we lose, we must make those aliens understand this: Earth is not a planet that can be bullied at will!"
His words did not ignite blazing passion—but they successfully drove away the fear lingering in everyone's hearts.
---
Thirty minutes later
In geosynchronous lunar orbit, twelve Kryptonian ships came to a halt.
From Earth, they were more conspicuous than the stars—hanging in the sky like demons, gazing coldly at the world below.
Whether seen with the naked eye or through emergency broadcasts, the sight plunged humanity into terror.
Then, fifteen minutes later—
All wired signals across the entire planet were hijacked.
Televisions, computers, and mobile phones—all of them.
Every screen displayed the same black-and-white message:
"YOU ARE NOT ALONE."
The message repeated in every known human language.
Soon after, the face of General Zod appeared.
"Greetings, intelligent life of this planet."
"You may call me General Zod. I come from a world far removed from yours—Krypton."
"I have crossed the vast ocean of interstellar space to reach your planet."
"Once, one of our people lived among you and received your protection."
"Now, I demand that you return him to us."
"This individual concealed his identity for unknown reasons, hiding among your society under a false name."
"We resemble you closely—both in appearance and form—so it is unsurprising that you have not yet discovered him."
"But he is not one of you."
"To those who know his identity: the fate of your planet now rests in your hands."
"Kal-El, listen carefully."
"You have twenty-four hours to come to me."
"Otherwise, this planet will suffer my wrath—because of you."
The transmission cut off.
Power was restored.
Clark stared at the darkened screen and instinctively pulled Lois into an embrace.
Kara frowned deeply. A moment later, her phone rang.
"Clark?"
"Kara… you know who he is, don't you?"
Clark's voice had lost its usual warmth.
Kara took a deep breath.
"General Zod—former Supreme Military Commander of Krypton."
"He rebelled against the Council of Elders, was defeated by your father, and ultimately exiled to the Phantom Zone along with his followers."
Clark was silent for a moment before speaking again.
"So… the person he's looking for is me. Right?"
"Yes," Kara replied. "Because you carry the Codex."
"The Codex?" Clark asked, confused.
"The Codex—its full name is the Kryptonian Central Life Codex," Kara explained.
"It contains the genetic records of Krypton's finest bloodlines. All Kryptonians were born from the Codex's Genesis Chamber."
"Then where is it?" Clark pressed.
"It's inside you," Kara said.
"…What?" Clark froze.
"To be precise," Kara continued,
"your father converted the Codex into a particle sequence and embedded it into your body. The Codex exists within you."
Clark fell silent for a long time before asking:
"What do they want the Codex for?"
Kara answered quietly:
"To recreate Kryptonians… and restore Krypton's civilization."
_____
T/N:
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