General Achir stepped back two steps. The feeling of having just walked along the edge of death and then stepping back again made his heart pound wildly.
He was not unfamiliar with this feeling, he had simply forgotten it.
When he was still a soldier, during a battle overseas, a bomb once landed right beside his feet.
Fortunately, it was a dud.
The feeling he had at that time was just like what he felt now.
Just moments ago, when that target suspected to be a Kryptonian fired lasers similar to Superman's, sweeping through and clearing the army on the highway, as the beams were about to sweep across him, the general had already prepared himself to die in the line of duty.
At that very moment, a shadow descended from the sky and blocked that dazzling and scorching light for him.
Right now, that brilliance like the midday sun was fading.
This allowed the general to see a red cape fluttering in the heat waves like flames.
A tall figure stood in front of him like a mountain, bringing him an endless sense of security.
"Superman?", The general could hardly believe it. After the explosion during the hearing, Superman had disappeared without a trace.
People thought he had grown tired of everything. No one expected that now he would appear again.
He was back.
"General."
Clark turned his head and nodded lightly. Then he looked toward the black figure in the sky, a figure that showed no restraint at all, instead appearing arrogant and flamboyant.
"Are you a Kryptonian?"
Clark looked at the hands that had just blocked the "heat vision." A faint red mark flickered on the suit and was slowly fading.
Then Superman raised his head and flew up into the sky, rising until he reached the same height as Alex.
Clark's eyes glowed faintly red as he scanned the black figure opposite him.
Alex immediately sensed something unusual. At once he also threw an "Insight" toward Clark.
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[Name: Clark Kent (Superman)]
[Life Level: Level 5 (Extraordinary)]
[Status: Normal]
[Talents: Heat Vision, Body of Steel, Bio-Force Field, Super Speed, Super Strength, Super Brain.]
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[Your "Insight +1" proficiency is full.]
[It has now upgraded to "Insight +2".]
'Well damn!'
'Just one look and it leveled up?'
'As expected of Superman, he's the same level 5 lifeform as me.'
'His talents are almost exactly the same too.'
'As far as I know, the Superman of this universe is still in his growth stage. He's far from his absolute peak yet.'
'No wonder he's DC's favorite child. Truly impressive!'
While Alex was feeling emotional about it, he was also eager to try. He wanted to know which of them was stronger, himself or Superman.
After all, he was not the Homelander from the original story of The Boys anymore. The current him was much stronger than the original.
And fighting against an evenly matched opponent should make talent proficiency rise very quickly.
On the other side, Clark felt a wave of discomfort, as if the man across from him had already seen through him completely.
He frowned, "Answer my question."
Alex let out a laugh, "I don't think I have any obligation to answer any questions, Mr. Justice."
"Besides, I'm very surprised."
"After something like that happened, you still protect humanity."
"Haven't you ever felt disappointed in them?"
Clark glanced down toward the ground, then said, "My father once told me that there are still many beautiful things in this world."
"So I believe that just because we see darkness doesn't mean we should stop believing in light."
Alex raised his eyebrows slightly and nodded, "In that regard, I admire you. Really."
"Tolerance. I mean true tolerance. That also requires enormous courage."
"After all, believing that light still exists within that terrible darkness is as difficult as searching for an unpolluted flower in a sewer full of rats."
"I can't do that anyway, so I could never become you."
"Of course, I don't want to become you either."
Clark frowned, "Who exactly are you?"
Alex placed his hands on his waist and laughed, "That's not important."
"You can just think of me as a traveler passing by."
Clark said in a deep voice, "Then you're a very dangerous traveler."
He glanced down at the highway below, where flames were still burning, vehicles lay overturned, and soldiers were crying out in pain.
"You went too far."
Alex shook his head with a smile.
"When you say 'too far,' do you mean those guys planned to use lethal force on me and then got counterattacked?"
"I don't think that's going too far. I prefer to call it… a lesson."
"A rather profound lesson."
"It hurts a lot, but it helps you remember your mistakes."
"Just like when you did something wrong as a kid and your father hung you up and whipped you."
Clark shook his head.
"My father never did something that barbaric."
He continued, "You should know that their attacks couldn't harm you at all."
"Mosquitoes can't harm me either, but that doesn't stop me from hating the buzzing sound they make in my ear. And it certainly doesn't stop me from slapping them flat."
Alex said this with a bright smile, even making a gesture of a mosquito flapping its wings.
Clark shook his head, "They're just afraid. Afraid that you'll hurt them."
"With power like ours, we should use it to guide them, not to create fear."
Alex made a "stop" gesture with his hand.
"Wait! Wait!"
"Listen to me, Mr. Justice."
He gave Superman a thumbs-up.
"I admire you a lot, really."
"At the same time, I'm not against your idea of educating these monkeys."
"You want to guide them? No problem."
"You want to become someone they rely on? Totally fine."
"Everything you're doing right now might be exactly what your father hoped for."
"You became the kind of person your father wanted you to be. A saint."
"Yes, that's right."
"All of that is completely fine."
"But don't apply it to me. Please don't force your views onto me."
Clark's brows tightened even more, "So then, sir, what are your views?"
"And what are your principles?"
"Me?", Alex showed a friendly smile, "I'm actually very simple. Not complicated at all."
"My principle is not being bound by anyone's views."
"I do whatever I want!"
Clark's brows gradually relaxed, but his fists slowly clenched.
"Do whatever you want?"
"Not bound by any views?"
"Sir, your thinking is very dangerous."
"Especially since you also possess the powerful strength that can fully support you in practicing those principles."
Alex spread his hands, "So what?"
Clark's eyes slowly lit up, "So I think it's necessary for you to be restrained."
"Otherwise, you're a disaster."
"A person who will bring catastrophic destruction to this land."
Alex placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly, "Thanks for the compliment."
"But that's exactly where your problem lies."
"Mr. Justice, I haven't even caused any real destruction."
"And yet you've already defined my nature."
"And you want to restrain me."
Clark's eyes glowed with flowing red light.
"I think that's very necessary."
"Besides, after what you did to the army, don't you think you've lost the right to say you haven't caused any real destruction?"
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