While Luke was having a conversation with the Kryptonian commander Faora back in Metropolis, Clark had an argument with his agent, Lex.
"Uncle said Zod can't hurt your parents; he was just making verbal threats."
Lex rubbed his temples and tried to persuade him.
"Who can guarantee that he won't do it?"
Clark paced back and forth.
Showing anxiety.
He didn't have a girlfriend yet.
So, for Superman...
The most important thing on Earth was his adoptive parents.
At the thought of them falling into General Zod's hands and most likely being mistreated or beaten...
Clark simply found it agitating and unsettling.
"You should trust Uncle's judgment."
Lex grimaced; he had a whole lot on his hands too.
About that amazing battle a few hours ago...
The White House had called several times, and the Pentagon had sent troops to surround Vought Enterprise's building.
The top brass of the federal government couldn't wait to meet with Superman and get a definitive answer.
The giant spaceship hovering in orbit, the Kryptonians who fought the planes with their bare hands ...
These were like ticking time bombs that could detonate at any moment.
No one would like it when the room they lived in was littered with explosive mines.
"Of course, I believe Luke! But ... I'm more afraid of mishaps."
Clark scratched his head like he had severe insomnia.
He was obviously sleepy but couldn't lie down because his work hadn't been completed.
He had been waiting for Luke to make his move, but 2 hours had passed, and there was still no word from his older cousin.
"So, what are you going to do?"
Lex's eyes flickered for a moment as if he wanted to say something, but he eventually swallowed it.
"Reach out to Zod and make sure my family is safe!"
Clark seemed determined. He looked at Lex and begged, "Lex, I need your help!"
"Okay, so what am I supposed to do? Or rather, what do you want me to do?"
Lex thought for a moment and helplessly asked.
"Send a message to Zod's spacecraft."
Clark gazed at the shadows reflected in the floor-to-ceiling windows and spoke in a deep voice.
...
...
Twenty minutes later, on the empty and desolate yellow sands of the Gobi, Clark quietly stood.
The message sent by Lex was soon answered by General Zod.
The latter demanded that Clark come aboard and have a face-to-face conversation.
It sounded dangerous, and it wasn't a wise decision to go into a tiger's den all by himself.
But Superman, who had defeated Kryptonian warriors, didn't think twice about agreeing to it.
He was still a 17-year-old boy, far from mature and calm.
In the distant sky, a flying machine flew low, overhead, at great speed, kicking up a storm of sand and dust.
Clark narrowed his eyes as the flying object landed. It looked like a beetle.
The whole body was black, with a biomimetic structure.
The elegance of the design implied a savage style that was completely different from Earth's civilisation.
The hatch opened, the hovering ladder was lowered, and two Kryptonian warriors in black armour emerged from it.
One of them, revealing his face, spoke, "Kal-El, Jax-Ur? Greetings on behalf of General Zod."
"Are you alone?"
Clark nodded. His older cousin was interrogating the two Kryptonian captives, while Lex wouldn't be of any use.
He thought that he could solve the problem alone.
Jax-Ur didn't say anything.
He took a deep look at Clark and then led him into the flying machine.
He didn't ask about Commander Faora, who had been captured alive, or the whereabouts of the other Kryptonian warriors.
The Growth Codex was the most important thing, and the others could be put aside for now.
All the Kryptonians loyal to General Zod were once part of the inner circle of those who followed the other party in his coup and led the resistance in its attempt to overthrow Krypton's corrupt rule.
After their failure, they were exiled together to the Phantom Zone, where they spent endless hours in darkness.
It wasn't until the destruction of Krypton that they were liberated.
When they awoke from their hibernation chamber, all they saw was the remains of Krypton's destruction.
An icy meteorite belt was floating in the void, and their home was gone.
With everyone disheartened by the massive blow, it was General Zod who lifted everyone's spirits and led the way in getting them to modify their light speed propulsion engines and leave that deathly silent area.
"General Zod is looking forward to this meeting."
Jax-Ur looked at the young Clark and whispered.
Their former homeland was destroyed, and the splendid civilisation was dust.
In the vast and endless expanse of the dark space, there are very few fellow Kryptonians.
Boom!
The beetle craft abruptly took to the air, drawing a blurred streak in the sky.
It quickly broke through the atmosphere and rushed out of the blue planet.
"Here we are."
Jax-Ur released his seatbelt, the craft slowed down, and docked with the giant spaceship.
They walked through the lower bay and entered the wide chamber.
Clark followed Jax-Ur's footsteps to the empty bridge.
The strong back in black armour stood alone on the semicircular observation deck.
Below them, there was a huge celestial body with beautiful vitality.
"This is General Zod, our leader."
Jax-Ur, the Thinker, said with a tone of respect.
'So powerful ...'
Clark looked at the other man and thought so.
General Zod exuded a terrifying aura, like an active volcano in silence, giving rise to palpitations.
"What are you going to talk about? Threatening me with my family or surrounding me? To use such a trick as kidnapping is really a despicable move!"
Pulling back his distractions, Clark asked in a cold voice.
"How dare you! How dare you disrespect the General!"
The Kryptonian warriors surrounding the perimeter were furious and shouted their rebuke in unison.
In their minds, General Zod was a great leader who led them to rebuild their homeland, and no one was allowed to disrespect him.
"Jax-Ur, let us excuse Kal's rudeness; he isn't familiar with Kryptonian etiquette yet."
General Zod stopped everyone's angry rebuke and spoke in a deep and powerful voice, "We have welcomed in a new compatriot, which is worth celebrating. Don't engage in useless quarrels."
Clark's face looked expressionless, but his Super Vision was sweeping the ship.
It seemed to be severely restricted, unable to penetrate the cabin walls.
"I ..."
Clark was about to say something when an extremely strong feeling of discomfort suddenly came over him.
The sounds around him were louder and garbled as if a mass of sharp noise was irritating his eardrums.
His eyesight gradually blurred, and the light deflated into a hazy landscape.
A feeling of weakness overcame his body.
"I'm ... a little queasy."
Clark struggled to speak as if he had been drained of his strength.
As if facing the radiation of kryptonite, his body swayed; he stood unsteadily and fell violently to the ground.
As he watched the son of his late friend fall to his knees before him, with the slightest hint of blood still dripping from his lips, Zod's mouth could not help but sarcastically smile, "You have spent a long time adapting to the environment on Earth, and now you're unable to accept your home planet's environment."
"Kal, the only way to get rid of this pain is to rely on your own will and strength. No one can help you."
Clark could no longer hear Zod's voice. The strange, unfamiliar atmosphere was nearly suffocating him.
The weakness came in torrents like a tidal wave, and Superman collapsed onto the cold metal floor. His groggy senses slowly sank into darkness.
...
...
When Clark opened his eyes again, he found himself on a farm in Kansas.
This was the place where he grew up. Everything was so familiar.
"Hello, Kal, maybe you prefer me to call you Clark."
The sound of Zod's voice startled the bewildered Clark.
He slowly stood up and looked around.
He was sure that this was the farm in Kansas, the warm home in his memories.
"I was the military leader of Krypton, and your father was the chief scientist of our planet. He was a very good man with an extraordinary vision."
"The only thing we agreed on was the imminent destruction of Krypton."
"I, at the time, tried to stop this from happening and preserve the flame of Kryptonian civilisation but was rewarded with my banishment to the Phantom Zone, a dead place in the universe, with my men!"
Zod faced the son of his late friend as if he was seeing Jor-El again.
The man who tried to protect Krypton, like him.
It's just that in the end, they each chose different paths.
"The destruction of Krypton set me free. We were supposed to drift in the wreckage of the planet until we died, but we weren't willing to do that!"
Zod lamented.
He and his men had fallen into despair.
However, the gods looked after Krypton and gave them a chance to survive.
"How did you find Earth?"
Clark asked with a frown.
He couldn't understand how Zod's group had come to Earth.
Across the vastness of the universe, with no clear coordinates or location.
Finding this blue planet was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"We modified the thrusters of the vessel to travel at the speed of light. It's a similar modification that your father made to get you to Earth."
"The tool that once imprisoned us ended up saving us. I have to say, it was luck."
A complex look swept through Zod's eyes as he continued.
"We searched the old colony outposts for signs of life but found nothing."
"They had been abandoned after losing contact with Krypton. We took all available resources, armour, weapons, and the World Engine ... It took 33 years. Until a distress signal was detected not long ago."
"You brought us here, Kal."
General Zod gazed at Clark with eager eyes, like a traveller in a dark night seeing the light of a lamp.
"Now, you have the power to save our race. All unborn children on Krypton, with their genetic make-up written in a citizen archive, that is the 'Growth Codex'."
"Your father stole it and hid it on you."
Clark was a little confused. He didn't know his true identity at all.
Then, he subconsciously asked, "Why did my father steal the Growth Codex?"
"Because in that way, Krypton can be reborn on Earth!"
A flash of frenzy rose in Zod's eyes as he waved his hand, and a behemoth fell from the sky.
With three huge metal brackets, it stood on Earth, and a dazzling beam of energy spewed out from its centre.
The ground violently shook, creating a huge cloud of smoke and dust, destroying Clark's familiar farmhouse!
Superman, who witnessed the scene, seemed to understand what was going on.
"Tell me, Kal, where is the Growth Codex?"
Zod asked in a stern voice, in the middle of a scene that seemed like an apocalypse.
"If Krypton is reborn, what will happen to Earth?"
Clark asked.
"The birth of civilisation has always been on top of ruins. Even your father understood this."
Zod's voice seemed cold.
He was Kryptonian...
Naturally, he wouldn't care if Earth was destroyed.
For General Zod, rebuilding his home was the only reason for hope in his life, and no one could stop him from moving forward.
"No, Zod, I won't help you."
Clark shook his head and refused.
He saw the devastation around him.
If Krypton were indeed reborn, the price paid would inevitably be all life on Earth.
"Then who will you help?"
The landscape changed once again, and endless skeletal bones littered the ground, gradually pulling Clark down.
Zod stood tall and looked down on the son of his late friend.
This dream ended here. He had already obtained the answer from the other party's mouth.
"Your father was willing to give his life for honour, Kal."
When Clark opened his eyes once more, he found himself chained to a metal table.
Zod glanced at him faintly, with a hint of regret in his tone.
"I said, my name is Kakarot, and I don't know you at all."
Clark corrected.
He wasn't a Kryptonian.
"No matter who you are, hand over the Growth Codex! Otherwise, you will pay the price!"
Zod coldly said so.
By his genetic template, he was programmed to protect Krypton from the day he was born.
Everything else could be sacrificed for the sake of this great goal.
Giving Clark a deep look, Zod turned around and left.
He knew exactly what an affectionate character like Kal cared about most.
So, there was no concern that the other party wouldn't comply.
When he got the Growth Codex, he would be able to take the first step toward rebuilding his home.
Krypton would be reborn on this blue planet! Zod slowly made his way to the empty observation deck, his heart filled with a vision of the future.
"Did he agree to cooperate?"
Jax-Ur walked up behind General Zod.
In the eyes of the Kryptonians, Earth's civilisation was lagging behind and weak, and it wouldn't be too difficult to conquer.
But the key lies in how to bring back the shattered and extinct Kryptonian civilisation!
Originally, Zod and his party thought they were the only Kryptonians in the universe.
But fate had given them a great surprise.
Jor-El's son sent out a call to the vast river of stars, leading them to this blue planet before them.
Fortunately, the Growth Codex that governs the genetic code of all Kryptonians was also in the hands of the other party.
It was as if it was all meant to be, giving Zod a renewed sense of hope.
To rebuild Krypton!
"Kal, like his father, could never see reality as it is."
"The boy refused me. He holds too many feelings for Earthlings to recognise which side he should really be on."
Zod said with his hands behind his back and a frown.
Clark's lack of cooperation was expected.
For the young son of an old friend, he was very tolerant and chose to give the other party a little more time to consider it seriously.
"Then what should we do?"
Jax-Ur asked.
"Kal needs to realise one thing, we are his brethren. Those earthlings will only see him as an alien!"
Zod smiled. He had a general understanding of Superman's situation through the information from the Internet.
"As for the Growth Codex. He will gladly hand it over to me; he cares too much about the lives of those earthlings, and that is a fatal weakness."
Jax-Ur understood the meaning. If necessary, they could use the human couple as a threat.
General Zod didn't point it out because he supposedly disdained such underhanded tactics.
But Clark was too stubborn, preferring to turn his back on his fellow Kryptonians to protect Earth.
In the eyes of Zod, who regarded Krypton and honour as extremely important, this was simply a foolish act!
"I see."
Jax-Ur nodded and then asked, "And Faora, they ..."
"Rebuilding Krypton is the first priority. Even if they die, it will be for a good cause!"
Zod waved his hand and coldly said.
With a deep sigh, Jax-Ur left the viewing platform.
Zod stood alone on the bridge, staring at Earth.
His despairing heart was finally at peace.
The home planet that he had sworn to protect shattered and crumbled before his eyes.
That almost killed Zod's hope for existence.
The only mission and duty in his life were thus erased, and the Kryptonian General, who had escaped from the Phantom Zone, wandered like a ghost in the dark universe.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, a bit of bright light broke into Zod's line of sight.
An aura of energy that resembled an astronomical wave appeared in his perception.
It was as if a beast of the deep had violently invaded the territory.
Zod instantly turned alert. The muscles throughout his body tensed up, and he went into a combat stance.
'Did Earth launch nuclear weapons?'
Zod thought so.
It was the most powerful military weapon known to Earth's civilisation and the only thing capable of killing Kryptonians.
Rumble --
The dazzling light quickly broke through the atmosphere like a flash of a golden lightning bolt.
It descended before the Kryptonian ship in a matter of moments.
This time, Zod finally saw the blinding light for what it really was --
A dark red cloak fluttered before his eyes.
...
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