It was truly unfortunate for Betty to be caught by A.R.G.U.S. Her assassination of Admiral Wade Eiling had gone smoothly, but just as she was about to leave, A.R.G.U.S. agents suddenly appeared. They were there because Admiral Wade Eiling was the only person in the military who had done extensive research on superhumans. When he died, Betty had no time to escape and was captured.
After confirming Betty's identity and realizing she had ties to Su Sheng, A.R.G.U.S. handled the situation accordingly.
In a way, Betty was lucky. If not for her connection to Su Sheng, her fate would have been grim. Even if she wasn't subjected to cruel experiments, she would likely have been locked away permanently—or worse, forced into Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad. After all, Amanda Waller had never abandoned the idea of forming the squad.
Betty had completed her mission, and Su Sheng had promised to absorb her abilities and let her live a normal life. However, during their conversation, Betty learned that Su Sheng was looking for someone to steal something from a library and decided to help, seeing it as a chance to redeem herself. Su Sheng didn't mind and simply gave her the address and details about the Black Sea Monster. Whether she succeeded would depend on her own efforts.
With Betty's situation under control, Su Sheng's thoughts turned to the Kryptonians.
Amanda Waller's attitude suggested she had knowledge of extraterrestrials, but how had she learned about them? Had A.R.G.U.S. intercepted an alien signal or discovered the Kryptonian scout ship buried in Ellesmere Island?
Thousands of years ago, before Krypton's destruction, the planet had suffered from excessive consumption of natural resources, leading to its decline. To survive, the Kryptonians used their advanced technology to send scout ships to other planets, establishing outposts in hopes of finding new homes. Around 20,000 years ago, one of these scout ships arrived on Earth and set up an outpost. This ship carried a Kryptonian birthing chamber, capable of creating new Kryptonians using the Codex. However, the outpost was eventually abandoned, buried under an iceberg, and later became Superman's Fortress of Solitude.
"Maybe I should go check it out."
With the story of Superman about to unfold, Su Sheng figured he might as well investigate.
First, Su Sheng returned to the Discipleship, implanting Gideon's program into the steel suit and explaining everything to his team. Then, he activated the Speed Force, stacking layers of speed.
Whoosh!
In a flash of yellow lightning, Su Sheng disappeared.
Ellesmere Island, Canada's Polar Region.
The thousands of miles to the island were nothing after several layers of speed. Su Sheng, thinking of overclocking, barely felt the time pass before he arrived.
The landscape was a vast expanse of snow and ice.
The harsh climate ensured that the snow and ice here rarely melted, with nighttime temperatures dropping to around -40 degrees Celsius. Despite wearing only a light coat, Su Sheng felt comfortable, thanks to the abilities he had copied from Killer Frost. In the distance, a receding glacier could be seen, with numerous devices working nearby.
"It seems Superman has already left the Fortress of Solitude. Time to meet Lois Lane." Su Sheng decided and vanished again with a sharp whistle.
Metropolis.
A bustling, advanced city like Gotham, Star City, and Central City, Metropolis would one day become world-famous due to Superman's presence. But for now, there was someone more famous than Superman—Lex Luthor, a man of ninth-level intelligence. As Superman's future nemesis, Lex Luthor would use his genius to create Doomsday, among other horrors. Today, Lex Luthor was already a well-known figure in Metropolis, thanks to LexCorp, a top-tier conglomerate in the U.S., rivaling even Wayne Enterprises.
The streets were full of traffic, with everyone seeming to be in a hurry, reflecting the city's fast pace of life.
Su Sheng tapped the bracelet of his steel suit, projecting Gideon's avatar.
"Gideon, see if Lois Lane has posted anything about Superman online."
Gideon responded instantly. There were reports about Superman online, but none were from Lois Lane—they had appeared on a forum.
"Get me Lois Lane's phone number," Su Sheng instructed.
Gideon delivered the information within seconds.
Su Sheng memorized the number and called it.
Ring... Ring... Ring...
After a few rings, a resolute voice answered.
"This is Lois Lane."
"I know who you're looking for," Su Sheng chuckled.
"Do you know who he is?" Lois Lane's voice rose, filled with excitement. "Where are you? We need to meet."
"I'm..." Su Sheng paused. By the time he continued, he was already inside an apartment, standing behind Lois Lane. "I'm right behind you."
Lois Lane whirled around in shock, her eyes wide.
"You..."
"Hello, I'm Su Sheng." Su Sheng hung up the phone and extended his hand with a smile.
Lois Lane hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand, still trying to process what had just happened. "How did you get in?"
Instead of answering, Su Sheng got straight to the point. "I know who you're looking for."
Lois Lane's expression turned serious. "Who is he?"
Su Sheng didn't respond immediately, just smiled knowingly. Lois Lane quickly caught on.
"What do you want, money?" she asked, turning to grab her wallet as if ready to pay.
Su Sheng walked over to the coffee table, his fingers lightly brushing its surface. Instantly, the power of Firestorm activated, and before Lois Lane's terrified eyes, a special energy enveloped the coffee table, transforming it into pure gold.
"This... is this magic? Or some kind of hallucination?"
Lois Lane stared at the golden table in disbelief. She rubbed her eyes, then patted her face to ensure she wasn't dreaming. Finally, she approached the table, inspecting it closely.
It was real.
The coffee table had genuinely turned to gold!