He and Spider-Man dashed towards the stall, but the individuals who had been arguing just moments ago seemed to have received some kind of signal.
They abruptly scattered in all directions, like birds fleeing, causing chaos and confusion on the street.
The loudspeakers in the center of the street suddenly blared with a shrill alarm.
Soren heard several gunshots from the crowd's front, mixed with the screams of men and women and a deep, resonant sound vibrating through the air, which he realized was the heavy marching of a large military force.
Kong Kenan, who had been lying in wait on a nearby building, suddenly tensed, his entire body alert.
He felt that terrifying pressure—
"Hide, Soren, don't move."
He lowered his voice within the range of the sound shield.
Before he could finish speaking, Spider-Man quickly pulled Soren aside, taking him behind a column of a nearby drink shop with a swift movement.
The web lines shot out with a speed almost imperceptible to anyone, pulling a potted fiddle leaf fig—taller than a person—into place beside the column, effectively concealing the two figures behind it.
They should be grateful they hadn't yet removed their disguises; they could now pass as two ordinary local residents resting against the column.
The disciplined footsteps of the army sounded like boulders rolling down a mountain, rumbling as they advanced towards them.
The entire street fell silent.
People retreated to the sides, clearing a wide path for the Regime army, holding their breath as they watched the military's approach.
Even the Hydra members who had blended into the crowd dared not move.
They quietly mingled with the masses, nervously glancing up at the sky—
In the pale blue sky, a tall silhouette against the light descended slowly from the golden glow.
A white cape billowed gently behind him.
Everyone looked up, witnessing the arrival of the sun god.
…
Behind the column, Soren was pinned by Spider-Man, his back pressed against the column, eyes wide open, staring at the reflection of the street on the glass wall of the drink shop.
His chest heaved heavily, as if he was about to struggle for breath.
Clark was less than ten meters behind him.
He breathed the same air as Clark, and he could even feel Clark's presence in the atmosphere.
The longing for Clark ached in his heart, making him feel as if it was being twisted.
He desperately wanted to turn around and catch a glimpse of him, to see what Clark looked like, to check if there was a new white hair on his head.
Even though he often saw Clark on TV broadcasts back at the base, standing so close to Clark in reality still made him feel overwhelmed with sadness.
—So sad that he almost wanted to cry.
In the middle of the street, Superman descended from the sky, scanning the crowds on either side.
His X-ray vision worked like a scanner, instantly penetrating everyone's faces.
Soren tightened his collar, silently looking at Peter during those slow, suffocating seconds.
He knew that under his tactical mask, his face must be as pale as paper.
He also knew that Clark would certainly spot him.
In such a situation, what could he do to protect his companions?
Superman's gaze fell on each person, like a deity distributing grace to the world.
He quickly identified the Hydra members' weapons and the identical control devices in their brains.
"Barry." He called out to his ally in a low voice, raising his right hand to signal The Flash to clear the area, evacuating all innocent civilians to prevent any potential injuries during the upcoming arrest.
The Flash, who had arrived with him, nodded behind him.
The red figure flashed like lightning, swiftly removing most of the people from the street and relocating them to a nearby plaza.
In the near-static flow of slow motion, Superman was about to take action when he suddenly focused his gaze in a particular direction.
His calm expression suddenly changed.
In the slow-motion flow of time, he took a step forward.
On this street, everyone seemed almost frozen into statues with various expressions: the Hydra members hidden among the crowd were nervously reaching for their weapons, trying to draw them before the Regime army acted; meanwhile, the unaware civilians were casting furtive glances at him, vendors held onto their stalls, men subtly stepped back, mothers shielded their children, and kids watched the unfamiliar army with curious eyes.
Only behind a column in the corridor, a slender, wiry figure was hunched over, crossing his arms, and preparing to push away another young man beside him.
…The super-brain's trillion neurons engaged simultaneously, and as soon as he saw this figure clearly, he recognized him instantly.
His body reacted before his consciousness, before any deliberation or consideration, even before all his emotions, including the months of suppressed anger and longing.
His heart raced with a jolt, urging him to stride toward the figure.
Only Barry Allen, the Flash, who was in a similarly relative stillness in space, noticed his anomaly.
Hesitantly holding a young girl, Barry asked Superman, "—Superman? Where are you going?"
Superman did not answer.
He strode toward the slender figure, toward the dark-haired youth.
In the almost stationary time, he directly removed the tactical mask from the youth's face, revealing the face he had longed to see day and night.
Soren's face was turned to the side, his small, high nose and tightly pressed lips, with reddened eye sockets.
His long, dense eyelashes lay softly at the edge of his eyelids, damp and delicate like butterfly wings brushed by the rain.
He looked thinner than before.
How could the harsh conditions of the rebel underground base guarantee his health and nutrition?
How had Soren, who had never experienced hardship and had been pampered by all his relatives and friends for over a decade, endured this period of time?
Superman looked at Soren, and a fiery anguish burned through his chest, a mix of sorrow, compassion, anger, and pity surged like ocean waves, his emotions tangled and chaotic like a ball of yarn.