The powdered vermiculite scattered around Kaius. In a single breath, he inhaled a large amount of vermiculite powder.
Although inhaling a small amount of vermiculite powder isn't fatal, it still affects Kaius's power significantly more than if the powder were in his lungs.
"Ahhh... uh... uh..."
For a moment, Kaius felt as though he were suffering from a severe cold and a hangover. He was so weak that he felt as if he were spinning, even more nauseous than smoking ten pounds of tobacco.
"Direct hit. It seems the technical department was right; the green meteorite can indeed affect the power of the Avengers. See? He can't move anymore, and he's falling from the air."
Mercenary Tate reported to Lex, who smiled knowingly: "Well done. Let's go recover the prey."
After speaking, everyone got into the car, the driver started the commercial truck, and accelerated toward Kaius.
As soon as Kaius began to fall from the air, he instinctively entered the system interface, unequipped the Superman card from the main card slot, and then equipped the Wonder Woman card from the sub card slot into the main card slot.
At this moment, he unexpectedly noticed a faint golden glow emanating from the Superman card. Although it was still a purple hero card, it was undoubtedly only one step away from the golden legendary card.
But now wasn't the time to study that. After switching to the Wonder Woman card, the adverse effects of the kryptonite immediately disappeared.
He landed on the ground with the blessing of the Wonder Woman card. Though Kaius was no longer invulnerable like steel, he managed to withstand the fall.
In fact, Wonder Woman could also fly. As a demigod, Diana just needed more practice to overcome gravity.
"The kryptonite powder is still in my lungs. What if I equip the Superman card to the sub card slot?"
With the determination of not dying, Kaius switched the Superman card into the auxiliary card slot before the kryptonite could affect him further.
The effect of the sub-card took hold, and Kaius immediately gained a small portion of Superman's power. Correspondingly, the effect of the kryptonite on him was greatly diminished and became almost negligible.
By the time he finished all of this, Lex's car had already driven up in front of him.
Lex calmly opened the car door, straightened his suit, and stepped out. After glancing at Kaius, he said coldly: "Avenger, some people call you a god. But in my opinion, you're just another monster, just like the Destroyer."
Kaius slowly stood up, glaring at Lex. "Did you create the Destroyer?"
The mercenaries around him immediately raised rifles loaded with kryptonite rounds and aimed them at Kaius. They were ready to fire at the slightest movement.
But Kaius wasn't afraid of the influence of kryptonite anymore.
"Destroyer? You mean the experiment? Strictly speaking, yes, I made it," Lex admitted generously, his eyes suddenly becoming cold. "When you people appear, humanity is no longer safe. Today it's this monster, and tomorrow it could be you!"
Kaius let out a laugh. "I killed him. You took his body and turned him into this monster! You're responsible for all of this!"
"Only short-sighted people blame me! Everything I've done is for the future of mankind. What happened today was just an accident. But as long as you monsters exist, humanity will never be truly safe."
Lex said, signaling to the mercenaries around him. They all understood the cue and pulled the triggers on their rifles.
Their rifles shot out streams of green fire, and the kryptonite bullets whistled toward Kaius like raindrops.
If it had been before, Kaius wouldn't have been able to dodge the kryptonite bullets. But now that the Wonder Woman card was in the main slot, even though its power and speed were no match for the Superman card, it was more than enough for him to evade these bullets.
Kaius planted his feet firmly and shot off like a black cannonball. A series of kryptonite bullets could only trail behind him, barely catching up with his back.
"What? Impossible! Why is he not affected by the green meteorite?"
After seeing Kaius avoid the kryptonite bullets effortlessly, everyone present was stunned, especially Lex. He stared at Kaius in disbelief, unable to comprehend what was happening.
If kryptonite wasn't effective against Kaius, how could a kryptonite rocket launcher have knocked him down from the sky earlier?
But now, Kaius was able to move at high speed again, evading the bullets without being affected at all.
"You think you're playing us?"
"No! He is still affected by the green meteorite, but not as severely as we thought. Otherwise, his steel body wouldn't need to escape at all!"
After a brief shock, Lex quickly grasped the key to the problem.
Indeed, from the footage, the Avengers' body was incredibly powerful—real bullets couldn't penetrate it, let alone kryptonite bullets.
But the fact that Kaius was able to avoid the bullets proved that kryptonite bullets could still harm him.
"Continue firing! Kill him!" Lex ordered the mercenaries around him.
After hearing Lex's analysis, the mercenaries felt their fear lessen significantly.
They weren't afraid of powerful opponents; they feared opponents they couldn't defeat. As long as they had a weakness, they believed they could win this battle.
Kaius couldn't help but twitch his lips.
He had to admit, Lex Luthor's IQ was impressive. His analysis was very close to the truth. Kaius was no longer invulnerable.
But it was a pity that Lex didn't know about the existence of the Friendship System, nor that Kaius had completely transformed since their previous encounter.
Even though the kryptonite bullets no longer harmed Kaius, they would still hurt if they hit him!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kaius's gaze turned cold as he fixed his eyes on the mercenaries firing at him. His body moved at high speed, a storm of fury coming his way.
Though the mercenaries were skilled fighters, in the face of absolute strength and speed, no amount of technique could help them.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of bone-jarring sounds echoed, followed by the sound of shattered firearms.
In Lex's eyes, it was all a blur. In the next moment, his mercenaries were sent flying, their guns broken, and a dark shadow appeared before him—it was 'Avenger'... Kaius.
"Lex Luthor, is it worth being alive like this? Do you really have to seek death?" Kaius's tone was cold. He didn't actively seek to kill, but if provoked, he wouldn't hesitate to strike.
Seeing all his men knocked down, Lex took a few steps back, wary. He drew a long sword made of kryptonite and pointed it at Kaius, speaking crazily:
"Avenger, you've finally revealed your true colors. Your heart is darker than you think. Admit it—you're a monster too!"
Kaius showed no fear of the kryptonite sword in Lex's hands. If a sword could kill him, then he was truly dead.
He smiled at Lex and said, "Everyone has a dark side inside them, but many people are too afraid to face it. The more they avoid confronting the darkness within themselves, the more they will be consumed by it."
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