The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4427 Dark Prelude (12)

The two who were the first to regain their senses were not so much more rational and calm, but rather each had their own unique approach to handling emotional relationships.

Barry arguably used the most correct approach. He firmly believed that his parents loved him unconditionally and without reservation, and he was convinced that they would never do anything to harm him. So when the imposters appeared, they already didn't meet his expectations of his parents, and he naturally realized they were monsters.

Ron's actions can be attributed to a kind of professional inertia. Faced with a choice between emotions and duty, he chose duty early on, firmly believing that his loved ones would support him. Furthermore, he was the one among them who had lost a loved one the longest. Time can indeed heal wounds, so despite the devastation of the past, he had moved on from its shadow and was no longer as agitated.

Just because these two people were able to regain their senses doesn't mean others can. This kind of psychological attack has nothing to do with physical strength or superpowers; it's solely influenced by the person's personality and emotional state. While the emotional state may have been fully satisfied, personality itself is still a decisive factor. Some people simply can't make decisions in this regard. It's precisely because this isn't a mistake that correcting it is so difficult.

“I don’t think Hal and Arthur have much of a problem,” Ron said. “They’re both very mature. Hal has a girlfriend, and Arthur’s father is still alive. They don’t really need the love of a dead man.”

“Victor will be a big problem,” Ron continued. “His mother has only been dead for a short time, and he is going through the most grief-stricken period. His father is still alive, but he clearly doesn’t spend enough time with him, so Victor can’t get enough love from him. He can only rely on his mother. He is the most likely to fall into despair.”

“I don’t know much about Diana’s situation,” Ron said. “Her parents should still be alive, but perhaps some other important people have died. Since we know so little, let’s put her in the high-risk category for now.”

Barry nodded, agreeing with Ron's assessment, and then asked, "What about Batman? I think he also lost a son, right?"

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Schiller said. “He’s already met with Damian. The little bird can’t escape his grasp.”

Barry's eyes widened in surprise. He wanted to ask a few more questions, but Ron quickly pulled him aside and whispered, "Don't ask too many questions about Batman. Those Gotham people have all sorts of weird relationships. Talking about it too much will affect your mental health."

Clark, standing nearby, hesitated. He said, "Bruce must be very sad, no matter what. I'll go over tonight. Maybe I can comfort him."

The others had no objections. They discussed it and decided to help Hal and Arthur solve their problems first, so they would have more manpower. Besides, Hal had saved Victor's life, even risking his own. The problem was still unresolved, and Victor felt a strong sense of guilt towards him. Perhaps they could use this to persuade him.

"Where is Hal's hometown? Seaside City?" they asked as they walked out. "It shouldn't be hard to find, right?"

“If Victor were here, we could ask him to check the address. But it’s best not to disturb him for now,” Ron said. “Let’s go to Seaside City first; I’ll just use my brainwaves.”

Barry led him to Seaside City. Ron began scanning brainwaves. Although Seaside City was large, there was no need to search the entire city. Hal had mentioned that he grew up by the sea, and his old house was in the fishermen's area. Searching only that area would suffice.

Sure enough, they quickly located Hal's brainwaves. The two rushed over and found Hal and his father sitting in front of the fireplace in the old house, eating.

Ron was a little worried, but Barry tugged at him and cleared his throat outside the door. Hal saw them arrive and stood up to greet them warmly, saying, "This is my father. You can call him Old Jordan or Old Joe, it's fine."

Ron and Barry had no idea what he was up to, so they could only nod at the man in front of them as if it were normal small talk.

Hal's father wasn't actually old; he looked middle-aged and seemed to be in good spirits. He was enjoying the grilled fish on the stove.

Ron gave Hal a wink. Hal shook his head at him. So they sat down together to eat the grilled fish. When Barry reached for his fork, Hal stopped him and said, "It's too spicy, you can't eat it. I'll get you some bread later."

Barry was a little surprised. His taste was indeed rather mild, but he wasn't completely averse to spice, and besides, the grilled fish didn't look particularly spicy. However, Barry had one redeeming quality: he was obedient. He nodded and said, "Actually, I wasn't that hungry, I just wanted to try your cooking. It's okay if I don't eat it."

Hal poured wine for his father, saying somewhat reluctantly as he did so, "You should drink less. My friend is still here."

"It's nothing...it's nothing..." Old Jordan muttered.

The meal lasted for almost half an hour, and Old Jordan drank quite a bit. By the end, he was completely drunk. Actually, he didn't drink that much; Ron suspected that Hal might have added something to the grilled fish.

Once he was completely drunk and passed out, Hal sighed, enveloped him in Green Lantern energy, and sent him into the world of the Green Lantern Ring.

Ron realized that Hal wasn't being manipulated; he was simply more stable than any of them. Therefore, instead of trying to control him through escapism, he could handle the situation in a more mundane way and end this farce with ease.

This has another advantage: if there's a need for this fake person later, they can simply put him by the stove and say he died of drunkenness, rather than being controlled. The charade can then continue.

Barry couldn't help but give Hal a thumbs up. Actually, if he had been a little calmer, he could have done the same thing: pretended to be their good son, then secretly knocked them unconscious so they wouldn't know their plan had failed. Maybe that could be used to lull the enemy into a false sense of security later.

After picking up Hal, they headed to Atlantis. Hal created a green light bubble and led the group into the sea. However, worried that it would be impolite to trespass into Atlantis, they didn't go in directly. Instead, they kept their distance, with Ron contacting Arthur via telepathy.

Not long after, Arthur and Mera arrived together, accompanied by a faint hint of doubt in their brainwaves. Ron thought Arthur was wondering why they had come, so he quickly explained, "We learned from Schiller that resurrection might be caused by an extremely powerful being seeking to eliminate the conspiracy woven by cosmic life. This matter cannot be overlooked, so we came to check it out."

“There was no resurrection,” Arthur said.

"what?"

“My mother didn’t come back to life,” Arthur said, scratching his head. “We’re wondering about that too.”

"That can't be right. It's impossible that he'd target everyone but leave you out. Could it be that she didn't return to Atlantis?"

“But if she’s not the queen, then she’s just an ordinary Atlantean. Where else can she go? The land would certainly not accept her.”

Ron was also puzzled. If, as Schiller said, this was a conspiracy, and these resurrected imposters were there to cause trouble, then Arthur's mother should have returned openly and legitimately. She was more rightful than Arthur and could have easily instigated the seven sea tribes, creating chaos in the ocean depths, or even attacking the continent. That would have been the most advantageous option for her; it was unlikely she would have been resurrected but not returned.

After some discussion, they still couldn't figure out where the former queen had gone. They walked all the way back to Arthur's palace. Arthur sat down on the throne, and everyone teased him.

“You really do look like one,” Hal said. “Greetings, Your Majesty the Sea King.”

Arthur waved his hand dismissively and said, "Actually, I don't like being underwater at all. If it weren't for having to keep an eye on these idiots and prevent them from trying to attack the land all the time, I would have gone back to Amity Harbor a long time ago."

They talked about Atlantis for a while, but the conversation eventually turned back to the Queen. Hal asked, "How did your mother die? Was it because she resisted the arranged marriage?"

"No, she was eventually forced into marriage and had my brother. However, she killed my brother's father, which led to his exile."

"Wait, exile, not execution?"

Arthur paused, then said, "She was exiled to the depths of the ocean trench and disappeared without a trace..."

He looked at Mera as he spoke, for it was Mera who had given him this information. Mera frowned and said, “It is a barren land. The Atlanteans could not survive there. No one exiled to the depths of the trench has ever returned alive.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Hal said, standing up. “Perhaps the real reason the Queen didn’t come back to life is that she never actually died.”

Arthur and Mera stood up one after the other. Arthur stepped down from the throne and said, "You mean, my mother has always been alive, but was imprisoned in the trench?"

“That’s not necessarily true. Maybe she just doesn’t want to come out. After all, being forced to separate from her lover, being forced to have a child with someone else, and that illegitimate child is destined to inherit the throne of Atlantis. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to come out either,” Hal said.

Arthur nodded and said, "Now that you mention it, it's true. If she had to look at Om's face every day, she'd probably be driven crazy."

“Let’s go, let’s go check out the exile site.” Arthur said, ready to leave, but Ron stopped him and said, “While it is indeed possible, we can’t tell whether it’s resurrection or if they’ve never died. We must be very careful.”

Arthur shook his head and said, "Whether she comes back from the dead or has never died, I will not let her return. On the one hand, I still have a use for Orm, and I'm afraid she might kill him in a fit of anger. On the other hand, a country cannot have two rulers. If she returns, my legitimacy will be questioned, and the seven sea tribes will still fall into turmoil."

"Rather than that, if she's really keen to come back, then she's very likely an imposter. Because she knows very well that this would undermine my authority. She loves my father so much, she wouldn't do that."

Rong En was relieved, and the group headed deeper into the trench. Although the Trench Tribe also lived in the trench, they didn't live at the bottom, but rather on the rock walls. The very bottom of the trench was barren and shrouded in darkness—a truly terrifying prison.

There was a barrier preventing any living creature from entering, but it didn't affect Arthur, who had already inherited the throne. They passed through the barrier and descended to the very bottom. The others were starting to panic; the place was terrifying, unlike anything that seemed inhabited.

But after walking a short distance, Arthur inexplicably stopped. He turned to look in one direction, where a faint light was shining. He slowly walked towards it and then saw a familiar lighthouse.

A woman sat on the steps of the lighthouse, staring blankly into the empty darkness, just as her father had waited day and night for her.

If I see any more references to the new Three Kingdoms in the comments section, I'll go deaf!