The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4447 Dark Prelude (Thirty-Two)
Clark posed this question to Diana. Diana was forced to break down her self-protective mechanisms again and begin to carefully consider the details of what had happened.

It's not hard to see that the Serpent of Phrygia artifact and the Emerald are actually two separate entities. The Serpent of Phrygia is primarily used to elicit the fact that extraterrestrials exist, while the Emerald is aimed at the Kryptonians.

The story of the green gemstone also has its ups and downs: it first ended up in Luther's hands, then in the hands of the military, and then Victor's father, Dr. Stone, used it for Clark's desensitization experiments.

Thinking about this, Diana realized that there seemed to be someone who hadn't appeared for a long time, which didn't quite fit his meddlesome style.

“I always felt this had something to do with Luther,” Diana said. “Think about it, how could they know that kryptonite actually works?”

Clark was also pondering this question. Since the other party knew the artifact was a forgery, their choice to attack him with kryptonite, referencing mythology, meant they must have received more concrete information, knowing that the object had indeed injured him before.

How many people know that he was injured by kryptonite?

First and foremost, of course, was Luthor, who injured him. Luthor had a deep understanding of just how useful Kryptonite was to Kryptonians, because he was the one who did it.

Besides, it was at Luther Corporation at the time, and there were countless cameras in those offices, not to mention on the surrounding streets. Clark was in very poor condition at the time, and when he was thrown out unsteadily, he couldn't care less about anything, so he was definitely filmed.

Furthermore, Luther possesses state-of-the-art research equipment capable of providing detailed information on the various properties of Kryptonite. This mineral must possess characteristics not found in ordinary ores, which would be crucial in its ability to kill Kryptonians.

Only if the mastermind behind this had obtained such definitive evidence would he knowingly use the artifact to attack himself, even though he knew it was fake. And Luther could certainly provide such definitive evidence.

And Luthor had been inexplicably targeting him from the very beginning. Clark couldn't help but think that whoever opposed Superman, Luthor would side with them.

Don't be fooled by Luther's assistance when Steppenwolf came; it doesn't mean he's reformed. Perhaps because he wasn't on Earth at the time, he thought he was gone forever and helped out on a whim.

The moment I get back, he'll definitely cause trouble again. Besides, someone as smart as him probably knows the inside story of the Martian invasion plan. But since I'm charging him such high taxes, he'll definitely hate me even more. If someone approaches him at this time, inviting him to help fight Superman, he'll absolutely go happily.

Once the two sides tallied up the accounts, it became clear: Kryptonite was a powerful weapon against the Kryptonians, regardless of the authenticity of the artifact, because it had already proven effective. Luther had witnessed it firsthand; it couldn't possibly be fake.

However, Luther didn't know where to find more Kryptonite, so he stole documents from the archives on the second floor of Metropolis, hoping to find more clues there.

Regardless of whether the artifacts and myths are true or not, at least the gems pried off from them are useful, and the information might contain useful clues.

However, they hadn't anticipated that the gemstone wasn't actually pried from an artifact. Their best course of action would have been to find the kryptonite wholesaler Schiller, not to look for clues in the myths and legends he fabricated and the information about the forged artifacts. They were completely missing the point, focusing on the casket rather than the pearl.

Clark sighed inwardly. Everything was clearly related to Schiller, yet he had perfectly concealed himself, using an artifact to completely outmaneuver everyone.

But Clark could understand why. Luthor was filled with rage and extreme prejudice against him. He was completely blinded by hatred, failing to consider how Luthor obtained Kryptonite or realize the crucial role Schiller played in it.

Actually, if I hadn't come to my senses, I probably wouldn't have realized that I'd ended up like this, and I would still think that Schiller was just an ordinary swindler who changed his tune with the wind.

But how to deal with Luther was another headache for Clark. Firstly, Luther was a wealthy man who dutifully paid his taxes and hadn't done anything underhanded, so he couldn't just be attacked on a whim. Secondly, Luther was like a crazed Chihuahua, biting him on sight. Even asking him a few questions about the assassination might provoke him. There was no way he could have a proper conversation with Luther. Killing him was out of the question, and talking to him was also out of the question; it was too difficult to handle.

“I’ll go and talk to him,” Diana said on the other end of the phone. “We’re both victims of the same conspiracy. I’ll talk to him and see if I can change his mind.”

“That’s all we can do,” Clark said. “You have to be careful; he probably thinks the assassination was a success now. Even if I’m not dead, I’m definitely seriously injured. He thinks his plan was a success and might push his luck.”

"You mean he might be lying in ambush with the axe-wielders?" Diana frowned. "He'll take down whoever comes to negotiate? That doesn't seem like a good idea. Isn't he afraid of angering Batman?"

"His attempt to assassinate me has already angered Batman, so he doesn't care about offending him again. Besides, if he really cooperates with the mastermind, even if he doesn't want to, the mastermind will definitely make him do it. This is a good opportunity to take down both of them in one fell swoop."

Diana nodded solemnly, then said, "I'll contact Ron immediately, and it would be best to bring Barry along as well. In case of trouble, Barry can take me away, and Ron can escape on his own."

Clark said with some surprise, "I thought you would fight them for three hundred rounds."

“That won’t do,” Diana immediately rejected. “The kind of sneak attack used by the resurrected person is more likely to hit the target the longer it goes on. But if you run fast enough, he can’t hit you.”

"Okay. Be careful. If things get really bad, go find Batman."

Don't worry. I'll let you know if there's any news.

Diana hung up the phone and immediately contacted Barry, then Ron. The three of them headed to Luther Mansion together. On the way, they discussed how to escape if they encountered an ambush.

Of the three, Diana is actually the most dangerous. She is practically defenseless, but she still has to go because she knows Luther best and has good negotiation skills; perhaps she can get some information out of him.

Diana, pondering her words, quickly arrived at Luther Tower. Lex, seeing the three men looking menacing, paused for a moment, then said, "What are you doing here?"

"You wouldn't come here without a reason," Diana said, arms crossed. "You know perfectly well what you've done."

A guilty look flashed across Luther's face. Ron noticed it too, and gave Diana a wink, indicating that he had expected this.

"So you're here to stop me? To beat me up and stop my plans?"

“No, that’s not it.” Diana changed the subject. “Luthor, you’re a smart man. You should know that now is not the time for infighting. Even if you kill Superman, that cunning mastermind could destroy the Earth and the entire universe. That wouldn’t do you any good, would it?”

Lex blinked. He sensed something was off about Diana's words, so he said, "Killed Superman? You don't think I did the presidential assassination, do you?"

"You didn't do it, but you're definitely involved."

"What kind of logic is this?" Lex said, quite dissatisfied. "Just because I had a grudge against him before, you suspect me now that he's in trouble? Isn't that wronging me?"

"You dare say it has nothing to do with you? Then why were you so guilty just now?"

"Why would I feel guilty?"

Ron narrowed his eyes. Lex glanced at him, pursed his lips, and said, "I do have some plans, but they have nothing to do with Superman, well... not entirely unrelated, but a little bit. But it's definitely not about killing him."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Don't worry about that. Anyway, I didn't do his assassination. I'm not that stupid. I'm not some penniless brute. If I were involved in assassinating the president, both I and the Luther Group would be finished. I went through so much trouble to get the Luther Group back, I'm not going to take that risk."

Although there was some truth to what he said, Diana was still skeptical. She pulled out the Lasso of Truth and said, "We have a friend here who can read minds, but we feel it's a bit impolite. So... Clark, what brings you here?"

Lex instinctively turned around to look, and with a "whoosh," the Lasso of Truth bound him.

Lex's eyes widened, and after struggling a few times, he realized he couldn't break free. He glared fiercely at Diana.

Diana clapped her hands and said, "Do you have anything to do with the president's assassination?"

“No,” Lex said. “I only learned about his assassination from the news.”

"You didn't provide anyone with any information about kryptonite?"

“No,” Lex said firmly. “Although I have indeed been researching that thing, I have not given any of the experimental results and test reports to anyone else.”

Diana frowned. She even began to suspect that Lex might have some way of deceiving the Lasso of Truth, but then thought that such a thought was too prejudiced. So she asked, "What was the plan you just mentioned?"

“I want to get my hands on that Kryptonian ship,” Lex said. “To be precise, I need the Kryptonian coordinates on it.”

Diana took a deep breath and said, "What do you want to do?!"

“Dr. Stone shared his research findings with me, namely that Kryptonians only possess extraordinary powers when exposed to the yellow sun within our solar system. And in their home planet, they are very likely just ordinary people like humans—I want to send Superman back home.”

Diana didn't know how to evaluate his plan. All she could say was, "Clark already went back. What's the point?"

“No, my plan is to forcibly send him back and then lock him up. If he stays there long enough, he'll lose his superpowers, and even if he escapes from prison, he won't be able to fly back to Earth. Then I'll never have to see him again.”

"Hiss..." Ron and Barry couldn't help but gasp. You know what, compared to trying to kill Clark on Earth, sending him back to Krypton and locking him up is obviously a more feasible and easier way to succeed.

Clark on Earth is simply too powerful. He's not even afraid of Kryptonite anymore, and he possesses magical powers; no one can possibly challenge him. But if he were to return to Krypton and stay there for a while, who knows what might happen?

And as Luthor said, once you lose your superpowers on Krypton, there's no going back. Without the power of the yellow sun, Superman would become an ordinary human. The inability to recover means gradual weakening; eventually, leaving the planet, let alone the Earth's surface, would be a struggle, leaving him forever trapped on that dying star. What a vicious scheme!
Barry rushed up and punched Lex. Lex scoffed and said, "We're all just ordinary people on our own planets. Why does he get to run off to someone else's planet and be a superhero? I'm just letting him live the life he was supposed to live, and he should be thanking me!"

(End of this chapter)