The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4448 Dark Prelude (Thirty-Three)
Diana clenched her fists, but she quickly pulled Barry back. Now was not the time to vent her anger.

"Then how are you going to send him back to Krypton?" Diana pointed out the problem incisively. "He's invincible on Earth. You can't just imprison him with something, otherwise you can't send him back. This plan is nothing but empty talk."

Lex scoffed, seemingly wanting to show off his intelligence. He began to boast, "Violence is definitely out of the question. I've already figured it out; this guy has absolutely no weaknesses. Even Kryptonite, which can weaken him, can't truly kill him. Trying to harm him on Earth is just wishful thinking."

"However, this guy has a huge brain, but it doesn't really work. You can tell from the fact that you said he went back to Krypton. He actually believed people who said the Kryptonians were extinct. What if he went back and found they weren't? With such advanced technology, wouldn't they have shot him down with a single shot?"

Diana was taken aback. She had never actually considered the issue from this perspective. That's true; Clark had never returned to Krypton. His knowledge of the Kryptonian extinction came from data on a spaceship on Earth. But that data might not be accurate.

Although it appears that his parents left the records, there's a possibility that they exaggerated the facts of what happened back then—for example, that the planet did indeed disintegrate, but wasn't completely wiped out and some people survived. If Clark were to rashly return, there could be danger.

Even assuming the worst, such an advanced civilization might have several colonies. Even if the main planet disintegrated, and the inhabitants didn't escape, there might still be residents on those other planets. What if they return?

This high-tech civilization doesn't require many people to operate warships and weapons. Phase-guided cannons capable of breaking through the atmosphere can be operated by a single person. Many are even automatically locked onto targets, and once energy is restored, they will automatically attack all life within their area of ​​effect. Even Superman wouldn't be completely unharmed after taking a hit.

In fact, what Luthor described has already happened. Wasn't Zod, the Kryptonian general who was exiled back then, someone who had just returned from outside? Who knows how many people like him are out there? If he were to run into them on his way back, without the Yellow Sun's assistance, he could really be in deep trouble.

Thinking back on it, Diana felt a lingering fear. Thankfully, Clark returned safely.

After making a few sarcastic remarks, Lex said, "It's clear this guy isn't that smart. I just need to use a little trick to get him back."

"Trick them back?"

"That's right. If you want him to go back, you have to give him a reason why he has to go back. Then you have to make him go back voluntarily."

“What reason does he have to go back?” Diana asked.

Why did he go back in the first place?

This really stumped Diana. Actually, Diana wasn't entirely sure why Clark insisted on going back. It couldn't just be for a change of scenery, could it?

“Actually, I didn’t know he had gone back before,” Lex said, shaking his head. “But I think his reasons are different from what I’m thinking.”

What reason are you thinking?

“His parents,” Lex said, “his biological parents, to be precise. He’s a very sentimental person. Even though he’s very good to his adoptive mother, he might still want to see his biological parents.”

"You wouldn't be thinking of..."

"I'll send that Kryptonian ship a text message, pretending it's from his parents. The gist of it is that they've survived the extinction event, returned home, and want to see their son."

Diana couldn't help but walk over and punch Lex. That guy was really cunning. With a scheme like that, no one could guarantee Clark wouldn't be tempted. After all, they were his biological parents. Who wouldn't want to see them?

Furthermore, he had already preconceived the idea that the Kryptonian civilization was extinct, so there couldn't be any danger on this planet. Clark flies fast, and a round trip wouldn't take long, no different from an ordinary person going home to visit family. He would most likely go there soon.

"So how are you going to trap him?" Diana asked again. This was indeed the most difficult part of the whole plan. After all, it was a very remote place, and it would be difficult to control remotely.

“So I need that spaceship,” Luther said. “Obviously, that spaceship comes from Krypton. If it can come here, it can go there too. I just need to take the spaceship to Krypton first, and I can create the perfect prison.”

Diana was at a loss for words. Luthor was utterly arrogant. He actually thought that he, an ordinary person without superpowers, could pilot a spaceship from another civilization, return directly to their home planet, and then use super-high technology far beyond human reach to build a prison and imprison Superman. It was utterly delusional.

"Aren't you afraid there are still people on Krypton?" Barry asked.

"I'm not like that big oaf; I have a brain. The spaceship doesn't necessarily have to fly directly to Krypton. I can just stop in a nearby star system and send out drones to check it out, right?"

"Then how can you be so sure you can use Kryptonian technology? You don't even know their language, do you?" Barry asked again.

"Who says I don't know him?" Lex narrowed his eyes, looking like a fox. Suddenly, he uttered a string of words that no one could understand.

“This is Kryptonian,” Lex said. “It’s found in many documents on the spaceships that landed on Earth. It’s not very complicated. Once deciphered, it’s perfectly adequate for everyday communication. I’ve already learned it.”

Diana's eyes widened; she was genuinely shocked this time. She gestured for a while, then said, "But even if you know the written language, how can you speak it? You shouldn't know how to pronounce it."

Diana knew that those spaceships had long since run out of power and couldn't possibly have any speech systems. So even if they knew the written characters, they wouldn't know how the letters were pronounced. Just as many people today don't know how people in tribal times spoke, written characters have survived, but pronunciation is difficult to ascertain.

“We have Clark to thank for that,” Lex said. “He spoke that language, didn’t he?”

Diana thought for a moment and then realized that Clark had helped decipher some things in Dr. Stone's lab. He could speak Kryptonian.

"Dr. Stone told you everything?" Diana asked.

“No, I checked the surveillance footage myself. It’s not difficult,” Lex said. “It’s a pity Clark is illiterate and doesn’t know how to translate technical terms, otherwise I could have learned more.”

Diana sighed. She was truly speechless at people like Lex Luthor; people never get tired of doing bad things. You could say he didn't hate Superman, yet he went to the trouble of learning an alien language to carry out this wicked plan; you could say he hated Superman, yet he still managed to learn a language from him.

Diana couldn't even imagine how he could be repeatedly playing videos of his enemy speaking while simultaneously trying to learn the language. Didn't he feel nauseous?
This made Diana waver for the first time. Luther's actions didn't seem like pure hatred; they seemed more like love turned to hate. In any case, she couldn't bear to see her enemy's face or hear his voice again and again.

Thinking this, Diana's gaze towards Luthor became a little strange. While it's understandable to feel hatred towards someone as perfect as Superman, it's still advisable to see a doctor.

“I still don’t understand,” Barry said again. “Without the sun’s rays, it would take time for his power to decline. So when he went to Krypton, he was still at his peak. Even with advanced technology there, it would be difficult to contain a Superman at his peak, wouldn’t it?”

“So of course we can’t rush him,” Lex said. “I’ll use his parents to keep him occupied. For example, they might fall into a deep rift while repairing the planet, and Superman could go looking for them; or we could fabricate a mechanical rebellion to constantly drain his power. That way he’ll soon be weakened and fall into my trap.”

Diana quickly stopped Barry, who was about to rush forward again. She sighed and said, "You're so wicked."

“Thank you for the compliment, madam. I’m not even a fraction as good as you,” Lex said with a smile. “You’re much better at fabricating a colossal lie to deceive all of humanity.”

“So you knew,” Ron said. “Then you should also know that I can erase human memories.”

Lex shook his head and said, "You can erase memories, but you can't destroy intelligence. Even if you erase the truth I know, I will still find it."

"Where is the flaw?"

“That nail that even Superman couldn’t pull out,” Lex said. “It couldn’t possibly be made by a Martian. Nor by a Kryptonian. Only Batman. Only Batman could have tampered with it.”

Diana paused again. This was yet another completely new perspective she had never considered. She asked, "Why do you think that?"

“Because I know how powerful Superman is,” Lex said. “Anything he can’t pull off, either I made it or Batman made it. No civilization in any other universe could do it.”

"Then the civilization of Steppenwolves is also impossible?"

“Absolutely no chance.” Lex paused for a moment before continuing, “In fact, the success rate of my plan isn’t very high either.”

"...Why?" Ron was genuinely curious. Actually, after listening to the whole thing, he felt the plan was quite feasible. If nothing unexpected happened, it really might be possible to trap Superman. Of course, the Justice League would definitely be able to rescue him.

“You don’t understand. The essence of Superman’s power doesn’t actually lie in the yellow sun, but in his belief that his superpower is actually the ability to make his thoughts come true. As long as he wants it, he can definitely do it.”

"This is also strong evidence that Batman drove the nail in. Only someone who knows Superman well enough would know this characteristic and then devise a corresponding plan. The most brilliant part of the nail-driving plan is that it makes Superman not want to pull the nail out."

He explained it in a somewhat convoluted way, and the others didn't immediately understand. Lex then explained, "If the nail is driven too deep, it will affect the Earth, so Clark doesn't dare to pull it out forcefully. The more he doesn't dare, the less he can pull it out. So the key to this plan is actually using the Earth as a hostage to limit Superman's abilities. This could only be a plan devised by someone who knows Superman extremely well, not by Martians or Kryptonians."

It's hard to judge Diana. It just seems more and more like love turned to hate. She was referring to Luthor and Batman—both of them are incredibly erratic.

“My plan is the same. Even without Huang Taiyang’s power, he should be able to escape if he wants to.”

"You already know, and you still want to do it?"

"Life is about movement. And although it may not be completely successful, at least it can scare him and make him realize that it is a big mistake to go against a smart person like me."

Diana was utterly speechless. This Luther was definitely not right. She had to warn Clark to be careful; who knew if he would have the chance to carry out this evil plan again, or even more sinister and twisted schemes?

Now she was starting to believe that Luther might not have been behind the assassination. This straightforward, violent method completely failed to reveal Luther's sinister nature. She could report back to Clark now.

Diana picked up her phone, dialed a number, and said, "Hello, Clark, it's me. It's like this..."

Meanwhile, Clark, holding a phone, was on the Kryptonian flagship in near-Earth orbit, checking a short message from his distant homeworld:
“Kal-El. I am your father, we are back. Can you go back to Krypton? We have something very important to tell you.”

　The performance of Luther King Jr. in the movie is comparable to that of Cao Cao in the new Three Kingdoms!
　　(End of this chapter)