PFC Chapter 4311 Body of Steel (6)
Chapter 4311 Body of Steel (6)
Chapter 4311 Body of Steel (Sixteen)
Clark was completely confused. The facts he knew weren't enough for him to understand what Bruce was talking about. He only vaguely grasped that something was fake, and that something had fooled them all.
He was too embarrassed to ask Bruce again. Fortunately, as a journalist, his reading comprehension was still decent. He began to carefully read what was displayed on Bruce's screen. Generally speaking, it was all about Egyptian artifacts, and it was a bit daunting to read.
Clark spent ages reading, but couldn't grasp the main point. He couldn't understand what Bruce had just said based on the description alone. However, when he saw the picture of the three-dimensional sculpture mural, he suddenly slapped his forehead.
The largest snake depicted above is nothing special; it looks like something you'd see in ancient Egyptian murals. But the problem is that in the background around the snake's tail, there's a spaceship pattern that looks exactly like the deep-sea squid-shaped spaceship he blew up.
"How is this possible?!" Clark was shocked. "How could there be Kryptonian spaceships in ancient Egyptian murals?! Did they have people who came to Earth back then???"
Bruce, who was organizing his equipment, sighed again.
Clark finally realized what was happening and said, "That doesn't make sense either. How could a Kryptonian spaceship from thousands of years ago look exactly like a small frigate today? Cars from hundreds of years ago are completely different from cars now..."
"If this mural is fake, then why did he paint this alien spaceship in the first place? And what does it have to do with Diana Prince and Lex Luthor?"
Clark was completely baffled. He finally couldn't help but turn to look at Bruce, only to find the other man intently adjusting his equipment. He hesitated for a moment, then walked over and stared at Bruce without saying a word.
"Do you remember what Luther used to hurt you?" Bruce looked up at him and asked.
“A green gem,” Clark said with certainty. “He first hit me on the back with that thing, knocking me to the ground, and then he hit me on the forehead and chest. It wasn’t hard; it shattered as soon as it touched me. My wounds were full of gem fragments. The doctor said it entered my bloodstream, which is why I’m so weak.”
"Which doctor?"
"Uh……"
Clark then realized that Schiller had been the one treating him. He'd been lying in the operating room, and Schiller, dressed in full protective gear and looking very professional, had completely forgotten that Schiller wasn't actually a doctor.
"So, he did all of this?!"
Bruce nodded and said, "He forged a sculptural mural called 'The Serpent of Frini,' fabricated a Wikipedia page, and interfered with Google search results. Then he approached Lex Luthor with this mural, falsely claiming he wanted to sell it."
"Didn't Luther suspect anything?"
"That's why I say he's illiterate and a fool. However, Schiller's move was quite clever. Egyptian artifacts, due to their sheer number and age, have always been a major source of fakes and genuine artifacts. As far as I know, even in the British Museum's collection, there are several pieces that are not genuine ancient Egyptian artifacts, but rather forgeries and fabrications by later generations."
“Unless you are an expert who specializes in ancient Egyptian culture, it is difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake artifacts. Moreover, some imitations are also very old and can be considered partially genuine. Even real experts cannot say that they are completely infallible.”
"Schiller took advantage of this and fabricated such a non-existent artifact. Lex Luther was not a professional, and he had never been interested in collecting ancient artifacts. He had very limited access to information about ancient Egyptian artifacts and could not find any experts for the time being, so he could only rely on search engines."
“I still don’t understand,” Clark said. “If he doesn’t have a hobby of collecting antiques, shouldn’t he have just kicked this conman out when he approached him?”
"That's the problem. You just destroyed a spaceship over Metropolis. Then, this spaceship appears on an ancient Egyptian artifact supposedly thousands of years old. What would you think?"
Clark suddenly realized, and said, "So Luther is interested in it not because it's an artifact, but because there are patterns on it that resemble that of the spaceship."
“That’s right, this is the trap Schiller set. What really attracted Luther wasn’t the value of the artifact, but the information it contained. If I’m not mistaken, he used a scarcity tactic. He told Luther that if he didn’t take it, he would give it to someone else. Luther can tolerate not having it himself, but he absolutely cannot tolerate it falling into the hands of someone else. Especially… into my hands.”
"I see. Then why did he do that? I mean, why would he create an artifact to deceive people?"
"Actually, the information about the artifact itself isn't the key. The key is that gem. Once Luther discovers that the artifact contains information related to extraterrestrials, he will inevitably speculate whether the gem embedded in it has any special power. He will definitely try to get his hands on the gem and study it."
"At this time, you learn that your mother Martha has been kidnapped and angrily go to cause trouble for Luther. Luther, who has the gem, is likely to discover the gem's effect on you. Even if he doesn't directly injure you, he will find that the thing can weaken you."
Clark broke out in a cold sweat because he suddenly realized that Schiller had told him about Martha's kidnapping.
He must have timed it perfectly, down to the last second, so that when he went to cause trouble for Luther, Luther was just studying the gem.
He was too angry at the time to realize the impact, but now, thinking back, he felt a little uncomfortable when he flew into the office. Lex Luthor was a smart man; even if the two of them hadn't fought, he would have noticed his unusual behavior and realized that the gem could restrain him.
Clark still didn't understand why Schiller wanted Luthor to realize this. So he asked, "So he went through all this trouble just to let Luthor know my weakness?"
“That’s right. If I’m not mistaken, he may have also fabricated a similar myth to make people who know about this believe that your kind came to Earth before, and that they were defeated by this gem. This gem is the only solution to defeat the aliens.”
"Okay. It's true, this thing can really hurt me, it can even make me this weak..."
"No, this thing can indeed harm you, but the impact isn't as great as you think."
"But now I..."
“Your current condition is because Schiller did something extra to you.” Bruce pointed to a piece of equipment next to him and told Clark to stand on it. Clark was a little reluctant, but he had no choice.
He didn't think the device would cause him any harm, but he still didn't want Bruce to see him in a weak state, especially since his injuries hadn't fully healed and his chest must look terrible.
Clark stepped onto the machine, and Bruce operated it. But it wasn't an X-ray machine; it was a comprehensive scanning and analysis instrument. After reviewing the results, Bruce sighed again.
Clark was getting anxious from his sighing. He stomped his feet twice and said, "Stop sighing. What's wrong with me?"
"The powder from this gemstone did indeed seep into your body and into your bloodstream. But no matter how powerful Luther is, he couldn't possibly have smashed the gemstone into such fine powder just by hitting it a few times. Someone injected you with a powder solution."
"Damn it, it must have been Schiller! I knew I wasn't feeling that bad before, but after I got off the operating table, I felt terrible!"
"This also led to your recapture by the military. I suspect that while you were unconscious, they did a simple medical examination on you and noticed your weakness. So they probably thought that the gem could completely subdue you, and that just a few hits were enough to injure you so badly."
“My God,” Clark couldn’t help but exclaim, “it’s a brilliant conspiracy. The only question is, why would he do this? What benefit would it bring him?”
“While some people just want to see the world burn, and Schiller seems to be one of those people, I don’t think he just wants to cause trouble on Halloween,” Bruce said, shaking his head. “It’s too early to guess his ultimate goal, but what he’s doing isn’t entirely harmful to us.”
"What do you mean?" Clark was a little confused again.
"Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing to let Luther and the military overestimate the damage the gems will cause you?"
“Uh… I don’t know,” Clark said.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Bruce said bluntly. “If the gem can’t completely control you, they will definitely think of other ways. But in Schiller’s lie, the person who possesses the gem successfully repelled the aliens who came before, and it has indeed proven that the gem can cause you great harm. So they can just rely on the gem and don’t need to prepare any other contingency plans.”
“Oh, I see,” Clark said with a sudden realization. “Luther will think that he can kill me with the gems alone, so he won’t think of any other underhanded tricks.”
“That’s right, so this is a good thing for you. Especially now that you know about it.”
“Wait,” Clark interrupted him again, “Do I know if this is important?”
"Of course. Because you'll find out that they'll use gems against you, but gems aren't actually as powerful as they think. This is a very important information gap, and it can even determine the outcome at crucial moments."
“But that’s what you told me, not Schiller.”
“Yes, but Schiller told me that Martha was going to be kidnapped. He knew I would definitely go to rescue Martha, and that you would eventually come to me, and then I would tell you the truth, and you would gain an information advantage through me.”
"My God," Clark could only exclaim, "Are you sure he doesn't want to see the world burn?"
Bruce shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, but it's definitely not now."
“But…but…” Clark thought for a long time and then another question popped into his head, “How does he know that I will definitely be able to find you? What if I don’t realize that you were the one who took Martha away?”
"Someone will realize it for you, won't they?"
The face of the black officer flashed before Clark's eyes.
"I knew that dream was something special!"
(End of this chapter)