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[Superman] Chapter 182: The Reluctant Choice
🕑 Added 2024-08-01 04:01:12 +0000 UTC"Get me connected with the Vice President immediately!" The general in charge of the military base knew that the current situation was beyond his control.
Without hesitation, he prepared to report the unexpected event to his superior.
Boom!
At the same time, a figure crashed through the opening into the underground passage of the military base.
"Quite deeply hidden..." Peter's cold gaze swept around the area. Even through the thick steel walls, his vision was unhindered. The walls, infused with lead—impervious to Superman's x-ray vision—were specifically designed as a defense against Kryptonians.
Unfortunately, they were useless against Peter.
In an instant, he pinpointed the location of Doomsday's body, deep within the base, in a specially designed lab several hundred meters underground.
Under normal circumstances, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to infiltrate this well-guarded base and reach such a depth to find the lab.
Even Superman would have been significantly delayed by the lead-infused walls, giving those inside enough time to destroy all traces of Doomsday research or relocate it via secret passages.
"With Doomsday's body, that experiment and plan will be much easier to succeed!" There was a hidden gleam of excitement in Peter's cold eyes.
He had been uncertain about the experiment he had entrusted to Connors, fearing it might fail. However, with a genuine Doomsday corpse, the likelihood of success increased dramatically. At this moment, Peter was determined not to miss this opportunity.
"Moreover, the body of Doomsday has an even greater use..."
...
Without any hesitation, Peter locked his gaze on the cold-stored body of Doomsday in the specialized lab. He then began moving through the underground passage toward his target.
The military base's layout was highly complex, with numerous passages of varying widths serving different purposes—some for transporting specialized equipment and supplies, others for facilitating quick movement.
Normally, reaching the specialized lab several hundred meters underground would take around ten minutes. If faced with obstacles, it would take even longer.
However, Peter was not an ordinary person and did not take ordinary paths. For instance, as he proceeded, a thick metal wall blocked his way.
Circumventing this wall would have cost him several more seconds. But Peter did not hesitate. His eyes emitted a blinding golden light as he unleashed a golden heat vision beam.
Sssss!
The specially alloyed steel wall, several centimeters thick, was instantly pierced by the terrifying heat vision.
The powerful energy tore through the steel, creating a hole large enough for Peter to pass through. Without pausing, Peter walked through the opening.
Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!
"Warning: The base is under attack by an unidentified intruder. Multiple passages have been breached. Initiate Level 1 alert status. All nearby personnel, proceed to assist immediately..."
The blaring alarm echoed throughout the military base as Peter forcibly entered, using violent means.
"What's going on? How could someone be invading us? Could this be an unannounced drill?" Some personnel, unaware of the situation, were shocked and skeptical upon hearing the urgent alarm.
Meanwhile, in the command room:
"General, the intruder is moving too quickly; our defenses can't stop him. Should we deploy the guard unit to intercept him?"
The base was in chaos, with numerous facilities rendered inoperative due to Peter's destruction. Fortunately, the infrared thermal sensors monitoring the base were still functional, allowing them to track Peter's current location.
"No, hold off... Have we contacted the Vice President yet?" The general, hearing the suggestion, refused to authorize it.
He understood the intruder's immense power and didn't want to risk his subordinates' lives without a solid plan. Were it not for his duty as a soldier, he might have already ordered an evacuation of this dangerously compromised underground base.
Given the extensive damage Peter was causing, the entire base's structural integrity could be at risk, potentially collapsing and burying everyone inside at any moment.
...
Boom... Bang! Ping pong...
Within just a few seconds, a series of loud booms echoed throughout the entire base. At times, the entire facility seemed to shake slightly, as if someone were pounding on the walls with a massive sledgehammer weighing tens of thousands of tons.
"General, the call is connected!"
Amid the chaos engulfing the base, they finally reached the highest authority in charge: the Vice President.
"Mr. Vice President, we—" The general began, ready to report the situation.
"Enough, I'm already aware!" A calm, firm voice interrupted him. The Vice President continued in a stern tone without giving the general time to respond.
"Regardless of who is attacking you, even if it's the real Superman crawling out of his grave, you must ensure the security of that thing. At any cost, even if it means the entire base is destroyed, do not let that thing fall into anyone else's hands... or you'll be facing a court-martial!"
As the harsh words were spoken, the general's expression became extremely bitter.
"But... Mr. Vice President... we..."
"That's enough, no need to say more... If necessary, I authorize you to initiate the Doomsday Protocol!"
With those final words, the Vice President hung up, leaving the general with a pained expression full of frustration.
"Doomsday Protocol, easier said than done..." The general couldn't help but feel anger after the call ended.
The so-called Doomsday Protocol was simply a plan to ensure mutual destruction with the intruder. As the highest-ranking officer at the base, he was one of the few who knew that a large-yield nuclear bomb was hidden several hundred meters underground.
The Doomsday Protocol involved detonating that nuclear bomb, ensuring the entire base and the intruder would be annihilated together.
"Are we really all just going to be buried here?"
...
Nearly a minute had passed since Peter had broken into the military base. In that time, he had demolished countless metal walls and dismantled various specialized facilities and devices standing in his way.
If one were to look behind him, they would see a massive passage that sloped through the entire underground base, leading deep below the surface to a particular laboratory.
"Was it really this easy?"
Until he reached his target laboratory, Peter hadn't felt any significant resistance or obstacles.
In fact, some people, upon seeing him, not only refrained from stopping him but also turned aside, clearing the way.
Peter was pleased with this lack of interference, as it made things simpler for him. Even if they had tried to stop him, it would have been nothing more than a matter of using a few more heat vision blasts.
As he faced the final metal door of the laboratory, Peter unhesitatingly swung his fist, punching through the metal wall of the lab.
Boom!
The immense force caused the entire military base to shake violently. The lab walls, which were designed to withstand missile strikes, were effortlessly penetrated by Peter's punch.
He then tore open a large gap in the wall and, ignoring the extreme cold of nearly minus one hundred degrees Celsius inside, walked in.
Looking around the frigid laboratory, there was no other equipment present. In the center of the lab, on a specially designed platform, lay a massive creature with yellow skin and a horribly menacing face.
The creature's arms were adorned with sharp bone protrusions that still glistened with a deadly sharpness. One of these bone spikes even bore faint traces of blood, as if it had pierced Superman's heart, leading to their mutual demise.
"It's really Doomsday!"
Even though the enormous figure before him was devoid of life, its sheer size and bulk exuded a powerful and intimidating aura. A regular person might be terrified just by the sight of this corpse.
"This guy may be dead now, but it was perhaps the most magnificent Doomsday yet!"
Peter marveled at the body, thinking about how this very creature had killed the Superman of this universe. He couldn't help but be impressed.
"Rather than leaving you here to be dissected and studied by these humans, why not come with me and experience something far more exciting?"
It was unclear whether Peter was asking for consent or just talking to himself.
Nevertheless, without any hesitation, he approached Doomsday's corpse, grabbed hold of the massive body, and shot upward into the sky without a moment's delay.
...
At the same time, as Peter approached Doomsday's corpse, the general in the command room stared at a red button on a box-like device, his face full of hesitation.
Recalling the vice president's warning, he slowly extended his right hand toward the button. Even though his right hand, which could fire a machine gun without shaking, now trembled slightly.
This clearly indicated the immense pressure he was feeling at this moment.
Pressing a button seemed easy, but only he understood that with the press of this button, the nuclear bomb hidden beneath the base would detonate instantly.
A massive mushroom cloud would rise, obliterating the entire military base and everything within a radius of several dozen kilometers, turning everyone in the base into ashes.
Death was not the general's greatest fear, but he was now deciding the fate of thousands of soldiers and researchers.
His trembling fingers hovered over the blood-red button. Just a slight push, and the world would bid him farewell.
"Military orders are hard to defy..."
He slowly closed his eyes, as if making a final decision.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
However, after a few seconds of intense vibration, he ultimately did not press the button of destruction. Instead, with a loud clunk, he closed the box.
"Damn... I guess I'll be facing a military tribunal."
With a sigh, the general realized he could not bring himself to destroy everything and everyone under his command.
"General, the intruder has left the base without causing casualties. However, he did take the corpse of the monster that killed Superman..."
The soldiers, unaware of how close they had come to disaster, reported urgently as Peter’s image disappeared from the radar.
"I understand..."
The general put away the special box and responded slowly.
"General, the target has been lost. What should we do now?"
"Well... first, organize the evacuation of the personnel. The base can no longer be sustained..."
The general pondered for a moment before speaking. He then returned to his room to begin packing his personal belongings.
He knew that from today onward, he might spend his future in prison...
...
“Hmm?”
On the other side, Peter, carrying the massive body of Doomsday, had just exited the military base when he noticed a fighter jet speeding towards him from not far away.
“And the military?”
Peter casually glanced but realized the approaching figure was not military personnel coming to assist.
“Ah, it’s Batman. This guy still gets involved in these matters?”
It was Batman piloting the Batwing. Peter hadn’t expected Batman to leave Gotham’s petty criminals behind to wade into this mess.
Without hesitation, Peter sped towards the incoming fighter jet.
“Damn it! No time!”
Batman, piloting the jet, saw a flash in front of him as a figure appeared directly in the path of his aircraft.
There was no time to avoid it, and the jet crashed straight into the figure.
“F**k!”
Cursing, Batman managed only to eject himself from the cockpit in the nick of time.
Then, with a thunderous explosion, the entire jet was reduced to debris!
“This guy is definitely not the Superman I knew!”
Watching as his specially designed aircraft was destroyed by the powerful figure, Batman’s eyes were filled with shock.
This person’s power was on par with the true Superman, and the sense of oppression was even greater than that of the real Superman.
However, he was definitely not the Superman Batman had known.
Peter, meanwhile, shot a disdainful glance at Batman’s furious eyes before vanishing rapidly into thin air.
---
(End of Chapter)
