"I can tell you with great responsibility that soone found the corpse of old Luthor in the bathroom of the reception room. He's dead, and he was dismbered."
"Poor young Luthor lost his father, and oh, poor Luthor Group also lost its leader."
As Joker finished speaking, the atmosphere in the entire Manor beca tense, everything quieted down, only the howling of wind and snow outside remained.
In the monitoring room, Batman saw that the people who had just pressed the button hesitated in front of the telephone. So of them reached out their hands as if contemplating whether to change their decision.
Among them, a middle-aged man with graying temples stood confidently, one hand on his waist and the other holding the telephone. He said firmly:
"Luthor Group is finished! I'm sure of it. The entire Luthor Group relied solely on Lionel Luthor, but he brought this upon himself. When he was alive, he held all the power in his hands, and his son is a fool. Now look at what happened!"
Many others shared his thoughts. They were all seasoned veterans in the business world, not fully aware of every detail about Luthor Group, but they understood a great deal. The truth was that the entire Luthor Group was entirely under Lionel Luthor's control.
In their understanding, if old Luthor died without a successor, the group would surely collapse.
Soon, many of them thought of the current situation – the only rightful heir to Luthor Group was hanging from the rooftop. With just one press of a button, he would be blown up.
Once he died, Luthor Group would lose any chance of turning things around. Besides, after Luthor Group's fall, the market that freed up could feed many others, not to ntion that so people who were familiar with Luthor could take advantage and divide up the corpse.
However, many people hesitated because they didn't see Lex as a threat. He was still a teenager who couldn't speak well, and even if he survived, what could he do? Could he handle the sudden demise of Luthor Group's controller and turn things around?
These experts knew that even under normal circumstances, achieving such feats was challenging.
Batman saw that among the blue dots on the screen, a few yellow dots suddenly appeared. He carefully observed the blinking yellow rooms and realized they seed to be dealers, likely involved in conflicts with so agricultural and seed distributors on the East Coast – sothing that wasn't surprising.
But Batman knew Joker wouldn't let Lex off so easily. Indeed, Joker's voice rang out again:
"I know you all are curious about the cause of old Luthor's death, and unfortunately, I have to tell you that he was killed by Lex Luthor."
"Little Luthor isn't actually an autistic person. He not only has normal intelligence and ntal faculties but also possesses unmatched wisdom. He devised a complex trap, killing his father and dismbering him."
At this mont, Clark, who was hanging in the air, spoke up: "It's not like that. Lex, he..."
He wanted to explain for Lex, his voice loud enough to reach the residents' rooms, but no one paid any attention to him.
As Joker provided examples to illustrate Lex's intelligence, a mont later, the blue color reflecting on Batman's face turned yellow. Many people changed their minds and pressed another button.
"He hard his own father? He's insane! This murderer deserves to die."
"No, he's too clever. If he survives and escapes from here, Luthor Group might not necessarily collapse. That would affect my business..."
"The despicable Luthors should all die!"
"I always knew, I always knew that none of them in that family are good people! Since the police won't co to arrest you, then just die!"
At this point, Joker brought the other mobile phone to his ear, listening to the other end, then shouted:
"Alright! It seems the majority of people have changed their choice. They chose Lex Luthor!"
"No!"
Clark shouted loudly, his face filled with pain, gasping continuously as he struggled with all his remaining strength, shouting:
"That scum has been abusing him at ho! Beating him until he's covered in injuries, and forcing him to pretend to be autistic to control him. And Lex didn't do it intentionally; he's also a victim..."
Clark desperately tried to defend Lex, and through the reflection on the floor tiles, he saw Lex had beco extrely weak.
The wound on the back of Lex's neck started bleeding again, emitting a strong sll of blood. His head drooped, his face pale, lips turning purple, and he could hardly speak. Even his breathing had beco weak.
In the end, Lex was just a teenager. During the ti he was under Lionel's control, he had no opportunity for physical exercise. On the contrary, the drugs Lionel used on him had a negative impact on his body, making him even weaker than an average person.
No matter how much of a genius his brain was, it still needed blood supply. And it was evident that his blood flow and blood pressure were not good at this mont; he was on the verge of unconsciousness.
"Look, Clark Kent! I've always said he's such a saint!"
Joker walked to the center of the room, pointing at Clark with his arm outstretched. "My praise for him has no exaggeration!"
"Even though he knows it's a life-or-death ga, he's still defending his friend Lex! He didn't expect that if Lex escapes, he'd be the one to die, right? No! Of course, he knew!"
"But he's so willing to sacrifice himself to save others, just like the earthly Jesus!"
Various exaggerated words of praise spilled from Joker's mouth.
However, the voting situation didn't change. The rope holding Lex was gradually pulled up. At this mont, Batman finally confird that Joker had an accomplice.
The chanism of the ropes and the beams wasn't automatic; it required soone else to pull the ropes for both people to be raised.
Clark looked up, watching Lex getting closer to the bomb, and he shouted loudly, "No!"
Suddenly, the speed at which the rope was pulled slowed down. Although Lex was still ascending, it slowed down significantly, and it seed there was still a considerable distance to the bomb...
At this mont, Joker spoke again, looking into Clark's eyes, "You know what, Clark, you've done a big favor."
"Maybe you don't know just how clever this guy Lex Luthor is, but another equally annoying guy told that he might be one of the smartest people in this world."
"I hate dealing with people like him. You have no idea how much effort I put into dealing with him, but it had no effect!"
"He's different from you. You can't deceive him with so fake agent telephone call."
"That telephone was indeed your doing!"
Clark said angrily, burning with rage, feeling like he was being toyed around by Joker.
"Correct, it was a simple trick, yet you still fell for it, Clark. I disguised myself as an agent and deliberately led you to the bathroom to find Lionel's corpse, making you distrust Lex."
"No way..." Joker pouted, showing a sad expression. "I'm just an ordinary codian, a lowly, unloved Joker. How can I compare to a genius like Lex?"
"I called him on the telephone, pretending to be various people, trying to persuade him with all sorts of reasons, but it was all in vain."
"He's too difficult to deal with, but you are so easy. So, I chose to let soone as powerful and righteous as you deal with him."
Clark's chest heaved uncontrollably, he gritted his teeth tightly, and the muscles on his face trembled with intense anger.
"No relationship, Clark, truly..." Joker almost spoke with a gentle voice. "You are indeed upholding justice. He's a despicable murderer who killed his own father."
"What? You say Lionel abused him? But just look..."
As he spoke, Joker ford his hands into a curved shape, holding them up to his mouth like a gaphone, and shouted loudly:
"Little Luthor killed his father because Lionel Luthor was a habitual abuser! He beat little Luthor until he was covered in injuries, mistreated him, controlled him, and kept hurting him!"
"Little Luthor was only seeking revenge. He took advantage of the opportunity today to kill his own father and dismber him with the help of others!"
Joker shouted very loudly, and even with his hoarse voice, Batman could tell that people in the several upper guest rooms could hear him.
However, the voting result remained unchanged, and Lex continued to rise slowly, getting closer to the bomb.
"Do you see it? The truth you've been seeking, the justice you want to uphold—nobody cares about it."
Joker seed to be talking to Clark, but Batman could feel that his voice pierced through the monitor screen, directly pointing at his heart. Batman knew Joker was speaking to him because he was the only audience in this absurd play.
"No," Clark's deep voice rang out, conveying an astonishing calm and determination that even Batman found surprising.
"I wanted to punish Lex because I thought he killed people. I knocked him out to ensure he wouldn't harm anyone else..."
"But in the end, both he and I are tied up here, not because my desire to uphold justice was wrong, but because I didn't conduct a more thorough investigation before doing this and easily believed a liar's nonsense."
"That's my only mistake—it's my fault, not the fault of wanting to uphold justice and fairness." Clark almost emphasized each word.
"And in this whole affair, if soone has to be blad, it's definitely you, you damned lunatic."
"If you hadn't staged this ridiculous cody, no one would be trapped here, no one would have to make a choice, and no one would die."
"But if you insist on finding soone to play this childish ga with you, then I can only tell you that you've got the wrong person."
As he finished speaking, he exerted force at his waist, shaking the rope vigorously. His whole figure swung out, and because the rope was quite long, after swinging twice, he hit the railing of the second-floor atrium.
During this process, Clark twisted his body so that his chest faced the railing. First, the railing rubbed against the rope that bound him with kryptonite, and then with a "clang," the kryptonite, which was not securely tied, was squeezed out directly. It drew an elegant arc in the air before landing on the ground.
The place where Clark was hanging was quite high. So when the kryptonite fell to the ground, there was still so distance between it and him. In almost a mont, Clark regained so strength. He exerted force with his arms, imdiately breaking free from the rope, and then flew into the air.
Joker looked up from below, gnashing his teeth, and said, "What are you trying to do? Save that despicable murderer Lex? Is that the justice you want to uphold?!"
"No," Clark denied this, and his eyes shone brightly in the light reflected from the snowstorm. His deep voice reverberated through the Manor, like a divine voice descending from heaven:
"If my mistakes caused all of this, if my errors gave you a reason to doubt justice..."
"Then I will personally make ands for all of this."
As he spoke, he turned in the air and broke through the nearest window with a "whoosh," flying outside above the mayor's mansion.
His face was still sowhat pale, and the sense of weakness and powerlessness hadn't entirely left him, but he concentrated his attention, squeezing out the last bit of strength from his body. His eyes began to emit a dazzling light.
As the red heat vision burst from his eyes and swept across the land around the mayor's Manor, everyone opened their windows and looked up at the figure in mid-air, as if a godlike presence.
The heat vision emitted from his eyes circled around the entire Manor, leaving deep grooves wherever it passed. The entire Manor was now like a cake sliced with a knife, completely separated from the surrounding land.
At this mont, everyone felt the floor beneath their feet shaking violently. They dropped their telephones and fell to the ground, but their eyes remained fixed on the outside.
The snowstorm grew even stronger, and amidst the swirling snowflakes, they saw the entire mayor's Manor rising—
Or rather, being lifted up.
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