Under the Red Dragon

Chapter 378: The Kingdom of Heaven Descends – The Birth of a Divine Child

"Perhaps only those 'monsters' on Earth can resolve this crisis facing Earth, beings as powerful as gods,"

"Maximizing the potential and abilities of those monsters is also a form of scientists utilizing the rules. With the wisdom of ordinary people alone, it is difficult to make the optimal choice within the confines of technological civilization."

Dr. Mars said this.

Dr. Mars's words resonated with the vast majority of the elites present. The elites of Earth all revered their own minds and wisdom as the guiding principle.

But those 'superhumans' called superheroes are now savage and rude destroyers, so they are called 'monsters' by these elites.

The golden age of superheroes has long passed, and many older people miss the superheroes of the past, when warriors were more willing to inspire humanity and awaken the human spirit rather than replace them.

In today's world, being a superhero is not a praiseworthy identity. It symbolizes chaos, disorder, and an uncontrollable status quo.

In a large-scale public survey conducted by the Earth Alliance, more than 90% of respondents believed that no person, country, or rule could restrain superhumans.

In today's world, even the Olympic Games and the Nobel Prize, two projects that once had a certain positive significance, no longer exist.

These projects and activities that stimulate human potential and extol the human spirit are like ridiculous jokes in the face of those superhumans.

The rise of many gene research companies and bio-intelligence groups is also inextricably linked to the actions of those superhumans.

Bishop Norman McCay, sitting next to Dr. Mars, couldn't help but think of his good friend Wesley Dodds.

Wesley Dodds was also one of the superheroes of Earth's golden age, once having a famous nickname—Sandman, meaning Dream Lord or Sleep Spirit.

In Western legends, the Sleep Spirit always sprinkles sand into children's eyes when night falls until they fall asleep, and then takes these children into the land of dreams.

However, Wesley Dodds is not like the legendary Dream Lord, representing beauty. No one can escape the dark dreams of the golden age heroes, not even Wesley Dodds himself.

After years of testing and experimentation, Wesley perfected his hypnotic gas mechanism as the best weapon to combat criminals. No one could escape his capture, not even those super criminals with powerful strength.

Therefore, the outside world calls Wesley Dodds by another name that is difficult to judge—Sleep Demon.

Before his death, this Sleep Demon had a nightmare that even frightened himself, a nightmare that was exactly like the doomsday scene described in the Book of Revelation.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and lightning intertwined, and blood sprinkled from the sky onto the earth amidst ice and fire, and burning meteorites smashed into the destroyed earth.

Angels roared in the sky and died, and eagles attacked huge bats in the dark clouds, and beneath the red lightning that tore the sky was the blazing green hellfire.

The person holding the lightning in his hand was drowned in a boundless sea of blood, and the divine envoy was burned by the blazing flames.

Wesley Dodds once firmly believed in his communication and exchanges with Norman McCay that the doomsday prophesied in Revelation was approaching, and today, McCay the pastor unprecedentedly agreed with his friend's dream.

Perhaps this is really the end of the world.

The doomsday oracle that Wesley dreamed of tainted his thinking, combined with the images he saw before him, so that Norman McCay, as one of the dozen representatives sent by the North American Church and a recorder in this base, was distracted during the subsequent meeting and didn't have much impression of the later council.

"So, the plan we are taking to deal with this crisis is multi-pronged. Whether it is the wisdom of us normal humans or the abilities of those 'monsters,' we will all join this crisis plan."

"In addition to those 'monsters,' there are also some real heroes left over from the golden age, who are also among the invited by our vast organization…"

Norman McCay finished the meeting in a daze, and only woke up when he followed the Secretary-General of the European Joint Think Tank Organization out of the underground base.

He was going to introduce the real heroes of the golden age to this Secretary-General as a friend of the former superhero Sleep Demon Wesley Dodds.

After arriving at the North American base camp, Norman McCay's heavy mood was finally relieved, because he had determined that the illusion his friend had dreamed of was not illusory, but a fact that was about to happen.

Facing the occurrence of the facts can bring people a calm and stable mind.

The Secretary-General of the European Joint Think Tank was looking at a themed restaurant called 'Clapton,' where every waiter was wearing fancy clothes, which were all kinds of 'superhero' costumes.

"In this world now, there is always a feeling of absurdity, isn't there?"

Norman McCay smiled and said to the Secretary-General.

The waiters were saying absurd and boring street slang, just like the few remnants of the golden age superheroes in this world.

The Secretary-General nodded slightly and said: "In fact, human wisdom itself is also difficult to figure out. Is the world we live in real? An absurd world is always better than a lifeless world."

"Okay, it seems you are an optimist," Norman McCay smiled, "but I hope your optimism can last forever."

These superheroes rampage on the streets. For these 'heroes,' the purpose of the battle is no longer driven by lofty ideals or summoned by sacred missions.

It is purely a display and comparison of barbaric power. Most superheroes in this era are comparing and showing off their achievements, how many villains and criminals they have slaughtered on a certain day.

Many people have also tried to challenge these monsters, but no one has succeeded.

After all, these creatures standing at the top of the ordinary human world are the 'guardians' of mortals, occupying the name of 'righteousness.'

Until the melee ended, those superhero heroes triumphantly displayed their achievements in punishing criminals on the street, and these talents were able to leave with peace of mind.

Norman McCay took the Secretary-General of the Think Tank Organization through twists and turns to a vast farm.

In this huge and empty farm, there was only an unremarkable middle-aged farmer, with a stubble beard and unkempt appearance, squatting next to an agricultural tillage machine, repairing this machine filled with a strong smell of oil.

The Secretary-General looked at the seemingly ordinary farmer. Even though so many people were standing in front of this farmer, he did not see any emotional fluctuations or behavioral feedback from this farmer.

The soldiers holding guns and the super warriors in the Think Tank Organization did not cause any reaction from this farmer.

The Secretary-General couldn't quite believe that this overly ordinary human was one of the most famous heroes of the golden age.

Until the farmer saw that he could not repair this huge agricultural tillage machine, he could only lift this huge machine with one hand and walk towards the farm warehouse,

The Secretary-General then believed that the farmer in front of him was the Metropolis's Son of Tomorrow in his memory, the most shining star among superheroes.

The Secretary-General had not heard from this superhero for more than ten years, so he was really a little unbelievable that the once glittering and shining Son of Tomorrow would become such an ordinary middle-aged man.

The Secretary-General was about to take the initiative to introduce himself, but a beautiful woman descended from the sky.

The Secretary-General did not misread this time, because this beautiful woman always maintained her former appearance and extremely unique costume characteristics.

That was Princess Diana of Paradise Island.

The princess of Paradise Island nodded kindly to Norman McCay and the others, and then called out to the man dragging the huge machine with one hand.

"Clark, we need to have a good talk!"

Diana's tall body stood behind the man, but did not get close to the man.

The middle-aged Son of Tomorrow was now stained with frost at his temples, and even the long beard connected to his temples was white, looking more like a farmer.

But at this moment, this ordinary farmer suddenly turned his face, revealing a pair of suddenly sharp eyes, staring straight at his former companion.

Even the princess of Paradise Island felt a strong pressure after meeting the sharp eyes of this Son of Tomorrow.

She immediately changed her words and said: "Kal, we need to have a good talk."

Since the Kryptonian's adoptive parents Jonathan and the Kryptonian's partner Lois passed away, Kal-El had been living a secluded life and rarely appeared in the eyes of the outside world.

Even those who were interested in finding this Son of Tomorrow would hardly find his trace without his permission.

Superman's gaze returned to calm, and only then did Diana slowly say, "Kal, I know that the passing of Lois and Jonathan has drained the vitality from your heart, but I hope you can still be the Son of Tomorrow who held justice and kindness in his beliefs."

"Even Lois and Jonathan wouldn't want to see you so downcast."

Hearing Diana mention those he once loved, Kal-El's eyes showed no emotion.

He simply turned his head and said calmly, "Humans are mortal, and their hopes will also perish."

Norman McKay frowned slightly, and the Secretary-General of the Joint Think Tank was also slightly startled.

These simple signs indicated that the Son of Tomorrow before them was gradually shedding his humanity, leaning towards a godlike indifference.

A look of anger suddenly appeared on Diana's beautiful face, especially at Kal-El's indifference not only towards his former comrades but also towards those who had passed away.

She ran forward, precisely locating a hidden corner in the empty air and pressing it.

The virtual reality farm's sky revealed streaks like barcode stripes, and then the true appearance of the farm, hidden within the Fortress of Solitude, was revealed to Norman McKay and the others.

What a massive fortress it was, resembling a palace where a lonely god resided among humans, and the Son of Tomorrow dwelling within was also forgetting the world like those gods.

"Kal, you should find your true self again, instead of indulging in the illusions of the past," Diana said, approaching the expressionless middle-aged man, her large, expressive eyes staring directly into the Kryptonian's indifferent pupils, "Neither Lois, Jonathan, nor the Kal-El of the past would ever want him to become the way he is now."

Diana's words seemed to stir something within the Son of Krypton, causing Kal-El to suddenly recall his past self.

"What was I like back then?"

Humans cannot empathize with their past selves from mere minutes ago, but perhaps Superman can.

So Kal-El finally nodded and asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Kal, the new generation of superhumans is now close to being completely out of control, and the threat they pose may be no different from those heinous criminals."

Diana opened the topic.

Kal-El's face remained indifferent, and his words were even more sarcastic, "I said this more than a decade ago, but back then I faced countless sarcasms and denials, and mockery."

Diana found it difficult to persuade this man whose heart had become as hard as iron; the evils that could once be effectively stopped with a wave of his hand could not revive the Kryptonian's justice and kindness. What reason did she have to persuade the Kryptonian to step forward in the face of a potentially fatal crisis?

So, the usually bold and resolute princess's expression became pleading. Diana said in a begging tone, "Kal, you've been here for over a decade, never contacting the outside world."

"I hope that as a former comrade, I can beg you to go out into the world, take a look, and then make your own decision, can you?"

Kal-El hesitated and pondered for a long time before finally deciding to open the Fortress of Solitude's mainframe, actively contacting the outside world for the first time in over a decade.

But among the dense information on the Fortress of Solitude's mainframe, one piece was particularly prominent: in an operation to capture a Parasite, Magog, the leader of the new hero organization, had adamantly refused the Parasite's request to surrender.

In the end, the Parasite, with no way to escape, used its last strength to perish together with Captain Atom, and the earth-shattering nuclear explosion swept through Kansas, killing millions in the aftermath.

Kansas and neighboring areas were completely turned into a radioactive wasteland, where no life could survive.

The disaster triggered a major famine throughout the United States, affecting the people of several states.

But Magog and his team had disappeared without a trace.

Kal-El quietly closed his eyes, and when he reappeared in everyone's sight, the silent Son of Tomorrow was wearing his old battle suit.

The black background contrasted with the giant S-shaped symbol, just like the darkness in the Kryptonian's eyes.

"Was your purpose in coming here also to get me to go out?"

Kal-El said to the familiar priest, "Very well, you have temporarily persuaded me."

The priest's lips moved, but he remained silent.