Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 394 Earth Has No Way Out!

Gordon's early rise to power is certainly a good thing, but it's not all good.

He's too young now, just like Batman.

In fact, Gordon is not young; he is already over forty. However, the young police officers he mentors are too young to be promoted to middle management positions, and he cannot be given enough support.

This resulted in Gordon rising to power alone. As the deputy chief's position was quickly filled by others and as positions in powerful departments were occupied, Chief Gordon's connection with lower-ranking officers was severed by these mid-level officers.

In other words, Chief Gordon has been sidelined.

His time was filled with tedious administrative work, leaving him no time to hear or see the real situation at the grassroots level. His instructions and orders were filtered, distorted, and altered by the middle management, becoming a burden for the grassroots police officers.

In just one month, Gordon's good reputation, built up over a decade, has run into serious trouble.

Having learned his lesson, Gordon sought out Batman, who had resumed his activities, and approached this "criminal" whom he had taken notice of and developed feelings for.

Please advise.

"What should I do?" Gordon asked earnestly.

Batman replied more seriously, "I don't know. I'm just a vigilante, not a government official. I don't understand your convoluted stuff."

Seeing the disappointment in Gordon's eyes, Batman said, "But I can give you some advice."

Gordon was overjoyed: "Please speak."

Batman looked up and pointed to the greenery peeking through the gaps in the skyscrapers: "Go to the Fantastic Forest and seek guidance from Mr. Shazo."

Gordon's face turned extremely grim: "Go find that madman with blood on his hands?"

Batman sneered, "Gordon, you've developed such a boring prejudice since you became the director."

"If you want to solve this problem, go ask 'Vantastic'."

"If you insist on clinging to your boring prejudices, then so be it."

After saying that, Batman flicked his cape, jumped off the side of the skyscraper, and glided away with his cape spread out.

Gordon did not make a decision immediately and continued to struggle with it alone.

Xia Zuo has been extremely depressed for the past ten days or so because he has been harassed by a crazy woman.

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy Pamela Lillian Aisley relentlessly approached him, wanting to follow him and become his underlings.

Pooh!

It's all a lie!

They are all bad people. They not only want to take advantage of Xia Zuo for free, but they also want to change Xia Zuo!

Harley wants Shazor to become a real clown, to take her on adventures, to do exciting things, and to let her experience the true meaning of life.

Poison Ivy wants Shazo to become a true nature god, plant trees all over the world, and completely overthrow the evil rule of mankind!

One by one, they all want to use him as a tool to satisfy their own selfish desires. It's really despicable!

Shazak has not forgotten that he is a man who swore to save Gotham, and he will not change his original intention for the sake of a woman.

Absolutely not!

Then, Xia Zuo's magnificent palace was occupied by the two women, each occupying one of the main halls.

They moved their own things in without a care, filling the huge palace to the brim, making one look like a comical weapons museum and the other like an international greenhouse.

Who knew that women could reproduce!

It's unclear when exactly, but then Catwoman Selena Kyle moved in and filled a palace with stolen jewels, sculptures, gold, paintings, and other such items.

All of it was stolen or robbed; it looked like something out of the British Museum.

Despite his anger, Xia Zuo did not kill them, because none of the three women deserved to die, at least not yet.

If Shazor had killed the Joker a few years later, Harley Quinn would probably be dead.

Although three women can make a drama, the trouble they bring is not enough to affect Xia Zuo, a rational madman. What bothers him is the chaotic timeline.

Fifteen days ago, Superman came to Shazo's forest and confided his troubles to him.

Superman said he was being pursued by Lois, the woman whose life he saved, who had been looking for him. She eventually found his adoptive mother, Martha, and thus found him.

Shazo was almost driven mad by that bastard Superman, because while Clark was talking about how troubled and unfortunate he was, the smile on his face was just too smug.

Damn love-struck fool, do you want to taste the flames of the FFF group?

What? This damn love-struck guy is a superhero? A superhero who gets infinitely stronger just by being in the sun?

Okay, you're great. Go on, I'll listen patiently.

After being bombarded with Superman's displays of affection, Xia Zuo also learned which timeline he had traveled to based on the details Superman recounted.

The good news is that this isn't the most desperate timeline of death.

The bad news is that this is the most illogical DC movie timeline ever.

Even worse news: General Zod of Krypton is coming, and a war in which all hopes are pinned on Superman is about to begin.

Xia Zuo: Damn it, this is a Kryptonian! Give me some more time, let me get stronger!

After Superman confided in Xia Zuo, Xia Zuo, who was so energetic that he didn't sleep for seven or eight days, began to try to sleep every day, attempting to return to the Dream World and gain more power.

However, fate is most prone to playing tricks on people; the more you worry about something, the more likely you are to encounter it.

Since Shazo was unable to attend the Dream Gathering, General Zod's communications appeared on screens across the entire Earth.

"You are not the only one, you are not the only one, not the only one."

Perhaps due to forced content insertion, or perhaps due to the great distance, the noise in the signal was extremely high, which was transformed into dense noise and harsh static on the television.

Even the images on the television screen lost their color, displaying only blurry black and white images.

In the blurry image, a man in black armor repeatedly says, "You are not the only one," while switching between different languages ​​to display the phrase.

As time went on, the transmitted signal gradually stabilized, the noise disappeared quickly, the harsh sound also disappeared soon, and the picture began to become smooth.

The armored man began to introduce himself: "I am General Zod, from the distant planet Krypton. I have traveled across the endless sea of ​​stars to come here in search of my people—"

General Zod's words silenced the entire world.

This was a proactive third kind of contact, and also the first time it was made public. Everyone is trying to process the shock.

"My people's name is Karel," General Zod's voice continued. "He is hiding on this planet. I demand that you hand him over. He looks like you, but he is fundamentally different!"

"Those who know his true identity, the fate of Earth is in your hands—"

Then, General Zod began to speak to Superman: "Kal-El, listen up, I'm giving you one planetary cycle of time to surrender to me."

"Otherwise, the apocalypse of this planet will be your responsibility!"

After saying this, General Zod ended his speech, the interrupted television signal was restored, and the disrupted power system was restored to normal.

General Zod's forceful intervention was brief, and his speech was short, but its impact was unparalleled.

He confirmed a hypothesis for all people on Earth: that Earth is not alone.

There are indeed other intelligent life forms in the universe beyond Earth.

Moreover, they sailed to Earth, not only deciphered English, but also naturally uttered threatening words.

It is evident that the technological level of this Kryptonian civilization far surpasses that of Earth.

The White House convened an emergency meeting, attended not only by senior government officials but also by representatives of the financial magnates who truly control the United States.

The hawkish general spoke first: "I don't think we need to be afraid. This alien just looks powerful and aggressive, but everyone should notice that they haven't launched a direct attack."

"Such powerful extraterrestrial beings did not actively attack our beacon, the jewel of our existence, which can only mean that they are not strong enough and that they are deceiving us."

The dovish civilian official retorted, "General, can you guarantee that?"

The general was taken aback: "What do I need to guarantee?"

The civil official said, "The aliens must not be very powerful. They certainly wouldn't dare to go to war with us. They must be lying to us."

The general scoffed, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Although this is not our first time encountering aliens, I know nothing about Kryptonians, so of course I can't make any guarantees."

The civil official nodded in satisfaction: "Then we can't do it your way. At the very least, we can't just prepare for war. We must find Karl and seize the initiative!"

The Grand Commander was convinced, and he asked, "So, the question now is: Who is Kal'el? Where is he? Are there other Kryptonians on Earth?"

The CIA director and the director of the Bureau of Investigation exchanged a glance, and the director of the Bureau of Investigation spoke first: "I will launch an investigation domestically immediately."

The CIA director then added, "The CIA has launched an investigation globally."

The president knew that intelligence couldn't be obtained so quickly, but he still said, "The Kryptonian general gave us Earth 24 hours, I can only give you 12 hours. You must give me an answer by then."

After a pause, the Grand Commander asked, "I have one last question: Where is Krypton?"

"—Okay, then forget I asked."

"In addition, within 12 hours, I ordered the Army, Air Force, and Navy to inspect all nuclear weapons to ensure they can be used if necessary."

The Minister of Defense stood up and replied firmly, "Yes!"

From this moment on, many people in the Americas in the Western Hemisphere suffered from insomnia, and countless people in Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere gave up going to work.

Everyone was filled with anxiety and fear.

But Xia Zuo didn't. He began his preparations with great enthusiasm, trying out all the power he had at his disposal, determined to master it completely within 12 hours.

Since we can't rely on others, we should try our best.

While the movie "Man of Steel" only portrays Superman as a superhero, in the real world, superheroes are not limited to Superman.

Faced with the blatant and deadly threat from General Zod of Krypton, the superheroes would never agree to stand idly by and wait to die. Like Shazo, they were all silently preparing for battle.

A man in the seaside town turned off the television and went out onto the balcony to look up at the night sky.

With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he casually found a delicate little box under a flowerpot on the balcony, then silently opened it and put the green ring inside on his hand.

In the city center, a boy tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and finally got up to sew himself new gear and clothing.

In Xingcheng, a man donned a long-forgotten cloak and went to his family's shooting range, patiently adjusting his bow and arrows.

In the fortified city, a valiant and beautiful female warrior frowned as she opened her personal armory and took out ancient weapons such as swords and shields that she hadn't used in a long time.

On a cliff overlooking the Boston sea, a burly man, naked, leaps into the ocean.

He even muttered to himself, "That's right, the sea must be safer than the land."

In a secret laboratory in New York City, a Black man sits up from a pool full of coolant, half of his body reflecting a dazzling light, and his left eye suddenly flashes red.

In Gotham City, the richest second-generation heir opened the underground armory of the Batcave, where, among the seemingly endless array of modern weapons, there were also futuristic weapons far beyond the reach of this era.

But in the end, Bruce Wayne still put on the latest model of armor.

In the minds of the wealthy, the newest and most expensive are the best.

Simply put, the rich people's faith is money!

As the American landscape was illuminated by the rising sun, more than eight hours had passed since General Zod gave him the 24-hour deadline.

Faced with the threat of Kryptonians, most countries on Earth can do nothing but search for the Kryptonians hiding within their own borders.

Some countries can't even do that and have to rely on gangs or even drug lords to find people.

A responsible major power is different. While it is building up its military strength, it is also looking for Kryptonians in its vicinity. Its main strategy is to do both things well!

There's no way around it; ever since the Gulf War, everyone has been branded with the belief that technological advancements determine the course of war, or even directly determine victory or defeat.

Since Earth's technology is not yet capable of traversing interstellar space, it was the Kryptonians who crossed the void to come to Earth, thus achieving third-kind contact.

The Kryptonians naturally held absolute initiative. After the war began, they fought if they could win and retreated if they couldn't.

It could even recreate the famous scene of the British attacking the Qing Dynasty in 1840, attacking wherever they wanted, leaving the Earth only able to passively take the blows.

Therefore, few people are confident that they can defeat aliens, so they can only prepare for compromises at the same time.

But Xia Zuo knew that this would be futile.

Because once General Zod senses the unique nature of Earth's sunlight, he will immediately decide to occupy Earth, transform its environment into a Kryptonian environment, and turn Earth into a second Krypton.

As for Earth humans, they are completely outside the scope of the Kryptonian military template.

There is no way for Earth to retreat.