The aliens who were picked up by Superman at the beginning

Li Zhen hovered in mid-air, the biting wind carrying the chill of the high altitude brushing against her cheeks.

His usually calm and composed eyes were now churning with complex emotions.

The dusty memories were touched, leaving behind an obscure feeling and a sense of bewilderment that even he himself couldn't quite discern.

He did not immediately respond to Diana's question, but slowly lowered his head, his gaze piercing through the thin clouds and landing on the endless city skyline below.

The afternoon in Seren was exceptionally peaceful, with sunlight like melting gold leaf, generously spreading across the rooftops.

On the street, retro-style vehicles moved smoothly, raising fine dust that quickly dissipated.

But in Li Zhen's eyes, another vision of the past quietly emerged.

Those planets scorched by war, the acrid smell permeating the air, and the incessant cries and roars in my ears—all these instantly shattered the barriers of time.

It formed a stark contrast to the tranquility before them.

Li Zhen's fingertips unconsciously curled up, her knuckles turning slightly white. Her chest felt as if something was blocking it, making her feel heavy and panicked.

"Mr. Prince."

After a long silence, Li Zhen finally spoke.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze returning to Diana, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hesitation.

"Do you know about the coming-of-age ceremony on Witrum?"

Diana was taken aback and subconsciously shook her head.

She knew about the coming-of-age ceremonies of many civilizations in the universe, whether they were solemn blessings or rigorous trials, but she had never heard of any rumors about Vitrum.

She could sense the heaviness in Li Zhen's tone, and subconsciously held her breath, her gaze fixed on his figure.

"In Witrum, seventeen is the legal age of adulthood, but only those who pass the coming-of-age ceremony are truly recognized warriors and have the right to stand on the planet."

Li Zhen's gaze became blank, as if she were seeing once again that planet that had long been torn apart by war and hegemony.

"But you would never imagine that the so-called coming-of-age ceremony is never a ritual symbolizing growth, but a naked massacre."

He slowly raised his right hand, palm facing the sunlight overhead. Golden rays filtered through his fingers, casting dappled shadows on his face.

"The instructors would throw us teenagers who were about to come of age directly onto a planet that they had just set their sights on and had not yet fully conquered. The native inhabitants of that planet, regardless of age, gender, or age, became our 'test targets'."

Li Zhen's voice was unusually calm, without any inflection, as if she were recounting a trivial matter unrelated to herself.

But this calmness made Diana's heart sink suddenly, and a chill slowly rose up her spine, instantly sweeping through her entire body.

She clenched her fists instinctively.

"There are no rules, no bottom line, and no mercy whatsoever."

Li Zhen withdrew her gaze, her tone remaining calm, yet carrying a suffocating cruelty.

"There is only one requirement for the assessment—to survive and, moreover, to kill all the indigenous people who are defined as 'rebels'."

"Rebels?"

Diana's voice became uncontrollably dry.

She stared intently at Li Zhen, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Those unarmed civilians, those elderly people and children who have no ability to resist, are they considered rebels in your eyes?"

"In the eyes of the Witrum people, any living indigenous people who have not completely submitted and given up the idea of ​​resistance are rebels."

Li Zhen's lips twitched, as if she were mocking him.

"The logic was simple and bloody, and Wittrum himself was in the midst of a civil war that could last for hundreds of years, and some people's nerves had become more insane than before."

Luo Xing was the most unique and cruelest testing ground in Li Zhen's year of assessment.

No one would question this choice, after all, it was the Vitrum leadership who included Luo Xing in the assessment criteria, their desire for conquest completely ignited by the tenacious resistance of the planet's native inhabitants.

"The planet Luo is three times the size of Earth, and its native inhabitants have lived and thrived on it for thousands of years."

"Their technological level is roughly equivalent to that of Earth in the 20th century. They lack the ability to travel between stars and have very few heavy weapons."

But unlike Earth in the 20th century, the core of Luoxing's culture is filled with a steadfast commitment to its homeland and zero tolerance for aggression.

"When the vanguard of the Witrum first set foot on the planet, attempting to force them to surrender by force, more than 80 percent of the native inhabitants of Lothia did not choose to back down."

A complex emotion flashed in Li Zhen's eyes.

"The army took up simple guns and built defenses on the outskirts of various cities; ordinary people wielded cold weapons passed down from their ancestors. With their own flesh and blood, they built fragile but tough defenses and fought hard against the invaders with overwhelming strength."

This tenacious, almost obstinate resistance thoroughly enraged the Witrum people.

In their eyes, such a primitive and backward planet should have its native inhabitants bowing down to them like ants.

To resist is to openly desecrate Wittrum's authority.

This fueled their intense obsession with completely taming and conquering this planet.

Therefore, the conquest of Luo Xing was directly designated as one of the coming-of-age tests for Witrum.

Li Zhen's team was one of the teams participating in this brutal assessment.

The team consists of ten members, all of whom are seventeen years old or older except for Li Zhen. They are led by two experienced instructors named Witrum, whose hands are stained with blood.

He hovered in front of Diana and slowly recounted this memory that he had previously guarded so closely.

"Professor Prince, there are a total of four billion people on the planet Luo."

Diana's breathing became increasingly rapid, her chest heaving violently. She could even vividly imagine the horrific scene based on Li Zhen's description.

How insignificant and helpless a group of unarmed civilians are in the face of the Witrum people who possess world-destroying power.

Their resistance was like throwing eggs against rocks; every charge meant the loss of life.

"No...this is impossible..."

Diana instinctively took a few meters back.

She had witnessed the cruelty of war, the bloodshed of slaughter, and had even personally killed many vicious villains.

But she never imagined that there would be a civilization that would use the slaughter of an entire planet's life as a trial for a teenager to become an adult.

These cold, inhumane rules completely overturned her understanding.

A long silence stretched between the two, so long that even the wind in the sky seemed to quiet down.

Diana slowly raised her head, looking at Li Zhen with a complex expression, her eyes filled with shock, pity, disbelief, and a hint of scrutiny.

After a long silence, she finally spoke again, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

"On Luo Xing, during that massacre of the natives, what were you thinking?"

Upon hearing this question, Li Zhen's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile tinged with obvious fatigue.

"At that time, I felt that there had been no better opportunity in the last ten years to escape Witrum."

He paused, his gaze drifting into the distance again, as if he could see the smoke rising from the battlefield of Luo Xing, and see himself suspended in the air, looking down at those who, as the massacre drew to a close, still pointed their weapons at him.

"At that time, all I had in my mind was the tension of whether I could escape successfully and the urgent expectation of freedom—other than that, I had no time to think about anything else."

"boom--"

These words struck Diana like a thunderbolt, exploding in her mind.

She was shocked and completely lost her composure. Her straight back swayed uncontrollably, and the color drained from her face, turning her deathly pale.

Diana's face was mostly shrouded in shadow against the sunlight, leaving only her pupils filled with disbelief.

Li Zhen did not miss her loss of composure. He looked at Diana quietly, with a hint of probing that was not easily detected.

"Mr. Prince?"

Diana did not respond, but simply maintained that stiff posture.

After a moment, she slowly lowered her head, her eyes vacantly fixed on the city below, exuding an extremely unnatural sense of alienation.

That aura acted like an invisible barrier, instantly severing all connection between her and Li Zhen.

Suddenly, a thick, insurmountable wall stood between the two of them.

Seeing her like this, Li Zhen's lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she swallowed it back.

Silence spread between them again as time ticked by.

Li Zhen sighed softly and didn't linger.

After taking one last look at Diana, who remained frozen in place, he turned and flew straight towards the distant horizon, quickly disappearing into the clouds.

Diana was left alone, standing there for a long time.

Above the city of Seren behind them, the golden tower-like building constructed of magic was slowly becoming transparent, eventually disappearing completely.

The figure of Doctor Fate stood in the center of the tower, silently watching the direction Li Zhen had gone through the invisible magical barrier.

The look in his eyes beneath the golden helmet was complex and unfathomable, carrying a mixture of doubt and a hint of barely perceptible pity.

"Nabu God..."

He spoke slowly, his voice low and hoarse.

"The massacre wasn't his intention; is such a person truly beyond redemption?"