The aliens who were picked up by Superman at the beginning

"Where we live, strength is everything. The weak have no dignity and can only become stepping stones for the strong or victims of war."

His voice was soft, and a hint of rejection and disgust flashed in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating his face and outlining an eerie silhouette that combined youthful exuberance with a sense of world-weariness.

He made no secret of the bloodthirsty and warlike culture of Witrum.

However, he also embellished his own upbringing, omitting the overly bloody and violent details.

For example, during his coming-of-age ceremony, he killed three of his older companions with his own hands in order to survive;

For example, in his last hope of escape, he crushed the last hope of that civilization.

These details were too cruel; he only emphasized that his heart had been out of sync with the planet's atmosphere since childhood, making him an outcast.

"On Witrum, weakness is the original sin. All children fight for survival, while adult warriors revel in conquering other civilizations."

Li Zhen's tone was filled with exhaustion and helplessness.

"As far back as I can remember, all I've seen is endless fighting and killing."

"The adults would throw us kids into training camps and make us fight each other, and only the final winners or survivors would be trained."

"I thought about rebelling, but the cultural curriculum on Witrum was the same. They discriminated against the weak and did not allow you to show empathy and compassion in any situation—they called it cowardice."

Li Zhen lowered her head slightly, avoiding Tom's increasingly shocked and angry gaze.

These words omitted some parts about himself.

Although his way of thinking differed from that of the pure Witrum people, his true inner thoughts seemed out of place in that harsh environment.

But Li Zhen hardly revealed this in her upbringing.

Except when he was ten years old, he was forcibly sent to the battlefield by his instructors, who ordered him to wipe out the last survivors in the glory of conquest.

The elderly, women, and children, their desperate cries, the blood and broken bones covering their bodies—all of this caused Li Zhen, who had been living under immense pressure, to finally suffer a mental breakdown.

He turned and rushed toward the instructor who had previously praised him.

But Li Zhen soon realized how far he was from being a Vitrum warrior who had experienced thousands of years of conquest wars.

From then on, Li Zhen showed no abnormality whatsoever, and in fact, in the eyes of the Vitrum warriors, she performed better and better.

At first, Li Zhen, like countless time travelers in literary works from her previous life, thought about returning to her hometown one day.

But later, as his hands became stained with blood time and time again, Li Zhen began to subconsciously ignore his initial thoughts.

It could even be said that deep down, he began to feel fear about returning to his hometown.

Countless nights were spent waking up from nightmares in which Li Zhen became a typical Witrumian and finally descended upon his homeland one day while carrying out a new conquest mission.

Before him stood an elderly relative from his past life who did not recognize him.

Behind them, however, came the urging voice of the conqueror.

Of course, Li Zhen didn't tell Tom these things; she just described her life over the past ten years in a somewhat numb way.

Tom listened quietly, his hands on the table clenching unconsciously, clearly moved by the cruel scenes being described.

He never imagined that in some corner of the universe, there existed a civilization that took pride in killing and conquest.

Looking at the boy who had fallen silent again, Tom felt a surge of sympathy for him.

He could sense the deep-seated helplessness that Li Zhen felt, a feeling only someone who had experienced true hardship could have.

Tom sighed softly, asked no more questions, and simply waited quietly.

If Li Zhen wanted to continue, Tom felt he should be given enough time and space.

After a moment, Li Zhen spoke again.

"I've been looking for a chance to escape that hellish place."

There was a hint of relief in his tone, as if he had survived a disaster.

"I seized the opportunity during the coming-of-age ceremony on Witrum to steal escape pods from one planet after another that had been conquered by Witrum."

"I was hunted down by other Witrumans during my escape, and those are the wounds I sustained."

"After drifting for countless light-years in space, the escape pod's energy was almost completely exhausted. Perhaps it was fate that I drifted to Earth."

He made no mention of killing his classmate at the coming-of-age ceremony, nor did he mention that, despite his inner disagreement with Wittrum's culture, he was a prospective outstanding graduate of Wittrum this year.

All he needed to do was let the other party know that he was a "rebel" from Vitrum, that he had completely broken with that warlike civilization, that he posed no threat to Earth, and that he might even need protection because of the reckoning his home planet was facing.

Li Zhen's carefully crafted confession contained nine parts truth and one part deception.

He knew that Superman and his potential team would be highly vigilant about a civilization like Witrum.

As an "outlier" who escaped from Witrum, he could become a breakthrough for them to understand this potential threat.

If necessary, he could even provide them with some information about Witrum.

After all, a "traitor" who can proactively provide enemy intelligence is far more trustworthy than an alien visitor of unknown origin.

More importantly, he needs to utilize the super technology that is most likely to exist on this planet.

He had to figure out whether Witrum still existed in this universe.

If the planet Vitrum didn't exist in this universe, he could have safely recovered on Earth and started a new life.

If such a situation exists, preparations must be made in advance to deal with the pursuit and killing.

"I know the person who saved me is very powerful. I can feel it from the power he exudes and the warm aura he has. I think he must be protecting this planet, he is the guardian of this planet."

"I didn't mean anything by it, and I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"I just want to find a safe place to live, away from the endless killing and war."

Li Zhen's voice grew softer and softer, as if she had no confidence in her request.

Hopefully, Tom, who claims to be Superman's friend, has a similar personality to Superman.

If Tom can trust him and relay these words to Superman, then he won't have to worry about anything else for the time being.

Tom gently patted the table, his tone mild.

"My child, you have suffered."

His eyes were filled with pity, and a hint of determination.

"You don't need to worry too much. Superman is a very kind person. He has helped many alien visitors like you who have encountered difficulties."

"You don't need to think about anything right now. Just stay here and recover. It's safe here, and no one will bother you."

Li Zhen finally felt relieved.

He picked up the spoon again and slowly began to drink the soup.

But he didn't notice that a miniature listening device was hidden in an old locust tree outside the attic window.

The device's signal receiver is hidden in the veins of the tree trunk, silently capturing every sound inside the attic.

These sounds were converted into encrypted electronic signals by the device and transmitted to the Bat Cave on the outskirts of Gotham City, hundreds of kilometers away.

Inside the bat cave, the light was dim, with only the cold light from the huge display screen illuminating the surroundings.

The screen was displaying the transcript of Li Zhen's conversation with Tom in real time, along with a series of physiological data such as Li Zhen's tone of voice, heart rate, and respiratory rate.

There was even a small window that played live footage captured by a miniature camera attached to the listening device.

Although the image was somewhat blurry and the angle wasn't ideal, it was enough to clearly see Li Zhen's movements and general expression.

Batman sat in a high-backed chair in front of the screen, his black suit blending into the dim environment, with only his sharp eyes gleaming in the shadow of his bat mask.

His fingers rested lightly on the keys, remaining in that position like a statue.

The console emitted a faint hum of electricity, which, together with the dim light from the display screen, created the oppressive atmosphere unique to the bat cave.

"William Planet..."