HCB Chapter 481 The Destruction of Fiji
Chapter 481 The Destruction of Fiji
Chapter 481 Fiji's Destruction (Bat: ???)
Fiji, the first place in the world to see the sunrise.
Mount Tomaniwe, at an altitude of 1324 meters, is located here. It is the highest peak in Fiji and is an extinct volcano. At the foot of the mountain, you can see the rural scenery of Fiji and vast sugarcane fields.
Inside the Tomaniwe volcano, in a huge cave...
A violently flashing spatial ripple carved a smooth curved surface into the stone wall.
The blue light illuminated the dark cave, which was formed by a volcanic eruption and located hundreds or thousands of meters underground in the mountains. It should have been a place where no human could stand.
hum!
A buzzing sound that gave one goosebumps began, then subsided.
hum!
A small blue portal lit up, then quickly went out, then lit up again just as fast. From behind the portal came a man's exasperated voice:
"Damn it, Golden Vanguard, I told you, never... that would cause the timeline to break, leading to the collapse of reality..."
"Damn it, Richard, do you think I want to? If I could really..."
"Shut up! Stop talking nonsense, I'm begging you. Just erase all the damage..."
"You try operating it yourself!"
"Damn Golden Vanguard, you bastard!"
"...This is beyond my capabilities!"
"...Shut up! Focus on your work..."
As the two voices continued their shouting match, the small blue portal that had lit up again quickly vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed at all.
(Note 1: Golden Vanguard, a famous time traveler and DC superhero.)
(Note 2: Richard "Rip" Hunter, a DC superhero and time traveler, also appeared in the CW live-action TV series Legends of Tomorrow.)
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"I know you have your own ideas, Lex."
Chen Tao lay on his side on a deck chair high up on the yacht, the huge parasol overhead casting a shadow on his face.
"In principle, I'm not against these things, but you know very well that we need a backup plan."
He extended his index finger and tapped the armrest of the deck chair. His gaze traveled from the colorful coral reefs in the shimmering blue sea below the yacht, all the way to the glittering silver light as countless fish leaped, and then to the distant, dormant volcano standing silently.
"I need you to help me figure out whether Night Owl actually has the ability to move all the people on Earth... and if he can't, whether he's even tried..."
If an ordinary person heard this, they might just think that Batman was asking them to help him gather intelligence. However, Luthor on the other end of the communication immediately and keenly sensed Batman's true intentions behind this intelligence gathering, and Batman didn't seem to intend to hide anything from Luthor.
"Are you considering Night Owl's plan?"
"Why not?" Chen Tao said, "A plan isn't set in stone. If Night Owl really can take away everyone on Earth... have you seen the Night Owl plan I shared with you?"
Luthor heard Batman say, "I must say, Nite Owl has spent a long time planning, verifying, and preparing. If he can really increase the speed of his universe before the Anti-Monitor can react, he can establish a high-speed escape trajectory in the Dark Multiverse, and thus..."
He briefly reiterated the principles of Night Owl's plan to Luther, and then continued:
"If he really can take everyone on Earth and save them, it would be a good backup plan and definitely worthy of being considered as an option."
And do you know what's even more important? This plan has an extremely high success rate. If my plan only has a 20% success rate, and your plan only has a 30% success rate, then Night Owl's plan has at least a 70% success rate.
Batman didn't say a word about what would happen to him, and Luthor's heart sank.
"Even if Night Owl's plan succeeds, and he relocates all living humans on Earth to his universe, those people will only be slaves to Night Owl in the future."
Luther said, "The Night Owl's first plan was to use the Blood Cult to irreversibly transform everyone into beasts. He has no mercy for ordinary people. As long as he has a goal he considers noble enough, he will use ordinary people as expendable resources without batting an eye."
Although there's nothing comparable when it comes to doing bad things, I still have to say, compared to him, I'm practically a saint.
"If you're gone, who do you think can control Night Owl? Batman?"
You've ruined the Justice League. As I've said before, a sickly blue scout, an Amazonian madwoman who's clueless and only knows how to wield a sword, a minor who has magic powers, a mentally unstable Ringbearer, and a widowed middle-aged woman—do you think they can hold their own against someone like Night Owl?
Especially considering that Night Owl has hundreds of millions of people he has already trained like dogs, and Superman doesn't even kill people, let me tell you what will happen: he will be completely controlled by Night Owl.
"Night Owl only needs to send 300 loyal subjects to rout your Justice League. Those superpowered individuals might be able to fight a monster over 300 feet tall, but against 300 civilians, they'd be like helpless children."
Luther called out a string of numbers, but all he heard was Batman's low chuckle:
"It's alright, I'm here for you, Lex. I trust your intelligence."
Luther took a deep breath, unsure whether he was angry or experiencing some other emotion.
He forcefully suppressed the phrase "and you" that kept echoing in his mind, and then continued in a deep voice:
"Do you want to commit suicide?"
"Is it a urge for self-sacrifice at play? Or, damn it, some kind of misanthropic sentiment? Can noble self-sacrifice give you an orgasm? Make you feel self-satisfied, like you're a great person?"
He scoffed, "Even third-rate authors of popular fiction wouldn't write a plot where the protagonist dies, especially not something so stupid as to commit suicide. If they did, we'd generally call it a mental illness."
"No, no, what are you thinking? Of course not." Chen Tao quickly shook his head and denied it. "I already told you, it's just a backup plan. We should always be prepared, no matter what."
He told Luther, "That's why I need you to confirm that. I need to find out if Night Owl can really do it, or if he's just making things up."
"Okay," Luther readily agreed.
Then he paused: "There's no point in sacrificing others for victory, Batman. You told me that you would never sacrifice the whole world to maintain your victory, but... what if it were you?"
He said, "Don't be stupid."
"...Come on, you've misunderstood." Chen Tao was speechless; he was simply preparing for the follow-up plan.
"I'm not stupid. Of course I won't follow Night Owl's plan completely. As long as we can trap the anti-monitor, the mission will be accomplished. I will naturally prepare to escape. You don't need to worry about that."
He said this, then told Luther, "And if your or my plan succeeds, then I won't need to do something as dangerous as confronting the Anti-Monitor, right?"
He waved his hand: "Alright, enough talk, go check it out."
"Night Owl isn't stupid enough to tell me directly, much less trust me enough to confide in me," Luther said. "So the result I'm giving you can only be a judgment based on the intelligence I have."
"Yes, I understand perfectly well, and I'm just making my decision based on your judgment. But first, you have to provide me with the intelligence and submit your own analysis."
"Um."
"Um."
Chen Tao hung up the call and looked at the shimmering sea in front of him.
Soon, Night Owl will plunge the entire world into a berserk state of two-headed beasts. The heads of those beasts will be directly controlled by Chen Tao through the starfish clones of the Space Conqueror Starro, temporarily strengthening the bodies of all people without damaging their original personalities.
After everything is over, Chen Tao will be able to completely destroy those beastly personalities through this control, and reclaim the Crimson Power of All Beings that has been absorbed into ordinary people, so that they can return to being ordinary people from being extraordinary beings.
As for those beastly personalities...
It can only be said that these puppet personalities he created were not human in the first place, and Chen Tao had no moral burden about them at all.
What he did to the ventriloquists was far more serious than this, not to mention that those berserk, beast-like personalities basically had no rigorous logic, but were simply identical products produced purely around the thought imprint, like cloned organs.
And ultimately, isn't this the best approach right now?
"Mr. Bruce."
Chen Tao turned around and saw Alfred standing behind him.
Although they were already in Fiji, the old butler didn't seem very happy. With a worried and conflicted attitude, he brought Chen Tao a new plaid shirt and a macadamia nut drink.
"Hmm...very good." Chen Tao took the drink and took a sip.
"...Mr. Bruce, I suggest you go to the beach now...we've prepared a party, and there will be many local tourists and people there..."
Alfred rambled on for a while, then concluded:
"I want you to join this party, Mr. Bruce, just like a normal person."
"No, not for now. But I'll come soon."
Batman shook his head: "I'm going to take a nap now, just a nap."
He was really tired.
Chen Tao no longer needs to sleep. The magic of the Metal Spirit has turned him into a living metal being, and a piece of active metal doesn't need to sleep at all. This is one of the reasons why it can keep running non-stop all year round without rest.
But all he wanted to do today was get a good night's sleep. Night Owl was able to do many of the things he was asked to do, and then, like a top-notch logistics manager, he would arrange everything that required his intervention perfectly. So he finally had a chance to sleep, like a lion sleeping soundly in its den.
He can sleep, and when he closes his eyes, he can forget everything, fall into a drowsy state, and completely forget all his troubles.
Then when he woke up, he went to the party again and experienced things he had never experienced since he came into this world. Well, it was all very good, very good...
As he thought this, he put on his sunglasses and then closed his eyes.
Ok……
That's one thing.
Luther is right... about death.
He was prepared; Chen Tao was certain he was ready.
If it were truly necessary to carry out Night Owl's plan, Chen Tao knew it was a sign of weakness, a way to achieve the best of both worlds, and thus chose to sacrifice one life.
What if that person is already prepared for the adventure?
What if that person is determined to survive? He can be a little weaker, right? Maybe he can try someone else's plan, maybe he can slightly violate his own principle of not wanting to sacrifice anyone—
Sacrificing one's own safety doesn't count as a sacrifice, does it?
This is indeed a weakness. In the past, Chen Tao would never have even considered such a plan. He never doubted that he could have it all, and he never doubted that he could achieve a perfect ending with his intelligence.
But this time is different, unlike anything before. As Night Owl said, "The counter-surveillance agents are an enemy you've never faced before."
So even if you're a little weak, you can still...
boom!
Just as Chen Tao was thinking that, a sudden loud bang startled him so much that he jumped up from his chair. He looked up in astonishment and saw that the volcano in the distance had suddenly exploded.
boom!!!!!
Without warning, scorching magma roared and erupted directly from the crater, shooting into the sky.
Chen Tao: ? ? ? ? ?
He stared in disbelief as he took off his glasses, leaned against the edge of the yacht, and wondered if there was something wrong with his eyes.
This is an extinct volcano, not an active one, so how could it erupt?!
Where does magma come from? Does it appear out of thin air?
Where are the rules of physics? Where is basic geographical knowledge? Damn it, they're all gone?
Chen Tao was stunned. He instinctively reached for the communicator to call The Flash, then realized that he was now the only one with the Speed Force.
"Damn it, Batman is calling the Justice League." He pressed his hand against the nanobot-formed headset next to his ear. "I need help."
Chen Tao almost doubted himself... Am I a jinx or what?
Not far away, large amounts of volcanic ash were being thrown downwards. Without Chen Tao's help, it was easy to imagine that Fiji would soon resemble Pompeii. Chen Tao quickly ran out of time for idle talk and further thought.
Never mind, let's save people first.
Wait, does this count as working overtime?
Damn it, my vacation!
(End of this chapter)