Chapter 350: Blackened Superman and the Fallen Batman
"Who is he?"
Batman ignored The Flash's complaint and asked directly.
Barry Allen immediately introduced, "This is Chen. He's like us…"
On the way here, Chen Ye had introduced himself to Barry Allen.
This secret realm had granted Chen Ye the English language skill, so communication was seamless.
Though, oddly enough, no mission prompt had appeared yet…
Seeing that Barry Allen was about to start rambling, Batman immediately interrupted, "Barry, I told you to scout for information—not to bring people back!"
"Oh... but didn't you say it yourself, Bruce?" Barry shrugged. "We need help, and Chen's a sharp guy."
Batman didn't argue with that.
After all, Chen Ye had found his hideout almost immediately upon arrival.
That level of perception wasn't something ordinary people possessed.
Batman stopped questioning Barry and stepped up to Chen Ye. The eyes beneath his mask locked onto Chen's, as if trying to see through him.
Chen Ye was also sizing up Batman.
At the moment, Bruce Wayne looked rather down and out—his entire body grimy, his gear minimal, and, shockingly, he was holding an M4 rifle.
The mighty Batman, rich enough to buy a bank outright, had been reduced to using an assault rifle…
That alone showed how dire his current circumstances were.
"Bruce, is something wrong with him?"
Seeing Batman continue to scrutinize Chen Ye, Barry Allen couldn't help but ask.
Batman replied in a low voice, "He's fine. But he shouldn't be getting involved in our mission."
Then he looked up at Chen Ye again. "We're all high-priority fugitives. Joining us is extremely dangerous. Kid, I suggest you think this through."
Chen Ye finally spoke. "The truth is, I was asleep for a long time. When I woke up, the world had changed. So I still don't know what exactly happened."
This stunned both Batman and The Flash.
"Hey! Man!" Barry exclaimed. "You didn't tell me that."
Chen Ye responded, "You didn't ask."
Barry was speechless…
Batman shot The Flash a look, then asked, "You said you just woke up? Can you tell me who you were before?"
"My identity?" Chen Ye thought for a moment. "Like you—Earth's protector."
"And what abilities do you have?"
"Strength."
Chen Ye picked up a chunk of reinforced concrete from the ground and casually squeezed it.
Crack!
The concrete crumbled into powder in his hand.
"Cool!"
Barry Allen couldn't help but marvel.
Even Batman looked a bit surprised.
Though this strength couldn't compare to Superman's, it was still a welcome addition.
As for whether Chen Ye could be a spy?
If he were, Darkseid would've already shown up with corrupted Superman to kill them all.
"Let's talk inside."
Batman took the initiative and opened the iron door behind him.
When Chen Ye entered, he found himself in a small underground base.
Inside, there were four others.
The first to catch Chen Ye's attention was a half-human, half-machine individual who was busy working with a cube-shaped device.
Chen Ye recognized him as Cyborg from the Justice League. The device he was working on had to be a Mother Box!
Next to Cyborg sat a man with heavy clown makeup and an unreadable age—slouched and bored at a table.
No need to ask—this was the infamous Joker.
Then there was Aquaman's wife, Queen Mera.
And finally, the one-eyed mercenary, Deathstroke.
This was Batman's "team" now!
Keep in mind, both the Joker and Deathstroke were sworn enemies of Batman.
And yet here they were, cooperating…
That alone showed how grave the situation had become.
"Looks like we've got a new member."
The Joker was the first to speak, grinning wickedly at Chen Ye.
Chen Ye ignored him.
In his eyes, the Joker really was just a clown—not worth bothering with.
While the Joker was skilled at manipulating people, he was far too weak. Chen Ye could flick him to death.
Cyborg glanced up at Chen Ye at the Joker's words but quickly returned to his work.
Mera and Deathstroke reacted similarly.
Since Batman said nothing, The Flash took it upon himself to introduce them.
"Guys, this is our new partner, Chen!"
"Chen, that's Victor. That's Mera from Atlantis. That's Wilson, aka Deathstroke. And this is Arthur…"
When he got to the Joker—
The Joker suddenly cut him off: "Everyone calls me the Joker!"
Chen Ye nodded slightly as a greeting to everyone.
Then he turned to Batman again and asked, "So, what exactly happened? Why has everything become like this? My last memory was of you successfully reviving Superman and stopping the alien invasion."
At the mention of "Superman," everyone's face darkened.
The Joker suddenly laughed and said, "Bruce, I bet you really regret bringing him back now, don't you?"
Batman ignored him and after a moment, explained:
"Several years after we stopped Steppenwolf, the dark overlord 'Darkseid' led his army to invade Earth…"
Through Batman's narration, Chen Ye finally understood what had happened.
It was simple.
The nightmare Batman once had had come true!
Darkseid came to Earth to seize the hidden "Anti-Life Equation," leading an army of Parademons to invade.
He first destroyed Atlantis and killed Aquaman, with only Queen Mera barely escaping…
Then he conquered Themyscira, killed Wonder Woman, and captured all the Amazon warriors!
After eliminating those two difficult factions, he moved to invade the human world.
Human resistance crumbled before Darkseid's might. Earth fell swiftly.
Now, Darkseid controlled nearly the entire planet. Those who resisted had died. The survivors were either his prisoners—or puppets.
"Wait!"
Chen Ye asked knowingly, "What about Superman? Even he couldn't stop Darkseid?"
The Joker immediately grinned and looked at Batman.
Batman's expression turned a bit awkward. "Something unexpected happened. Superman… is now one of Darkseid's subordinates."
Chen Ye had seen the story. Of course, he knew Superman had been corrupted.
And he also knew—it was Lois Lane's death that pushed Superman over the edge.
What puzzled Chen Ye was—how exactly did Lois die?
From the movie, it didn't seem like Darkseid killed her. Otherwise, Superman should have gone all out to avenge her, not become Darkseid's lapdog.
"I want to know—what kind of 'accident' pushed Clark to this point?" Chen Ye pressed.
Batman remained silent.
"Haha!"
The Joker suddenly burst out laughing.
Seeing that no one else wanted to speak, the Joker continued, "It was because of a woman. The woman Superman loved dearly… died in front of him, thanks to a certain so-called guardian of justice!"
"Lois?"
"That's right. Her!"
Chen Ye had been expected to ask further.
But surprisingly—
He didn't.
The Joker's implication was clear: Lois's death had something to do with Batman.
That was all Chen Ye needed to know.
Pushing the question further would only put Batman in a shameful position.
Chen Ye wasn't that tactless.
"So, what's your current plan?"
Seeing Chen Ye shift the topic, the Joker lost interest and turned his head away in boredom.
This time, it was Batman who answered.
"Oh…" Barry Allen added, "We're planning to use the Mother Box to resurrect Lois."
Chen Ye looked shocked. "Like how you once resurrected Superman?"
"Exactly."
"You want to bring Lois back to pull Clark back to our side?"
"Yes!" Barry Allen said. "If Lois is alive again, Clark will definitely come to his senses."
"Then let me ask…" Chen Ye said, "Even if Clark returns—can he defeat those aliens?"
The moment that question came out—
Everyone went silent.
They had all witnessed Darkseid's terrifying power—he was a true god, leagues beyond Steppenwolf.
Even if Superman returned, it might still not be enough…
"This is our only chance," Batman said.
His tone was filled with helplessness.
Chen Ye thought for a moment and couldn't help but shake his head.
Indeed, reviving Lois and hoping for Superman to come back to their side was the last sliver of hope these people had.
In their fight against Darkseid, humanity had even used nuclear weapons—but it made no difference...
The only trump card left for the Justice League was Superman.
Even if they knew Superman couldn't match Darkseid, they had to try!
This really was their final chance.
…
Chen Ye thought for a while.
Since no mission had appeared and he had nothing else to do, he might as well help these fallen superheroes—and supervillains.
"Alright! Even though your plan sounds crazy and the odds are slim… I'm willing to help you."
Hearing this—
Barry Allen instantly lit up, raising his fist toward Chen Ye. "Chen, I'm really starting to like you."
Chen Ye chuckled and bumped fists with The Flash.
Batman, ever serious, said in a low voice, "Welcome to the team, Chen."
The others didn't respond much.
To them, Chen Ye looked pretty ordinary. Whether this bald guy helped or not didn't really matter.
But The Flash was a chatterbox and couldn't help adding, "Chen, if Plan A fails, we do have a backup—Plan B. That's me! If I can surpass the speed of light, I can travel back in time and warn… Bruce! Tell him to protect Lois."
Hearing this—
Chen Ye suddenly remembered that scene in the movie where Batman had encountered a future version of The Flash, who kept repeating: Lois is the key…
Which meant—
Plan A had already failed!
"I think Plan B sounds more reliable!" Chen Ye said bluntly. "Why not go with that directly?"
Barry Allen sheepishly explained, "Oh… traveling back that far in time isn't easy. There's a high risk of getting lost in a time vortex. I've tried many times already—but all failed."
Chen Ye was speechless.
Still, he understood that Barry Allen was telling the truth.
Before arriving on Blue Star, he'd watched a movie about The Flash.
In it, The Flash had tried to save his mother, but ended up in a parallel universe... and in the end, not only did he fail to save her, but also got trapped in another world and never returned.
Just then—
The Mother Box that Cyborg had been working on suddenly exploded with a bright flash of light.
Buzz!
A shockwave blasted through the room, sending Cyborg, the Joker, and the others flying.
Even Batman, who stood farther away, was thrown into the air.
Only The Flash remained standing.
Not because his body was any tougher—
But because Chen Ye had calmly reached out and pressed a hand to his back, helping him stay upright.
As for Chen Ye himself—
The shockwave had no effect on him whatsoever.
"Victor!"
Batman scrambled to his feet and called out.
"Damn it!!" Victor cursed, his face grim. "Another failure!"
At those words, Batman's expression darkened. "That blast might've already drawn their attention. We need to evacuate immediately!"
Next—
Everyone began packing up and preparing to flee.
Judging by how practiced they were, this clearly wasn't their first time.
Chen Ye followed along too.
He didn't try to act like a hero and stay behind to face Darkseid.
After all, he hadn't received a mission yet—and had no reason to confront Darkseid directly. Even though he was confident in his strength…
If possible, he wanted to help these people bring Superman back to their side.
That way, with both him and Superman fighting together, the odds of defeating Darkseid would be much better.
"Chen, thanks for earlier."
On the way out—
The Flash turned to thank him.
Chen Ye waved it off and didn't think much of it. "By the way, Darkseid came to Earth for the Anti-Life Equation, right? What exactly is that?"
"I'm not too sure," Barry Allen said. "But I've heard it's an ultimate weapon. If Darkseid gets it, he can control the minds of all living beings in the universe…"
"So that means Darkseid still hasn't found it yet?"
"Of course! If he had, we would've lost already."
Barry continued, "To get the Anti-Life Equation, Darkseid needs to combine the power of all three Mother Boxes into one and destroy the surface of the Earth. Only then can he locate it."
"Right now, we still have one Mother Box in our possession. We'll never let him have it."
"That's also why we've been labeled as top-priority fugitives…"
Chen Ye nodded and instinctively glanced toward the Mother Box in Cyborg's hands.
It really was an incredible object.
It had even brought Superman back to life after he was killed by Doomsday.
Even Cyborg—Victor—had originally been a corpse, resurrected and transformed by the energy of the Mother Box.
(End of Chapter)
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