2169 Side Story: Fantasy Journey 10

Even as her mind raced, Diana didn't stop smiling. "Should I say, 'Thank you for your trust'?"

"No, it's my honor. Let me give you another piece of advice." Luke let go of her palm. "Your Highness, you still have to take care of your skin; if it's too rough, it won't fit your identity as an artist."

With that, he picked up his pace and left.

Diana snorted and then looked at the 'business card' in her hand, only to see that it was actually a small smartphone.

There was no logo on it; it was just that the frosted surface made it look like a business card.

After a brief hesitation, she picked up her pace and left.

On the other side, Mr. Wayne returned to where he had set up his black box. Seeing that the other end of the wire was empty, he couldn't help but mutter, "Sh*t!"

Diana, who was speeding down the road, glanced at her purse and smiled. Sure enough, it was better to leave hacking into databases to the professionals.

Luke watched with great interest as his Trailblazer copied the encrypted files. "Interesting. What does Lex have that Mr. Wayne and the princess are interested in?"

Now that Lex had piqued his interest, he was prepared to investigate this 'black-hearted' young master.

If everything went according to plan, he would be able to capture Lex Luthor in three days at most and take Lex Corporation under his control.

What Luke hadn't expected was Lex's 'straightforward' actions.

The next day was the congressional hearing for Superman.

Although Luke had disrupted the situation in the last few months, all the parties who had a stake needed a result. The matter of a hearing had dragged on for a few months, from spring to fall, before it finally took place.

Then… the place exploded.

When Luke heard the news from the A.I. program and watched live TV broadcasts from the scene, he was a little flabbergasted. That was Congress, after all.

Even if the government here was very weak, for it to be so weak to the point that someone could smuggle a bomb into the hearing and kill a bunch of politicians, reporters, and onlookers… was too d*mn ridiculous!

Back home, Congress had never been slapped in the face like this. Hydra wouldn't do something like this.

Almost subconsciously, his assessment of the government as a threat dropped by 20%.

It was undoubtedly because the government was not intimidating at all that someone dared to do something so outrageous.

Then, Luke tossed the thought aside.

The authorities here were noobs to begin with. If their threat level dropped another 20%… the chain reaction from this manner could basically be ignored.

What really mattered was Superman Clark's reaction.

The hearing was indeed aimed at Clark, but Luke didn't think that Clark would think that the explosion was meant to target him.

Killing a bunch of people in front of him was also a huge slap to Superman's face.

So, Luke only needed to confirm one thing: Who planned this explosion?

Alfred quickly screened the information related to this incident for clues.

In just a few minutes, a series of notifications in red boxes appeared on the virtual screen.

Luke looked at the name of the suspect behind these leads: Lex Luthor.

He couldn't help but rub his chin. "Are all capitalist kids in the DC universe so ruthless? This isn't Civil War."

The reason Lex had become a suspect so quickly was because he was an important participant in this hearing, but he hadn't appeared in Congress, and wasn't even in D.C..

Secondly, from the live broadcasts by reporters at the scene, it appeared that the source of the explosion was a victim backed by Lex Corporation.

The victim was in a wheelchair, which was undoubtedly the easiest way to bring in a bomb.

As someone who started out as a detective, Luke naturally wouldn't let go of this suspicious point.

More importantly, ordinary people didn't have the ability to cause such a stir, unless they had skills or superpowers.

Lex Corporation, on the other hand, was a tech company, which made it even more suspicious.

A check of Lex's family background further solidified this suspicion. Lex's father, Lionel Luthor, clearly had violent tendencies, and had abused Lex since he was young.

Luke sighed. As expected of the illustrious DC universe.

This character setting was the standard template for a villain boss back home, let alone here.

Even Mr. Wayne, who had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had been loved by his parents since he was young, had become a paranoid and violent lunatic. If Lex didn't do something bad, he would be letting the audience down.

Pondering for a moment, Luke then went to the Daily Planet.

A few minutes later, he walked out again and dialed a number he had just gotten.

Although the number was already in his database, it was necessary to obtain it aboveboard.

Soon, the call connected, and he asked, "Hello, is this Reporter Lois Lane?"

On the other end, Lois was rushing to her friend's place to get the results of the analysis of evidence related to the explosion.

Picking up the call, she didn't think too much of it. As she picked up her pace and headed to the parking lot, she replied, "Yes, that's me. Do you have something to say? I'm a little busy."

Luke said, "Miss Lane, I have an important lead. I wanted to talk to Clark in person, but he wasn't there when I went to the newspaper. I asked your colleagues, and they gave me your number. They said that you're trustworthy."

At that moment, Lois was too worried about her boyfriend to think about some 'big scoop.' Hearing that, she simply said, "Hm, you can tell me what the lead is. I'll contact you after I confirm it…"

Luke interrupted her. "Sorry, but this lead concerns Superman. I don't want to talk about it over the phone."

Louise paused. "That…"

Now that she was in D.C., it would take her at least half a day to drive back to Metropolis.

But it was necessary to stay here and monitor developments.

Luke seemed to know what she was worried about. "Where do you want to meet? It's fine if you're not in Metropolis. I have a private plane. It won't take half a day for me to get anywhere in America."

Louise felt like the other person had just flaunted his wealth in her face, but she still agreed decisively. "I'm in D.C.. Do you know the forensics center? There's a chicken diner opposite. Let me know once you get there."

Luke said, "Very well, Miss Lane."

After hanging up, he looked at the time: 3:12pm.

Walking over to the Porsche on the side of the road, he opened the door and got in before he murmured, "An hour should be enough. It won't be strange at all for the control tower to help me cut queue – after all, with money, you can do whatever you want."

In reality, he would immediately fly over in his suit, while the remote-controlled android on the private plane would just be a cover.