The negative fourth floor housed a small ordnance department. Designed to handle emergencies, it contained enough equipment to arm a hundred men.
No one had ever imagined it would actually be needed.
Now, nearly ninety elite soldiers stationed on the negative fourth floor were scrambling to equip themselves, preparing for an asymmetric battle. The air was filled with the metallic sounds of equipment being strapped on, safeties being clicked off, and ammunition being loaded.
<...
2024-12-22 18:53:06 +0000 UTC
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Only three seconds had passed.
Forty-one shots rang out. Since the M16 rifles held only 30 rounds each, Bardi had reloaded once.
Forty-one bullets tore through the knees of the kneeling soldiers, forcing screams and sobs from their mouths. Some wept uncontrollably.
There was no pity in Bardi's expression. Not even a flicker of emotion.
He swept his cold, indifferent gaze across the soldiers before him. Finally, his eyes shifted briefly toward the half-open door of ...
2024-12-22 18:52:26 +0000 UTC
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"Follow the order, soldier!"
"Fire!"
Slade's ruthless voice echoed over the radio.
The already suffocating atmosphere of fear became even heavier, freezing the soldiers in place. Their pupils flickered with hesitation as they struggled to obey the command. But Slade's tyrannical tone thundered once again through the broadcast.
"Fire!"
The soldier's trembling hand squeezed the trigger. His mind was torn apart by the overwhelming fear of deathâif t...
2024-12-22 18:51:25 +0000 UTC
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Negative fourth floor, in a small command and monitoring room.
Each floor of the underground research base had its own monitoring command center, each overseen by a major. However, as the colonel and the overall commander of the facility, Slade held authority over all the floors of the research institute.
A burst of static crackled from the walkie-talkie in Slade's hand.
'Zzzzt...'
The garbled noise was punctuated by Slade's heavy breathing. His face was ashen, his...
2024-12-22 18:50:17 +0000 UTC
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"WhatâŚ"
The stunned silence was suddenly shattered by a soldier's piercing scream. Before anyone could react, another soldier collapsed to the ground, a large, gaping hole blown clean through his head. Blood and brain matter splattered out as his lifeless body crumpled, his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The gunshots rang out in quick succession. The ceiling lights exploded one by one, sending shards of glass cascading down.
It w...
2024-12-22 18:49:39 +0000 UTC
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Outside the warehouse door, the air was thick with tension, so silent that even the sound of a needle dropping would have been deafening.
Dozens of soldiers stood at the ready, gripping M16 automatic rifles, their formations carefully arranged. Some crouched behind cover, others wielded riot shields, forming a tight barricade in the middle of the corridor. The space outside the warehouse was far from openâglass and steel experimental rooms were crisscrossed throughout the area, pro...
2024-12-22 18:48:59 +0000 UTC
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It felt like those cold, detached eyes were staring at Jack through the barrel of a gun, boring into his soul.
In a panic, Jack pulled the M9 pistol from the holster strapped to his thigh, his trembling hands fumbling to aim it. His movements were swift and practiced, the result of years of trainingâbut it was far too late.
"Boom!"
Bardi's right leg whipped out with the force of a wrecking ball, striking Jack's waist with brutal precision, as if swatting away a piece of...
2024-12-22 18:48:22 +0000 UTC
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"HANDS ON YOUR HEAD AND KNEEL DOWN!"
The command echoed loudly in the warehouse.
The two soldiers, Jack and Mason, stood frozen for a moment, their minds reeling. They had been tasked with guarding a paralyzed manâBardiâsomeone who had supposedly been confined to a wheelchair. But now, here he was, standing tall under the golden sunlight, his arms raised skyward in triumph.
The sunlight bathed his figure, outlining him with a faint halo, making him seem divine, as if ...
2024-12-22 18:47:27 +0000 UTC
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Bardi smiled faintly as the elevator doors closed, shutting Slade and Bori out of sight. Watching them leave, he felt an immense sense of accomplishment, the culmination of all his planning.
One might expect him to laugh wildly or be overwhelmed by excitement for the opportunity he had painstakingly worked toward.
But he didn't.
Instead, he smiled quietly.
His heart was as still as an ancient well, no ripples disturbing the calm surface.
After all the trials...
2024-12-22 18:37:35 +0000 UTC
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Underground base.
"Colonel Slade, I don't understand you." Bori spoke quickly as he pulled Slade along the corridor. His wiry frame moved with surprising speed as he pressed his point. "Bardi has explained his planet's beliefs countless times, and yet you insist on stopping him. Are you trying to drive him to desperation? Do you really want him to die?"
Slade followed, his expression cold and stoic as he broke free of Dean Bori's grip. "I'll stop anything he tries to do," he rep...
2024-12-22 18:36:56 +0000 UTC
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Underground base, at the elevator.
The atmosphere froze as Slade stepped out of the elevator, his imposing figure blocking the path of Bardi's wheelchair.
"Where are you⌠going?" Slade asked coldly, his sharp gaze sweeping over Jenny's striking appearance before settling briefly on Bardi.
It wasn't a glare, nor was it a prolonged stare. It was the kind of dismissive glance one gives to something beneath notice, a mere formality to assess the subject of one's disdain.
2024-12-22 18:35:52 +0000 UTC
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The next morning, at nine o'clock, the golden rays of the sun began spreading from the eastern horizon.
Bardi could only pray that it wasn't a cloudy day. Nothing would devastate him more than losing this chance. No one in the entire underground base longed for sunlight as desperately as he did. For Bardi, sunlight was more than warmth and light, it was life itself. It was the source of power for all Kryptonians.
He had spent the entire night wide awake. After Jenny had left the...
2024-12-22 18:35:16 +0000 UTC
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Bardi took another crucial step forward, his thoughts turning as he strategized his next moves.
Gaining Bori's trust was proving to be a valuable asset. Bori's willingness to help, fueled by his greed and self-interest, could be exploited further. Next, Bardi would need Bori to either speak favorably on his behalf to Slade or distract him entirely, both actions were critical to his plan.
In the Kryptonian culture that Bardi had carefully fabricated and introduced, it was customa...
2024-12-22 18:24:37 +0000 UTC
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Bardi's expression froze momentarily, but internally, he was already running through his meditation techniques, carefully controlling his heartbeat. He raised it slightly to mimic the reaction of someone genuinely caught off guard, someone surprised at the sight of the object before him.
And truthfully, he was a little stunned. He hadn't expected the key to be in Dean Bori's possession. On his previous visits to the research room, he hadn't seen it and had assumed it was lost, a fact t...
2024-12-22 18:24:04 +0000 UTC
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Time flew by. Another six months passed, and Bardi had now spent a total of one year and three months in this underground base, cut off from the light of day.
His life had changed significantly.
For any ordinary person, such a drastic shift in circumstances, whether for better or worse, would inevitably bring a mixture of resistance and reluctant acceptance. Change, after all, is necessary to break the monotony that breeds despair in intelligent life.
For Bardi, even the ...
2024-12-22 18:23:16 +0000 UTC
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"Bardi!!"
Jenny's scream pierced the air, her voice laced with panic. According to her calculations, the reflex nerve flow guided by the pulse radiofrequency needle should have been connected seamlessly. There should have been no painânone at all.
Bardi should have temporarily lost all nerve response in his limbs without experiencing any discomfort, let alone the intense pain and convulsions she had just witnessed.
Jenny's eyes darted to Bardi's sweat-drenched face. His...
2024-12-22 18:22:15 +0000 UTC
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The wheelchair reclined slightly, with Bardi's head resting against the cold metal backrest. He could feel the faint chill of the pulse radiofrequency needle embedded in his spinal cord.
As the anesthetic gradually wore off, for the first time in nearly ten months, he could sense faint responses from his body. The sensation was weak, he could barely register the touch of a hand on the metal wheelchair's handle, but his brain couldn't send commands to make his body move.
Bardi's ...
2024-12-22 18:21:32 +0000 UTC
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In the pristine white room, now repurposed into an operating room, Jenny and Bori were clad in light green sterile surgical gowns, latex gloves, disposable hats, and masks. Two assistants stood nearby, ready to help, while several tall soldiers waited on standby not far away.
Bardi lay anesthetized on the operating table, his broad shoulders, thick back, and imposing figure making him seem formidable even while unconscious. His muscular outline exuded an aura of strength that made it c...
2024-12-22 18:19:55 +0000 UTC
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Bori took the report from Slade's hand, the document containing General Vic's approval of Jenny's proposal.
Adjusting his glasses to sit more firmly on the bridge of his nose, Bori opened the report and placed it on the table. He spoke in a calm, thoughtful tone. "I didn't expect Jenny to come up with such a method. Truly, her talent in biology is remarkable."
Bori began flipping through the pages of the report. Jenny had bypassed him to submit the proposal directly to Vic, outl...
2024-12-22 18:15:32 +0000 UTC
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The underground base laboratory.
In Bori's office, the atmosphere was tense. The transparent glass display cases were filled with meticulously arranged files, and the desk, though tidy, still had stacks of neatly organized documents.
Bori sat behind his desk, wearing a pair of round glasses perched on his nose. Deep wrinkles lined his forehead as he studied the room with a calm yet thoughtful expression. The blinds were partially drawn, casting a diffused light across the space,...
2024-12-22 18:10:02 +0000 UTC
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Bardi had promised Jenny he would help them advance their research and share his technological knowledge. In exchange, he had hoped for a semblance of freedom, perhaps even the opportunity to leave his cell. But not at the cost of his own body being mutilated.
The price they proposed was far too high.
It wasn't freedom they wanted for him; they sought only to bleed him dry, to extract every ounce of knowledge he possessed. His ability to act, his autonomyâthey sought to strip ...
2024-12-22 18:09:27 +0000 UTC
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The next day, when Bardi saw Jenny step in to replace Wendy as his English instructor, he knew he was inching closer to freedom. Inside, he smirked coldly.
Even in confinement, the hearts of people were easy to manipulate.
As long as human desires existedâambition, curiosity, attachmentâno prison, no matter how advanced, could truly hold him.
They craved the alien technology aboard his ship. Bardi had no doubt that their ultimate goal was to extract every fragment of ...
2024-12-22 18:08:39 +0000 UTC
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Several days passed, and the monotony of the underground research continued. Wendy, the middle-aged woman tasked with teaching Bardi English, persisted in her futile attempts. She would hold up cards with English letters, shaking them in front of his face, her slightly raspy voice droning as she read them aloud.
Both Wendy and Bardi were growing increasingly frustrated.
Bardi understood why they were pushing so hard for him to learn English. They wanted him to explain the operat...
2024-12-22 18:07:54 +0000 UTC
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Everything was unfolding just as Bardi had anticipated. The underground research base had reached an impasse in its studies.
Without his guidance, the scientists were floundering. The technology aboard the Kryptonian spaceship was so far beyond anything available in 1980 that they had no idea where to begin.
This was a world where personal computers like the IBM 5150 had only just been introduced in 1981. In 1984, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000Xâthe first mobile phoneâwas an unwi...
2024-12-22 18:07:12 +0000 UTC
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General Vic: a tyrannical and ambitious soldier, ruthless in his pursuit of power.
Dean Bori: the old man heading the research on Bardi, overseeing the underground base and holding the highest authority in studying his body.
Dr. Jenny: a cool and aloof biologist, with the detached demeanor of a scholar. Within the research hierarchy, she is second only to Dean Bori.
Willife: a blonde beauty with piercing blue eyes and an emotionless expression. She serves as General Vic's...
2024-12-22 18:06:25 +0000 UTC
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General Vic emerged from the shadows of the giant sequoia forest, his figure illuminated by pale moonlight as he approached the alien spacecraft. The black smoke rising from the crash was gradually dissipating, while sporadic sparks flickered faintly on the damp, green leaves. Despite the potential for disaster, there had been no secondary explosions or forest fires.
Vic's sharp eyes gleamed with ambition, his hooked nose casting a shadow over his thin, angular face. Though not physica...
2024-12-22 18:04:25 +0000 UTC
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Nevada, the town of Stonetown.
The town of Stonetown was as ordinary as they come, indistinguishable from countless others. It had no remarkable architecture, no scenic vistas, and no historical landmarks worth mentioning.
In the distance, however, stood the giant sequoia forestâa rare and striking feature.
Giant sequoias are the thickest trees in existence, some even growing to over 110 meters tall. While the ones in this forest weren't quite as towering, many reached ...
2024-12-22 18:03:55 +0000 UTC
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Nevada, District 18 Military Base.
In the satellite reconnaissance control room, the photos displayed on several large monitors silenced the entire space.
The screens were blurry, but they showed a white object streaking through the atmosphere, heading toward Earth. Its thrusters burned brightly, emitting flames like a meteor as it descended.
Despite the blurred image caused by the intense glare of the thrusters, the object's outline and its fiery tail were still clear en...
2024-12-22 18:03:26 +0000 UTC
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The origin of the universe remains elusive. Before the advent of life, there was only endless darkness, a void so deep it chilled the heart.
When gazing up at the starry sky, the ignorant admire its beauty, while explorers stand in awe, drawn to its mysteries and striving to unravel them.
Deep space is vast and lonelyâa boundless, infinite expanse.
Among the brilliance of the stars, a comet with a blazing tail streaked into the solar system, its radiant glow cutting thr...
2024-12-22 18:02:43 +0000 UTC
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[DC: Tyrant]
In his past life, he was an honest and hardworking man who deeply loved his kind ex-girlfriend. They reunited and got married and later welcomed a premature baby into their lives. He worked tirelessly to provide for his family, feeling both exhausted and fulfilled, as their happiness became his driving force.
However, his life took a dark turn when a shocking revelation shattered his world: the child he had cherished and protected was not his. Betrayed ...
2024-12-22 17:59:06 +0000 UTC
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