"What is your relationship with Zod?" Barry asked.
El hesitated, his words stopping and starting as his mouth opened and closed for a long time before he finally spat out the words: "...We have no relationship."
Barry squinted. Just as El was about to say something more, Barry reached out with One Hand and said, "You don't need to say it, I understand."
El really wanted to know what he understood, but Barry said nothing more. Barry watched him take out the mold from the low-temperature box and asked, "What's this thing?"
"A key," El said.
"What's it for?"
"To start a machine." El smiled and opened the mold, taking out the nail formed by a silver metal spiral. Inside, a crimson liquid coagulated, like a beating heart.
"Seems like you had a plan all along." Barry crossed his arms and said.
"It's not my plan from before, but rather the Kryptonians' plan from before," El turned around and said, "This planet is very special. Although it looks like a very small planet, at its center, it has a heart more vibrant than the star in our Star System."
"What do you mean?" Barry didn't want to analyze these metaphors from El's mouth, so he simply asked.
"Who do you think created Krypton?"
"Uh, God?"
El shook his head and said, "God might be your deity, but not ours. The god worshipped by Kryptonians and the Kryptonians is called 'Lao', a name that means 'Sun' in the Kryptonian language."
"According to legend, Lao planted a seed in Krypton's Earth Core and allowed Kryptonians to gain Strength from it. So for generations, we've been extracting energy from the Earth Core."
"Where did the Earth Core get so much energy?" Barry couldn't help but ask. He thought about Earth's situation—although Earth's core might be undergoing some reactions, even if we put technical issues aside, just the length of transportation would need very high efficiency to make it worthwhile.
"Unlike your planet, or rather most planets in the cosmos, Krypton should be considered an unfinished Star."
"A Star?! But... but it's way too small." Barry said.
"That's why it's unfinished." El then placed the key into another device, observing as he said, "Lao granted us a seed, and it's up to us to make it sprout or grow."
"This is also the belief held by Kryptonians." El walked to the side shelf to select tools and said, "They've been continuously modifying this planet, changing its gravity parameters, adding the Planet's Shield to it. More importantly, they've modified the fusion Reactor at the Earth Core, preparing for any situations that might arise in the future."
"Including the situation I mentioned?"
"Of course. Even if we were to perish, didn't the planet endure until you came over?"
This was indeed true. Barry nodded and said. He knew that, although the Kryptonians perished, Krypton itself remained resilient.
Thinking about this, he suddenly realized something was off.
The Kryptonian civilization was very advanced, even if it wasn't, would anyone reject something gained for nothing? If a well-known civilization was destroyed, many civilizations would likely want to scavenge the remains, right? Even if these devices couldn't be started, the dismantled parts should be somewhat useful.
And given Krypton's unique situation, it must have research value. Why didn't those high-level civilizations seize the opportunity to take this planet away?
Could it be because of Hai'er?
Barry pondered for a moment and thought it was possible. This guy is so strong that even if he were to cause trouble for high-level civilizations, he would be quite a headache for them. A civilization slightly less advanced would perhaps be directly destroyed by him.
It seems Hai'er was indeed one of the safeguards for Krypton. The El family was truly farsighted.
Barry then thought whether it might be possible to take advantage of this.
If Hai'er had deep feelings for his race, it would be irreversible, because at the present time, except for a few scattered Kryptonians, everyone else is dead. Due to issues of gene modification, Revival is meaningless.
But if he only had deep feelings for this planet, then perhaps there was room for negotiation. And if he was implanted with the programming to protect Krypton, this could actually be leveraged for a 'manipulation of the Shield'.
"Let's talk about Hai'er." El brought the topic back and said, "I've heard he's caused quite a bit of trouble for you guys?"
"That's right. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be losing his mind at our Sun right now."
El sighed lightly and said, "If I were to say he is a good child, you'd surely argue with me. But the truth is, he is, except..."
"Except what?"
"Except he's been through too much." El stirred the solution in a test tube and said, "The council created Hai'er, and although they shaped him mostly from the genetic level, there were quite a few 'adjustments' later."
"What do you mean by 'adjustments'?"
"You've seen how he looks, right?" El said, "Where do you think the scars on his body came from?"
Barry's movement paused for a moment, he hadn't really thought about this issue. Earlier when he saw the adult version of Hai'er, he thought those scars were from fighting all over the cosmos.
But now, thinking about it, it seems like the infant Laura was holding already had scars on its face. How could such a small baby do that to himself?
He thought of a possibility that was extremely inhumane, yet found it too cruel to voice out.
El put down the test tube. His emotions finally showed some fluctuations, which Barry keenly caught in that instant.
"The fusion of multiple powerful genes is not as simple as imagined. Many issues arose during embryo nurturing, even making them consider abandoning the project altogether."
"After various twists and turns and a lot of effort, only then was Hai'er finally born. But as I mentioned before, he hasn't shown any superpowers."
"Tsk, they wouldn't..."
"The council couldn't accept that they invested a large amount of manpower and resources only to get this result. They thought his powerful abilities might require some stimulation to manifest."
Barry's face gradually darkened. Even though Hai'er was their enemy and what's happening on Krypton had nothing to do with the human race from start to finish, he still felt somewhat annoyed.
The one Laura was holding wasn't even a toddler, but just an infant in swaddling clothes. Even if the Kryptonians' physical and mental capabilities are far superior to humans, it was still just a baby.
"When we smuggled him out of the lab, he was already covered in scars." El lowered his head and gently sighed, "His mental condition wasn't great either. The ruthless methods, aimed for quick success and applied to him, left his mental state quite unstable."
Alright. Barry thought, if it's a mental patient, then many problems become easy to solve.
"However," El pivoted the conversation, "I believe Laura and I can heal him, at least to the point where he can lead a normal life without issues. If he causes trouble on Earth, he very likely encountered another form of agitation."
Barry began pondering again.
Hai'er had childhood traumas, but thanks to the care and treatment from the El couple, it basically didn't affect his normal life. However, after being away from home for many years and returning to find his homeland and parents gone, he may again suffer agitation.
But the key issue is, why would he head to the Solar System when stimulated? There's no causal relationship between the two.
Unless, someone made him feel that the destruction of Krypton and the death of his foster parents were related to the Solar System.
If everything on Krypton was wiped out, Hai'er returning would only face a wasteland. So who exactly...
Barry suddenly had a flash of insight; he realized what El meant by telling him all this. He tentatively asked, "What's the deal with that artificial intelligence you mentioned earlier?"
Sure enough, El smiled. He said, "It's a long story. You just need to know that this electronic life form created by the Kryptonians was never under their control from start to finish."
Barry was somewhat shocked; he knew there had to be a twist like this.
So the truth likely was: Hai'er returned to Krypton, found his cherished things destroyed, was consumed by anger, and then manipulated by the electronic life form to head straight for the Solar System to cause trouble for Earthlings.
Then the question arises, what grudge does this electronic life form have with Earth?
Barry felt that one couldn't impose carbon-based logic onto electronic life forms. Kryptonians failing to find Earth didn't mean an electronic life form, which could spread through radio waves and networks, couldn't.
But if it had found Earth, why not directly attack and control Earth over the network, rather than tricking Hai'er?
Since it chose such a roundabout way, it proves it's not omnipotent. Either it has its own limitations, or there's something on Earth that it fears.
"Does this artificial intelligence have any weaknesses?" Barry asked.
"Currently, no," El smiled, turning to Barry, "but with you here, naturally, it does."
"What do you want to do?"
"I hope you can unlock the permissions of this electronic life's underlying protocol and take it to Earth."
Barry's breath caught.
"Why should I do that?"
"Naturally, to ensure that everything in the future unfolds."
Barry's mind raced.
So, will Hai'er come to the Solar System under the influence of artificial intelligence because he, in the past, took away its underlying protocol unlock permissions?
But what reason do I have to agree to El? Isn't this purely bringing trouble to Earth?
At that moment, he heard El say, "I hope you can help me write a letter to leave for the future Karl who arrives here."
Barry instinctively nodded.
El spoke of the content of the letter. As he mentioned plans related to the "key," Barry looked at him in shock.
He felt his fingers holding the pen tremble slightly. If this plan succeeds... Hai'er causing a stir in the Solar System might not be entirely unacceptable.
Barry took a deep breath and started to quickly pen down the words on the paper.