Clark's superbrain stopped functioning for at least two seconds, seemingly rebooting to handle the information it couldn't process. When the superbrain resumed thinking, Clark hurriedly rushed forward, shouting, "Ma'am, ma'am! You... what's wrong?!"
After saying this, Clark wanted to slap himself—a situation like this, what could it be other than early labor?
He rushed in front of the woman to stop her, and when he saw her face, he realized she didn't look as haggard as he thought. She even wore makeup and a black leather jacket. The jacket was a bit long, so it covered her lower body, but in fact, she was not wearing anything underneath.
Aside from a heavy scent of blood, there was an indescribable smell about her: somewhat like the stench of decay, somewhat like the smell of urine, in any case, very unpleasant.
She was so thin that her cheeks were sunken, and her eyes were wide open, watching Clark with extreme caution. Clark opened his mouth but found himself unable to say anything.
"You're new here, right?" the woman said, "Don't call people 'ma'am' here..."
"Then... then, madam..."
The woman rolled her eyes dramatically, bypassed Clark, and went to the blue tent beside them. She rummaged through the tools and pulled out a pair of scissors, intending to cut the child's umbilical cord.
Clark was nearly scared to death. He hurriedly stopped her, saying, "Stop, you can't do that! That will definitely cause an infection!"
"It won't, nothing happened the last two times..."
"Stop stop stop stop stop!" Clark frantically blocked her. Unexpectedly, she suddenly shoved the bloody little thing into his arms and began fumbling around on the ground, finally pulling out a syringe, ready to jab it into her arm.
Clark was trembling all over. The baby in his arms was still alive but looked about only six or seven months old and couldn't even cry, only had very faint breathing, with skin covered in what looked like blood blisters, and facial features still unclear.
Clark felt like crying, trembling as he held the baby saying, "You... you..."
"I'm giving it to you." The woman said, "Thank you for calling me ma'am, it's been a long time since anyone called me that."
"Giving it to me?! But I..." Clark really didn't know what to say. He wanted to quickly take the child to the hospital for emergency care but didn't know how to cut the umbilical cord, and there were no tools here. He was at a loss, so he could only say to the woman, "Step back, I... I..."
Clark closed his eyes, lowered his head, and was silent for two seconds before suddenly realizing that if he didn't look, he couldn't use his heat beam. He had to gather the courage to open his eyes and used the heat beam to cut the umbilical cord.
The woman didn't show any surprise at his superpower, but perhaps because she was already high. Clark, holding the little lump of flesh, stepped back. He could hear the baby's heartbeat growing fainter, he had to get it to the hospital quickly.
Just as Clark was about to take off, a man walked over from behind the tent, saw Clark, and froze for a moment, then whistled a lewd whistle at him: "Where did this little beauty come from? You're not here for Daisy, are you? What's fun with a woman like that, come with me..."
He stopped mid-sentence when he saw the baby Clark was holding, eyes widening instantly, then lunged forward. Clark hurriedly dodged, shouting, "What are you doing!"
"That's my kid, give him back to me!!!"
Clark was stunned again, glancing at the woman lying on the ground, then at the homeless man. If it weren't for the fact that the homeless man was Black and the baby was clearly white, he might have believed it.
"Are you crazy?!" Clark cursed, "How could this possibly be your child? You're Black!"
"What the hell do you know, you stupid kid! Daisy is mine, so her kid should be mine too! Give it here!"
Of course, Clark couldn't give him the child. But holding the baby, he had no free hands to fight back, so he could only keep retreating. Seeing him turn to run, the homeless man went ballistic, cursing and reaching into his coat pocket.
BANG!
Clark hadn't even reacted before he was shot. Since he was carrying Kryptonite, his physical strength was weakened, so the bullet pierced his skin, but luckily, it only pierced the surface and got stuck in a muscle gap.
Even so, it was painful enough for Clark to gasp, but he couldn't dwell on it. Instinctively, he shielded the baby in his arms and kicked the gun out of the homeless man's hand, turning to run toward the woods.
He thought he was running fast enough, but before getting very far, several people blocked his escape route. The Black homeless man calling out their names made it clear they were in cahoots.
Clark made an emergency stop, looking ahead and behind. The situation was urgent, so he couldn't think too much; he quickly reached out One Hand intending to throw away the Kryptonite in his pocket. But in that brief pause, there was a thunk, and the Black homeless man was hit on the back of his head by something and slowly collapsed.
Clark saw the woman called Daisy, holding a bloody stone. She seemed oblivious, acting entirely on Instinct. But Clark noticed her gaze was fixed on the child in his arms.
Clark's emotions were mixed, but he knew he couldn't leave the child with his mother; it would be a death sentence. Seizing the opportunity, he dashed out with the baby, finally escaping the tent area.
Clark flagged down a cab, wrapped the baby in his jacket to keep it hidden from the driver. Upon reaching the hospital, he handed the baby to a nurse, but he could clearly see the nurse looking at him with puzzled eyes.
"This isn't my child," Clark said, "it's... it's one I found."
"You're a good person," the nurse said. He glanced at the little baby with a look of pity, then gently shook his head and said, "But I'm afraid..."
The baby was taken inside, and Clark anxiously waited outside. Before long, the doctor came out and said, "Sorry, we did our best. It has already been called by the Lord."
Clark felt utterly drained of strength. The doctor looked him over, as if recognizing him, and said, "Don't blame yourself too much; this child had hereditary addiction and AIDS. Even if it survived, it would've likely been very painful."
Clark recalled the woman's last look. Even if she'd already lost her mind, she still had some motherly instinct left. She thought Clark could take her child away from here. But...
"Can I have the child's body?" Clark summoned the courage to ask again.
"Typically, such bodies are disposed of. But... alright, you're Superman after all."
The doctor went out for a while, then stood at the door beckoning him, sneakily handed him a bag and said, "Don't let others see."
Clark's mind was chaotic, he just said thanks and left the hospital. He headed towards the tent area, because he felt that no matter what, he owed the child's biological mother an explanation.
By this time, it was almost dark, and the forest looked even more eerie. As soon as he walked over, he saw a few figures carrying a corpse past him. Clark saw that the body they were carrying was actually the mother of this baby.
Clark was instantly furious. This woman was fine just a few hours ago—well, not exactly fine, but at least she was alive, and didn't seem like she would die soon. Even after giving birth to a baby, she should still have lived for a while longer, so how could she be dead now?
Clark chased after them. But as he was about to confront them, he vaguely heard a conversation:
"Lately there's a big shortage of bodies. Sweep through nearby areas, gather anything close. Got it?"
"No problem, trust us with the job. By the way, is there a new epidemic? Why suddenly..."
"Catch up on the news occasionally. Aliens are above our heads, the officials are panicking."
"But isn't Superman supposed to..."
"Superman doesn't work for them. I heard they developed a special weapon, some component material needs testing. Anyway, gather more, there'll be benefits for you."
After this voice disappeared, the other two voices sounded again: "What special weapon? Using corpses instead of living people for trial components? You must be kidding!"
"Then why suddenly need so many..."
"Don't be surprised, this happens every year before Christmas. Too many people hinder those officials' festive street celebrations, and our area isn't like the East Coast; a snowfall doesn't clear things up. We have to handle it ourselves."
"Alright. I remember two on the other side of the fence are about done. Should we go tonight or tomorrow morning?"
"Tomorrow morning. I'm exhausted, let's find a place and have a drink."
Clark felt chilled to the bone. He held the bag in his arms, wanting to chase those two, but on second thought, he decided to go after the vehicle collecting bodies first.
That vehicle sped away. Clark took two steps but realized he couldn't catch up. He suddenly flew up, trailing the car, darting through streets and alleys. When he landed, he realized he had flown. He had Kryptonite on him but had forgotten in the hurry that he couldn't fly.
The car drove into a research center. With surveillance everywhere, Clark didn't dare to rush in. He returned to the tent area with the child, intending to find a remote place nearby to bury the child. But as he turned to the east, he saw a crowd surrounding a tent with lights on.
With his Super Hearing, he could clearly hear the indecent activities inside the tent. He wanted to rush in to stop them, but it sounded like some people weren't forced. Clark stood there for a long time, and in the end, all he could do was turn around and leave.
After wandering around, he found a secluded spot in the woods. Clark used Heat Beam to carve a hole in the ground. As he placed the baby inside, he saw a figure staggering over—
An old man emerged from a yellow tent, reeking of alcohol and appearing groggy, seemingly out to relieve himself. When he entered the woods, he and Clark exchanged surprised glances.
"You..." The old man first looked at Clark, then at the baby in the hole, appearing to sober up a bit, and said, "Isn't this Daisy's child? I heard she gave birth today."
"You know her?"
"Sort of. She came here two years ago, seemed to have been a real estate agent before, got tricked into a big loss due to contract manipulation, and then... But why is her child with you? Isn't she connected to Jia Bo?"