"Perhaps she thought this was a way to kidnap her."
Eric thought for a moment and replied to Wonder Woman.
"Her idea of kidnapping is having dinner with you and your family?"
Diana showed a clearly displeased expression, "I've never heard of a hostage or captive taking over like this."
"She's trying to do something dangerous."
A very serious sense of alarm rose in Wonder Woman's heart, "And she's provoking me."
Eric looked at Diana with a hint of surprise, "How can you tell she's trying to provoke you? Is it a woman's intuition, or your intuition as an Amazon warrior?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Wonder Woman held her umbrella, looking at the mist filling the city due to the continuous rain in the distance, and said to Eric, "Everyone knows you are my lover. If she isn't blind, she wouldn't fail to see that. Knowing this, if she still comes out to deliberately create contact between the two of you, of course, I won't tolerate it."
"Mera is still useful to me for now, I don't want you to lay a hand on her."
Fearing that Wonder Woman might lose control of her emotions and kill Mera, Eric said to Wonder Woman.
"Do you think the outcome of me making a move is killing her?"
Diana withdrew her gaze from the city skyline, shook her head, and said to Eric, "I won't do that, at least not yet."
"Alright."
Eric saw that Diana's expression didn't seem to be feigned, so he relaxed and walked towards Justice Society Headquarters, holding his umbrella.
Diana followed behind Eric, her expression calm, seemingly not angry about Mera, but a cold glint could still be seen in her eyes.
Meanwhile, in Smallville.
Chloe and Louise were drinking coffee at the Talon Club.
"To be honest, I rarely came here before."
Chloe said to her cousin, Louise.
"Why?"
"Because the familiar decor here always reminds me of some unpleasant things."
Chloe said with a somewhat pained expression.
Her favorite cappuccino sat in front of her, but she had no desire to drink it.
"Is that so?"
Louise's expression was also a bit heavy, "This place belongs to Ms. Niel. Lana used to work here as a waitress, so coming back here makes you think of Lana, right."
"Yes, sometimes I realize that chatting happily here with Clark, Lana, Eric, and Pete feels like it happened yesterday."
Chloe's mind was a bit dazed, "But in reality, that was a long time ago."
"Yes, but we can't always dwell on the past."
Louise said with a sigh.
The two looked at the somewhat unfamiliar waitstaff in the club and both fell silent.
"Oh, right."
After a moment of silence, Louise pulled out a photo from her bag.
"Look at this photo."
"A photo?"
Chloe took the photo from her cousin's hand with a puzzled look, finding it a bit blurry.
Because it was taken at night, although there was the reflection of firelight, it was still a bit blurry, possibly due to the shooting angle.
However, Chloe spotted a somewhat familiar figure in the photo.
The person was holding two little girls in the air, seemingly having just rescued them from a smoke-filled fire.
"This is...?"
Although the man in the photo was wearing a hat and glasses, and his face was somewhat unclear, Chloe still recognized his identity.
"Is this Clark?!"
"Looks like it."
Louise said, "Besides him, I can't imagine who else this person could be."
"Where is this?"
Chloe continued to press her for answers.
"Riverside City, California."
"Riverside City?"
Chloe repeated the word again.
"We need to go there immediately."
She immediately stood up, ready to pull Louise's hand and walk out.
"No need to rush."
Louise, however, had no intention of acting immediately. She said to Chloe, "What are your plans once you get there?"
"Plans? Of course, to persuade him to come back. Look at Eric's behavior now; he's becoming more and more excessive. Even though I always feel guilty and understand him, I don't think he should continue."
Chloe's thinking had changed somewhat compared to her initial thoughts.
"I heard he just had his military police arrest everyone with superpowers. If no one can stop him and let him continue to follow his own ideas, we don't know what this country will become."
Louise looked at the somewhat emotional Chloe, nodded, and took a sip of the coffee by her hand.
"I didn't expect your views to change so quickly. I remember you initially wanted me to calm down. But who can say for sure what the future holds!"
Louise put down her coffee cup and said to Chloe, "But how we persuade Clark to come back depends on what we do."
"Persuade him to come back?"
Chloe asked in confusion, "Are you saying Clark doesn't want to come back himself?"
"Maybe!"
Louise stood up, picked up her bag, "Let's go, it's always worth a try."
Chloe followed her cousin out of the coffee shop with mixed feelings.
In the afternoon.
The two arrived in Riverside City.
"Is this where the fire happened yesterday?"
Chloe looked at the blackened, partially collapsed buildings and asked Louise.
"Yes. A fire caused by electrical damage, but I don't know if the reason is reliable, after all, these government officials never tell the truth."
Louise spread her arms and took a breath of the fresh air after the rain.
"What's next?"
Chloe surveyed the surroundings, frowning as she asked her cousin.
"Next, we just wait for Clark to find us."
Louise said confidently.
"How is that possible? Even if he has Super Vision and Super Hearing, he couldn't possibly know we've come to Riverside City. And, maybe Clark isn't even in Riverside City anymore."
"Is that so?"
Louise looked at the bustling crowds on the street and smiled slightly at Chloe.
"Don't forget what our identity is. If we're reporters, we should solve problems as reporters."
Louise had already planned this before coming. She said to Chloe, "As long as we investigate this matter as reporters, and do so openly, Clark will definitely notice us."
"What if he never shows up?"
Chloe didn't think this was a good idea.
"If he wants to keep it a secret, and two reporters are openly investigating his identity, he'll definitely want to come forward even more."
Louise felt that what she said had a high chance of coming true.
"Clark isn't some professional superhero who constantly monitors news related to himself."
"Superhero?"
Louise smiled slightly, "Superheroes cover themselves up completely; Clark wouldn't do that."
"Maybe just a hood, blocking my face, so it's not completely covered."
Star City, Oliver left his good friend Tommy's party and muttered to himself.
After socializing, he quietly came to the back door, preparing to put on his hooded costume for his first vigilante activity to fight crime.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Queen!"
The black bodyguard leaned against the wall. This young employer had been playing mind games with him, trying every possible way to shake him off.
"I just want to be alone for a bit, John."
Oliver turned around, revealing a smile that was very deceptive in the bodyguard's eyes.
Since the last time he went out with Tommy and was targeted by a group of unidentified kidnappers, his mother, Moira, had specifically hired a professional bodyguard from a security company to stay by his side.
"If you hadn't slipped away twice before, I'd be willing to trust you, Mr. Queen. But now, I have considerable doubts about what you say."
The black bodyguard named John Diggle chuckled.
Although he was smiling, Oliver had no doubt that if he made any sudden moves, the bodyguard his mother hired for him would take coercive measures against him.
And John Diggle, at this moment, indeed felt a sense of vigilance rising within him, just as Oliver had guessed.
As a professionally trained and honorably discharged military veteran, losing track of his employer several times undoubtedly affected his reputation.
"The party is over here, Mr. Queen. If you want to sneak away, I suggest you'd better say hello to the guests inside. Ms. Moira and Ms. Thea are both in there."
Diggle extended his hand, signaling Oliver to return to the party and continue enjoying the revelry and wine.
With a helpless expression, Oliver shrugged and walked with the black bodyguard to the fire door, pretending the lock was stuck and couldn't be opened to distract Diggle.
Then, catching him off guard, Oliver moved swiftly, one hand passing through the other's arm, then tightly wrapping around his neck, his arm instantly exploding with powerful strength!
This move can cause temporary unconsciousness by compressing the carotid arteries, leading to insufficient blood supply to the brain.
The entire process took less than three seconds, and Diggle passed out before he could even react.
"Sorry, I have other work tonight, so I had to resort to this. I hope you won't resent me. I can promise to definitely suggest to my mother that you get a raise."
After sending the black bodyguard into the stairwell, Oliver changed into his hooded attire, with a quiver on his back and a split recurve bow in his hand.
This seemingly ancient cold weapon had an astonishing draw weight of 120 pounds, making it capable of hunting large animals like grizzly bears without issue.
The lethality it unleashed in his hands was no less than that of firearms.
He had developed the habit of fighting with a bow and arrow during his time on Purgatory Island.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"