I, the anti-superman, have hacked into the chat group.

Speak of the devil, and he appears. Carl heard curses and the clanging of metal coming from the edge of the city. Such sounds were rare in Metropolis, which was under his control. He glanced with his super vision and, sure enough, it was the Amazons.

So Karl temporarily shut down the group chat and opened his right hand, letting the Ring of Calamity automatically return to the Ringholder. A little over a day away from him was enough; if it went on any longer, he might even miss it.

Carl instantly flew to the scene, where he saw three Amazonian warriors arguing with drivers at the highway exit. One of them picked up her mace and smashed the front of a car with one blow.

Carl immediately used his thermal vision to burn away her hammer and her entire hand, stopping her from striking the carriage.

"Ahhh!" The sudden pain caused the female soldier to kneel down on one knee, clutching her wrist and screaming in agony.

Meanwhile, upon seeing Karl arrive, the drivers scattered in panic. Several vehicles had been damaged by the Amazons, and their owners left the scene without a care. With heat vision now available, this place might soon turn into a battlefield. If they didn't run now, when would they?

Karl ignored the citizens' reactions, which was exactly what he wanted. He glanced at them and then turned his attention back to the Amazons.

Amazons are several levels stronger than ordinary people, but not everyone is as strong as the Queen. In fact, the Queen is already the strongest person on Paradise Island. If everyone else were as strong as her, Paradise Island would have already conquered the world.

The fierce Amazonian warrior gradually recovered from her pain. She placed her other hand on her waist and tried to pull out the scimitar stuck there to fight Karl.

Just as Karl was about to teach this ignorant fellow a lesson, the leader of the Amazons stopped her first.

"That's incredibly rude. Get out of here."

"...Yes, my Queen."

The female warrior gritted her teeth and retreated behind the Amazon queen.

Karl looked at the Queen and said, "You'd better keep your men in check. If she hurts anyone on my turf, I'll send her to see what real heaven is like, or she'll only deserve to go to hell."

“King of the Metropolis, you are very strong, and we Amazons respect the strong, so we will abide by the laws of your country,” the Amazon Queen replied.

She understood the relationship between Karl and the Metropolis according to her worldview, regarding Karl as a king who protected his people.

Carl didn't correct her, but went straight to the point. He didn't seem too irritable, and there might be something to talk about.

"You're here for that Super Queen, right?" Carl asked.

"Yes, I came for my daughter."

"She is now my prisoner of war. So, what would you Amazons do with prisoners of war?"

The Amazon queen paused for a few seconds, then said, "We will cut off a piece of him as spoils, kill the useless ones, and use the useful ones to exchange for ransom."

Karl nodded and said, "It's good that you know the rules. Cutting off a portion is fine, but I'm not interested in doing that because you're different. However, you still have to pay the ransom."

The Amazonian queen's serious expression softened slightly. She would absolutely not accept it if a part of her island's princess were taken as spoils of war, and war would have to be waged regardless of whether she could win or lose.

Chapter 53 Prophecy

"After receiving the message from Atlantis, we didn't bring many items in order to get here as quickly as possible, but rest assured, Paradise Island is willing to pay a huge sum of money to ransom my daughter," the Amazon Queen said readily.

But Carl was completely dissatisfied. What use was wealth? He had plenty of ways to get money. He could burrow underground to mine gold or search for meteorites in space. As long as he wanted, he would never lack money.

The original Superman was ridiculed as a penniless reporter because he didn't want to use these methods. Carl is different; he uses them when necessary without any psychological burden.

"Wealth? Does the wealth you're talking about include the various magical items on Paradise Island, or is it just simple material possessions?" Karl asked, squinting.

The Amazon queen replied, "Those artifacts were left behind by the gods; for us..."

"Get out!" Karl said succinctly and forcefully.

He knew perfectly well that these were just excuses; there were no gods or ghosts on Earth anymore.

Two years after collaborating with Aquaman, Carl put him in charge of maintaining stability in the global ocean world. To prevent Aquaman from losing control of the ocean world, Carl and Aquaman traveled to most of the oceans to deal with the troublemakers.

At that time, Karl discovered many special beings such as wizards and sea monsters lurking in the sea, but despite making such a commotion, he still did not see Poseidon, the god of the sea, emerge.

The same applies to the more dangerous world on Earth. Karl has never encountered any gods, presumably because the old gods have left Earth after losing their faith.

This is better than the main universe. Although the people in Karl's world are worse off, there are far fewer forces on Earth than in the main universe. After all, the main universe is definitely the universe with the most crises.

Carl sometimes felt that life was too dangerous, and he would comfort himself by saying that at least his Earth had not been invaded by Darkseid, and the number of crises was much less than in the main universe.

In short, based on his more than twenty years of experience living in this world, Karl can basically conclude that the people of Paradise Island haven't seen a god in a long time either.

"Don't use God as an excuse. Besides those artifacts, what else on your Paradise Island do I have that I would want? You have two choices: one, use the artifacts to ransom her; two, watch her die and then leave. Killing prisoners is a tradition of your Amazons, isn't it?" Karl said.

The Amazonian queen fell silent. She knew she couldn't easily fool Karl; she would have to pay a real price.

"May I see my daughter?" the Amazon queen asked.

“Okay,” Carl said.

He vanished from his spot in an instant, then reappeared immediately, only now Karl was carrying the Super Queen, who had been bound into a caterpillar shape by the slave's lasso.

Carl threw the Super Queen at them, not at all worried that they would take the opportunity to escape with the Super Queen.

The two servants brought by the Amazon Queen quickly stepped forward to catch the Super Queen. At this time, the Super Queen had rested for a few days (if hanging on the roof counts as rest). Although she had not yet woken up, the bruises on her face had basically disappeared. On the surface, apart from being a little weak, she seemed to be in good health.

The Amazon Queen immediately removed the shackles binding her and carefully examined the Super Queen's physical condition. She then breathed a slight sigh of relief, as there were no signs of abuse.

"You've seen her, so what's your decision?" Karl asked. "Are you willing to exchange the artifact for her?"

After confirming the Super Queen's safety, the Amazon Queen finally said, "Alright, I will send other Amazons to retrieve the artifact in exchange for my daughter. You must also ensure my daughter's safety most of the time."

Karl said directly, "Why go back? Isn't this slave lasso perfect as ransom?"

"No!" the Amazonian queen immediately exclaimed.

“Why not? Isn’t this a divine artifact?” Karl said deliberately.

Of course he knew why. It was because the Lasso of Nushun was too precious, a high-level artifact that could even influence gods. It was perfectly normal for the Amazon Queen to be reluctant to part with it.

However, what Karl needed most was this Lasso of Nushun. The common artifacts known for their power were not suitable for him and were far less practical than the Lasso of Nushun.

"No means no. Other things can be discussed, but not this," the Amazonian queen said firmly.

“Aren’t you mistaken about something? You’re the ones who have to pay the ransom, but I’m the one who decides what I want. If you’re not willing to pay the lasso, then let’s not talk about it.” But Karl’s attitude was even tougher.

The Amazon queen looked at the child lying on the ground and even had the thought of not saving her. Was it really worth giving up the most powerful artifact for an Amazon?

But then the Amazon Queen remembered the prophecy on Paradise Island, a prophecy that the greatest prophet on Paradise Island had obtained at the cost of his life when the Super Queen was born.

The story is roughly about the child of the Super Queen and the strongest human, who will become a god who transcends the entire universe.

That's why Queen Super left the secluded Paradise Island that had been hidden for thousands of years and came to human society, all in order to find the person foretold in the prophecy and give birth to that destined child.

That was the most important goal. If the prophecy came true, it would mean that they could live a life of complete freedom with that child. Thinking of this, the Amazon queen was conflicted again.

On one hand, there's the divine artifact right before my eyes; on the other, there's the prophecy yet to be fulfilled. I really don't know which one to choose.

As for war? Forget it. Although Paradise Island is hidden, it is not completely isolated from the outside world. They are also secretly observing the situation outside the island, so she knows how badly Atlantis was beaten. If possible, she does not want to fight a war that cannot be won.

In the end, the Amazon queen decided to take a gamble. Paradise Island had not seen a god for too long. Even if they kept the artifacts, it would only keep Paradise Island in a mediocre state. It would be better to place their hopes on prophecy. They desperately needed a god.

“I… I understand. Alright, powerful one, you are indeed qualified to wield a divine artifact. We are willing to exchange the Lasso of Slaves for the return of my daughter,” said the Amazonian Queen.

The ransom seems to have been turned into a magical artifact. Oh well, I only covet this one anyway. If I push the other side too hard and it actually leads to a fight, that would be a real problem.

“Okay, give it to me,” Karl said.

The Amazon queen took a scroll from a cloth bag hanging from her waist, wrote something on it, and handed it to Karl.

"This is the spell that makes the Lasso of the Slave change masters. Now it's yours." After saying that, she tried to leave with the person.

"Don't rush, let me try first." Karl called out to the other party, then chanted a spell, and to test the effect, he directly tied the Nushun Lasso to the Super Queen.

"Oh, I'd give anything for you!" The Super Queen, who had been under the influence of the slave's lasso, forced herself to come to her senses and said.

"Tell me, what is your purpose in coming to the human world?"

"To give birth to the strongest child."

This answer was exactly what Carl had expected, proving that the other party was not lying and that the spell was indeed effective.

"Alright, go back to being unconscious." Karl put the Super Queen back into a deep sleep, then withdrew the Lasso and said, "You can leave now. What are you all standing there for? Do you want to stay? You're not welcome here. Don't ever set foot in Metropolis again."

The Amazon warriors were furious but dared not speak out as they watched the artifact being used on their own people. They only left after the Amazon queen reacted and spoke up.

Chapter 54 Mission: Dawn of Justice

The trouble with the Amazons has been resolved. It's clear that while they are somewhat dissatisfied, it hasn't reached the point of war, so Karl can rest assured for now.

Furthermore, the Lasso of Submission is truly effective. If the Lasso of Truth of the Main Universe can elicit the most authentic part of a person's heart, then the Lasso of Submission creates a submissive aspect in a person's heart and forcibly covers up the original personality.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Although the Lasso of Submission is more useful to him because most people in this world are genuinely bad, it is useless to elicit their true nature. The Lasso of Submission can also do the same thing, but it is not as precise as the Lasso of Truth.

Carl returned to the building and played with the lasso for a while. Suddenly, a soft "ding" sounded from the chat group in his mind, indicating that someone had tagged him in the group.

This feature is quite useful, but it doesn't reach people who are actually busy, because they usually mute group messages at that time, just like Kurumi Tokisaki is in now.

When Carl opened the chat group, he discovered that it was Spider who had called for help.

【Spider】: @All members.

[Metal Gear Solid Wolf Fang]: What happened?

[Spider]: Mission.

Spider remained as taciturn as ever, but everyone understood the message he wanted to convey: a task had been posted in the chat group.

Carl scrolled up the chat panel and, sure enough, saw the mission.

【Mission Name: Dawn of Justice】

[Mission Description: Extraterrestrials have officially entered humanity's field of vision, prompting the question: Will these god-like aliens bring salvation or destruction?]

Mission Objective: Stop Doomsday from killing Superman

[Task Reward: 1000-10000 points (depending on individual contribution)]

[Task Difficulty Assessment: s]

The people in the group were all deep in thought as they looked at the task. They were trying to understand the task as much as possible by analyzing the information in the task description. After they finished thinking about it, they would discuss it with others.

[It's a Qilin, not a Coconut Sheep]: The information given in the chat group mentioned Superman, so this should be a parallel world of Mr. Superman.

After reading the mission description, Carl was basically certain that this was the world of the movie "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which was indeed one of DC's many universes. Moreover, he remembered most of the plot, though he wouldn't tell his friends in the group directly.

[Superman]: It should be my parallel world, judging from the mission description, it's probably when I first started being a superhero. However, I can't be sure what changes will occur in different parallel worlds. But I think that since the mission objective is to stop Doomsday from killing me in that world, it should be a formidable opponent.

[Spider]: ?

Spider sent a horrified emoji. She had witnessed Karl's power. Even Karl said it was terrifying, so just how strong must it be? She suspected that there was something wrong with the chat group. Such a terrifying mission was only an S difficulty level. Wouldn't there be hundreds of them?

【Metal Gear: Bronya】: Bronya probably knows about that world. Superman's story exists in my world as a fictional work.