In just half a year, New York and Metropolis were both invaded by aliens one after the other. The first time was because of the Tesseract, the second because of Superman.
The losses were heavy. In total, 300 people died and over 1,000 were injured. The severely wounded in New York hadn't even been discharged before Metropolis was filled with new patients.
Luckily, the Avengers were there the first time, and the Justice League the second. They managed to keep the destruction from spreading further. But compared to the Avengers, the Justice League handled things more easily—they wrapped up saving the world and vanished into the shadows without a trace.
Meanwhile, Lois Lane's report, paired with Jimmy's exclusive photos, finally came out. This issue of the Daily Planet sold over 10 million copies, a brand-new miracle.
On the front page, the photo wasn't of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, or Flash—it was of Kaitou Kid raising his hand to the sky as the Kryptonians looked up, and the sun turned red. Jimmy had captured the exact turning point, making Kid look like he'd pulled it all off alone.
People might forget the golden-armored women who swooped in to help Superman, or the first batch of Suicide Squad members who got taken out right after showing up, but no one would forget this photo. Kaitou Kid had controlled the entire battle, waving his hand to steal the sun and expose the invaders' weakness, ending the fight in one stroke.
It was nothing short of a miracle. While Lois reported the facts, she also praised the Justice League's performance—especially Kid, whom she credited sincerely. Lois hadn't liked Kid before, but after this, she at least wouldn't see him as just a thief anymore.
The article also covered Superman's announcement at the United Nations: the Justice League was officially introduced—Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Kaitou Kid, five heroes active in different cities, had come together to save Earth.
Not being able to interview the Justice League was Lois's biggest regret. She couldn't bear missing such a story. She wanted to know who started the League, what its purpose was, what the relationships among the members were, and how such different people had joined forces. Those were questions everyone would want answers to.
But Lois was desperate; she couldn't eat or sleep. Superman and the others hadn't shown up again, so all she could do was interview the victims nearby.
Others were looking for the Justice League too, but no one succeeded. All they knew were the members' faces—no one knew their real identities. It had already become a mystery.
Meanwhile, Liu A'dou was annoyed because the Transformers movie had to be postponed. Since the invasion happened in mid-December, right during the Christmas season, it was clearly a bad time to release a movie that might upset Metropolis residents. Political correctness is important in America. If someone accused the film of mocking a recently attacked city, it could cause big trouble later. So Stark Industries decided to push the release to next summer.
But the absence of Transformers didn't mean there was nothing to watch. After a chaotic Christmas, a shocking documentary aired that stunned the world. While America was busy grappling with the destruction caused by the alien attack, an ancient country across the Pacific issued a declaration that left the world speechless.
Humanity now had a spacecraft capable of quickly traveling to the Moon. It was a global-level earthquake of news—especially coming right after two alien invasions. It meant that if aliens came again and even if the Avengers and Justice League couldn't win, humanity at least had a way to evacuate.
Many thought it was a joke. Even America didn't have that kind of technology—how could that country possibly reach space? Their view was still stuck in the early 20th century, assuming China was a pushover.
But the world was changing fast—too fast. This year alone was dizzying: aliens suddenly appeared, humans got spaceships capable of interplanetary travel, and a round trip between Earth and the Moon would now take just seven or eight hours. People were anything but calm.
The documentary even showed Batman and the others stepping out of the spaceship, with a proud narrator explaining how Wu Gang had flown so far to successfully rescue the stranded Justice League members, contributing to the fight against the alien invaders.
This made regular Americans feel like it wasn't real at all. They had always thought they were the ones backing the superheroes, that it was their government supporting the heroes. Now, it looked like someone else had taken all the credit. America had always positioned itself as the silent partner helping superheroes save the world, but this time, that role was completely taken away.
The shock caused by the documentary was no less intense than the alien invasion itself. Internationally, there were countless discussions. Countries around the world immediately reached out to China to confirm if the documentary was real, and the answer they got was a definite yes.
That's when panic really set in. Did this mean China would claim the Moon all for itself? That was unacceptable—Russia, the US, the UK, and France were the first to object. But when it came to actually figuring out how to launch their own lunar development projects, they had nothing. They didn't lack smart people or big ideas; what they lacked was money. Even the US, the world's top power, was strapped for cash after two alien invasions had drained their resources, leaving no time or funds to start a space program.
So seeking cooperation became their only choice. But before they could talk cooperation, they first had to figure out who would call the shots on the Moon.
With the alien threat gone, the friendly atmosphere at the UN vanished too, replaced by tense standoffs and backroom alliances. Countries started forming factions and putting pressure on China.
But China had expected this the moment it put Wu Gang in the spotlight. They'd never intended to monopolize the Moon anyway. With so many countries involved, it was clear the benefits couldn't all go to one player. As long as Wu Gang existed, China could maximize its own interests.
Other countries tried their own tricks. The US quickly issued a statement claiming it was also developing an interstellar spacecraft, saying it had everything ready except funding. They asked their allies to transfer money so they could all share the spacecraft in the future and flaunt their success together. America's smaller allies had no choice but to pay up, since they couldn't oppose the US anyway.
Meanwhile, China offered a few spots for astronauts from other countries to join Wu Gang on trips to the Moon to help build a base and even grow vegetables there.
But when it came to dividing the Moon itself, it was impossible to settle anything quickly. No one even knew where the richest helium-3 deposits were. The main dispute came down to the world's five big powers. The US rallied a bunch of countries behind it to grab the biggest share, while Russia stepped up to back China. Even if Russia wasn't exactly friendly with China, they were even less friendly with the US and Europe—so the enemy of an enemy became a friend.
Three main camps emerged: China and Russia; the US and the UK with their allies; and Germany and France representing the EU. Britain's stance was especially odd—it seemed aligned with the US, but didn't take any real action against China. Germany and France ended up completely sidelined, left to pick up scraps.
While all the bickering continued, Wu Gang kept making trips to the Moon, with news of the lunar base updating regularly. Though some people were angry enough to protest and try to smear China, that was nothing new. For decades, no matter what China did, it was criticized, so they just kept moving forward. Finally, the lunar base was finished, and the first thing they did was plant a batch of cucumbers.
In the end, the major powers managed to hammer out the Lunar Sea Accord in March of the following year. The agreement, signed by the UN's five permanent members, laid out plans for joint lunar development. It required that energy resources extracted by China wouldn't be used to monopolize the market, and China would help the other four countries build their own lunar bases in a spirit of mutual benefit.
It was only a general framework—details would take a long time to negotiate—but it clearly put China in the driver's seat. In the fierce international competition, they'd gained a major advantage. And the best part: no one had to fight a war to get here, which was a relief for everyone.