Chapter 558: Stalemate
Emotional Cheating
Underwater, in the capital city of the Xebel Kingdom.
Mera excitedly rushed into the Royal Palace library, holding up a communicator to Carol, who was reading.
"Beautiful Ms. Ferris, guess who just called me."
Carol rolled her eyes at her. "I don't want to guess, and I'm not interested."
Mera swam closer to her, saying mysteriously,
"Are you really sure you don't want to know?"
Carol turned her head away. Mera quickly followed, watching her closely. Seeing no other emotion, she couldn't help but throw up her hands.
"The emotions of land dwellers are so hard to understand. You clearly like him, but you pretend to be indifferent."
"Carol, this is the eleventh time Luke has called, and every time you ask me to lie for you. I'm starting to feel awkward."
"Just help me one last time."
Carol said in a low voice. "The last time."
"You said that last time, too."
Mera pouted. She reluctantly picked up the communicator, but then, remembering something, she put it down and smiled sweetly.
"I can call him, but you have to tell me what's actually going on between you two."
"We had a fight."
"Liar! Your relationship is so good. Just a fight wouldn't keep you apart for this long. There must be another reason. Tell me, or I'll go ask Luke myself."
She made a move to leave. Carol quickly held her back and finally whispered,
"He... he likes someone else."
Mera's eyes widened. "Cheating!"
Carol gave a bitter smile. "It's more complicated than cheating."
"He likes another girl and wants to break up with you?"
Carol nodded, then shook her head. Seeing this, Mera was confused. Then, realizing something, she covered her mouth, unable to hide her shock.
"Don't tell me... he wants both of you!"
Carol remained silent, which was an admission. Mera instantly exploded.
"Bastard! Scumbag! Who does he think he is? You're such an amazing girlfriend, and he's looking for someone else? That is outrageous! Tell me who that woman is, and I'll go settle the score with them!"
Mera was righteously indignant. She immediately tried to summon the Princess's Royal Guard to demand an explanation from Luke. Carol was touched but helpless.
"Okay, stop. It's not as simple as you think."
"What's so complicated about it? If it's just a land girl, we'll arrest her and throw her in the underwater prison! Let's see how Luke Shaw handles that."
Carol gave a wry smile. "She's not a land dweller. To be precise, she's not from Earth."
Mera froze. "Not from Earth? You mean a Kryptonian?"
Carol nodded helplessly. At this, Mera was also rendered speechless.
Due to her relationship with Luke and Carol, she had been following land news. She even created her own social account on ShowMe and was very familiar with the Battle of Metropolis and the Kryptonians.
"How could Luke fall for a Kryptonian? I heard Kryptonians' bodies are harder than alloy steel. Is there a... a species boundary between them? They shouldn't be able to have that kind of relationship, right?"
"That kind of thing isn't important. The emotion is what matters."
"Emotional cheating?"
"You could say that."
"Does he still like you?"
Carol sighed heavily, her eyes extremely complicated. Mera understood.
"Your problem is... a little difficult!"
If you call it cheating, they haven't slept together. If you say it's not cheating, his heart has definitely strayed. He's thinking of you, but he's also connected to her.
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. I haven't figured it out."
Mera hesitated. "Have you laid down the cards with him?"
"I tried. It didn't work."
"No wonder you're hiding. Your problem isn't just difficult; it's extremely difficult. I advise you to make things clear to him."
Linda's Unwavering Resolve
Central Europe, the Alps mountain range.
The vast, snowy mountains stretched endlessly. On a slightly lower mountainside, a sweating Siobhan (Silver Banshee) gasped as she drank an energy drink.
"I can't go on. If I climb any further, I'll collapse here."
"It's okay. I'll carry you."
"Easy for you to say! You're a Kryptonian, so you're not afraid. I'm just a normal person. Living at an altitude of several thousand meters is hard on the body."
Linda (Supergirl) thought for a moment. That was true. She quickly suggested,
"Then let's go somewhere else. How about the African savanna? I heard the lions there are very interesting."
Siobhan immediately collapsed onto the grass. "Spare me, sis! I really can't do it anymore. I want to go home, back to Metropolis. A shower, a soft bed. You and Luke's problem, you solve it yourselves. Don't drag me into it."
"Don't mention him. He's annoying."
Siobhan scrambled up. She couldn't help but say,
"My phone has dozens of missed calls, all from Luke Shaw. We've been gone for so many days. You should be over your anger by now."
"This isn't about being angry."
"I know."
Siobhan shrugged. "You want Luke Shaw to dump the other women and commit only to you. Honestly, the possibility is small."
Linda flared up. "He has to choose one! It's either me or her!"
Siobhan looked completely helpless.
"Silly girl, haven't you noticed? You've been on the defensive from the start. All you think about is what Luke Shaw will do; you've never considered what you should do."
"If you were truly angry, you should cut ties completely and never see him again."
Linda was silent.
Seeing her expression, Siobhan shook her head.
"Since you can't bear to let go, be proactive. Make your position clear, and look for a solution. If you keep this up, you'll be vulnerable to others seizing the opportunity. Don't forget, Luke Shaw is known as the dream lover of millions of young women. There are countless models and actresses who admire him."
Linda scoffed.
"Only fools would like him."
Siobhan simply sighed.
Divine Wing Armor Completed
January 26, 2007. One month after Carol and Linda left home, the Divine Wing Armor was finally completed. Diana's personal armor and shield were also finished simultaneously.
To thank her for taking care of him during this time, Luke added a second set of armor for her on top of the original design.
The armor's performance focused on defense. Besides basic protection, it featured flight, high magic resistance, shrinking capability, energy absorption, cloaking, energy shields, a medical system, visual system, water-avoidance system, sensory systems, and more. Wearing this armor made her virtually unstoppable in the air, in the water, or on land.
The shield, conversely, saw a significant boost in offensive capability. Luke employed nanite technology, giving it three different forms: shield, longsword, and energy cannon, corresponding to defense, close combat, and long-range attack, respectively. The defensive shield form had the most functions, able to absorb different forms of energy impact while also releasing elemental attacks like lightning, ice, and fire.
The shield completely compensated for Diana's weakness in offensive versatility.
Today was the day she was scheduled to test the equipment.
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