Chapter 200 — Fifty Billion
"It took my team four days to locate an entry point into your network."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"It wasn't intended as one." Luthor leaned forward slightly, his green eyes fixed on Lynn. "Dr. Lynn, I'd rather not waste either of our time."
"Then get to the point."
Luthor narrowed his eyes.
Silence lingered between them for several seconds.
Lynn could tell that the man on the other side of the screen had already rehearsed this conversation countless times. For someone as proud as Lex Luthor, admitting he needed something from another person was never easy.
Finally, he spoke.
"After the Battle of Metropolis, you didn't simply collect blood from that Kryptonian officer."
Lynn remained silent.
"You also obtained General Zod's DNA."
His voice became noticeably faster.
"Not contaminated battlefield residue. A pristine biological sample taken directly from Zod's cervical spinal tissue."
Lynn finally looked up.
"And what makes you so certain?"
"Because I acquired General Zod's body."
The laboratory grew noticeably quieter.
Luthor continued before Lynn could respond.
"The United States government recovered Zod's remains immediately after the battle and kept them under military custody. It took me three months to obtain access."
His expression remained composed.
"When I performed a complete forensic examination, I discovered that the cerebrospinal fluid had already been partially extracted. The sampling method was extraordinarily precise. Whoever did it possessed equipment and medical expertise far beyond conventional military standards."
"I investigated every individual who entered the impact crater."
"The military."
"S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Emergency personnel."
"Cleanup crews."
"Journalists."
"I eliminated them all."
"The remaining possibility was simple."
He looked directly into Lynn's eyes.
"Someone reached the crater during the seven-minute interval between Zod's defeat and the military establishing a security perimeter."
Luthor tapped a key.
Several satellite images appeared beside his face.
"Thermal imaging."
"Residual spatial distortion."
"Electromagnetic anomalies."
"They all point toward a single conclusion."
His gaze sharpened.
"The one known as Exceed."
"That was you."
Lynn slowly rotated the teacup in his hand.
"Mr. Luthor."
"How long did it take you to reach that conclusion?"
"It isn't relevant."
"I'm interested."
Luthor remained silent for a brief moment.
"...Four months."
Lynn gave a small nod.
"Only four months."
For the first time, genuine surprise appeared in his voice.
"That was faster than I expected."
Luthor frowned slightly.
He couldn't tell whether Lynn had complimented him or mocked him.
"Enough."
His voice turned colder.
"I'll offer two billion dollars."
"I want the sample."
Lynn calmly set his teacup on the table.
"And after that?"
Luthor's expression did not change.
"After what?"
"What do you intend to do with General Zod's DNA?"
A nearly imperceptible pause.
Only a fraction of a second.
Yet it did not escape Lynn's notice.
"That," Luthor replied evenly, "falls outside the scope of our transaction."
"I see."
Lynn nodded once.
"Two billion?"
"Correct."
"Not enough."
The muscles around Luthor's jaw tightened.
"...Excuse me?"
"I said the price is too low."
Lynn's tone remained polite.
"Would you like me to repeat it?"
Silence.
Luthor's breathing became slightly heavier, though his expression stayed composed.
Lynn watched him without the slightest change in expression.
General Zod's body.
An authentic Kryptonian genetic template.
There was only one logical direction for someone like Lex Luthor.
Whatever he intended to create, it would require uncontaminated Kryptonian DNA.
Lynn had no intention of exposing that conclusion.
Doing so would accomplish nothing except corner one of the most dangerous minds on Earth.
Lex Luthor's arrogance was legendary.
If confronted directly, he would regard being understood as an insult rather than a setback.
Cornering him now would destroy any possibility of negotiation.
Lynn preferred profit.
He uncrossed his legs, leaned slightly toward the screen, and rested both hands on the console.
"Mr. Luthor."
"Do not mistake this conversation for leverage."
Luthor's eyes narrowed.
Lynn continued in the same calm voice.
"If you truly believed you possessed the means to coerce me, you would never have contacted me."
"You would have acted."
"You chose negotiation."
"Which means force is not an option."
Luthor remained perfectly still.
"Since force is unavailable," Lynn continued, "threatening to reveal my identity serves no practical purpose."
He smiled faintly.
"And whether my identity becomes public has never been part of my calculations."
Luthor's hands slowly clenched beneath the desk.
The polished surface creaked softly beneath the pressure.
He understood every word.
He also understood exactly what Lynn had left unsaid.
If the being known as Exceed truly wished to eliminate him...
No amount of preparation currently available to LexCorp would be sufficient.
That realization irritated him more than any insult could have.
Yet he remained composed.
The negotiation was not over.
Lynn uncrossed his legs, leaned forward, and rested both hands on the control console. From his seat, he looked down at Luthor's image on the monitor with quiet confidence.
"Mr. Luthor, don't mistake this conversation for leverage."
Luthor's expression darkened.
Lynn's voice remained calm, yet every word landed with surgical precision.
"You understand the situation better than anyone."
"If you truly believed you possessed the means to threaten me, this conversation would never have happened."
"You wouldn't have spent four days breaking through my firewall."
"You would've attacked."
He paused.
"The fact that you're negotiating tells me force isn't an option."
Luthor's jaw tightened.
"So don't attempt to bargain with the possibility of exposing my identity."
Lynn adjusted his glasses.
"Whether the world knows who I am has never influenced my decisions."
Silence.
Off-screen, Luthor's fingers slowly curled against the edge of his desk until the polished wood creaked beneath the pressure.
Unlike Lynn—
He cared.
He understood exactly what kind of being he was facing.
In Metropolis, the masked man had shattered the World Engine with a single punch and overwhelmed General Zod.
In Sokovia, he had dismantled Ultron's perfected vibranium body, ignored the Mind Stone entirely, and ended a battle that neither the Avengers nor the Justice League could resolve.
Luthor had spent months analyzing every frame of available footage.
Every conclusion pointed to the same answer.
Provoking that individual directly would accomplish nothing except guaranteeing his own defeat.
Negotiation was the only rational course.
After several long seconds, Luthor finally spoke.
"State your price."
Lynn smiled faintly.
"Fifty billion dollars."
For the first time, genuine surprise flickered across Luthor's face.
"Fifty billion?"
"One dollar less," Lynn replied evenly, "and there is no transaction."
He leaned back into his chair.
"You're free to terminate this call and search elsewhere."
"But tell me, Mr. Luthor."
"Besides the sample currently in my possession, where exactly do you intend to obtain another uncontaminated genetic specimen from General Dru-Zod?"
Luthor said nothing.
There wasn't another source.
General Zod's remains had been recovered after the Battle of Metropolis.
Every tissue sample still available elsewhere had either degraded or been contaminated during recovery and subsequent experimentation.
The specimen in Lynn's possession was different.
It had been extracted immediately after the battle under controlled conditions, directly from Zod's cervical spinal tissue and cerebrospinal fluid before military recovery operations began.
From a biological standpoint, it was priceless.
Luthor's thoughts raced.
Fifty billion dollars represented an extraordinary expenditure, even for LexCorp.
Painful.
But survivable.
Without that sample...
His research would never move beyond theoretical models.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Five seconds passed.
When they opened again, his expression had returned to its usual composure.
"...Agreed."
The single word sounded as though it had been carved from stone.
"I'll transmit the exchange coordinates through an encrypted channel."
"A pleasure doing business with you."
Luthor offered no reply.
He looked at Lynn for one final moment before terminating the connection.
The monitor faded to black.
Silence returned to the underground laboratory.
Lynn stood from his chair.
There was still one task to complete before the exchange.
He walked through the reinforced corridors until he reached the deepest cryogenic laboratory.
The airtight door slid open with a hiss.
Cold vapor drifted outward.
He opened the bottom drawer of the second storage column.
A vibranium storage vial rested inside a precision temperature-controlled cradle.
Within it was a dark violet biological suspension.
The sample had been collected beneath the ruins of Metropolis immediately after General Zod's defeat.
Using a nanoscale extraction needle, Lynn had obtained a pristine sample of Zod's cerebrospinal fluid together with undamaged Kryptonian stem cells before the United States military secured the battlefield.
He lifted the vial between two fingers.
Under the laboratory lights, the liquid shimmered with an unnatural metallic luster.
Lynn already knew why Lex Luthor wanted it.
Whatever project Luthor intended to create, it required an authentic Kryptonian genetic template.
Whether it ultimately became a living weapon or something even more dangerous was almost irrelevant.
With Luthor's intellect and resources, the result would inevitably threaten Superman—and very likely the entire planet.
Even so, Lynn had no intention of interfering.
Stopping Luthor would require permanently removing him from the board or imprisoning him indefinitely.
Neither option offered any meaningful return.
Besides...
A man as resourceful as Lex Luthor rarely worked alone.
Removing him outright would simply force the rest of his organization into motion, creating an even more unpredictable chain reaction.
For the moment...
A transaction worth fifty billion dollars remained the more efficient choice.
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