3. Chapter 3
Messiah stared at Superman blankly.
Superman looked at Messiah with a smile in his eyes. He patted Messiah's shoulder gently, calmly hid Messiah behind him, and took the initiative to step forward and talk to the worker.
The red cloak fell casually on the ground, but its owner didn't care and let it get covered in dust.
The worker's face flushed with excitement: "Super, Superman!"
"I'm sorry I didn't make it in time." Superman said apologetically, "Luckily, someone was faster than me."
The worker shook his head vigorously. "How can this be blamed on you, Superman?"
Superman looked at the worker sincerely and said in the gentlest tone possible, "I have a request that I hope to get your approval. Are you willing to keep today's matter a secret for the time being?"
Keep it confidential?
Messiah looked at Superman's broad back blocking his way, and the ahoge on his head shook in confusion.
"You know, there are people in this world who would gladly go against superheroes, and that's too dangerous for a child."
Superman's eyes were filled with worry: "Once this child is exposed to the public, it's only a matter of time before he encounters these dangers."
The worker subconsciously wanted to look at the Messiah, but found that the Messiah was firmly blocked by Superman's broad body.
"I'm happy to serve you, Superman," the worker hesitated. "But this isn't a matter between you and me. It can't be decided by the two of us. We need to respect the child's opinion."
Under the influence of Superman, the worker's name for the Messiah unconsciously changed to "child". He no longer regarded the Messiah as a superhero with an obligation to protect others, but as a child who needed to be protected.
Messiah tilted his head in confusion when he heard Superman's words. Although he didn't understand why being exposed to the public would put him in danger, the danger was his own business, so why should Superman solve it for him?
He couldn't help but stretched out a finger and poked Superman's back, opening his mouth to say something: "I..."
Superman turned around and gently stopped Messiah from speaking. He said softly, "Kid, can you listen to what I have to say first before making a decision?"
Messiah looked at Superman, slowly retracted the finger he had extended, blinked, and nodded.
Superman stared into the Messiah's wide, golden eyes and quickly repeated in a low voice the dangers of revealing his true identity.
Messiah's true appearance was revealed when he used his special abilities, which meant that his identity might be exposed, and he would be subjected to countless harassments and dangers.
——Other people’s dislike, sudden attacks that could happen at any time, parents and friends being harmed by enemies...
Superman wasn't one to sway other people's thoughts, but he didn't want this to happen to the Messiah.
Messiah showed a confused expression and tilted his head. He didn't understand why what Superman said could hurt him. Instead, he was eager to try.
What is “other people’s disgust”?
Messiah knew that "disgust" was an emotion, but he didn't know what it looked like specifically. He was a little curious about this strange thing and wanted to experience it for himself.
Superman tried to persuade Messiah earnestly, but he did not notice the eagerness in Messiah's eyes.
He ruffled Messiah's hair and said gently, "Kid, although you may not understand, I still hope you can consider my advice."
Messiah wanted to refuse, but after meeting Superman's tender blue eyes, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
Superman is the first human being he has met and has more experience as a human being than him, but he does not know how to be a human being. Imitating Superman and listening to Superman's advice is the best option at the moment.
Messiah lowered his slightly fluttering eyelashes, no longer meeting Superman's gaze, and nodded slowly.
"good."
Superman smiled with relief, patted Messiah on the shoulder, left a signature for the worker who made the promise, and then left with Messiah.
Messiah followed Superman to the rooftop of Lex Tower. Superman leaned against the wall of the rooftop with his arms folded, watching Messiah carefully land beside him with a smile in his eyes.
When Superman received the worker's call for help, he was busy putting out the fire and saving people and could not get away. He thought he would see the body of the worker who lost his life because of his lateness, but he did not expect that Messiah had saved the worker before him.
At that moment, Superman's heart was filled with surprise, for the life that was saved and for the Messiah who saved people.
Messiah tentatively imitated Superman, leaning against the wall and turning his head to meet the blue eyes that were looking at him with a smile.
Superman recalled how he had mistakenly believed Messiah had committed suicide by jumping off a building. Now it seemed that Messiah was most likely just experimenting with flight. He couldn't help but chuckle, "So it seems like that was just a misunderstanding? You weren't committing suicide."
Messiah then realized that Superman hugged him in mid-air because he thought he was committing suicide.
"No," Messiah said simply, "I said, go downstairs."
He didn't understand why Superman misunderstood him like this, but asking Superman why he should cherish life was the most important thing.
——This not only answers his own questions, but also completes the side quest [Find Answers].
After all, he didn't know why Superman stayed, and he wasn't sure if Superman would suddenly leave again, so he had to ask quickly.
He quickly skipped over the unimportant topic, looked Superman in the eyes and asked his question: "Why should we cherish our lives?"
"Um?"
Superman looked into the Messiah's eyes, which were filled with confusion and curiosity, and suddenly realized that he might have misunderstood something.
He thought Messiah was like most of the teenage superheroes he had met before, eager to become a superhero and save people after gaining special abilities. But now it seems that this may not be the case.
Why should we cherish life?
Superman did not answer Messiah's question directly, but instead asked Messiah's name first: "Kid, can I know your name?"
"...Messiah." Messiah replied simply.
It turns out that Superman didn't know his name... He thought Superman was like him, able to know a person's name when he met him for the first time.
Superman continued to question Messiah: "Messiah, why did you save the worker who fell from the building?"
The Messiah’s answer was without hesitation: “You saved me, and I became curious and imitated you.”
The answer was quite frank; Messiah didn't think imitating Superman was something to hide.
After hearing the answer, Superman did not show disappointment because the Messiah was different from what he imagined - a person who wanted to save others from the bottom of his heart. Instead, his smile became even gentler.
"Imitation? That's good." Superman said with relief, "Messiah, you're a good boy."
"I can tell you the answer - because life is precious, so we must cherish life."
Listening to your words is like listening to a conversation.
Messiah puffed up his cheeks unconsciously. Superman had told him this before, and this repetitive cliché couldn't answer his question.
Superman spoke before Messiah could continue his questioning.
"I can't tell you why directly. You need to experience the preciousness of life yourself." Superman pointed at Messiah's chest. "Experience it with your heart."
Messiah's expression became even more bewildered. Superman's answer not only failed to resolve his doubts, but made his already confused mind even worse.
If you don't make it clear, is it just a convention?
The game system was like this before, and it’s the same with Superman now. They only tell half of the story and then let him guess and experience it himself.
"You can observe the life of this city, and after you get to know them, you will get the answer yourself."
Superman's words entered the Messiah's brain intact and came out intact, leaving no trace.
"I save lives because I have the power to save others. It is my responsibility to bring hope to the Earth." Superman said seriously, "But that doesn't mean you have to do the same."
"You don't need to imitate me."
Messiah's head was empty, his eyes were empty, and he looked at Superman in confusion as his mouth opened and closed, spewing out a bunch of words.
Superman looked at the Messiah with eyes as gentle as if he were looking at a child: "You do have the power to save others, but how you use this power should be decided by you."
Messiah murmured, "Choose...yourself?"
"Yes, no one can dictate or force you to do that—not even me."
Superman's smile was warm and sunny. He looked into Messiah's golden eyes and said gently, "But I hope you can remember one thing. Even if we have great power, we cannot use it to take the lives of others."
"Life is precious - even if you don't understand why you should cherish it, not killing is our bottom line."
Messiah listened to Superman's entire speech with an empty head, and in the end he only remembered three things.
1. Use your heart to feel why we should cherish life.
Second, no one can force him to use his power.
Three, you can’t kill people.
He didn't understand why Superman could say so much about these three things. Is this what they call a "chatterbox"?
Messiah had heard this word before in a conversation between passers-by. At that time, he didn't understand what a chatterbox meant, but now he felt that he understood.
After Superman had said everything he wanted to say, he finally stopped talking contentedly, completely unaware that the image of him in Messiah's mind had become that of a chatterbox.
He smiled gently at the Messiah and finally said, "If you need my help, you can shout 'Superman, I need help', and I will come to help you after hearing it - of course, the premise is that I am not saving other people."
"You can always ask me for help, and I am willing to guide you."
After saying this, Superman floated up again. He looked down at Messiah in mid-air and said with a smile, "I hope you can remember what I told you. No matter what, do not use this power to take other people's lives."
"The Justice League is calling me, I need to leave."
"Goodbye, Messiah."
The Messiah looked up at Superman and mimicked Superman's words as he said goodbye: "Goodbye, Superman."
After Superman left, Messiah repeated Superman's words to himself, and engraved the principles Superman told him firmly in his mind: "Life is precious. Cherish life and don't kill."
Unlike what Superman imagined, Messiah was not actually very obsessed with finding the answer to "Why should we cherish life?" In his eyes, life was the fragile body of the worker that would break at the slightest touch, no different from an ant on the roadside.
Messiah touched the pocket containing the lollipop the little girl had given him and thought back to the people of Metropolis who had offered to help him.
...Perhaps, there are some differences.
In short, the Messiah is willing to temporarily follow the Superman's code without knowing what to do, and explore the preciousness of life as a short-term goal until he masters the rules of the game.
This is also a way to pass the time.
A line of text slowly appeared in the upper left corner of the field of vision:
[Side Quest: Observing Life]
Superman tells you that the preciousness of life requires your heart to appreciate. Perhaps you can start by observing life in the metropolis.
Messiah withdrew his gaze from the sky, put his hands in his pockets, jumped off the rooftop in silence, and walked into the metropolis again.
He will continue to explore the metropolis, but this time, he will focus more on living creatures.
To observe and to experience.
At this time, Messiah did not realize that this was his last meeting with Superman.
——When we meet again next time, Superman will no longer be “Superman”.
[City of Tomorrow: End]
A line of text vaguely appeared on the game panel:
[CG of "Yesterday's Man in Tomorrow's City" has been included]
【Author’s words】
Trying to lay some foreshadowing (is it really a foreshadowing [question mark] I guess some little angels have already guessed it hehehehe [cat head]
Finally finished laying the groundwork for the prequel, the next chapter will start the main storyline [sunglasses]
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