35. Smallville (overhaul): Kent Law Exam
43.
Double espresso, effect: +? Speed·
As soon as Aria turned her eyes to the cup of coffee, the panel popped up the usage effect for her, which was as tempting as a treasure chest in a mine - if Clark Kent hadn't been standing near the treasure chest trying to dissuade him, the farmer would have already rushed to the table and stuffed the things into his backpack.
Faced with the farmer's eager eyes, Clark scratched his head, feeling quite at a loss.
"I'm afraid that's not going to work, Aria..." Kent's tone trailed off in confusion. "This concentration is too high. It's harmful to your body."
He doesn’t want his neighbor to drink coffee and end up at the top of YouTube’s medical channel with a headline like “A woman consumed xxxx mg of caffeine in a day, and this is what happened to her body.”*
However, Aria didn't seem to have taken much in. Her mind and eyes were still preoccupied with that super coffee. As a man who'd even tasted tree sap, the farmer was curious about everything and eager to try it. "It's okay. If anything goes wrong, you're responsible!"
No matter how poisonous this cup of coffee is, it won't make her faint on the spot - at most it will deduct half of her blood.
Clarke refused, though. The barista was worried she might take a sip while he wasn't looking—a ridiculous idea that Rao had a pretty good chance of coming true. Kent simply drank the coffee in one gulp and promised to make her another.
He used a grinding tool to manually crush the plump and distinct coffee beans, and then filtered them. During this time, the restless farmer treated Clark's home as a new tourist attraction.
Perhaps if Martha were here, the farmer might have behaved better, but unfortunately she had to go to town for something, and Aria became a complete wild horse.
The farmer was full of energy and didn't look like he needed coffee at all. "Can I have a look around your house?"
She has been craving this kind of pastoral style decoration for a long time, but she couldn't find the furniture catalog to replicate it. Now it would be nice to take a stroll.
There weren't many things about his other identity left here. In order to prevent the US military from discovering Superman's true identity and threatening the safety of the people he cared about, after finding the Krypton legacy, Kal-El transferred many things to the Fortress of Solitude and established several collection rooms there.
Even if the FBI came to investigate now, they wouldn't find anything, let alone the farmer, who had no ill intentions. Clark believed she knew her limits during the visit, so there was no need to say more: "Please do as you please."
Kent opened the moka pot and poured the hand-ground coffee into it. Even though Aria couldn't see from this angle, he smiled and said, "Since you are Martha and my guest, just treat this place as your own home."
"Great!" Aria jumped up happily and began to patrol Martha's house automatically like a sweeper.
On the coffee table lay Martha's half-finished crocheted work, and in a plain vase by the windowsill bloomed golden flowers still wet with dew. From a distance, they looked like small sunflowers huddled close together. Of course, if the farmer knew a little about flower arrangement, she would be able to recognize that these were South African chrysanthemums.
The slightly astringent yet rich aroma of the beans slowly emerges and diffuses in the small space of the kitchen.
Dongdongdongdong! The farmer went upstairs on the wooden stairs.
The brightness on the second floor was several times that of the first floor. Perhaps because Clark liked sunlight, Martha and Jonathan installed a large window on this floor. The sunlight filtered through the glass, casting a brilliant canvas of light in the room. Xiaobai came up from downstairs, circled Aria twice, and lay down in the center of the canvas.
Dog hair that has been exposed to the sun smells very different than at other times, but Aria was determined and resisted the urge to bury her head in Xiaobai's belly and take a deep breath - dogs are cute, but if she really did that, either Xiaobai would think she was a pervert, or Clark would see her and think she was a pervert, and her favorability would be ruined.
Aria closed her eyes and forced her gaze away from Xiaobai. She walked a few steps to Clark's bedroom, trying to suppress her desire to pet the dog. The farmer tried to pull the door handle, but found that the door did not budge.
Clark Kent's bedroom is only accessible to his close friends.
Huh? Isn't she still Clark's good friend?
Aria opened the panel and saw that Clark Kent's favorability was already at three, heading towards four. Perhaps the new mod had different favorability requirements for each NPC to enter the bedroom? After checking her backpack and finding no suitable gift, Aria decided to search for one on the spot.
She easily found the trash can in the corner. The farmer stretched out her golden right hand, which was quite lucky today, and rummaged into Kent's trash can in front of Xiao Baimian.
——Amethyst popped out.
Hearing the farmer approaching, Clark chuckled in the kitchen: "The coffee is ready." When he was concentrating on doing something small, his voice would always be subconsciously lowered, which made people relax involuntarily.
Aria leaned over from behind him and, without even glancing at the coffee, handed him a shiny purple crystal.
“Here you go.” The farmer winked. “Thank you for the coffee.”
Krypton's expression was a little strange. Clark didn't know why he could see such an obvious "unbearable" feeling on its face, but he still accepted the gift: "Thank you, Aria."
Amethyst feels heavy in the hands of ordinary people, but in Superman's, it's as light as a cloud. Clark wanted to say that he was happy to receive her gift, but people don't always need material things to maintain their relationship; frequent visits are the best gift. However, the implication of rejection in saying this might hurt her feelings. After thinking it over, the young reporter shook the jar and smiled.
"Would you like some sugar or milk?"
Worried that adding too much other things would affect the effect of the espresso, Aria decisively refused any additives that might improve the flavor of the coffee: "It doesn't matter, I'll just drink it as it is."
If not super espresso, then at least triple espresso. The farmer took the cup from Kent with a smile. The pure white cup had an insulating pad underneath to protect it from burns. Holding it in his hands, he felt only warmth.
The farmer gave this espresso a very high evaluation: "It smells great!"
Not only did she sniff it carefully, she also lifted up the white porcelain cup to look at the coaster underneath with a curious expression.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is a superhuman element, right?"
Clark only glanced sideways and a blush crept up his ears—Lao Kejian! He had just casually picked up a coaster, but who knew his mother would make such a great use of it… and even put it on top of the coaster!
From the front, the wooden coaster looks like a directly cross-cut log, with the tree's life veins irregularly distributed throughout. The back is much more elaborate - strong colors and lines collide to outline an abstract flame pattern, and a shadow walks out from the flames, with an even stronger red behind it, like freshly flowed blood - this is something made by people on the other side of the earth to thank Superman for putting out the forest fire and rescuing dozens of trapped people. Superman accepted the gift given to him, and this style of coaster has become a popular local souvenir.
In fact, Clark had another one like this. He bought it from a small workshop of a family of four when he was assigned by the Planet Daily to write a sports event report in the local area. The coaster was graffitied crookedly, and the red paint even covered the line drawing. No matter how you looked at it, it was a poor imitation of the only authentic one.
But he bought it anyway.
The family didn't sell a single souvenir from the beginning to the end of the sports event. The young reporter saw their worn clothes and, with his super hearing, picked up the rumbling stomachs of the children, so he didn't hesitate to spend nearly half of his salary to buy the coasters. Because he bought so many, the young reporter gave most of them to his colleagues at the hotel and kept one for himself.
Although this action made his colleagues at the newspaper more suspicious of Clark Kent's aesthetic standards and they preferred to call him a "country bumpkin" and a "small town boy", he thought that at least they could have a more sumptuous dinner than usual after closing their stall that day.
There's really only so much Superman can do. If the El family crest can provide jobs and feed more people, Clark doesn't mind it becoming commercialized and becoming a commodity displayed in charity shops or street craft stalls.
Seeing Aria staring at the coaster in a daze, Kent asked inconspicuously: "Do you like it? If you like it, I can give it to you."
The farmer shook his head honestly.
"It looks good, yes," Aria was thinking about how the coasters would fit in with her cabin, "but they look too refined and don't quite fit in with where I live." She hoped there would be some more striking furniture in the house. It didn't matter if it looked ugly - even the ultimate ugliness was a form of art.
The farmer gestured and said, "It would be nice if there was a rougher version."
Clark Kent suddenly had a feeling that Aria might like such a gift.
…
Learning to make coffee is quite easy for Superman, but his colleagues usually don't have this luxury - everyone either can't wait to spend the rest of their lives burying themselves in computers and news materials, or running around looking for news. Young reporter Kent currently works in the newspaper office, in addition to writing news in the sports section, which he is not very interested in, or bringing a group of colleagues a life-saving coffee on the street corner on his way to work, forcing everyone to start their day well.
However, this kind of arrangement of slowly making a cup of coffee with an empty mind seems to have been out of Superman's schedule for a long time.
"It's a little hot when it's just made, remember to go slow..."
The farmer picked up the coffee and drank it down, finishing the whole cup in almost three seconds.
Aria never concealed her pride, and showed the empty cup to Clark as if she had completed a challenge:
"Look! I drink really fast!"
"……some."
Clark frowned, unable to believe that the other party had just drunk a whole cup of scalding coffee - even though everyone's physique was different, the human mouth was still quite fragile and easily burned.
The young reporter looked worried: "...Is your mouth really okay?"
"No problem!" The farmer nodded confidently. After drinking this cup of triple espresso, she felt much more energetic and her reaction speed was much faster than usual: "I drink less now. In the past, when I had a lot of things to do, I would drink more than ten cups of coffee a day." In the past, summer was her busiest time. The farmer always had more than ten cups of coffee in her bag, and she would have another cup as soon as the acceleration effect wore off.
Thinking about what he heard from Martha about the farmer's past, Clark wanted to call the police.
What kind of company is this? He thought Lex Luthor's insistence on his employees constantly devising weapons to counter Superman and the researchers working insane overtime was outrageous enough. He hadn't expected an even more sinister company—one that forced its employees to drink more than a dozen cups of coffee a day just to get through their workload, treating them like inexhaustible machines. No wonder Aria had finally fled the company, returning to the countryside of Smallville with nothing to start anew. It looked like she'd work there until she died, unnoticed by her colleagues.
As a reporter, Clark Kent feels that he needs to shoulder certain social responsibilities. As a neighbor, he also feels that he needs to protect Aria's legal rights.
So he sat up straight—a rather trustworthy gesture. “Do you need legal assistance?”
"ah?"
Clark Kent's features are deep and profound when he is serious:
"Although I currently only write press releases for the sports section of the Daily Planet, my friend knows a well-known lawyer in the industry and can introduce you to them."
He clasped his hands together, his eyes sharp as a reporter's: "Don't worry about the cost, it will all be free."
If there is any excess, the young reporter thinks that he can still afford it with the remaining salary after paying rent, water and electricity.
…Although I knew he must have misunderstood something, what was even stranger was that Aria immediately understood what Clark meant.
Kent didn't know that in Aria's eyes he had become Bern Mountain - the farmer's eyes looked at him more and more gentle, so kind that it seemed to be dripping with tears.
Martha is honest and kind, and her children have become enthusiastic and good people. It is really a blessing to have neighbors with such good character.
In order not to disappoint Clark's kindness, Aria smiled brightly: "Although I really don't like the company."
"But life has been pretty good since I returned to the farm." Except for stopping to eat and drink when she needs to gain some benefits, and going to bed at night, Aria works on the farm as soon as she opens her eyes. Her life is so fulfilling and happy.
If she had to give a thank-you speech after finally achieving perfect success, she might have started with "Thank you JOJA for making me understand that the final destination of capitalists must be street lamps and not other things", and severely criticize JOJA.
But now, Aria feels that there is no need to pay attention to JOJA for the time being.
"My previous job... let the past be the past." Rather than viewing her days in JOJA as painful memories, she would rather see it as the beginning of a better life.
But when it comes to work, she really needs help.
Aria held the empty coffee cup and looked longingly at Clark's super espresso: "But... I do have some unanswered questions."
Although it was a pity that he couldn't help Aria in the past, Clark was happy to be able to help her in the present: "You say."
The farmer scratched her head, trying to figure out how to start this legal consultation in a simple and understandable way: "I have a friend..."
Could this friend be you? Clark Kent's eyelids twitched, and he had a bad feeling.
Aria: "She recently found a new job with good benefits! Although there is no salary, there are other subsidies to receive."
That's not bad, Clark couldn't help but smile. He was happy that Aria was able to find a part-time job that she liked and was suitable for her after leaving that unscrupulous company - Martha would also be relieved to know that.
Poor Kent had no idea how quickly things would turn for the worse, like a roller coaster ride: "...but she was beaten up by gangsters on her way home from get off work some time ago."
In fact, it was the monster that chopped him with a cold weapon, Aria thought, but the NPC may not have any idea about monsters, so it is better to simplify it.
Click——
A sudden cracking sound broke the silence between the two. The farmer suspected that the dining table had fallen into disrepair and was about to bend over to investigate when Clark stopped him.
"Hey, have some dried apples my mom made to cool down. She baked them and put them in this iron box." Clark handed her an iron box with his right hand, and with his left hand, he crushed the piece of wood that he accidentally broke off from under the table into powder, and sprinkled it on the ground as if nothing had happened - Little Krypton ran over actively, rolled up a small vortex fan with his tail to blow away the dust.
Kent finally calmed down: "...Go on, Xiaoya."
Aria nodded. "I, no, my friend fought back in anger. After fighting the criminals for three hundred rounds, he was finally exhausted and defeated. He was heroically wounded—" At this point, the farmer raised his voice, quite angry at the criminals' behavior: "I want to ask, is this considered a work-related injury?"
She frowned slightly, looking a little worried. "If she can't find that person, can she claim compensation from her employer?"
If she could claim compensation, the farmer would have to squeeze Lewis hard once, and make him at least spit out a dozen lottery tickets so that she could have a good draw at once!
Kent nearly broke another piece of table material. He tried to maintain the professionalism and composure of a journalist, but couldn't help but say, "Of course!"
As a reporter who always stands on the side of the weak, if Clark Kent had not seen that Aria had no injuries and that her injuries seemed minor and should have recovered, he would have been standing in front of her boss's store with cameras to see who had such a black heart.
Clark said in a deep voice: "I will help."
…
Clark took the matter very seriously. Not only did he carefully record the entire incident, he also promised Aria that he would inform her of the result as soon as he received a reply from his friend in the legal field.
Whether bringing lunch to colleagues or completing assignments, he always appears to be incredibly reliable: "Don't worry, I'm here."
Aria nodded vigorously. Finding a reliable NPC can save people ten years of detours.
The farmer touched the outside of his coffee cup to his cheek, imitating the collision of two cups at a cocktail party. Then he raised the empty coffee cup in his hand to salute Clark: "If I win anything good next time, you'll have a share!"
I feel better today and my head doesn't hurt anymore TT. I'll fix it and then resume updating as normal ww Thank you all for your concern for my health, you are all little angels (crying
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2024-07-24 23:59:20 and 2024-07-26 20:59:41~
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