Chapter 107 "Superman Training Plan"
Superman is missing.
This is a rare and not so rare thing. In the eyes of most people, Superman is a full-time superhero. When he is not on Earth, he is likely to go to the universe to challenge more dangerous enemies. In the eyes of his colleagues, Clark Kent is low-key and busy, trying to manage his life like every ordinary person living in a big city. When the red cape is not fluttering in the sky, the young man from a small town in Kansas may be chatting with friends in a corner of the world, enjoying a candlelight dinner with his family under the moonlight, or sitting in a straw pile humming songs and writing long paragraphs.
The Son of Krypton has a free and transparent soul. His human side pulls at his iron body, which makes him weak occasionally, but also makes him eternally strong. After learning Superman's true identity, every member of the Justice League hopes that he can keep that little paradise on earth from beginning to end. Out of respect and love for the hero, they will not take the initiative to disturb or test him.
But this time Superman was missing for a really long time.
On the watchtower, Cyborg scanned the world countless times but could not find any trace of Clark Kent. Green Lantern went around the universe and asked around but could not find any trace of Superman. The spokesperson of SHIELD finally got the right to talk to Superman from the A.E.L.D. and was about to ask the person concerned what he thought about the sign in the White House that said "superheroes and super dogs are not allowed to enter". Now he can only wait pitifully for the result of the search. What's more terrifying is that Batman found that the system could not contact the other party.
"It's over," the system said. "I bet a hundred times that there are loopholes in the code and he has traveled through time."
"The will of the universe is exactly the opposite of entropy increase, and it has an instinct towards completeness. We have just returned from the Arkham Knight universe, and the possibility of you encountering the loophole coordinates is much higher than before."
So five hours later, Bruce Wayne rushed to Kansas and knocked on the farm door.
This should be the place where Superman last appeared.
After revealing his identity as Superman's friend and persuading Martha Kent to stay still for a while, Batman dug deep into the ground and finally found the weak, pitiful and helpless Connor in the basement of the farm warehouse that no one had visited since Jonathan Kent's death... and a dormant game console.
Connor was standing solemnly in a reverent posture, as if he was not playing a game but worshipping an icon in a church. When Bruce arrived, he jumped up and said, "Help! Batman! This game console is trying to kill Superman!"
“…”
The manual of the Kryptonian game console was placed next to Connor, and he had read it more than once. After studying it, Batman suspected that the father and son had been bewitched: "This is a holographic game. Although I don't know how it works, you can't quit now?"
The person he was talking to was Superman, who was bored and working on the prairie on the game login screen.
"I can't. The button that should be used to exit the game has turned gray. The system prompts that I can only pass the game if I get through all the endings." Superman stood up and said, his voice came out through the speakers of the body. The game picture on the virtual screen was extremely real, as if he was having a video call with the earthlings on another planet. "This is a bit strange. Neither of us brought any other electronic equipment. Connor originally wanted to ask the Justice League for help, but he couldn't get out of this warehouse no matter what."
Batman turned around, pushed open the barrier of the basement and walked out.
Half a minute later he returned to where he was. "It's really not right. I can't get out. If I pass through the farm gate I will be teleported back."
They looked at each other across the screen and realized at the same time that they might have been cheated.
The system couldn't communicate secretly now, but the subsystems on both sides must have made the same guess.
Due to Connor's presence, Batman could only say vaguely: "You know about the loopholes in the universe."
Superman replies, "I know. I can face it."
Connor: "What kind of a mystery are you talking about?"
"Don't start the game yet, I need to test it."
Batman did not answer Superboy's question. He tentatively called home and was answered - no matter who the enemy was, he had no restrictions on external contacts.
"Alfred, I need that newly developed equipment."
What followed was a long wait and testing. They found traces of magic residue on Connor, but they were unable to trace the source due to limited conditions. What was worse was that magic had given life to both the game console and the warehouse. The former was undoubtedly full of malice towards Superman, while the latter trapped any creature that entered its territory, and the scope was expanding at an unimaginable speed. Before, Connor just couldn't get out of the warehouse, but now the entire farm had become a cage.
“…I have no idea when I was bewitched.” Connor squatted down and buried his face in his arms. “I mean, I’m really sorry.”
"No one could have predicted this, Connor, and you shouldn't blame yourself for the cunning of your enemies. Cheer up, boy, we still have time to work out a solution together."
"I think this is why the enemy didn't cut off the electronic signal." Batman, who was fiddling with the equipment sent by the drone, speculated cautiously, "In order to prevent the magic inflicted on this warehouse from expanding to the entire Kansas and affecting the innocent people in the town, we must saturate it in advance, that is, use enough energy to fill and offset it."
Superman asked: "Is there any concise way to explain it?"
"——We have to call in the entire Justice League, or creatures with the same energy as these superhumans, to lock themselves in, fill the stomach of this house so that it doesn't want to continue eating, and then we can stop the spread of the spell. But it's too late to create super energy bodies on site now."
Connor understood: "You mean the enemy left the signal so that the trapped people can ask for help. But even if the Justice League is unable to fight the criminals, if he wants to carry out his conspiracy, can he use the same method to stop other superheroes?"
You have to know that this universe may not have any other advantages, except that there are a lot of superhumans.
"That will be difficult, so I think trapping the Justice League is just the enemy's first step. To understand the follow-up, we must understand the key point - what does he want to use Superman for?"
Or, what is inside the loophole in the universe?
Compared to the Owl Court who knew nothing about the source of the coordinates, this time the opponent was clearly well prepared. He designed a trap to make Superman fall into the coordinate universe without any preparation, and provided the Justice League with a VIP viewing channel. If this Kryptonian game console was not limited to pure Kryptonians, they would probably have the opportunity to experience it immersively. At that time, the superheroes would fall into the universe loophole like dumplings, and it is still unknown what will happen.
Right now, Superman is alone in a holographic role-playing game, which is probably a path that the villains have never imagined before in implementing their plans.
Regardless, the other side hopes that they will gain something beneficial to the super villain in this rare repair experience.
Or, lose the important existence they have.
The core of the alliance, Superman.
The system said: "The person behind the scenes cannot possibly understand the repulsive effect that the cosmic loophole has on you, but he will know that chaos is the nature of these singular spaces. No matter how upright and resolute a person is, he will go crazy if he stays in such a place for a long time. Batman only took one night to fix the loophole before, and the effect of mental erosion was already obvious enough."
"He wants to see a Superman who has lost his mind." Batman immediately followed his opponent's train of thought, "He wants the Justice League to witness with their own eyes how the God of the World falls."
The Flash, who arrived second after receiving the message, just happened to hear these words.
"Wow." He sighed with difficulty, "I'm not late again, am I?"
In the game, Superman said, "No, you came the fastest today."
His cape fluttered in the wind as usual, seemingly unmoved by Batman's words. He said calmly, "Once the magic stops spreading, we'll start as soon as possible."
**
"It's better than the last time with Batman, but not much better." Superman's system is communicating with its host. "Back then, I couldn't communicate with him at all. Now, because this is a game console connected to the universe loophole, also made up of 0s and 1s, my authority is greater than when I was in the Arkham Knight universe. But..."
"but?"
"The essence of the game is to follow rules, Moses, which means you are dealing with iron laws that cannot be changed."
Role-playing game, abbreviated as RPG in English, is composed of both players and characters.
Therefore, outside the game, when other people in the Justice League did not press the start button, Superman could only wander around the endless plains on the start interface. After everyone arrived and Batman chose to "start a new game", a distorted and blurred portal appeared in front of him, leading to an unknown area.
"I don't think it has any mandatory effect." Superman observed the portal for a while and commented, "Even if you click to start the game, if I don't take the initiative to walk in, the game will still be stuck at the beginning."
"But the requirement for clearing the game is to complete all the endings." Wonder Woman, who had already exchanged intelligence, pointed out, "Delaying will not solve the problem."
"You're right, Diana." Superman shrugged. "Actually, I quite like the grassland in the opening. I can smell the smell of soil. Could this be an image left behind by Krypton many years ago?"
“…”
No one can answer. Just like no one can understand what it means to Superman that a game console that comes from the place of birth and is used to guide children to grow up has become a weapon that hurts the last survivors.
He walked into the portal, and the white flowers on the grassland that had been accompanying him just now swayed in the wind, as if saying goodbye.
After walking through the door, a familiar city came into view.
His Superman uniform turned into a white shirt and black suit pants. He sat in a small studio apartment with glasses on, facing his computer and documents. Outside the window, people were coming and going, and cars were busy. A huge sculpture of the Daily Planet stood beside him, its golden surface shining in the sun.
This is a metropolitan city.
"Welcome to the tutorial level of the all-age game "Superman Training Plan"!" Krypton AI said in a rhythmic tone, "Important reminder: This game does not contain any save points. The player's choice is closely related to the ending, so please choose carefully."
Outside the game, the Flash asked: "Why does it keep emphasizing that it is a game for all ages?"
Green Lantern replied: "Just like a drunk person always claims he is not drunk, it probably contains adult content and needs to be watched under the supervision of parents."
"Clark Kent." The AI ignored Hal's sarcasm and continued, "You are a small-town boy from Kansas. Today is your first day working in the big city. At the Cerberus Summit, the three most influential young business tycoons in the United States gathered together. You and your colleague Lois Lane need to interview them."
This is probably the introduction to the tutorial level.
"After you finished talking to Lex Luther and Oliver Queen and returned to your residence, you found yourself attacked by a strange black bat."
“…”
A hand pressed the back of Clark's head and slammed it hard against the innocent laptop on the table.
With a "bang", the computer broke into pieces.
AI: "A stranger has attacked you, questioning your purpose in approaching Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Do you decide to fight back?"
Time stands still at this moment.
Superman remained in the posture of being hit on the head by Batman, and winked at the people outside the game: "What's going on?"