When everyone thought the storm had calmed down, it was actually not over yet.
——Because Superman hasn't turned back yet.
"You have been awake for less than three working days, and you spent half of that time in Gotan," the system said. "The situation was urgent, so I awakened your consciousness and turned on the energy-saving mode, which was an overdraft operation. From now on, you can either go into close contact with the sun, or wait for your body's skills to coordinate themselves so that the energy absorbed every day is greater than your activity expenditure, so that you have a chance to grow up."
"I don't recommend you go into space either. Just like a person who has been hungry for too long and then overeats, he will lose water and eventually die of organ failure. You can't control your instincts like breathing, and absorbing too much will be dangerous."
Isn't this just one option?
And God the mother grew up.
Let’s talk some earthly language, system!
Moses was forced to accept this setting, and those who knew the inside story were not surprised to find that the heroes of Metropolis began to live a secluded life. Superman did not give up helping others because of his own little problem, he was just more cautious and careful, and those who received help did not realize that they had walked on the line of death until they were out of danger.
Taking into account the current special circumstances, many eye-catching and representative but non-urgent rescue activities have been temporarily put on hold.
For example, a cat that climbs up a tree and can’t get down.
Just leave them there. These lawless cats will only realize they are domesticated when their owners call the fire department to grab them by the scruff of the neck.
So after seeing news for the umpteenth time about dogs with their necks stuck in railings and cats on telephone poles, the residents of Metropolis suddenly realized that although Superman was said to have returned to Earth, he had never appeared in public!
They had thought that life was going to go back to how it was before Darkseid's invasion.
You have to know that personal energy is limited.
During the time when Superman left the Earth and went to the universe, topics related to him were the most popular, and they were at the top of the hot search list for several consecutive days. This is no longer a problem of conflicting concepts among residents of a small area or a single city, but the result of the joint efforts of the "elite class" who realize that the social trend of the universalization of superheroes is inevitable and that human technology is not afraid of superiority in the universe, and the masses who are simply grateful for the selfless contribution and are willing to speak out for it.
But for the former, Luther and his role are actually equivalent to Superman.
They do not consider the question of justice or evil, because they only see that this is a person who has the ability to make weapons and a "person" who is a weapon. Luther may have harmed the interests of innocent people, and there may be some illegal or immoral behaviors, but these "small details" are harmless in the eyes of those in power.
Because of this, their attitude towards the dispute between Luther and Superman is actually ambiguous.
If the former wins, it will prove that technological development has surpassed individual strength, and Superman's existence is irrelevant. If the latter wins, they can give Superman a commendation while keeping Luther's life and let him work for the government while alive.
This isn't difficult at all - because the Tomorrow Man of Metropolis doesn't kill anyone.
Therefore, when the calls for support for Superman on the Internet reached its peak, it was actually the time when the entire society's attention to him was the weakest. Only interests can be transformed into action in the long run.
After Superman returns to Earth, those who still insist on their own opinions are often driven purely by emotion.
This brings us back to the original problem: personal energy is limited.
You can't blame them for suddenly losing interest in speaking out or paying attention to the news one day. Everyone has their own work and life, and they can't stick to something that requires a lot of time and money for too long.
This is why the rest of the people mock the Internet for having no memory but can do nothing about it.
However, sometimes, although the power of emotion is not lasting, it erupts extremely quickly. It just needs a trigger at the right time.
Superman's disappearance is that line of fire.
The resourceful Twitter users dug up the previous bet between Lex Luthor and Lois Lane: Luthor would donate at least $200 million as operational expenses for the superheroes, as well as a five-year post-war loss insurance contract, on the condition that Superman could return safely with the human girl Alice.
This bet seemed inexplicable and was not something that someone as smart as Luther would do.
One can't help but ask: What good will this do for the Lex Group?
Everyone in the world knows that he is at odds with Superman and most of the superheroes, and his unrepentant attitude makes it hard for people to believe that this is an act of conscience. He lost money and failed to gain a good reputation, which is a huge loss.
But he made the bet with Louise.
As we all know, too much love can make people lose their minds, and too much hatred is actually similar. Luther may never love anyone in his life, but he hates Superman more than all the others combined.
He would rather get nothing, and would rather be so determined that he blindly believes that Superman will never come back. Then he can pretend to regret that he couldn't spend the money, express his feelings for Superman's overestimation of his own abilities, and then sprinkle the 200 million US dollars that have become disgusting because of the name Superman on the tombstone of the hero of Metropolis.
"That's not how normal people think," Louise later commented. "I think Luther should see a psychiatrist."
It doesn't really matter whether Luther is a psychopath or not.
The important thing is that he hasn't spent the money yet.
Even though the official media has announced Superman's return, Luther has yet to honor his bet.
Then there's the premise that no one has ever seen Superman.
Conspiracy theories began to gradually gain the upper hand in public opinion.
#Superman’s life and death are unknown, the authorities are covering up the truth and doing nothing# This topic rushed to the top of the hot search at an unstoppable speed.
Superman: “…”
"I thought you already knew it, since you were so bold as to invite me to your house for coffee." Bruce Wayne, a famous playboy in Gotham, sat opposite him and pushed his sunglasses down. "Before leaving, Dick asked me if you were going to give up on yourself and announce to the world that 'the chairman of the Justice League is actually under ten years old', using poison to fight poison to solve the current hot search."
He raised his coffee cup and took a sip, then asked, with a depressed look in his eyes, "What's your name now?"
"Clark Kent, of course," Superman replied. "I try not to be seen."
As he finished speaking, a man holding a child passed by and looked at Batman with sympathy, saying, "Your child looks really well behaved."
“…”
“…Why is it a cafe?”
"I tried my best." Superman said seriously, "This is the only store I could find that is not too far from my address and has a private room that allows pets. It would be more embarrassing to go to the street."
He stretched out his hands behind his back. There was a red chain wrapped around his wrists, and even the blue veins on his forehead popped out like a tug-of-war champion. He gritted his teeth and pulled the dog, which was paralyzed on the ground and pretending to be dead, over to him.
"Do you have any idea about getting a dog?"
**
Superman is so busy that he doesn't even have time to check his own trending searches.
Because he raised a Kryptonian dog and named it Little Krypton. This dog, like the people of Krypton, can absorb yellow and white sunlight to gain super powers, but no matter how smart and powerful it is, it cannot change the fact that it is a dog.
As a dog who loves nature and is full of energy, Superman, who was trying to find out its origin, locked it up for two days for disturbing public order. Finally, it couldn't stand the loneliness and took the step of pursuing freedom. Superman, like every frustrated and helpless dog owner, couldn't get it to go home obediently. Instead, Xiao Krypton bit the dog leash and pulled it out for two miles.
The man and the dog were in a stalemate for half a morning, and finally the man got the upper hand. They returned to the city from the suburbs, and Xiao Ke was lying on the ground like a weight, being carried away by Superman.
Seeing that the crowd was growing and the photo of the boy and the dog was about to be on the social news, Clark finally succumbed to the evil forces, found a pet-friendly cafe and sat down, and quickly contacted the alliance consultant who was said to be omnipotent for advice.
Batman: “…”
"I have something important to do, too."
He forced himself to change the subject, ignoring the dog lying on the ground sobbing, took out his cell phone, opened the to-do list, and turned the screen over.
“Three things in total.”
"The first is the announcement of the establishment of the alliance. We can't let the public continue to speculate wildly. Their impression of superheroes - not just us - needs to be properly guided. Before that, we must come up with a solution."
"The second thing is that the Lightning Man and you were ambushed and landed in a parallel world. There is a shadow of magician's activities behind it. I have asked someone to find the origin of ancient Egyptian magic left on the laboratory table, but it will take time to verify it."
"Third," Batman's expression darkened when he talked about this topic, and even through his sunglasses one could feel the low pressure coming from him, "The Assassin's League seems to have made a breakthrough in genetic technology. They took the initiative to contact me and revealed that their former partner Lex Luthor had been trying to breed another 'superman' to defeat you."
"Why would they sell out their partners?"
"It could be that the subsequent cooperation negotiations broke down, or one party lost its usefulness and was recycled by the other party. You can't expect criminal organizations to care about feelings."
After he finished speaking, Bruce stood up and buttoned up his suit.
"I still need to investigate the Assassin's League, so I'll leave now. If you have time, you can go ask Luther."
"Thank you for telling me this...By the way, is Dick interested in getting a dog?"
Life is hard.
But Superman cannot escape responsibility.
Batman, who has a lot of power, patted him on the shoulder and said, "With great power comes great responsibility. You have to try to have a good relationship with it."
Anyway, apart from Superman, no one else in the world can raise a Kryptonian dog without abusing the pet.
As for Clark trying to walk his dog that evening and being dragged all the way to the Kansas farm by Krypton, that is another story.