SUP Chapter 92: What To Do! Is This Cheating!?

Seven-thirty in the morning.

The old-fashioned clock in the Kent house made its dull chiming sound.

Ian, who had stayed up all night, was still full of energy. He walked downstairs using a teething stick he had dismantled from the window, wearing a T-shirt printed with the pinyin initials for "Super Big."

Batman's toys were magical. With just a little study of the mechanism, a device that could lock an entire window became a portable long rod-shaped object.

"Smells good."

The aroma of bacon wafted from the kitchen.

Jonathan was busy in the kitchen.

"Where are Mom and Dad?"

Ian peeked around, looking everywhere.

"Thanks to Batman's brave venture into Metropolis, they didn't come home last night. They just called me to watch over you, making over twenty calls this morning."

"What did you do again?" Jonathan was still flipping bacon in the kitchen. He was curious about his parents' instructions and poked his head out to see Ian pulling things out of his pants.

"I created a new round of GDP growth for Metropolis. You're welcome?" Ian threw away the cushion he'd pulled from his butt and extracted another cushion from the front of his T-shirt.

Temporarily useless protective gear should be tossed aside.

"Don't understand, but sounds impressive." Jonathan came out to serve Ian a sandwich. When the adults weren't around, he was generally responsible for taking care of his two younger brothers.

Ian grabbed the newspaper from the table. The headline "SHOCKING! Gotham Superhero Transforms into 'Street Punk,' Appears in Metropolis to Save Fallen Woman!" was particularly eye-catching.

This gave Ian some ideas.

"Beep beep beep~"

Ian pulled out his phone, pressed redial and the call connected.

He spoke enthusiastically, "Good morning, sir. Are you awake? If you're not awake yet, you can go back to sleep. I just wanted to send you my most sincere greetings for today."

Ian was still thinking about getting a lantern ring from Batman.

"Beep beep beep~"

The call was hung up.

The other party gave no response.

But Ian didn't mind. Gotham weirdos were like that, emotionally reserved and subtle. Anyway, he had already established today's emotional connection with the Gotham weirdo.

Next came greetings to his godfather.

And most importantly, prayers to Lady Death. He was very polite, only contacting Lady Death before meals to avoid being seen as clingy or a turn-off.

After a bout of devout confessions, Ian unusually received no response. Just when he thought Lady Death hadn't woken up, he opened his eyes to find a woman sitting across from him.

Lady Death in a black tank top sat with proper posture, her slender fingers tapping the table. Sunlight passed through her body, casting a faint shadow on the floor.

"This isn't right. Can you appear again?" Ian rubbed his eyes in disbelief, looking around at the colors and Jonathan busy in the kitchen.

Lady Death gazed at the boy before her.

"I don't appear at just any time. Time doesn't stop operating."

Her words seemed reasonable enough. Ian believed her.

"Alright, mainly I thought if Jonathan saw you, he'd definitely think I was seduced by a bad woman last night." Ian shyly lowered his head.

"??????"

The corner of Lady Death's mouth twitched slightly.

"He can't see me."

The goddess gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes.

Jonathan poked his head out from the kitchen. "What are you muttering about?"

Of course the big brother heard Ian's mumbling. This didn't even require super hearing to detect.

"But he can see you talking to yourself, like a madman." Death supplemented, her mouth carrying a mischievous smile, as if ready to watch Ian's embarrassment at any moment.

"Nothing, I'm communicating with my imaginary friend." Ian remembered his father's instructions. Jonathan and Jordan were too old to handle this extraordinary world.

Hearing this, Jonathan nodded calmly.

"Oh, okay. Please say hello to your friend for me too." The gentle big brother showed no signs of strangeness and even made an expression of sudden understanding.

He continued back to the kitchen stove to cook.

"Does your whole family have some kind of serious problem?" Lady Death was quite astonished, watching Ian happily take a sip of milk with a grin.

"This is my rock-solid reputation in this house."

Ian's tone was emotional, slightly wistful.

"..."

Lady Death wanted to ask what exactly Ian was being proud of, but she ultimately held back and got straight to the point. "I've sorted through the small amount of useful information from your massive nonsense."

"You mean that the shrinking of multiversal living space will cause higher beings to be downgraded, ordinary life souls to overlap, and ultimately the universe will collapse into ruins?"

She looked at Ian suspiciously, stating the summary of Ian's prayer content.

"Yes, yes."

Ian nodded.

"Hmm, interesting speculation. So you're telling me this information that I hadn't even thought of all came from your super brain secretly whispering in your ear while you slept?"

Lady Death raised an eyebrow.

"Not in my ear, under my skull."

Ian corrected her wording and nodded his little head again. This answer made Lady Death rub her temples.

"Honestly, I'm starting to regret why I filled myself with such rich humanity not long ago." The goddess took a deep breath with an expression like she had swallowed a hedgehog whole.

"You don't have any damn super brain... You mysterious little brat, I'll go verify what you said. Until then, I hope you don't bother me three times a day!"

After saying this, Lady Death grabbed the sandwich from Ian's plate.

She disappeared completely.

Not even leaving Ian a single lettuce leaf.

"Seems like she means I need to contact her at least four times a day?" Ian couldn't save his breakfast, so he grabbed Jordan's portion.

People who get up late should bear this consequence. Ian had already reported everything he needed to. Whether the higher-ups took it seriously was no longer something an independent NPC like him should worry about.

"Thump thump thump~"

Sometimes Jordan was just that easy to summon by thinking about him. Speak of Jordan and Jordan appears. Jordan came down the stairs rubbing his eyes, and Jonathan just walked out of the kitchen to give his two brothers fried eggs and fried potatoes.

"Why do you look so haggard?" Jonathan was concerned about Jordan. This brother's dark circles reminded him of an animal called a raccoon.

"Nothing, just didn't sleep well." Jordan hesitated to speak. His gaze fell on the sandwich in Ian's hand, then looked at his own empty plate.

No big emotional reaction.

Just a food thief, already used to it.

Jordan watched Jonathan return to the kitchen, then looked at Ian. After struggling for a moment, he still spoke quietly. "Ian, I encountered something strange again yesterday."

He kept glancing toward the kitchen, as if he didn't want Jonathan to hear.

"What strange thing?"

Ian was wolfing down the sandwich.

"Last night after returning from your room... my eyes hurt badly... In the middle of the night, I think I saw Batman in Mom and Dad's room doing something."

Jordan's tone carried some hesitation. "Maybe it was my hallucination? It seems... my condition causes some hallucinations. Damn it, my browser has started recommending suitable coffins for me."

"Every one is so expensive."

His voice was more desperate than last night.

"What the hell!?"

Ian could always be shocked by his second brother.

"You didn't leave your room? Didn't see anyone else? Just saw Batman?" He asked tentatively. Had his second brother with X-ray vision awakened too, and went back to his bedroom to vigorously discipline himself again!

Even though he was so worried about getting a terminal illness, how could he continue going at it after returning to his room!

"Yeah, didn't leave my room, so I thought it was a hallucination. After all, there were only a few fleeting images." Jordan rubbed his eyelids, trying hard to remember.

"Awesome, you're the real Superman in Metropolis." Ian sincerely gave his second brother a thumbs up. Being able to continuously awaken superpowers was also a special talent.

"Stop making fun of me. I really feel like my days are numbered." Jordan sighed deeply. He was now worried that after he kicked the bucket, Ian would really test whether he could fake his death.

"I bet you'll live, and live well. Maybe you should talk to Dad or Mom about this?" Ian gave a hint-filled suggestion.

"Maybe."

He didn't know if Jordan had listened.

"I'm full, going to school now." Ian looked at the time, put down his utensils, wiped his mouth with tissue paper, then stuffed it into his backpack behind him.

"Today's Saturday. What school are you going to?"

Jordan looked up in surprise, completely confused.

"As long as there's school in your heart, you can go to school anytime." Ian used a backup excuse. He actually had other business to attend to outside.

Playing ostrich to temporarily avoid his returning parents was secondary. Whether exchanging checks or taking Mr. White to buy chemicals, these were secrets he couldn't speak of.

"Should I compliment you and say 'great job'?" Jordan looked worried, watching Ian shoulder his heavy backpack and head out. He began eating somewhat absent-mindedly.

He had barely taken a few bites when.

"Ptui ptui ptui!"

Sounds came from the kitchen.

"This isn't protein powder!" Jonathan's voice was full of surprise and uncertainty. Jordan quickly ran to the kitchen to see Jonathan holding a cup of white liquid and examining it intently.

"What's wrong?"

Jordan first looked at Jonathan's filled protein powder container, then walked to the trash can and quickly solved the case. "It's the milk tea sweetener Ian loves to add when drinking coffee."

He pulled out dozens of empty packets from the trash.

The two brothers stared at each other.

"He probably forgot to buy you protein powder yesterday." Jordan discovered money pressed under the protein powder container and handed it to Jonathan with a somewhat strange expression.

What could Jonathan say?

Emotionally and logically, he could only forgive his youngest brother.

"It's fine, sweetener is sweetener. Ian must have wanted to help me with dirty bulking." Facts proved that money power was indeed very useful. Jonathan gripped the two hundred dollars and was incredibly understanding.

"Then drink it."

Jordan stared at the cup in Jonathan's other hand.

"I will drink it, but not now."

Jonathan couldn't quite keep it up but was still being stubborn. Jordan didn't have the energy to tease his big brother. He grabbed a bottle of ketchup and returned to the dining room.

"What is this?" Jordan discovered the teething stick Ian had used and discarded. He saw the bat symbol on it, and his pupils immediately contracted sharply.

"I wasn't hallucinating, was I?"

A real super brain might truly be awakening rapidly.

The news of Batman coming to Metropolis.

The scene he witnessed.

And Mom's cursing, panicked state last night, everything seemed to connect completely. Jordan, who gasped in shock, felt he had discovered the truth.

"Between Batman and Mom..."

He didn't dare think further.

If he continued thinking, he'd have to pity his father.

Wait.

Is that really our father?

Or perhaps, can't think anymore, can't think anymore. Jordan felt if he thought any more he'd explode. He hastily threw Ian's teething stick into the trash with trembling hands.

Pretending nothing had happened.

Of course, if such a shocking thing were true, Jordan felt he might actually live a bit longer, and he'd also found the reason why Jonathan, Ian, and even himself all seemed slightly abnormal.

They shouldn't be in Metropolis.

They should be in Gotham.

There they would definitely be normal people.

"What's really wrong with you?" Jonathan came out carrying his plate. Seeing his second brother trembling, he increasingly felt Jordan might be physically unwell today.

"Nothing!"

Jordan fled. He quickly ran up to his second-floor bedroom.

He stared at the box containing his treasure, wanting to temporarily forget the absurd reality that was hard to accept. Although he didn't get along with Clark, that didn't mean there wasn't father-son affection between him and Clark.

Past scenes flashed by.

Just as Jordan wanted to escape reality.

"Ring ring ring~"

His phone rang.

Jordan's fingers trembled like an electrocuted frog's leg because he saw "Mom" displayed on the caller ID, immediately feeling the urge to throw his phone out the window.

"Hello?"

Of course, reason ultimately overcame fear.

Jordan answered the phone.

"Your brother's phone isn't being answered. Are Ian and you together?" Lois's voice came through the phone, with the background sound of printing machines running frantically at the newspaper office.

"We were together just now."

Jordan's voice drifted like a real terminal patient's.

"And now?"

Lois's follow-up was serious.

"Now he went to school."

Jordan honestly gave his answer.

"School? What school on Saturday?" Lois sounded surprised and even confirmed the time. Thankfully, the overtime pay calculations weren't wrong.

"I asked him the same thing, but now I understand. He should be trying to avoid you two. I think he probably dragged all his classmates up to force them to attend class."

Honestly, Jordan had somehow empathized completely with Ian.

He remembered that bat iron rod. Even a poor student like himself could figure out the problem. As the smartest child in the family, Jordan was certain his little brother couldn't have guessed nothing.

"What did he tell you? What did you understand?" Lois thought Ian had confessed at home. She asked Jordan with slight probing.

"Ian didn't tell me anything, but I gradually understood everything anyway." Jordan swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, looking very nervous.

"Yes, I understood everything... You and Dad are in a second marriage, right?" Jordan ultimately couldn't hold back. The other end of the phone immediately fell into deathly silence.

Jordan could hear the sound of blood hitting his eardrums.

"What are you talking about?"

After a moment, Lois spoke again with stable emotions.

Jordan breathed a sigh of relief and let his guard down slightly.

"I... I..."

He touched his eyes and looked at himself in the mirror. "I might have awakened bat vision. On TV, I often see Batman's eyes are red when he appears."

This statement was perhaps quite tactful.

But Lois wasn't stupid enough to not understand the implication.

"Gulp gulp gulp~"

The sound of drinking came from the other end of the phone.

"Go get Ian to answer the phone!"

Lois's voice was breaking.

This was reputation.

This might be true reputation.

"It has nothing to do with Ian. I figured this out myself! I have some intelligence too!" Jordan defended Ian, and this was indeed the case.

"Very good."

Lois suppressed some emotion.

"Then you wait at home. I'll have your father come back to find you." After calming down somewhat, she realized Jordan might have awakened Kryptonian abilities.

This was a big deal.

Lois didn't dare casually lose her temper.

However, the mom who had tried her best to control her emotions still hadn't seen her sons clearly enough.

"Um... which dad will come back to find me?" Jordan asked cautiously.

This one sentence nearly made Lois on the other end explode with anger.

...

Talent isn't everywhere.

But the Kent family obviously produced talent more easily than other families.

While Jordan was using his own abilities to provoke the nerves of the most powerful person in the house, Ian had already shouldered his backpack and begun his incredibly fulfilling day.

Cashing checks wasn't troublesome.

Although minors usually couldn't go to banks alone to cash checks, when the minor was the beneficiary of the check, some banks would still accept and process it.

Ugly Grandpa had considered everything thoroughly.

Ian's exchange went very smoothly and satisfactorily.

"If I don't say anything, who would know I'm already a millionaire?" Ian bought a breathable meat shred bun on the street, held his thermos, and found Metropolis's black market location under Mr. White's guidance.

"I once worked for Luthor... knew he was researching biochemical warriors... It was precisely because I wanted to escape from him that I foolishly made a deal with a demon."

Mr. White was melancholy in the thermos.

"The great Trigon!"

The demon head in Ian's backpack corrected his statement.

Ian's surroundings were lively.

"Biochemical warriors? Great! Now that's exciting! But I need to confirm, that's definitely not drugs, right? Children born in positive energy families are sworn enemies of gambling and drugs for life!"

Ian maintained proper vigilance and a positive mind.

"..."

Mr. White was silent for a moment. "Just enhancement drugs, for creating super soldiers. Luthor's ambitions were big, not limited to obtaining military contracts."

He still felt apprehensive mentioning this.

"Mm-hmm, this works, this works very well." Ian was relieved. So under White's guidance, he came to Metropolis's so-called black market.

It was actually just a relatively chaotic street with some shops under different signs selling contraband, though these shops usually did legitimate business too.

The shop hiding chemical materials was actually a century-old store called Old Joey's Custom Suits, with a bald, burly man in work pants doing delicate sewing inside.

Ian followed Mr. White's instructions and exchanged code words with this baldie.

"What are you buying?"

The baldie looked at Ian, a child, with surprise. He hadn't expected old White had become so shameless as to use minors to purchase goods.

This was really too despicable.

The shop owner, who was internally cursing the despicable person he thought was old White, didn't know that the subject of his curses was actually contained in Ian's thermos. Since he considered Ian to be an old customer's lackey, he quickly retrieved the goods for Ian.

The transaction went smoothly.

So smoothly that Ian was somewhat reluctant.

"I'm just a child. Shouldn't you rob me, kidnap me, and sell me to a sweatshop?" This was the script Ian felt suited him.

Hearing this, the bald boss directly scoffed.

"I run a long-term business. You think I need your few cents? Integrity, the most important thing in black market business is integrity. How much could I get for stuffing you in a sack and selling you?"

He clearly looked down on Ian's words, but it made Ian think he had a good point.

With reluctant feelings, Ian could only regretfully leave. His "fair trade" mode also had its own trigger conditions. Unfortunately, this shop didn't have the honor of meeting them.

"Where have all my favorite bad guys gone?"

Ian walked through the gloomy alley, somewhat heartbroken.

"Is this drug really worth six thousand dollars?" Due to the small amount of materials received, Ian suspected Mr. White might be taking kickbacks from the shop even after death.

Maybe the shop would reserve some beauties for Mr. White in hell later.

"Let me try a few times, I can definitely restore the formula data for that enhancement drug." Mr. White, feeling Ian's unfriendly gaze, quickly made promises.

"Why go through all that trouble?"

Ian directly mixed all the formula materials together.

He drank all the gray substance in one gulp.

The next moment.

[Savage Tyrant Experience +13]

Level up.

Attributes improved.

[Strength: 21 → 22.1]

[Constitution: 38 → 41.5]

[Intelligence: 3.0 → 3.2]

[Spirit: 7.6 → 7.7]

Obviously, Savage Tyrant focused on constitution, while Berserker focused on strength. Both didn't greatly improve [Spirit] and [Intelligence] attributes, which made Ian slightly regretful.

[Minor Genetic Collapse]

The newly acquired negative effect was somewhat of a consolation.

[Berserker Experience +2]

One training session.

Double rewards.

Ian was finally satisfied with the six thousand dollar expenditure.

"Too bad he didn't have enough stock, otherwise I'd definitely be flying tonight." Ian looked at his additional skill points and didn't choose flashy skills.

He learned the new skill [Solar Eyes], immediately feeling both pupils become scorching hot.

"Actually golden light. Now I don't have to worry about Mom misunderstanding." Ian looked in a mirror, very satisfied with the imposing presence he showed in his reflection.

Since he still wanted to level up, he continued searching for other shops in this area. Mr. White in the thermos silently sank to the bottom. The demon head in the backpack suddenly spoke.

"I smell the scent of hell."

It twitched its rotting nostrils. "And filthy swindlers."

Its words carried immense disgust.

Ian understood why this demon would be so disgusted. Although he didn't have a dog's nose, his newly enhanced eyeballs still saw the man in the worn windbreaker in the distance.

At the street corner, Constantine in a beige windbreaker was walking this way with a cigarette in his mouth.

The moment their eyes met, Ian wanted to take a detour.

But Constantine detoured faster than him, this guy directly turned and ran, as if afraid that being slow might mean facing something terrifying.

Constantine didn't even care when his shoe fell off.

Ian was stunned on the spot.

"No, is he the plague god, or am I the plague god? I should be the one avoiding him like the plague!" Ian jumped with anger. Human nature was sometimes so contradictory.

Guarding against others was one thing, being guarded against by others was another.

"I think he was very wise."

The demon head's voice echoed gloomily from the backpack.

"Shut up! I'm even wearing a mask! How could he still recognize me! He must have urgent business to go home and take a dump!"

The annoyed Ian hesitated slightly but still didn't take off his socks to stuff the demon head's mouth. He couldn't wrong his feet because of momentary emotions.

"No! What was wrong with me just now! Why did my head get dizzy and I bought this car!" Heart-wrenching wails came from the distance, immediately attracting Ian's attention.

Ian perked up his ears. Upon realizing the sound came from the direction Constantine had walked from, he realized someone else had definitely been conned.

"Damn it, why won't Constantine come con me! I love being conned! Even if he likes punishing scumbags like himself, I can totally become a scumbag!"

Ian followed the sound to an empty lot.

He saw a car dealer with a face full of scars wailing desperately at a black Dodge Hellcat, the car keys in his hand like a hot potato that he couldn't throw to the ground no matter how hard he tried.

Obviously this person was entangled by something.

"This car killed nine people! A full nine people! Why did I buy it! Someone drugged me!" The car dealer knelt in front of the Dodge Hellcat, trembling.

His expression was desperate.

"What! Nine soul rings! A Titled Douluo level muscle car!" Ian detected the key elements and immediately became interested. He quickly approached the wailing car dealer and spoke softly.

"Eight hundred dollars. I'll take this car."

Hearing this, the car dealer grabbed onto it like a lifeline and looked up sharply, seeing a boy wearing stockings on his head standing before him. He instinctively thought he'd encountered some escaped robber, but after realizing Ian was just a child, the car dealer relaxed somewhat.

"Kid, do you have a driver's license? You want to buy a car?"

The car dealer's eyes showed internal struggle, as if fighting a battle of conscience.

"Laughable. I'm about to become a soul ring. What do I need a driver's license for?" Ian felt the other person's brain wasn't quite right. He hoped the other person would drink more walnut juice when he got home.

"..."

The car dealer's conscience immediately stopped struggling.

"You want money over life, right? Take it!" He pulled out a thick stack of cash from his pocket and slammed it into Ian's hand along with the keys. The moment he could let go of the keys, he felt relieved.

"You're looking for death yourself. Don't blame me, don't blame me." As if to convince his own heart, the car dealer kept repeating this phrase and fled like he was escaping for his life.

"..."

In the empty lot, only Ian remained looking at the keys and cash in his hands.

His expression was somewhat bewildered.

"We agreed on eight hundred, but he gave me seven thousand two hundred... Metropolis still has many suckers." Ian sighed somewhat. He felt he should perhaps appropriately raise his service prices.

His fee structure at school obviously wasn't suitable for this society. Having earned back all his previous expenses, Ian began walking around the cool American muscle car.

"So cool~"

Ian valued this car not because it had soul rings, but because he clearly judged that with so many soul rings, this Titled Douluo level muscle car must have autopilot function.

"Maybe it even has auto-repair. This is my dream car!" When Ian's finger slid across the hood, the Dodge Hellcat's headlights eerily flashed.

"This car's fuel is only human blood."

The demon head spoke gloomily from Ian's backpack.

Very scary.

Ian was indeed scared.

Because he quickly calculated in his mind that even as a wholesale blood dealer, one bag of 400ml whole blood would cost between 200 to 300 dollars.

This fuel was really much more expensive than oil.

"Indeed, high-end cars have high-end operating costs." Ian couldn't help but sigh. He had a flash of inspiration, then another, and by the third flash he had a perfect solution.

"I knew I was resourceful."

Happy Ian perked up again.

"What do you mean?"

The demon head was still confused.

"Human blood is so expensive. A hellcat should drink hell blood. Free fuel is the best fuel." Ian's words made the demon head in the backpack even more puzzled.

"What hell blood?"

The demon head was completely baffled.

However, this confusion only lasted until Ian took it out of his backpack.

"Don't! Don't do this!"

As Ian twisted it into a squashed state, the demon understood.

[NEXT CHAPTER]