SUP Chapter 71: Batman: Listen to Me, Thank You

Ian ultimately overestimated Franklin's purchasing power, or perhaps he underestimated the economic strength of the role-playing enthusiast community. The money he brought with him only allowed him to buy a low-quality knockoff costume.

Of course, clutching plastic batarangs and tugging at his ill-fitting cloth armor, Ian remained confident. He used the night as cover and came to a relatively secluded public phone booth.

Such communication facilities were still everywhere in America, and thanks to his parents' professions at home and his excellent memory, Ian had memorized the contact information of many well-known media outlets.

The first call was naturally to the editor-in-chief of the famous Daily Planet.

"Hello? I'm a concerned citizen."

He deliberately made his voice sound like an adult's.

"I saw Batman in the old city district! Yes! It's him! I swear on my father! If I'm lying, may my father encounter a bunch of super villains the moment he leaves the house!"

"Yes, yes, I've always liked making poisonous oaths. Let me encounter super villains too." Ian ended the first call, then made second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh... a total of eighteen calls.

He didn't spare the local TV stations either.

"Batman! Oh my God! I saw Batman! He's on a date with a woman in the old city district! I don't know why he would come out on a date wearing his superhero costume."

"Maybe his female companion has special preferences... Look what you're saying, of course you'd avoid your own city for a date. Them coming to Metropolis makes perfect sense, okay!"

Then, another media outlet that liked gossip news.

"Exclusive news, can I get a TV submission bonus... I saw Batman walk out of an alley where cheap streetwalkers often hang around."

"I believe Batman must be on a business trip to Metropolis and went to help those poor women on the side. The specific location? It's in the old city district where the Black brothers like to gather."

"I won't say more, Batman is walking toward me pulling up his pants."

For every media outlet, Ian chose the type of news they liked most. He was once a man who had UC Browser and had risen and fallen in UC's Shock Department, so of course he knew how to capture marketing hot spots. After notifying most of the media outlets he knew, Ian hesitated slightly but still chose to call his reporter mother.

He didn't want his mother to miss out on bonuses by missing today's Batman news. Metropolis reporters were quite competitive, and some of Ian's mother's news reports looked like staged photos with his father.

"Beep beep beep~"

The call connected.

A voice from the other end asked who it was.

"Lois, it's me, I'm Batman, your old friend... Tonight I'm planning to expand my superhero career to your Metropolis side."

Ian lowered his voice, imitating Bruce Wayne's deep, smoky voice perfectly. His [Learning] talent made it easy for him to pick up many life skills.

"No, I'm not Ian, and I'm not causing trouble outside." To be fair, Ian's voice had indeed one hundred percent replicated Batman's tone.

Yet he still received strong skepticism from the other end of the phone.

"I really am Batman, can't you just believe me once? Damn it, don't come out. Batman won't go to the old city district tonight, he's returning to Gotham overnight!"

"It's me returning to Gotham overnight... Hiss, no, I'm not gasping because someone beat me up, I'm just checking if my head has grown pointy ears."

"Okay, Mom, I'm coming home right away."

Ian hung up the call with Lois in frustration.

Of course, he wouldn't immediately choose to go home. "Right away" never meant immediately, but whenever he got home would be when "right away" ended.

The right of interpretation naturally belonged to Ian.

Of course, ignoring the right of interpretation and beating him up was also Lois's right.

"It doesn't matter! You must overcome fear to become fear itself!" Ian used Batman's breathy voice, re-entering the role he was playing.

The old city district was quite lively at night.

He didn't find any robberies.

But this didn't stop Ian from wearing his shoddy bat suit, mimicking the ninja running style from Naruto, drilling onto walls and rooftops wherever there were crowds.

He was practically afraid people wouldn't be able to spot his black figure in the dark.

[Job Change Quest: Gain sufficient public attention and support (432/100000)]

Facts proved Ian's approach wasn't wrong. He and his system were still very compatible. Just by wandering around a bit, his job change quest had already made good progress.

The darkness concealed his cheap costume, making most people have no doubt about his identity. After all, not just anyone cosplaying could leap seven or eight meters between high buildings to another rooftop while doing dozens of backflips in mid-air. Even Bruce Wayne himself probably couldn't do this without technology.

"Oh! My God! Batman's here! Has some super terrible disaster appeared in Metropolis again?"

"Look! He didn't stand steady and fell from a four-story rooftop! He's not dead! He got up and ran away! It's Batman! This must be the real Batman!"

"Yeah! Just like everyone says, only the unkillable one is Batman!"

...

[Job Change Quest: Gain sufficient public attention and support (841/100000)]

[Job Change Quest: Gain sufficient public attention and support (1367/100000)]

[Job Change Quest: Gain sufficient public attention and support (1842/100000)]

...

While running around chaotically, Ian naturally handled some trivial matters.

Like drunk fights, small-scale gang brawls, and deadbeats who didn't pay for services.

He actually encountered bank robberies and such cases, but Ian was afraid of a Superman vs Batman scenario, so he could only pretend not to see them and didn't dare intervene.

This was for Batman's reputation, not wanting the outside world to see Batman getting beaten up by thugs. Fortunately, the arriving media were much more friendly to "visiting superheroes" than local heroes.

"Helping the elderly! Helping children! And possibly disabled people who didn't want to cross the street! He even smiled at the camera. Is this still the Batman we know?"

"Yes, this is Batman, this is true knight spirit! We've all been deceived by Gotham colleagues before! Batman understands how to care for the underprivileged better than Superman!"

"I see, just like how we like to smear Superman, it seems the news from Gotham can't be trusted at all. Look, does this Batman seem like someone who likes to appear and disappear mysteriously?"

"Batman's chin is so handsome!"

"Batman's clothes seem a bit off? Maybe it's my imagination, it must be my imagination! For tonight's overtime pay! This can only be my imagination!"

...

The local reporters' performance was really friendly.

They vividly demonstrated what it meant for foreign heroes to be more fragrant.

And with the arrival of these reporters:

[Job Change Quest: Gain sufficient public attention and support (3232/100000)]

[Job Change Quest: Gain sufficient public attention and support (4331/100000)]

Ian truly experienced the benefits of being famous enough. If he used the [Silk Superman] account to fight crime, he couldn't possibly attract such a big commotion.

"Look! The TV station is here for live broadcasting!" Ian stood on a rooftop, facing the lights shining on him, lowering his voice to speak deeply.

"How did you know I came to Metropolis? I don't need attention. With great power comes great responsibility, justice never needs others' recognition."

Ian muttered lines mixed together.

He asked knowingly, acting as if he was accidentally discovered. To be fair, Ian's behavior certainly couldn't fool Gotham locals. Gotham locals would probably see through the fake at a glance. However, who told them this was Metropolis? Metropolis citizens weren't as familiar with Batman as Gotham people.

This was why Ian chose to impersonate Batman instead of stealing his father's account. He had considered the gentler Wonder Woman, but his legs really weren't long enough.

Some people used information gaps to resell goods, while Ian used information gaps to resell heroic images. Reality was always so absurd, and he not only succeeded but succeeded greatly.

"Click click click~"

Camera sounds kept appearing.

"Does Superman know you came to Metropolis?"

A busybody shouted.

"I came only because I saw a lax Superman. In the corners of Metropolis, many criminals are still active, but where's Superman? He only focuses on big cases. I came to Metropolis to tell the world that what Superman won't handle, I Batman will handle. Who Superman won't catch, I Batman will catch!"

Ian imitated Batman's tone, his voice passionate and stirring. "Also, criminals Superman doesn't dare to kill... uh, I don't kill either. I've always only locked them all up in prison."

He almost made an OOC behavior inconsistent with the character.

Fortunately, he re-entered the role in time.

Countless applause rang out from below the high-rise, and possibly from the other end of the TV broadcast too. Anyway, Ian's gained attention and recognition were rapidly approaching the quest completion goal.

[Job Change Quest: Gain sufficient public attention and support (34133/100000)]

[Job Change Quest: Gain sufficient public attention and support (47568/100000)]

...

With TV stations broadcasting live, the harvest and feedback were really powerful. Just as Ian was overjoyed and racking his brains to say more resonant remarks:

"Vroom vroom vroom~!"

A huge engine roar sounded in the sky. After a reporter looked up, they first exclaimed, "My God! It's the Batmobile! He really is the real Batman!"

Now, even those sharp-eyed reporters who had noticed Ian's costume abnormalities had to believe. After all, who didn't know that only the real Batman owned the Batmobile?

The onlooking crowd instantly boiled.

Only Ian standing on the rooftop froze in place.

He certainly knew his "account stealing" behavior couldn't be hidden from Bruce Wayne, but he really didn't expect Bruce Wayne would come overnight to stop his actions.

Good news: The Batmobile was in unmanned driving mode.

As for the bad news:

"Thud~"

The Batmobile directly airdropped a phone down.

Ian pretended not to catch it.

Who would have thought this phone was even more hardcore than Nokia. Although it fell onto the concrete rooftop, it was not only completely undamaged but also automatically connected a call.

Sensing trouble, Ian rushed forward and stomped on it several times, but couldn't break the fallen phone. Just as Ian regretted not bringing his hammer, a male voice that had already predicted his possible actions and remained very calm rang out from the other end of the phone.

"Kid, what are you doing?"

Very magnetic.

That old bat flavor was very authentic.

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