A Way to Solve the Problem

Inside the second-floor bedroom.

The bedside lamp cast Ian's shadow onto the wall, twisting it into a bizarre, clawing monster. In reality, he was merely sitting cross-legged in his chair, staring at his little computer.

The computer fan gave off a soft hum as Ian's fingers flew across the keyboard. Browser windows popped up one after another, all of them news reports about events that had happened in Metropolis during the previous day.

Daily Planet, Planet Forum, Metropolis News Express... Ian wanted to see whether he could find clues himself about what Superman had encountered and what exactly was going to happen to Metropolis.

Come clean with his father Clark?

That thought had crossed his mind just now. But after calming down and thinking it through, based on what Ian knew about Clark, even if he directly told his old man that he knew he was Superman and informed him that he had communicated with the mysterious Reaper, his father would definitely not allow Ian to participate in the subsequent investigation.

To Superman—

Humans were far too weak.

So whenever his father encountered trouble, he would surely choose to face it alone. He would inevitably do everything he could to prevent his family from being dragged into any dangers connected to him.

Come clean?

It would not earn him father-son cooperation with his old man.

Ian was even worried that, given his father's cautious nature, he might send him off to the home of some magic-side hero, wasting who knew how many days on exorcisms, hazard inspections, and similar procedures.

There were only seven days.

Ian could not waste even a moment, nor could he gamble on anything. He had also considered seeking help from the true brains of the operation—the uncrowned king of Gotham, the neighboring city.

However.

After considering it for a long time, Ian ultimately abandoned the idea. It was not because he was afraid of exposing himself, though that was part of it. The fear of revealing his uniqueness was simply not the main reason.

To be fair, judging by Batman Bruce Wayne's personality and abilities in the DC Universe, he was absolutely the person most likely to quickly identify the problem and solve it. However, while Metropolis might be saved as a result, whether Superman could be saved would depend entirely on Batman's mood.

Superman had died because of Batman's schemes.

Same as before.

Ian could not afford to gamble.

Before Batman, the smartest man in the DC Universe, Ian had no confidence in his own Supreme Wisdom for the time being. Perhaps his intelligence would only stand tall when faced with Batman's gravestone after it had rotted for a hundred years.

That was called knowing your limits.

In front of Batman, everyone probably had it.

Precisely because of that.

Ian also ruled out asking Batman for help.

"Whether Metropolis is destroyed or not is something superheroes need to worry about... I don't care." Ian's thoughts were simple. He only cared about his family.

After all, his entire family consisted of Family Men. That trait was more or less inherited. Compared to his two brothers, both destined to become heroes, Ian even felt that he was much more selfish.

"There's nothing wrong with that."

Ian kept telling himself this over and over. Anyone who had been a top student should understand: multitasking was basic stuff. As he thought, he continued browsing news reports online at the same time.

Within the jungle of data.

Ian searched for every possible trace of something suspicious.

[Cherry blossoms in Metropolis Central Park bloom early. Experts say global warming is causing climate abnormalities and urge the great Eastern nation to save more carbon emissions for the West to use.]

[Subway Line 3 suddenly sealed off. Ancient biological remains suspected to have been discovered underground.]

[LexCorp's new clean energy project receives government support.]

One news item after another passed before Ian's eyes. He rapidly scrolled the mouse wheel when a news event from that morning suddenly caught his attention and put him on alert.

[Star Air Flight 143 Crashes]

[Outrage! Superman failed to arrive in time for the rescue. Twelve dead, thirty-six injured, and only one hundred fourteen rescued unharmed. This forces us to ask: What was Superman doing?!]

Beneath the headline and its soul-searching question was a shocking photograph. At the instant the plane struck the ground, a red-and-blue figure in the distance had only just arrived.

The snapshot was extremely clear, and the article was brimming with malice. One look told him it came from a media outlet controlled by LexCorp, so Ian was not particularly surprised.

If a media outlet controlled by Lex Luthor's company went a day without smearing Superman, that would be truly frightening. Of course, this news report was not some completely fabricated rumor, either.

"A plane crash..."

Ian's eyes narrowed slightly.

He recalled how, during class that morning, the classroom windows had suddenly shaken and a dull explosion had echoed in the distance. At the time, the calm teacher and the smoke outside the school had already given him plenty to complain about.

Now, it seemed—

Something really had happened.

Logically speaking, an increasingly powerful Superman should not have failed to make it in time to rescue a crashed plane. There was only one reason for such a situation: something had tied his father up and delayed him.

"Maybe I can investigate from this angle." Ian searched for more information online and found a video shared on the social media account of a sexy influencer called [Big Baby Ball].

Hmm.

The soccer babe's balls really were big.

But the important part was that the location where the plane fell appeared behind the paid selfie video she had filmed after getting into the adult industry. In the video, shot from atop a high-rise with an open background, he could clearly see the precariously swaying balls... No, his father, precariously swaying through the sky. That directly confirmed Ian's earlier guess.

"Something really did happen, right before the plane exploded!" Relying on the will of "family," Ian forcibly focused his attention where it needed to be.

Under normal circumstances.

Superman could not possibly fly through the air all wobbly like that. If it happened, then Superman's condition had gone wrong. Perhaps he had only just extricated himself from some extremely thorny situation.

And—

He was already injured!

"Maybe someone among these people noticed whether Dad was hurt." Ian looked through the various news reports related to the plane accident again. His attention settled on the hospital where all the injured victims were being housed together. He felt that he might be able to obtain useful clues from them.

"That's what I'll do."

The slightly worn Psychic Card flipped through Ian's fingers.

He had already made his decision and formed a plan.

Of course, before that, he first had to get through tonight.

"Good thing, good thing. I used Second Brother's account to buy the video. I hope Mom won't be too harsh on my dear brother when she gets the charge notification."

"I'm sure Jordan will feel an invisible sense of accomplishment when he gets beaten. After all, he's getting beaten to save our beloved father!"

"Jordan is the superhero of our family!" Ian continued multitasking. While searching for more clues, he opened a small window in the lower-right corner of his computer and finished appreciating the paid video.

It could not be helped.

His soul came from a country renowned for diligence and frugality.

How could he possibly waste money?

That was an utterly shameful thing to do!

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