Let Superman Suffer, Ian Will Win

Honestly.

Ian did not like big ones.

But sometimes, his eyes had ideas of their own.

He watched it over and over four or five times.

It was purely an appreciation of art.

"Too fake! You can tell it's technology and trickery at a glance!" Ian's criticism rang out with conviction. Seeing that it was getting late, he cautiously deleted his browsing history, skillfully formatted his hard drive, filled it with genuine scientific study materials, and then formatted the computer once more.

The entire process was smooth as flowing water.

Absolutely packed with value.

It was wisdom that Jonathan and Jordan combined probably could never learn. Sleeping was out of the question—there was too little time. Ian spent the entire night on online platforms.

He really did find some useful information in various forums and small communities.

The next day.

Ian was somewhat disappointed that staying up all night had neither given him dark circles nor left him weak and drained, his energy flagging. He criticized his body for being too powerful as he walked out of his room.

Morning light filtered through the blinds, slicing golden stripes across the dining table.

The air was filled with the aroma of grilled meat and eggs. Ian poked at the scrambled eggs on his plate with a fork, while the corner of his eye remained fixed on Clark in the kitchen. The Superman was humming as he stuffed bacon into sandwiches.

"Want blueberry jam too?"

Clark turned to look at Ian, who had been watching him. His expression showed no abnormalities or signs of illness. As he spoke, he placed a finished sandwich onto Jordan's plate.

"No."

Ian shook the milk carton in his hand, and the plastic container made a hollow sound. "I'm full! I'm heading to school! You guys keep enjoying this wonderful breakfast and the start of a new day!"

As he spoke, he stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"Wait! We'll take you to school!" Jonathan wolfed down chicken breast. As a key football player, he had always had his own dietary plans and regimen.

"Yeah, what if you run into those kidnappers from yesterday again? It's too dangerous." Jordan also tried to grab Ian, but Ian's physical abilities were temporarily far beyond his, and he darted out the front door in a flash.

Clark did not stop him.

He even held back Jordan, who was about to chase after him.

"Your brother is very smart. You need to trust that he can protect himself." Clark knew some things could not yet be said, so he chose a more tactful way to express himself.

However.

"He's still a kid! How can he protect himself?" Jordan rolled his eyes, and his stereotype of his father as an irresponsible man deepened a little further.

An American family.

Family conflict had always been the main theme.

"Ah!"

Clark watched Jordan run out after Ian and merely sighed without offering much explanation. At that moment, Lois came downstairs, looking somewhat exhausted.

"Kids, sorry, I really didn't get enough sleep. How does the breakfast your father made taste?" Lois spoke groggily, only then noticing that Jonathan was the only one left in the dining room.

"Morning, Mom."

Jonathan smiled at Lois and gave her a thumbs-up, expressing his praise for Clark's cooking. Of course, he had only eaten a few of Clark's boiled eggs.

The rest—chicken breast, creatine, protein powder, arginine, fish oil, curcumin, probiotics, and... mysterious power—were all part of his own personally assembled diet.

"Where are Ian and Jordan?"

Lois took the coffee her husband handed her, looking puzzled.

Clark said nothing.

"They left for school after breakfast." Jonathan also chose not to mention the unpleasant incident from earlier. He was always the most mature big brother in the family.

"All right."

Lois did not suspect anything.

She chewed on her sandwich as she walked toward the cabinet in the living room.

"Clark, about what we discussed yesterday... I think we still need to tell Ian. He should take the medicine himself. We can't let him feel that we've deceived him."

Lois opened a drawer to look for the prescription medicine the doctor had prescribed.

However.

The next moment, she froze.

"Did you put Ian's medicine somewhere else?"

Lois turned around.

Clark still said nothing, only lowering his head and chewing bread.

"Or have you already given Ian the medicine, secretly mixing it into his breakfast?" Lois frowned, her tone turning distinctly hostile.

"Why didn't you discuss it with me first?"

Clearly.

Lois was very dissatisfied.

Jonathan silently left the dining room when he saw this.

As for Clark.

He gritted his teeth but remained silent, enduring the pressure and verbal assault from the strongest individual in the family as he kept stuffing bread into his mouth to keep it shut.

Outside the house.

Jordan failed to catch Ian. Ian ran incredibly fast, and cutting through back alleys was much faster than taking the bus. Naturally, there was a special reason why he had slipped away so quickly.

"Hahaha, hahaha, I'm a little master thief~" Ian ran while raising the medicine bottle in his hand. The liquid and a handful of colorful pills poured into his mouth.

They tasted bitter.

But that did not stop him from chewing them vigorously and swallowing. Bottle after bottle, he quickly finished all the medicine. The effects came fast, and Ian saw several new changes appear at the bottom of his vision.

[Abnormal Heart Rate]

[Nerve Paralysis]

[Sensory Overload]

[Metabolic Dysfunction]

[Liver and Kidney Failure]

Good lord!

There were five negative statuses in total!

[Body Deterioration, Experience +2]

It had to be said.

The medicine prescribed by the doctor was incredibly effective in Ian's eyes.

"Dr. Hannibal really is a miracle doctor!" Ian sincerely praised the psychiatrist he had previously been somewhat wary of. He felt as though he were on the verge of dropping dead at any moment.

Still.

Though dead, not dead—merely as if dead. Yes, this was his ideal leveling method! Ian ran quickly, and once he reached school, he even saved himself the bus fare.

The morning classes were very easy.

But Ian lay sprawled across his desk and did not listen to a word.

[Body Continues to Deteriorate, Experience +3]

The boy was thinking.

He was considering whether his mental illness had gotten worse. After thinking for quite a while, he decided he had probably recovered—the teacher did not care that the top student in the grade was spacing out.

However.

His deskmate, Madison, cared a little. Not in an affectionate way. She kept turning to look at Ian, and after one class ended, she finally could not suppress her confusion.

"Ian, why do your eyeballs keep spinning... Holy shit! You've got little stars spinning out of them! Are you mutating into a zombie!?" Madison was genuinely startled by Ian's condition.

"If you turn into a zombie, don't bite me first!"

Her hand suddenly shoved at Ian's head as it leaned toward her.

She looked utterly terrified.

And just then.

"Holy shit! Madison! What did you do to me!?" Ian, immersed in the experience of leveling up, immediately regained clarity in his eyes. After freezing for a moment, he became furious.

He had accumulated seven abnormal statuses.

Now they were all gone!

He even felt completely refreshed!

His body felt as strong as if he had used Self-Healing Tide!