281-285

Chapter 281: You Thought It Was Superman, Didn't You? 

It was the same move, the same angle, but with one key difference: the cloaked figure's strength was far greater than Wonder Girl's. 

Much, much greater. 

Reacting instantly, the young hero raised her hands to block the steel plate, intending to grapple with the cloaked figure. But in just a split second, the immense force drove her legs deep into the ground. 

She gritted her teeth and let out a small groan. A moment later, she saw the cloaked figure holding the steel plate with one hand, a mocking grin on his face. 

"How do you feel now, huh?" His hand pressed down inch by inch, pushing Wonder Girl further into the ground. "Has this taught a lesson to a low-intelligence creature like you?" 

Wonder Girl's eyebrows immediately shot up in fury. She pushed with all her might, her fingers digging deep into the metal, and roared at him. 

"How dare you insult an Amazonian warrior!" 

Gak-zzzzzz— 

A grating, ear-splitting metallic screech filled the air. With a powerful pull, the young woman tore the steel plate in half as easily as if it were a piece of scrap paper. 

The cloaked figure immediately stepped forward again and delivered a direct uppercut. 

"Pfft—!" 

Even an Amazonian warrior couldn't withstand a punch from this "God among men." Crimson blood spurted from her mouth, and she saw stars, almost fainting on the spot. 

"Let her go!" 

At that moment, the young man in green rushed forward. As he charged, his body shifted to a four-legged stance and then suddenly began to transform, swelling like a balloon. His limbs thickened, and his nose elongated—by the time he reached the cloaked figure, he had completely transformed into an elephant. 

"I knew that green kid would have some kind of trick up his sleeve," Drake thought to himself. 

At this moment, Drake's mindset had subtly shifted. He was gradually changing from a purely terrified citizen to a curious bystander, pointing and watching the show. 

Honestly, a superpower battle was dangerous, but it was certainly more exciting than Gotham's gangs shooting each other. At least for Drake, this was a completely new experience, utterly different from anything he'd seen before. 

Even if it was dangerous. 

"What are you so excited about?" Camilla barely dared to breathe, her voice extremely low. "Have you been in Gotham so long that you've been infected by those psychos?" 

Drake shrugged and retreated back into the corner. 

Bang! 

The green elephant charged at full speed, slamming its massive body into the cloaked figure, indeed knocking him off balance. It then raised its thick elephant leg high and stomped towards his body. 

But the cloaked figure was already prepared. 

"Fool! No animal on Earth can deal with Superman!" 

With his attention now focused, that heavy stomp appeared slow and sluggish from the cloaked figure's perspective. He easily dodged the attack by flying aside, then swiftly moved in front of the elephant and grabbed its trunk. 

Boom! Boom! Boom! 

The green elephant was sent flying. The small figure yanked it by its trunk and slammed it into the ground. Rubble flew, the giant creature bellowed in pain, and the entire street trembled three times. To the surrounding citizens of Metropolis, the scene was both fantastical and terrifying. 

After three impacts, three large craters remained in the ground, along with the broken bones of the green-skinned teenager, who had reverted to his original form. 

"No! Garfield!" 

Wonder Girl cried out in alarm. Thankfully, the boy had distracted the cloaked figure, allowing her to immediately exert force with both hands, prying open the fingers clamped around her neck. She leapt aside and unclipped a golden lasso from her waist. It was made from the latest composite materials; perhaps it could restrain the cloaked figure for a short while. But Wonder Girl knew that she couldn't defeat him alone. 

What could she do? 

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a blond boy hurrying into the battlefield from the street corner. When he saw the Beast Boy on the ground and Wonder Girl with blood at the corner of her mouth, a flicker of concern crossed his eyes. 

Perfect, Jericho's here, she thought. We're not completely without a chance. 

Their eyes met, and in that instant, Wonder Girl and Jericho understood each other perfectly. 

"You're foolish," the cloaked figure said, looking at Wonder Girl with a strange expression. "But you're beautiful. I won't kill you easily, at least not quickly. I used to be mocked by beautiful women all over the world. Now, I'll start getting my revenge with you." 

Wonder Girl's beautiful face immediately showed a mix of anger and confusion. Superman was one of the least likely people in the world to be mocked by beautiful women; in fact, his female and male fans could probably line up from Metropolis to Gotham. 

She said nothing, her form blurring into a streaking phantom as she circled the cloaked figure and whipped out the golden lasso—which was then instantly snatched. 

The cloaked figure's eyes were completely locked onto the rapidly moving young woman. 

"Too slow, too slow. Your speed is weak and powerless." 

"Is it?" Wonder Girl replied, then deliberately turned her body, revealing the blond boy behind her. "Since you can see me clearly, you must be able to see his eyes too, right?" 

"What—" 

In that instant, the cloaked figure's gaze met the blond boy's green eyes. 

The next second, the boy seemed to merge directly into the cloaked figure's body, causing him intense discomfort. 

His body felt like a video game character with remapped controls, completely unresponsive to his commands. He tried to blink, but his toes wiggled. He tried to step, but his eyes blinked. This bizarre, maddening sensation drove him almost insane; his immense, world-shaking power was useless, and he could barely move at all. 

Wonder Girl's figure moved again. A few seconds later, the cloaked figure, still twitching occasionally, was completely bound and rendered immobile. 

"What did you do?! Get out of my body!" 

"You're done for, Superman," Wonder Girl said, holding the lasso and letting out a small sigh of relief. "Jericho can control other beings' motor reflexes. You can think, you can speak, but you can't control your body anymore—or, if you try to use your ice breath, we'll make sure you can't even speak." 

It wasn't just her; at that moment, all the citizens of Metropolis on the street breathed a sigh of relief. They no longer had to worry about being crushed by falling debris. 

At the same time, the "Superman's" hands began to gesticulate involuntarily. 

Camilla, watching from afar, asked, "What's he doing?" 

"He's signing," Drake answered. "He's saying that Superman is an alien, and his powers won't be able to hold him for long. Oh god, we should probably hide again." 

"To my knowledge, no prison in the world can hold Superman," Cyborg said, limping up from the ground, interjecting casually. "You guys should hurry home. The Titans will handle the rest." 

But at that moment, a thin, disabled person leaning on a crutch also approached Cyborg. He and Cyborg slowly made their way towards the center of the battle. 

"No need to worry, Titans," he said. "It won't be difficult to contain the culprit behind this, because he's not Superman—" 

"I am Superman!" 

Chapter 282: Another Expert? 

Titans? 

Drake had heard that name before from Metropolis residents. It sounded like a superhero team made up of super-powered individuals, though most of its members seemed to be young, with heroes like Superman or Batman not among them. 

Even the half-human, half-machine Cyborg in front of him didn't look very old in his human parts. 

"Are you Superman?" 

Cyborg frowned. "Then who's that person flying around, shooting lasers from his eyes, and having super-strength in the city center?" 

"I know what you're thinking—but that's actually just my body, which is why it has my powers. The soul inside it belongs to David Gunderson." 

"And who's David Gunderson?" 

"He claimed to be a scientist. That day, he publicly announced he was developing a clean new energy source and was close to success, but he just needed a little help from Superman—so I went to his house." 

"But?" 

"But his machine had nothing to do with clean energy; it was just disguised well. The whole thing was a trap—and I was too careless. After seeing he was a frail scientist, using a cane and with limited mobility, I completely let my guard down." 

"You mean his machine can swap Kryptonian and human souls?" 

"Exactly. After his scheme succeeded, he locked me in the basement, but he didn't dare kill me because he didn't know if that would disrupt the soul exchange. In a way, David Gunderson is indeed a groundbreaking genius—but also a madman. I guess his congenital physical disability brought him a lot of discrimination, which made him cynical." 

Cyborg was silent for a moment, looking at the ravaged streets, the buildings spewing thick smoke, and the Metropolis citizens who finally dared to flee into the streets. 

"If you ask me, I probably wouldn't categorize this situation as simply 'cynical'," he said. "This is a full-blown antisocial terrorist act, and you still need to figure out how to explain the whole story to people—if they believe you." 

"I'm so sorry, Victor. After I pried open the basement door, I rushed here immediately. We can use the machine again and then destroy it. Luckily, he doesn't know how to use a Kryptonian body, so he hasn't caused too much damage yet." 

Cyborg was silent again. He wasn't sure what Superman meant by "haven't caused too much damage." 

"Uh, what I mean is, he can't use freeze breath, and he's not very good with his bio-electric aura. I guess he probably even has earplugs to suppress most of his hearing—he likely can't handle my body's sensory sensitivity, so he could be caught off guard." 

"Alright, alright, let's drop this topic." Cyborg waved his hand. "First, let's catch him and lock him up, preventing him from falling into military hands—those guys would never resist using this technology against you." 

Drake watched as Cyborg and Superman were led away by two other metahumans, along with Superman's actual body. He let out a sigh of relief and said to Camilla, "Honey, it's over. I guess Metropolis still has some security, at least those young heroes from the Titans are pretty formidable." 

"Drake, this whole thing will be all over the media tomorrow," Camilla sighed. "With some luck, Superman's reputation can be salvaged—but what about us? We still have to move for now, remember? Our house, which was just renovated a few months ago, is uninhabitable." 

"Look on the bright side, Camilla. This is our chance to choose a safe new home again—this time, we can pick a suburban location far from the city center, so we won't be affected by the fallout from these metahuman battles." 

"That won't be cheap." 

"Don't worry, our house is insured—at least 'metahuman damage' is covered by the policy." 

Camilla nodded helplessly. 

"Great, now I'm even more confused." Cody repeatedly watched the video and the Daily Planet screenshots about "mind swap, Superman innocent" and "Titans unharmed, Jericho saves the day," scratching his head frantically. 

"What in the world universe is this? Who's David Gunderson? Is that character even in DC? This ridiculously overpowered mechanism for casually swapping bodies must've been designed by someone with their foot! How can such an alien-like invention have absolutely no fame at all?" 

"And the Titans—wasn't Cyborg in the Justice League in the movies? Who are these people in the Titans? Beast Boy? Wonder Girl? Jericho, who can control Kryptonians?" 

"Is this some old Silver Age comic book?" 

After a long time, Cody's head was buzzing. He just hoped this Gunderson would be kept under close watch and wouldn't be able to replicate that machine again. Otherwise, if super-villains or the military got their hands on him and obtained the body of a super-powered hero with insane stats, this world would have another major event. 

"But from the looks of it, Drake and Camilla aren't planning to move away, are they? Didn't they just say they'd move to the suburbs?" 

In his confusion, Cody went back. He wanted to click on yesterday's news but found that below those two news articles, there was a small piece of news from two days ago. 

"Huh? What's this?" 

Strange Celestial Phenomenon Appears Over Metropolis, Explosions Roar Through the Sky! 

Cody: "...Another expert?" 

He clicked into the news and found a video there as well. 

"Friends, I'm sure you've all seen the news reports about yesterday's disaster in Metropolis, but I want to tell you that the reconstruction efforts for the damage caused by the evil scientist have already begun today, and they're progressing very quickly—we have ample experience with building repairs." 

"What are you even proud of?" Cody's mouth twitched. 

"Please look up, friends. We can see that the city's reconstruction work is proceeding in an orderly fashion, so there's no need to worry. Metropolis is still one of the safest cities in all of America—" 

Boom! 

A violent clap of thunder suddenly echoed in the video. The host, who had been introducing things to the camera, looked up blankly, then was frozen for three seconds by the sight in the sky. 

Above the rebuilding skyscrapers, the sky turned from bright to dark in just a few seconds. Strange energy rings emitted deep, shimmering light, exploding and crackling, their range steadily expanding. 

Black clouds pressed down on the city, and the sounds were deafening, the intensity almost comparable to a doomsday scene in a disaster movie—at this point, not only was the host speechless, but Cody also fell silent. 

"Is this seriously not the Chitauri invasion portal from New York?" he thought. "Seeing Marvel movie content in a DC comic world—why am I dreaming this?" 

Chapter 283: Is This Metropolis's Intensity? 

"One disaster a day, no small ones, only big ones and really big ones. That's the intensity of Metropolis, our T0 division!" 

Cody couldn't help but sigh at Metropolis's relentless, back-to-back string of troubles. 

In the video, Superman's figure appeared just then, flying up into the sky. Cody wasn't worried about what would happen to him once he entered the storm. If he truly bit the dust, then Metropolis probably wouldn't need a third day of news reports. 

Without knowing the reason, the origin, or the purpose—in the eyes of all Metropolis residents, this disaster came out of nowhere. The only thing they could be sure of was that it didn't look like some gentle, harmless natural phenomenon. 

At this moment, Drake and Camilla sat in their newly rented house in the suburbs, both staring blankly at the dark clouds slowly spreading overhead. 

"...I think the suburbs might not be safe either." 

"It's fine. The city center is still the eye of the storm. We'll definitely be the last ones to go down." 

After Superman flew into the storm, everyone prayed. 

After the sky changed color, there was no difference between day, dusk, and night. People could only tell how much time had passed by the time displayed on their electronic devices. According to reports, Superman was in there for about twenty to thirty hours. Because of how long it was, there was no complete video footage for the middle part, only some photos and eyewitness accounts from citizens. 

"I heard a huge boom in the sky," a Black woman with dreadlocks stated. "Louder than thunder, and very frequent. I felt like it was Superman fighting a bad guy up there." 

"The sky hasn't changed much since then," a middle-aged man in a suit sighed. "I hoped Superman would win then, but later, when he really did win, I realized I'd celebrated too soon." 

"Anyway, it was just a rumble, like a super giant bomb," a young student holding a book guessed into the microphone. "Maybe comparable to a nuclear explosion, I don't know—but after the explosion, the sky returned to normal. A lot of building fragments fell from the clouds, but they all disappeared before hitting the ground, as if they evaporated. But those fragments were really big, and you couldn't tell what material they were." 

Cody looked at the report. The newspaper basically concluded that the battle was against a female sorceress named Alhazara. She had used her staff along with a massive magical array to steal Superman's power, and used some of that energy to construct a gigantic palace of her own above the city. 

Superman was almost drained dry, but he eventually found an opportunity to shatter Alhazara's staff. Otherwise, Metropolis would have been doomed again. 

"I just don't get it..." Cody flipped through the report repeatedly. "Where do all these ridiculously overpowered, 'gimmick' monsters keep popping up from? I've heard Superman is weak to magic, but is he really that weak?" 

"And this Alhazara, I've never even heard of this person. Is she a famous villain from some comic?" 

He thought about it repeatedly for a long time, but his memory truly held no information related to this. 

"Alright, whatever. At least this wasn't one of those major crossover events I remember, and the matter was resolved perfectly." 

Cody, utterly bewildered, exited that news article and turned his attention to yesterday's news. Logically, since Superman and that woman fought for so long, it should have already been the next day. In other words, right after Superman dealt with Alhazara, something else happened in Metropolis. 

"No wonder Drake and Camilla are like this," Cody thought. "If it were me, I'd have run away on the second day—if I could, that is." 

He then clicked on the third day's report. 

Terrifying Earth Monster Approaches Metropolis, Giant Tornado Nearly Destroys the City! 

"Excellent," Cody muttered. "Metropolis truly has a lot going on. Is this Sandman from the neighborhood coming over?" 

He clicked on the video link attached to the news report again and finally smiled with relief. 

In the open fields outside Metropolis, a terrifying tornado was moving towards the city center. It stretched from ground to sky, sweeping up all stones and dirt in its path, leaving destruction and flying debris wherever it went. 

Large swathes of grass and animals were swept into this horrifying vortex. Strange winds carried occasional flashes of lightning and thunder. 

"ROAR!" 

A human face made of dirt and giant rocks appeared at the top of the storm, roaring angrily towards the distant city. 

Clearly, this was not a naturally formed hurricane. 

So, what did the citizens of Metropolis think about this? 

"No..." 

Drake and Camilla stood on the grass, staring blankly as the distant storm-earth giant slowly moved towards them. Every few meters it moved, large amounts of earth and stone were drawn into its body, making it grow larger and larger—and by now, it was comparable in size to several Godzillas. 

After a few seconds of silence, Drake spoke. 

"...Camilla?" 

"What is it?" 

"I want to move." 

"Okay." 

"Central City?" 

"Okay." 

"Book tickets now. We're leaving the luggage." 

"Okay." 

The two rushed back into the house at the fastest speed of their lives, quickly grabbed the cash, credit cards, and other valuables inside, then drove off without looking back, disappearing down the Metropolis highway. 

They left with determination, as if they had made a firm decision. 

Just then, a splash of crimson finally appeared in the camera's view. 

"It's Superman! Viewers! Superman is here to stop that storm monster!" 

The reporter in the helicopter cheered excitedly into the camera. As a citizen of Metropolis, he was used to being protected by such an omnipotent superhero. The sense of security brought by the "Man of Tomorrow" was simply too strong. 

As Superman plunged into the storm, Cody could see him fighting the giant with every means possible. The red beam was heat vision, the white wind pressure was ice breath, and the flying debris was shattered by his fists. And at this point, the earth-and-stone giant was actually trading punches with Superman. 

"It has a mind!" Superman phased through the giant's punch, exclaiming, "I can't kill it! Phantom Stranger!" 

Cody paused the video. 

"Who's Phantom Stranger again?" He scratched his head, looking at every corner of the screen. 

My head is itching, like it's growing a brain. 

"Could it be a magical superhero?" 

Thinking this, Cody expended some magic to activate his "Heavenly Eye." And when he looked at the screen again, he indeed saw a mysterious figure in a dark blue cloak appear on the screen. 

"No, Superman," the Phantom Stranger on the screen shook his head. 

"There's no living soul inside, only the departed." 

Chapter 284: Fighting Fire with Fire 

Cody isn't quite sure who the Phantom Stranger is, but this guy looks like someone involved with magic—maybe he can ask Constantine about it next time they meet. 

Anyway, the mysterious man in the blue trench coat charged into the storm, while Superman struggled valiantly against the magical maelstrom. 

Though he couldn't lose, he also couldn't truly win. The storm giant expanded little by little, eventually becoming ridiculously huge. It was predictable that if the Phantom Stranger didn't deal with the giant quickly, the entire city of Metropolis would be crushed by it. 

Superman tried everything. When pushed to his limit, he even charged up and delivered a punch to the ground. 

"Boom!" 

A devastating force tore through the ground horizontally, sending earth and debris flying into the sky. In just one second, a trench thousands of meters long and several meters deep appeared on the outskirts of Metropolis, with the solid rock layer beneath fully exposed, forming a barrier to block the storm's advance. 

"I hope the Phantom Stranger is fast enough." 

Superman still needed to pray and wait, but Cody could simply fast-forward the video. He dragged the timeline forward to three minutes later—if the Phantom Stranger hadn't resolved it by then, Metropolis would pretty much be shattered. 

Sure enough, the giant had stopped above the edge of Metropolis by then and was beginning to disintegrate and collapse—but Cody figured that given its current size, even if it just fell straight down, it would be enough to cause a terrifying earthquake in Metropolis. 

So, next was classic Superman time. 

Through the lens of a dedicated photographer, Superman flew into the sky, carrying a massive aggregate of earth and rock, almost the size of a village. He swiftly ascended, going higher and higher until he was completely out of sight. 

"He probably wants to throw that thing directly into outer space," Cody thought. "But considering he's Superman, it makes perfect sense." 

The video ended right there. He closed the news and couldn't help but sigh. 

"Metropolis, alright, the events aren't that frequent, but their quality is high, and the bosses just love to gang up in successive waves." 

Although he could only observe the various incidents in Metropolis from an outsider's perspective through videos, Cody really didn't want to learn any more details. In fact, he had now decided to temporarily avoid the city of Metropolis. 

"I originally thought it would be super safe there with Superman, and I could go work there..." Cody let out a long breath, as if having narrowly escaped disaster. "Glad I didn't go." 

Drake had included his new phone number in the letter. After finishing his "gossip," Cody picked up his phone, intending to comfort his unlucky old friend. As he dialed the number, his eyes suddenly noticed an address on the Daily Planet's front page for today that stood out. 

"Huh? News from Central City?" 

Something was off, very off. 

An ominous premonition swelled in Cody's heart. 

"Drake wouldn't be that unlucky, would he?" He clicked on the Central City news, and a large headline immediately popped into view. 

Flash of Light and Roar in Central City, Where Did the Explosion Illusion Come From? 

At the same time, his phone began to beep in his ear. 

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is out of service area..." 

Cody's vision went black. 

By the time Cody boarded the train to Central City, it was already afternoon. 

Flipping through the news reports on his phone, he couldn't help but sigh. While there wasn't much going on in Gotham right now, at least it was peaceful. Not to mention he had just died once, and his vacation had only been seven or eight days, and now he had to rush to Central City to find the Drake family. 

The report described the situation in quite detail: basically, a strange phenomenon occurred in Central City late last night. A massive flash of light and a terrifying roar emanated from the location of the particle accelerator, a scene as horrifying as a small nuclear bomb explosion. 

Many people witnessed the situation from different parts of the city. Some speculated that someone was secretly activating the decommissioned machine and blew it up; others guessed that certain factions or organizations truly threw a super-bomb at the particle accelerator, intending to destroy some strategic research within STAR Labs. Opinions varied widely, but the basic consensus was that an explosion did indeed occur that night. 

However, according to investigations and reports the next day, the massive flash of light and sound seemed like a dream for Central City. The particle accelerator hadn't exploded, there was no damage to surrounding buildings, no one was injured or killed, and there were no tremors or shockwaves generated at the time of the incident. 

In fact, according to extensive police investigations and interviews, even the huge flash of light and sound people saw last night only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing without a trace. 

With the investigation at this point, if it weren't for people seeing the same light, and if some surveillance footage hadn't indeed captured the strange phenomenon that night, then this incident could even have been explained as a collective hallucination caused by citizens' shared dreams. 

But even if it could be confirmed that what happened that night wasn't a dream, Central City couldn't react further. Internal staff at STAR Labs were helpless regarding such an almost untraceable phenomenon. Without any explosion-related samples, they couldn't research or analyze it. Therefore, the newspaper only gave it a small section, equivalent to casual chatter. 

But Cody was certain that the disappearance of the Drake couple was related to the situation in the news. 

Because after he finished reading the Central City news, the system triggered a quest. 

[Ding!] 

[You have a new odd job, please check it.] 

[Fighting Fire with Fire Mission Introduction: As the saying goes, 'Does a child cry every day, and does a gambler lose every day?' 

Before moving to Central City, the Drake couple believed that a person might experience bad luck once, and there was a small chance they could experience it twice in a row, but experiencing bad luck three times in a row basically only happens in novels or movies. Without any surprises, this move to Central City would essentially be the starting point for the rest of their happy lives. 

Note: It turns out the Drake couple was wrong. Besides novels or movies, the world of comics is never short of back-to-back coincidences. Therefore, after arriving in Central City, the couple, as expected—ran into trouble again. 

But then again, is sending a jinx to save two unlucky people itself a form of 'fighting fire with fire'? 

Status: Pending (0%) 

Reward: Intermediate Energy Affinity (Mana cap increased, and an additional seven anti-crisis energy affinities will be granted)] 

Cody raised an eyebrow. Intermediate Energy Affinity costs one million asset points, and the mission only required finding the Drake couple. 

If the system wasn't suddenly giving away freebies, then there was something wrong with this mission itself. 

It seems Cody's luck is taking him on another unexpected adventure. Do you want to know more about the Flash's Central City or perhaps the Phantom Stranger's mystical abilities? 

Chapter 285: Ah, the Sun! I'm Going to Turn to Ash! 

"Just tell me everything at once," Cody said. As a seasoned worker who had been conned into countless dangerous jobs by the system's rewards, he was very familiar with its tactics. "There's no such thing as free odd jobs, so what's the catch this time?" 

[Special Alert: Please proceed to the vicinity of S.T.A.R. Labs first.] 

"Why all the mystery...?" 

Just then, the broadcast announced the train's arrival. Cody hadn't brought any luggage when he departed, so he felt very light. He stood up and stepped off the train. 

It was almost dusk, just before sunset. Cody had left for the train station immediately after discovering the Drakes were missing that morning. He had said his goodbyes and given instructions to Gordon, Harvey, and Alfred over the phone while on the train. 

Although they were all surprised by Cody's sudden departure, he could tell from their tone that they couldn't suppress a certain cheerfulness. Alfred even outright said, "At least my ears will have some peace for a while." 

It was a stark contrast to the warm, long-lost familiarity they'd shown him on his first day back in Gotham. It seemed the longer he stayed, the less welcome he became. It was as if his time at home was inversely proportional to their patience with him. 

Is that fair? Is that reasonable? 

Cody felt indignant. He secretly vowed that one day, he would make them realize his importance to Gotham. 

[To put it bluntly, for present-day Gotham, you are like the sky to a fish, or the ocean to a bird.] 

"Get lost." 

Ignoring the system's jab, Cody walked out of the Central City station. As soon as he stepped onto the street, the warm sunlight bathed his face. 

"Ahhhhh—" Feeling the sunlight, something he'd barely experienced for days in Gotham and London, Cody couldn't help but stretch and let out a strange groan: "I'm going to turn to ash..." 

Unlike Gotham, several passersby immediately stopped and looked at him with puzzled, slightly panicked, and utterly shocked expressions. 

"Um... sir," one citizen even hesitated before speaking, "Do you need help? I mean, do you remember where your home is? Or what your family's names are?" 

"No, I'm sorry, I'm fine, I'm alright, I'm not sick." 

Cody quickly walked away, embarrassed. He was too used to Gotham City, where the citizens' mental states were, shall we say, unique. For a moment, he wasn't accustomed to the sunny city of Central City, or rather, to normal human society. In Gotham, no one would have cared about a lunatic shouting on the street. 

After all, everyone there had already witnessed plenty of madness; a little outburst wasn't a big deal at all. 

"I'll never act abstractly again..." Cody thought silently, then walked to the curb and hailed a taxi. 

"Hello, sir!" The driver greeted him with a warm smile. "Are you from out of town? Welcome to Central City!" 

"Ah, hello, hello! I want to go near the particle accelerator, to S.T.A.R. Labs." 

"No problem, friend! Remember to buckle up." 

After Cody got in the car, the driver's mouth didn't stop. Perhaps it was the vibe of Central City, but everyone in this city seemed to be a sunny, cheerful guy or girl, to the point where Cody didn't get a chance to speak at all. 

By the time the taxi reached the city center, the enthusiastic driver had already rattled off information about the city's food, accommodation, attractions, interesting anecdotes, and even Central City's not-so-long history. Cody found it hard to understand how he managed to squeeze so many words into such a short drive. 

Interestingly, he also mentioned Central City's "Yellow Blur," the Flash. As a classic hero, he was basically an idol to every Central City resident. 

Cody vaguely remembered that there were several generations of the Flash in the comics: the oldest, Jay Garrick, then Barry Allen, and the third, Wally West—a Caucasian, and also the fastest Flash in the comics. 

He didn't know which generation of the Flash existed in this world, but regardless of the generation, all Flashes had set a fundamental tone for Central City: one of conscientiousness, optimism, and safety. 

After all, having a superhero who could instantly run from one end of the city to the other in seconds was incredibly reassuring. A child could just be falling from a building, and a flash of light would already be below. 

Moreover, this city also had the world's most professional and ethical villains, the Rogues. This group was somewhat similar to Gotham's "Old Guard" style of doing business; their principle was no killing unless necessary, just rob and leave. 

It just goes to show, as the old saying goes, the land nurtures the people. Heroes are like their cities, and cities are like their heroes. Gotham City's villains generally reflect Batman's mental state. Metropolis's villains generally reflect Superman's power levels. 

Central City's villains generally reflect the Flash's sense of morality. 

After getting out of the car, Cody thanked the driver. He walked to the massive particle accelerator and asked the system, "I'm here. Now what?" 

[Location detected. Dark matter residue detected. Tracing... Lock complete.] 

[You have discovered a cosmic coordinate. You meet the conditions to enter this universe.] 

[Please use the "Stowaway" skill to enter this universe.] 

"..." Cody was silent for a moment. "I knew it. Every time the reward is generous, it's either a difficult mission or a business trip." 

That last million he earned? Wasn't that because he had to go to another universe's Gotham City? 

[You may also choose to decline.] 

"Well said. Can I just use my asset points to bring them back directly?" 

[No.] 

"So, I don't really have a choice, do I?" 

Cody rolled his eyes. He looked at the mission reward and couldn't help but sigh. 

"Seven types of Anti-Crisis Energy Affinity, huh..." 

An extended blue bar (mana/energy) was certainly a good reward, but the seven energy affinities were clearly why it was worth a million. 

Anti-Crisis Energy was a rather new concept. He wasn't a comic expert and didn't know much about it, but he knew its value was very high. The Flash's Speed Force and the Seven Lantern Corps' Emotional Spectrum were both Anti-Crisis Energies. As for the remaining five, he had never heard of them. 

"You mean, if I just complete this mission, I'll gain these seven powers?" 

[Possessing affinity means possessing the qualification to use the power, not directly possessing the power. It can be understood as a "spiritual root" (a common cultivation term).] 

"Oh..." Cody was slightly disappointed. "I thought the game version was finally reaching the point of power creep." 

["Stowaway" differs from "Business Trip" and will have special rules. Please consider carefully.] 

As it spoke, the system popped up a list of Stowaway rules.