American comics farmer: start by adopting the villain savior.

Chapter 198 Clark—Super Brain is now online.

Kent Farm.

Lunchtime was still filled with a comforting liveliness.

The air was filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread, the rich fragrance of slow-roasted poultry and meat fat, and the warm, savory aroma of stewed beans.

These flavors, when combined, create the most rustic feast on the farm in winter.

However, unlike before...
The dining table has now been replaced by a brand new log table.

At this moment, the room is completely surrounded by people.

After all, the farm's population is growing and the laughter is increasing, and only this sturdy and spacious new table can barely accommodate all the members.

With a smile, Jonathan watched the lively scene unfold before him, holding a baby bottle and skillfully feeding Dante and Virgil, who were sitting side by side in the baby chair.

The two little ones' eyes darted around curiously, taking in every moving figure around the dining table.

Bruce sat upright at the table, his back ramrod straight, feeling exceptionally relaxed and cheerful today.

The teacher was surprisingly gentle this morning.
After instructing him to start copying the thick farm safety manual, it seemed as if they had tacitly approved his initial 'qualification,' and even the hellish physical training was temporarily suspended.

This allowed him to finally stand up straight during lunch, and even his eating movements carried a restraint and elegance ingrained in his bones, no longer as tired as before, almost collapsing in his chair.

Beside him was Kayla, who was now able to reliably maintain her human girl form.

She had simply tied her long, silvery-white hair back, with a few strands falling beside her cheeks, making her wheat-colored skin look even healthier.

Then, she carefully helped Aunt Martha distribute a large bowl of colorful vegetable salad, drizzled with vinaigrette, evenly onto each person's plate. Although her movements were a little clumsy, they were meticulous and focused.

Fortunately, Kayla is now on the farm.

This white wolf girl, who originally belonged to the wilderness, became exceptionally diligent after gradually adapting to the work rhythm of a human family, and took the initiative to share a lot of housework.

Especially when preparing a big meal like lunch, she would always sneak into the kitchen early, hovering around Martha, helping to prepare the ingredients or tend to the stove.

Otherwise, given the current rate at which food is consumed on farms, some people would probably have to go hungry to do the heavy farm work in the afternoon.

After all, there are more and more gluttons on farms these days.

For example
The little boy who looked exactly like Salafir, except that his eyes had a calm, molten gold color and his expression was even more indifferent.

—The Divine Capital.

He sat in the chair, looking slightly uncomfortable, wearing one of Salafir's spare clothes.

The previous strike went more smoothly than Locke had imagined.

In the realm where time stood still, the Yamato slash precisely sliced ​​through the invisible link between Salafir and the capital, the process silent and without any painful ripples.

And just as Locke had envisioned, the separation was completed smoothly.

Both consciousnesses were clear and stable, and their respective magic systems were functioning normally without any adverse effects.

Even according to Shen Du's own feelings afterward, after their separation, the original entangled binary balance was not broken, but instead operated in a clearer and more stable way.

It was as if they were meant to be two separate individuals who were simply brought together by chance.

However, there is still bad news...

Locke glanced at Shen Du, who was sitting at the other end of the table, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

The aloof little boy was subtly observing his older brother Dio's dining manners out of the corner of his eye with his golden eyes, clumsily but earnestly imitating him.

His movements were still quite clumsy, showing obvious signs of learning, but his focus was not to be underestimated.

After all, on the table in front of him, there were already three plates so clean they reflected his image.
This is exactly his previous record.

After gaining a truly independent body that could freely taste the flavors of food, Shendu naturally experienced desires that he could only observe from the sidelines in the past but had never truly possessed.

Just like...

Sit at the table with your family and enjoy these delicious foods.

This directly led to another steep increase in the already staggering food consumption of the Kent family.

big eater…

Unsurprisingly, there's one more.

Locke sighed silently to himself, but a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

He watched as Dior struggled to adapt to ordinary life and even began to imitate Dior's aristocratic manners with a certain air, and he found it both amusing and strangely gratifying.

This child is also adapting to life in his own way.

The bustling atmosphere of fireworks
"meal!"

Salafir gave a deep, resonant shout, brandishing his fork, his dark eyes fixed on the few remaining pieces of meat on his plate.

"eat!"

Upon hearing this, Clark's knife transformed into a streak of silver light.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Salafir's plate was filled again.

"I also want."

Shen Du's tone carried a hint of innate arrogance.

"You eat too!"

Ignoring their subtle tone, Clark readily complied, and with a flash of his knife, another piece of beef of similar size landed precisely on Shen Du's plate.

"I"

Bruce, sitting to the side, looked at the considerable amount of food still left on his plate, his lips slightly parted, about to suggest that he might need to take a break.

"Eat more, Bruce! You need to replenish your energy!"

Under Bruce's astonished gaze, his plate was filled with beef again.

Clark, you

Raising his scarlet eyes, Dio frowned slightly as he looked at the pieces of meat that had inexplicably appeared on his plate, about to speak.

"You eat too! Dior! Aren't you supposed to be working?"

Clark didn't give him a chance to speak at all. With another flash of the knife, another thick piece of beef landed steadily on Dior's plate, accompanied by his hearty shout.

This creates an indescribable conflict with Dior's meticulously crafted, perfectly proportioned meals!

"asshole."

Looking at the mountain of meat on his plate, Dior's face darkened. "What I'm trying to say is, can't you just eat by yourself? Stop disturbing other people's meals like an overactive automatic food dispensing machine!"

“Yeah, Clark, I just wanted to say I’m full.”

Bruce added helplessly.

Without the hellish training he did in the morning, he really couldn't eat this much!
"Ha ha."

With an embarrassed smile, Clark scratched his head.

Ever since realizing his uncle's foresight, he felt ashamed and had been wanting to do something for his younger brothers, but it seemed...
Sometimes you accidentally use too much force.

Looking at Clark's forced smile, Locke chuckled and shook his head, picked up his coffee and took a sip, his gaze sweeping over the crowded long table.

"Alright, aren't you all going back to school soon?" Locke put down his coffee cup and turned to the younger children. "Saraphiel, have you finished your holiday homework?"

He then shifted his gaze to the other side: "Clark, Dior, what about yours?"

There was a moment of silence at the dining table.

Salafil's little hands, which were struggling with a sausage, stopped.

Holiday homework? Is there such a thing?

His little brain never made room for this concept.

"."

Clark's hand, which was cutting meat, froze in mid-air, his face filled with panic.

And Dior.
His hand holding the fork paused almost imperceptibly, though he immediately regained his composure, his eyes visibly darted away for a moment.

"puff……"

Bruce, sitting diagonally opposite Dior, couldn't help but let out a very soft chuckle, which he quickly covered up with a cough, but the slight upturn of his lips still betrayed his emotions.

It's unbelievable that this 'King,' who commands respect in Gotham's nightlife scene and dares to confront even the Falcone family head-on, actually has holiday homework to do.

Unfortunately, before he could cough twice more...
“Bruce, stop laughing.” Locke gave him a disgruntled look. “Have you finished copying your farm safety rules ten times? And where did you hide that box of explosives?”

Upon hearing this, Bruce's upright back slumped slightly, and his schadenfreude instantly turned into embarrassment: "Teacher... I only copied it three times..."

He felt that copying that strange safety rule book was a form of mental torture every time he did it.

"OK OK……"

Seeing the young people's embarrassed expressions, Jonathan chuckled and stepped in to smooth things over. He nudged Locke beside him with his elbow, saying with a hint of mischief, "It's just homework."

"Locke, you weren't much better back then. I remember it clearly, you never finished your holiday homework!"

“Every year, as the holidays were drawing to a close, you would beg me to rack my brains to help you hide it from Masha and explain to the teacher that our cow was a picky eater and would be in a bad mood if it didn't eat your homework, and then it wouldn't be able to produce any milk for the next month…”

"cough!"

Locke choked, nearly spitting out the coffee he had just drunk.

A rare hint of embarrassment appeared on his handsome face.

He tried to stop his brother with a stern look, but it was clearly too late.

The people at the table were taken aback at first, and then they couldn't help but shrug their shoulders slightly.

He was clearly trying not to laugh.

"?"

Kayla, who only had a vague understanding of human rules, watched everyone laughing happily, though she didn't quite understand what the necessary connection was between the two.

But she still nodded earnestly and solemnly echoed:
"As expected of Mr. Locke, the homework must taste delicious, right? After all, the cows on our farm are quite picky about their feed."

Her words brought the laughter of the crowd to its peak.

Even Martha couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head as she did so.

The dining table was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Even the sunlight streaming in through the window seemed to have become brighter and warmer.

Seeing his family laughing together, Locke sighed and finally gave up trying to stop himself, joining in the laughter.

Although it's an embarrassing story from the past, it would be wonderful to have a unique condiment to accompany the meal on this lively family table.

The laughter gradually subsided.

Only the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks and the baby's contented babbling remained on the dining table.

Locke picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, then turned his gaze to Shen Du, who was sitting next to Salafir:

"The capital city."

"What about you? Are you going to school with Salafir next?"

"Don't worry about your identity and enrollment procedures."

After all, for Locke, who is now a special advisor to the DEO and the largest creditor of the U.S. Department of Defense, resolving a child's legal status and school enrollment is just a matter of talking to Ron.

Just consider it compensation for the demolition of my own mountain.

"go to school?"

Shen put down his milk cup, his little face immediately showing undisguised disgust; he instinctively wanted to refuse.

Those lessons that he considered incredibly naive, and the fact that he was crammed into a classroom with a bunch of ordinary human children, were a desecration of his wisdom and time.

"What's the point of that, I..."

The words of refusal were on the tip of her tongue, but she subconsciously trembled.

Following his senses, he saw his foolish older brother looking at him with those clear eyes.

It was filled with undisguised anticipation.

Even the gods fell silent.

He turned his face slightly away, avoiding Salafir's overly direct gaze, and stared at the empty third plate in front of him, as if that plate held some unparalleled secret.

His brows furrowed, clearly indicating he was engaged in an extremely difficult internal struggle.

Only after a few seconds did he speak, in an extremely strained tone, in a stiff voice:
"……All right."

He agreed with extreme reluctance, but then, as if to salvage his arrogant image, he immediately tried to make amends, raising his voice slightly:
“Father, if my foolish brother weren’t here to supervise him, he might do something terrible at school.”

"Rather than having to trouble my father to clean up the mess later, it's better for me to prevent him from doing bad things."

He spoke with great conviction, as if agreeing to go to school was solely to prevent Salafil from 'harming society'.

Upon hearing that the gods had agreed, Salafir immediately beamed with joy.

"Thank you, Shen Du." Automatically filtering out words like "stupid" and "supervise," she swayed happily, "That's great!"

Looking at Shen Du's stubbornness despite clearly caring, and Salafir's innocent joy, a knowing smile flashed in his eyes.

He didn't call out Shen Du's lame excuse, but simply nodded:
"Okay, it's settled then. I'll complete the paperwork before the start of the semester."

"Dong dong dong——!"

Locke hadn't finished speaking.

A slightly hurried knocking came from the farmhouse door, interrupting his plans.

"I'll go drive it."

Clark stood up, took a few steps to the door, and opened it.

Standing outside the door was Mr. Hank, the town's old postman, holding a rather formal-looking brown paper envelope.

"Good afternoon, Clark." The postman wiped his brow and visibly relaxed when he saw Clark open the door. "I went to Mr. Locke's house and knocked for ages, but no one answered. I figured he'd be having lunch at Mr. Jonathan's. This is his international mail, and he needs to sign for it."

"internationality?"

Clark stepped aside to let the mailman in, his gaze falling on the envelope.

Upon hearing this, Locke also came over from the dining table and took the envelope and delivery slip from the postman.

The envelope felt slightly heavy and was made of thick material, with international stamps affixed to it.

The postmark vaguely indicated that it came from a city in Europe.

Lex?
That kid seems to have been active in Europe lately.

Is it a greeting postcard? Or...?

After politely thanking and seeing the postman off, Locke returned to the dining table, which was filled with the aroma of food, with the unopened letter in hand.

The family's attention was involuntarily drawn to this unexpected turn of events, their curiosity focusing on the envelope in his hand.

"International mail? From Europe?" Jonathan leaned over. "Could it be that Lex has come up with some new trick again?"

Without Locke's reply, Locke deftly ran his finger along the edge of the envelope and tore it open.

There was no lengthy letter inside, only a finely crafted card and a gold ticket with the same design.

He pulled out the ticket, his gaze sweeping over the simple printed text, and read it aloud softly:
"—Tomorrow's Expo: Metropolis"

"The Tomorrow Expo?!"

Clark jerked his head up, his eyes gleaming, his voice rising slightly with excitement, "Is it... that Tomorrow Expo that showcases the latest technology and futuristic concepts? The one held in the Metropolis?"

"And it's a gold ticket?" Bruce wiped his mouth, a hint of surprise flashing in his gray-blue eyes. "This young master Luther is quite generous."

"Invitations of this caliber are said to be not sold to the public, with only three available worldwide? They are more symbolic and serve as identification for a very small number of people."

“Yes, Lex is a good friend of ours.” Clark smiled at Bruce, his tone filled with a simple joy of pride. “Bruce, you’ll definitely have a lot in common with him after you meet him. You’re both so smart and knowledgeable about technology.”

“Really? It seems you’ve been looking forward to this expo for a long time, Clark.” Bruce smiled slightly, with the composure befitting the sole heir of the Wayne family. “Actually, if you had told me earlier, I would have had a way to get in touch.”

“I remember that at this exhibition, Wayne Enterprises was also one of the main sponsors, and we had our own independent booth in the core exhibition area.”

Clark smiled, and amidst Bruce's dark expression, cut a little more beef onto his plate, demonstrating his intention through his actions.

but
In any case, he had long heard of this expo, which is said to gather the world's most cutting-edge technological ideas and inventions, from aerospace to artificial intelligence. It has always been a mecca for technology enthusiasts and young people like him who are full of curiosity about the unknown.

He remembered that many years ago, Dio had gone there with Uncle Locke. Although his tone remained calm when he returned, the bizarre and fantastical vision of the future he described still captivated him when he was young.

He never expected to receive an invitation to the expo in this way.

After all, Chloe and Pete were complaining just a few days ago that a single ticket had been resold for supposedly seven or eight thousand dollars, and was still extremely difficult to obtain.

Seeing Clark's undisguised excitement, like a big boy who had finally gotten his long-desired toy, Locke couldn't help but chuckle and shook his head.

He placed the gold ticket and the card side by side in the center of the table so that everyone could see them.

The expo logo was clearly printed on the ticket.

An abstract Earth is surrounded by gears and flowing light, with the exhibition dates and notices below.

Holders of these special tickets have the highest level of authority to bring an unlimited number of accompanying persons into all areas of the expo.

As for the other, high-quality black card...

Locke's gaze swept over the elegant handwriting, and he softly read Lex's message aloud:

"Uncle Locke, it's like seeing you in person."

"It's been a long time. I really miss the fresh air of the farm and... well, the moon pie that Uncle Jonathan and I researched. (I hope Aunt Martha won't mind me not mentioning her blueberry pie.) Things in Europe have been more complicated than I expected, and I'm deeply sorry that I haven't been able to come back for a visit in person."

"To express my sincere wishes, I am enclosing two small Christmas gifts."

"However, given the efficiency of the postal system, I guess they probably won't arrive in your hands on Christmas Day."

"But if I'm not mistaken, the last heavy snowfall in Kansas should have stopped by now, and the highly anticipated 'Expo Tomorrow,' held every six years, is just in time to open in the Metropolitan Area."

"You can take your family to relax and change your mood. As far as I know, the weather in the Metropolitan area should be nice and sunny right now."

Locke couldn't help but chuckle, and continued looking at the row of boys below.

[PS: You should still have that 'Luther Group Global VIP Card' your father insisted on giving you back then, right? Remember to treat everyone to a few good meals at the Metropolitan Hotel. By the way, I 'minorly' adjusted the payment path on that card through the company's back office, linking it directly to your father's personal bank account. Please don't hesitate to use it.]

This kid is as filial as ever.

Locke was almost moved to tears.

Of course, it was from laughing.

"but."

He looked helplessly at the two new baby chairs on the dining table, where Dante and Virgil were waving their little hands and babbling. "Lex probably never imagined that we now have two more hungry mouths to feed. We can't leave the farm."

It's impossible to cut yourself open again and create the Platinum Star, right?
However, despite saying that, Locke's gaze still fell on Clark, who was almost unable to contain his excitement, and he smiled as he spoke:
"So...who wants to go?"

"I go!"

Before he could finish speaking, a small hand unexpectedly went up first.

The movements were slow and deliberate, exuding a calm and unhurried air.

"Father, I want to go."

Shen Du's voice was calm, and his small face showed no expression.

Slightly startled, Locke looked at his son, who had just acquired a body and usually scoffed at 'mortal' things, with some surprise.

This guy...

Why are you suddenly so enthusiastic about the expo?
Is he planning to experience the everyday life of ordinary people?

Forget it
This child always has some ideas that he can't quite figure out.

Shrugging, Locke continued looking at the others.

Dior elegantly tapped the table with his fingertips, a hint of disinterest in his eyes.

“I’ve been there once already. It’s just some sensational gimmicks, I’m not really interested.” He paused, then added, “Besides, I’ve been very busy these past few days.”

"?"

Shen Du frowned almost imperceptibly as he looked at the next person to speak.

"Um"

Bruce then spoke up, saying calmly, "Actually, I was already pretty tired of seeing the main exhibits at home."

Shen Du's expression darkened slightly, and his gaze reluctantly shifted to the next person.

“Sorry, God Capital,” Salafir scratched his head, looking apologetic. “I have to take care of the animals with Sister Kayla. They’ve been a bit restless lately.”

"I can't go out with you anymore."

“Hmm,” Kayla nodded earnestly in agreement, though she didn’t quite understand what the ‘Expo’ was. “I have to go with Salafir.”

"."

Even the gods fell silent.

As we all know…

Imagine a group of people dining at a round table, with a clean white linen napkin carefully placed next to each set of cutlery, and the people sitting upright directly in front of the cutlery.

In theory, the napkins on either side of the cutlery can be used freely.

But the choice made by the first person to pick up a napkin is crucial.

If he takes the napkin on the left first, then everyone dining together, out of basic table manners and to avoid confusion, must all use the napkin on the left.

Otherwise, the inevitable outcome would be a chaotic scene where some people have nothing in front of them, while others awkwardly have two napkins.

What he had originally planned was...
Be the first person to pick up a napkin, be the one to lead, so you won't find yourself in the awkward situation of following your foolish older brother in agreement.

But the problem is
It seems we've failed... and the price of that failure is...

"In that case, Clark."

Watching this dramatic scene unfold before him, especially Shen Du's embarrassed yet composed demeanor, Locke felt both amused and somewhat helpless. He then handed the tickets to Clark, whose words he knew perfectly well, and said, "They're yours. Take Shen Du with you. Remember to take good care of your little brother."

"If anything happens, have God contact me and I'll be there right away."

"That being said, this is still an adventure trip for the two of you. I wish you good luck."

"Don't worry, Uncle!" Clark happily accepted the ticket and nodded vigorously. "I will definitely take good care of Shen Du!"

"..."

Will you take good care of me?
Looking at the elated Clark, Shen Du's heart remained silent.

He wanted to be with this older brother whose mind probably only contained sunshine and silly smiles.
I've spent two whole days of the expo alone.

Despairing, Shen slid off the chair and walked over to Locke: "Father, can you use rebellion to stab me back?"

Upon hearing this, Clark chuckled and, as was his habit, imagined ruffling Shen Du's soft black hair, just like he would ruffle Salafir's, to show his affection.

Unfortunately, Shen Du nimbly and disdainfully turned his head away, but he didn't care and was still immersed in the joy of being able to take his younger brother out to play.

"Don't worry, Shen Du, I've got your brother's back!"

He is full of confidence.

The Super Brain is now online.

They started rapidly planning their tour route at the expo, the must-try foods, and the must-buy souvenirs!
"."

"Clark"

Dio was speechless. "I think you should listen to God."

"If you get so caught up in your own silly fun that you lose sight of God, then don't bother coming back."

"!"

Upon hearing this, the gods, for the first time, turned their admiring gaze upon Dio, who had uttered this truth.

There are always sensible people in the family.

(End of this chapter)