Superman's End Manual

[The Failed Man: Are you kidding me? Dude, I was just fighting criminals. Do you even know how exciting a superhero's nightlife is?]

[Cai Bing: Oh, I didn't see the news.]

[The Failed Man: So, have you found Gastro's true identity?]

[Cai Bing: No, she's very secretive. I reckon from the moment she released the first worm and created the puppet, she's only used puppets to do things, never showing herself.]

[The Failed Man: Can you find out who the first ordinary person was controlled by the insects, and where they were?]

[Cai Bing: We've found out about that. I pulled up the city's surveillance footage, dragged the timeline back to the beginning, and discovered that the person who first started spreading those insects was a man named "Che Zhengchen," and the location was the Hongdeng commercial district.]

Che Zhengchen?

When Ke Mingye saw the name, he first felt that it looked familiar, and then he rested his chin on his hand and thought about where he had seen a similar name before.

He froze on the spot, slowly lowered his head, and glanced at the business card he was holding in his hand.

The information on the business card was very simple, yet it sent chills down Ke Mingye's spine.

—Commander of the Superhero Association: Che Zhengchen, Contact Number: XXXXXXXX.

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Chapter 158 I Will Join the Superhero Association

In the desolate, abandoned train station.

Ke Mingye stood frozen on the public wooden bench, his gaze fixed on the name on the business card. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing slowly. Cold sweat beaded on the back of his hands.

After regaining his senses, he slowly raised his eyes and looked at the name on the chat panel.

That's right... the first ordinary person in this city to be controlled by the parasite has the exact same name as the "Commander of the Superhero Association" on the business card in his hand:

— "Che Zhengchen".

Ke Mingye gasped. Only now did he belatedly realize that it was very likely Gastro who had extended an olive branch to Blue Owl.

"Really? So this 'Che Zhengchen' has been controlled by Gastro using insects..."

"So that's why he'd be interested in me... After all, I had this weirdo commission Gastro to kill Blue Owl, and Gastro was trying to lure me into a trap using 'Che Zhengchen,' wasn't he?"

Ke Mingye muttered to himself, startled by the fact that he was covered in a cold sweat.

If he joined the Superhero Association as Ke Mingye and revealed his identity to Che Zhengchen.

Furthermore, he only has a superhuman information panel on his body when he is wearing the battle suit.

If Gastro sees Ke Mingye's true form after he takes off his battle suit through Che Zhengchen's eyes, and discovers that Ke Mingye doesn't have an information panel, then it's all over...

"Luckily, we didn't fall into their trap."

Ke Mingye took a deep breath, thinking to himself.

After thinking it over, he suddenly realized that something was really strange: if Che Zhengchen was under control, the association's higher-ups should have been able to tell, and the members of the superhero squad shouldn't have been unaware of it.

So Gastro probably left Che Zhengchen alone for the time being, letting him act freely. When he needed him, he would then activate the worms inside him to control him.

Based on previous observations, people who have been parasitized by insects do not remember what they did while they were being controlled, which explains why Che Zhengchen himself did not realize it.

"Thinking about it this way, it must have been his own will that led him to extend an olive branch to me, rather than him being controlled by Gastro. Otherwise, when those new superheroes asked him about it later, he would have realized something was wrong," Ke Mingye thought.

Che Zhengchen is definitely a good player. He is an ordinary person, but he has a certain seniority and status within the Super Hero Association. He may even be able to meet with the higher-ups of the Super Hero Association.

Gastro would never be foolish enough to abuse this card in normal times, making Che Zhengchen realize that he has parasites inside him.

After all, it's not easy to take down a minor character like Blue Owl, so why would she need to involve Che Zhengchen? Besides, she hasn't completely trusted the strange thing's words yet.

Ke Mingye opened the chat panel with his mind and sent a message to Cai Bing.

[Failed Man: This "Che Zhengchen" you found out, isn't he a commander in the Superhero Association?]

[Cai Bing: Dude, I was just about to ask you, how did you know?]

[Cai Bing: I just found out about his background. You didn't install a surveillance camera in my rented apartment, did you? Or maybe you put a mannequin there to spy on me? That's a bit too much. I suggest you keep your distance.]

[The Failed Man: Please don't misunderstand me. I just went out to stage an accident while wearing the Blue Owl suit, and then got this "Che Zhengchen" business card from a rookie superhero.]

[The Failed Man: That person said Che Zhengchen was his superior, a commander who specifically manages superhero teams. I heard online that this kind of job usually involves acting as a psychologist for the superheroes, giving them instructions and issuing missions.]

[Cut Ice: Oh, I understand.]

[Cut Ice: What a coincidence. Anyway, I suggest you don't join the Superhero Association yet. This guy has been controlled by Gastro's bugs; nothing would be surprising.]

[Cai Bing: By the way, the security cameras at that location were originally damaged, but I managed to recover the footage using some special methods. Right now, only the two of us should know about this.]

Ke Mingye typed in the chat box: [It's okay, I can just contact him and see if I can get any information about Gastro from him...]

Before the game was even finished, Cai Bing sent a message.

[Cai Bing: Although I say this, I think that with your personality, you'll definitely want to give it a try, so good luck!]

Ke Mingye's eye twitched, and he silently withdrew the words he was about to type.

[The Failed Man: Haha, you found out about that.]

[Cai Bing: By the way, I have a disposable "hypnosis" prop that Anti-Dog gave me last time. You can ask me for it if you need it.]

[The Failed Man: What's the Use?]

[Cai Bing: For example, those controlled by insects generally selectively forget things about the insects, but they may not have truly forgotten. Hypnosis might help them recover these memories.]

[The Failed Man: I've got it! You want me to hypnotize Che Zhengchen and see if we can find any clues about Gastro?]

[Cai Bing: You also need a brain imaging helmet so that we can replicate Gastro's appearance from Che Zhengchen's mind.]

[The Failed Man: I'll try my best. Maybe my dad will give me a brain imaging helmet to play with, or I can ask Xi Ziyue for one. It shouldn't be too difficult.]

[Cai Bing: Is this the allure of being a kept man? I'm a little envious.]

[The Failed Man: Haha, weren't you on a date with my brother? How dare you say that to me?]

[Cai Bing: By the way, to be fair, Gastro is indeed very dangerous, but she's also a good card for us players. Frankly, at this stage, she might be more useful than you. Of course, in the long run, if you choose to trust you, eliminating her to keep your identity hidden isn't a bad option.]

[Cai Bing: We still don't know her stance or background, and the vampire hunter organization behind her is quite suspicious.]

[Cut Ice: So what are you planning to do? Get rid of Gastro?]

[The Failed Man: It depends.]

[Cai Bing: So you're planning to betray your vampire sister?]

Ke Mingye paused for a moment, then typed on the chat panel.

[The Failed Man: It depends on the situation.]

[Cai Bing: It depends on the situation. Never mind, I'll listen to the anti-dog. He thinks you're trustworthy, so I don't need to say anything.]

[Cai Bing: Going to sleep.]

[The Failed Man: Okay, thank you for your help today, hacker girl.]

[Cut Ice: Oh, right, there's one more piece of information.]

[Cut Ice: So far, Gastro's parasite has only attacked ordinary people, not superhumans. In the surveillance footage, there were several instances where it clearly had the option to parasitize superhumans, but it didn't.]

[Cut Ice: This means that Gastro's parasite cannot parasitize superhumans; it can only parasitize ordinary people. Similarly, it shouldn't have any effect on players, so you don't need to worry about being parasitized.]

[The Failed Man: So, Che Zhengchen is just an ordinary person after all.]

[Cut Ice: Who says the commander of a superhero team has to be a superhuman? Some people just need to use their brains, sit in a chair, and direct others, understand?]

[The Failed Man: You're right. You go to sleep; I have something to do.]

[Cut Ice: Bye.]

Ke Mingye closed the chat panel and sat quietly on the public wooden bench on the platform, gazing intently at the words on the business card in the moonlight.

After a while, he got up and walked to the locker, took out the Blue Owl combat suit from the locker, and removed the "badge"-like voice changer from the collar of the suit.

Then, clutching the voice changer, he walked back to the public bench, took out his spare phone, opened his contacts, entered the phone number from the business card, and dialed the number.

beep……

beep……

beep……

Soon, the call was connected.

"Hello?" A rather warm voice came from the other end of the phone.

Ke Mingye was silent for a moment, then raised his hand, brought the voice changer badge in his hand to his mouth, and then spoke in the changed voice.

"Che Zhengchen?"

"you are?"

“Blue Owl,” Ke Mingye said, “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to join the Superhero Association.”

He paused, then slowly lowered his voice, "But I have one condition: I hope I can keep my identity secret... even from you."

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(End of this chapter)