Superman's End Manual

Chapter 159 The Reason for Becoming a Hero

Platform 7 in an abandoned train station.

In the tranquil night, the puddles along the edge of the train tracks are crystal clear, reflecting the full moon that appears and disappears amidst the fish-scale-like clouds.

A light rain had fallen not long ago, and large raindrops from the eaves at the top of the platform drew clear arcs in the air, pattering against the tracks.

It overlapped with the noisy voices of people talking on their phones.

Ke Mingye sat on a wooden bench on the platform, his gaze lowered.

After he said in his voice changer, "I will join the Superhero Association, provided that I want to keep my identity confidential," Che Zhengchen on the other end of the phone fell into a brief silence.

“If it doesn’t work, then forget it…” Ke Mingye sighed and said calmly, “I don’t care anyway. I’ll give you ten seconds to respond. If you don’t say anything, I’ll hang up.”

After saying that, he began to count down unilaterally: "Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

When the countdown reached the last two seconds, Che Zhengchen broke the silence.

"Are you free to meet tomorrow afternoon? It's at the Superhero Association building. When you come in, tell the staff my name, and then follow them to my office on the 45th floor. That's where you'll see me."

"Is it a private meeting?"

Ke Mingye raised an eyebrow slightly and continued, "Or should I talk to the higher-ups of the Superhero Association? I'm not good at dealing with those kinds of situations."

He certainly wasn't worried about encountering any danger while meeting Che Zhengchen alone.

After all, although Che Zhengchen's body contained Gastro's worms, he still maintained control of his body most of the time.

Moreover, their meeting place was a place like the Superhero Association. Even if Gastro were stupid, he wouldn't make a move in such a place, which would be tantamount to giving up Che Zhengchen, a good card.

Even if, hypothetically, Gastro wanted to control Che Zhengchen and attack him, he could have even arranged for a group of people inside the association building to use traps to subdue Blue Owl on the spot.

At worst, Ke Mingye could just have the puppet self-destruct at the Superhero Association to erase all traces.

The consequences of doing so are not serious; it is simply equivalent to giving up the identity of "blue owl".

If all else fails, he can just change his identity and debut again in a few days. Anyway, not many people in his family have confirmed that Blue Owl is him yet.

"Yes, one-on-one. I want to have a good talk with you about some things."

Che Zhengchen smiled slightly, his voice warm and gentle.

"Why don't you just say it over the phone?"

"Regarding why I chose you," Che Zhengchen smiled, "By the way, Platinum Wings had a good first impression of you. If you want to join the association, I'll most likely assign you to their team. Do you have any objections?"

"No."

"I hope you can take on the role of captain."

"Isn't it too early to talk about this, Sir? We haven't even met yet," Ke Mingye sighed.

Upon hearing this, Che Zhengchen chuckled on the other end of the phone. After a pause, he said, "So I'm really looking forward to our meeting. Although I don't know why you want to hide your identity from me, I'll decide whether you're trustworthy after we meet tomorrow, and you can also see for yourself what kind of person I am."

As he spoke, he coughed twice: "If we get along well, then it's not too late to reveal your identity to me when you let your guard down in the future."

"You trust me that much?"

"My intuition rarely fails me. Those I've identified with have almost all become renowned, high-profile heroes,"

Che Zhengchen said with considerable confidence.

After saying that, he added, "By the way, I also cooperated with Qingya for a period of time. But later on, given his position in the association, he no longer needed the commander to direct him, which is why he acted so willfully."

When Ke Mingye heard this, he thought the person on the other end of the phone was very clever, deliberately bringing up the matter of the Blue Crow to win his favor.

After all, Blue Owl's public persona is that of a rookie vigilante who imitates Blue Raven. If the other party mentions Blue Raven, it's hard for him not to lower his guard.

Of course, a persona is just a persona.

Ke Mingye finds it difficult to harbor feelings of longing for someone he spends every day with. Let alone lower his guard just because someone mentions Qingya.

After all, in the memories of the past ten years or so, there are countless scenes of Ke Youqing, the henpecked husband, embarrassing himself at home. It's hard not to think that he is taking out his frustrations at home on those criminals.

A character in an anime once said that longing is the emotion furthest from understanding, which is roughly the idea.

"Judging from your voice, you should be quite a bit younger than Qingya. You actually took care of him?"

Ke Mingye tried to squeeze out a hint of surprise in his voice.

"That's right. It took me a lot of effort to convince him to join the Superhero Association. He's very stubborn. He said many times that he only wanted to be a vigilante, saying that he could do his best without external constraints."

Che Zhengchen paused for a moment, then said nostalgically, "But he still joined the association later."

"Why?" Ke Mingye asked, puzzled.

To be honest, he couldn't understand why his dad, who had been a lone wolf for so many years, would suddenly want to join the official team.

Che Zhengchen replied, "Because Qingya knows that if a vigilante like himself is always around Beijing and has swept up most of the crime cases, then the existence of the Superhero Association seems meaningless."

"Then people will become disillusioned with the authorities and question the superheroes who work for the association, putting their reputation and status at risk."

"Taking these factors into account, he ultimately decided to give up his vigilante identity and join the Superhero Association."

"So in essence, the Blue Raven's joining the association was purely out of consideration for the reputation of other heroes."

"After all, think about it: if officially recognized heroes are inferior to some vigilantes, then this so-called Superhero Association, and the other 'superhero' titles, will no longer have any credibility."

Upon hearing this, Ke Mingye pondered for a moment, then said dismissively, "That's interesting. So you think I should follow in Qingya's footsteps and abandon my identity as a vigilante to join the association, just like him?"

“Of course, that’s what I mean,” Che Zhengchen said. “The more vigilant police there are, the stronger their presence, and the higher their reputation among the people, the more disappointed people will be with the authorities and with the law.”

He paused, his tone becoming slightly more serious.

"So if you want to truly help people, joining the association is a good option."

"This won't be much different from your previous life, except that you'll be backed by the authorities and be fighting crime in a more formal way. At the same time, if we're talking about more practical issues, becoming an official superhero can at least bring some policy benefits and conveniences to your family."

Upon hearing this, Ke Mingye quipped, "According to you, if the Superhero Association can be affected by some outstanding vigilantes, then it has no reason to exist."

"Hehe, the Blue Raven had the same idea at the beginning."

Che Zhengchen smiled.

"But then he felt that people needed a faith, a pillar that could give them peace of mind to live on, and that pillar was the Superhero Association; while vigilantes would always just be vigilantes, an existence outside the law, going against the words 'safety' and 'stability,' and no matter how hard they tried, they would only bring chaos to the city in the end."

Ke Mingye remained noncommittal, saying, "You're right to think that way."

He paused, then suddenly said, "By the way, if I remember correctly, Grey Dove was also one of the superheroes you mentored, right?"

Upon hearing this, Che Zhengchen on the other end of the phone remained silent for a full six or seven seconds.

After a long pause, Che Zhengchen let out a soft sigh of relief, trying to keep his tone calm. "Yes, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I hope to see you in the office tomorrow afternoon."

"That's all for now, bye."

After saying that, Ke Mingye hung up the phone.

Then, using the "Permanent Magical Girl Transformation Card" from her inventory, she transformed, clipped her spare phone into the magic book, and then made the magic book disappear to prevent her phone signal from being tracked.

After completing his tasks, he left the abandoned train station and headed towards his home. He took the elevator to the twelfth floor of his duplex apartment building.

I pressed the doorbell, looked down and quietly played with my phone, waiting for the person inside to open the door.

"Hey bro, where have you been?"

Soon, Bai Zini opened the door for him, looked up at him from her phone, and asked.

"Night run."

As he spoke, Ke Mingye took off his sneakers, put on slippers, and looked down at his phone as he passed by her. "Can you please stop checking where I'm going every time I go out? You're learning bad habits from your mom."

"Isn't it because I'm afraid you'll get kidnapped?"

Bai Zini closed the door as she spoke, put her hands behind her back, and quietly followed his retreating figure. "By the way, my friend... she shouldn't have texted you, right?"

"Wow, you have friends?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Zini frowned and was about to speak when Ke Mingye interrupted her as if he had just remembered something: "Oh, that You Minglu, she chatted with me for a while last night."

Bai Zini was taken aback for a moment, and asked hesitantly, "What did you talk about?"

"It's your business."

"What's wrong with me?"

She asked me, 'Are you as domineering at home as you are outside?'

"And then, what did you answer her?"

"I'm telling you, your behavior at home isn't just domineering, it's unbeatable!"

Ke Mingye spoke expressionlessly, quickening his pace and leaving Bai Zini behind him.

"roll."

Bai Zini's face darkened, and she angrily raised her middle finger at Ke Mingye's retreating figure.

Ke Mingye seemed to have expected this, and without turning his head, he gave him the middle finger before moving up to the second floor.

He walked back to his room, locked the door, lay down on the bed with his upper body still on the floor. Ke Mingye breathed a sigh of relief, too lazy to even wash his face, and simply turned off the light, placing his other arm across his forehead to organize his thoughts.

Che Zhengchen is one of the commanders of the Superhero Association's Beijing branch, whose main task is to manage the superhero team.

He has managed many superhero teams, including the well-known Grey Doves team and the more recent Platinum Wings team.