SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL

True love? Give me a break!

Ben was extremely displeased.

This news article was nothing but clickbait nonsense.

People who are reborn don't even care about romance anymore.

He had transmigrated into a supernatural world—why would he waste time on relationships?

Ben wasn't surprised that his decision had become a national trending topic.

After all, trading a rare natural-type Devil Fruit for an ability widely considered useless was bound to make headlines. It was simply unprecedented!

Clicking on the article, he found that, unsurprisingly, the news was all about him...

[This morning, at XX High School in Chicago, an unexpected exchange of supernatural opportunities took place. A male student traded an extremely rare natural-type Flame-Flame Fruit for a Kryptonian bloodline card from a female student...]

[As everyone knows, there is a rule in the Holy Land: the more powerful the supernatural opportunity, the rarer it is.]

[However, this rule does not apply to the Kryptonian bloodline card. Although the chances of obtaining a Kryptonian bloodline card are extremely low—with only two recorded cases to date—it remains widely regarded as one of the most useless talents.]

[Of the two Kryptonian bloodline card holders, the first—an individual from North America—perished in the Spirit Realm over seventy years ago. The second, an elderly man now in his eighties, has attempted countless training methods but has yet to uncover any significant enhancement from the Kryptonian bloodline…]

[Therefore, it is common knowledge that the Kryptonian bloodline is equivalent to a useless talent!]

[So why did this student, Ben, willingly trade his precious Flame-Flame Fruit for it?]

[In this editor's opinion, the only possible explanation is true love...]

Ben sighed. What an absolute load of garbage.

Following the article was a full-length video recording, capturing the exact moment of the exchange at school.

Since he had been there firsthand, he had no interest in watching it.

Instead, he scrolled down to the comment section to see how people were reacting.

"Holy crap! Is this for real? I've lived long enough to see everything!"

"No way… are people still this dumb? Why can't I meet someone like this?"

"True love? Nah, this guy is just a self-inflicted simp. The girl doesn't even seem close to him."

"Regardless of whether it's true love or simping, I have to admit, the girl is stunning."

"Yeah, she's beautiful… But giving away the Flame-Flame Fruit? That's just insanity."

"If it's true love, I don't get it. But if he's a simp, I totally understand. I've seen how terrifying dedicated simps can be…"

"Hahaha, this guy is officially famous now."

Ben closed the page. There was no need to read further.

Everyone—his classmates, netizens, and even the media—thought he was a simp.

That was actually a good thing.

It helped him conceal the truth about the Kryptonian bloodline.

Ben knew that once he became powerful, the secret would eventually come out.

He didn't plan to hide it forever—he just needed to keep it a secret until the elderly Kryptonian bloodline holder from North America passed away.

At that point, he would be the only Superman on Earth.

As for whether another Kryptonian bloodline card would appear in the Holy Land in the future… that was beyond his control.

However, there was a well-known theory about supernatural opportunities in the Holy Land:

The stronger the user of a supernatural opportunity, the less likely it is that similar abilities will appear again.

For example, most of the world's top experts possessed unique abilities.

Originally, only one person had obtained the Flame-Flame Fruit. But after that user perished in the Spirit Realm, another one appeared.

If this theory held true, then Ben had even more reason to keep his powers hidden.

The longer he remained in the shadows, the more unique and irreplaceable his ability would become.

Just as he was deep in thought, a loudspeaker announcement snapped him back to reality.

"Attention passengers, Train G7743 is about to depart. Passengers taking Train G7743, please proceed to..."

Ben glanced at his ticket—G7743. That was his train.

He stood up, grabbed his luggage, and headed toward the ticket gate.

Chicago University

Located in Chicago, Chicago University was only half an hour away from Ben's hometown.

By the time he arrived at Chicago's train station, it was already past seven in the evening, and the sky had long since darkened.

Ben took a taxi to the university's vicinity but decided not to enter the campus just yet.

Instead, he checked into a nearby hotel.

It was too late—school officials responsible for student registration had probably gone home for the day. He'd handle enrollment in the morning.

After settling into the hotel, Ben went out for dinner. Then, following the map, he took another taxi to a Sunshine Bath experience center.

This was a high-end chain with locations across the country. The Chicago branch was even fancier than the one he had visited before.

When Ben entered, there were still some customers inside.

Clearly, wealthy people in Chicago had strong spending power. Even a luxury sunbathing therapy center had a steady flow of visitors.

This time, Ben didn't waste money—he chose a one-hour session.

The equipment was the same as before.

However, when he lay inside the sunbathing chamber, his attribute panel showed no reaction.

"So it only works once a day?"

Ben had already suspected this, so he wasn't surprised.

He had come here just to test his limits—what if he could increase his attributes twice a day?

But since it didn't work, he wouldn't waste money on extra sessions in the future.

A Call from Home

When Ben returned to the hotel, it was past nine at night.

After taking a shower, he lay in bed, thought for a moment, and sent a message to his family.

[Mom, I've arrived at school. I got here around seven. Since it was late, I didn't go to campus. I checked into a hotel nearby and will go to school in the morning.]

Not long after, a reply came.

[Okay, Mom knows. Lock the door before you sleep. Let me know if you need more money.]

Ben hesitated.

He did need money—he wanted to buy a personal sunbathing machine to avoid visiting experience centers every day.

However…

Asking his mother for hundreds of thousands right now would be a bad idea.

After all, he had just caused a huge commotion at home. Asking for money now would probably push his parents over the edge.

After a brief hesitation, he decided against it.

Instead, he simply replied:

[Mom, is everything okay at home?]

Her response was quick:

[Don't worry about us. Just study hard. Come home next month to visit Mom!]

(Author's Note)

(PS: There are many versions of Superman. The strongest ones can even destroy universes. In this story, like Saitama, Superman has no upper limit and can be infinitely enhanced...)