The Death Knell

"Here you go, I found it, take it to a safe place quickly."

Among the ruins, Superman lifted up a collapsed wall and found a stuffed bear from below. He handed it to the little girl aside and asked her to leave the area with a smile.

Metropolis has not suffered much damage in the previous divine punishment, but this does not mean that everyone is safe, and some people are still unlucky to some extent.

Compared to other North American cities, this place is pretty good, but there are still some loose ends that need to be sorted out.

But they are not big things. Superman has been busy with rescue and disaster relief work elsewhere on the earth, and then comes back here to deal with small things, such as rescuing a cat in a tree, or helping the victims find something in the ruins.

To be honest, having the ability to see through is really convenient for finding things.

"Thank you! Kal-El!" The little girl smiled sweetly. She hugged her little bear and jumped away, leaving behind a string of cheerful laughter and a small back.

Superman tilted his head. He vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put it into words. He could only attribute it to his overthinking.

He got out of the ruins and put down the wall he was holding. Amidst the splashing dust, he patted the soil on his hands and took a breath.

He has been helping others since the disaster began, without stopping at all, and now he is finally almost done.

Well, I'm going to find some water to drink, I'm a little thirsty.

Superman didn't know that if Batman or anyone like Deathstroke, even Green Arrow, were here, they would tell him something was wrong.

First of all, most children only know Superman but not the name Kal-El; secondly, if this house was a little girl's home, would she really be so happy because the stuffed toy was rescued?

Normal children will know which is more important, toys or home, right? Your home is gone, your parents are gone, and you are still happy because of a teddy bear?

Isn't it obvious that something is going on?

It's a pity that Superman trusts others too easily. He treats everyone as a good person and never doubts others easily, let alone something that looks like a little girl.

"Ahem! Superman, here." Just when Superman was about to find a park and lie down on the faucet there to drink some water, he heard someone calling his name from behind.

The voice sounded a little weak. When I turned around, I saw that it was an old lady with a stooped back. She was holding a cane in one hand and a large bowl in the other. She was staggering towards him among the piles of building ruins. Come.

"Don't worry, do you need my help with anything?" Superman couldn't see the old lady walking like this. He quickly flew to her side and reached out to support her.

"No, haha, I don't need your help for anything." The old man showed a kind smile and reached out to pat his strong chest muscles: "I'm here to thank you. You have helped all of us and you should be thanked."

"You're welcome, this is what I should do. The metropolis will be rebuilt soon and everyone can return to their homes, I promise."

Superman does not need the gratitude of others to do things. He believes that this is his obligation. Once he has mastered the ability to surpass others, he must shoulder the corresponding social responsibilities.

But if the old lady thanks him, he won't refuse. Who doesn't like to hear a nice word?

"You are so kind and handsome. You remind me of my old man who passed away. He was just as handsome as you when he was young." The old lady picked up the bowl in her hand and handed it to Superman. The bowl was filled with clear soda. The water seemed to be bubbling with small bubbles: "Ignore him, you must be thirsty, right? Come and drink this, I have prepared water for you."

What could be wrong with water? Even if it is 10,000-degree plasma, Superman can still drink it.

But Clark was a little embarrassed when he took the bowl, because he had never felt thirsty during missions in the past. Today was really strange.

But if you are thirsty, you are thirsty. When a person is thirsty, he should drink water. He does not think there is any problem.

So he picked up the bowl and took a big sip, then showed a standard sunny smile with eight teeth and said to the old man: "Thank you, the water is delicious, but you'd better leave this area quickly, it's not safe here. , aftershocks may occur at any time.”

"No rush, no rush, haha." But the old lady didn't leave at this time. She just looked at Superman with a strange look and squeezed his muscles: "I'm the kryptonite specially prepared for you. How can you not express anything else when pouring water from a big bowl?"

Hearing what she said, Superman looked down and saw that the big bowl in his hand had turned into green kryptonite at some point, and he also turned green after being exposed to this radiation.

‘Clang’.

The big bowl of kryptonite fell to the ground and rolled out. Superman's strength immediately disappeared completely. Not to mention, the severe pain in his abdomen came again. He shook a little, knelt on one knee, and held on. Completely collapsed.

With his eyes turning green, he squeezed out a few words through his teeth:

"Why? Why did you poison me?"

"No reason, Superman, do you think good people will be rewarded? No, you know, even though you don't want to admit it, you also know deep down that many people who have been helped by you don't remember you at all. Well, they'll just be jealous of your superpowers and think you're a potential threat."

The old lady's chin began to melt, and her voice was like a witch in a fairy tale, but she was still smiling:

"You treat others well, but others treat you badly. Are you tired? Don't you want to have any illusions?"

"No! I believe everyone has their own kind side. Maybe some people have doubts or hostility towards me, but that's just because they don't know me well yet."

Superman's belief is very strong. Even though his body is in unbearable pain, he can still stick to his point of view, but he is out of breath when talking, and the kryptonite water he drank makes him weak:

"People will understand me. We are no different. I also believe that people will help me when I encounter difficulties."

"Really? Are you here to help you like me? Haha." The old lady waved to the side, and the little girl who walked away before walked out, but the teddy bear has now been torn off by her. , revealing the bloody cotton inside: "What do you think she will give you in return?"

The little girl smiled and took out a kryptonite dagger from the inside of the teddy bear. She also stuck out her long tongue and licked the blade back and forth.

It's so twisted, the tongue on this thing is longer than the average tractor drive belt.

"Who are you?" Superman finally had doubts. He realized that the creatures in front of him were most likely not human because they had no humanity: "I don't agree with your views, but we can sit down and have a good talk. Not like it is now.”

The old man and the young man looked at each other, laughed, shook their heads, and said in unison:

"Why do you still have unrealistic dreams? Open your eyes and take a look. Only nightmares are real!"

More and more people walked out of the ruins, all of whom Superman had helped just now, but each of them held weapons made of kryptonite and surrounded them with malicious faces.

Only nightmares are real. This sentence is like chanting a sutra. They keep praising it loudly and repeating it.