Starting from scratch, Batman crushed my dream of getting rich

Chapter 437 Do Gods Shed Tears?

“My name is Clark, Clark Kent, and I am a Metropolitan.”

Clark smiled and shook hands with Ma Zhaodi: "I'm a reporter—a reporter for the Daily Planet."

Ma Zhaodi's lips twitched. He tried to calm himself down, forced a weary smile, and shook hands with the other person.

"Clark Kent, ha, that name sounds beautiful with a numerical quality."

"Huh?" Upon hearing Ma Zhaodi's words, a look of confusion appeared on Clark's face: "What numerical value of beauty?"

"It's not important, it's not important."

Although he was smiling and joking around, Ma Zhaodi was starting to panic inside. Of course he knew that Clark Kent was Superman, but he didn't expect Superman's biofield to work so smoothly. Even though he had seen Superman's images on the news twice before, he hadn't associated Clark's face with Superman at all when he saw him just now.

So, the real question he's thinking about right now is—what's going to happen in Gotham City?
This is a very natural way of thinking: thanks to DC's excellent matching mechanism, there is a corresponding hero lineup to solve any level of crisis. The madmen in Gotham City are handled by Batman; the aliens and superhumans in Metropolis are dealt with by Superman; the super-powered criminals with some morality in Central City are left to Flash; and the supernatural and ghostly things are also taken care of by Constantine.

So when Ma Zhaodi saw Superman appear in Gotham City, his immediate reaction was: something big is about to happen, at least on the scale of destroying a city or a country—maybe even on the scale of world destruction.

After all, when Batman and Superman team up, the combined strength is already quite formidable. The level of crisis they face cannot be limited to the daily squabbles of a few simple supervillains.

"Um, you..." Ma Zhaodi looked around to make sure there was no immediate danger, then cautiously asked, "Why did you come all the way from Metropolis to Gotham City? Do you have any relatives or friends here?"

"Me? Oh no, I didn't."

Superman, who was talking to Ma Zhaodi, heard Ma Zhaodi's heartbeat quicken and saw the trace amount of sweat secreted from his pores and his slightly dilated pupils.

Generally, people exhibit these behaviors when they are nervous. However, this skill is usually used by Superman for lie detection, and he doesn't quite understand why Ma Zhaodi would become nervous at this moment.

"I'm here mainly because of work—as I said before, I'm a journalist."

Clark explained, "I heard about this recent mourning ceremony in Gotham City by chance, and then I decided to come to Gotham for a special interview."

"That's all? Nothing else?"

"No, it's not just 'that'. In fact, I think it's very significant."

Clark replied earnestly, "Before this, everyone in Metropolis had heard of Gotham, and their impression of the place wasn't very good. Even I thought the citizens living here probably wouldn't be very happy." Ma Zhaodi thought to himself that this impression was indeed correct; that's how Gotham is.

“Until one day, I heard... I heard that people in Gotham City were mourning and praying in a cemetery.”

Clark looked at the grove of trees in front of him: "I heard from my colleagues that there were elderly people, children, gangsters, and ordinary people. I was very moved at the time. In fact, I have always hoped to report on these kinds of stories, stories where people put aside their prejudices and understand each other. It can prove to some extent that we are the same. Even if we have different identities, statuses, bloodlines, and ethnicities, we can all resonate as 'human beings'."

"including you?"

"Including me, especially me."

Ma Zhaodi stared in disbelief as Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent locked eyes. The phrase "including you" hadn't been asked by him, but by Bruce. Therefore, he had reason to believe that the mourner might have already discovered that Clark was Superman.

Batman is like this: he is undoubtedly the world's greatest detective, Gotham City's strongest supporter and nightmare—but this does not contradict his image as a treacherous and cunning figure whom no one can ignore in Ma Zhaodi's mind.

At this moment, Clark deliberately avoided Bruce's sharp gaze and explained gently, "In short, that's how it is. I've worked at the Daily Planet for many years, but the editor-in-chief rarely lets us follow meaningful news. Most of the time, besides keeping an eye on Superman news, it's gossip, celebrity scandals, political infighting, and the like. I really hope to report something better and more meaningful."

“Then you were probably born in the wrong era.” Ma Zhaodi sighed: “Now it’s the era of capital. The persistence of journalists is worthless in the face of traffic. The higher-ups only care about ratings. Chasing hot topics is far more important than chasing important issues. And the big spenders also have political affiliations. There are some things you want to write, but the newspaper boss will never let you publish them.”

Upon hearing Ma Zhaodi's words, Clark's face showed a hint of disappointment, but he quickly cheered up again: "In any case, at least this time, I managed to get the opportunity to come here for an interview from the editor-in-chief—the situation in Gotham City is very different from what I had heard before. I should say I am very happy to be here. The city is unique and vibrant now, and it is not as terrifying as people say."

Ma Zhaodi didn't explain to Clark that Superman's super hearing could hear all the sounds on Earth, and it all depended on whether he wanted to do so—in other words, his claim of "hearing about the mourning ceremony in Gotham City" should actually be changed to "hearing the people of Gotham City mourning ceremony in person."

“My report was published a month ago, and I actually think people seem to really enjoy what I had to say about Gotham City,” Clark continued. “That makes me very happy.”

“It might not be liking, maybe it’s just curiosity,” Bruce calmly replied. “But my impression of you has changed somewhat, Mr. Clark.”

Clark was puzzled: "Have you heard of me before, Mr. Bruce?"

“I’ve seen you before, at the previous memorial service. It was raining that day, so there was no one by the woods. You planted eleven saplings here all by yourself. Some time ago, after Superman was swapped in a body, eleven employees of Wayne Enterprises’ branch died from the damage caused by the fake Superman. You planted these trees for them.”

At this point, Bruce paused.

You looked very sad at the time.

(End of this chapter)