Blow up the Empire State Building?
The entire restaurant instantly erupted, like a bomb had gone off inside.
Everyone was shaken to the core.
There was no other reason—
The Empire State Building was one of Metropolis's most iconic landmarks.
Swish!
Clark and Lois Lane exchanged a glance, their expressions changing at the same time.
"Clark, looks like our dinner ends here," Lois said decisively.
"I'm really sorry, Alex!"
As a reporter, there was no way Lois could sit still after news like this. She immediately stood up, grabbing her bag as she apologized to Alex.
"No need," Alex said calmly, shrugging.
"Go ahead."
"Sorry, Alex."
Clark also shot Alex an apologetic look, then hurried out together with Lois.
What happened next was obvious even without thinking.
Clark would find an excuse to slip away from Lois, then transform into Superman to deal with Nuclear Man.
Soon, Alex was the only one left in the restaurant.
He continued eating leisurely, glancing casually at the TV.
Nuclear Man?
What kind of villain was that?
Alex searched his memory, but nothing immediately came to mind.
Still, Superman had plenty of enemies—he couldn't possibly remember them all.
Shrugging it off, Alex went back to eating as if nothing had happened.
---
BOOM!
Others couldn't hear it—but Alex could clearly hear the sonic boom.
Superman had already turned into a streak of light, arriving at the Empire State Building in the blink of an eye.
Only then did he realize—
There were no bombs at all.
Waiting for him was Nuclear Man.
"Superman?"
"The world calls you Superman, but I'll show them that you're not worthy of that name!"
As the voice rang out, Nuclear Man flashed into existence right in front of Superman.
Superman's expression turned solemn.
He could clearly sense it—
An unimaginably terrifying power was contained within this man.
"So this was your goal?" Superman asked, frowning.
"Me? I'm not your enemy."
"Of course you're not my enemy," Nuclear Man sneered.
"You're just a risk—one that needs to be eliminated."
With those words, Nuclear Man suddenly threw a punch.
In that instant, his fist erupted with blinding golden light, like a miniature sun.
Superman's pupils shrank. He responded with a punch of his own.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The two clashed violently.
They fought from the ground into the sky, tearing through the air.
Shockingly—
They were evenly matched.
Nuclear Man's strength, speed, and reaction time were all on par with Superman's.
And most importantly—
He could fly too.
Superman had finally met a true equal.
---
Back in the restaurant—
"I'm currently at the base of the Empire State Building," a reporter said on TV.
"Multiple eyewitnesses report that Superman is engaged in combat with a man glowing with golden light."
"That man is the one who previously identified himself as 'Nuclear Man.'"
"We don't yet know who Nuclear Man is, but Superman doesn't seem able to defeat him quickly."
"Look! Superman and Nuclear Man just flew past!"
"Superman—Superman's been hit!"
The broadcast of the battle sent shockwaves through Metropolis—and across the entire United States.
Since defeating Zod and making his debut, Superman had appeared publicly many times over the past half year.
His reputation had skyrocketed.
At first, his fame might not have matched Alex's—but Alex had been gone for months, while Superman kept showing up.
Crisis after crisis, enemy after enemy—
Superman always handled everything effortlessly.
Over time, the idea that Superman was invincible had sunk deep into public consciousness.
And now—
Someone was overpowering him?
Of course it caused an uproar.
"So this Nuclear Man is actually that strong?"
Even Alex's curiosity was piqued.
He activated his super vision and x-ray vision, observing the fight directly.
The more he watched, the more interested he became.
Damn.
Aside from lacking heat vision, Nuclear Man was basically a knockoff Superman.
In the middle of the fight, he even blew cold air—freezing Superman solid.
Sure, Nuclear Man couldn't shoot heat rays—
But he had something Superman didn't: golden energy blasts.
And his brain worked frighteningly well.
Knowing he couldn't keep Superman frozen for long, Nuclear Man suddenly flew to Liberty Island.
He ripped the Statue of Liberty out of the ground.
Then he carried it straight back toward the city and hurled it downward.
The massive statue fell like a meteor.
"Ahhh!"
Instant chaos erupted in the streets below.
CRACK!
The next moment—
The ice encasing Superman shattered.
He shot forward at top speed and caught the falling Statue of Liberty.
ROAR!
Thunderous applause erupted from below.
People cheered wildly for Superman.
In full view of the crowd, Superman carried the statue back along its original path, trying to put it back.
But Nuclear Man struck again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Taking advantage of the moment when Superman's hands were occupied, Nuclear Man hammered him with heavy punches.
Superman was injured.
After forcibly restoring the statue, Superman staggered in midair, nearly falling.
Alex slowly rose from his seat.
In the past, he wouldn't have cared whether Superman lived or died.
But things were different now.
Clark was his friend.
And no matter how detached Alex might be, he wasn't heartless enough to ignore this.
Swish!
Just as Alex was about to step in and deal with Nuclear Man—
Something unexpected happened.
Despite having a clear chance to finish Superman off, Nuclear Man suddenly turned around and flew away.
He didn't pursue Superman at all.
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