The night wind howled.
Ian's hair was a mess.
He was grateful he wasn't British; otherwise, with such a fierce wind blowing through his hair, the probability of going bald young would surely rise from around 80% to 90%.
"Are you sure you don't need someone to deal with the... problem in your body?" Clark was flying while holding Ian by the scruff of his neck with one hand. This was the fifth time he had stopped Ian from trying to flip over and ride on his back.
In fact, Clark hadn't refused at first, as it was a chance to show fatherly love. But upon discovering Ian would try to pull his hair, he chose to carry Ian in his hand—perhaps a teenage boy didn't have to worry about baldness, but a forty-something Kryptonian didn't have that much confidence.
"I really don't!"
Ian looked at the [Curse of Blood] negative effect on his status bar, relieved that even though Miss Death took the shattered world, his negative status hadn't been cleared like his father's.
[You are suffering from Fel Corruption, Experience +1]
What a wonderful sound. It was simply VIP-level treatment, the kind that would only exist in games where one level could reach ninety-nine. It was no different from activating an automatic leveling function!
"I think you do... your body is already starting to be corrupted." Superman looked down at his young son. Ian's skin was indeed starting to turn green.
It was clear he was suffering from severe Fel Corruption.
However.
Ian didn't care.
"Enduring this curse strengthens my mind and exercises my superpowers!" Ian activated the [Frenzy of Self-Healing] skill, making himself pink and tender again.
In the blink of an eye, the green color on Ian's skin completely faded.
The flesh corroded by Fel energy was healed.
As for the cost—it was merely a bit of fat. Ian felt slightly hungry and missed the super-tonic from before. How great would it be if he could drink a few sips of that soup anytime, anywhere?
It was practically like a mana potion in a game.
"Exercises your mind and superpowers?" Clark was not surprised that Ian could control the strange energy corrosion. He had already noticed Ian's unusual behavior when he was tailing him earlier.
"Yes, exactly... This is a kind of refinement from the big shot!" Ian started waving the big banner. He often liked to tell little white lies, and he was doing so now to preserve his negative status.
Clark fell silent for a moment and didn't insist further. Primarily, he truly didn't understand Ian's strange abilities and worried that his interference might affect Ian's "growth."
"If you feel uncomfortable, you must tell me immediately." Clark weighed the situation and ultimately chose to compromise. He knew the energy within Ian's body was different from the contamination he had experienced earlier.
"Don't worry, if there's a problem, I'll definitely tell you, Dad. After all, I'm terribly afraid of dying." Ian nodded hastily. This was the truth, for many years, he had worried that his life might be sacrificed at any moment.
Fortunately, things were different now.
[Death Refusal] gave him unprecedented peace of mind.
Moreover.
[Name: Ian Kent]
[Normal Profession: Student LV7 (78/640)]
[Supernatural Profession: Berserker LV3 (4/40)]
[World Recognition: Independent NPC]
The change in his panel was also something Ian was quite happy about. His [World Recognition] had changed, transforming him from the original [Ordinary NPC] to [Independent NPC].
This was clearly the reward from "Them" that Miss Death had mentioned. Although it still carried the term [NPC], Ian believed he was now a character with his own "plot." Yes, he was no longer a tragic sacrifice used to appease the gods at the slightest provocation, now, it would take at least a second or even a third provocation to be sacrificed.
The status of [Death Refusal].
Made him very hard to kill.
As long as it wasn't some special event, he was certainly difficult to affect. This was the stable state of life Ian had been dreaming of for fourteen years!
If only it had been this way earlier.
Why would he have developed those slightly harmless psychological issues?
"Praise Miss Death!"
Ian silently prayed in his heart.
He could feel that every time he prayed, he would establish a connection with some mysterious will in the darkness. Sure enough, he immediately felt the other party's very speechless emotion.
"Oh, right, Dad, what are we eating tonight?" Ian's stomach was rumbling from using the [Frenzy of Self-Healing] ability. He looked at the approaching streets below with anticipation.
"Still the 'nutritionally boring white person's dinner' you mentioned." Clark replied, then pondered slightly. "When we get home, don't say anything that will startle your mother."
"She's been feeling chest tightness recently, and her health hasn't been great." Clearly, Clark was afraid Ian would go home and say something shocking that would cause a huge emotional fluctuation in Lois, who was a normal person.
"No problem!"
Ian guaranteed it, patting his father's steel chest.
"..."
Superman was utterly helpless.
Soon.
He brought Ian back home.
In the dining room.
Warm yellow light spilled onto the wooden dining table. Lois walked out of the kitchen, carrying a plate of freshly cooked fried eggs. Clark had also changed back into his casual sweater and put on his home glasses.
"Where are my big brothers?"
Ian didn't see his gaming brothers in the living room.
"They also have social needs, so they won't be back for dinner tonight." Lois served Ian a few fried eggs, then brought out a large bowl of sugary cream mashed potatoes from the kitchen.
"Mom, do you mean Jonathan went on a date with a girl, and Jordan is just wandering the streets like a bum, pretending he's also on a date with a girl?"
Ian knew his two older brothers too well. He wasn't worried about getting diabetes so young, so he immediately put a large serving of cream mashed potatoes onto his plate.
"Yes..."
Lois nodded helplessly.
She also knew her three sons well.
Precisely because of this.
Lois was quite skeptical of Ian's "recap" moments ago.
"Let me recap what you just said."
"Are you sure a goddess who has lived for billions of years is so madly in love with you that, out of reluctance to see you hurt, she would rather risk losing her godhood to guide you to resolve a crisis that might affect your father?" Honestly, it was no wonder Lois's expression grew weirder and weirder.
She felt this sounded exactly like the plot of the trashy romance novel Ian had written. Ever since reading Ian's work, Lois felt her brain was about to turn to mush.
"Yes, I actually helped her solve a big problem, but she wasn't even polite enough to say thank you to me." Ian had held onto this grievance ever since he was at the sewage plant.
He was still feeling resentful.
***
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