"Robbery! Help!"
The shout came from a jewelry store not far away.
Soya raised an eyebrow.
'Is it time for Superman to show his power?'
He dashed out of the alley and headed towards the sound. Within moments, he arrived at the entrance of the jewelry store.
Three masked robbers were threatening the staff and customers with guns. One of them was shoving handfuls of jewelry into a black travel bag.
"Hey! Guys, robbing a sunset industry like this doesn't have much of a future," Soya said lazily, blocking the doorway.
The three robbers were startled. Seeing only an unarmed young man, their expressions turned vicious.
"Fuck off! Kid, you wanna die?" one robber shouted, raising his pistol to aim at Soya.
Soya smiled slightly, and his figure blurred.
"Bang!"
The robber only saw a blur before his eyes, felt a numbness in his wrist, and then his gun was gone. Immediately after, an irresistible force struck his abdomen.
He was sent flying backward without warning, slammed into the wall with a "thud," and knocked out cold.
The other two robbers were horrified and instinctively tried to fire their weapons.
"Too slow."
Soya's voice sounded in their ears at the same moment as...
"Snap! Snap!"
Two crisp sounds rang out.
The parts of their guns clattered to the floor, and their wrists had been dislocated by Soya at a speed too fast to see with the naked eye.
"Ah—!"
Screams of pain erupted simultaneously.
"Why scream so loud? Afraid the cops won't hear you?" Soya hadn't even used much force, just "touched" them slightly.
The entire process took less than three seconds.
The customers and staff inside the store were stunned, their mouths agape as if witnessing a miracle.
Soya clapped his hands lightly and said to the trembling staff member, "Call the police, and an ambulance too."
Having said that, he turned to leave under the crowd's awestruck gazes.
Suddenly, a mother holding a child cried out excitedly, "Thank you! Are you an angel?"
Soya paused mid-step, glanced back at the innocent child, and at the mix of gratitude, admiration, and a trace of fear in the eyes of the people around him.
He felt a slight stir in his heart.
"I'm not an angel," he said with a laugh.
His smile in the sunlight was always warm and confident.
"I'm just a passerby... a good Samaritan."
With that, he took a few large strides and disappeared around the street corner.
[Ding! Host's first act of heroism, upholding justice, has received positive social feedback.
Completion rate for the novice mission 'Feel and Control Your Power' has increased to 100%. Energy Points +50.]
"Not bad."
Soya felt pleased. The feeling of being in complete control and using his power to help others was fantastic.
He looked up at the twilight sky, his heart filled with a longing for flight.
'Flying ability, here I come!'
Night fell, and the city lights began to twinkle.
Soya stood on the rooftop of a skyscraper, overlooking the bustling, woven tapestry of New York's nightscape below. The cold night wind brushed through his hair but couldn't extinguish the fire in his heart.
[Novice mission 'Feel and Control Your Power' has been completed.
Reward: Flight Ability (Beginner) unlocked. Energy Points +100.]
[Current Energy Points: 150. Can be used to upgrade unlocked abilities or exchange for items in the System Shop.]
A stream of new information and instinct flooded into Soya's mind. It was knowledge about how to mobilize the bio-energy field within his body to counteract gravity and fly freely. For a Kryptonian, flying was as natural as breathing was for an Earthling.
"Here goes!"
Soya's feet lifted slightly off the ground. At first, it was just hovering, a few centimeters, then several dozen centimeters, one meter... His skill was somewhat unpolished, like a puppet suspended by invisible strings.
But soon, this clumsiness vanished, replaced by a feeling of effortless ease, like a fish taking to water.
He tried leaning his body forward.
"Whoosh—!"
A powerful thrust came from behind him.
Soya instantly transformed into a black shadow, shooting up into the sky!
"Whoa—!!!"
The extreme speed brought extreme exhilaration! The wind roared past his ears. The city below rapidly shrank, becoming a sea of sparkling lights. He was like an eagle freed from its bonds, soaring freely in the vast, boundless night sky.
He rolled, dove, and pulled up sharply!
Every movement was full of power and grace.
He could even feel his body greedily absorbing a certain kind of energy from the cosmos during the flight—especially moonlight and starlight. Though faint, it was indeed nourishing him.
'This is the feeling of flight... It's incredible!'
Soya spread his arms, embracing the open sky, and laughed heartily.
He flew past the Statue of Liberty, flew past the Empire State Building, and even high up, passed by a descending passenger airliner (maintaining a safe distance, of course, and using the clouds to conceal his form).
The passengers on the plane were completely unaware that a 'Superman' had just flashed past their window seconds before.
After playing around for a full hour, Soya, still reluctant to stop, slowly descended into a deserted park.
[Ding! Host's first flight experience has increased mastery over Kryptonian energy. Flight Ability (Beginner) proficiency +10%.]
'Energy points can upgrade abilities?'
Soya opened the system panel.
[Flight Ability (Beginner): Consume 100 Energy Points to upgrade to (Intermediate). Increases maximum flight speed, enhances control, reduces energy consumption.]
[Super Physique (Basic): Consume 200 Energy Points to upgrade to (Advanced). Increases cellular solar energy absorption efficiency, accelerates recovery speed, enhances defense.]
[Super Strength (Basic): Consume 200 Energy Points to upgrade to (Advanced). Increases strength.]
[Super Senses (Basic): Consume 150 Energy Points to upgrade to (Advanced). Expands perception range, improves precision.]
"I'll save them for now," Soya thought after a moment's consideration. The beginner flight ability was sufficient for now. The priority was to familiarize himself with this world and find a stable way to absorb solar energy. After all, the power source for Kryptonians was the yellow sun.
Just as Soya was pondering his future plans, far away in the top floor of Stark Tower in central Manhattan...
Tony Stark—playboy, billionaire, genius inventor—was frowning at a blurry surveillance video playing on a virtual screen in front of him. It was the footage of Soya instantly taking down the robbers at the jewelry store.
Although the angle and lighting made it difficult to see Soya's face clearly, the superhuman speed and strength were plainly evident.
"JARVIS, analyze this video. Estimate the target's speed and strength," Tony said, holding a glass of whiskey, his gaze sharp.
[Sir, based on the available footage, the target executed at least three precise strikes within 0.3 seconds. The instantaneous burst speed is estimated to exceed 80 meters per second. His strength... is at least 50 times that of an average adult male, possibly higher.]