Chapter 61: Invitation from the Corrective Union and Dreams

Superman had no idea that Eleria was trying to figure out which angle to strip away his secret identity; he had come to offer Eleria an invitation to join the Justice League. As a superhero alliance with relatively loose ties to the government and a casual structure, the Justice League primarily served as a mutual aid network. After all, an individual's power has its limits, and when facing insurmountable disasters, having someone to help is always better than fighting alone.

Conversely, the lack of mandatory rules meant that completing team missions did not come with a salary.

Many joked that Bruce Wayne was a billionaire single-handedly supporting the entire Justice League's expenses. This was actually a misconception—there was more than one billionaire among the League's sponsors, it was just that Old Man Wayne happened to be the most famous.

Aside from him, there was Oliver Queen, the Guardian of Star City, whose alter ego beneath the mask was also a fabulously wealthy tycoon; Michael Holt, codenamed 'Mr. Terrific', a genius who earned 14 PhDs and built Holt Holdings from the ground up to become a billionaire before ever becoming a superhero; Ted Kord, codenamed 'Blue Beetle', whose impression on many remained stuck as the background cheer squad witnessing Batman's chuunibyou dark history, while overlooking the fact that he was actually a successful entrepreneur; and even Bruce Wayne himself, who sometimes proactively invited other tycoons to invest in the Justice League to make his own sponsorship of Batman less conspicuous, casually dismissing it as a 'superhero pet project'... ahem.

Sometimes people mistakenly believe that the experience of becoming a superhero makes certain individuals exceptional, when the reality is quite the opposite: people who were already shining brightly in their respective fields chose to step forward and become heroes when facing disaster.

Of course, not all superheroes were wealthy.

Undoubtedly, a few impoverished souls who had to rely on genetic mutations managed to slip into their ranks.

Considering various factors, although the wealthy folks were more than willing to generously lend a hand to the broke guys—after all, that little bit of salary didn't even amount to one-billionth of their total assets—they decided not to directly stuff cash into their colleagues' pockets. Instead, they opted to upgrade the team's support facilities: the Justice League's Watchtower featured living quarters, the fastest free Wi-Fi, a buffet as lavish as a Michelin-starred restaurant, state-of-the-art technological equipment (including game consoles), a uniform R&D area, and training devices, among other things. If someone had a sudden whim to quit their job and become a full-time hero, he or she could live quite comfortably aboard the Watchtower.

The problem was that very few people could swallow their pride and actually do that.

Everyone was an adult; spending free time hanging around the club headquarters for free food and drinks instead of getting a job sounded terribly improper. Therefore, even though there were no written rules prohibiting superheroes from living on the Watchtower, it was still only populated by those who occasionally came on duty or attended meetings. Seeing that the route of rescuing teammates failed because the teammates were far too proud, the tycoons devised a new method: buying out the companies where the broke members worked, raising employee benefits and welfare, and funneling money to members in a roundabout way.

One of the beneficiaries was Superman, a.k.a. Clark Kent. Bruce Wayne buying out the Daily Planet was hardly news anymore...

However, Eleria's situation was rather different.

Buying the Daily Planet could be seen as controlling the mouthpiece of Metropolis; while it showed financial might, it didn't feel completely out of place. Yet Eleria's workplace was an Asian grocery store. Upon hearing this, the tycoons held an emergency overnight meeting to discuss what possible excuse could make buying a small mom-and-pop shop look sane.

Later, they found it simply wouldn't work.

They were far too wealthy, making them fundamentally incompatible with a corner store.

Actually, there was one other way.

If someone could become the US President and announce an increase in the national minimum wage, Eleria would likely benefit from it, but so far, everyone closest to the presidency happened to be villains.

All roads led to Rome, but none led to a convenience store. Therefore, if Eleria joined the Justice League, he would seemingly become the only superhero who either had to live on the Watchtower or remain entirely self-reliant. At most, Bruce Wayne could help him cover collateral damage and medical bills; everywhere else, help was genuinely out of the question.

This was why, even when Superman mentioned that Justice League members didn't get paid, he felt a bit embarrassed—everyone else practically received some form of hidden benefits, yet Eleria was the only one who missed out simply because his workplace was in the wrong category!

Eleria: "..."

He hadn't thought about it that much. Whether or not he joined the Justice League didn't affect his daily life, but he had another question: "Under what identity would it be best for me to join?"

Superman: "Yellow Lantern?"

A member of the Yellow Lantern Corps joining the Justice League—how on earth did that sound reasonable?

Eleria said: "I lean more toward the Black Lantern."

Superman: "..."

Superman: "..."

He found it hard to deny that he still held a bit of lingering trauma regarding the Black Lantern, so he couldn't help saying: "Let me think about it."

The Chairman of the League thought about it for a very long time. During this period, Galla's *The Boys* released its second trailer, the Intergang captured some abnormal movements of LexCorp near Metropolis, and Gotham tycoon Bruce Wayne arrived on a rare, drizzly day at the legendary 'Old Mrs. Yang's Chinese Grocery Store in Metropolis Chinatown'.

He was here to meet an online friend.

Having chatted with Clark Kent and Eleria Esposito in the group chat for so long, as a kind-hearted person who even gave away his family recipes, it felt inexcusable not to make the effort to meet an online friend in person. A deeper reason was that Bruce intended to conduct an on-site inspection of Eleria's workplace to see if there was any possibility of merging this convenience store with Wayne Enterprises.

A crisp black suit and a pair of dark sunglasses accompanied the dark-haired young man as he stepped out of his low-key yet luxurious car. Holding a black umbrella, he raised his head to look at the dark red plaque above him. Flanking the front entrance of the Asian supermarket before him were two massive glass walls plastered with advertisements and window decals. Outside the door was a small courtyard that doubled as a temporary parking lot, paved with simple red bricks. Instead of flowers, the flowerbeds were planted with a few cucumber vines and two rows of scallions. In the open space of the yard stood an apricot tree, beneath which sat an empty pickled-vegetable crock.

It was hard to imagine what the top of a courtyard like this would look like with a name like 'Wayne Ecological Park'...

A bizarre thought flashed through Bruce's mind and vanished. Without breaking his stride, he walked straight through the glass doors of the supermarket. There weren't many customers on a rainy day; Eleria was leaning against the counter behind the cash register, chatting with an elderly Chinese woman with snow-white hair. In front of them sat a smartphone, and Eleria was reading the English comments on the screen in a deep voice for the shopkeeper, whose presbyopia made the text difficult to read:

"... 'Why are the two trailers for *The Boys* so popular?' This netizen answered, 'It's not just because people are chasing novelty or bizarre tropes. In fact, we can already see from just two short clips some of the ideas the creators want to express: for instance, what would society become if superheroes were no longer heroes? If superheroes are idolized, commercialized, and controlled, how can ordinary people fight back?'

"'Our world is fortunate enough to have a group of good people willing to step forward and become heroes, so the superhero works we usually see are practically confined within the framework that superheroes must always be good guys. Even if they occasionally stray from the path, they will surely realize it by the end of the story and make amends. Up until now, no one has ever considered: what if the justice in the eyes of the masses is deliberately embellished and packaged? What if a righteous figure—a righteous figure like Lex Luthor—does everything purely out of selfish desires, harming countless people in places where others can't see, while a sophisticated team covers for him, either silencing people permanently or handing out hush money? When will the truth and true justice finally arrive?'"

Hearing this, the old shopkeeper pushed her reading glasses up, pondering as she asked Eleria in Chinese, "Who's that... is Lex Luthor a bad person?"

Eleria replied in Chinese as well, "The character he corresponds to in the show is President-man Joseph Trump."

"Goodness gracious me," the old lady exclaimed in shock, "He looks rather handsome, so is his greatest advantage having thick hair?"

"...No," Eleria corrected her helplessly. "Luthor isn't an actor; his persona only partially overlaps with this character. As for the man himself—"

Eleria brought up Wikipedia and showed the shopkeeper Luthor's entry.

"His hair isn't thick at all!" the old lady complained loudly. "His biggest advantage is gone! The only thing left is that he's pretty good at having kids!"

Bruce Wayne, who was eavesdropping nearby: "..."

Fortunately, Eleria possessed an abundance of virtue; he was still utilizing a language system he hadn't used in a while and was struggling to explain to the shopkeeper that Luthor neither had a secret crush on the Joker nor could he give birth to children. Finding it hard to listen any longer, Bruce coughed softly as he walked inside, placed his umbrella by the door, and said in English, "Don't mind me, I'm just browsing."

The shopkeeper's gaze swept over his expensive suit without the slightest intention of welcoming a customer. Indifferently, she lowered her head and urged Eleria, "Alright, let's keep reading the previous comments."

It seemed they were not short on money.

Bruce evaluated internally. Trying to sway the other party with money would likely prove quite difficult.

He wandered among the shelves as Eleria's voice drifted over from behind him:

"'The limitations of justice in the eyes of the masses were mentioned earlier, but at the same time, this is ultimately just a television show after all. Audiences shouldn't be incited by malicious actors to question the superheroes in reality, because every conscience has witnessed their past sacrifices and contributions. President-man will never be Superman, and Poker Face will never replace Batman. Every injustice ought to be corrected, just as every act of upholding justice should be remembered. Although we sometimes cannot see the truth clearly, the ultimate outcome of justice is chosen by the general public. If real heroes cannot be treated well, then one day, when justice is distorted, the bitter fruit will have to be borne by everyone.'"

"Is that it?" the old lady asked.

"That's it," Eleria put down the phone.

"Interesting. The person who posted that comment might have a grudge against that Luthor. Notice how they only mentioned one tycoon while leaving out the other tycoons? Aren't those so-called Waynes or Queens suspects as well?" the old lady said with great interest. "Wikipedia says Luthor is running for president? Well, that explains it. The trailers for two TV shows managed to spin off so much content—the poster's focus wasn't on the show at all. Do you think this was the work of Luthor's political rivals?"

The virtuously endowed Eleria impartially replied, "It's possible."

"No wonder this show has gotten so popular lately," the old lady sighed. "It really caught a great moment. As long as everyone wants to make a fuss over it, it's bound to air smoothly. And if the quality doesn't flop, it could soar even higher."

Eleria thought so too. He even thought a bit further—for instance, it would be even better if the writer and producer listed at the top didn't say 'Galla Esposito'... The old lady hadn't yet noticed the familiar surname at the end of the trailer; her gaze had already shifted from the phone screen to the customer who had just walked in. Bruce seized the right moment to step forward, extended his hand toward Eleria, and said: