Chapter 86: Unlocking New Powers
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
"Boss..."
He put away the 'recruitment notice' from outside the door, dispersing the unemployed people who were reluctant to leave.
Little John said to Colin.
"You've worked hard."
Inside the newspaper office, Colin stretched, downing the coffee on his desk.
The time spent on recruitment was longer than Colin had originally anticipated.
Although he had been mentally prepared, he still underestimated people's desire for work during The Great Depression.
To find work, some people guarded the entrance of the Detroit Employment Agency overnight, while others walked 900 miles. Furthermore, in Washington State, some even deliberately set fires in forests just to be hired as firefighters.
Such rumors about work might sound absurd, but they were real occurrences during The Great Depression.
Even for a simple job recruitment at Messenger Newspaper, for only three positions, the queue of applicants outside reached nearly two to three hundred people.
In fact, if he hadn't asked Little John to set limits, the queue outside might have been even longer.
In any case, with the recruitment process concluded,
Colin's affairs in the Main World had largely come to an end; all that remained was to await the distribution of The Messenger.
So, Scott, just hold on a little longer.
...
"Is that a bird? Is that a plane? That's Superman!"
It was unclear when the newsboys' shouts became the most eye-catching sight on the streets of New York.
And this colloquial phrase they uttered became a household name with the popularity of the Superman comic.
"Sir, your newspaper."
Little Jimmy folded and handed a copy of The Messenger to the customer in front of him, then looked down at the newspaper in his hand, which was mostly sold, and mumbled softly.
"Mister Colin's newspaper is becoming more and more popular."
Of course, the popularity of The Messenger was by no means a bad thing for newsboys.
"Perhaps next time, I can consider buying another bundle of The Messenger."
Wholesaling two bundles of newspapers at once was definitely a rather risky decision for newsboys with meager incomes.
After all, no one could guarantee that newspaper sales would always be popular; once a newspaper didn't sell, they would lose money. They might even lose the capital for wholesaling newspapers and, consequently, their livelihood.
Even major newspapers like the New York News, which once competed with World Daily News for page layout, were forced to transform as 'Yellow Journalism' declined, with their sales far from what they used to be.
However, glancing at the large Superman logo on the cover of The Messenger in his satchel,
Jimmy's heart was filled with confidence. His confidence didn't stem from his personal liking for Mister Colin, but rather from his grasp of reader preferences.
As a frontline worker for newspapers, Jimmy understood the changes in distribution among New York City's major newspapers better than anyone.
The serialization of the Superman comic had already made The Messenger the most popular newspaper among newsboys.
It was said that even newsboys three blocks away were asking delivery persons to bring them some copies of The Messenger, because Superman was more popular than news.
...
[Power - Super Breath (Black Iron)]
[Power Description: Superman's lungs can withstand any pressure or lack thereof, allowing him to easily hold his breath for several hours. He can use this Power to easily fight in the ocean.]
[Power - Super Housekeeping (Black Iron)]
[Power Description: Superman possesses powerful Super Housekeeping abilities, which is key to him always maintaining neatness.]
Inside the Messenger newspaper office, Colin looked at the two powers unlocked on the [Black Iron Mark], a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Needless to say, [Super Breath] was naturally for counteracting the poisonous smoke inside the Anti-World Hydra Base.
Although the [Super Breath] currently unlocked is only a [Black Iron] level power, and its manifestation is merely powerful lung endurance,
as the comic develops, more powers related to [Super Breath] will naturally be unlocked later.
Furthermore, even the [Super Breath] that has just been unlocked is not weak.
Holding his breath for a while, Colin felt no discomfort in his body.
It was only when the breath-holding period extended that he finally reacted.
He took a deep breath, and as his breathing resumed, the feeling of oxygen deprivation immediately vanished.
Colin had also basically mastered the application of the [Super Breath] power. In a way, after unlocking [Super Breath], he had fundamentally differentiated himself from ordinary people, taking a step towards becoming a true Superman, and breathing was no longer his weakness.
Currently, the longest known human breath-holding time is only around twenty-something minutes, and that's under the premise that the challenger performs no oxygen-consuming actions.
However, Colin, having mastered [Super Breath], could easily act normally for half an hour.
Moreover, this power could last even longer in the Anti-World.
This meant that even in oxygen-deprived environments in the future, he could continue fighting for several hours.
And this was just [Super Breath] unlocked to the [Black Iron] level.
Besides the [Super Breath] that Colin valued, he also incidentally unlocked another new power in this comic serialization.
[Super Housekeeping]
Just by hearing the name, one would know it's a power related to tidying up household chores.
The comic plot that unlocked this power was also quite simple: in a storyline titled 'Messy Home,' it narrated Lois's arrangement to visit Clark's home, but Superman, busy fighting crime, completely forgot about it. By the time he realized, Lois had already arrived downstairs at Clark's apartment building.
Seeing the messy room at home, Superman used his [Super Housekeeping] power and easily tidied the room.
When Clark opened the door, Lois saw a neat and clean room.
Lois: "Clark, I didn't expect your room to be so clean! I thought you would forget to tidy up because of your busy work as a reporter."
Clark (Superman): "Actually, I almost did forget, but then I remembered my date with you, so I tidied up."
Lois: "You're so thoughtful, Clark."
Clark (Superman): "Of course, because it's you who's coming, Lois."
This type of daily life Superman comic content was published because of the enthusiastic reader response to the previous 'Dual Identity' storyline.
It was definitely not because Colin was too lazy to clean.
However, after unlocking the [Super Housekeeping] power, he could easily clean the pile of dishes overflowing in the kitchen sink with his eyes closed.
(end of chapter)