Lynch had a long dream.
He returned to his original world, and the whole experience of crossing over felt like a beautiful yet fleeting dream.
He was back to being the fallen, confused, and despondent Lynch.
Lynch was an orphan, but not from the start.
His life had been marred by tragedy.
An accident took his father away, but he didn't give up on life.
He studied hard, helped his mother with housework, and did small jobs to ease the financial burden whenever he could.
His childhood wasn't colorful like that of his peers. No new clothes, no toys, not even many friends.
His childhood consisted of a leaky roof during rainy nights that kept him and his mother awake, a dilapidated house where they shivered in the winter cold, too poor to light a fire, and a mother who was always kind, never complained, and constantly encouraged him to grow.
Though poor, he didn't feel dejected; though difficult, he never thought of giving up.
He believed poverty and hardship were temporary and that things could change.
So he studied diligently, learned humbly, and grew with resilience.
Sometimes, he thought of his father, but he didn't blame him.
His father left behind memories of happiness and joy.
His father was always busy, tirelessly working for the family.
So busy that by the time Lynch woke up, his father had already left for work; so busy that by the time Lynch fell asleep, his father returned home, exhausted, only to kiss his sleeping son; so busy that before Lynch could grow up, he was gone.
Lynch just hoped that if his father really went to another world, he could finally enjoy life, without having to work so hard for anyone.
Maybe smoke a pack of good cigarettes he could only get during New Year's, buy a couple of decent clothes, and have a drink with some friends.
Overall, Lynch felt his childhood wasn't too bad.
He worked hard, looking forward to growing up and being able to change his home, giving his mother a happy life in her later years.
Until that summer when his wish came true.
He finished his college entrance exams, estimated his scores, and couldn't wait to share the good news with his mother.
Then he saw her red, swollen eyes and despairing face.
He had only seen his mother like this once before, the day they found out about his father's accident.
When he asked what was wrong, she said nothing.
Of course, it was nothing.
How could his mother share bad news with him?
While she went out to buy groceries, he searched the house and finally found the reason.
It was a hospital report, and after confirming it over and over, Lynch broke down.
Late-stage liver cancer.
This time, no matter how hard he tried, it was useless.
One afternoon during his second year in college, he received a call from the hospital—his mother was gone.
The closest person to him was now gone.
So what was the point of all his efforts?
Lynch was crushed.
He couldn't sleep at night, and whenever he closed his eyes, his parents' faces would appear. He could only sleep when dawn broke, utterly exhausted.
He learned to smoke, one or two packs a day, even though he never understood why people got addicted to such awful things before.
He learned to play video games, spending his days lost in them. Even though they didn't bring him joy, they allowed him to escape.
...
He spent the last two years of college in this state of despair, until near graduation, when he was dragged to a party and watched that movie.
When he saw Iron Man snap his fingers and bring back half the universe, he suddenly thought:
If I could snap my fingers, could I bring them back?
...
His consciousness slowly returned to his battered body, and Lynch woke up.
He tiredly looked around as memories of his new life came flooding back.
He wasn't dead, because in the moment of crisis, he activated the system.
At that time, the system was like this:
"Superman System
Current Template: 100% Infant Superman, 5% Young Superman
Template Exchange List: Young Superman, Superman, Silver age Superman, Golden Superman, Superboy prime...
Justice Points: 51123."
Although he didn't know why he suddenly had so many Justice Points, he was overjoyed and immediately asked the system if he could exchange part of the template.
The system replied that the "Young Superman" and "Superman" templates could be partially exchanged.
So he immediately exchanged 5% of the "Young Superman" template.
Then, a torpedo exploded on him.
He lost consciousness.
Lynch checked his body.
After exchanging 5% of the "Young Superman" template, he had become stronger.
Despite his body being in terrible shape, severely weakened and much less powerful...
But...
His gaze easily pierced through the thick, specially made glass, looking at the people behind the bars.
This was Superman's x-ray vision.
"Was it you who imprisoned me?"
Lynch's voice was hoarse as he spoke.
The man in white at the front, looking excited, replied, "We didn't mean to imprison you, it was just for safety."
"Are you an Earth human? Or an alien? Or..."
Lynch shook his heavy head, annoyed by this guy's questions.
He could feel his condition, and it seemed difficult to escape from here.
After thinking it over, he decided to answer, "I'm an Earth human, but also an alien."
"Oh?"
The middle-aged man seemed thrilled by Lynch's answer and continued to ask, "So are you a product of aliens? A hybrid?"
Lynch found the question odd.
These guys had been studying him for so long and still couldn't figure out he was a Kryptonian?
Don't they read comics or watch movies?
Images of the main characters from "The Big Bang Theory" flashed through Lynch's mind.
If it were them, they would've guessed he was Superman immediately, right?
These scientists were really disappointing!
He thought for a moment, then weakly replied, "I'm an alien who grew up on Earth."
The hint was obvious, just short of shouting, "I'm Superman!"
But it seemed the man in white really had no clue about Superman. Instead, he continued to ask, "So why did you grow up on Earth? Do you know much about your people?"
Lynch was speechless. He decided not to bother with him.
If someone else asked if he was Superman, he definitely wouldn't admit it.
But who would have thought there were people who hadn't even heard of Superman?
Exhausted, Lynch decided to rest a bit.
Suddenly, he felt a stir within his body.
It was as if every cell in his body was restless, craving something.
Puzzled, Lynch turned to find the source of this agitation.
Then, it hit him, and he looked up—
Through layers of barriers, he saw the light.
A ray of sunlight pierced through the gloomy sky.
Dawn had arrived.
"Hehehe..."
Lynch grinned and began to laugh loudly.
"Dawn has arrived; can justice be far behind?"
He shouted excitedly.
Then, with the last bit of his energy, he shot his heat vision upwards.
The heat vision pierced through the ground and into the sky, guiding a beam of sunlight.
In the sunlight, Lynch was reborn, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
His wounds healed quickly, his skin became smooth and radiant, and his heartbeat grew stronger.
With a gentle effort, all the restraints and equipment on him fell away. Bathed in sunlight, he slowly began to float.
"Now, it's my turn. Are you ready?"