Chapter 436 Metropolis Mystery (20) (Patreon)

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"What do you think of their attitude?"

Clark pursed his lips, lowered his head, and spoke in a somewhat low tone. He said, "There are many athletes in Metropolis University, and about half of the track and field team are professional athletes."

"Their training is very hard, almost 365 days a year without rest. The training intensity is high, the duration is long, and it is also very easy to get injured."

"Previously, the senior who brought me into the club told me that this path is not easy, and it is almost sacrificing life for results."

"Some people have been training hard for several years, but because of injuries, they cannot participate in major events. After missing this opportunity, they will never have a chance again and can only go back to their own town to become a physical education teacher or switch to another career."

"I am not an athlete, nor do I have any professional sports training background, but I can easily achieve much better results than them. The coach praised me for having talent and being a genius, but I always feel guilty."

"Because I didn't rely on hard work, or even talent, I am completely different from them. They think this is already a very talented performance, but in fact, I have been trying to restrain my own strength, and I can do much more than this."

"Their eye contact towards me is filled with jealousy, envy, and even some anger and malice, but I can understand it. If I were in their shoes, I might not be able to control my own mentality."

"Do you know? The coach asked me to participate in a long-distance race, and when I refused without thinking, everyone's eye contact towards me changed."

"For them, the opportunity that needs to be worked hard and paid a huge effort to obtain was rejected by me."

"But I can't explain it. I can't just fly into the air and tell everyone, 'Look, I'm a freak'..."

Clark's emotions became a bit agitated. Obviously, these words had been pent up in his heart for a long time. He said like venting, "They don't know that I have also encountered many difficulties before. I am not the kind of person who gains without effort and pretends to be arrogant, but..."

Schiller looked at Clark with eye contact. After Clark noticed his eye contact, his voice slowly disappeared, and he looked at Schiller's eyes, waiting for him to speak.

"I understand what you said," Schiller turned over the medical record book and continued, "You are different from ordinary people and have abilities beyond them. When you accidentally show this ability, you stand at a high position in society."

"People in the same field must work harder than you to barely touch your position, and even they may never be able to do it in their lifetime. You think this is unfair to them."

"But you also feel wronged by their malice towards you, because this is not something you can control. Although you have abilities beyond ordinary people, you also have your own troubles. You feel that they cannot understand you and only think that you are a jerk who does not cherish your talent."

"You can't openly declare this special ability, maybe to protect yourself, or maybe to protect your family. This leads to a dead end, and no one can get positive emotions from this situation."...

Clark nodded, indicating that Schiller's summary was correct. He seemed to have a lot more to say, but considering Schiller's identity, he decided to swallow those ramblings back into his stomach.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Schiller looked at Clark's eyes and said.

Clark nodded, and then Schiller asked, "When you first discovered that you had abilities beyond ordinary people, were you happy or frightened?"

"Frightened," Clark answered quickly, without thinking. He said, "When I first discovered that my strength was amazing, I was scared and thought I had a terminal illness!"

"How old were you then?"

"Uh...I don't remember, but I should be under ten years old? It seems to be when I was helping my father move hay into the warehouse.""Although you were not mentally mature at that time, it also shows that before that, you lived in a relatively innocent humanity society environment."

"Yes, at that time, there were no comics in our town. My only reading material was the newspaper that was delivered once a week, which only talked about things happening in Metropolis."

"When you first used this power to gain benefits, did you feel ecstatic or proud?"

Clark tried to recall and then shook his head and said, "I remember when I helped my father push his tractor out of the mud pit, I was a little happy, but far from ecstatic."

Schiller didn't say anything and continued to ask, "If you were sure that this ability could make you rule the world, would you do it?"

Clark shook his head and asked in confusion, "Why would I want to rule the world?"

"Have you ever fantasized about using your special abilities to rule the world and gain the highest status, power, and wealth?"

Clark thought carefully and said, "My mother often tells me that people who want to rule the world are villains. They drag many innocent people into wars to achieve their evil plans. I have no good feelings for such people and don't want to become one of them."

Schiller rubbed his forehead and looked at certain data recorded in the medical record book, sighed, and asked the last question:

"Do you think you are a god who came to do good deeds in the world, or just a good person who happens to have superpowers?"

"I..." Faced with this question, Clark hesitated.

The light from the desk lamp shone on his profile, making his features more three-dimensional, and his eyes deeper. The reflection on his eyelashes was like starlight falling into the sea, trembling slightly because of his unsettled mood.

"Well, these questions don't necessarily require you to give an answer. You have a long time to think slowly."

"Or, when you make every decision, thinking about these questions will help you establish a stable personality."

Schiller closed the medical record book and said, "Psychological treatment is not about me asking you to answer, but the questions themselves are the answers I provide to you, a way of thinking that I offer to you."

"I like to encourage patients to find answers from their own thinking, rather than imposing certain thoughts on them."...

"What about you, Professor? If I ask you these questions, how would you answer?" Clark quickly captured the point of the matter.

Schiller raised his eyebrows, seeming to be very interested in Clark's reaction. He rubbed his chin and said, "I didn't expect you to be quite suitable for studying psychology."

Clark's mood finally improved a bit when he heard this. He said, "I said before that I am quite interested in psychology. I think observing other people's behavior and inferring their thoughts is a very interesting thing."

"So..." Clark looked at Schiller, wanting to hear his answer.

"The society we live in now is built by ordinary people. The reason why ordinary people build such a society is complex due to historical reasons, but one reason is that individual abilities are not enough. They need to cooperate with each other to survive in the wilderness."

"Therefore, in the process of building society, people have obtained different social divisions of labor due to different specialties."

"But reversing this theory can also be seen as individual humanity cannot be omnipotent. Because individual strength is weak, it needs to be divided into different social divisions of labor to improve efficiency and survive."

"If humanity can live without eating or sleeping, or have infinite strength like you, or have endless wisdom, then every individual in humanity can adapt to any job, and survival is no longer a problem. Then society may be different."

"You are not adapting to this society because this society itself is built by creatures weaker than you. Everything here is within their imagination, and their imagination is based on their own abilities.""It's completely normal to feel out of place. Just like putting a person in a society of wild animals, they would definitely feel out of place."

"If you live in a society composed of beings stronger than you, you would feel that sacrificing certain traits of yourself is only natural."

"For example, the disadvantaged groups in society may be more willing to sacrifice their dreams and do more practical work, even if they don't like it."

"But in your case, it's the opposite. Everything in this society is weaker than you. When you are in a position of power, you instinctively feel that such sacrifices don't exist. Since I am so strong, I should have it all. But in reality, it doesn't work that way."

"Above the standard line and below the standard line, it's the same. If you want to fit into a normal society, sacrifices must be made."

"So, when I use my special abilities to gain an advantage, I don't feel ecstatic. The reason is that in the process of using this special ability, you inherently place yourself above the standard line. While gaining interest, you will inevitably sacrifice certain things."

"The gained interest is obvious, but the sacrifices are not easily seen until they accumulate and result in a result that is difficult to satisfy."

"So, every time I use this ability, I am well aware that it is an exchange. I don't feel proud of it."...

"Zweig said that all fategifts have already been priced in the dark."

Clark, while pondering, said, "So... the advantage I gained in the long-distance race by using my abilities comes at the cost of changes in the attitudes of those around me."

Clark frowned and said, "But I don't need to gain an advantage in the long-distance race, and I didn't gain any interest from it."

"That's because you are not someone who seeks fame and fortune. Just think about it, if it were someone chasing after fame and fortune, being able to casually run and become a world champion, gaining both fame and fortune, and enjoying the applause of the audience in the stands, wouldn't that be the best gift for them?"

"True," Clark nodded. He thought for a moment and continued, "So, before using my superpowers to do something, I should think about the interest I can gain and the cost I need to pay?"

"What do you want the most?" Schiller asked another philosophical question.

"I..." Clark hesitated for a moment. This question is a bit too broad for anyone. He said, "I don't know about the future, but right now, I want to go home and eat the pie my mom made, chat with my dad, or help out on the farm. Basically, just relax."

Clark could be said to be straightforward. He continued, "Well... I can do all of that right now. For example, I can fly out of this window immediately and then fly back home."

"No, I can't do that. I can't explain to those two weirdos how I disappeared. I feel like if they start targeting me, something bad might happen."

"And besides, there are rules at school. They might check the dorms tonight, and I don't want to get in trouble. Also, if my mom and dad find out that I ran out of school, they would be very angry."

Clark immediately shook his head repeatedly and said, "Forget it, I'll go back a little later. The holidays are still long anyway."

After saying these words, he stood still and pondered for a moment, then said, "Wow, I feel like things are becoming clearer."

"Originally, I was struggling with this for a long time. I thought, it's not my fault that there's a snowstorm. It wouldn't hurt to use my abilities to go home for a while."

"Heaven's Descent"

"But now, thinking about the consequences, I'll endure a little longer."

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 437: Metropolis Suspicion (Twenty-One)