Chapter 34: Rushing to Meet the Deadline
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Chapter 34: Rushing to Meet the Deadline
In the real world, it was early morning.
Walking along the dimly lit street illuminated by streetlights, Colin, who had narrowly escaped a disaster, made his way to the Messenger Newspaper office.
It was just a little past four in the morning, and the sky was hazy, devoid of any hint of brightness. The quiet streets appeared particularly desolate.
As he passed by a row of benches, homeless people wrapped in newspapers lay asleep. White and black individuals squeezed onto a single bench, without any gaps in between.
When a person is impoverished to the point of indifference, there is no room for discrimination.
The impact of the Great Depression on black people was slightly smaller compared to the white population of this era because they were born into poverty, and their daily lives were not much different from the Great Depression itself.
When a person is impoverished enough, the Great Depression no longer harms them.
Walking past rows of homeless people wrapped in "Hoover blankets," Colin's footsteps resounded loudly on the quiet street. The homeless people on the benches shifted their bodies and muttered a few words, but not a single person was willing to open their eyes and glance at him. They had finally escaped the torment of hunger and poverty and entered the realm of dreams, unwilling to be awakened.
As he walked through the deserted streets, the remaining path became more familiar.
Passing through the deserted shop-lined street, Colin halted his steps in front of the old newspaper office at the street corner, illuminated by the dim light of the streetlamp.
He took out the key from his pocket, inserted it into the lock, and with a creaking sound accompanying the turn of the doorknob, he pushed open the door of the Messenger Newspaper office.
Click!
He pressed the switch, and the light inside the office shone through the glass, casting its reflection on the road surface.
Taking off his coat and hat, Colin walked confidently to the stove, picked up a piece of charcoal, and placed it inside. He then put a kettle on top.
While waiting for the water to boil, Colin didn't remain idle.
He sat down at the desk, reached into the drawer, took out some writing paper, and filled the inkwell with ink from the pen.
Looking at the blank paper in front of him, he took a deep breath, picked up the pen, and immersed himself in the intense creative process.
...
"...Perhaps you should try to socialize with girls more instead of being engrossed in those comics. They won't bring you any girls, you know..."
"But at least they won't deceive me..."
At six in the morning, Old John and Young John appeared together at the entrance of the newspaper office.
"When you left yesterday, did you lock the door?"
Old John took out the key and inserted it into the keyhole, but before he could turn it, the door of the newspaper office easily swung open.
Seeing this, Old John furrowed his brows and asked his son, who was standing behind him, with concern, "I remember I locked it."
Upon seeing the door being pushed open, Young John quickly spoke up to assure him, "I swear!"
"Your words mean nothing. Now, you'd better pray that nothing has been stolen from the office..."
Quietly sighing, Old John said to his helpless son, before reaching out with a worried expression and pushing open the door of the newspaper office.
Contrary to their expectations, the scene of the office being ransacked did not unfold before them.
Instead, the two men saw Colin engrossed in his work inside the office.
"Good morning, both of you."
Hearing the commotion from Old John and Young John outside the newspaper office, Colin paused his brush, looked up, and greeted the two at the door. At the same time, he reached for the cup on the table and emptied the coffee inside in one gulp.
"Good morning, boss."
As Colin appeared in the newspaper office, Old John and Young John exchanged a glance and then replied with a belated response.
"Boss, how come you're here?"
Upon entering the newspaper office, Old John couldn't help but comment on the scattered sketches on his desk.
"So early..."
"Suddenly, I had some inspiration, and to prevent it from slipping away, I decided to come early."
Faced with the inquiry, Colin naturally couldn't tell Old John and Young John about the crisis he had encountered in the alternate world. He casually provided a reason.
"But your appearance suggests that it's more than just arriving a little early."
Old John murmured as his gaze briefly paused on the coffee cup and kettle in front of Colin.
"Is that so? I didn't pay much attention to the time."
Shaking his head, Colin suppressed the drowsiness that emerged in his mind.
Colin looked at the almost completed sketches in his hand and stood up to stretch his stiff body.
During Colin's break, Young John's attention was already drawn to the content of the sketches before him.
Without a doubt, the table held the latest installment of the "Superman" series. In this issue of the comic, a villain named Prankster made an appearance and committed crimes in a rather peculiar manner.
In the opening panel of the comic, Prankster led his henchmen into a bank, but instead of robbing it, he forcefully stuffed a lot of money into the bank, even distributing money to passersby. Because his "crime" was so unique, even Superman was powerless to stop it.
Because there were no victims in this "crime," not even the bank that was supposed to be robbed.
Due to the previous distinctive robbery, Prankster had gained significant notoriety. Soon after, he embarked on his second crime, leading his henchmen into another bank. However, this time, he switched from giving money to actually robbing it.
Young John's attention was immediately captured by Prankster, the extraordinary and independent villain in the comic.
Within the newspaper office, he stared wide-eyed at the content of the sketches, only averting his gaze when the story reached the depiction of Prankster's second crime. It wasn't that Young John didn't want to continue reading; it was simply because the comic's content ended there.
"So, will Superman arrive in time to stop the crime?"
"What kind of confrontation will unfold between Prankster and Superman?"
"Does Prankster have a way to defeat Superman? No, that's impossible. Superman is so powerful; Prankster can never be his match..."
Although the plot of "Superman" in the comic ended there, Young John couldn't help but imagine the subsequent storyline.
The more he imagined, the deeper his admiration for Colin grew within his heart.
Who could have predicted that the birth of the "Superman" comic was simply the result of a casual conversation between himself and his boss, Colin Luper, in the newspaper office?
...
"...At that time, my boss, Mr. Colin Luper, asked me what I was reading. 'Dick Tracy,' I told him... I saw Mr. Colin Luper fall silent for a few minutes in the newspaper office. Then, he told us that we would serialize the comic in the newspaper, and that's how Superman was born. Everything happened so suddenly..." — Excerpt from "1931 Superman and Me" by John Walker
Author: John Walker
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