"Reporter?"
Alex raised an eyebrow, and an intrigued, meaningful smile appeared on his face.
As expected.
Although he had intervened earlier, the general trajectory of Clark Kent's fate still hadn't changed.
Just as anticipated, Clark Kent would go on to become a reporter at the Daily Planet, same as in the original timeline.
Then he would meet the woman destined for him—Lois Lane.
And Metropolis, under Superman's protection, would become the safest city in the world.
"Not bad,"
"Very, very good."
Alex nodded. "If you put on a pair of glasses, you really do look like a reporter."
"Really?" Clark Kent laughed. "That's exactly what I think too."
"And you?"
After talking about himself, Clark Kent shifted the topic back to Alex. "How long are you staying in Smallville this time?"
"Probably not very long," Alex shook his head, answering honestly.
In the past, the only reason he stayed in Smallville was because it was Superman's hometown, where the system was more likely to issue missions.
Now that Superman was moving away, this place no longer had any value.
That said, Superman would need some time to adapt after moving to Metropolis.
So Alex temporarily set his next destination as Amnesty Bay.
That was, after all, Aquaman Arthur's hometown.
If Alex wanted to find the Sacred Trident, that was where he had to start.
The Sacred Trident was the weapon of the first king of Atlantis, forged from the legendary Poseidon Steel, capable of granting its wielder the power to rule the oceanic empire.
Clearly, it was no ordinary artifact.
"So where will you go?" Clark Kent asked curiously.
"Hard to say. I'll just go wherever fate takes me."
Alex spread his hands, not revealing the truth to Clark Kent.
Clark didn't press further.
The two continued eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing.
After a thoroughly enjoyable time as host and guest, Alex left the Kent farm—but he didn't leave Smallville immediately.
Clark Kent had been busy moving these days, and given their current relationship, Alex naturally planned to leave only after seeing him off.
After doing some simple repairs on the house and renting it out at a low price, along with handling other miscellaneous matters, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside the Kent farmyard, a pickup truck was loaded to the brim with all sorts of belongings.
Those were all the possessions of Clark Kent and his mother.
Alex's figure appeared, just as expected.
"Take care on the road, Clark," Alex said, seeing him off.
"I will," Clark nodded heavily. "Once I'm settled in Metropolis, I'll contact you."
"Of course," Alex nodded as well. "Alright, don't keep Martha waiting."
Clark waved to Alex, then turned and climbed into the pickup, starting the engine.
Put-put-put!
The truck slowly drove away before Alex's eyes.
Martha, sitting in the passenger seat, also smiled and waved at Alex.
Alex smiled back in response.
Under his gaze, the pickup grew smaller and smaller, until it finally disappeared.
From this moment on,
Smallville became the past for Superman, and a brand-new chapter in Metropolis was about to begin.
Since that was the case…
"I should get going too."
Alex made his decision.
Whoosh!
Stepping onto his invisible hoverboard, Alex willed it into motion and shot straight up into the sky, vanishing into the air.
…
Crash—crash—crash!
Amnesty Bay, Maine.
Under the sea breeze, waves continuously crashed against the rocks along the shore.
In the distance, seagulls occasionally flew over the surface of the sea.
Everything looked peaceful and serene.
An "Eastern-faced youth," barefoot, strolled across the soft sandy beach, enjoying the slightly fishy sea breeze.
"This really is a town completely cut off from the world."
After scanning the entire seaside town with his super senses, Alex couldn't help but sigh softly.
He had to admit—this place was truly remote.
Alex still remembered that in Justice League, Batman had to ride a horse just to find this place.
"Another glass of whiskey."
Inside the town's bar, a burly man with a massive build—more impressive than a professional bodybuilder—was drinking as if it were water, gulping it down in one go.
Glass after glass, pouring and drinking on his own.
That man was none other than the legendary Aquaman, Arthur Curry.
The town wasn't big, and Alex found Aquaman almost immediately.
But to be honest, Alex had no intention of approaching Aquaman, because Aquaman wasn't the target of this trip.
Although Vulko of Atlantis had been secretly training Arthur all along and telling him many stories about Atlantis, Arthur's knowledge of Atlantis was still extremely limited.
Let alone something like the Sacred Trident.
Alex's true purpose in coming to Amnesty Bay was actually Vulko—or Princess Mera and other Atlanteans.
When it came to finding the Sacred Trident, people like Vulko were undoubtedly far more valuable to Alex.
So, for Alex, Arthur Curry's only current significance was helping him locate Vulko.
Alex remembered very clearly that in the movie, it was Vulko who held the key to finding the location of the Sacred Trident.
Of course—
According to the timeline, the events of Aquaman took place after Justice League.
Arthur only officially fought for the throne against his half-brother after teaming up with the other Justice League members to defeat Steppenwolf.
Whether Vulko had already found that crucial "key" at this point was something even Alex couldn't say for sure.
But no matter what, it was still a lead.
"In that case, I'll just relax and enjoy this seaside town for now."
Alex quickly made up his mind.
After living long-term in a place like Krakoa—modern, even futuristic—coming to such a primitive seaside town once in a while to change the scenery actually seemed pretty nice.
So Alex began leisurely wandering around the town as a tourist.
Hm?
This place is…?
Unknowingly, Alex suddenly felt that the scenery before him looked somewhat familiar.
He looked up and examined it.
Mm—sure enough, this really was the lighthouse.
In other words, this was where Aquaman's father had met the Queen of Atlantis.
That kind of luck was simply outrageous.
In a male-oriented web novel, this would absolutely be protagonist-level treatment.
After muttering a brief complaint to himself, Alex withdrew his gaze and continued his "small-town sightseeing tour."
After thoroughly enjoying the scenery of the seaside town, Alex found the best inn in the area.
With a wave of his hand, he rented the most luxurious room available.
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