Superhero? Superstar!

Steelclaw Man was dead. This wasn't the first superhero Qi Li had killed. At first, when he'd just transmigrated here, he'd thought he'd landed in one of DC's obscure numbered universes. Superman had simply become Homelander, Wonder Woman had been swapped out for Queen Maeve, and Aquaman had turned into Deep Sea. Then, as he flipped through all sorts of video news, he discovered that this world actually had things like Soldier Boy—a Captain America analog who'd been hugely popular during WWII and the Cold War; Countess Crimson, who compared to the Scarlet Witch was quite a bit flatter in figure; a Spider-Man relative with big eye lenses on his mask; the Hulk's sister, who'd repeatedly left her boyfriends wrecked below the belt; and many other Marvel elements besides. Not only that. Seeing that the superheroes of this world were no longer unlicensed violent vigilantes, but had become superstars adored by the world and forever under the flashing lenses, that many of them not only made films and TV dramas but also endorsed all kinds of advertising products, and operated entirely under an entertainment-first mentality, he realized that he had transmigrated into a completely different—more precisely, more real—superhero world. Unlike the impeccably righteous superheroes of Marvel and DC, the superheroes here were so frank it was almost frightening. "With great power comes great responsibility?" For superheroes of Steelclaw Man's ilk, that was simply an enormous joke. Just as well. Qi Li felt no psychological burden killing these people, and could enjoy the taste of constantly growing stronger with a clear conscience. At first, his superpower's manifestation was nothing more than plain, unremarkable flight—and the standard-issue super defense shared by most superheroes in this world, the kind that made them unafraid of bullets. After he deliberately and secretly killed several superheroes whose morals had badly slipped, he successively gained super strength and psychic shielding, and every one of his superpower stats went up. As for the origin of the superhero title "Bronze," it was merely the result of him, at the suggestion of his management team and the expensively hired stylist, specially putting on a blue-and-gold battle suit and carrying a bronze sword (whose blade was actually made of hard steel alloy). His superpowers had nothing to do with "Bronze" itself. There was no help for it—the competitive pressure on superheroes in this world was even greater than on the ordinary stars of Hollywood. Faced with box-office flops, plummeting approval ratings, fading into obscurity, and many other harsh realities, quite a few superheroes had gone bankrupt as a result. Though relying on their superpowers, these people wouldn't sink below the point of ruin. But compared to their past lives of dazzling luxury, it was absolutely a world apart. Qi Li's superpowers had no impressive external display, so to stand out among the many superheroes, he naturally had to find another way. As for whether he himself had also veered off course on the path of being a superhero, he could only say: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Who would turn their back on stacks and stacks of cash? Besides, the feeling of being adored by tens of thousands really was quite nice. Surely no one actually thought he spent most of his day fighting crime and protecting the public? There was actually one thing Steelclaw Man had said that was right. Some people in America really were pretty damn stupid. It turned out that Qi Li's team was very professional, and so was he. In addition, the production team that filmed his first solo movie was very professional as well. This was how, upon his debut on the big screen, he achieved the impressive result of grossing 100 million at the box office. After all, superhero movies were all the rage right now, and seriously homogenized. Aside from the Super Seven, which had a massive fanbase to prop it up, it was extremely difficult for other superheroes to make a film grossing over 100 million. Qi Li had achieved such a result right from the start. No wonder a reporter had just asked him whether he had any intention of joining the Super Seven. If it were Steelclaw Man, whose popularity had obviously declined sharply, no one would ask him at all. As the most popular superhero organization in this world, the Super Seven was the equivalent of Marvel's Avengers and DC's Justice League. Of course Qi Li was interested. After all, it would greatly boost his market value. But there was one thing. "I hear Homelander doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, doesn't do drugs, doesn't party, doesn't gamble—more saintly than a saint. Under his watch, some things are a bit hard to get done." Qi Li thought this, then shook his head. There was no point overthinking something that wasn't even taking shape yet. Right now there was still some wrap-up work to finish. This time, having killed Steelclaw Man, Qi Li thought it over and decided not to distribute the newly gained power evenly across all his abilities, but to pour all of it into super defense. He'd finally figured it out. In this era where so many superheroes held sway and all kinds of bizarre superpowers flourished, being able to fight wasn't the most crucial thing—having the hardest body, being able to hold out to the end and be the last one laughing was what mattered. Soon, though there was no numerical readout, Qi Li could still clearly feel his skin hardness, muscle strength, bone density, and so on—from his eyelids and eyeballs to his internal organs—his whole body, inside and out, was being comprehensively reinforced in defense. He tested the Steelclaw Man's pair of steel claws, stabbing them with full force into his own arm. After five or six seconds of deadlock, with a burst of sizzling, they only barely pierced his skin and got lodged in his muscle. Qi Li pulled the steel claws out, and the newly gained self-healing immediately kicked in. In an instant, the wound on his arm recovered as good as new, without a trace of a flaw. "Not bad." Qi Li, whose self-preservation ability had taken another step forward, nodded in satisfaction. He looked at Steelclaw Man's corpse on the ground. Next was to handle the aftermath. But before that, there were still some loose ends to tie up. Qi Li shot up into the sky. With a "bang," he smashed headfirst through the factory ceiling and flew up high. He stood suspended in midair, looking down over everything below. One sweep of his gaze, and he quickly found the Black gang members who hadn't run far yet. These witnesses couldn't be allowed to escape. Qi Li's gaze was cold, and he immediately dove down. Within a few breaths, the rhythmic cries of "fuck you" rose again. In the time that followed, Qi Li turned into a diligent porter, and over the course of his back-and-forth flights, carried all the corpses of the Black gang members back to the factory. This was their secret ice-manufacturing base, and there were a few barrels of oil set in the corner—which conveniently saved him some trouble. A few minutes later. Raging flames rose from within the factory, quickly engulfing Steelclaw Man and the corpses of the Black gang members, and finally covering the entire factory. Qi Li looked at the blaze and smiled faintly. Steelclaw Man had discovered an ice-manufacturing den and, in a life-and-death struggle with the criminals, had unfortunately fallen. With the last of his strength, he'd detonated the oil barrels and perished together with the criminals. A death this heroic—this fitting for a superhero—counted as letting him off easy. As for whether the outside world would question it: Steelclaw Man was already dead. Whether it was Vought Group or the Los Angeles city government, a superhero who died in the line of duty undoubtedly brought far greater economic benefits than any other manner of death. What's more, Qi Li still had the video he'd recorded of Steelclaw Man. Even if someone really did keep digging and eventually uncovered the truth, he still had a trump card, didn't he? Boom! Something else inside the factory seemed to catch fire, and even larger flames shot straight into the sky. Qi Li took one last look, then rose into the air and flew off into the distance.