Cui Geng suddenly understood Mr. Pei’s intentions.

“Just like ‘Struggle,’ it’s actually reflecting the deep contradictions in Western society, analyzing these social phenomena. It tears away the warm and beautiful facade used to cover up Western works, which is why it creates such profound resonance!”

For a long time, the domestic cultural industry had been relatively weak.

Whether it was games, movies, novels, or even ideology in certain fields, they were all in a state of being comprehensively suppressed by the Western world.

The reasons were multifaceted, but mainly due to historical legacy issues. Although many people were unwilling to admit it, this phenomenon definitely existed and was very serious.

Western world’s cultural output had always existed and produced very complex impacts.

Of course, it couldn’t be denied that Western culture contained some positive, affirmative elements, and some films did indeed inspire people.

But many people therefore mistakenly believed that everything about Western culture was good and perfect, even developing affection for everything Western due to the beautification in these cultural works—this was a typical case of being brainwashed by cultural works’ embellishment.

For instance, many people believed that in America, everyone lived in mansions with swimming pools, houses were cheap, healthcare was free, even dishwashers could live the lives that Chinese people dreamed of—this was clearly a misunderstanding.

As a developed country, America’s overall standard of living was definitely better, but it was only America for the wealthy. People in the middle to lower social strata and the bottom still had very difficult lives.

But Chinese people had long been exposed to massive American cultural exports, and under the packaging and beautification of these cultural works, many developed the illusion that “the Western world is paradise on earth.”

An important reason for “Struggle’s” success was that it shattered this illusion, allowing more Chinese people to view the Western world with a more objective perspective, essentially deconstructing the “ideal state” constructed in Western cultural works.

Cui Geng instantly realized—was Mr. Pei telling him to write superhero genre with the same intention?

Not to write a clichéd superhero story conforming to Western mainstream values, but to deconstruct Western mainstream values like “Struggle,” writing a story that reveals deeper issues and shatters some people’s illusions?

Once accepting this premise, Cui Geng found many things aligned!

Why did Mr. Pei say it was fine even if these superheroes were written dead or made to suffer worse than death?

Because this wasn’t meant to be a traditional superhero story. The superheroes in this story didn’t represent fairness, justice, and goodness, but something else, so their deaths naturally wouldn’t greatly repulse audiences.

Cui Geng subconsciously thought of a question: If superheroes existed, would they definitely act like in the films?

Of course, human nature had good and evil. When humans gained superhero powers, those who were kind became superheroes while those evil became super villains.

But would benevolent superheroes definitely persist as most stories described?

If given even bolder settings—if superhero powers weren’t innate or from mutation but acquired through other means, what would superhero stories become?

Just as the West had been tirelessly exporting their “freedom” and “democracy,” was this seemingly perfect system truly perfect?

There seemed to be a wonderful similarity.

Cui Geng suddenly found the inspiration he wanted. He almost impatiently went to the work area, opened a new document, and wrote down the story background that suddenly appeared in his mind!

…

The story, like other superhero tales, takes place in America.

But this superhero story differs from others, because in this story, superheroes’ powers weren’t innate, nor gained through mutation or money.

About two hundred years ago, America’s first native superhero appeared.

His superpower was drawing strength from people’s support and trust, and once people’s support and trust diminished, his powers would weaken, even disappear entirely.

But this superhero possessed many virtues like justice, integrity, courage—during major historical events, this superhero played crucial roles, saving countless lives, deeply beloved by the American people.

Thus, his power grew stronger, not only becoming a symbol of American spirit but also shouldering the responsibility of maintaining world peace. Americans affectionately called him “Captain World,” believing his existence maintained world peace and protected humanity from war.

But even the strongest superhero would age and die.

Seventy years ago, over one hundred years old Captain World was frail with age. He still had people’s trust and support, still possessed powerful abilities, but his body could no longer sustain using these powers.

American politicians, media, tycoons, and various figures visited the hospital to see Captain World, hoping he would choose a successor from many carefully selected candidates to inherit Captain World’s powers and identity.

Captain World saw through their schemes immediately: clearly, different factions were coveting these world-changing powers, wanting their cultivated pawns to inherit Captain World’s abilities and position. If these powers fell into evil hands, the consequences would be unthinkable.

So, Captain World didn’t give his powers to any “successor” carefully selected by politicians, tycoons, or other forces. Instead, he spread his powers across all of America, giving every American the potential to become a superhero.

The strength of this power depended on the support and trust of the American people.

Captain World firmly believed only those with virtues like integrity, justice, kindness could gain most Americans’ support, trust, and love.

While this approach didn’t concentrate all his powers in one person to maximize their effect, it at least ensured most powers were controlled by kind, upright people, while not falling entirely into one villain’s hands.

Many people, including politicians, tycoons, and media, tried dissuading Captain World, but he remained unmoved. Clearly, these people’s sweet words were merely to monopolize Captain World’s powers—they weren’t trustworthy.

Captain World believed all Americans would make the right choice.

After Captain World’s death, Americans deeply mourned him, building enormous statues and monuments to commemorate this first and most respected superhero.

This is the story background, and the story truly begins nearly seventy years after Captain World’s death.

The protagonist is Phil Simons, a carefree rich kid who splashes money daily.

Phil Simons’ father, Ryan Simons, is a tycoon ranked around 150th in America, with $4.2 billion in personal wealth. Starting from real estate, he owns hotels and office buildings in many cities worldwide.

Like other rich kids born with silver spoons, Phil Simons is physically perfect. He’s 31 years old, unmarried, 6’4″, with standard Caucasian features, handsome face, and model-like physique.

He’s a Harvard graduate with JD and MBA degrees, currently CEO of Simons Media Company, named by Fortune magazine as one of “40 Most Influential Business People Under 40.”

Though his Harvard degrees were secured through family donations, this wasn’t shameful among America’s top wealthy families—it was common and widespread.

Besides driving a supercar with one hand, Phil Simons had no special abilities. His company was managed by professional advisors yet still teetered on bankruptcy multiple times.

But none of this mattered, since Phil Simons’ media company was just a drop in the ocean compared to the Simons family’s real estate empire. Even if his company went bankrupt ten times, it wouldn’t shake the Simons Group’s foundation.

Rich kids came in many types, and Phil Simons was clearly the unmotivated kind.

He managed his company and expanded his network, but more often lived a luxurious life of wine, parties, and yacht gatherings.

For him, he didn’t need to worry about anything—his family fortune was enough for him to live extravagantly forever.

Until one day, his life changed because of superheroes.

Phil Simons made up his mind—he would use any means necessary to become a superhero, not just any superhero but the strongest one. All superheroes standing in his way must be completely eliminated.

…

Cui Geng quickly wrote an opening.

The entire story background, including the protagonist’s character design, Cui Geng quickly settled on it all—everything came naturally.

But exactly why Phil Simons was determined to become a superhero and how he operated remained unclear to Cui Geng.

He wasn’t worried at all though—since this was a buyout system, Cui Geng had no creative pressure. He just needed to leisurely accumulate materials and create meticulously.

Next, Cui Geng planned to watch all superhero movies, TV shows, comics, anti-superhero works, and works reflecting American politics to collect materials.

These works were plentiful—even watching eight hours daily at high intensity, it would take at least over a week to get through most of them. Whether he could find enough inspiration or write a decent story outline remained unknown.

But Cui Geng felt inexplicably confident because this genre was personally chosen by Mr. Pei!