[Western Crossover] Hey, That's Cheating! Isn't the Simulator Just a Game?

Lex Luthor had always kept a secret: he knew the world was just a game, and he was one of its players.

Thinking back to those days, his best buddy had sweet-talked and tricked him into buying the trash game Supervillain Simulator at full price, just in time for the summer sale, despite its 90% discount. From then on, he lived the life of a wage slave, working at his day job by day and at his in-game job by night, grinding away in the real world during the day and the virtual world at night.

In real life, he had to deal with superpowered people who got so full of themselves that they thought they could use their abilities to pursue the evil goal of "I don't eat beef." He also had to handle aliens who illegally entered Earth and treated it like a public restroom they could come and go from as they pleased. In the game, he also had to deal with an alien who had superpowers, had illegally entered the country, and wanted to use those powers to take over law enforcement on Earth.

At this very moment, just as in those days, Lex felt his vision going black again and again. Day and night blurred together in the game, and it was getting genuinely hard to tell the game from reality.

The one saving grace was that there was an NPC in the game he really liked. In fact, he could say that this NPC accounted for 70% of his enjoyment of the game.

The NPC's character model was great. He wasn't some top-tier hunk or breathtaking beauty, but seeing him in black-rimmed glasses and a plaid shirt made Lex feel a sense of familiarity.

The NPC had a great personality. Most people might think he seemed timid, with his hunched shoulders and slouch when he was at work, but Lex knew he simply didn't get involved in pointless conflicts. In reality, the NPC was decisive yet gentle.

The NPC had a great job. Lex didn't like tabloid reporters, but he had always respected investigative journalists. The real ones put themselves in danger to uncover the truth, which was why their death rate was so high.

In short... well, Lex was worried that the poor little reporter NPC would die in the middle of a battle between superpowered people, so he kept doing his best to look after the little reporter in his own way.

However, there were two things that kept bothering Lex.

First, Superman's approval rating was always sky-high. It had even shot up to +1500, but to get the ending for the first playthrough, his approval rating had to be negative.

Second, he streamed the game online, but for some reason, every time he complained about Superman's approval rating being too high, people in the chat would spam him with a bunch of weird reaction images.

He soon found out why.

Lex saw the little reporter Clark, who had shyly taken off his glasses in front of him and smiled as he said he was Superman. Lex was so startled that he yanked the computer's power cord out of the wall.

You evil alien! How dare you laugh at me!

From that day on, there was no doubt that his actions against aliens were driven by even more personal grudges. After relentless effort (and endless wails from his livestream viewers), he finally lowered the alien's approval rating to -600, reaching the ending threshold... only to learn that the game's world was actually real, and that the two worlds were about to merge. The alien, whose approval rating was now -600, was coming to find him, bringing his whole family along.

#My ex says his son is mine and wants me to take responsibility. Can I just get my boss to put me under investigation and then flee somewhere beyond the solar system to hide?#

Reader advisory:

This is all your fault, group chat! If you hadn't egged me on, I wouldn't have written this thing!

Anyway, this is a tale of love and hate between Luthor, an old-school civil servant, and a Kryptonian who was abandoned after being seduced (allegedly). For the specific setup, read the story.

Lex's real name in the real world is Ken Yunlai. Those who know, know.

Theme: Even when playing games, watch your rice-line.