American comics farmer: start by adopting the villain savior.

Chapter 248 Dio: Do ​​you have anything to say? Dio: Nothing more to say, act now!
It was raining heavily.

Interstate 70 winds lonely through the boundless wilderness.

A streak of silver light carried two figures pressed tightly together, cutting through the rain and speeding through it.

It has to be admitted.
At first, Selena was completely immersed in a romantic illusion that intertwined rebellion and pleasure.

She lifted the helmet visor, letting the cold raindrops hit her face, feeling the exhilarating speed, and tightly hugged Dio's strong waist, pressing her cheek against his slightly damp back. The roar of the engine and the howling wind seemed to be the whole world.

In this fast-moving, isolated, and cramped space, it seemed that only she and this dangerously addictive man remained.

Rain, darkness, a frantic, desperate speed...

It has all the elements, just like the doomed couple she had seen in old movies.
A tiny thrill quietly sprouted in her heart, twitching up like the tip of a cat's tail.

Although he said no, his body betrayed him, and he eventually carried her into the crazy rainy night.

only.
This smug satisfaction and fleeting romantic fantasy quickly withered away.
Not right.

The air smelled wrong. It was no longer the familiar air of Gotham, a mixture of exhaust fumes, garbage, and a certain rusty smell. Instead, it carried the crisp, cool scent of earth, damp grass, and the wilderness.

The scenery along the roadside was completely different.

The chaotic warehouses and dim streetlights on the city's outskirts have long since disappeared, replaced by an endless wilderness visible when lightning flashes across the sky.

This isn't the way back to her apartment, or even any loop road around Gotham City!

They were truly leaving the city behind, heading towards the vast suburbs she had only ever gazed at from the top of high-rise buildings.

A chill ran through her head, shattering all of Selena's unrealistic fantasies.

惊慌
It began to engulf her little by little.

Where is he taking me?

Once a thought arises, it gives rise to countless wild speculations.

Was the body abandoned in the wilderness?

He finally got tired of me and decided to find some remote place to deal with me? Actually, he also handed Dinah over to Skandar to deal with?!
No...impossible
Putting aside the question of why Dio had to go through so much trouble to kill someone...
He had countless opportunities and places in Gotham.

As for kidnapping? Extortion?
What could she possibly have that would make him blackmail her?

She still doesn't understand her own background and remains a stray cat who makes a living by stealing and working at his club.

Surely it couldn't be some kind of ulterior motive?
For example, what kind of evil sacrificial rituals?

The thought sent a chill down Selena's spine. The rain blurred her vision, and the road ahead was shrouded in mist under the car headlights.

The unknown end is like a giant maw, waiting to devour her.

"Dio."

She spoke again, her voice carried away by the wind and rain, "Where...are you taking me?"

He felt the woman behind him clinging tightly to his back through her soaked clothes, and her arms stiffening involuntarily.

A hint of a smile flickered in Dior's eyes.

Instead of accelerating immediately, he maintained a steady speed, letting the roar of the engine and the whistling wind become the main background noise between the two.

Then she lazily turned her head and said jokingly, "What, even the fearless catwoman is worried about being sold to some remote mountain village?"

Selena was taken aback by his words, and amidst her panic, she felt a surge of shame and anger at being completely seen through.

I couldn't help but punch his back hard, but it felt like punching a rock covered in wet leather. Apart from making my wrist go numb, he didn't budge.

"Stop talking nonsense! Dior! Where are you taking me?! This isn't the way home!"

"It's about going home," Dio chuckled, with an infuriatingly nonchalant air. "Didn't I say I was going home?"

"You!" Selena was furious, her arms tightening instinctively around Dior's waist, almost as if she wanted to strangle him. "Then you have to tell me where you're going! Where do you live?"

She stopped halfway through her sentence.

Images of black markets, secret laboratories, or even worse began to uncontrollably surface in my mind.

“My home?” Dio seemed to find her imagination quite amusing. “Don’t worry, it’s a very peaceful place, it’s just… sometimes it doesn’t smell very good.”

It smells bad?
Where do you live?
Selena was even more confused.

Waste treatment plant? Chemical plant? Or... a slaughterhouse?

"Is it your safe house?" she tentatively guessed.

"Ah"

Dior scoffed, “Much more 'interesting' than that.”

"Dior!"

Selena finally couldn't hold back any longer. She squirmed restlessly behind Dior, trying to express her protest and anxiety through body language. At the same time, she loosened her grip on his waist with one hand and started to tug at his clothes at the side. "Tell me now! Otherwise... otherwise I'll scream!"

"Scream."

Dior didn't care at all, and even encouraged, "Look at this desolate wilderness, with lightning and thunder. Who can hear it except the corn stalks? Or..."

He deliberately dragged out his words, with a wicked sense of humor.

"...Hoping for a perfectly timed storm to blow us both, car and all, back to Gotham?"

"Come home with me quietly, Ms. Selena."

Selena was completely out of options.

All resistance seemed to be extinguished by the torrential rain.

They couldn't win a fight, and they dared not run away; even their threats seemed so childish.
"Dio." She could only huff and puff as she hugged him tighter, burying her face in his back, letting the cold rain stream down his leather jacket onto her face. Her muffled voice came through: "...You're such a jerk."

After the words were spoken, the cat, whose fur had been standing on end, finally quieted down.
Although he didn't utter a word, and his entire being radiated a visible resentment...
Dior could even picture her puffed-out cheeks and her emerald eyes filled with indignation.

but.
Dior didn't care.

He certainly didn't act out of sudden kindness.

Send her home? That's a waste of time. I promised my father I would come home early every day.

Back to the Iceberg Club?

Her current disheveled state and tense nerves are of no help whatsoever.

His thoughts then clearly pointed to Smallwell, the farm that, in his mind at that moment, was like another battlefield.

The two new little brats in the house, Dante and Virgil.

With Old Deng gone, Clark, that big oaf, is playing the hero, Salafir is still a kid, and we should be thankful that God doesn't cause any trouble.

Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Martha are getting on in years... well, they still have some energy, but when it comes to those two, especially Dante, who's always crying like a demon, they're just running out of energy.

My father said
Specialized matters should be handled by specialists.

And the woman who is currently holding him tightly, cursing him as a bastard in her heart, is Selena Kyle.

A woman who grew up in the jungle of an orphanage in Gotham City, her natural control over children is more suitable for dealing with the current situation at home than her superpowers.

With her here tonight, at least I can be free from the endless crying and bottle wars, and even get a good night's sleep.

As for Selena's own wishes?

In Dio's dictionary, that was never a primary consideration. He could offer refuge from the chaos of Gotham tonight, and she would do the work.

That's fair enough.

Let this self-proclaimed clever stray cat experience what the 'cruelty' of the farm is like.

This is much more interesting than the sword fights in Gotham tonight.

A soft laugh dissipated in the wind and rain, and Dior picked up speed slightly again.

The darkness ahead seemed endless, with only occasional flashes of pale lightning tearing through the sky, briefly illuminating the boundless wasteland on both sides of the road before being swallowed up by the even darker night.

And right there in this curtain of rain.

Perhaps it was the extreme speed and the sense of isolation that made her lower her guard, or perhaps it was the rare silence of the man in front of her that provided a false sense of security.
Selena pressed her cheek against his slightly damp back.

She didn't care whether the man could hear her or not:
"To be honest, I don't really have a concept of home."

When I was a child…

The sound seemed somewhat ethereal and fragmented amidst the wind noise.
“I was raised by an alcoholic father. He… abused my mother for a long time.”

"Later...when I was very young, my mother...committed suicide."

"Later, my father went to jail for something else. I... became an unwanted burden and was thrown into an orphanage... the place where you saw me last time."

She talked on and on about the cold beds in the orphanage, the hardships of fighting for food, how she learned to read people's faces, how she used stolen trinkets to gain a little sense of security, how she made friends with Diana, and how she parted ways with Diana after being adopted...

These scars, which she would never normally show to others, were uncontrollably revealed on the back of a motorcycle speeding through the rainy night.

But Dio didn't respond at all; he simply kept a firm grip on the steering wheel.
Selena didn't know how much Dio had taken to heart; perhaps he simply disregarded her past.
But this outpouring of emotions still brought her a strange sense of relaxation.
It was as if some of those heavy memories of the past had been left behind by this speed, and some had been washed away by the rain.

She let out a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders, and her voice carried a hint of dependence that she herself was unaware of: "Thank you, Dior, for listening to me without interrupting me..."

"Wow——!"

Before she could finish speaking, Dior suddenly twisted the handlebars.

The motorcycle emitted a screeching sound and veered off the flat main road without warning. The wheels rolled over the muddy shoulder, causing a violent jolt, and it crashed into a field that stretched as far as the eye could see, shrouded in torrential rain, beside the road!
"what!"

Selena's scream was cut short by inertia, and she instinctively clung tightly to Dio's waist, pressing her entire body almost completely against his back.

The speed slowed down noticeably as the wheels rolled over the muddy dirt road.

All around were tall corn stalks and wheat fields, rustling in the wind and rain, forming a silent wall in the darkness that completely isolated the city's hustle and bustle from its dangers.

It was clearly a quiet and peaceful little village.
Seeing this completely unexpected scene, Selena couldn't help but peek out from behind, her voice filled with astonishment: "Where am I?"

"my home."

"Your home? Are you a wild man? Why are you living in a cornfield?"

"..."

Dior paused for a moment, as if he was trying his best to suppress something.

"Is this all your imagination can do? This is my family's farm."

"Oh~"

Selena drew out her words, her tone suddenly becoming unusually calm, "So it's your family's farm..."

This time, Dior was a little surprised.

He had anticipated all her reactions.
Shock, ridicule, or even greater panic.
But this kind of almost...comprehensible peace is definitely not included.

He tilted his head slightly, trying to catch her expression: "Aren't you surprised?"

She returned to her languid yet alluring demeanor, as if the panicked woman from just moments before had never existed.

Selena even chuckled softly, saying with a hint of smugness, "Not surprising at all~ I had already guessed these possible professions."

"You go to get off work and leave work on time every day, just like a clock."

"His lifestyle is so regular, unlike that of a Gotham native." "I've guessed a lot: aliens, demons, angels, butchers, fishermen, lumberjacks, forest rangers, and of course, farmers."

"Is that so?" Dio's voice betrayed doubt.

"certainly!!"

Selena wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, expressing her displeasure at his skepticism. Her incredibly soft body pressed even closer to his, her voice laced with a sly, self-righteous tone, "I'm not stupid! Do you think Catwoman only steals jewels?!"

Ok
Selena was honest with herself
Catwoman really only knows how to steal jewelry. And while she's at it, she's observing Dior.
So although she appeared calm on the surface, her heart was in turmoil.
farm?

Dior, the Golden Illusion of the Iceberg
His main job is actually... a farmer?!
This shocked her even more than discovering that he was an alien or a demon from hell!
The image of Dior wearing overalls, a straw hat, and driving a tractor flashed through her mind instantly... It was terrifying!
The stark contrast almost caused her to freeze up on the spot.

However, this shock quickly turned into a secret sense of triumph.

He knows my secret, and I know his background...

Does this count as... even things out to some extent?

more importantly.
I, Selena Kyle, am now being driven by him personally to his home, his secret hideout!

The king who was treasured by Elana Falcone, that canary in the Iceberg Club, and who thought he could have an advantage by being close to her, actually has his roots here!

And that canary
I doubt he's ever even gone out with Dior in Gotham Docklands.
Thinking of this, Selena could hardly contain her smile.

She felt as if she had inadvertently pried open the most hidden crack in a sturdy fortress, glimpsing the most unguarded true side of the 'king' hidden behind the throne.

This intimacy, almost like trespassing into forbidden territory, dispelled all her previous panic and unease, replacing it with an excitement mixed with adventurous thrills and a strange sense of superiority.

The motorcycle moved slowly forward, and Selena's eyes began to quickly scan everything in front of her.

The white wooden walls appeared somewhat darkened by the rain, but they were well-maintained. They looked particularly sturdy on a night of torrential downpour.

Not far away stood a huge red barn, and further away, the blades of an old-fashioned windmill slowly turned in the storm.

Everything is in order.

"Tsk..."

"It does look quite... decent."

To be honest, she had expected to see something more extraordinary, but instead it turned out to be a typical, even rustic, American suburban farm.

However, that's all
But when Selena's gaze passed over the wet lawn and settled on the light source emitting a dim, yellowish glow under the porch of the main house...
She was still stunned for a moment.

The lamp hung steadily beneath the beam of the porch.

The glass lampshade was wiped clean, and the soft light struggled to penetrate the rain, casting a small circle of warm light in the wet world.

It's not as dazzling as Gotham's neon lights, nor as cold and luxurious as the crystal chandeliers in the Iceberg Club.

It stood there quietly, stubbornly guarding this small patch of dryness and light in front of the door during this stormy night.

As if silently declaring
No matter how late it is, no matter how bad the weather is, there will always be a light left on for you.

A kind of experience she had rarely had in her life
An emotion called 'belonging' flowed silently through her body.

She was used to stealth in the dark, used to the solitude on the cold rooftops, used to seeking thrills in the midst of noise, but rarely felt this…

It merely 'exists'.
It can bring something that is almost gentle and comforting.
This feeling was somewhat unfamiliar to her, even a little disorienting.
She longed to shake off this inappropriate softness and re-arm herself with her cynical expression, but her gaze couldn't help but drift back to the lamp.
I suddenly had an urge to steal the light.
“Dio.” Selena’s arms tightened slightly around Dio as she whispered, “How big is your farm?”

"Ten thousand acres, I suppose."

"Oh, ten thousand acres, that's not bad."

".?"

"Take the young master?!"
-
In the kitchen, under the warm yellow light.

"The storm is so big outside, Aunt and Uncle Jonathan should just stay home! Sister Kayla and I will take good care of Virgil and Dante!"

Salafir's face was serious. He hung up the phone without giving Martha a chance to speak.

He turned around and looked at Kayla, who was skillfully preparing the baby bottles.

The girl is showing reassuring thoughtfulness at this moment.

She carefully adjusted the water temperature, her slender wrists gently shaking the bottle to dissolve the milk powder evenly. Her movements were so skillful that she didn't seem like a mountain girl, but rather like an experienced caregiver.

He even had time to nod gently to the anxious Salafir:

"The water temperature is just right, don't worry, Salafil."

But the boy who hung up the phone couldn't easily feel at ease.

Like a trapped little animal, he paced around the kitchen counter, worriedly asking, "Sister Kayla, do you think Virgil will starve?"

"Dante seemed to make a whimper just now, was he crying? We need to hurry..."

Kayla was amused by his grown-up demeanor and handed one of the warm baby bottles to Salafir's outstretched hand.

But when the two of them carried the perfectly warm baby bottles out of the kitchen and into the living room...
But the cradle was empty.

Because Virgil and Dante are flying
是 的
Literally, it means two little babies flying in the sky.
They were floating slowly, as if being supported by invisible clouds.

Instead of crying or making a fuss, they waved their little hands and feet, and Dante even chuckled, seemingly enjoying this wonderful 'flight'.

"God - all -!"

Sarafil turned angrily to the sofa.

Sure enough, he saw another version of himself with black hair and golden eyes.
She was lazily nestled in the soft sofa cushions, one leg casually crossed over the other. One hand was raised nonchalantly, radiating energy from its palm to connect with the two 'flying' babies in the air, while the other hand held a book with an antique cover.

He even let out a lazy yawn, his golden eyes full of impatience.

“You’ve abandoned Virgil and Dante again because you’re too lazy to do anything else!” Salafir accused.

Shen Du lazily lifted his eyelids, his golden pupils reflecting the characters on the pages of the book. He was reluctant to even spare a complete glance, and his tone remained arrogant.

"What are you yelling for, brother? Can't you see they're having a lot of fun?"

He paused, and as if to emphasize his nobility, added, "And I'm not doing this because I find it troublesome; I'm just granting them temporary freedom, escaping their cages, and broadening their infancy horizons."

"Think about how boring it is for them to always be stuck in the cradle."

Seeing Shen Du's self-righteous and righteous manner, as if he were the parenting guru, Salafir laughed in exasperation.

Even Kayla, standing next to her, couldn't help but facepalm, feeling utterly helpless at 'another Salafair's' parenting philosophy.

Glancing at the ticking clock on the wall, and pointing to her two younger brothers still slowly floating in the air, Salafir issued an ultimatum to the gods:

"Put them down now! Brother Dior will be back soon!"

However, upon hearing the word 'Dior'...
Instead of restraining himself, Shen Du seemed to have been provoked into a rebellious attitude.

He raised a brow with his golden eyes and let out a cold laugh: "Heh, with such a big storm outside, he might just stay in his 'kingdom' in Gotham tonight and not come back."

As he spoke, he deliberately made Virgil spin three times in the air as a provocation.

“Heh.” Salafir sneered, crossing his arms and a mocking smile on his face. “Whatever. Anyway, I’ve filmed your ‘outstanding parenting performance’ the whole time, and I’ll send it to Dad later.”

"Despicable...despicable!"

Shen Du was stunned, his eyes widening.

On that face, which was exactly like Salafir's, arrogance shattered, leaving only astonishment.

Virgil and Dante, who were in the air, were also spun around twice.

"I'm clearly helping you take care of your children! Letting them experience weightlessness helps with vestibular development!" He tried to argue with a fallacy he himself didn't even know where he'd picked up from.

“Is that so?” Salafir decided to press her advantage.

Unfortunately, Kayla quickly grabbed her arm.

The white wolf girl sighed, turned to Shen Du, and said gently, "Shen Du, let's put the children down first; they need their milk."

He glared angrily at Salafir, then met Keira's gentle gaze. Shendu let out a dissatisfied snort, but a hint of guilt still flashed deep in his eyes.

He was indeed a little afraid that Locke would see the photos.

Although Old Deng will most likely just find it funny, but...
What if?
Locke had already ruthlessly cut off her dessert quota for a week before leaving home. If she were caught red-handed, her return would be a distant dream...

Shen Du sighed with an air of maturity, reluctantly preparing to withdraw his energy, and carefully placed the engrossed Dante back onto the rocking ground...

"boom!"

The door was pushed open from the outside by a gentle but forceful force.

A cold wind rushed into the warm living room, scattering the warmth and noise of the room.

At the entrance, a tall and slender figure stood there.

Dior first scanned the somewhat messy scene in the living room.
Two babies are slowly descending from the sky, Kayla is holding a baby bottle, Salafir is pouting, and there's someone on the sofa with a stiff posture, still holding their hand up...

The capital city.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

No.
Or rather, it has already solidified.

The divine realm was but a fleeting illusion.
When she came to her senses again, Dior had already lifted her up.

He was lifted into the air, his feet helplessly detached from the ground.

Virgil and Dante lost their support and were about to fall, but were caught steadily by a transparent figure.

Dio's gaze finally settled on Dio, who was being held by the back of his collar.

"Shen Du, do you have anything to say?"

"Hurry up and do it, I have nothing more to say!" Shen Du sighed.

But it seems she still can't help it.
"Can we not tell Dad?" he asked in a tone that was almost like a plea.

Looking at Dio lifting her up like a cat by the scruff of its neck, a surge of triumphant joy welled up in Salafir's heart.

He was about to turn to Kayla and comment on this once-in-a-century scene when a strange female voice, three parts languid and seven parts curious, suddenly rang out beside him:
"Is your family always like this?"

"Yes!"

Salafir instinctively chimed in, her tone tinged with emotion, "But it's extremely rare for a god to be personally punished by his brother Dio..."

"?"

Salafil's voice abruptly stopped halfway through his sentence.

Wait... who's speaking?
Kayla's voice isn't like that... and Dio would never use that tone...

He turned his head sharply, his eyes following the sound.
Then he noticed a strange woman standing beside him!

The woman was soaking wet, her black hair clung to her cheeks, and her clothes were disheveled and even stained with blood, but they couldn't hide her exquisite curves and her alluring face, which was captivating even in the dim light.

However, she herself seemed completely unconcerned about her disheveled appearance.

A pair of alluring eyes were slightly wide open, observing the domestic farce unfolding before her with great interest, as if she were watching an interesting drama.

Salafir's mind went blank.
A woman I've never seen before!

A... strange woman brought back by Dior!
On this stormy night when Dad isn't home!

(End of this chapter)