American Comics: Something's Wrong with This Superhero World

Chapter 174 Quentin

The casino lights shimmered alluringly, and many people in the VIP area were secretly watching the most luxurious room. They were all curious about how Xiao Xian would be punished by Maroni. The bodies of those who caused trouble at Maroni Casino last time had already sunk into the sea.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and everyone turned their curious eyes to see Xiao Xian's miserable state inside. However, to everyone's surprise, Maroni, who opened the door, fawned over Xiao Xian, while Xiao Xian, behind him, stood with his hands behind his back, looking like a leader on an inspection tour.

"What?" Everyone looked at Xiao Xian and Maroni with blank expressions. What was going on with them today?

"Where's that bunny girl? I asked her to exchange my chips for a large sum and send them over, but she hasn't sent them yet." Xiao Xian glanced around and suddenly remembered that his spoils tonight weren't just Maroni's soul, but also thirty million dollars worth of chips.

"I'll have someone send it over right away!" Maroni said hurriedly.

"No need, just transfer the cash to my account later." Xiao Xian shook his head, looking at the private rooms around him. Even through the room, Xiao Xian could feel the wickedness inside. Sure enough, it was the rich who played these games.

"These people have decent souls; they're all fallen." Xiao Xian stroked his chin. Perhaps he could set up a formation here to collect sins? Collecting souls would deduct a lot of points from the world's will, so if he collected some negative emotions and sins, the deduction would be less, right?

In the storyline, those with powerful souls are ultimately a minority. Most ordinary people would take decades or even centuries to recoup their investment if they were pulled into the dimensional space. It would be better for them to just collect sins here.

After figuring it out, Xiao Xian put the formation in the exchange list and had Maroni exchange it for money. Then Maroni would collect sins for him, and when the world's will deducted points, Maroni would be the one who lost the most.

"Good girl, don't bother with the 'pure' stuff. I hate those kinds of souls. The more sinful, the better."

Xiao Xian instructed Maroni that, in fact, the sins produced after a pure soul falls are even greater, but Xiao Xian believed that he still had a little bit of integrity. If this door were opened to Maroni, who knows what kind of thing he might do, such as forcing a good woman into prostitution.

As for those nice girls who smoke, have tattoos, drink, are local, and frequent casinos, that's none of Xiao Xian's business. Xiao Xian has some integrity, but not much, and he really has no sympathy to spare for them.

"Okay, boss." Maroni nodded quickly. After seeing the various reward options in the list, especially the superpower rewards such as immortality, rejuvenation, enhanced kidney function, fire breathing, illusion, and invulnerability, Maroni knew that he had hit the jackpot.

Being a gang leader may seem prestigious, but only the leader himself knows the risks and sorrows behind it.

Especially in a place like Gotham, let alone Maroney, even Falcone couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't be shot in the head one day, that his family wouldn't be captured and tortured by his mortal enemies, or that his men wouldn't suddenly turn against him after taking money.

Keep in mind that this is Gotham, a magical place where you might get killed by gangsters just for testing a gun while walking down the street. Betrayal, killing, and death are commonplace here. To put it bluntly, even war-torn Afghanistan is safer than Gotham.

Ultimately, gang leaders are only human; they can die from being shot, and they can grow old. They may feel a sense of loss when they see the fate of other leaders, but once they embark on this path, it's not so easy to back down. If they do back down, they will be shattered to pieces.

More importantly, ambitious individuals like Maroni, who have tasted the power, are unwilling to step down. Even the second-strongest gang leader, who is often bullied, is far better off than ordinary people or even ordinary wealthy individuals.

Of course, it would be even better if it could go further.

Maroney had no choice in the past. Gotham was Bruce Wayne's territory, and within the Black Zone, Wayne Enterprises' black glove, Falcone, also firmly suppressed Maroney. If Falcone hadn't been worried that Bruce Wayne would be wary of him if he became too powerful in the Black Zone, he might have killed Maroney long ago.

But now, with the help of a demon king like Xiao Xian, Maronny saw hope of turning things around. Not to mention Falcone, even Bruce Wayne's position as King of Gotham, Maronny felt that he had a chance to take it over, and even live forever to become the eternal king of the gang.

As for the price of immortality, a mere few million souls, Maroni thought it was no big deal; after all, there were eight billion people in the world.

"By the way, do you have a talent agency or a film company?" Xiao Xian looked at Maroni and said, "I want to have some fun in the human world."

"Yes, of course there is, it's an important channel for money laundering. Even if there isn't, I'd have to set one up as soon as possible so you can have fun," Maroni said hurriedly, his flattery a little stiff from not having done it in a long time.

"Alright, let me borrow it for a bit." Xiao Xian nodded.

Under the neon lights, the bar's music blared, its fast tempo making hearts race. Sophie's good friend Lana pushed through the crowd and walked over to her.

Lana leaned close to Sophie's ear, her voice tinged with excitement and mystery: "Haven't you always wanted to get into the entertainment industry? Your luck has come tonight. I'm going to introduce you to a real big shot, a bigwig in the entertainment industry."

"Really?! Take me to meet him!" Sophie exclaimed excitedly. She had met some people in the entertainment industry when she talked to the Joker before, but unfortunately, the Joker was a supervillain and didn't have a high status in the entertainment industry, so she couldn't make a successful debut.

At least that's what Sophie thought. Anyway, it couldn't be that her appearance didn't meet the requirements. She was a well-known beauty in the community, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the Black Pearl. She had never lacked suitors since she was a child. For example, she rejected a persistent suitor yesterday. Those top white female celebrities were far inferior to her.

Following her best friend to a private room, Sophie stepped inside, her eyes drawn to the swirling smoke and soft lighting. Her gaze was quickly drawn to a familiar face—Xiao Xian. He had tried to flirt with Sophie yesterday, but she hadn't given him a chance and had her bodyguards kick him out. Seeing Xiao Xian, Sophie's first reaction was to turn and leave.

However, sitting next to Xiao Xian was a man whom Sophie also knew very well. He was lounging on the sofa, a cigarette in his hand—it was Quentin Tarantino, the renowned director who had won countless awards. Sophie's eyes widened; she had never expected to meet such a legendary figure in such a setting.

Sophie took a deep breath and decided to stay. If she could gain Quentin's favor, she might have a chance to win an Oscar. Sophie walked towards the two men, smiling and greeting Quentin.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Quentin. I'm Sophie, the Joker's ex-girlfriend."

(End of this chapter)