American Comics: Something's Wrong with This Superhero World

Chapter 179 If you can't handle it, let your uncle handle it for you.

At a small stall outside the church, Xiao Xian ordered a cocktail, sat down, and looked at the chaotic situation inside the church across the street.

Inside the church, Sophie and Harleen were already fighting. Several black men went to help, but Harleen swung her baseball bat and knocked them down one by one.

Seeing Sophie and the black men's state, the Joker knew perfectly well the authenticity of Harleen's video. Dressed in a suit, he watched the battle with a look of utter despair, only intervening to save Sophie a few times when Harleen nearly hit her on the head with her club.

As for the guests, most of them were excitedly watching the drama unfold, with many taking out their phones to record videos or even livestream.

As a dimensional demon god who rules over the hellish space, Xiao Xian felt that it was best not to go directly into the church. He should wait until they came out before refusing them, otherwise Xiao Xian was afraid that angels would come to his house one day.

"Young man, things don't always go the way you expect," an elderly man in a luxurious suit sat down opposite Xiao Xian and said to him in a very familiar manner.

"..." Xiao Xian glanced at the old man before him and quickly matched his aura with that of the Demon Lord Mephisto in the Kamar-Tekki file. "Senior, what brings you here?"

The entire Earth is under the protection of the major sanctuaries of Kamar-Tek, and Xiao Xian is now one of the highest-ranking privileged dogs in Kamar-Tek. As long as the sanctuaries are not destroyed, Xiao Xian is not afraid of Mephisto's avatar or even his true form.

"It's always a pleasure to see fresh blood; it's been a long time since we've had any new faces. It's been a while since I've been to this world, and I never imagined the position of Sorcerer Supreme would fall into your hands." Mephisto finished speaking and, with a smile, beckoned a waiter over, saying, "A glass of tequila."

"Being a person of this world is both your fortune and your misfortune," said Mephistopheles, holding a gemstone ring on his hand. "The soul value of this world far surpasses that of other worlds, but the strength of the people in this world also far surpasses that of other worlds. Not to mention you, even I could not possibly devour this world."

Mephisto smiled and said, "Thank you," as he saw the tequila brought by the waiter.

"Your growth rate is severely hampered in this world," Mephisto said, looking at Xiao Xian. "But perhaps I can help you."

What this old guy is saying, in essence, is that the water is too deep for you to handle?

Xiao Xian glanced at Mephisto, but instead of showing his displeasure, he asked...

"How do you plan to help me?"

"You remove me from Kamar-Tekki's blacklist, and I can help you eliminate your enemies. Afterwards, we'll split the profits 50/50 when I find another world," Mephisto said, looking at Xiao Xian. "We can sign a contract."

"Sounds like a good suggestion, huh?" Xiao Xian smiled, but in his heart he was dismissive. This is just a case of you not being able to handle it, so you let your uncle handle it for you.

The idea of ​​splitting soul income 50/50 might fool clueless, inexperienced newcomers, but Xiao Xian could easily come up with a thousand ways to circumvent the agreement with a simple thought.

This is similar to corporate executives falsifying financial statements, setting up shell companies, inflating costs, and engaging in fake transactions. A whole host of methods can be used to embezzle profits and transfer them to their personal accounts.

"But I refuse. However, I can activate a pay-per-use service for you, with a specified purpose. You know that granting you this access will deduct points from the World Will, so the price... well, you know. It might be quite high."

Xiao Xian certainly wouldn't agree to Mephisto's proposal, but if Mephisto's price was high enough, Xiao Xian might consider it. He could always donate some of the world's essence to make up for it—as long as there was a price difference, he could make a profit.

Of course, while making money is important, Xiao Xian can't just let Mephisto use his powers on Earth, otherwise who knows what kind of trouble he might cause.

"Young people these days, don't be so calculating. Here's what we'll do: if you're willing to remove me from your blacklist here, I'll give you the coordinates of two other worlds, along with some followers to facilitate your consciousness descending there. I can also make sure your magic is compatible with the demonic energy agreement I signed with the will of that world."

Upon hearing this, Mephisto realized that Xiao Xian was not so easily fooled, and instead made a suggestion.

However, Mephisto didn't have any good intentions. Exchanging the access to one world for the access to two worlds seemed like a good deal, but it was actually a trap.

First, both of those worlds were established by Mephisto over a long period of time, so Xiao Xian wouldn't be able to cause any trouble there. Second, if Xiao Xian were to descend using the faith of those who were actually Mephisto's followers, Mephisto could take the opportunity to corrupt Xiao Xian's mind, read his memories, or even directly replace him as a god.

As for the final compatibility with demonic energy, it was Mephisto's way of taking the opportunity to reverse engineer Xiao Xian's magic source code.

"Just tell me if you agree or not. As for your two worlds, you can develop them at your own pace." Xiao Xian decisively rejected Mephisto's grand promises. Xiao Xian might have tried to outmaneuver Mephisto a bit with some tricks, but when it came to actually finalizing an agreement, magic and such, although Xiao Xian considered himself exceptionally talented, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he had surpassed Mephisto.

"Kids just don't understand what sharing is. Since that's the case, I won't force you. Contact me anytime if you change your mind." Mephisto didn't explicitly say whether he agreed or refused, but simply stood up and handed Xiao Xian a business card embroidered with hellish patterns.

"This pattern... is it a bunch of traps in the magic protocol? I'm a Lord of Hell, can't you show me some respect?" Xiao Xian looked at the business card and laughed out of anger. He was, after all, a Sorcerer Supreme and Lord of Hell, and this kind of scam was really an insult to his professional level.

The pattern on it is a kind of hellish script, containing a bunch of unequal agreements, and it says that picking up the business card is considered as agreeing to sign it.

While the lords of the Hell Dimensions are far from friendly, and backstabbing is commonplace, Mephisto's actions are truly disrespectful. Though small in size, Xiao Xian's Hell Dimension space is a genuine fragment of Hell.

"Sorry, I took the wrong one. This one is usually for mortals. This is the business card for dimensional demons." Mephisto said apologetically, but he wasn't embarrassed at all as he put away the business card and placed the one with his coordinates on it in front of Xiao Xian.

As a veteran lord of Hell, Mephisto's dimensional coordinates are not as closely guarded as Xiao Xian's. Even powerful beings far stronger than Mephisto would not venture into Mephisto's lair to fight him.

(End of this chapter)