American Comics: Something's Wrong with This Superhero World

Your attitude should be better after Chapter 305.

One morning, Arthur received an urgent report from his subordinates. "Your Highness, we have detected a sudden and sharp increase in carbon dioxide levels in some areas, and several warehouses storing Orichalcos have been attacked by unidentified individuals."

Arthur frowned. "Orichalcos? What's that?"

The subordinate shook his head. "I don't know. I only know that Orichalcos is a strategically controlled resource. Perhaps we'd have to ask Queen Mother Atlanna for the specific details."

Arthur nodded, instructing his men to deal with the environmental pollution problem first, while he himself immediately went to Queen Atlanna's palace.

Knock, knock, knock. Arthur knocked gently on the door. After a moment, the door opened a crack, and Atlana's flushed face peeked out. She asked breathlessly, "Arthur, what's wrong? Your mother's busy."

At the same time, Arthur could clearly hear the sounds of intense card playing and Xiao Xian's heavy breathing coming from behind the door. Undoubtedly, his mother, Atlanna, was currently engaged in some kind of card game with Xiao Xian.

Arthur swallowed hard, forcing himself to ignore the heart-pounding sound behind him.

Arthur pretended not to know and said in a normal tone, "Mom, I have a question for you. Do you know what Orichalcos is?"

At this moment, Xiao Xian, who was behind Atlana, sped up the game, which made Atlana make strange noises. Atlana quickly looked at Arthur and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that he seemed to have just looked down at his phone and hadn't noticed.

Atlana's eyes flashed with panic through the crack in the door, but she quickly regained her composure. "Ah, Orichalcum, it's a very important metal."

Arthur replied, "What exactly is it used for?"

Atlana took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Because...because Orichalcos contains enormous energy."

Arthur suddenly understood. "No wonder someone would try to steal it. But, Mom, I still don't understand, why do we seal it away instead of using it?"

Atlana's eyes flickered uncertainly; she was on the verge of completely losing the game.

"This is because Orichalcos releases a large amount of carbon dioxide gas when it decomposes. You know, the release of this gas causes seawater temperatures to rise, threatening marine life. That's why we've banned its use."

Arthur nodded thoughtfully. "I see. So, could the recent surge in carbon dioxide levels be due to the large-scale theft of Orichalcos?"

Just then, Atlana could no longer resist Xiao Xian's treatment, and her body began to tremble violently.

Although Atlana covered her mouth and tried her best to suppress her voice, a sweet sound still leaked out from between her fingers.

Although Arthur couldn't see what was behind the door, he could guess the general idea just from the sounds. He felt a surge of heat and reacted involuntarily.

"Mom, are you alright?" Arthur tried his best to make his voice sound normal, but his eyes were involuntarily fixed on the crack in the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of something interesting.

"I'm fine," Atlanna said, her eyes moist as she looked at Arthur. "Son, is there anything else? I'm getting a massage right now, just doing some pampering."

"Oh, then I won't bother Mom any longer," Arthur said tactfully. "I'll come back later."

Arthur turned and left, feeling both excited and disappointed. Xiao Xian and Atlana's pretense was becoming increasingly half-hearted.

Upon returning to his office, Arthur immediately ordered a thorough investigation into the theft of the Orichalcos.

After Arthur left, Atlana breathed a sigh of relief, practically slumping against the door. She turned back, gazing at Xiao Xian with captivating allure. "I was a little worried about Arthur; it seems he's figured out what's going on between us."

Xiao Xian smiled upon hearing this, "So what if he saw it? Didn't you say it wouldn't matter even if he knew? You'll protect me."

Atlana said, "I know there's nothing really wrong with that, but the problem is that he seems very happy for the two of us to be together. And I've noticed he's creating opportunities for you and Mera quite often. Does he have some kind of peculiar taste?"

Xiao Xian said, "Hmm, that's possible. Last time in the coral cave, I felt like he was spying on us." As he spoke, Xiao Xian's hands started to wander.

Atlana reached out to Xiao Xian's hand, "Really? Why didn't you tell me? What should we do? Should we test him?"

Xiao Xian grinned mischievously, "I'm not sure either. I think we can test the waters and see if he really has this hobby. Maybe we can even make good use of it."

"What do you want to do?" Atlana asked upon hearing this.

Xiao Xiandao said, "That depends on how much Arthur likes it. If he really likes environmental protection, then we'll play some more interesting games."

Upon hearing this, Atlana hesitated for a moment before saying, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? He's my son. Although he might be a little strange, he's still my biological son. Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Xiao Xian looked at Atlanna and said with a smile, "Still saying it's not good? Don't you also like this kind of excitement?"

Atlana blushed. "I...I just..."

Xiao Xian interrupted her, "Alright, stop making excuses. Actually, you're quite looking forward to it too, aren't you?" With that, Xiao Xian sent out a request to continue the game.

An hour later, the game ended. Atlana was almost unconscious. She leaned against the door, staring blankly at the ceiling.

After another ten minutes or so, Atlana regained consciousness, and her eyes regained their brightness.

"So, darling?" Xiao Xian asked with a smile, "Are you willing to accept my proposal?"

Atlana glared at him, embarrassed and annoyed. "You bad man, you just like to bully me." But in her heart, she had already accepted Xiao Xian's suggestion.

Atlana pouted. "But... are you really planning to do this? If Arthur really has this kind of interest, how about letting Arthur know about us? And doing something even more exciting?"

Xiao Xian nodded. "Of course, this way your son will recognize his own interests. Trust me, Atlanna, this is good for both of you. This way we won't have to be so secretive anymore."

Atlana hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "Okay, I believe you."

Xiao Xian kissed Atlanna's forehead with satisfaction. "That's good. Now, let's rest for a bit, and then continue discussing the specific plan later."

Atlana nodded obediently, closing her eyes to enjoy Xiao Xian's embrace. She didn't know what the future held, but deep down she anticipated the exciting experience to come.

That evening, Atlanna invited Arthur to her room for dinner. Although busy sending men to track down Orichalcos, Arthur accepted the invitation.

"Arthur, you're here," Atlana said with a smile as she opened the door.

Arthur looked up and was surprised to find Xiao Xian in the room. Xiao Xian was sitting at the dining table and nodded politely when he saw Arthur.

"Mom, cough, what's going on?" Arthur asked somewhat awkwardly.

Atlanna explained with a smile, "Mr. Abin has worked very hard for the peaceful coexistence between Atlantis and humanity, so I specially invited him to have dinner with us to express my gratitude."

Looking at Xiao Xian's smiling face, Arthur nodded. In a sense, Xiao Xian was indeed quite overworked. For an ordinary person, such a level of hard work was tantamount to overdrawing one's life.

They followed Atlana to the dining table and sat down. The three of them sat around a small table and began to eat absentmindedly.

Atlana appeared calm as she ate her meal, but her feet were subtly moving towards Xiao Xian. Arthur caught a glimpse of his mother's movement out of the corner of his eye, and his heart immediately raced.

Arthur looked at Atlanna and saw that she was leaning slightly, as if she was talking to Xiao Xian.

"What's wrong, Arthur?" Atlanna noticed her son's gaze and asked with a smile, "Is the food not to your liking?"

Arthur quickly waved his hand, "No, no, it's delicious."

Atlana said, "Son, if you have any thoughts, you can just say them. We're all family, there's no need to be so reserved."

Arthur lowered his head, pretending to focus on his meal, but in reality, he was quickly thinking about how to deal with the situation at hand.

The atmosphere at the dinner table became increasingly subtle.

At this moment, Xiao Xian suddenly said, "Empress Dowager Atlanna is overworked. Let me massage her shoulders." After saying that, he got up and walked behind Atlanna, gently pressing her temples.

Atlana closed her eyes comfortably. "Ah, Mr. Abin is so considerate."

Arthur's heart raced as he watched this scene unfold; his best friend had logged on too. Arthur quickly lowered his head and pretended to eat, but was actually observing from the shadows.

Xiao Xian's technique was indeed quite good, and Atlanna quickly relaxed. Then Xiao Xian began to massage Atlanna's shoulders.

"Your Highness Arthur, how do you think my massage is?" Xiao Xian asked as he massaged.

Arthur didn't dare look up, afraid of revealing his abnormality. "Yeah, it's fine. My mom seems to be doing well."

Xiao Xian smiled and began to move his hands downwards. Atlana had no objections to this; on the contrary, she thoroughly enjoyed the massage.

Arthur, who caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, was both excited and helpless. He could only bury his head in his rice and pretend he hadn't seen it.

Watching Arthur pretending to be engrossed in his meal, Atlanna glanced under the table. Then, a knowing smile appeared on her face. Her guess was right; Arthur did indeed have an interest in environmental protection.

Atlana looked at Arthur, who was pretending not to see, and said, "Arthur, don't look down. Come and see Mr. Bin's technique."

At this point, Arthur could no longer pretend to be oblivious. He looked up and saw Xiao Xian massaging Atlanna. He could only stand up, slam his hand on the table, and say:

"Bin, what are you doing? How could you press on my mother's there?"

Xiao Xian remained unfazed and continued massaging Atlana, saying, "I'm just massaging the Empress Dowager, is there a problem?"

Atlanna narrowed her eyes, a mocking smile playing on her lips. She stood up and walked over to Arthur. "Son, what are you pretending for? Do you think I don't know your little secret? Also, watch your tone when you talk to your Uncle Bin in the future."

Arthur's face turned deathly pale. "Mom, what are you saying? I don't understand."

Atlana glanced at Arthur's good buddy who had just logged on and said, "Still not admitting it?"

Arthur was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Atlanna turned to Arthur, a hint of teasing in her voice, "Looks like we need to have a serious talk. Let's go to my bedroom."

Arthur was forced to follow Atlana and Xiao Xian to her bedroom. Atlana closed the door, turned to face Arthur, and said, "Now, tell us everything. What are you really thinking?"

Arthur lowered his head, his face flushed. "I...I like seeing you and Bin playing cards together."

Atlana and Xiao Xian exchanged a glance, then Atlana said, "So, you've been pretending not to know all this time just so that this kind of thing can happen more often?"

Arthur lowered his head and said, "Yes... I... I feel ashamed, but I can't control myself."

"Do you still want Uncle Bin and Bin to be together? I've noticed you've created opportunities for them to be alone several times," Atlana asked, looking at Arthur.

"Yes," Arthur lowered his head even further. The feeling of being publicly executed, especially in front of his mother, was incredibly exciting for Arthur. He lowered his head mainly to prevent Atlanna from noticing his smile.

Atlanna sighed, walked over to Arthur, and gently stroked his cheek. "Arthur, although Mom doesn't understand this hobby, Mom has decided to support you."

Upon hearing this, Arthur burst into tears. He had thought Atlanna would despise him. Arthur said in great surprise, "Thank you. Thank you, Mom."

Atlanna smiled and wiped away Arthur's tears. "Don't cry, silly child. Mommy will help you."

Xiao Xian stepped forward and patted Arthur on the shoulder. "Arthur, I support you too. Everyone has their own hobbies, as long as they don't bother others."

Atlana smiled and said, "Arthur, you shouldn't just thank me, you should also thank your Uncle Bin. From now on, your Uncle Bin and I will support your hobby. You should be considerate of your Uncle Bin; he works very hard."

Upon hearing this, Arthur blushed immediately. "Mom, please stop teasing me."

Xiao Xian smiled and said, "It's alright, it's my honor to serve you and your son. And to be honest, I quite enjoy the process."

Atlana rolled her eyes at Xiao Xian. "You're getting a good deal and you're still acting innocent."

Xiao Xian chuckled. "Arthur, your mother is now my mahjong partner. Do you like that?"

Arthur glanced at Atlanna and nodded, saying, "I quite like her."

Seeing this, Atlana couldn't help but laugh and said, "Alright, now that we're all being honest with each other, let's stop hiding things. From now on, if anything happens at home, we won't have to be secretive with you and me anymore."

Xiao Xian chimed in, "That's right. You can watch me and your mother play cards sometime. We'll also try to develop some fun variations."

Atlana shook her head and said, "No, Arthur, you can look directly. I'm still a little embarrassed. How about this, Arthur, you hide under the bed, and your Uncle Bin and I will play cards on the bed. You can just listen to the noise."

Arthur paused for a moment, then nodded repeatedly, "All right."

Xiao Xian smiled and said, "Go ahead, you can see our feet under the bed too."

(End of this chapter)