American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

After the applause ended, the man straightened up and faced Xiu En and Peter, who was still in a daze.

He bowed.

His smile was as warm as a spring breeze, but deep within his green eyes lay a playful shrewdness that seemed to have seen it all.

"Forgive my rudeness, gentlemen from outside the story."

"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Loki, currently serving as the story planner and sole-designated critic for this and many other worlds."

His gaze passed over the two of them, looking in the direction where the Rainbow Bridge had disappeared. His eyes revealed a complex emotion, a mixture of nostalgia and pity.

"As for what happened just now, please consider it a rather clumsy opening act. And, in any case, I still want to thank you two for your unintentional care of me when I was a child."

He nodded at Xiu En and his group and the blue ore.

"That cradle is much more comfortable than the cribs in Asgard; at least it doesn't feel uncomfortable."

Peter started overthinking again.

Childhood? Theater critic? Each word was a common vocabulary he could understand, but when put together, they formed a supernatural concept.

"So, we're actually in a movie? Or have we wandered onto someone else's set?"

"Movies? No."

The sunflower wiggled slightly.

"It's more like a world server that's been messed up by a bunch of kids, with different versions of mods haphazardly mixed together, and the backend is full of bugs. He's the GM and customer service representative with the highest authority."

"The understanding of plants is always so simple yet precise."

Loki expressed his approval.

Xiu En was not interested in these settings.

He interrupted their discussion.

Get to the point.

His golden eyes stared directly at Loki.

"What are you doing here? Are you here to collect copyright fees?"

Loki's smile widened.

"Copyright fees? No, no, no, quite the opposite."

Loki walked over with elegant steps. His gaze lingered for a moment on Shuen's robe, which contained endless stars, before falling on the blue ore.

"I'm here to collaborate, and I'll also help you find some ritual offerings that will satisfy your friend."

He extended a finger and gently touched the rough surface of the blue ore.

A wisp of green light blended in, instantly making the World Tree aura on the ore even more active.

"You're preparing for the Azure Emperor Festival, and you need to find top-tier materials that embody the concepts of primordial life, protection, or cyclical rebirth, right?"

Loki smiled and stated Shuen's ultimate purpose for this trip, as if he had already read the final page of the script.

"For example, the Stone of Obsession that guards a kingdom, or the Seed that ends a cycle of an era."

"Simply because of this dilapidated server, there aren't many collectibles like this. But if you're willing to visit other film sets..."

A seductive light gleamed in Loki's eyes.

"I happen to know a few directors on film sets, and their props are much more interesting than this hard rock."

Shuen's eyes darted between the God of Stories and the bewildered Peter, then he extended a finger and pointed at Peter.

"No problem."

"All expenses, whether it's tolls for traveling between film sets or so-called offering procurement fees."

His finger stopped in front of Peter's nose.

"It's all his doing? Mr. Peter Parker, Chief Technology Advisor at Wayne Enterprises, is handling it all. Look, he's already ready to write the checks."

Peter glanced subconsciously at his empty hands, then at the matter-of-fact expression on Shum's face, wanting to explain but not knowing where to begin.

Boss, that's not how we report our company's accounts!

Loki was amused by this attempt to shift the blame, and he chuckled softly before waving his hand.

"Oh, that's not necessary."

He looked at the embarrassed Peter.

"After all, you already prepaid. In fact, I owe you a favor."

He walked over to Xiu En and his gaze fell on the blue ore.

"You chose to leave it to Peter, but Peter chose to leave it to me."

Loki's voice carried genuine gratitude.

"For that starving and freezing little fellow, it was like receiving a private sun in the eternal night. An unintentional act set the stage for a tragedy, a completely different beginning."

"So, as a thank you, I slightly adjusted the extras' positioning when you first arrived at this chaotic set."

He winked slyly at Xiu En.

"Don't you think it's a bit too much of a coincidence that the first hero you encounter just happened to appear right next to you?"

Xiu En then realized that his chance encounter with the little spider was a benevolent arrangement by the god of stories from the very beginning.

"So, you think we're even now?"

Xiu En asked.

"Yes, we're even."

Loki nodded, his smile becoming even more genuine.

"Now, we can talk about mutually beneficial business."

He looked directly into Xiu En's eyes, his tone relaxed.

"For that Azure Emperor Festival, you need one more thing. A stone of obsession, symbolizing protection and ending, transcending countless cycles of life and death. That thing happens to be in another, less obedient film crew of mine."

"Wayne Enterprises probably won't be able to reimburse this trip."

Loki's smile held an even stronger invitation.

"But I can show you a way. So, Sun God from another world, would you be willing to make a cameo appearance in my story?"

Xiu En didn't answer for the moment. He walked to the center of the golden rune array, where a sapling of the World Tree, seemingly carved from jade, had fallen to the ground after losing its energy support.

He bent down, picked up the heavy branch that exuded a fresh, life-giving scent, casually hoisted it onto his shoulder to feel the nourishment of life, and then nodded to the horned man in the green robe.

No words were spoken, but actions spoke volumes: they led the way.

"What an efficient partner."

Loki liked this efficiency.

Loki turned around and smiled at Peter, who was still standing there in a daze.

"Well then, Mr. Wayne Enterprises' distinguished advisor, your team-building trip in this other world has come to an end."

He snapped his fingers.

"Thank you for your insightful analysis. I hope to have the opportunity to hear your brilliant ideas again in the future."

"Ah? Oh! Okay, goodbye, Mr. Loki! Goodbye, Mr. Shum!"

Peter Parker waved his hand unconsciously. He still had a lot of questions to ask about "story servers," "mod overwriting different versions," and "whether GM privileges would cause world lines to converge," but it was too late.

Before him, countless colorful lines appeared out of thin air, like the spines of countless books, or the stretched film reels, eventually weaving into a vortex that constantly flashed various comic book panels.

Peter felt a gentle push from a force, and he fell into that bizarre vortex.

His field of vision was filled with countless images flashing by at high speed.

He saw himself swaying between tall buildings in a red and blue battle suit.

I saw a man in black armor fighting in the rainy night.

I even saw a few frames of extremely cute cartoon-style images.

Then, the scene came to a close, and he plopped down on something soft.

When he came to his senses, he found himself sitting on a sofa in his top-floor office at Wayne Tower in Gotham City, with the night view visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

A faint, sweet scent, a blend of scholarly and mischievous aromas, lingered in the air.

It was as if he had just watched an extremely long 4D movie.

On the icy plains of Jotunheim, Loki waved to the air, as if bidding farewell to an audience member who had just left the arena.

"Alright, the area is cleared."

He turned to look at Xiu En, his smile widening.

"The story on the next set won't be so heartwarming. The main character is stubborn, and the supporting cast is a group of rocks even more stubborn than him. Hopefully, their rules won't hurt your teeth."

As he spoke, he reached out his hand again, but this time, he did not weave a colorful vortex.

This time, the portal carried a dark and desolate aura.

"Please, my esteemed guest."

Before Loki's outstretched finger, the black cavern woven from countless images and fragments of stories began to spin violently, as if trying to cram the entire library of the universe into this tiny entrance.

Xiu En stepped inside.

The feeling of weightlessness and the overwhelming flow of information came at the same time, but he just frowned impatiently.

In his field of vision.

Countless fragmented images flashed by rapidly.

A figure in red and blue is praying on the clock tower.

A green ring gleamed in the dark space.

There was even a man riding a giant seahorse, sailing the seas.

"Is this going to be a story from DC? Why is the set so dark?"

Xiu En commented.

"Art style, my dear guest star, a dark and profound art style."

Loki's voice, tinged with laughter, followed closely behind.

A few seconds later, all the bizarre and fantastical things faded away.

The two were standing on a retro-style street.

A light drizzle was falling from the sky, and the wet road surface reflected the flashing neon signs.

The enormous airship GG slowly floated overhead, and news about President Nixon was playing on electronic screens.

The pedestrians on the street were in a hurry, most of them wearing trench coats and top hats, as if time had stopped at some point in the 1980s.

"Welcome to the Watchmen cast."

Loki opened his arms.

"A story where most of the heroes have retired. The air here is terrible, laws are everywhere, and the people are generally not very friendly. The good thing is, things are very sturdy."

Xiu En didn't care about any of that.

His gaze swept across the gloomy street and landed on the newsstand at the street corner.

There, a short man wearing a brown trench coat and a soft felt hat was frantically tidying up the newspapers and magazines on his stall that had been soaked by the rain.

His movements were somewhat clumsy, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp, like a wary wild beast, constantly scanning his surroundings.

"He's the one."

Xiu En walked over.

Loki followed behind with a smile, watching the scene unfold with great interest.

"Boss."

Xiu En's voice rang out in front of the newsstand.

The man suddenly looked up, his face, mostly obscured by the shadow of his hat, filled with vigilance.

When he saw Xiu En's black trench coat, which remained completely dry in the rain, the jade branch and sunflower adorning his shoulder that emitted a faint glow, and the handsome man behind him dressed in a cosplay costume, his hand instinctively reached into the inner pocket of the trench coat.

Xiu En ignored his subtle actions and asked directly, "Where is this? How do I get to the nearest restaurant?"

The man made a muffled, indistinct sound.

He closed the open diary with a blood-stained smiley face badge on the cover that was next to him and stuffed it under the pile of newspapers.

"New York."

"Turn left, there's a fast food restaurant."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and continued packing his things, not wanting to have any further interaction with these two seemingly troublesome guys.