American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

Author Hun Gu's latest work, "American Comics: Praising the Sun Starting from Gotham!", is exclusively released for the first time!

Shuen was clearly somewhat confused by this way of communicating. The food suppliers in this world generally seemed to have poor service.

"Shuen, there's something wrong with this guy."

A clear, slightly disdainful voice rang out in his mind.

Xiu En lowered his head and looked at his right shoulder.

There, a spirited sunflower was turning its flower head, its two emerald green leaves clasped in front of it.

"This person is like a can of food that's about to spoil."

"I was just asking for directions, and in the DC style, someone with a smiley face badge must know something, right? Loki must have a reason for bringing us here."

Xiu En responded.

"So, it's just fast food restaurants?"

Xiu En persisted in asking the question.

"Aren't there any nicer restaurants? Like, ones that serve steak or grilled fish?"

The newsstand owner looked up.

The wariness on his face turned into undisguised hostility and disgust, as if he had seen a mutated rat crawling out of the sewer.

He shifted his gaze to the smiling man in green robes behind Xiu En.

"Your circus performance is over. Get out of here."

"circus?"

Loki raised an eyebrow, his smile undiminished, and even tipped his hat to the angry man.

"Sir, you are very witty. However, I am more interested in what you have in your hand than our performance."

Following Loki's gaze, Shum's eyes also fell down.

Only then did he notice the open notebook that Luo Xia had hurriedly hidden away.

It was filled with dense text written in an almost illegible handwriting, with some unintelligible symbols and graffiti drawn next to it.

"Your menu?"

Xiu En's curiosity was piqued.

"Can I take a look?"

As he spoke, he completely disregarded the other party's previous warning and naturally reached out to take the notebook.

"Don't touch it!"

Luo Xia, who had been keeping his head down, reached out his right hand as if to grab Xiu En's outstretched wrist.

His actions were clearly aimed at breaking his opponent's bones.

However, his hand was stopped in mid-air.

It wasn't Xiu En who was punished, but Loki, who had been standing by watching the show the whole time.

The man in the green robe had somehow appeared between the two of them. He simply extended two fingers and pinched Luo Xia's wrist.

Luo Xia felt completely unable to move.

"Calm down, Mr. Main Character in the Script."

Loki gracefully released his grip, smiled, and took a step back, reclaiming the center of the stage.

"The plot hasn't reached the point where a full-blown fight is necessary yet. Besides, I don't want to rewrite the storyline where you break your arm."

Luo Xia took a half-step back warily, his body tense, looking at the two men he couldn't understand at all.

That brief exchange made him realize that his opponent's power was far beyond his comprehension.

Loki turned to the bewildered Shuen and whispered a meaningful reminder.

"My dear guest star, as I said before, the stuff in this production is very solid."

He glanced meaningfully at Luo Xia's hand holding the notebook.

"Sometimes, the most stubborn stone is not an inanimate object. What you are looking for may be composed of an unbreakable will."

Just as tensions were about to rise, Xiu En took out a small, golden, fragrant cookie from the pocket of his seemingly ordinary black trench coat and offered it to him.

The cookies have a comforting warmth to them.

You look hungry.

Xiu En spoke in a tone as matter-of-fact as if it were mealtime to eat.

"Want a piece? Ah Fu grilled it, it tastes pretty good."

In Rorschach's mind, this suddenly appearing, steaming cookie was even more malevolent than the talking plant from before.

A powerful, mysterious figure of unknown origin hands you a piece of food after a conflict.

What else could it be but poison or some kind of mind control drug?

This is the worst kind of conspiracy.

His eyes, hidden beneath the brim of his hat, were filled with contempt and anger.

"Take...your...garbage away."

He made no attempt to hide his disgust.

He felt it was an insult.

He wasn't one of those homeless people scavenging for food in garbage cans; he was a soldier.

"Oh?"

Xiu En raised his eyebrows; it was the first time he had ever seen someone refuse Ah Fu's cookies.

He looked down at the flawless cookie, even smelling it to make sure it didn't have any strange smell.

"I advise you to put it away, my esteemed guest star."

Loki leaned against a wet newsstand pillar.

"As far as I know, our protagonist has severe mysophobia and paranoia. He only eats canned food, and it must be unopened. In his eyes, any food that has been handled by anyone else is no different from a biological weapon."

He took the cookie back, took a quick bite himself, and then commented.

"It's strange, it tastes so good."

Watching Xiu En casually eat the cookie, Rorschach's brain began to race.

So it wasn't poisonous after all?

This isn't right.

These two oddballs, one of whom is so powerful that he can easily subdue himself.

Another one can conjure food out of thin air, and is accompanied by a talking spirit.

They were neither ordinary street criminals nor secret organizations that could be brought to the light of day.

Are they...something else?

More powerful, more unpredictable, and more dangerous.

The world is sliding into a deeper abyss.

This matter must be recorded.

but not now.

We must first escape, then observe from the shadows to find out their purpose.

Rorschach's body made a decision in that instant.

He pulled his hand out of his trench coat pocket and slammed it hard against the ground.

"Bang!"

A thick cloud of gray smoke instantly enveloped the entire newsstand.

This is more like a poor reaction caused by mixing several cleaning agents in the sewer, but the effect is surprisingly good.

Loki gracefully stepped back, gently covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve, as if disgusted by this vulgar exit.

When the smoke was slightly dispersed by the rain and night wind, the area in front of the newsstand was already deserted.

The short, stocky figure had disappeared into the shadows and alleyways of New York.

All that remained were newspapers and magazines, soaked by the rain and forgotten by everyone.

"They ran away?"

Xiu En chewed on a biscuit and peeked at the empty street corner.

They ran away.

Loki laughed.

"After all, a competent protagonist, when faced with supernatural phenomena that he can't solve, always prioritizes a strategic retreat. Look, he even thoughtfully left us clues."

Loki's gaze fell to the ground, where a rough, black leather-bound notebook lay quietly among the pile of damp newspapers.

Clearly, Rorschach had accidentally left it behind in the chaos.

As for why his diary, which he valued so much, was lost, it must be related to some kind of story god.

The smoke was quickly dispersed by the rain and night wind. The short, stocky figure who had been on guard in front of the newsstand had vanished without a trace, as if he had never been there.

"Hmph, you're pretty fast."

The sunflower held its two small leaves to its chest and shook off the rainwater from its flower head.

He didn't eat any.

Xiu En spoke indistinctly, as if mourning some great tragedy.

"He won't even eat the food that Ah Fu makes, which is so delicious."

"The living people in this world are so pitiful."

Hearing this, Loki couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"No, no, no, my dear guest star!"

Loki walked up to Shum and spoke in a voice like a theatrical monologue.

"It's not that he doesn't appreciate it, but rather that the script imbues him with a tragic quality. You see, even a true tragic hero is ruthlessly deprived of the right to peacefully enjoy a sweet treat by the cruel author of this world."

"Translate: This guy is mentally ill."

Sunflowers are interjecting.

"His living environment didn't allow him to trust any carbohydrates of unknown origin, even if they smelled delicious. Self-isolation was the only way he could survive in this garbage dump-like environment. What a tragic example."

"Um……"

Xiu En thought about it carefully and then came to a conclusion.

"So, he won't be able to eat it anymore?"

"Unless you forcibly pry his mouth open and stuff the cookie in. But then the story would veer off from a dark mystery to a food channel."

Loki's smile grew even more delightful.

"That won't do."

Xiu En frowned.

Eating alone is soulless.

Good things are only truly satisfying when others also find them delicious.

"Forget it, whatever the script is."

He dusted the cookie crumbs off his hands and made his decision.

"Let's catch up with him and return the notebook to him. And let him know this thing isn't poisonous, otherwise he'll miss out on too many delicious foods in his life."

"You'll scare him to death."

The sunflower prophesied.

"A truly brilliant improvisation!"

After a brief moment of surprise, Loki immediately clapped his hands in admiration.

"I'm starting to look forward to the next scene you'll disrupt. How about it, do you need your thoughtful director to show you the protagonist's exit route? Although, to be honest, I know where he is even with my eyes closed."

Xiu En glanced at him, giving him a look that seemed to say, "Are you looking down on me?"

"Need not."

After he finished speaking, he slowly closed his eyes, connecting with the sun of this world.

In this dirty, chaotic city, permeated with an atmosphere of sin and despair, countless mingled odors intertwine to create a nauseating picture.

However, in this filthy ocean, a unique and incredibly stubborn aura was clearly discernible!

That was the smell of a wool trench coat soaked by cold rain.

It tastes like a result of long-term malnutrition.

It's the cloying sweetness of sugar cubes in a pocket.

There's also a flavor called "Rorschach," a mixture of anger and loneliness.

The smell traveled through countless alleyways, eventually finding its way to a dilapidated apartment building three blocks away.

Xiu En reopened his eyes, his golden pupils reflecting the neon lights of the rainy night.

He gestured with his chin toward Loki, like a hunter who had found his prey.

"Keep up."

Before he finished speaking, his figure faded away and disappeared into the shadows of the rainy night.

Loki watched the direction he disappeared in, straightened his collar, and followed at a leisurely pace.