American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

Adrian's breathing became rapid; his most brilliant mind could no longer process the information before him.

Loki's shoulders were still shaking uncontrollably; he was clearly struggling to suppress his laughter.

Hugh was clearly very satisfied with the comforting effect of his gourmet remarks.

With an expression as if he had finally remembered the important matter, he solemnly pulled out another small cookie from his pocket.

Shuen held the small cookie with the same sincerity that Adrian had shown when he held his dodo bird.

He solemnly walked up to Dr. Manhattan, who was suspended in mid-air, then held the cookie high and handed it to him.

Here, take it.

He spoke in a generous tone.

"This tastes better than his. You should try it; this is the real good stuff."

Dr. Manhattan hovered quietly, his face calmly fixed on the cookie for three seconds.

Then, the voice of the universe rang out again.

"The sample biscuits are mainly composed of wheat flour, dehydrated butter, sucrose, and a small amount of sodium chloride. They are heated unevenly inside, which creates a crisp texture."

"Compared to the samples provided by Adrian."

Dr. Manhattan conducted a comparative analysis from his objective perspective.

"Its structure is simpler, its molecular arrangement is more disordered, and its entropy is higher. From a thermodynamic point of view, it is a less efficient energy source."

"But its sugar-to-fat ratio is closer to the golden ratio of 1.618, which theoretically can maximize the secretion of neurotransmitters responsible for pleasure signals in the brains of carbon-based organisms."

Simply put, junk food tastes better.

Upon hearing this analysis, Adrian's face twitched uncontrollably once again.

"Hmph, just a bunch of ordinary carbohydrate mixtures, only Xiu En would treasure it."

Sunflower muttered a complaint in a low voice.

Xiu En didn't care about the golden ratio or thermodynamics; he only noticed one sentence.

This one tastes better.

He was very pleased that his taste was supported by divine theory.

So he handed the cookie forward a little further.

Seeing that Dr. Manhattan still didn't seem inclined to take it, Xiu En thought that perhaps the other person was just being shy.

He thought for a moment, then simply took back the cookie, stuffed it into his mouth, and bit off half of it in one go.

"Never mind, you don't seem hungry."

He chewed on a biscuit, then steered the conversation back to the important matter he was concerned about.

He looked at Dr. Manhattan.

"I don't care about any of that. Now, can we talk about my stone?"

"Stone?"

Dr. Manhattan repeated the word, his consciousness searching through all the definitions of the word on Earth within 0.001 nanoseconds.

"Yes."

Xiu En pointed to Adrian, who was about to cry.

"The dinner he prepared was actually meant to show you your emotions in the human world."

Dr. Manhattan replied.

"His so-called last meal, and the Stone of Obsession that Loki spoke of."

A faint blue light emanated from Dr. Manhattan's body, which converged at his chest to form an unstable, bloodstained, smiling face badge phantom.

"This is the true Stone of Obsession. All three of us are referring to the same thing: my final ethereal entanglement with this world. It's a complete record of my transformation from a human being, Jon Osterman, to my current existence. It embodies my humanity and the entire process of my utter disillusionment with it."

Dr. Manhattan provided the answer.

Xiu En blinked, as if he understood a little.

He spoke as if he were telling someone else's story.

"Its existence is a paradox. I no longer need this redundant emotional data packet. It will soon completely dissipate due to the rejection reaction of my self-awareness."

"This thing is useless to me now."

The phantom of the bloodstained smiling badge, representing Dr. Manhattan's last connection with humanity, slowly rotated on his chest.

He calmly recounted the fate of this useless thing.

Xiu En blinked. He hadn't listened to much of what Dr. Manhattan had said, but he had grasped the most important information.

"It's useless now?"

Xiu's eyes lit up.

"It's useless, which means you can give it to me now, right?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"It's already a redundant file that I'm about to clean up. Rather than letting it disappear on its own, I'd like to offer it to you, an observer who also comes from outside the rules, as a sample of an event model, with just a few small conditions."

"Very good!"

Xiu En seemed very happy.

"Hey! Find out about the side effects of that stuff first!"

Ivy's warning rang out.

"I sensed extremely troublesome emotional energy! Deadly poison!"

This time, Xiu En surprisingly listened to Ivy's warning.

Things that are free are often the most expensive.

He looked towards Manhattan, a look of curiosity on his face.

"So here's the question!"

"What exactly is this thing, this Stone of Obsession? Where is it? How do I get my hands on it?"

Dr. Manhattan's blue figure flickered slightly, and in the main control room, Adrian's projection equipment automatically turned on, projecting a three-dimensional image into the air.

It was a messy, dilapidated apartment room.

A tall, strong man was being choked and slowly lifted into the air.

His scarred face was filled with a mocking smile.

On the walls of the room hung several oil paintings with exaggerated, almost manic colors.

"Its physical carrier is this."

Dr. Manhattan's voice rang out calmly, and at the same time, an object was displayed in high definition in the very center of the image.

It was a yellow metal smiley face badge with a drop of blackened blood on its surface.

"Smiley face badge..."

Rorschach, sitting in the corner, trembled slightly with excitement.

This was the starting point of his entire investigation, the man he called a comedian, whom countless people despised.

This is what Edward Blake wore on his chest before he died.

Adrian's pupils also contracted slightly.

He certainly recognized the badge.

This was almost an unofficial symbol of their group of Watchers in that era.

"Physical carrier?"

Shuen looked at the badge and thought that the metal content of it might not even be enough to fill his teeth.

"You mean, the Stone of Obsession is this broken badge? It doesn't look like jade at all?"

"Not entirely, and it can be anything."

Dr. Manhattan corrected.

"This badge is the key to unlocking the event model, and also the model's unique coordinate anchor point in the world."

"In the final three minutes before his death, comedian Edward Blake's negative obsession, a mixture of love and utter despair, clashed violently with the murderer who was about to kill him."

"This conflict happened at a point in my quantum observation at the time. As a result, the immense energy of both obsessions was imprinted into this badge, forming a closed, constantly circulating miniature emotional universe."

"I see……"

Loki, who had been silent all along, suddenly realized something and sighed in admiration.

"What a perfect accident. A veteran's immense negative emotions towards his entire country and humanity, from love to despair... Haha, that's more exciting than some stories."

"So, how do you obtain it?"

Xiu asked impatiently, now deeply interested in this emotional universe.

It sounds like a very interesting new game.

"As I said, it is an event model, an independent world of obsession."

The blue light emanating from Dr. Manhattan flashed again, and the holographic image of the badge began to rotate.

"To obtain it, you must enter into it with your consciousness."

The doctor explained.

"Experiencing firsthand the life of a comedian. He returns from the battlefield, becomes a government lackey, witnesses the hypocrisy of the world, watches hope crumble little by little, and finally faces death with equanimity..."

"You must find the root of his enormous obsession. What is he angry about? What is he desperate about? Only when he truly lets go of everything and is no longer attached to this world that is about to be destroyed will the negative energy he left on the badge dissipate."

"At that time, the badge will lose its blood color and become a stone that only carries information about the event model."

He looked at Xiu En.

"At that time, it will belong to you."

"It sounds like a role-playing game."

Xiu En rubbed his hands together, looking eager to try.

"In the game, I need to raise my affinity with an NPC called 'Comedian' so he'll give up his obsession, and then I can get the reward for completing the game, right?"

Loki added from the side.

"I must warn you, dear guest star, this is no easy game."

"You will inherit everything from the comedian. His power, his identity, his terrible relationships, and his memories filled with countless sins. You will not be able to use your own unreasonable power, but will only be able to play the role of Edward Blake and find the knot in his chaotic life that he truly cannot untie."

A devilish smile appeared on Loki's face.

"Want to give it a try? A truly hardcore, realistic RPG? No save points, no walkthroughs, once you start, you have to finish it. Otherwise, your consciousness will be forever trapped in those disgusting thirty years."

This description, which sounded like a threat, only excited Xiu En more.