American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

In the bowling alley, only Maya's suppressed sobs remained.

Looking at the trembling girl kneeling on the ground, Xiu En reached into his inner pocket again.

Afu's cookies are always the best choice for dealing with all kinds of unexpected situations.

His fingers fumbled in his pocket.

empty.

He switched to another bag.

It's still empty.

He stubbornly turned the entire lining inside out.

Damn it, I just replenished my pockets with a huge batch of cookies after I sensed my true form!

In the end, he only managed to find a few Asford cookies mixed with metal in a corner.

This is not something an ordinary person can eat.

Ivy sighed and relayed the scene seen by the other sunflower to Xiu En.

Another projection of Shuen, searching for the bow, is floating above the core of a dead, living planet called Ego.

The planet's surface was covered with a thick layer of gray, and countless blue souls with childlike faces surrounded him, singing peaceful songs.

Before each soul beside Shuen dissipates, it takes a warm cookie from his pocket.

"So it's all used up here."

Xiu En suddenly realized.

The other version of myself was dealing with a mess with another idiot wearing a red leather jacket and listening to an old-fashioned Walkman.

There were many, many child souls that were devoured there, which caused another Shuen to lose control and prematurely deplete his reserves.

Xiu En withdrew his hand.

He spread his hands, giving Clint and Kate an innocent look of helplessness.

It's as if they're saying: "My pocket is torn, I'm closed for today."

Clint and Kate were completely baffled.

Looking at Xiu En's blank face, which was blank due to lack of food, the sunflower helplessly covered its flower head with its leaves.

While Xiu En was still struggling with his inventory crisis,

The sunflowers glowed faintly.

Immediately afterwards, a vine extended from below her flowerpot, with an apple resting at the top.

Christmas still calls for apples, after all.

The vine carefully presented the apple to Maya.

Maya looked up, her eyes, red from tears, reflecting the vibrant fruit that seemed to radiate life.

Her body was still trembling uncontrollably.

The apple was placed in her hand.

A smooth sensation comes from the fingertips.

The next second, all the pain, anger, confusion, and grievances seemed to find an outlet.

"Waaah... Waaah—!"

She could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

Taking advantage of Maya's momentary daze, Clint reached out and supported her dislocated shoulder, then grasped her arm with his other hand and gently pushed and twisted it.

"Click".

The shoulder joint was successfully repositioned.

Then Clint used the same method to reset her other shoulder.

After doing all this, Clint didn't make any further moves. He simply squatted down in front of her, his complex eyes reflecting her tear-streaked and bewildered face.

He continued to communicate using sign language.

I know you don't want to hear anything right now.

"I know that I was the one who killed your father. That fact cannot be changed, no matter what. I have never intended to deny it."

"But I want you to know that you're not the first person he's used, and you won't be the last. Wilson Fisk, he's the real cancer of New York. He hides behind the scenes, manipulating everyone's lives, using us as pawns. Your father was, and so was I."

He paused for a moment, as if recalling some extremely painful memories. The fire of obsession flared up again in him, but this time it was filled with regret and sorrow.

"I went as a ronin to hunt down those on his list. I thought I was upholding justice, but in reality, I was just helping him eliminate his enemies."

Clint's confession made Kate's heart skip a beat.

She glimpsed the man's heavy past and understood the blood and tears behind that ronin's armor.

This is a mortal struggling in the mud.

"Maya, I don't want to ask for your forgiveness, because I don't deserve it. I just want to give you a choice."

"Come with me."

"Let's go together and uncover Kingpin's true colors."

"Let me show you with your own eyes who really destroyed everything you had."

"After this, whether you seek revenge on me or him, I will see it through to the end."

Maya's eyes were red and swollen, and her face was still streaked with tears, but deep within those eyes, a fiery will was reigniting.

She simply picked up the apple silently and stood up from the ground.

She chose the path that leads to the truth.

Soon after, Maya left with the others.

In the car.

Maya sat in a corner of the back seat, clutching the apple tightly in her hand.

She turned her face to the window, not wanting anyone to see her expression.

But her hands, in sign language, gave an address.

Fisker Tower. Midtown West.

The skyscraper named after Kingpin was the lair of this underground emperor.

Kate sat next to Maya, wanting to say something to comfort the girl who had just gone through everything, but looking at the other's profile, which refused to communicate, she ultimately chose to remain silent.

She simply took off her coat and gently covered Maya with it. The car's air conditioning was on full blast, perhaps offering her a little psychological warmth.

Clint glanced at the back seat in the rearview mirror, said nothing, and silently started the car, merging into the New York traffic.

A remorseful executioner, a gifted rich girl apprentice, and a vengeful man whose family was destroyed.

And a passing sun and sunflower, eagerly awaiting the main course.

This small van carried the strangest and most dangerous group of passengers in New York this Christmas.

"It looks terrible."

As the road approached the Midtown area, the complete outline of the Fisker Building came into view.

He sat in the passenger seat, his eyes fixed on the all-glass building that gleamed in the sunlight, his tone filled with genuine disdain.

"This building looks glamorous and spotless on the outside, but if you lick it, you can taste the plastic and carcinogens inside. It's too extravagant and too fake."

Clint and Kate, who was listening in, were both taken aback.

This was the first time they had heard someone evaluate the architectural style of a skyscraper from the perspective of food.

Kingpin, Wilson Fisker, presented himself to the public as a self-made, philanthropic business tycoon dedicated to making New York a better place. But beneath this glamorous exterior lay the city's dirtiest crime and decay.

"Would you eat it?"

Kate seemed to have thought of something and asked curiously.

"Of course not!"

Xiu En answered immediately, as if he had heard some extremely insulting suggestion.

"Junk food can occasionally be a good change of pace, but this kind of pure industrial waste will upset your stomach if you eat it."

His gaze shifted to Clint and Maya.

"Two avengers burdened with blood feuds. Tsk tsk."

As he spoke, he even nodded in satisfaction.

"This is top-grade spice; it can bring out the most intense flavor in any ordinary dish. I'm starting to look forward to it."

Sunflower mentally complained.

"Do you really have to use your own ingredients as a metaphor?"

Xiu En automatically ignored Sunflower's complaints.

The car didn't drive directly to the Fisker Building, but instead stopped in front of a fast food restaurant a few blocks away.

"Let's replenish our energy first, and change our clothes while we're at it."

"We are about to fight a tough battle."

He was referring to himself and Kate. Maya's joints had just been reset, and she was still extremely weak and disoriented.

Shuen was an exception. Although he didn't know why Shuen had been following him, this man of light seemed to have no intention of fighting, so Clint didn't include Shuen in his combat strength.

Twenty minutes later, the four people got back into the car.

Clint and Kate both changed into inconspicuous black sportswear and hoodies, concealing their weapons under their coats.

Maya simply washed her face and changed into one of Kate's spare coats, but the sadness in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Clint, with a fast-food burrito in his mouth, was planning a famous route on the car's holographic map as he chewed.

"The Fisk Tower's security system is military-grade, designed by Strange International. It features three independent power networks, over 500 dynamic encrypted cameras, and a rapid response team composed of former Navy SEALs on standby 24/7."

He shared these classified intelligence, which once belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D., with everyone without reservation.

"The main entrance, the underground parking garage, and even the sewage pipes are equipped with vital signs and gravity sensors. It's impossible to get in via the usual route."

He zoomed in on the map and pointed to the top floor of the building.

"But they have a fatal weakness."

"Kingpin was an extremely fastidious and obsessive-compulsive jerk. He demanded that the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office be cleaned daily from the outside so he could get a bird's-eye view of his city. To make the work easier, he had a nearly unknown maintenance platform and track installed at the top of the windows."

"That platform isn't monitored by the building's internal security system because it's external by default. As long as we can get there undetected, we can go straight into Kingpin's office."

"Climb up from the outside of the 60th floor?"

Kate gasped, realizing she had made a contribution to global warming.

"This is insane."

"Go crazy or go home. You choose."

Clint glanced at her.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Kate's face, but seeing Clint's resolute gaze and Maya's eyes, now burning with renewed vengeance, she gritted her teeth: "I'll do it!"

Clint laughed.

This newbie is braver than he imagined.

He turned to look at the silent Maya and asked in sign language, "What about you? This is dangerous."

Maya stared silently at the burrito in his hand for a moment, then picked up the apple and took a small bite.

The apple's vitality seemed to give her a bit of strength.

She looked up, met Clint's gaze, and answered firmly in sign language as well.

"I'll go. Even if I die there, I'll die in front of him."

This decision put Clint's last worry at ease.

A person who is determined to die can often unleash the most terrifying power.

This is not a bad thing for the actions to come.

Finally, everyone's attention was focused on the golden figure who had been watching the show from the sidelines.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Xiu En shrugged.

"The cook and side dishes are all ready, and of course I unconditionally support any decision you make. However, rock climbing is too slow and unsafe; it wouldn't be good if someone accidentally fell and got hurt."

He stretched out his finger and pointed it at the glass facade of the Fisker Building.

"I think we should go directly through the employee entrance."

Under Maya's bewildered gaze, and Clint and Kate's horrified stares, the wall of the 60th floor of the Fisk Tower caved inward, eventually forming an opening just large enough for one person to pass through!

Meanwhile, another opening appeared in front of the vehicle.

Like an abyss, it opened its mouth.