American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

Chapter 374 Bruce: You guys really weren't lying to me, you're really on vacation?

Walking Grass stared blankly at the warm light emanating from Xiu En's fingertips.

It glanced into the distance again.

It straightened its chest and took its first step toward the center of the field!

Its appearance did not attract much attention.

After all, it can neither dance, nor spray spores, nor fight with its vines.

It walked firmly past its companions, who were engaged in fierce infighting, and stood before Ivy.

Then it lowered its head.

One of the two emerald green leaves on its head shimmered.

Immediately afterwards, an identical leaf with a faint fluorescent glow floated down from above as if being lifted up, and was finally pushed in front of Ivy.

"walk."

It raised its head, its red eyes gazing up at Ivy, and let out the loudest cry it could muster.

This leaf is its most precious possession.

It is willing to dedicate everything it cherishes to the goddess it loves.

The Pokémon that were dancing, spraying spores, and fighting all stopped. They stared in bewilderment at this seemingly lifeless creature.

It was just a companion that offered up an ordinary leaf.

Ivy looked at the leaf floating in front of her:

The leaves are very ordinary.

But she could sense a mixture of tension, admiration, courage, and dedication in this leaf.

This emotion was conveyed to her heart through this leaf.

Ivy smiled.

"I hereby declare."

"My first knight has been born."

She reached out and picked up a leaf.

Then she squatted down and pinned the leaf next to another leaf on the top of the walking grass.

Finally, she reached out and stroked Oddish's round head.

"From today onwards, you are mine."

Ivy's announcement made the newly chosen Oddish almost faint with happiness.

It rubbed its round head against Ivy's fingers, making a contented whimper.

Xiu En watched this scene with a smile.

He found the laws governing bonds in this world incredibly fascinating.

Unlike the grand, world-destroying, life-or-death conflicts in the DC Universe, the bonds here are more like gentle streams, quietly connecting two independent individuals.

He took out the illustrated guide, ready to scan the source code of the laws of plants and organize it.

Then it was sent to Bruce and the technical team, who were probably already balding from waiting in the Ximu Realm.

At this time.

A bat-shaped silhouette, shimmering with a ghostly blue light, appeared before him.

The outline quickly expanded, eventually forming a rectangular black projection screen about two meters high.

With that familiar dark tech vibe and pretentious aesthetic, Xiu En knew almost without guessing who created this thing.

This sudden turn of events terrified all the Grass-type Pokémon that were still watching, and they all fled in the blink of an eye.

Even the newly appointed First Knight, Oddish, screamed in fright and hid behind Ivy's long skirt, trembling with fear.

After the screen flickered with static a few times, a familiar, slightly tired figure appeared in the center of the screen.

It was Bruce Wayne.

He had noticeable dark circles under his eyes and some stubble on his chin, clearly indicating he had been through a long, sleepless night.

His liver was damaged, but his eyes shone with wisdom and focus.

"Shuen, can you hear me?"

His voice came through the projection.

"Based on the laws you sent back yesterday, we deciphered the spatial folding algorithm of this world. We used it to build this temporary communication channel."

"Oh My God?"

Xiu En stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you devils? How long has it been? Just one night? And you've already figured out how to establish communication between Pokémon and American comics?"

"To be precise, it was thirteen hours and twenty-seven minutes."

Bruce corrected him meticulously.

"Moreover, the technology is not yet perfect. At present, it can only project audio and video, but cannot transmit physical matter, and the bandwidth is extremely unstable and may be interrupted at any time. We brought together the fifteen top brains in the alliance, including three different dimensions of myself, to barely achieve this."

"Are you guys people who don't need to sleep?"

Xiu En expressed his heartfelt admiration.

Bruce completely ignored Hugh's teasing and went straight to the point.

"We have conducted a preliminary analysis of the data you sent back."

"We've discovered that the laws of this world exist in a soft-coded form that we've never seen before. Especially the emotions you mentioned, which seem to be a quantifiable, fundamental energy, similar to a lamp ring, but much more abstract."

"Yesterday we established preliminary models for Pikachu's Law of Protection and Law of Miracles. However, the data is still too limited. We need more samples, especially detailed data on the process of establishing bonds between humans and Pokémon. This is crucial for our research into Law Disguise."

As he spoke, a small window appeared on the side of the screen, playing the scene of Ash and Pikachu embracing in the rain yesterday, which had obviously been recorded and sent back by Ivy.

"Based on our model's analysis, the formation of this bond seems to require a critical point of emotional outburst. For example, extreme danger,..."

A shared battle or a delicious meal?

Bruce's expression turned somewhat strange as he watched the scene on screen where Shuen pulled out a cookie.

"Does this mean that the triggering of the emotional law is related to the stomach?"

"Ahem, we'll discuss that later!"

Xiu En coughed awkwardly twice, forcibly changing the subject.

"So you mean you need more live footage, right?"

"Yes, the more details the better."

Bruce nodded.

"We need to know how this bond is formed, how it is strengthened, and how it is reflected in the Pokémon's strength."

"Okay, I understand."

Xiu En nodded.

He glanced at Walking Grass, who was still trembling behind Ivy's skirt, and suddenly an idea came to him.

He gave Bruce a mysterious smile.

"Speaking of the process of building bonds, we happen to have a fresh and excellent example right here."

He turned to the side, revealing Ivy and Walking Grass, who had been hidden behind him, completely to the projection screen.

"Ivy, it seems you're settling into your vacation well."

Then his gaze fell on the walking grass that was peeking out from under Ivy's skirt.

"What is this thing? Is it a combination of plant and animal? Ivy's new work?"

"Let me introduce you! This is Ivy's first knight, the brave Oddish lady!"

"walk!"

Seemingly understanding the word "brave," Oddish mustered its courage and stepped out from behind Ivy, puffing out its little chest in front of the somewhat serious-looking human on the screen.

Shuen patted Oddish's head, then grinned mischievously at Bruce.

"You know what? The reason Ivy chose it was simply because I saw it and gave it some encouragement."

"So in a sense!"

"I deserve half the credit for this newly formed bond."

His expression, practically screaming "Praise me! Praise me!", was practically written all over his face.

Bruce on the other side of the screen watched his smug look, then glanced at the walking grass hiding behind Ivy, who was clearly terrified of the black cube.

A peaceful world.

Cute creatures.

A leisurely companion.

It seems they really were just on vacation this time.

Great.

The heart that had been hanging in suspense all night, worried that these two troublesome guys might run off to some dangerous place, could finally be put on a slightly more relaxed note.

But of course he wouldn't say that out loud.

"There are too many irrelevant variables."

"My presence clearly startled the sample. And whether your encouraging behavior was the decisive factor in the formation of the bond is not relevant."

"Now, record the entire process of this Oddish being born and selected by your companions, including all your micro-expression data, and send it to us immediately. We need to establish the first complete model of peaceful evolution."

???

"Hey! You heartless boss! What do you take us for?! A 24/7 surveillance camera?!"

However, before Xiu En and Ivy could react...

In the projection background on Bruce's side, a figure slowly walked over, carrying a steaming cup of black tea.

It was Alfred.

"Young Master Bruce."

Alfred placed the black tea on the control panel next to Bruce.

"You seem a bit too agitated. Considering your intense focus last night, lasting almost thirteen hours and twenty-seven minutes with barely blinking, I suggest you take a break for at least fifteen minutes right now."

"I'm fine, Afu. We're at a critical juncture."

"Oh, really?"

Afu smiled.

"I thought the reason you were pacing back and forth in the command center like a cat on a hot tin roof last night, and even almost burned out Server 3 because of the excessive computation, was because you were worried that Mr. Hugh and the others had run off to some world more dangerous than Gotham."

Afu completely ignored his young master's cold back.

He continued speaking in his elegant London accent.

"I still clearly remember you saying at 3:15 a.m., 'Damn it! That guy's luck is as unreliable as his appetite! If he plunges headfirst into some dangerous world, I'm not going to be able to rescue him.'"

"Ah Fu".

Bruce's voice carried a warning.

At that moment, Zatana floated lightly behind Bruce like a butterfly, holding a strange drink with pink bubbles in her hand.

"Oh dear, is our Bruce finally relieved?"

She said with a grin, then uttered a playful spell into the air.

The next moment, a bunch of pink cartoon-style heart effects suddenly popped up next to Bruce's black projection.

These heart-shaped special effects even floated in a very specific direction towards Xiu En and Ivy.

"Isn't this much more intuitive?"

Zatana looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction, then winked at Shuen.

"The way he was worried last night was like he was afraid you'd be kidnapped by human traffickers."

"Zatana!"

Bruce's roar and the projection screen flickered wildly due to overload.

On Xiuen's side.

He stared blankly at Bruce, then glanced at the butler beside him and the gloating magical girl.

Is that how it is?

Ivy was also stunned.

She had always harbored a great prejudice against Bruce, and her biggest regret was introducing Hugh to him. In her eyes, Bruce was just a heartless capitalist who only saw Hugh as his ultimate weapon.

But it turns out...

Would he also worry, feel anxious, or even feel relieved after confirming Xiu'en's safety?

She glanced at Hugh, who was trying hard to suppress his laughter and whose shoulders were shaking, and then at Bruce on the screen, who was so overwhelmed by pink hearts that he wanted to unplug the internet cable on the spot.

She couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Hearing her laughter, Xiu En finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Hahahaha!"

He was laughing so hard that tears were almost streaming down his face, clutching his stomach.

"Bruce! Bruce Wayne! I never expected you to be such a tsundere, hahaha!"

"Shut up!"

Bruce on the other side of the screen finally succeeded in getting Zatana to turn off those annoying special effects.

"Send the data over! Now!"

"Okay, okay, I'll send it right away. Ivy will give it to you later!"

Xiu En smiled and wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

He picked up the encyclopedia and waved it at Bruce.

"Thanks for your concern, Bruce! We're having a lot of fun here! You and the rest of the tech team should get some rest too, don't overwork yourselves!"

After saying that, he cut off the surprising and unexpected cross-border call before Bruce completely lost his temper.

The projection screen disappeared.

Only the lingering laughter of Xiu En and Ivy remained in the forest.

Ivy laughed so hard she almost couldn't stand up straight, leaning against Xiu En's chest.

"Zatana, well done! Next time we meet, I'll definitely give her the most poisonous man-eating flower in the Dawnwood Realm! No! The most beautiful rose!"

"I have to record it even if it's not possible."

Xiu En laughed as he frantically worked on the encyclopedia.

"I'm going to turn all those pink hearts into animated emojis and spam them on his screen every day! Hahahaha!"

At that moment, the projection screen, which had just gone dark for less than thirty seconds, stubbornly lit up again!

This time, the screen flickered much more violently than before, and ominous red warning lights even appeared at the edges.

The laughter stopped.

Xiu En and Ivy exchanged a glance.

Given Bruce's personality, he would never have called back immediately in that life-or-death situation unless something extremely serious and urgent had happened.

"Xiu En".

Bruce's voice came from the other end of the screen again.

"Don't hang up yet, there's something else I haven't finished saying."

"The aftereffects of being forgotten are more serious than we imagined. The problems on Gotham and the League side are not too big yet. Although your presence has disappeared, the consequences of what you did are still there. I can explain these achievements that appeared out of nowhere with some backup plans and media guidance. I can keep the situation under control for the time being."

He then changed the subject.

"However, something has happened in the Ximu Realm."

Ivy instinctively grabbed Xiu En's sleeve.

The Realm of Dawn is their home.

"Your existence and Ivy's existence are the most important boundary markers and sovereignty declarations of the Ximu Realm."

Bruce explained.

"Once you disappear, Ivy's original body will also leave with you. This newly born dimension will become a piece of unclaimed fat meat in the eyes of those greedy demons in the multiverse."

"Just yesterday, our dimensional radar detected at least seven aggressive spying attacks from different dimensions."

"Is someone trying to take over our home?"

Ivy was a little angry.

"Yes, and the first fool has already come knocking on our door."

As soon as Bruce finished speaking, he stepped aside, revealing a wider view of the command center behind him.

Then Xiu En and Ivy saw Clark dragging a huge demon god, whose body was engulfed in deep red flames but was now limp and powerless like a dead dog, by the ankle of one hand, all the way in from the main entrance of the command center.

"Hi! Shum! Ivy!"

Clark greeted them warmly through the screen, and it was clear that he had also regained some of his memories of Shuen.

"Your honeymoon looks wonderful!"

"Clark?! You remembered me too? What's going on? Where did this guy pop out of this trash can?"

"Oh, you mean him?"

Clark glanced down at the unfortunate man still struggling on the ground, and then said.

"This guy claims to be the master of the Crimson Universe, uh, his name is something like Cytorak. Ever since you disappeared, he's been sneaking around outside the Dawnwood Realm, spying on it. He says the Dawnwood Realm was originally his territory, but it was taken over by someone named Sithon. Now that Sithon has disappeared, he wants to take back his world and even wants to change it back to its former dark and gloomy state."

"I happened to be nearby, and I heard him cursing and swearing, so I invited him in."

"You! You despicable barbarian!"

The Cytorak clone on the ground let out a helpless roar.

"When my true form arrives, I will crush this laughable world into dust!"

Clark acted as if he hadn't heard, stepping on Cytorak's back and turning the man's roar into a painful whimper.

He began to roar in impotent rage.

But all he got in return was a helpless smile from Clark.

"Sorry, he doesn't seem very friendly."

As Clark spoke, he grabbed Cytorak by the ankle and slammed him hard against the floor of the command center again, then added a punch.

The world is peaceful now.

Clark looked at the two people on the screen, a genuine smile on his face that inspired unconditional trust.

"Yes, Xiu En, Ivy, you don't need to worry about things here."

"You two can relax and enjoy your honeymoon! We've got you covered here in Ximu Realm! We guarantee not even a fly will get in!"

"After all, I have Bruce and all our friends in the league."

He stepped on Setorak's face, looked up at the dome of the command center, and his eyes were filled with determination.

"We will take good care of this home for you until you return."

"Just remember to bring us some local specialties from that world!"

Xiu En looked at his friend on the screen, who was standing on a demon god with a bright smile.

He smiled; it felt good to be remembered.

"Clark, don't worry, I'll definitely get you a fantastic local specialty!"