American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

The first thing Xiu En did when he opened his eyes

It means to open the curtains.

There was no miracle.

Outside the window, the sky remained a leaden gray, and rain streamed down the dilapidated eaves, soaking the city of Gotham.

"I knew it."

Xiu En released his grip expressionlessly, causing the curtain to snap back and kick up a cloud of dust.

The countdown on my retina kept ticking tirelessly.

[Lifespan Countdown: 31 hours, 15 minutes, and 04 seconds]

He spent almost eight hours sleeping, which is practically burning money for him right now.

Just as he was about to consider whether he could stay in bed, the light blue text reappeared, carrying a mechanical indifference.

[Daily Task Update: Embrace the Storm (0/1)]

[Description: Since there's no sun, let the storm rage on! Please jog ten kilometers slowly in the rain. The life countdown will pause during the mission.]

[Reward: Lung cell activation (trace amount) / lifespan +2 hours]

[Failure Penalty: 4 hours of lifespan deducted (Life is about movement; inactivity means death).]

Xiu En's lips twitched.

This isn't a health and wellness system; it's clearly a death warrant.

He sighed, got out of bed to wash up, and turned on the TV.

The screen flickered a few times, then displayed Gotham's morning news.

The female news anchor is broadcasting the news.

"...Last night's convenience store tragedy on 13th Avenue in the slums resulted in the deaths of two robbers. Police are currently searching for an extremely dangerous suspect..."

The scene then cuts to a sketch portrait.

Xiu En picked up a half-empty bottle of mineral water, ready to drink, but almost spat it out when he saw that picture.

The person in the painting has a crooked and deformed face.

His eyes were different sizes, his hair looked like it had been fried in a toilet, and his expression was so lewd that he looked like he had just stolen the old lady next door's dentures.

The only thing that was drawn was the hospital gown, which was quite lifelike.

A line of red text appeared at the bottom of the screen:

[Reward: $5000]

[Characteristics: Male, black hair, extremely thin, extremely dangerous, suspected of having some kind of infectious disease.]

"Five thousand yuan?"

Xiu En touched his pale face, which was still fairly handsome, and felt a strange sense of offense.

"Am I only worth two junk guns in the eyes of the GCPD? And is this artist Picasso's illegitimate son?"

He swallowed the last mouthful of water with resentment.

Although the portrait was so abstract that even her own mother wouldn't recognize it, the hospital gown was indeed a striking feature.

Xiu En looked down at his blue and white striped clothes, then at the old, blood-stained, faded coat on the chair next to him.

Looks like he needs to change his gear, otherwise he'll be chased for twenty kilometers by those bounty hunters who want to earn five thousand dollars before he's even finished ten kilometers.

Xiu En quickly organized his equipment.

The Glock was tucked into his lower back, concealed by the hem of his coat. The switchblade was tucked into his cuff.

That shotgun was too big and too conspicuous, so it had to stay under the mattress and collect dust for now.

He turned up the collar of his coat to cover most of his face, and ruffled his wet black hair back, trying to make himself look less like the "sleazy man" in the portrait.

"For the sake of the lungs, for the sake of life."

Xiu En muttered to himself as he pushed open the door.

The corridor was quiet, with only the rhythmic creaking of an old spring bed coming from the next room.

He hurried downstairs and plunged into the cold morning rain.

The raindrops stung my face.

Xiu En had only run two hundred meters when his damn lungs started to protest.

Every breath felt like swallowing shards of glass.

But he dared not stop.

The red task progress bar in the upper right corner of the field of view is slowly creeping forward.

[Progress: 0.2/10 km]

A homeless man on the street, wrapped in newspaper and huddled in a corner, looked at the thin man running wildly in the downpour with the eyes of someone looking at a madman.

Xiuen adjusted his breathing rhythm, trying to avoid the puddles on the ground and the unidentified vomit.

The city is not much safer in the early morning than at night; there are always malicious eyes lurking in the dark alleyways.

"Cough cough...cough..."

Xiu En suddenly stopped and grabbed the wet, graffiti-covered wall for support.

A mouthful of fishy sweetness rose in my throat.

He couldn't hold it in and sprayed it out.

Dark red blood mixed with rainwater.

It spread rapidly across the flooded road, like a datura flower blooming in the mud.

Dark spots began to appear in the field of vision, and the mission progress bar in the upper right corner stopped at [4.2/10 km], flashing a deadly red light.

"Damn it, this broken system!"

Xiu En gasped for breath, trying to inhale the rusty air into his riddled lungs.

Rain dripped from the ends of my hair, blurring my vision.

He didn't notice the black Ford sedan that silently glided up beside him at first.

The car window rolled down, revealing a slightly tired face wearing black-rimmed glasses.

He was a middle-aged man who tried to maintain a semblance of dignity even in a dark city like Gotham.

Although he wasn't wearing a police uniform, his aura of justice was even more striking than the pistol at his waist.

James Gordon.

Xiu En's heart skipped a beat, even more violently than when he coughed up blood.

"Hey, kid."

"Do you need help? You look like you're about to cough your lungs up."

Xiu En instinctively pulled up the collar of his coat to cover most of his blood-stained face.

The situation is absolutely terrible.

A future police chief with a gun.

They were less than two meters apart from a wanted criminal with a bounty of 5,000 dollars on his head, whose special feature was "suffering from lung disease".

"I'm fine."

Xiu En lowered his voice

"But, cough cough... I was doing my morning exercise!"

"Morning exercise?"

Gordon pushed up his glasses.

"Exercising in your pajamas in a downpour? That's something new. Listen, this neighborhood's been a bit turbulent lately; two people died last night."

His gaze lingered for a moment on Xiu En's hand, which was covering his mouth and from which blood was seeping between his fingers.

"You need to go to the hospital or the police station. I have a car, I can give you a ride."

Gordon's hand rested on the car door.

They seemed to be getting ready to get off the bus.

Xiu En's muscles were tense.

Getting into Gordon's car would be like walking into a trap.

[Warning: Heart rate too high. It is recommended to resume exercise immediately; otherwise, it will be considered as passive resistance to the task.]

The system notification popped up at just the right moment, delivering the final blow.

Xiu En gritted his teeth and forced out a smile that looked worse than crying.

"No need, officer. I have my own pace."

He suddenly straightened up.

He forcibly suppressed the surging pain in his chest.

"And... I'm allergic to police cars."

After saying that, Xiu En turned and rushed into the narrow alley next to him.

The terrain here is so complicated that cars simply can't drive in.

Hey! Stop right there!

Gordon called out and got out of the car.

But all he saw was that thin figure stagger in the rain.

Then, like a reckless madman, he stumbled and disappeared into the shadows of the trash cans and fire escape.

Gordon stood in the rain, letting the rain soak his trench coat.

He frowned, looking at the pool of blood on the ground that hadn't been completely washed away.

"Lung disease, strange young man."

He pulled a notebook from his pocket, turned to a page, and found the wanted poster, which looked like an abstract artwork, tucked inside.

He glanced at the alley entrance again.

"They're about the same height, but that guy looks like he could die at any moment. Is he really the ruthless guy who took down two armed robbers?"

Gordon shook his head and got back into the car.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, if that guy continues to run in this weather, he'll probably be taken by God before he even gets caught.

In the alley.

Xiu En leaned against the moldy brick wall, feeling as if his lungs were on fire.

[Progress: 10/10 km]

[Task complete.]

The golden text finally appeared, more effective than any painkiller.

A warm current instantly spread from my chest to my whole body.

[Reward: Lifespan +2 hours. Lung cell activation (trace amount).]

Current lifespan: 33 hours, 15 minutes, and 04 seconds

Xiu En slid down to sit on the ground, no matter how dirty the puddles were.

He survived.

They managed to snatch a life from the clutches of both Death and Gordon.

"Ahem, the police in Gotham are really warm and hospitable."