American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

Over the next few days, Gotham's criminals experienced an unprecedented, overwhelming attack.

If Batman represents fear, then Shum and his obviously intimidating red-helmeted henchman represent irrationality.

On the third day, Black Mask Roman Sinnis, whose iconic skull mask was deemed by Shuon to be lacking in calcium and of no collectible value, was uprooted along with most of his armory. The Black Mask gang was officially disbanded, and the civilians of Gotham established a religion that worshipped Shuon.

On the fourth day, the Riddler, attempting a comeback, set up three thousand riddles on the top floor of the television station building. Before the broadcast even began, he was blinded by the Tin Man, who could climb buildings with his bare hands, with an enormous searchlight. He was then hung on the lightning rod of Wayne Tower like a human specimen and left to dry overnight.

On the fifth day, Clayface attempted to infiltrate Wayne Manor to steal secrets, imitating Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, he encountered the voracious Shuon and was almost eaten as a new type of clay snack. In the end, Jason saved the villain's life by turning him into an indescribable ice sculpture with a freeze gun.

By the seventh day, even Oswald the Penguin voluntarily donated half of the Iceberg Club's profits to the city's greening fund.

The main reason is that Ivy turned his club into a tropical rainforest full of carnivorous plants.

On the morning of the eighth day, on the rooftop of Wayne Manor.

The recent rain seemed to have been largely dispelled by this unreasonable, nurturing golden energy.

Xiu En lay on the recliner.

[Main Quest Completed: Clear as a Mirror (Gotham Limited Edition)]

[Rating: Top Tier]

[Settlement Reward 1: Lifespan +5 years]

[Settlement Reward 2: Golden Wheel of Merit (slightly repaired), can slightly deter evil spirits.]

[Special Drop: Homecoming Beacon (Coordinates Unlocked)]

"Five years..."

Xiu En was so moved that he almost crushed the glass in his hand.

That's almost exactly 1825 days! That's 43800 hours!

Xiu En instantly felt like he could do it again. His back and legs no longer ached, and even the red-hooded guy who usually looked like he was going to get punched suddenly looked handsome.

Okay, I still find it disgusting to see this guy who hurt Ivy.

"What's wrong? Why are you laughing so happily?"

Bruce, perhaps because he was really exhausted these past few days, even with the help of the Bat Armor, the seven days of high-intensity cleaning had caused a layer of bluish-black stubble to appear on his originally rugged chin.

He came over with two cups of coffee, the one for Xiu En being a special edition with so-called inhibitors added.

"Boss, you don't understand."

Xiu En took the coffee, not caring whether it was hot or not, or whether his semi-metallic throat was afraid of the heat, and gulped it down in one go.

He no longer cared about the bitter taste.

"Imagine you think you're going to die tomorrow, and you're writing your will to leave all your money to the neighbor's cat, when suddenly Death calls to say it's a scam call and they're even forfeiting your five-year membership because of their bad service."

Xiu En stood up.

He looked at the newly appeared "Homecoming Sign" icon in the corner of his field of vision.

It was a blurry arrow shimmering with golden light, pointing in countless dimensional directions.

Although the system didn't say it explicitly, Xiu En understood.

This world is never the end; it is merely a stop on a much grander journey.

"Your...light has become stable."

Bruce looked at Hugh, his gaze no longer filled with the constant vigilance that seemed to warn him of the possibility of his house being blown up; instead, it held a more complex expression.

"This city is much cleaner now; let's leave the rest to that red-barrel man."

Xiu En stretched, and the energy within his body surged like a great river.

The coordinates on the system screen were jumping, as if urging something.

But now, Xiu En, who holds five years of life in his hands, is not in a hurry at all.

"By the way, will Afu make braised pork when we get back? The kind that's stewed in a big iron pot?"

Bruce paused for a moment, then the corners of his mouth, which had been tense for the past few days, turned up slightly in an almost imperceptible arc.

"As long as you don't mind."

Jason Todd, the Red Hood, tossed a tactical USB drive into his hand. The data inside was heavy enough to buy half a world's mercenary groups or rebuild an order.

"So, that's it? You just pack up and leave?"

Jason didn't take off the helmet, but there was an awkward sense of relief in his voice.

"I'm not sure if these toys you gave me will be enough to keep those restless lunatics in check."

Bruce adjusted his tactical belt, his eyes no longer filled with the scrutiny they had when he first arrived seven days ago.

"You're more like him than you think, even more so than I am in this world. Rules aren't constraints, Jason, they're anchors."

"Don't act like a stray puppy after you get the red bucket."

The light emanating from Xiu En was a little dazzling.

"If you really can't make a living, remember to ask my followers to draw a sun on the wall. Maybe I'll get lost again someday and I can collect some protection money while I'm at it."

Jason chuckled, a smile that, even through his helmet, conveyed a trembling sense of relief.

"Get lost, you glowing freak. Next time you come, remember to bring some beer from that world; the beer here is all spoiled."

Watching the red figure disappear into the shadows between the buildings, Bruce withdrew his gaze and turned to walk toward the Batmobile that had been waiting for him.

The engine emitted a deep roar, a frequency specially tuned to adapt to interdimensional travel.

"Let's go, our magician lady is probably about to trample through the floorboards of the Shadow House."

The vehicles sped along the empty streets.

Xiu En touched his belly, which was now as hard as a tank.

"It felt like being stuffed into a washing machine and spun around for seven days and seven nights."

"That's a spacetime distortion."

Bruce calmly explained, one hand steadily controlling the steering wheel, the other hand inputting commands on the instrument panel.

The golden homecoming sign on the system panel was flashing wildly.

Xiu En pulled out a pulsating golden light from that conceptual space.

To mortals, this may be just an ordinary gem, but to the spellcaster, it is the key to the only truth.

The view outside the car window began to distort, and the gray buildings of Gotham were stretched and rotated like paint in an oil painting.

Ahead, on what should have been an abandoned park, an ancient mansion, now appearing somewhat surreal, is faintly visible in the mist.

Cinema House.

"It's finally here!"

A woman's voice, clearly filled with resentment, pierced through the windshield; it was a roar amplified by a magical amplification spell.

Bruce instinctively shrank his neck, perhaps the most human-like reaction Batman had shown in the past seven days.

The moment the Batmobile crashed through the gates of the Shadow House, the world seemed to be put on a giant pause button, and then suddenly rewound.

Zatana stood in the center of the hall, her once-neat magician's tuxedo now covered in scorch marks and chalk dust. She held her ever-present wand and directed three mops to simultaneously wipe away the magical residue that kept gushing from the floor.

"Seven days! A full seven days!"

She turned around and joked.

"Do you know how much mana it takes to keep this huge house from falling out of this dimensional rift? I think my hairline is receding!"

Although Xiu En wanted to laugh, the coordinate orb was indeed starting to get too hot to handle.

"Here you go, courier."

He casually tossed the golden speck of light toward Zatana.

"Remember to leave a five-star review."

Zatana hurriedly caught the ball of light, and after sensing the pure and precise spacetime energy within it, her expression instantly changed from wanting to kill to wondering what kind of treasure this was.

"This level of purity? Oh? You're really good at this?"

She glanced at Hugh with surprise, then quickly waved her wand.

The entire hall began to shake, and the hanging portraits and chandeliers jingled and clanged.

"Hold on tight! Whatever's around you, hold on tight!"

As Zatanna's wand struck with its final blow, the golden light erupted, instantly engulfing everyone present and the enormous magical mansion.

The next time I open my eyes, I'll be home.