American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

Two patrol cars with flashing red and blue police lights were parked under the dilapidated neon sign of the Bessie Hotel.

Xiu En instinctively slipped into the shadows of a roadside phone booth.

Through the glass, he saw the bald hotel owner standing at the door, gesturing obsequiously to two officers in GCPD uniforms.

"Right here in room 304! There's this huge gun stuffed under the bed! Looks like they just robbed a bank..."

The boss's voice was so shrill that you could hear his eagerness to take credit even from across the street.

One of the policemen was holding a walkie-talkie, his hand already on his holster, and he waved with his other hand, signaling the others to go upstairs.

"Dry."

Xiu En cursed under his breath, his lungs starting to ache again from the emotional turmoil.

That Remington was gone before I even had a chance to enjoy it.

Along with those expensive buckshot rounds, and that bed that, though dirty, at least offered a place to lie down.

A line of small text popped up on the system panel at just the right moment, carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

[System Comment: Ordinary iron implements are easily discarded. You should know that the true weapon of war lies in the heart, not in its form.]

"Shut up."

Xiu En lowered the brim of his hat, turned around and left.

"That was my lifeblood. Now, apart from this bag of rotten pears and a small pistol, I'm penniless again."

After leaving the neighborhood where the hotel was located, Xiu En deliberately chose to go into alleys without surveillance cameras.

Gotham's alleyways are always filled with the smell of rotting garbage, but this time a malevolent smell of tobacco has mixed in.

Just as I turned a corner piled high with discarded cardboard boxes, three burly men in leather jackets with skull tattoos on their arms blocked my way.

Xiu En stopped and subtly slipped his right hand under the woven bag in his arms.

Glock 19s are hidden there.

The leader, a burly man with a mohawk, held a crumpled piece of paper with a stick figure drawn on it that looked exactly like someone with hyperthyroidism.

"Hey, you sick bastard!"

The mohawk-haired man spat out the cigarette butt from his mouth, shoved the abstract painting in front of Xiu En, and glared fiercely.

"Have you seen this kid? He's wearing a hospital gown, and he might have a gun."

Xiu En glanced at the portrait, then looked at his conspicuous blue and white striped hospital gown.

Have these people's IQs been soaked in Gotham's wastewater?

Or perhaps, given his current appearance—drenched in the rain and carrying a tattered bag—he looked so much like a homeless person rummaging through garbage that they didn't even associate him with a wanted criminal.

"I'm asking you a question!" A henchman next to him shoved Xiu En's shoulder impatiently.

Xiu En staggered from the push, clutching his chest and coughing violently, a cough that seemed to tear his heart apart.

"Cough cough... Big...Big brother?"

He raised his head, his finger trembling as he pointed behind him.

"Are you looking for...that madman with the big gun?"

The mohawk-haired man's eyes lit up, and he grabbed Xiu En by the collar: "Do you know where he is?"

"It's right there, cough cough... right over there at the Bessie Hotel."

Xiu En spoke rapidly, panting heavily.

"I just passed by there and saw him in room 304... pointing a gun out the window and yelling at people... like he was waiting for someone to come and fight him..."

"Damn it, he was hiding there!"

The mohawk-haired man shoved Xiu En aside and turned to yell at his two underlings.

"I knew that kid wouldn't get far! Let's go, kill him!"

The three burly men, cursing and swearing, pulled out daggers, iron bars, and even a homemade gun, and charged menacingly toward the Bessie Inn.

Xiu En collapsed to the ground, watching their departing figures.

"Go, Pikachu."

He brushed the mud off his knees and stood up. "There are two fully armed GCPD officers waiting for you over there. Have fun."

The system panel flickered, and the font became slightly more pleasing to the eye.

[Side Quest Trigger: Driving a Tiger to Devour a Wolf.]

[Comment: As the art of war says, "Use another's knife to kill, without lifting a finger." Though you are physically weak, your mind is perfectly suited to the cunning of military strategists. Baidi is both a master of killing and a master of strategy. This move suits my purposes perfectly.]

[Reward: Temporary skill "Aura Concealment" Lv.1 (lasts 30 minutes), allowing you to escape this dangerous place.]

"That's more like it."

He tightened his grip on the bag in his arms and turned in the opposite direction.

That is, walk towards Chinatown.

I'll go see if I can get my hands on some real "white jade" and altar materials.

The rain in Chinatown seemed to be less than in the slums, but it was only "seemed" to be.

Xiu En stood under the gleaming golden signboard of the antique shop, raindrops dripping from the white woven bag in his hand, forming a murky puddle on the floor tiles.

Inside the glass display case, a crystal-clear white jade Guanyin statue lies on a red velvet base, bathed in soft light, radiating a noble luster that seems to say "you can't afford it."

Xiu En swallowed hard, and was about to step inside when the burly man in a Tang suit and wearing a headset at the door took a step forward, his eyes, like copper bells, fixed on him as if he were looking at a piece of trash trying to extort money.

"Well, I'm just taking a look and experiencing the influence of traditional culture."

"roll."

The burly man uttered only one word, concise and to the point.

Xiu En shrugged, just about to use his silver tongue to discuss the principle that the customer is always right with the other party, when the system panel in his mind suddenly vibrated, and lines of golden text scrolled by like bullet comments.

【Foolish child! Foolish child! That vulgar thing, though it may have the appearance of jade, is stained with the stench of money, and it's priced at thirty thousand US dollars. You wouldn't even get a fraction of that price if you sold yourself now. Are you trying to rob someone?】

Xiu En rolled his eyes inwardly: "Then what do you suggest? Didn't you want white jade? Am I supposed to go and carve out a piece of tile for you?"

Turn around. Take thirty steps to the left. That stall selling fake antiques is your true home.

Xiu En pursed his lips, turned around and walked towards the stall huddled under the awning.

The stall owner was an old man wearing sunglasses, who was listening to Peking Opera with his legs crossed, and in front of him was a pile of bronze and jade artifacts that looked like they had just been dug out of the ground.

Of course, it's most likely from last week.

Xiu En crouched down, his gaze sweeping over a pile of colorful objects before finally settling on a white safety buckle in the corner.

This thing is deathly white, its surface is excessively smooth, and you can even see a small air bubble inside.

"How much is this jade?"

Xiu En picked up the peace buckle, feeling its warmth in his hand.

The stall owner pulled his sunglasses down, revealing a pair of shrewd eyes: "Young man, you have a good eye! This is genuine Hetian mutton fat jade, passed down from the Tang Dynasty. Look at the patina, the luster..."

Five dollars.

Xiu En interrupted his spellcasting directly.

"make a deal."

The stall owner answered even faster than he did.

"Want a bag? 50 cents."

Xiu En paid for it, stuffed the "Tang Dynasty plastic jade" into his pocket, and said somewhat guiltily, "Do you think this thing is any good? I think it's not even as sincere as the few rotten pears in my pocket."

The system remained silent for a long time.

Finally, a line of text slowly appeared.

Jade is the most beautiful of stones. As the saying goes, a small gift carries great meaning; in the way of sacrifice, sincerity is paramount. You are in a barbarian land, your purse is empty, and although this gift is counterfeit, your intentions… well, let it pass.

[System Notification: The key offering "White Jade" (fake/sincere version) has been obtained. Prerequisite quest completion rate: 2/3.]

This is all I can do to help you. The rest of the journey is yours to walk. Remember, the blood of Shao Hao is for killing and for justice. Do not dishonor the name of your ancestors. May you... have great fortune in battle.

The last four characters shimmered faintly before gradually fading away, like an elder watching a traveler depart at a crossroads.

Thanks.

Xiu En said in a low voice, touching the still warm safety buckle on his chest.

The next second, the system panel flickered, and the antique background image disappeared instantly, replaced by a cold, blue, tech-style interface.

System restart complete.

[Current Quest Update: The main quest "White Emperor's Sacrifice" has entered its final stage.]

[Current objective: Locate and set up an altar.]

[Warning: The host's current calorie intake is severely insufficient. Immediate energy replenishment is recommended.]

The somewhat verbose and archaic system text is gone.

Xiu En smiled and weighed the woven bag in his hand.

"Okay, got it."