American comics: You're asked to fish, but you catch a Superman template?

Page 1388

They found a restaurant next to the ice rink in the mall, intending to end their perfect day with Chinese food. But purely by chance, they ran into a familiar face in the restaurant.

"Mike?" Xu Fu asked uncertainly, looking at the rather familiar figure by the dining table.

Mike Marcus turned around and, seeing the two of them, couldn't help but beam with delight: "Xu Fu! Ha, what a surprise! Your girlfriend is... Sorry, have I forgotten your name again?"

"Carla," Carla greeted him with a smile, "Carla Kent."

As luck would have it, the festive Chinese restaurant was packed, and the two of them, who were worried about not finding any empty seats, simply asked the waiter to add two more seats and sat down next to Mike.

Mike glanced at the dozen or so bags of clothes Xu Fu had laid out on the table and couldn't help but cast an envious look at him: "You're really lucky to have such a beautiful girl with you for Christmas. Look at me..."

“I thought you lived in Beach City,” Xu Fu asked. “Isn’t your family in Beach City? Aren’t you going back for Christmas?”

Mike opened his mouth as if to say something, but then suddenly closed it again. He had come here because he had learned that the Metropolis had discovered traces of the Knights, which made him realize that the Knights and his work were likely state secrets. His burly, dark-haired superior had emphasized the seriousness of his work's secrecy more than once, and perhaps this shouldn't have been a topic of conversation at the dinner table.

So he changed his style to "...find a job...part-time".

"A part-time job?" Xu Fu raised his eyebrows in disbelief: "A part-time job that's more important than Christmas?"

"Yes, more or less."

Xu Fu grew increasingly curious and wanted to know what this part-time job was all about. Mike, on the other hand, was indeed not good at keeping secrets: under Xu Fu's persistent questioning, he only persisted for a few minutes before deciding to tell his neighbor about the parts of his recent experiences that were not covered by the confidentiality agreement.

Mike mysteriously displayed a delicate green ring on his right hand. "See that ring?"

At first glance, Xu Fu thought the halo was just a green halo prop used in Halloween costumes, but when he scanned it with his super vision, his expression changed drastically: "Holy crap! This is...!"

"This isn't some Halloween costume, it's the real deal," Mike said proudly.

Xu Fu remained in shock for a moment, then slowly came to his senses: "How could you...? How could you...?"

"Did I get the ring? I don't know. It suddenly flew down from the sky and said that I have the ability to overcome intense fear and welcome me to the Green Lantern Corps."

Xu Fu wanted to know. Where else could a ring of green light come from? But where could it possibly originate?

But this still sounds too strange. The Green Lantern legend has been gone from Earth for six whole years, and now the Green Lantern ring has suddenly chosen a new Green Lantern on Earth, and this new Green Lantern just happens to be his roommate... Speaking of which, why doesn't the Green Lantern ring encourage him to report to the Green Lantern Corps? Isn't it standard practice for Green Lantern recruits to report to the OA headquarters?

“A ring with a green glow.” Kara looked at the exquisite ring in surprise. “I haven’t seen a ring like this in a long time.”

Mike asked warily, "It seems you two have known each other for a long time?"

“A? No…no.” Realizing she had let something slip, Kara frantically propped her nose up with her heavy body. “You mean never.”

Xu Fu quickly covered for his girlfriend, changing the subject and asking, "But... why did you tell us this just now?"

Mike looked at him, puzzled. "Otherwise what? Maybe I should still be the padding?"

“No, no.” Xu Fu organized his thoughts. “I mean… don’t you need a secret superhero identity or anything?”

"You mean keep it a secret? Why should I keep it a secret from my best friend?" Mike laughed heartily. Xu Fu couldn't help but pull his jacket back, as if trying to hide the S badge underneath.

As we were talking, Mike suddenly let out a loud whistle: "Wow, am I seeing things? What day is it today? I've run into two acquaintances in this little restaurant... Hey, Wally, over here!"

He shouted towards the front door, waving his arms vigorously. Xu Fu and Kara turned around and saw a young white man with red hair, wearing a casual sweatshirt, looking in their direction. When his gaze fell on Mike, a surprised smile appeared on his face.

“This is Wally West, another good brother of mine,” Mike said with a smile, waving as he introduced the two.

Chapter 1733 The Chinese Restaurant's Devastating Failure

If Xu Fu hadn't lost his memory, he would definitely be certain that this red-haired young man named Wally West was the Red Runner from Central City, the third Flash in the original comics after Barry Allen.

After Mike's warm greeting, the young man sat down at the table, which was originally designed for two people but had four chairs, making it quite crowded. People were huddled together, elbows against each other and their neighbors, creating a somewhat comical scene.

Xu Fu would occasionally glance unconsciously at the boy named Wally West, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was just someone who happened to share the same name as the Flash. Normally, the fastest official member of the Flash family is the second Flash, Barry Allen, who is indeed the fastest person alive. However, in the actual comics, several speed records belong to Wally West—the most incredible speed records ever set—all belonging to this unassuming red-haired kid.

“Walley lives in Central City. We met during a summer internship, like a summer camp, in high school.” Mike introduced them to each other, then turned to Wally and asked, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be staying in Central City for Christmas?”

Wally shrugged helplessly. "This is Aunt Iris. She said she's tracking a very important story and has been looking for clues in the Metropolis recently, so I came with her. I think we'll be spending Christmas in the Metropolis this year."

Mike laughed and said, "That's such a coincidence, me too."

Xu Fu suddenly realized that the new Superman, Supergirl, Green Lantern, and Flash—all these amazing men and women—were gathered so casually at the same table in this small Chinese restaurant. This gave him a vague sense of revelation, or perhaps it was the inevitability of fate.

The four of them ordered vegetable noodles, spring rolls, beef assorted rolls, Kung Pao chicken with beef, and almond cookies, chatting as they ate. They were all around the same age and had a lot in common, so they quickly became acquainted. Mike and Wally, in particular, were cheerful and optimistic, and clearly shared similar views and opinions on many issues, which seemed to destined them to become good friends.

From the third minute after they sat down at the table, Xu Fu was gripped by an inexplicable unease, as if someone was watching them from the shadows. Xu Fu looked around more than once, searching for the source of this strange feeling, but each time he looked up, all he saw was the bustling crowd in the restaurant, while that hazy gaze always slipped quietly into the crowd, completely unnoticed.

Xu Fu glanced around the restaurant at almost everyone: a waiter at the door was leading two new customers across the table to the seats that had just been taken; the cashier behind the counter was sweating profusely, paying for customers who had just finished eating; a clearly drunk purple-haired man stood by a table, singing a song that made the blonde woman opposite him laugh heartily; another man in a tweed coat and hood stood with his back to them, preparing a plate of fried aloe vera by himself. In the corner, a man in a tweed coat and hood stood with his back to them, preparing another plate of fried aloe vera by himself.

There were too many people in the restaurant to have a suspicious pair of eyes lurking around, and every time Xu Fu turned around, the uncomfortable feeling of being watched would disappear, like a potential underwater shark swimming in that direction.

Xu Fu frowned, beginning to wonder if he was being paranoid.

During the meal, Mike's eyes suddenly lit up. He suggested that since they rarely got to be together, they should perhaps have a drink. Wally hesitated, saying it wouldn't be appropriate, but Mike pointed to Xu Fu and insisted that the reason they hadn't gotten a drink last time was because they hadn't been able to persuade him to stop; this time, they should have another round of competition. Before anyone else could agree, he ordered a bottle of whiskey from the waiter.

Xu Fu couldn't help but smile wryly, feeling deep sympathy for his roommate who had just started a fight. Even if Kara was considered a girl, Mike was the only one among the four at the table who seemed to be drunk, so he could foresee the outcome of this argument.

However, Mike was unlucky, and his plan went wrong.

Several men in black leather jackets squeezed into the restaurant like bandits, as if brought by the cold wind and heavy snow. They were all tall and slender, and one of them had a silver skull hanging from a chain around his neck, which looked quite frightening.

The girl greeting the guests seemed startled by their arrival and timidly asked, "Hello, how many of you are there? If you want to eat, you'll have to wait in line."

The man with the skull-shaped pendant waved his hand: "No need, we're here to find someone." After saying that, the group walked inside like Japanese soldiers entering a village. The girl at the door didn't dare to linger and quickly hid to the side to report to the police via walkie-talkie.

Xu Fu noticed the commotion at the entrance. He glanced at the group out of the corner of his eye, wondering if they were trying to cause trouble in the restaurant. If so, they were really in trouble. Even in a metropolis during Christmas, there were so many restaurants, yet they had chosen only one. The only place where the four scourges had gathered.

· ·Requesting flowers····· ·······

The atmosphere in the shop cooled slightly, and the customers warily eyed these seemingly hostile individuals. Only a few of them completely ignored the gazes of the gathered crowd, squeezed through the gaps between the tables, and stopped next to a man sitting alone in a corner with his back to him.

The person in front took a big step forward, followed by several others lined up, each with a fierce expression. However, the man calmly sat down at the table, leisurely eating his noodles, as if none of this concerned him.

The guy with the skull hanging on his arm dragged a chair over and sat down. He snorted twice and said, "You really think we can't find you just because you've made us search everywhere? You think you can escape to the metropolis and we still can't find you?"

The man ignored him, slowly eating his noodles and leisurely taking a sip of water.

“A few days ago, you came to Gotham and asked us for help. Our leader helped you, but you used some evil magic to send him to the hospital, where he is now bedridden.” At this point, the leader of the henchmen suddenly changed his attitude, stood up abruptly, bent down in his seat, drew his gun, pointed it at the other side of his head, and said coldly, “I think when the leader comes out of the hospital and finds that I have blown your head off, he will be very happy.”

0...  

This was an old, discontinued gun: ninety percent of the guns on the market now are far superior, but it was still powerful enough to blow a person's head off at near point-blank range. The guests began to panic, and the restaurant called the police, but the man who had been shot in the head remained seated, his back to the exit, seemingly oblivious to what was happening around him.

Regardless of any gang disputes, the guy with the black wallet pulling out his gun was clearly making one of the dumbest decisions of his life. He was completely unaware that just five steps behind him was a circle of superheroes, each capable of making the old-fashioned pistol in his hand look like a plastic toy.

Xu Fu and Kara looked at each other, pondering how to arrange things so that the other two wouldn't notice. They realized they were overthinking things.

In the instant the unfortunate thief snatched the gun, a green light and a golden afterimage flashed almost simultaneously. Half a second later, among the group of thieves with the black wallet, before the thick-skinned man could even process what had just happened, the gun in his hand was reduced to a pile of rusty parts, clattering and tinkling all over the ground. Several Christmas gift belts, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, rolled around like giant dumplings.

Wally and Mike stopped in their tracks, staring at each other in surprise, and exclaimed in unison.

Chapter 1734 The Head of Order

Mike and Wally exchanged a suspicious glance. The man in the raincoat in the corner of the restaurant seemed to have finally finished his lunch. He hesitantly stood up and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He turned to the group, revealing a thin face, but a fierce and cunning expression completely contradicted it; a cold and deep aura emanated from his face. He removed his hood, revealing scars hidden in the shadows, the blood-red muscles a shocking sight.

“Before coming to Metropolis, I was wondering if I would run into someone else, but you guys have really surprised me.” As he spoke, the skin on his face gradually dried, and he smiled slightly with a twitch at the corner of his mouth: “I must say, it’s a pleasure to meet you, the new generation of Green Lantern and Flash.”

Mike frowned and stared at his companion for a moment, but then he realized he recognized him. He thought for a moment and suddenly remembered seeing a similar face in the mission report of the female "063" hunter after she returned from Cortland. The hunter had drawn a portrait of the Knights Commander from memory, and although a small part of the face of the person in front of him was cracked, it looked very much like him.

"Are you the leader of the Knights?" Mike asked in surprise, while the remaining people also cast strange glances at the cloaked man.

Mike showed no fear; instead, a delighted smile spread across his face. He clenched his right hand, his entire body enveloped in green light, instantly donning the tight-fitting Green Lantern suit. He raised the halo, pointed it at the speaker's nose, and said, "We've been looking for you for a long time, but this is no problem at all."

The chief shrugged nonchalantly, seemingly oblivious to the green glint near his nose.

"boom!"

Countless beams of green light shot out from the small restaurant, and under the diffused light, every pane of glass shattered violently, shards scattering onto the sidewalk like water outside the windows. The green beams shot out of the restaurant like arrows, striking a large pothole in the asphalt pavement at incredible speed, bouncing back, then flying across the street and into the skating rink.

Mike could barely see what was happening: to him, it seemed as if he had forcefully released the energy of the aura at that person, and the next second, an invisible force threw him out of the restaurant and into the center of the ice rink.

The people on the ice rink were at a loss, instinctively backing away in fear. Mike stood up, bracing himself with one hand on the ground, the dry ice surface cracking deeply from his hand.

The leader followed closely behind, his gleaming black boots clattering on the cracked ice. Mike noticed that the second man's skin had turned black, an unidentifiable black substance covering his body like armor, just like the two men he had dealt with before.

"Another one like you?" Mike stood up and said with concern, "You know, I've taken care of two other people just like you."

“No.” The chief’s mouth, like cracked black mud, creased slightly, and he sneered, “You’ve never met anyone like me before.”

"Suspicious"

As soon as Mike finished speaking, green light condensed into a heavy Gatling gun in his hand. Driven by his imagination, the six barrels spun rapidly, and the 20mm caliber barrels spewed green flames, with bullets ignited by willpower flying into the sky.

If he were facing these two former enemies, they would be utterly powerless against his firepower. Vulcan's green beam cannon easily pierced through the darkness and their flesh, using its green divine aura to dispel the lingering black spiritual energy.

Unfortunately, this enemy seems quite different.

Not a single bullet hit the enemy; all the bullets disappeared within a distance of about two meters. A layer of black mist drifted around the commander's torso, and the Gatling bullets, like green fireflies in the sky, flowed into the darkness, only to be instantly absorbed and lose their light one by one.

Mike frowned: "What?"

The leader raised his hand, pointing his five fingers at him. A dark wave immediately swept across his palm, hurtling out like a tidal wave towards the direction of Green Lantern's attack. Mike instinctively raised his shield to block, but the powerful impact sent him and his shield flying, punching through the semi-circular roof of a grocery store next to the skating rink.

A golden-red shadow followed from the other side of the street. A gust of wind swept past the chieftain's neck, and before he could turn around, a fist crackling with electricity struck his heart, causing him to stagger back a couple of steps before his feet slammed onto the ice to steady him.

Wally, who had just transformed into the Flash, rushed to the rescue at incredible speed. He threw a punch, then dodged to the side as a swirling current rushed towards him, avoiding the leader's attack at supersonic speed and disappearing behind him at the same speed. His body seemed to have conjured ten doppelgangers of the Flash. The current swirled around the leader's feet, clinging to the surface of the shattered ice, following the Flash's trajectory, seemingly ready to repel his high-speed attack at any moment.

Wally's movements stopped halfway, his figure changed like a ghost, the surrounding undercurrents flashed in the opposite direction, and a current carrying a fist slammed towards him.

Hit the jackpot

However, just as Wally's fist was centimeters away from the chief's cheek, darkness suddenly appeared and slammed into his side, knocking him from the air like a hammer blow.

Wally crashed through the fence at the edge of the skating rink, landing dumbfounded on the sidewalk beside it. There was no doubt that only a handful of people in the world could maintain such reaction speed, and after the apocalypse, there were even fewer. Yet this guy seemed to be able to do it; Wally couldn't even figure out how he did it.