Chapter 289: Ah, It's the Sun, I'm Going to Turn to Ash and Scatter

"If there's something to say, just say it all at once." As a seasoned worker who had been tricked by the System's rewards into doing countless dangerous jobs, Ma Ma Zhaodi was very familiar with its tone: "Gigs don't come for free, so what's the catch this time?"

【Special Notice: Please proceed to the vicinity of the Star Laboratory first.】

"Making such a mystery of it."

The train station announcement happened to sound just then. Ma Ma Zhaodi hadn't even brought a suitcase when he departed, so he looked very light-hearted as he stood up and walked straight off the train.

The time was roughly dusk before sunset—Ma Ma Zhaodi had set off for the train station immediately after discovering the Drake couple's disappearance that morning; his farewells and instructions to Gordon, Harvey, and Alfred had all been given over the phone on the train.

Although they were all surprised by Ma Ma Zhaodi's sudden departure, Ma Ma Zhaodi could also be certain that their tones on the phone all displayed an uncontrollable sense of joy; Alfred even bluntly stated, "At least we'll have some peace and quiet for a while."

There was no sign at all of the affectionate sense of reunion they had shown him when he first returned to Gotham; it seemed the length of his stay was inversely proportional to these people's patience toward him—the longer he stayed, the less welcome he was.

Is this proper? Is this reasonable?

Ma Ma Zhaodi felt indignant; he secretly vowed in his heart that one day he would make them realize his importance to Gotham.

【To put it bluntly, to the current Gotham, you are like the sky to a fish, or the ocean to a bird.】

"Scram."

Ignoring the System's follow-up jab, Ma Ma Zhaodi stepped away from Central City Station; the moment he reached the street, warm sunlight shone upon his face.

"Ahhh—" Feeling the sunlight that Gotham and London had almost never seen for days, Ma Ma Zhaodi couldn't help but stretch and let out a strange groan: "I'm going to turn to ash and scatter."

Unlike in Gotham, several passersby immediately stopped and looked at him with puzzled, slightly panicked, and deeply shocked gazes.

"Uh, Mr." A citizen even hesitated before speaking: "Do you need help? I mean, do you remember where your home is? Or what your family's names are?"

"No, sorry, I'm fine, I'm okay, I'm not sick."

Ma Ma Zhaodi awkwardly hurried away; he had grown accustomed to staying in Gotham City where citizens' mental states were all excellent, and for a moment he was a bit unaccustomed to Central City, this city full of sunlight, or rather, a bit unaccustomed to normal human society—in Gotham, no one would ever care about a madman generating electricity by the roadside.

After all, everyone had already sampled enough madmen in their daily lives; a little bout of madness there was hardly a big deal.

"I'll never play with abstract nonsense again," Ma Ma Zhaodi thought silently, then walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi.

"Mr., hello." The driver greeted him with a warm smile: "Are you from out of town? Welcome to Central City."

"Ah, hello, hello—I'd like to go near the particle accelerator, to the Star Laboratory."

"No problem, friend; remember to fasten your seatbelt."

After Ma Ma Zhaodi got in the car, the driver's mouth didn't stop; whether it was due to the style of Central City here, this city basically had per-capita sunny, cheerful boys/girls, so Ma Ma Zhaodi had absolutely no chance to speak.

By the time the taxi drove all the way to the city center, the enthusiastic driver had already talked through the city's food, accommodation, attractions, anecdotes, and even Central City's not-so-long history; Ma Ma Zhaodi found it hard to understand how he had packed so many words into the time of such a short journey.

But interestingly, he also mentioned Central City's Yellow Flash, the Flash—as a veteran hero, he was basically the idol of every Central City citizen.

Ma Ma Zhaodi vaguely remembered that there were several generations of the Flash in the comics: the first and oldest, Jay Garrick; the second, Barry Allen; the third, Wally West—a white man, and also the fastest Flash in the comics.

He didn't know which generation the Flash had developed into in this world, but regardless of the generation, all Flashes had established a tone for Central City—that is, conscience, sunshine, and safety.

After all, having a superhero who could run from one end of the city to the other in seconds at any time was truly reassuring; a child might have just fallen from a building, and a flash of light would already be at the foot of the building.

Moreover, this city also had the world's most professional and moral rogues, the Rogues—they were a bit similar to the old Gotham style of flying the black flag of righteousness; their principle was not to kill unless necessary, and to leave after robbing the money.

One could only say, as the old saying goes, one region's soil nurtures one region's people. Heroes follow their city, and cities resemble their heroes. Gotham's villains generally share Batman's mental state; Metropolis's villains generally share Superman's numerical stats; Central City's villains generally share the Flash's conscience state.

After getting off the car, Ma Ma Zhaodi thanked the driver, walked to the huge particle accelerator, and asked the System: "I've arrived, so what next?"

【Location detected as correct; dark matter residue detected; tracing in progress—lock complete.】

【You have discovered a cosmic coordinate; you now possess the conditions to enter that universe.】

【Please use the "Smuggle" skill to enter that universe.】

"." Ma Ma Zhaodi fell silent for a moment: "I knew it; whenever the reward is high, it's either a difficult mission or a business trip."

Wasn't the million he earned last time precisely because he ran to Gotham City in another universe?

【You may also choose to abandon.】

"Well said, then can I just use Asset Points to bring those two back directly?"

【No.】

"Then that means there's no choice?"

Ma Ma Zhaodi rolled his eyes; looking at the mission reward, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Affinity with seven anti-crisis energies..."

Extending the blue bar was certainly a good reward, but the affinity with seven energies was clearly the reason it was worth a million.

Anti-crisis energy was a rather trendy concept; he wasn't a comic fan, so he didn't know much about it, but he also knew this thing had high value; the Flash's Speed Force and the Seven Lantern Corps' Emotional Spectrum were both anti-crisis energies, and as for the remaining five, he had never heard of them at all.

"You mean, as long as I finish this mission, I can possess these seven powers?"

【Possessing affinity means possessing the qualification to use the power, not directly possessing the power; it can be understood as a spiritual root.】

"Oh," Ma Ma Zhaodi was slightly disappointed: "I thought the version was finally going to reach the point of stat inflation."

【"Smuggle" differs from "Business Trip" and will involve special rules; please consider carefully.】

As he spoke, the System popped up a list of smuggling rules.

(End of this chapter)