Chapter 287: The First Encounter of the Boy Who Wasn

Sinestro has been very unhappy lately.

There are many reasons for his unhappiness, but the most important is that the Yellow Lantern Corps' lantern beast, Parallax, has vanished.

The lantern beast is vital to the Lantern Corps—not only because it holds a portion of the emotional spectrum's power, but also because it represents the color of the corps; its disappearance is like a shop's sign being stolen, and Sinestro is naturally furious.

But his frustration goes beyond that: unlike other Lantern Corps, which treat their lantern beasts as mascots and symbols, Sinestro has always wanted to control Parallax for his own use.

A lantern beast can possess a Lantern, but during possession, the beast's will dominates while the Lantern's will merely assists; Lanterns cannot resist the overwhelming power emanating from the beast within their bodies.

Sinestro refuses to become a Lantern controlled by the beast, yet he craves the beast's immense power, so he has long sought a way to allow the beast to possess him while he retains full control of his own body.

His research had made progress: using the Yellow Lantern's lantern furnace, he could use the power of the yellow ring as a medium to fuse himself with Parallax. Unlike simple possession, this deep fusion would let him fully command the beast's strength without mental interference.

But just as he was about to try this method, the lantern beast, which had been calmly resting inside the furnace, suddenly disappeared.

The Yellow Lantern's beast, Parallax, was born extremely early—Parallax existed before the Yellow Lantern Corps. As previously mentioned, Parallax is an ancient chaotic entity, and a chaotic being's mind is essentially a lake of sludge; orderly life forms can hardly comprehend it.

Yet chaotic beings still have instincts; these disorderly creatures naturally prefer environments aligned with the power they control—in short, Parallax thrives surrounded by fear.

Sinestro, once the greatest Green Lantern, betrayed the Green Lantern Corps to form the Yellow Lantern Corps and has performed well as its leader—but even so, it still falls short of Parallax's standards. This ancient chaotic entity's instinct tells him that serving under the Yellow Lanterns means going hungry nine times in three days.

So when a more primordial terror—the Black Tide—descended upon the universe, Parallax's sludge-like mind suddenly surged with excitement. If one must translate its thoughts at that moment into human words, it would be nothing but one word: "Food!"

Sensing the overwhelming power of fear arriving, Parallax didn't even glance at Sinestro; it turned and fled straight into Batman's arms.

Sinestro, returning from an errand, was stunned. Where the hell was his Parallax?! It was right here just moments ago?!

Losing a lantern beast is no trivial matter; Sinestro must find it. Fortunately, during his research into fusing with the beast, he modified the Yellow Lantern's furnace, which now guides him to the beast's location—Earth.

*The Wanderer from Douluo*

At this moment, in the attic of an old apartment building in Gotham's East District, Maggie stared, mouth agape, at the little girl in Selina's arms.

"Oh my God!! Selina!! What the hell have you done?! You actually—actually—"

Selina fixed her gaze on her friend's face and said: "Actually what? You don't think I gave birth to a child in the three weeks since we last met, do you?"

"But… but…" Maggie, frail and seated in her wheelchair, turned beet red. She pointed at the girl's face. "But she looks exactly like your boyfriend, Wayne!"

"Correct. She is indeed his daughter—but not mine."

Maggie's eyes bulged. "You mean he fathered a bastard?!! Oh my God, Selina! When did you get so generous?! You're raising some illegitimate child for Bruce?!"

"It's complicated. Asa has no mother—or rather, she actually…"

"Oh, I get it. Her mother 'died,' right?"

Selina shrugged. "Fine, that's it."

Maggie pressed her fingers to her forehead. "You actually believe that man's lies? Died? I hope she really is dead—otherwise, someday you might be 'died' the same way…"

Maggie frowned, growing serious. "Selina, I've never interfered in your love life, but I must warn you now—this isn't wise…"

"Today you accept one bastard child; tomorrow will you accept a dozen bastards? You're not even his wife, yet you're raising his children?"

"Enough, Maggie. I know you care, but it's complicated. Just know I won't be taken advantage of."

"Everyone thinks that," Maggie said, rolling her wheelchair to the bedside. Her voice grew heavy. "Do you remember Catherine from Fish Street in the East District?"

"Catherine? Oh, right—her golden hair was so enviable. What happened to her?"

"She thought the same way you do…"

Maggie rolled closer to Selina. "A few months ago, a wealthy man arrived on Fish Street. Word was he came from Emperor City, had vast wealth, and once gambled away a fortune in Emperor City's biggest casino—causing a sensation overnight."

"Catherine's nightclub often does this—they spill wine on her purposefully, send her to the restroom to clean up, then let the rich man 'accidentally' bump into her. That's how they meet."

"Catherine was beautiful and smart enough, but the rich man showered her with sweet words and money, clouding her judgment. She believed his promise to take her away from this hellhole called Gotham."

"Meanwhile, his other mistresses in Gotham came looking for her, nearly scratching her face off. She had no advantage—she was just a poor girl from the East District, while his other mistresses were mostly high-class courtesans from the West and South Districts."

"It made her resentful and bitter. Negative emotions devoured her reason…"

"To secure her position, Catherine came up with a stupid idea. She heard the rich man had over a dozen children, and their mothers lived off huge child support payments—some even moved into his mansion…"

"So she found a way to get pregnant. But…"

Seeing Maggie's gloomy expression, Selina already guessed the outcome—but she asked anyway: "What happened to her?"

"Of course, the rich man refused the child. He called it a bastard born from her promiscuity. We all know—he simply looked down on her lowly origins."

"He persuaded her to have an abortion, but the doctor he arranged was completely incompetent. It nearly killed her. If Catherine hadn't been so strong, she'd be dead."

"But it left her with severe damage and lasting complications, making her weaker than me—she can barely work. But…" Maggie shook her head. "She's not like me, with a friend like you who runs around every day to care for me. Now she's probably doing street work on Fish Street's back alley, under that cruel old hag's thumb…"

Just hearing that name made Selina shudder. That woman was one of the East District's most vicious madams—most of her girls didn't survive a year.

"Catherine won't live long," Maggie said, locking eyes with Selina. "You can't imagine how cruel these rich men are. To them, people like us are no different from trash on the street…"

"Selina, I know you're currently hot and heavy with your boyfriend, that rich Wayne. Yes, he's different from most wealthy men—he's handsome, rich, even willing to travel with you. But it's all temporary…"

"He may be dazzled by your beauty now, but it won't last a lifetime. That rich man who ruined Catherine once promised her a glorious future too, fooling that smart girl completely. I'm terrified you'll end up the same way…"

"In the East District, stories like this are endless. Many girls here have beautiful faces but lack the strength to protect themselves. Catherine's father was a whaler with great martial skill, so no one dared touch her before this. But many girls suffered worse than she did…"

"Selina, I don't want to crush your hopes, but love across such a vast class divide rarely has a future…"

Selina lowered her eyes. She sat on the bed with Asa in her arms. Asa mumbled nonsense. Selina stroked her hair. "I know you mean well, but everyone thinks this way—when hearing someone else's story, they believe they understand everything. But when it happens to them, it's entirely different."

Before Maggie could continue, Selina stood up and shoved Asa into Maggie's arms. Maggie stared at the little girl's blue eyes gazing up at her and gasped: "Oh! My God, she's so adorable…"

Maggie wasn't exaggerating. Asa looked incredibly beautiful and sweet—unless she showed her sharp teeth. She could have been the next big child star in Hollywood, landing every adorable little girl role for years to come. After all, Bruce's genes are flawless.

Selina spread her hands. "See? You weren't this way at first…"

Maggie kissed Asa's cheek. Selina watched the quiet child and felt a strange sense of relief.

"You've really picked a good time. If this had happened on the first day, we'd both be insane."

Remembering her own ordeal, Selina sighed. "These past days, I've learned one truth: I truly love Bruce. If I loved him even a little less, I couldn't have held on this long…"

"What? You mean she's naughty?" Maggie touched Asa's cheek. Selina was about to vent, when Asa screamed, leapt out of Maggie's arms, and vanished toward the window at a speed no human could follow—then jumped out.

"Oh no!" Maggie cried.

She frantically rolled her wheelchair to the window. Selina followed. Maggie watched Asa's tiny figure leap from the second-floor awning and shouted: "What's going on?! How is she so fast?!"

Her expression turned panicked. "Chase her, Selina! This is the East District—if the local gangs spot her, it's dangerous!"

Seeing Maggie's genuine fear, Selina swallowed the words she wanted to say: "The one in danger might not be Asa."