"Give me a newspaper, please."
It is another quiet day on the streets of New York City today. The midterm elections have not yet begun, but those MAGA believers are already as restless as wild beasts in spring.
They affected a lot of things and messed up a lot of things, but they didn't affect the poor business of this street newsstand.
The boss who is guarding here is not worried.
He seemed to have gotten used to the worsening economic situation. And because this year has been so disastrous, he was lucky to be alive. How could he expect to make money?
But just as he finished his breakfast sandwich, a gentle voice sounded in front of the newsstand.
The boss quickly wiped the food residue from the corner of his mouth, looked up, and saw a man in a casual suit and sunglasses taking money out of his wallet.
"Give me a few more bottles of water and two packs of tissues."
Jiang Xia handed over the smallest denomination of money in his hand. The boss took it, looked at , and said unhappily:
"You young people are getting weirder and weirder. You go out to buy newspapers without any change?"
"No need for change."
Lao Jiang picked up a newspaper, put it in front of his eyes and read it. Without looking up, he said:
"I just came here for a trip with my family, but the tour guide we had booked went to participate in a parade and left us here. It was very embarrassing. I just needed a local to tell me what fun things there are here.
Look, man.
My daughter is waiting there.”
He gestured with his thumb, and the boss looked in the direction of his finger and saw Gu Miao, wearing SpongeBob SquarePants clothes, standing next to a high-end commercial vehicle.
Waving a few bills, buying a hot dog at a roadside stand.
"Your daughter is so cute, man."
The boss is old and naturally likes children very much. Taking advantage of this topic, he also became interested in talking. He looked around and saw that the business of the newsstand was as bleak as ever.
Since I was bored, I just chatted with this young man who looked quite rich to kill time.
"You want to take your family out to play, why are you coming to this damn place?"
The newsstand owner complained:
"There is an epidemic here. You can see that there are fewer people on the streets. A bunch of politicians are busy canvassing for votes and don't care whether we live or die. Maybe you should take your baby daughter and leave now.
I heard that the East is pretty good, maybe you can go there and have some fun."
"I want to, too."
Old Jiang turned over the boring sports section of the newspaper and read the news of the past few days while saying:
"But my daughter is a superhero fan, and I heard there were a lot of those weird guys in the city, so I brought her here to see them.
Do you have a lot of guys in costumes here?"
"many!"
The old man at the newsstand picked up his sandwich again, took a bite, and said incoherently:
"There were enough of them before. There were these lunatics roaming around Mai Lin Street every night. Every now and then, you could see them on the street, beating the bad guys into a pulp.
That has become a regular feature of this city.
People here are used to it, and the children are ignorant and blindly follow the trend. Our ideal used to be to become a rocket expert or a dentist to make money.
Nowadays, all these kids want to be heroes and beat up the bad guys.
whispering sound."
The old man snorted disdainfully, as if complaining, and said to Lao Jiang:
"If those heroes are useful, why do we need the police? If they really have power, why are there more and more bad guys? Last month, a group of lunatics robbed a group of people in a bank.
As a result, that bunch of bastards ran in and messed around, and those who could have been saved were all killed. The bastard who rushed in to try to be a hero was also killed in the explosion.
If you ask me, you deserve it!"
"No one is taking care of them? The President doesn't care either? I think he's quite capable of handling things."
Jiang Xia looked at the news page in front of him.
Her name is Isis Coombe.
The candidate chosen by the party opposing him was also an old man named Malmos Asberg.
"That president is a XXXX!"
The old man who had a gentle face just now suddenly became furious when he heard Lao Jiang mention the president. He cursed:
"That idiot can do nothing but incite! During his four years in office, my income has been decreasing, and I used to be an office manager!
Look at me now, I have fallen to this place and am waiting to die.
Look at the homeless people on the street. Damn it! In four years, the number of homeless people in this city has doubled! What is he doing? He is still inciting those crazy people who don't have enough brains!
Shit! Why doesn't a super criminal come and shoot that idiot!"
"Relax, man."
Jiang Xia glanced at the indignant old man, picked up the newspaper in his hand, pointed at the news and said:
“Don’t you still have him? Mr. Malmos, who is fighting against President Isis, is said to be a traditional politician, or a superhero?
It says here that his superpower is that when he speaks, the people around him lose their minds and become sleepy. Is this true?"
"Of course it's true."
The old man stuffed the last bite of sandwich into his mouth, glanced at the newspaper, and said helplessly:
“That’s why Malmos never makes televised speeches, his superpowers can even be broadcast on television, and our mentally retarded president happens to be the best at incitement.
The election hasn't even started yet, but Malmos's party is already at a disadvantage.
But they also have a solution.
Their political party advocates harmonious coexistence between superheroes and ordinary people, and has promised that after he comes to power, he will relax regulations on superheroes.
It's just nonsense!
But with this trick, Malmos also won the support of most superheroes and their fans. Hehe, this election is very interesting.
I'll just wait and see what happens."
"Darling, are you still not well?"
Lao Jiang and the old man were chatting when they heard a call from behind. Ruyue rolled down the car window, and she, wearing sunglasses, ruffled her hair in a charming manner and called out in a standard London accent:
"The friends in the car are waiting impatiently. They urgently need a place to rest. Everyone is very tired."
"Wait a mininute."
Jiang Xia made a wait gesture and looked back at the old man. The latter blinked and whispered to Old Jiang:
"Is that your wife?"
"I do want to, but she's a girl with a lot of character."
Jiang Xia showed a helpless expression and said regretfully:
"That's my secretary."
"You're awesome, man."
The old man showed an admiring look among men and gave Jiang Xia a thumbs up. Old Jiang smiled and picked up the newspaper and several bottles of water and tissues he had bought.
He said to the old man:
“You’re a good tour guide. I know almost everything I need to know. Also, you said before that there are the most superheroes on Mai Lin Street, right?
I think I need to take my daughter there for a visit.”
"Don't go!"
The old man immediately warned seriously:
"That place is not for a respectable person like you to go, man. Take my advice, stay as far away from that damn place as possible. The security there is very poor and there are gang members everywhere.
There are many superheroes, but there are also many criminals.
You have such a lovely daughter and such a beautiful secretary. If you go there, you will be noticed immediately.
The police in the city who only know how to empty their magazines don't patrol there at all. When you get into trouble, you can only pray to God."
"Hmm... sounds like a good place."
Jiang Xia pursed his lips, took out another bill from his wallet, handed it to the old man, and said:
"Just consider this as a reward for your kind reminder. Thank you, buddy. I have to go now. See you next time."
After saying that, Jiang Xia took some water and newspapers, called out to Gu Miao who was finishing his third hot dog, got in the car, waved to the old man, and then closed the window.
The next moment, he looked back at the back seat.
The young superhero tied there had a terrified look on his face. Liu Hui, who was biting a hot dog, had her claws on his neck. With a slight pull, he would die immediately.
The unconscious criminal was thrown to the ground. Fortunately, Jiang Xia did not use the Self-Sacrifice Technique when he kicked him just now, otherwise it would not have been just a simple matter of breaking his sternum.
Judging from his condition, if he doesn’t get treatment, he’ll probably die in the car.
However, since this criminal provided Lao Jiang with a better business car, the kind-hearted Jiang Xia decided to spare his life.
"Do you have a base, kid?"
Old Jiang took off his sunglasses and looked at the young man with a terrified face. He said:
"Don't you superheroes all have your own bases? Like the Batcave or something like that. You look like you've been doing this for quite some time, so you should have everything you need, right?
Lead the way.
Let's go visit the secret base of the superheroes."
"Liu Hui, it will be dark soon, you and Ruyue go get the star array back."
As the vehicle started, Lao Jiang turned the steering wheel and said to the two people in the chip communication:
"Don't make any unnecessary trouble. Get the star array and come back immediately. There are some powerful people in this world who call themselves heroes. Don't take them lightly."
——
Jiang Xia was very disappointed.
He was unlucky and after catching a wild rookie hero, he discovered the kid's secret base, which was actually the basement of his house.
Fortunately, this guy lives alone, so Jiang Xia is spared from a lot of trouble.
"Bang"
The dying criminal was thrown roughly onto the ping-pong table in the basement. Jiang Xia took off his coat, unbuttoned his shirt, and rolled up his sleeves.
The ring on his right hand flashed with light, and a set of wasteland treatment tools jumped into his hand.
It is very simple to use. Inject the polymer therapeutic solution near the wound and don't worry about the rest.
As long as you are not dead, the wound will heal automatically.
Behind him, the rookie hero had been untied.
Gu Miao, wearing SpongeBob SquarePants clothes, was sitting on a chair with a gun in his hand, leaning against the young man's back. He was eating a seafood pizza with his other hand and enjoying it.
At this moment, from the perspective of this young man, in the dim light in the basement, Lao Jiang, with his back to him, was "treating" the criminal in a rough manner.
The back view projected in the light made Lao Jiang inadvertently have the aura of a villain.
The young man was frightened and trembled.
He felt that he had encountered a legendary super criminal...
He was the scariest, most vicious one, the one who possessed strange superpowers. His heroic career was about to end just as it began.
"What are you doing standing there?"
Jiang Xia shook off the blood on his hands and whispered:
"Why don't you introduce yourself, kid? Tell me, what are your abilities? How did you get them? And, some information about you superheroes.
Go ahead.
Everyone's time is precious and should not be wasted.
I’m listening.”