Advice

"What?" When Jay invited Kara over the phone, she sounded so surprised she almost suspected she had misheard him. "You mean, you want me to come to your family barbecue?"

"That's what I mean." As Jay spoke, he took the bagged groceries from the supermarket cashier. Mrs. Reynolds had said they were running low on ingredients for dinner.

The other end of the line remained strangely silent even after he carried the bags out through the supermarket doors. Puzzled, he asked, "Hello? You still there?"

"...I'm here."

Maybe it was his imagination, but Kara's voice seemed to have grown quieter. He added, "But it's fine if you don't want to come. I'll explain it to them."

"No, it's not that I don't want to. It's just..." Kara trailed off. She realized she couldn't find a suitable explanation for herself. Maybe she simply felt that the step of "meeting the parents" was still a little too early for her, but she couldn't say that out loud. It would make it sound like their relationship had developed into something especially serious, and the thought made her cheeks warm slightly.

After all, she and Jay had only known each other for a few days.

As if he had seen through her tangled thoughts, Jay added, "You don't need to feel any special pressure. My dad just wants to meet the superhero who saved his life. He's lived in Metropolis his whole life and has never even seen a real superhero. Who knows, he might even ask you for an autograph."

So this wasn't a traditional "meeting the parents" thing? Kara felt somewhat relieved and agreed, "Um, okay. What time?"

"This weekend," Jay said. "Are you free?"

"I am," Kara said. "I'll definitely be there."

After ending the call, Jay slipped his phone back into his pocket and strolled leisurely down the sidewalk with the shopping bags. Of course, he could have been sitting on the living room couch in the blink of an eye, but right now, he just wanted to walk slowly for a while.

The sun slowly sank behind the buildings of Metropolis. The darkening sky resembled an endless canvas, while blazing red sunset clouds cast the long black silhouettes of buildings in all shapes and sizes across its surface, giving the city its distinctive twilight air. The streetlights had not yet come on, and inconspicuous shadows crept into every nook and cranny of the city, as though lying in wait for an opportunity.

Jay stopped in a secluded corner and suddenly spoke to himself. "You said we'd find a chance to talk again later. I thought later would be a lot later."

"Super senses? That really is convenient."

Helena emerged from some unknown corner. This seemed to be a common skill among all members of the Bat Family. She had already changed out of her uniform and into casual clothes that suited the air of a youthful girl, though they could not conceal the mature, alluring figure beneath them.

"Want something to drink?" She smiled and pointed across the street. "My treat."

A minute later, at a milk tea shop.

Jay watched Helena take a hard sip from her brown soft-cup drink, letting out a long slurping sound before showing a satisfied expression. Just watching her made it feel as though the taste of milk tea had appeared on his tongue.

He spent several minutes giving Helena the shortest account he could of how he had gotten involved in the incident and what he and Kara had gone through during their thrilling trip to Warworld. Helena listened intently with the straw between her lips. By the time Jay finished, the liquid in her cup had dropped to a third.

After Jay finished, he held her gaze for a moment and asked, "So, does a state-secret agent have any thoughts to share on this?"

"You may not believe it, but I don't know much more than you do." Helena shook her head. "Headquarters detected a high-level energy signature in Chicago, and I happened to be the only available high-ranking agent in a nearby city. That's why you ran into me there. Before that, I knew nothing about the stories you just told me."

"Wait, weren't you in Metropolis?"

Helena rolled her eyes. "You don't live there anymore. My job requires me to travel everywhere. I might even have to go abroad on an assignment soon."

She paused, took another hard pull on her straw, and said, "We've already started investigating Kairi International Creative, but don't get your hopes up. I don't think we'll find much. Just over ten hours before you returned to Earth, the company's CEO vanished without a trace, as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth. And that so-called Quantum Research Department you mentioned—everyone connected to it, including its director, also disappeared. There isn't even the slightest trace of the department's research or development projects on the company's servers, as if it existed entirely separate from the company."

"So there are no leads at all? But how is that possible?" Jay frowned. "We saw it with our own eyes. It was hidden beneath that building! What about everyone else in the company? The board? The shareholders? Do they really know nothing?"

Helena shrugged. "It sounds strange, but apparently that's exactly the case. My people are questioning the company's other executives right now. They all insist that only the CEO knew anything about that department. They didn't even know there was a massive laboratory hidden beneath the building."

Jay's brow furrowed tightly, as if he could feel an invisible chill quietly spreading into every corner. Helena finally drained her drink. A loud slurping sound echoed from the empty cup. She set it down, noticed Jay's grave expression, and asked, "What is it?"

"I was just thinking about when my father disappeared. I went to see the detective handling the case," Jay said. "I heard them say that orders had come down from above telling them not to investigate it. They also said it had happened many times before. It makes me wonder... what exactly are we dealing with?"

"Who knows?" Helena shrugged. "But we'll find out. I'll use the resources at my disposal to investigate, but at the same time..." She paused, then abruptly changed her tone. "...I think you should be more careful."

"Me?"

"Yes, you." Helena put on a serious expression, like an older sister lecturing a child. "My superiors have started taking an interest in you. They asked whether I knew anything about you. Of course, I've kept it from them for now, but I'm not sure how long I can keep that up—considering you caught a passenger plane in a high-speed dive right in the middle of downtown Metropolis, I don't think that should surprise anyone."

"My dad was on that plane, along with so many innocent people," Jay argued. "I don't think there was any better way to handle it."

"I know. That was an emergency, and you truly had no other choice," Helena said. "But what about this time? You acted recklessly, without regard for the consequences. Your awareness of concealing your secret identity is practically as flimsy as cardboard. Do you know how much cleanup I had to do after you patted your ass and left? You got lucky this time, but not every time you rush in on impulse will someone be there to clean up your mess afterward. Understand?"

Her voice grew louder and louder, like an older sister scolding her irresponsible younger brother. Jay instinctively found himself unable to meet her eyes. He wanted to offer a quiet defense, but after thinking it over, he realized she seemed to be right.

"Of course, you're still a rookie as a superhero, so that's understandable." Helena's tone softened slightly. "I'm just reminding you that someone as special as you needs to be extremely careful with every decision and every action. I know you're invulnerable, and your abilities are nearly boundless, but Superman was too."

Her sentence stopped there, but the meaning was perfectly clear.

Even Superman had died. Who knew what would happen to everyone else in a world where even Superman could die?

Jay opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowed the words and only nodded. "Thank you. I'll be careful."

"Then that's it for now. I'll keep investigating in my own way when I get back. I'll let you know if there's any progress." Helena stood up and patted his shoulder. "It was a pleasant conversation."

Jay watched her back as she walked out of the shop, feeling slightly moved. Helena's warning did make sense. This world was far from as peaceful as it appeared, and he needed to be cautious with every step he took. She really was a good person, and this counted as her showing concern for him, didn't it?

That was until the young waitress gave him a sweet smile and politely said, "Two milk teas, twelve yuan altogether."

Jay: "..."