The Beginning of the New York Night Dungeon

New York Park.

The surface of the central lake was covered with a thin layer of transparent ice, sparkling in the sunlight.

On a wooden bench by the lake, a white youth and an ethnic Chinese boy sat side by side.

Captain America, Steve Rogers, turned his head to look at Xi Nian with a teasing tone and said, "Thank you for not shouting loudly just now, otherwise, you might have been mobbed and stared at again."

"That's not something I want to see either. I'm not the type of person who likes to attract too much attention." Xi Nian shrugged, then asked with curiosity, "Captain, you're not dead yet?"

"Just dug out of the Arctic ice not too long ago," Steve spread his hands.

Perhaps because neither Steve nor Xi Nian felt the other was particularly special, they began to chat and converse naturally and tacitly.

"You said just now that you don't like attracting too much attention," Steve sighed. "In my era, everyone wished for others to focus their attention on them. Has the younger generation changed?"

"Times have changed, Captain."

Xi Nian really wanted to retort with that line, but ultimately he changed it to: "In fact, the intensity with which people seek attention now is definitely more exaggerated than in your time."

"I don't want to attract attention. It's simply because I prefer a peaceful and quiet daily life."

Upon hearing Xi Nian's words, Steve's young and handsome face visibly froze for a moment.

"Captain, I actually have a question I'd like to ask you," Xi Nian said curiously. "If you had another chance, would you want to be an ordinary person or a superhero?"

"This..."

Steve paused, seemingly stumped by Xi Nian's question.

After a moment, Steve softly said, "I think I'd like to be an ordinary person after being a hero. Unfortunately, it's all too late now."

Although he looked like a young man in his early twenties, the helplessness and loneliness on his face now were exactly like a centenarian.

However, calling him a 'centenarian' wasn't entirely inaccurate.

Xi Nian vaguely understood what Steve was trying to express.

Being a superhero was mostly for the world; being an ordinary person was definitely for someone.

And when the world was still around but that person was gone, many things lost their meaning.

"Why do you ask a question like that?" Steve looked at Xi Nian, puzzled.

"It's nothing, I just thought of it," Xi Nian shook his head.

This question would also be the biggest problem he would have to face in his future life.

The choice his aunt mentioned also stemmed from this.

Extraordinary, or ordinary.

A single thought.

"Xi Nian!" "Senior!"

Two calls suddenly came from behind him. Xi Nian turned his head to look, and it was indeed Gwen and Kara.

How did they find him?

"Kid," Steve suddenly patted Xi Nian's shoulder, meaningfully saying, "As someone who's been through it, I have to remind you to cherish the present. And also, take care of yourself."

"Captain, you've misunderstood."

Xi Nian's mouth twitched, thinking how the Captain America was always so unseemly.

"Captain, see you again if there's a chance," he waved his hand, got up from the chair, and walked towards Gwen and the others with his backpack.

Steve gave an OK gesture.

"Xi Nian, who were you talking to just now?" Gwen asked curiously, looking at the distant chairs.

Xi Nian also looked back. The wooden bench by the lake was already empty of Captain America's figure.

Xi Nian casually replied, "Someone I met on the road, just chatted a bit."

"Is that so?" Gwen blinked, half-believing, half-doubting, but didn't press further.

Kara beside her had a thoughtful expression.

Xi Nian and his group continued their shopping and sightseeing until it was dark by the time they realized it.

As night fell, New York, the city that never sleeps, radiated even more vibrant energy.

For young boys and girls on the cusp of love, the night was the best time to create miracles.

Especially when traveling, it provided a perfect excuse to stay overnight in a foreign place.

This was the perfect time and place!

New York, Queens, at a local hotel.

"What? Only one room left?" Xi Nian's brow furrowed after inquiring at the front desk. He thought for a moment, then decisively took out his bank card and placed it on the counter. "Then get us one room!"

"Xi Nian, this might not be good," Gwen said from behind him, her earlobes already flushed red. This was still a bit too stimulating and bold for her.

"Senior." Kara also shook hands a little awkwardly, looking like she had something to say but didn't.

"What are you two thinking about?" Xi Nian scratched his head and arranged, "You two will stay here tonight. I'll find another hotel to rest in the nearby streets."

The two beautiful girls were once again stunned by the unexpected path and outcome.

The hotel receptionist's jaw dropped as she witnessed this scene, unsure of what to say.

Please, just be human!

After settling Gwen and Kara into their hotel, Xi Nian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. With the Little Orange Cat's head occasionally peeking out of his backpack, he walked along the street outside the hotel entrance to find accommodation.

Under the night sky, neon lights flickered.

Traffic flowed on the bustling street.

Xi Nian merged into the crowd, and at the same time, at a corner of the same street.

In a damp, smelly, dark alley with no lights, a pool of unidentifiable still water on the ground suddenly squirmed on its own. The viscous black gel-like liquid seemed to have a life of its own, rolling and silently moving to the darkest corner of the wall, as if lurking and watching the pedestrians passing by on the street outside.

"Is there any suitable human physique for parasitism?"

"I can't hold on much longer..."

The unknown creature's hoarse whisper was filled with anxiety. It had no actual limbs or brain, just a mass of black liquid, and it was unclear where its words came from.

Just then, the young man with the backpack passed by on the street outside the alley.

The black liquid creature suddenly moved violently, following the alley wall, and chased after Xi Nian madly and rapidly.

Puff!

Xi Nian, walking in the street, stumbled. He looked back in surprise, feeling a gentle push on his back.

But there was no one behind him.

"An illusion?" Xi Nian muttered to himself. He didn't notice that in his backpack, a pair of cat eyes were staring intently at a certain spot on his body.

Soon.

Xi Nian found a second hotel not far from where Gwen and the others were staying. The hotel entrance had a revolving door design. Xi Nian stepped forward and pushed the revolving door, but as he entered the space within the revolving door, his body suddenly trembled violently.

A strange feeling, from the inside out, filled his heart.

"What's going on?" Xi Nian's eyes widened in confusion. He looked at his hands in astonishment, only to see his body and the clothes he was wearing melting away rapidly like a snowman in summer! Countless black liquids dripped down, viscous and stringy, connecting to the main body.

Roll, roll!

In an instant, Xi Nian dissolved into a pool of black liquid, falling to the ground along with his backpack!