Godfather, You Read Marvel Comics Too?

In the hallway, Li Ang ignored the young men and women hiding in the corner, passionately making out, and pushed open the door to return to the club.

The deafening music was still blasting, and the frenzied men and women were lost in a game of money.

Li Ang returned to his bar.

Before long, Big Guy Frank came over.

"What would you like to drink?"

Li Ang asked.

"Wow, this might be the last time I get to drink one of your cocktails."

Frank smiled, making Li Ang's hand pause.

"What do you mean?"

Seeing Li Ang instantly grow wary, Frank chuckled. "Don't overthink it."

"Boss Cobblepot said you'll be the club's bar manager from now on."

Li Ang relaxed. He knew there was no way to refuse.

This was Penguin's territory.

And Penguin thought his devoted goddaughter was Li Ang's weakness.

Penguin liked people who had "weaknesses."

"Why aren't you happy about it?"

Watching Li Ang mix drinks with practiced ease, Frank asked, puzzled, "Working for Boss Cobblepot means you'll never be short of women."

I'm not short of women now, either!

Li Ang kept that to himself and said helplessly, "Being a manager means getting here first and leaving last. I'll be working through the night every day!"

And he might also end up involved in Penguin's criminal business.

Though that was only a possibility.

After all, the Iceberg Lounge was a legitimate, law-abiding club.

"Look on the bright side, buddy. At least your pay's going up. A manager can make four grand a month."

"Fine. That's the only good news."

Li Ang handed Frank his drink.

Before long, all the bar staff had heard the news.

So, whenever they had a free moment, everyone—including the bartenders who'd worked there before—came over to congratulate Li Ang.

They were colleagues, after all, so Li Ang did his best to play along.

"Li Ang, are you free tomorrow morning? Let's grab a drink."

A waitress dressed as a bunny girl came over and flirted with him.

She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, making her quite the beauty.

But when Li Ang saw a customer slip a tip straight into her neckline, he naturally lost interest.

Or rather, that was how most things went at the Iceberg Lounge.

A little conversation was fine, but there was no need to get involved...

So Li Ang smiled and said, "I'm going home in the morning. Someone's waiting for me."

As the night wore on, the Iceberg Lounge began to empty out.

By dawn, it had finally gone quiet, and all the gamblers and drunks had left.

After a busy night, everyone was tired and just wanted to go home and get some proper rest.

Li Ang was no different.

Even if working through the night didn't count as staying up late, he was exhausted.

As for Penguin Cobblepot, Li Ang hadn't seen him all night, and he didn't want to know what he'd been up to.

This was a real crime boss. Li Ang wanted nothing to do with the things they got up to.

So, once most of the staff had left, Li Ang headed out.

Gotham was safer during the day than at night.

The sky was still gloomy, and sunlight struggled to pierce the clouds, but fewer people dared commit crimes in broad daylight.

"Kara! Time to get up!"

Back at the apartment, Li Ang opened the door and called out.

But after waiting for a long while, he still got no answer from Kara.

He took a sip of water, then unhurriedly made his way to Kara's room.

The door was shut tight, so she was probably sleeping in again.

"Knock, knock."

He knocked, but Kara still didn't answer. Li Ang's expression changed at once.

Kara's door was locked, but that didn't stop Li Ang. He went to his own room and climbed out the window.

They rented an old-style apartment building with an iron fire escape running up the outside.

In America, it was called a fire escape.

Li Ang carefully made his way along the stairs and peered through Kara's window. Sure enough, there was no sign of her.

"Being naughty again."

He sighed, feeling like a father exasperated by his mischievous child.

But this had happened plenty of times before, so Li Ang didn't panic. He simply headed up the stairs.

The old building they rented had no elevator and only five floors, so it didn't take long to reach the rooftop.

The rooftop was wide open, so Kara was easy to spot.

She was standing at the edge in her pajamas, which were printed with a Spider-Man mask. Her head was tilted slightly upward, her eyes closed.

Her blonde hair fluttered in the breeze, all tousled.

Spider-Man was Kara's favorite superhero. In the comics, he was a friendly neighborhood hero, and Kara wanted to become one just like him.

Li Ang had been surprised when he first saw Marvel Comics, but then he discovered that Marvel Comics was hugely popular in this world.

Maybe it was because real superheroes existed, so lots of people knew about Marvel Comics.

But clearly, this was simply the DC Universe. Marvel superheroes appeared only in comics and other works.

"Kara! Kara!"

"What are you doing?"

Li Ang called several times before Kara finally heard him.

She opened her eyes and turned toward Li Ang, looking at him in bewilderment, as if she'd gone deaf.

If he hadn't known better, he might have thought she was about to take a Leap of Faith.

"Godfather."

Kara called out happily, then her expression turned a little pained.

"What's wrong?"

Li Ang hurried over and lifted her away from the edge.

Kara buried her face against his chest. Her voice had changed as she said, "This world is so noisy."

Last night, not long after Li Ang left, Kara had been getting ready to go to bed early, with nothing else to do.

Then, all of a sudden, she heard sounds from next door.

First came the thumping and slapping sounds, which grew louder and louder in her ears.

In an instant, it was as if countless sounds had all rushed into her ears at once.

Even through walls, even from several streets away, she could still hear people talking.

Then she started hearing more and more sounds, even other people's thoughts.

Mind Reading!

Hearing Kara's words, Li Ang immediately thought of that.

But for a Kryptonian, this was actually a manifestation of Super Hearing.

At its strongest, Super Hearing let her hear anything, anywhere.

For example, Kara immediately hugged Li Ang and said, "Godfather, you read Marvel Comics too? You even know about Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters!"

Li Ang's face darkened.

"First of all, there is no Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in this world. I was just musing."

"And Kara, could you please stop listening to other people's thoughts?"

That was all he'd thought just now.

If only Professor X existed in this world. I could send Kara to him and have the Old Professor teach her how to control her powers.

But Kara had immediately found out.

Having someone know what was going through your mind felt awful.

It was like being naked, without any defenses at all.

"Um, if I don't listen to you, countless voices will rush into my ears."

Kara said miserably, "I'm trying hard to control my powers, Godfather. Please don't send me away."

Seeing her like that, Li Ang's heart softened.

"I promise, Kara. No matter what happens, I'll stay with you."

Li Ang's earnest expression deeply moved the young Kara.