Patty

"Trash host, you made me lose control of my emotions."

The system angrily rebuked Alex by his ear, then fell silent.

On the way to the police station, it had already "warmly" greeted its host several hundred times with all manner of curses.

Alex's expression remained calm as he drove into the police station parking lot and parked the Lightning Motorcycle.

As for the system's greetings, with his powerful bodily and emotional control, he had long learned how to deal with the system that had been screwing him over since childhood.

At the very least, Alex had learned one more thing from the system's words.

His emotions could affect the system's emotions.

That was why the system had cursed him all the way here!

"Someday, you'll pay for this!"

Alex silently calculated against the system. A chill flashed through his eyes behind his glasses. He would not let off the thing hiding in his body and causing trouble.

He walked out of the parking lot and entered the broad, solemn entrance of Central City Police Headquarters.

He had entered through these doors many times before, working with Bert and cooperating with the police as a good citizen. He knew quite a few officers.

After greeting several officers he knew and turning down a passing woman of rather unremarkable looks who flirted with him, Alex pressed the elevator button. Once the elevator arrived, he stepped inside.

Beside him stood a woman with light blonde hair and fair skin. She wore a white shirt beneath a pale yellow wool cardigan. Her beautiful face had distinct Western features, with a high nose bridge and eyes that seemed able to speak.

"Are you... Alex?"

A stifling, dead silence filled the elevator. The floor beneath them trembled faintly as it slowly rose.

Alex turned and glanced at her, his gaze traveling from her gray ankle boots, up her fair calves wrapped in black stockings, to the black skirt beginning at her knees, then to her white shirt and pale yellow wool cardigan. Finally, his eyes settled on her lovely face.

Alex was certain he did not know this flat-chested girl.

She held a file in her hands. Her eyes carried a hint of confusion and bright interest, as though she were looking upon something legendary while studying Alex's face.

"You are?"

Alex looked puzzled. He was certain he had never worked with this woman. Though she had a pretty face and wore a professional outfit that made her look elegant, capable, and alluring, her chest was not his type.

"Hello, I'm Patty!"

The flat-chested girl extended her hand and introduced herself.

Just as Alex was politely about to shake her slender, fair hand—the usual gesture when making a friend—Patty continued, "I'm Barry's colleague and friend. Barry often talks about you. He thinks it would be such a waste for someone with your abilities not to become a police officer."

"I really didn't expect your appearance to be even more outstanding than Barry said."

Patty's lips curled slightly as she looked at Alex with admiration.

It was not only men who appreciated beautiful women. Women could be even more discerning when appreciating a man's charm. In an open country like America, women's admiring gazes were often more proactive than men's, poised and entirely unashamed.

And Alex's looks were clearly exceptional enough to make a woman's gaze linger.

The moment she said her name was Patty and that she was Barry's colleague, Alex's brows rose. His eyes studied Patty's features, and realization struck him at once.

This was probably Barry's coworker girlfriend from New 52.

Could he be in the world of New 52?

A thought flashed through Alex's mind, but he quickly discarded it and stopped thinking about it, because it was not the only possibility.

At the same time, the moment Barry was involved, Alex's attitude soured.

Smack.

Alex, who had been about to shake hands, instantly used the back of his hand to slap Patty's palm aside. There was not the slightest trace of politeness in his voice. "Sorry, I have no interest in getting to know a flat-chested woman!"

In an instant, Alex's gentle, courteous expression turned cold. He no longer looked at Patty, instead turning his face away and staring straight ahead at the cold steel elevator doors.

He had absolutely no interest in getting to know Barry's girlfriend, or Barry's destined woman.

There was already plenty of precedent. Barry's first, second, and third girlfriends had all, without exception, abandoned Barry and passionately pursued Alex instead.

Alex could ignore those past girlfriends of Barry's, irresponsibly allowing them to leave Barry's side and giving Barry a taste of heartbreak, so that Barry could suffer as Alex had once suffered because of him.

But Alex did not want to mess around with Patty and Iris. After all, one was New 52 Barry's official girlfriend, while the other was New 52 Barry's wife. Alex was not so tactless as to cause trouble.

From elementary school through university, after countless experiences, Alex had learned that as long as he and Barry both knew a woman, that woman would eventually passionately pursue Alex and ignore Barry.

When it came to Barry's official girlfriend, Alex did not hesitate. He had no desire whatsoever to interfere in Barry's relationships again.

Patty's body stiffened, and her expression froze. Her hand remained suspended where Alex had knocked it aside. She stared at her palm in disbelief. Alex had lightly slapped it away with such utter disrespect.

What made it even more humiliating was that such an outstanding man had insulted her by calling her flat-chested and saying he disdained making friends with her.

What was this?

It was an insult. A humiliation.

She had always heard Barry describe how outstanding his good friend was. He was handsome, capable, and well-connected. In university, he had been the most popular man around, captivating countless women, and had even entered Central City University's legendary club, the First Brotherhood.

He had even risked himself to save his friend Barry from within a gang... Patty had heard all sorts of such stories from Barry.

Barry had practically described him as a legendary figure. The admiration in his voice, the pride he showed at having such a friend, had made Patty want to meet this man for herself.

But she had never expected that the man Barry praised so highly, such an outstanding man, would be so lacking in manners. He had simply slapped her hand away and could not even be bothered to shake it as a courtesy.

Sorry, I have no interest in getting to know a flat-chested woman!

Sorry, I have no interest in getting to know a flat-chested...

Sorry, I have no interest in flat-chested...

"Flat-chested..."

Patty's mind went blank as Alex's words, which had struck directly at the heart of the matter, echoed over and over in her head.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the elevator. Otherwise, if people learned she had been rejected like this and word spread throughout Central City Police Headquarters, it would mean all of Central City—from headquarters to every district precinct—would know that an outstanding man had refused to be friends with her because she was flat-chested.

Just thinking about it made clear what a disaster it would be.

Patty withdrew her hand and curled it into a fist, her knuckles turning white. An angry red flush rose from her cheeks across her fair face as she gritted her teeth and glared at Alex beside her.

In her heart, she had already sliced Alex into tens of millions of pieces with knives and axes. She kept hacking at him crazily, sweating profusely as she repeatedly raised an axe and roared in frustrated rage. In her mind, Alex had already been torn into pieces.

Patty had never suffered such humiliation in all her life.

Ding.

The elevator arrived at the seventh floor. Alex walked out with an indifferent expression, leaving Patty with only his retreating back. She had to keep taking deep breaths to suppress her anger. To stop herself from exploding, she furiously pressed the close-door button over and over with her fair index finger, scratching her pink nail polish.

Only when the elevator doors slowly closed, seeming to squash Alex's silhouette flat, did Patty angrily kick the elevator doors. Her toes hurt from the impact, and her face twisted in pain as she growled viciously under her breath, "Damn it, you rude bastard!"