Foolish Humans, Prepare to Pay the Price

The evening wind howled across the Brooklyn Bridge. Aside from the several sedans burning fiercely, everything seemed quiet.

Chen Xi's words stunned Gwen, and even more so the onlookers around them. A superhero who represented justice actually wanted to execute a criminal on his own.

That was something good old America, where human rights were deeply ingrained in people's minds, could not accept!

Could superheroes decide a criminal's life or death in place of the law?

If everyone acted like that, wouldn't everything descend into chaos? Criminals should naturally be punished by the law, not by an individual!

At that moment, their opinion of Chen Xi plummeted!

He was a madman who relied on his powers to do whatever he pleased, so arrogant that he wanted to trample the law underfoot. He did not even deserve to be called a superhero!

Then they recalled what the Green Goblin had said...

At that moment, someone in the crowd loudly began condemning him.

"No!! You have no right to judge him. He committed crimes, and the law must punish him!"

"That's right! You're just a superhero. Heh, who do you think you are? God? You actually dare to kill people on your own!"

"You don't deserve to be a superhero at all! Why did you dodge when that monster fired missiles just now? As a superhero, shouldn't you know how to sacrifice yourself? Look how many people you got killed!"

"Exactly! You have no right!!"

"..."

One stone stirred a thousand waves. With someone taking the lead, everyone seemed to forget Chen Xi's strength. They forgot that Chen Xi could save them, but he could kill them too!!

"Hahaha, what a damned and laughable principle!"

Chen Xi looked at their indignant faces and thought of those superheroes who stubbornly refused to kill...

No wonder the apocalypse had to kill self-righteous do-gooders!

There were sanctimonious bitches everywhere!

For example, though it might offend many people, Batman of a certain Gotham always insisted on his bullshit principles. Whenever he caught a criminal named Joker, he would always send him to prison...

Then Joker would break out, escape judgment, and continue murdering and committing arson.

Then Batman would catch him again, send him back to prison, and let him break out and kill again.

He even suspected that the bat was farming reputation. Were the two of them exploiting a bug together?

Looking at those faces and mouths that seemed to represent justice, Chen Xi suddenly laughed, and laughed happily.

He mockingly looked at their sanctimonious faces and shouted, "Since you all think he can't be killed, then fine, don't kill him. But sooner or later, there will be a price to pay."

"Hmph! The law is equal for everyone!"

Someone immediately stepped forward and declared righteously.

"Good! Well said!"

Chen Xi grinned, as though he could already see their future wails and cries for their mothers and fathers. This kind of joy was beyond words.

With that, he casually tossed aside the severely injured Green Goblin. As for the rest, he could not be bothered with it. Holding Gwen, he streaked through the sky and left amid countless jealous, envious, resentful gazes.

Although he had not immediately killed the Green Goblin, he was in no hurry for a day or two. Wouldn't it be better to raise that pig for another couple of days and fatten it up?

If not for Gwen, he would not even have appeared.

Those people on the sightseeing tram could die for all he cared...

You could do a hundred good deeds and it would be completely useless. As long as you did one thing wrong, people would hate you for it, perhaps even more than they hated evil people...

"Gwen, after what happened today, what thoughts and insights do you have?"

In a private room at an unnamed Chinatown hotpot restaurant, Chen Xi, Wanda, and Gwen sat together having dinner.

But Gwen looked utterly lost. She felt that her worldview had suffered a severe blow.

I was clearly doing good deeds. Why did they treat me like that? Did I do something wrong?

Hearing Chen Xi's question, Gwen shook her head. Her mind was a complete mess right now...

"I really don't know what kind of things I saved."

Gwen gloomily took a fierce gulp of strong liquor...

Only the spicy, stimulating baijiu could clear her head.

"If you're tired, then take a break. It's hard to change people's hearts."

"That's right, Gwen. For us women, staying home to support our husbands and raise our children is the final destination. Fighting and killing are men's business."

Wanda comforted her from the side as well.

According to Wanda's original character, she had never wanted to fight and kill or become some damned superhero. She only wanted to quietly support her husband and raise children.

"Support a husband and raise children?"

The moment Gwen heard that, she could not help sneaking a glance at Chen Xi...

Wanda saw her furtive behavior perfectly clearly and found it completely unsurprising.

It would have been strange if Gwen were not infatuated with Chen Xi.

In Wanda's heart, every young girl in the world, including mature women and elegant older beauties, should like Chen Xi...

Well, beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Wanda was probably beyond saving.

"Alright, alright, stop sneaking glances. Look at that guilty expression of yours. It's not like I'm stopping you from liking him."

Wanda rolled her eyes. How could she not know all about Gwen's little thoughts?

"Ah? You knew? Then why aren't you angry?"

Gwen smiled awkwardly and asked in embarrassment.

"If I got angry, I would've died of anger long ago. Besides, this guy hasn't been a flirt for just a day or two."

Wanda glared resentfully at Chen Xi, who acted as though nothing had happened...

"Ahem, ahem. Why are you glaring at me? Gwen, you're not allowed to like me in the future, hear me!" Chen Xi immediately said with righteous sternness...

"Pah! Who are you trying to fool with that act?"

Wanda snapped disdainfully. That was not only nonsense; he was clearly showing off!

"I can't even be bothered to manage your affairs. Besides, Gwen can help share the burden for me, so it's not a bad thing."

Wanda continued matter-of-factly. Gwen was delighted at first, then shyly lowered her head. What kind of wild words were those? That was not why she...

Having successfully shifted her attention, Gwen had already tossed aside her earlier gloom. Her mind was filled only with sweet romance.

Maybe being lovestruck was not so bad?

Chen Xi smiled even more happily. Could he run wild across the fields from now on? Giddyup, giddyup!

"Mr. Norman Osborn, do you have anything to state regarding the slaughter of company board members, ordinary citizens, human experimentation, attacks on the military, and so on? If not, this court will pronounce judgment."

"Your Honor, my client suffers from severe schizophrenia. This is the certificate issued by the hospital."

"Furthermore, my client's criminal actions have been effectively stopped. For the benefit of all humanity, he did not even conduct so-called human experiments on others. He experimented on himself. What a noble character."

"Therefore, my client also developed severe schizophrenia and even a second personality. Thus, my client is one of the victims as well."

"..."

In a world where money could make ghosts turn millstones, anything could be explained away.

And he really was mentally ill...

Norman Osborn was declared not guilty and released in court. He was merely sent to New York's most luxurious psychiatric hospital, where his life was comfortable beyond compare.

When Gwen heard the outcome, the innocence in her eyes gradually faded...

Perhaps this was the price of growing up? Though the process was somewhat cruel, the result was good.

A few days later, Chen Xi had just arrived at the Mutant School when he saw the news that Norman Osborn had announced his recovery.