The evening wind howled across the Brooklyn Bridge. Aside from the several cars 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 kill a criminal without authorization.
America, where the concept of human rights had taken deep root, could not accept this!
Could superheroes really replace the law and decide a criminal's life or death on their own?
If everyone acted like this, wouldn't everything descend into chaos? Criminals should naturally be punished by the law, not by you personally!
At that moment, their opinion of Chen Xi plummeted!
He was a madman who relied on his abilities to do whatever he wanted, so arrogant that he wanted to trample the law beneath his feet. 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 began shouting accusations.
"No!! You have no right to judge him! He committed a crime, so he must be punished by the law!"
"That's right! You're just a superhero. Heh, who do you think you are? God? How dare you kill someone on your own!"
"You don't deserve to be a superhero at all! Why did you dodge when this monster fired missiles? As a superhero, shouldn't you have learned to sacrifice yourself? Look how many people you got killed!"
"That's right! You have no right!!"
"..."
One stone stirred up a thousand waves. With someone taking the lead, everyone seemed to forget how powerful Chen Xi was. They forgot that Chen Xi could save them—and kill them!!
"Hahaha, what a damned and ridiculous principle!"
Chen Xi looked at the indignant crowd, then thought of those superheroes who stubbornly refused to kill...
No wonder the apocalypse had to kill sanctimonious fools!
Turns out they were everywhere!
For example, there was Batman in Gotham, whose thoughts might offend many people. He always stuck to his bullshit principles. Whenever he caught a criminal called the Joker, he always sent him to prison...
Then the Joker broke out of prison, escaped judgment, and continued murdering and setting fires.
Then Batman caught him again, sent him back to prison, and let him break out again to kill more people.
He even suspected that the bat was farming reputation points. Were the two of them exploiting a bug here?
Looking at those faces that seemed to represent justice, Chen Xi suddenly smiled, and he smiled happily.
He mockingly looked at their sanctimonious faces and shouted, "Since you all think he can't be killed, then fine, we won'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 if he could already see them crying for their fathers and mothers in anguish. This sort of joy could not be explained to outsiders.
With that, he casually tossed aside the severely injured Green Goblin. As for the rest, he could not be bothered with it. Holding Gwen in his arms, he streaked through the sky and left beneath countless envious, jealous, and resentful gazes.
Though he had not immediately killed the Green Goblin, he was in no hurry over a day or two. Wouldn't it be better to fatten that pig up for a few more days?
If it had not been for Gwen, he would not even have shown up.
Those people on the sightseeing train could die for all he cared...
You could do a hundred good deeds and it would be utterly useless. But if you did even one thing wrong, they would hate you for it—perhaps even more than they hated evil people...
"Gwen, after what happened today, what thoughts or insights do you have?"
In a private room at some unnamed Chinatown hotpot restaurant, Chen Xi, Wanda, and Gwen sat together having dinner.
But Gwen looked utterly lost. She felt as if her worldview had suffered a severe blow.
I was clearly doing good deeds, so 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 honestly don't know what the hell I was saving."
Gwen gloomily took a hard swig of strong liquor...
Only the spicy, stimulating baijiu could clear her mind.
"If you're tired, take a break. People's hearts are hard to change."
"That's right, Gwen. For women like us, staying home to support our husbands and raise children is our ultimate destination. Fighting and killing are men's business."
Wanda comforted her from the side as well.
Based on Wanda's original personality, she had never wanted to fight and kill or become some bullshit 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 that furtive little action perfectly clearly, and she was not surprised at all.
If Gwen was not infatuated with Chen Xi, that would be abnormal.
In Wanda's mind, every young girl in the world, including mature women and elegant older women, should like Chen Xi...
Well, beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Wanda was probably beyond saving.
"Alright, alright, stop sneaking looks. Look at that guilty expression of yours. It's not like I'm forbidding you from liking him."
Wanda rolled her eyes. How could she not see through Gwen's little thoughts?
"Ah? You knew all along? Then why aren't you angry?"
Gwen gave an awkward smile and asked embarrassedly.
"If I got angry over it, I'd have died of anger long ago. Besides, this guy hasn't been a flirt for just a day or two."
Wanda shot a resentful glare at Chen Xi, who looked like nothing had happened...
"Ahem, ahem. Why are you glaring at me? Gwen, you're not allowed to like me from now on, got it!" Chen Xi immediately said in a sternly righteous tone...
"Pah! Who are you trying to fool?"
Wanda retorted disdainfully. Not only was that nonsense, it was obviously showing off!
"I can't be bothered to care about your business. Besides, having Gwen help share the pressure for me isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Wanda continued seriously. Gwen was delighted at first, then shyly lowered her head. What are you saying? It's not like I'm doing this for that...
Having successfully shifted her attention, Gwen had completely thrown her earlier gloom to the back of her mind. Her head was now filled with nothing but sweet romance.
Maybe being lovestruck was not so bad?
Chen Xi smiled even more happily. Would he be able to ride freely across the fields from now on? 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 its judgment."
"Your Honor, my client suffers from severe schizophrenia. This is certification issued by the hospital."
"At the same time, my client's criminal acts were effectively stopped. In order to benefit all humanity, he did not even use so-called human experiments. He experimented on himself. What a noble character."
"Therefore, my client developed severe schizophrenia and even a second personality. Thus, my client is also one of the victims."
"..."
In a world where money could make ghosts turn millstones, everything could be explained.
And he really was insane...
Norman Osborn was acquitted in court. He was merely sent to New York's most luxurious psychiatric hospital, where his life was as comfortable as could be.
After hearing that result, the innocence in Gwen's eyes gradually faded...
Perhaps that was the price of growing up? Though the process was somewhat cruel, the outcome was good.
A few days later, Chen Xi had barely arrived at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters when he saw on the news that Norman Osborn had announced his recovery.
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