Acrobatics

Acrobatics

The acrobatics tent stood three stories high.

At the center of the stage, several lights shone on the star performer, who spread his arms wide and basked in the focused attention, the screams, and the cheers.

The ringmaster, dressed in a tailcoat and carrying a cane, tugged at the red bow tie beneath his neck and cleared his throat. "Ahem, today! The Flying Graysons will join Boston Brand to bring you the most thrilling and perfect visual spectacle with their graceful acrobatics!"

"Wow!"

"Graysons! Graysons!"

"Boston!"

"Boston Brand!!"

"Ah!!"

"..."

They were like great heroes, like superstars. The screaming alone showed how popular they were.

Behind the ringmaster stood the Grayson family.

The Graysons, dressed in splendid leotards, stood side by side.

John Grayson smiled confidently at his son, who was a head shorter than him. "Dick, relax. This will be a perfect performance. Once I let go of the bar, all you have to do is catch me!"

"That's right, don't worry." Mary Grayson also comforted her youngest son. "The Graysons are dancers of the sky, nimble robins. As long as you keep your cool, nothing will go wrong!"

"But I..." Dick Grayson's throat moved slightly as he secretly swallowed.

"Dick Grayson! Dick Grayson!"

Someone below the stage was calling his name, making Dick briefly wonder whether he was hearing things.

His gaze searched the audience, and he quickly spotted an Asian man in a green suit, vigorously waving his hand.

"He must be your first fan," John Grayson said with a smile, delighted that his son had fans of his own.

Dick nodded lightly in agreement and offered his first fan a friendly smile.

Li Zu lowered his waving hand. The audience here was like a pack of rabid celebrity fans. Once he lowered it, he was quickly drowned out by the sea of noise and people.

"Dick Grayson..." he murmured, softly speaking the real name of a certain superhero.

This was a completely broken world, and every superhero had taken a completely different path.

A young couple sat beside Li Zu, openly mocking the Flying Graysons' tights and ridiculous color scheme.

"Buddy, where are you from?" The German man seated beside Li Zu lightly poked his arm.

"Gotham."

"Gotham? North America? What a shame!" The German man looked deeply regretful.

"I heard there's a flying alien whose eyes shoot flames. He wiped out more than half of Washington. That place is like hell on earth now!" The woman beside him leaned over to join the conversation.

"Is that so?" Li Zu's lips curved upward. "Looks like our Kal-El found his own fairness and freedom."

"Bill, he looks strange..." The woman tugged on her boyfriend's arm and whispered.

"That's right." The German man nodded.

That seemingly pathological smile made them move farther away from Li Zu.

The performance began.

The lights went out, plunging the tent into darkness.

Five seconds later, a blinding beam lit up in one corner of the stage, drawing everyone's attention.

Under the harsh spotlight, a bald figure in red stood with his arms spread atop a sixteen-foot pillar. Six feet away from him, a single thin rope swayed from side to side.

The audience began to applaud. They could already guess what sort of act this was.

"Boston Brand!" A plump woman even let out a scream.

It was obvious that she adored this thrilling man who set her hormones racing.

Boston Brand lightly leaped forward.

There was no beauty to it at all. He simply dove headfirst toward the ground in a straight line, completely ignoring the rope close at hand.

The distance to the ground fell from sixteen feet to fifteen, fourteen, thirteen...

Closer and closer.

Yet Boston Brand continued to ignore the rope right beside him.

His head drew closer and closer to the ground.

Five feet remained, barely the height of a man.

The tent fell silent.

Was it an accident?

Some people had already closed their eyes. They did not want to see a pile of mangled flesh splattered across the ground. It would surely leave them unable to eat for days.

At the final limit—

Brand finally reached out and grabbed the rope.

He stopped!

At the very last instant!

His head was only a thigh's length from the ground.

Gasp—!

The audience sucked in a breath as one.

Then came thunderous screams and cheers.

Though there was no beauty to it, and it was even simple and brutal, this near-death stunt won the full approval of the crowd.

An excellent warm-up.

Li Zu joined in the applause.

"Now, please welcome the Flying Graysons!"

The lights came on. The elegant dancers of the sky walked toward the front like ballerinas on a tightrope, their flexibility enough to leave people dumbstruck.

They danced through the air, treating the ropes and horizontal bars supporting their bodies like tree branches where they had only briefly stopped.

Elegant, full of beauty.

The audience watched the scene with smiles.

Suddenly—

Riiip!

The tent was torn open.

A figure ripped through the top of the tent and slammed into the family of robins dancing gracefully in the air.

Another figure crashed into the challenger of death—Boston Brand.

A dense swarm of intruders.

They were women, clad in armor and carrying swords and shields, murderous intent boiling between their brows.

Amazonians from Paradise Island!

"Find the Helmet of Nabu!" The leading Amazonian warrior turned and said, "It's nearby!"

The Amazonians' sudden invasion threw the scene into an uproar.

Chaos, screams, and flight!

People scattered in every direction.

The Amazonians had arrived. Before long, this place would become a battlefield!

Only Li Zu remained seated, utterly unhurried.

Another figure knelt on the ground and wept bitterly.

Dick Grayson.

As the final performer, he had not yet stepped into the lights, so he escaped disaster.

He was the only one who survived.

World Exploration Progress: 45%

Merciless blades sliced through innocent necks, cut open their chests, and severed their arms.

The Amazonians swung their weapons, slaughtering ordinary people as though butchering cattle and sheep.

Li Zu sat obediently in his chair without trying to flee.

He watched Amazonian after Amazonian massacre people and leave, until only he and Dick Grayson remained in the tent, each with an Amazonian warrior standing beside them.

A cold sword pointed at his head.

"I'm guessing you treat those who don't resist well, right?" Li Zu glanced at the reflective blade, then looked at the Amazonian warrior.

The proud Amazonian looked down at Li Zu. "Your cowardice saved your worthless life! You may go on dragging out your miserable existence in a concentration camp!"

"Of course. I've always cherished my life. Only by staying alive can I explore more of this world!" Li Zu raised both hands to show that he would not resist.

"But I don't agree that I'm a coward."

The Amazonian warrior sneered. "With one swing, I can cut your throat!"

Li Zu suddenly bent backward, pulling away from the blade.

With one hand braced against the chair, he spun through a difficult three-hundred-and-sixty-degree backflip, escaping the sword's range.

When he landed, his body swayed slightly.

Like an acrobat.

Acrobatics: Basic (2%)

Thanks to "Tell Shiokawa Who Is the Kami of the New World" for the 100 Qidian Coin tip.

End of Chapter