"Kamen Rider Goodman? With powers like his, why hadn't he shown up sooner to help New York fend off the alien invasion? Why was he interfering with New Yorkers' freedom instead?"
"Why didn't they just call him God Rider?"
Su Lin stared at the name in the newspaper and couldn't help grumbling. "Goodman sounds like a mad scientist from The King of Fighters."
He set two coins on the newsstand's glass counter, then turned and handed the paper to an old man walking his dog who had been about to buy one.
"Oh, thanks! Have an exciting day."
"You're welcome, Stan Lee. You too."
Ignoring the newsstand owner's face, which had fallen like a horse's, Su Lin crossed the sidewalk and walked two blocks into a corner of Manhattan.
This was Hell's Kitchen, one of New York's distinctive neighborhoods, full of shady bars, addicts, and pimps.
Fortunately, those illicit trades were less visible during the day.
At night, thanks to the efforts of all sorts of legendary heroes, the streets were actually safer than they were by day.
"Business looks good today too."
Outside a three-story European-style restaurant, Su Lin glanced up at the Heaven Restaurant sign, pulled open the door, and went in.
"You go first. There's a lot of trash today." Holding a rope, Huai Shi dragged five burly men with facial tattoos aside to clear a path.
"Can't you just throw them in the dumpster behind the kitchen?" Su Lin had barely finished speaking before he clutched his head and corrected himself.
"Never mind. That's where Stelle's supplies respawn. Don't toss anything stinky in there."
An Abyssal Chef Demon sending troublesome diners off to the Heavenly Kingdom at Heaven Restaurant, in the heart of Hell's Kitchen, was hardly unusual.
Still, having troublemakers show up every few days