The gray bayfront highway fell away behind him as the Cherokee headed west along Interstate 76. Outside the windows, Metropolis's forest of glass and steel gradually gave way to Pennsylvania's rolling hills and fields. Listening to the country music coming intermittently over the radio, Li Jie felt he was driving out of a world so bright it seemed unreal and into a more normal United States heartland.
After crossing almost all of Missouri, he began seeing Midway City on the road signs. He stretched his stiff neck and took the exit.
After leaving Metropolis, his first choice had been Star City. Oliver Queen was loaded, after all. Wrap a ring of cash around the man's arm and it would be thicker than Li Jie's waist. If he could make that connection, getting tossed a million or two would be child's play.
But after studying the map for a while, he realized his destination was on the West Coast. Driving clear across the United States would be exhausting. Besides, while Green Arrow was a budget Bruce Wayne, Star City was also a budget Gotham. He really didn't want to go straight back into that kind of environment.
His next choices included Midway City, where he wanted to see what Barry Allen, the so-called "conscience of the Justice League," was actually like.
The other was Florida, far to the south. Its reputation was legendary. He simply had to see it!
Midway City was like any midsized United States city that worked hard to keep running but had no particularly grand ambitions. Pedestrians hurried along, showing neither Metropolis's outgoing warmth nor Gotham's constant vigilance, only a mild, unremarkable indifference to anything that wasn't their business.
"Huh. Seems like a pretty good place to settle down."
He asked for directions to S.T.A.R. Labs.