American Comics: Something's Wrong with This Superhero World

Chapter 10 Is this superhero or entertainment industry?

Xiao Xian went to the supermarket and bought some equipment, including crowbars, daggers, and machetes. He put several sets in the trunk and carried one with him. Unfortunately, he didn't have a gun license and had to appear in front of the camera, otherwise Xiao Xian was planning to get a gun for self-defense.

After all, the criminals had guns while he didn't, so he felt a bit uneasy. Although, if it were a regular handgun, shooting Xiao Xian with that thing would only cause pain and nothing else.

Moreover, guns are easy to get here. In Hell's Kitchen, even the pancake vendors can easily pull out an AK from under their stalls, and the fruit vendors can pull out two M&P9s from their aprons to give any thugs who cross the line a little local shock.

Then he listened to the radio and browsed Twitter. Xiao Xian wasn't Peter Parker; he couldn't hack into the police's communication system. He could only use this method to see if there were any cases suitable for him.

To be honest, Xiao Xian hadn't realized it until he got involved. Despite the extremely high crime rate, the superhero industry in New York was quite thriving, at least during the day. He wasn't sure about the nighttime situation yet.

Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and a whole host of other heroes are active in New York, making it a truly red ocean market for the industry.

Small cases are usually over by the time Xiao Xian learns about them. Of course, Xiao Xian isn't very interested in them. If someone steals a car or snatches a bag, Xiao Xian will go up and kill or cripple them. They'll be arrested and put in jail, at least on the wanted list, and unlikely to become famous.

In the past, simply catching a car thief? Let alone whether you could catch them or not, even if you did, you would just be detained for a while and then released. The resentment the thief would generate would not be worth the time, energy, and gas money Xiao Xian spent. The only benefit might be that it could improve the security situation in New York.

But what's the use? Xiao Xian doesn't really care about the safety of New York. Ye Zi is legal here, so let whoever wants to manage this mess of public order do their thing.

Xiao Xiancai was already doing enough by stopping them if he encountered them; he had no interest in making a special trip over there.

Big cases. The supervillain didn't show up today. Xiao Xian wasn't sure, but when it came to bank robberies or terrorist attacks, he would often see the news on the radio or Twitter, start his car, and before he even reached his destination, it would be taken care of by other superheroes.

Especially Captain America and Iron Man; the former travels by helicopter, while the latter uses the rocket propulsion system of his Iron Man suit. Xiao Xian was already behind in intelligence, and his speed couldn't keep up either. This beat-up secondhand Volkswagen couldn't even catch a whiff of their exhaust fumes. Even Spider-Man could swing on his webs faster than Xiao Xian!

Xiao Xian had finally stumbled upon a kidnapping case, and neither Iron Man nor Captain America were there. It was also close by. Before he could even feel happy, he discovered that the Thing from the Fantastic Four was strolling around nearby.

Because the coincidences were so numerous, Xiao Xian even suspected that they might have known in advance that the whole thing was scripted.

In addition, Xiao Xian couldn't handle cases that were too big. The other team was full of professionals, equipped with rocket launchers, machine guns, grenades, and all sorts of gear. Xiao Xian only had super regeneration and a knife. He might not die if he rushed in, but he would probably just be going back and forth between death and regeneration until the other superheroes arrived.

The only hope was that repeatedly threatening to kill and revive the other party would scare them, but this trick might work against petty thugs, and Xiao Xian had no hope of dealing with professionals.

Then there are the strange monsters, but Xiao Xian thinks it's best to stay away from them. Xiao Xian feels that the difference between him and ordinary people is that he can be tortured by them for a long time because of his regenerative ability. After all, monsters like Tomie who like to be killed are a minority; most monsters like to kill others.

If he encountered monsters like vampires or zombies, Xiao Xian would be an inexhaustible blood bank, a flesh field that could endlessly grow heads.

Even so, this is all on the premise that the opponent is not mentally inclined. Otherwise, if they devour Xiao Xian's soul, it's game over, and even if the physical body can regenerate, it won't matter.

Of course, both missions so far have been obtained from Tomie. No missions have been obtained from Spider-Man yet. If no missions can be obtained from superheroes, Xiao Xian will have to try supervillains. If that doesn't work either, then Xiao Xian will have to go find strange monsters.

After driving around for half a day, Xiao Xian caught a bicycle thief and a crazy man who was so excited he wanted to rob someone. The former waited for half an hour until the police arrived, but the owner of the bicycle hadn't returned. Xiao Xian handed the thief over to the police and left. The latter was walking unsteadily, jumping around. After Xiao Xian kicked him away, he fell to the ground and wouldn't get up. He lay on the ground with his arms outstretched, thinking he was swimming. Xiao Xian didn't even bother to call the police and let him swim away.

The female student who was robbed was very grateful to Xiao Xian and even asked for his contact information. Unfortunately, although she was quite cute, she was flat-chested and not Xiao Xian's type, so he politely declined.

In the past, Xiao Xian would definitely not have minded making friends. Xiao Xian felt that Tomie should take the blame for this. Although Tomie's true form could make Xiao Xian's sanity drop wildly and he almost threw up his food, her disguised form was indeed that of a peerless beauty, with curves in all the right places, and a figure that even supermodels couldn't compare to.

After seeing so many stunning beauties, when you look at other girls, a seven out of ten will only get a five, an eight out of ten will only get a six, but a ten out of ten won't drop much, and a nine out of ten won't drop much either.

Sitting in the car, Xiao Xian, whose superhero journey had not yet been successful, went online to check today's news. Good heavens, news about Iron Man, Captain America, Thing, and others saving people had already been written and posted. Iron Man, in particular, directly topped the trending searches and became the headline of multiple media outlets, and the words were flowery and full of praise for Iron Man.

Moreover, it has ultra-high-definition video, so clear that it's not even shaky; it's obviously professional equipment.

"No way, so fast? This must be a pre-written script! There's definitely something fishy going on!"

Seeing this, Xiao Xian felt even more suspicious. Could this robbery be staged by actors? No, are all superhero stories fake these days? Can't people be sincere with each other anymore? No wonder there are even superhero agencies now.

In stark contrast to the other popular heroes, Spider-Man's news was virtually nonexistent, except for a few bloggers and Twitter users who shared it themselves. It was clear that his popularity had been suppressed. If Xiao Xian hadn't specifically searched for it, he wouldn't have been able to find Spider-Man even by scrolling through his feed.

Even the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man's longtime partner in movies and comics, didn't report on Spider-Man, instead focusing on praising Iron Man.

Among the most popular figures, Tony Stark, the Iron Man, needs no introduction. He is not only a billionaire but also the owner of Stark Industries and Stark Superheroes Agency.

In addition, Captain America and the Thing are both signed with agencies. Captain America's agency has military ties, while the Thing is affiliated with Mr. Fantastic's agency. Only Spider-Man, according to Xiao Xian's investigation, is not signed with any agency. Does the superhero industry have to be this dark? It's almost like the entertainment industry, where it's so hard to debut without a contract.

At this moment, Xiao Xian suddenly realized that the changes in the superheroes were not simply a matter of their personalities changing. As a group of people who controlled the world's peak combat power, their changes had a profound impact on the world.

If it weren't for a hypocritical, Homelander-like Superman keeping things in check, the world might have already become a fragmented world dominated by superheroes.

Xiao Xian can't change the current state of the superhero community, but he doesn't need to in the first place either.

"If you can't beat them, join them!"

Picking up his phone, Xiao Xian looked up job postings on several superhero talent agency websites, planning to submit a few resumes. He was willing to accept a lower profit share and stricter contracts; he would first leverage the platforms and information of large companies to build his reputation.

He has grown with the help of the platform. As for whether to maintain this environment after he has grown, that depends on whether this environment is beneficial or harmful to Xiao Xian. If it is beneficial, he will maintain it; if it is harmful, he will oppose it.

As for the contract, if all else fails, just break it—see if you can find another company to pay the penalty for breach of contract.

(End of this chapter)