I'm in an American comic book, and all my teammates are main characters and bosses.

Chapter 39 - Ciri: Singing a Song for My Old Father on the Spot

Seeing Geralt's clean and decisive sword strike, Matt, who had been about to say something, was left speechless and dumbfounded.

American superheroes are often a bit too compassionate; they've never seen such a clean and decisive scene.

Not only Matt, but even Ciri was somewhat surprised. In Ciri's memory, Geralt, while not exactly gentle and kind, was definitely not a bloodthirsty individual. In Geralt's own words, he wanted to be a good person so he could have many friends. But now… it wasn't Geralt's act of killing Illerith that surprised Ciri; what truly astonished her was the coldness and ruthlessness Geralt displayed throughout the process.

The feeling was less like killing an enemy and more like killing a long-awaited foe.

Sheathing his sword and sensing Ciri's slightly puzzled gaze, Geralt pursed his lips and said, "If I hadn't come to this world, he would have killed Vesemir in the battle when we returned to Kaer Morhen..."

"..."

Hearing Geralt's words, Ciri nodded thoughtfully. She didn't ask any further questions; the trust between father and daughter needed no further explanation. Or perhaps, she had other things to do.

Meanwhile, Ron stared at Illeris's corpse and said with some disappointment, "Poor Illeris, because of this damned frost, his body got cold so quickly. I didn't even have a chance to warm it up..."

As he spoke, Ron clapped his hands and said, "Nakome, tidy up the scene."

"Yes, sir." Upon hearing this, Nakime's figure reappeared behind Ron, and then the Infinity Castle opened, instantly engulfing Illeris's corpse. As for the corpses that had been smashed in half by Illeris during the battle, Ron ignored them, simply placing them by the roadside as the Infinity Castle emptied, so that the cleaners of Hell's Kitchen could dispose of them as soon as possible the next day.

Within this space, Ciri felt a strange fluctuation emanating from the surrounding area—a fluctuation she recognized, the spatial fluctuations generated when traversing worlds. However, unlike the unsettling feeling she experienced when crossing world barriers, this was gentler and shorter. It was less like traversing to another world and more like entering a special space within this world.

In an instant, the surrounding space transformed into a bizarre realm filled with sliding doors and tatami mats, before returning to the streets of Hell's Kitchen with a feeling of weightlessness. The interplay between the two spaces transformed the previously blood-soaked, crimson streets, making them appear somewhat more vibrant.

The scattered corpses were neatly stacked on one side of the street, while Illeris's body and the blood splattered on the walls had disappeared.

No, it wasn't just the blood on the walls; even the blood splattered on everyone's bodies disappeared. Although the injuries were still there, it felt like they had taken a bath.

Since this wasn't the first time he'd experienced something like this, Matt just pursed his lips, already guessing that the blood around him had probably gone into Nakime's stomach.

"Keep that tin can body safe and don't touch it."

"Yes, ma'am."

Nodding, Nakime turned and disappeared into Ron's shadow. Although she didn't say anything, Ron could more or less guess that Nakime was somewhat disappointed. After all, the corpse of a powerful figure like Illeris would always be a great source of nourishment for a creature like her that feeds on humans, no matter the circumstances.

Now, all they can do is lick the scraps left on the ground.

But so what?

Don't want to do it anymore? Ha, we'll refine it into Blood Echoes later, and if you don't want to do it, there will be plenty of others who will!

Thinking about it, Ron felt a pang of heartache—damn it, he'd spent thirty system coins on a portable garbage collector. If he'd known system coins could be exchanged for umbilical cords, he would have definitely saved them up!

Seeing Ron clutching his chest in pain, Geralt, Matt, and the others seemed unfazed, offering no words of comfort or inquiry. Matt, in particular, while Geralt might not know him well, had observed Ron in the mental hospital for a month after his Blood Echo enhancement. It was best to leave Ron alone when he was in a bad mood, lest he cause trouble…

In response, Ciri said to Geralt, "Regardless, we'd better leave here first. The Wild Hunt knows I'm in this world, and they'll be here soon!"

As she said this, Ciri glanced at everyone present, and after confirming that Ron seemed to be the leader here, she simply said:

"The Wild Hunt will arrive, and the Frost will follow closely behind. Everyone in this world will become its slaves. After they've been squeezed dry of their last bit of value, the entire world will be covered in Frost, and the surrounding planets will be frozen into lifeless blocks of ice!"

Ciri spoke with great emphasis, but Ron just shrugged: "Sounds pretty cool, don't you think? Shopping bag."

"I think so too," the Ancient One's voice came from the air beside him, causing Ron to clench his fists.

Ron: "Damn it! I knew you old bastard were spying!"

Ancient One: "What spying? I am the Sorcerer Supreme. What's wrong with me personally looking after guests from other worlds?! But where is that tin can corpse of yours? Hurry up and give me a share."

"No way!" Ron said. "Why should I give you the empire I built?"

"Matt is from our world. I'm the magic boss of this trash can universe. I should be asking why I should give it to you!"

"Nonsense! I clearly picked it up!" Ron said dismissively. "I figured nobody would want this tin can even if it was just thrown on the ground. Matt didn't say anything, so how come it's yours now?"

"Alright, New York does have a nickname, Xinxiang, so it doesn't really matter."

Matt opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could make a move, a binding force from within his bloodline suddenly surged forth, and then the Transparent World began to operate on its own, forcibly deeming his vocal cords unnecessary and causing them to shut down.

"Huh? Waaah? Uh, ah?!"

Seeing Ron's shameless behavior, the Ancient One opened a small portal, glanced at Matt, and said with a look of disgust, "It's a good thing you used your clan's power for this! I think you've been planning this for a long time!"

"What do you mean by premeditated?" Ron curled his lip. "I presided over Attorney Matt's Blood Echoes ritual, and I know the transformation process inside and out. Besides, with Matt's current proficiency, does he even need the power of his clan? Activating his full sensitivity would increase it by at least fifty to a hundred times, right? I really feel sorry for Matt's future wife."

As he spoke, Ron smacked his lips twice, looking at the speechless Matt with a mixture of regret and anticipation, and said, "If only the abandoned universe were a quirk-based universe, this sensitivity appearing on a female Daredevil who only fights at night and wears a tight leather suit... hehehe."

Hearing this, Matt couldn't help but roll his eyes. After feeling his vocal cords recover, he realized why they had recovered so quickly. He glanced gratefully at the smiling old man, Gu Yi, and then couldn't help but complain:

"Regardless, your idea is too wicked! With a hundred times the perception, even a gust of wind would be enough to make someone lose their mind."

"Bullshit!" Ron scoffed. "They were three thousand times more sensitive to demon ninjas, and after being thoroughly ravaged, they were completely unharmed, pulled up their pants, and slaughtered them all. You should learn from them!"

"Just listening to it makes me lose all desire to learn..."

Ron's words were full of flaws, and Matt didn't know what to say for a moment. He could only look at the Ancient One with a helpless expression, indicating that he, a guy with a sense of shame, really couldn't compete with Ron, this inhuman bastard.

Gu Yi, on the other hand, seemed quite at ease: "If you don't want to give it to me, then you can carry it yourself when Bai Shuang arrives."

Seeing the Ancient One sitting calmly, Ron snorted lightly, but didn't say anything more. He snapped his fingers, and then Nakime respectfully presented half of Illusion's body.

"How is the division of responsibilities explained?"

"Same as always, the Wild Hunt is yours, the rest is mine." As she spoke, the Ancient One sighed helplessly, "It's so frustrating. We finally had a little peace and quiet, and now it's starting again..."

As he spoke, he casually made a gesture with his hand, and a golden incantation wrapped around half of Illeris's body, pulling him into Kamar-Taj on the other side of the portal.

"Then I'll leave the rest to you. I have other things to attend to." With that, the portal closed, and the Ancient One vanished. Watching this unfold, Ciri hesitated for a moment before asking:

"Who was that just now?"

"The Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme of this world. Although this guy is very annoying, I have to admit that his power far surpasses that of anyone you've ever met, including me. If we're talking about the Wild Hunt, he'd probably be gone in an instant."

Ron waved his hand casually and said, "It's just the Wild Hunt, so there's probably no need for the Ancient One to personally intervene. She'll handle things on a more macro level."

Upon hearing Ron's explanation, Ciri couldn't help but swallow hard, a gurgling sound escaping her throat. Although Geralt's strange attitude had long made Ciri realize that the world might not be as simple as she thought, it wasn't until she met the Ancient One that she truly understood how ridiculous her assumptions had been.

The first time she saw it, Ciri wasn't sure. But this time, she was certain that the ancient blood within her had lost its effect the instant the Ancient One appeared. Even after her strength recovered, she couldn't regain her sense of the surrounding space. It felt like a nail had been driven into place. The moment the Ancient One appeared, the surrounding space had been anchored, rendering all methods of world-traveling ineffective.

"So, what's next...?"

"Let's go back to the base first," Geralt suggested. "It's perfect that Ciri is here too. Once you join the party, you'll understand all of this."

Although he says that joining the team will make him understand everything, Geralt's face is still full of emotion even now, clearly not understanding everything as he claims.

But it doesn't really matter. After all, Ron is only a half-baked captain, and the entire hospital team is just a makeshift operation. They're just trying to make a living by collecting system coins. They've got a pretty good grasp of the basics.

Sensing the strange attitude of everyone, Ciri felt she had a lot to complain about, but after thinking about it, she nodded and followed Geralt and the others back to the hospital.

Watching everyone leave, Matt scratched his head, somewhat bewildered—What about me? Doesn't anyone care about me?

After standing there alone for a while, Matt shook his head somewhat unhappily, then ran back into the alley, changed his clothes, and prepared to go home to rest.

On the way back, Ron looked up at the sky and said unhappily, "Looks like we'll have to prepare some insurance measures for the hospital in the future."

"For example?" Geralt glanced at Ron, followed Ron's gaze to the sky, and said, "Is it to prevent the Ancient One from spying?"

"Forget about the Ancient One, she's a native of this world, and there's no way to prevent her from spying on us—but the hospital is very safe. It's the World Tree's teleportation anchor point, so it's one thing for Matt to sneak in or force his way in, but any other method using space, magic, or other means will be rejected by the system."

"What kind of insurance measures should be taken?"

"Plant cotton along the hospital's outer wall to evoke the fear that braised eggs harbor in one's blood."

"what?"

Back at the hospital, Ciri officially joined the team with Geralt's help and mastered the Level 3 subsystem.

The moment the system received the goods, Ciri was slightly taken aback by the dazzling array of items that appeared on the wall, even though she was somewhat prepared. She then looked at Geralt hesitantly and asked, "What exactly are all of this... um?"

Sensing his eldest daughter's confusion, Geralt rubbed his forehead in exasperation and said, "Actually, I haven't been in this world for very long... If you count the time I officially joined the team, I've only been here a few hours earlier than you."

As he spoke, Geralt also said straightforwardly, "I've sent you the system coins. Use them sparingly, and only buy things after you've confirmed they'll be useful to you."

As he spoke, Geralt gave Ciri forty of the fifty system coins in his account.

Watching Geralt and Ciri interact, Ron asked curiously, "Why did you give all the money to Ciri? You could have given it to me if you didn't want it."

"Because it wouldn't be very useful to me."

Ignoring Ron's subsequent honest words, Geralt shook his head helplessly and said:

"While Witchers possess greater stamina, endurance, strength, and reflexes, they are still essentially within the realm of humanity. They need rest when tired, bleed when injured, and die just like when their necks and hearts are severed. And if the power increase from forty system coins is converted to a 10 on me, then it would increase by 30, or even 40 or 50 on Ciri."

"Geralt..."

Looking at her father's expression, Ciri, though she didn't yet have a detailed understanding of the system currency, could guess from Ron's attitude that it must be extremely valuable. And now, Geralt was giving it to her without hesitation, making Ciri involuntarily purse her lips.

"Perhaps we don't need to do this?"

(End of this chapter)