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

Chapter 56: Steve's Awakening

Looking at the spell before me, I didn't offer much comment on its effects. The fact that it could construct such a self-sustaining, self-circulating barrier using only common items was something no ordinary mage could accomplish.

"It has nothing to do with ability; it's a manifestation of knowledge."

The old man said in his distinctive old-man's tone, "Unleashing the powerful energy unique to the most common objects, guiding and utilizing it, is far more difficult than extracting magic from magical ores. I just never expected this kind of technique to appear in Hell's Kitchen. How come I didn't notice it before, Father?"

He wore a white shirt with a yellow vest, dark blue trousers, brown leather shoes, and small round-framed glasses. As he spoke, the old man stroked his chin.

"The sanctuaries of monks often bear their own markings. I'm surprised Dad didn't notice before. I'll have to pay him a visit when I have some free time. Jackie Chan, prepare some tea for Dad!"

"Isn't it inappropriate to serve tea?"

Upon hearing this, Jackie Chan stared at the Wild Hunt knights outside the barrier for a while, and after confirming that they couldn't get in anytime soon, he said, "I gave some to Sheriff Black before, and his drawer was full of tea cakes. Forget about drinking them, they didn't even know how to store them. A whole bunch of tea cakes piled together, and they all tasted mixed up."

"Don't question your father!" A sharp rap on the head struck Jackie Chan. His father said, exasperated, "If the technique doesn't explain it, can't you even look at the sign over there? It's all in Chinese. Is it for foreigners?"

Hmm, the sign is in Chinese?

Startled, Ron looked up and realized why the mental hospital had been so quiet... not even a single person had come to ask about any special offers in the lobby.

With these thoughts in mind, Ron also walked towards the barrier.

Upon seeing Ron and his group, Jackie Chan shouted, "Hey! You guys over there! Watch out, these guys are dangerous!"

As he spoke, Jackie Chan also looked at his father.

"Dad, can you let me out? Otherwise, these people might show up..."

"Don't bother Dad!" Another sharp rap landed on Jackie Chan's head. Dad just squinted at Ron, and after a moment said:

"The master of this place has returned. Although his aura is not exactly the same as the aura of this spell, it is dominant... Just as Father said, the master of this place is an Easterner. Don't question what Father says anymore!"

As his father spoke, the green light barrier slowly dissipated. Before the Wild Hunt knights who had been attacking could react, Geralt and Ciri, already prepared, charged forward. Even without activating its runes, the longsword forged from Uru metal possessed a sharp, divine power capable of cutting through metal and jade. With just a couple of swift strokes, the Wild Hunt knights lay dead on the spot.

However, before their bodies even hit the ground, Nakime, who was prepared, opened the Infinity Castle and cleaned up the area.

Seeing the knights in front of him suddenly shatter and then disappear, Jackie Chan was slightly taken aback, but didn't think much of it—because Nakime's cleanup speed was too fast, Jackie Chan only saw some afterimages. This made Jackie Chan subconsciously connect the Wild Hunt with the ninjas in the Shadowlands, and those ninjas would turn into afterimages and disappear once they died.

Ron walked up with a smile and greeted him, "Haha, long time no see, Dad. How's business at the antique shop lately?"

"Well……"

Upon hearing this, the old man stroked his chin, gazing at Ron's face in thought for a moment, but felt as if something was hindering his recollection. However, being a powerful mage, upon realizing this obstacle, a hazy green light emanated from the old man's dantian, flowing into his mind and dispelling the fog in his memories.

Then, the old man clapped his hands and said, "Oh! It's Ron! Long time no see. Speaking of which, I didn't know you were a magician... Where did you learn it? It looks quite different from Eastern magic."

"Hey, I'm from an isolated island overseas called Yharnam, a small Western sect with only a few members per generation. Now, well, I'm the only one left in this world anyway."

"I see. I am a disciple of Grand Master Afeng, and I practice Qi magic. We can discuss it more when we have time."

"No problem, no problem."

They shook hands; being from the same hometown, neither of them was particularly wary. What surprised the old man was Ron's empty left sleeve, but seeing Ron's nonchalant attitude, he didn't ask further.

Then Ron also inquired;

"Speaking of which, what does Dad think of the barrier I set up? Not bad, right?"

"Quite good, it perfectly utilizes the positive influence of the collective unconscious on media in mysticism. However, there is still one drawback."

"What are the drawbacks?"

"This does not apply to Asians."

"Hiss, that's true. Do you have any suggestions?"

"My father's antique shop has some old sleepers and tracks from the Pacific Railroad, but using these as materials might actually cause the person trapped in the barrier to fall into anger and irrational emotions." As he said this, his father's eyes held a subtle probing.

"Rice noodles, watch out for the rice noodles. Stop talking, stop testing me, the system's going to yell at me." Ron refused.

The Canadian Pacific Railway, hailed by numerous magazines and media outlets as one of the seven industrial miracles of the world since the Industrial Revolution, witnessed Canada's development. However, behind its completion seven years ahead of schedule lies the blood and tears of Chinese laborers on every kilometer of track, and every sleeper a tombstone for a Chinese worker.

"Regarding racial knights, I mainly adhere to a double standard."

"Haha, that's good. A good mage is one who has principles. That's what my father and Master said."

As he spoke, the old man glanced at the sky and then asked, "Speaking of which, what's going on up there? Do you have any clues?"

"No, I'm completely confused too, I have no idea what happened."

Hearing this, the old man sighed with some regret: "I see. Then I'll be going now. We can discuss magic later."

"Okay, goodbye and best of luck~"

Seeing this, Jackie Chan, standing to the side, said somewhat embarrassedly, "Uh... well, I broke some of the mops and benches here, is that alright?"

"It's nothing, a minor issue."

Then, Ron asked with great interest, "Speaking of which, now that you've met Sheriff Black, have you ever heard of talismans?"

"Talismans? You know about talismans too?!" Upon hearing this, Jackie Chan became serious. "Could you tell me where you heard about them? This is very important to me. A group of bad guys are collecting the twelve talismans, wanting to rule the world!"

"Don't worry, they absolutely cannot rule it."

Putting everything else aside, the Tiger Talisman that the Ancient One possessed was something they could never snatch in their lifetime.

At his peak, the Holy Lord was incredibly powerful, literally a perfect hexagon with no weaknesses, maximizing his strength, physical power, and spiritual energy.

However, without all the talismans, the Tiger Talisman, which is crucial for maintaining the yin-yang balance of the twelve talismans, is still missing. Even if the Holy Lord obtains the other eleven talismans, he will not be able to unleash their full power, and the conflict between their powers may even weaken his combat strength...

In this situation, how can the battle-damaged Saint Master fight against the fully-powered Ancient One?

Upon hearing this, although he didn't know why Ron was so certain, Jackie Chan subconsciously assumed from Ron's reaction that Ron was a friend on the side of the guardian talisman, so he smiled and said:

"That's right, their ambitions will definitely not be realized! I have to go now, I have other things to attend to. I'll pay them a visit later."

As he spoke, Jackie Chan turned around and followed his father's steps, walking further and further away in the snowy night of a summer in New York.

Watching the two depart, Ron didn't try to stop them. He simply took a deep look at the many overlapping and interconnected worlds in the sky.

Just as Tony's first thought upon seeing those worlds was to travel to the other side and investigate, the people on the other side likely felt the same way to some extent.

Although the barriers between worlds will remain for a short time, as the celestial conjunction deepens and the rules and concepts of these universes are integrated into the garbage can universe, this barrier will soon disappear. And at that time, the true beginning of this catastrophic celestial phenomenon of the celestial conjunction will commence.

Back at the hospital, Ron took in his gains.

Mission Name: Wild Hunt Invasion

Mission objective: Frustrate Eredin's plot and defeat the Wild Hunt's army.

Task status: Completed.

Task evaluation: A.

Task Reward: 60 System Coins.

Optional Reward: The Witcher World Limited-Time Shop.

After glancing at the quest interface, Ron clicked to accept, while he clicked to reject the limited-time shop in the Witcher World—the Witcher World is full of mysteries, but unfortunately, most of these mysteries have little to do with Ron, and are not even of much reference value.

At this stage, Ron is more interested in completing the collection of the remaining three umbilical cords as soon as possible.

Upon opening the system shop, Ron's system coins had reached a staggering 122.

Besides the savings he had accumulated, Matt also received system currency rewards for the many things he had done during this period, which brought more possibilities to the world.

Although it may not seem like much, the purchasing power of system coins is quite strong. Additionally, the shop will periodically refresh with rare and valuable items that are only available for a limited time. For example, Ron's shop recently added a second umbilical cord, priced at 80 system coins.

At the time, due to limited funds, Ron could only choose to reserve the shop slot to prevent it from being refreshed. As a result, Ron had to pay a hefty lock-in fee of three system coins per week.

Now that he had the money, Ron immediately bought it outright.

Afterwards, Ron bought some items he would need for the battle, recharged the small lightning bolt, and repaired the wear and tear on the Eye of the Dark Sky for his next use. Once everything was finished, his purse, which had finally grown a little fuller over this period, quickly shrank back down, dropping from 122 to 32.

Besides that, there's the matter concerning the arm...

Because of the over-activation of the Black Sky Eye, Ron's left arm suffered a soul distortion due to the rampage of his spiritual vision. To prevent the distortion from spreading, Ron decisively chopped it off with a single strike.

As of now, the severed left hand has not yet grown back. Although the rice of the Rice Maiden has a powerful healing effect, the large-scale production of rice also depletes the Rice Maiden's own life force.

Under other circumstances, Ron could simply let his arms grow back slowly. In his current state, he could easily defeat anyone he could without using his hands. And for those he couldn't beat, having two hands would be pointless.

However, the current base world is somewhat special. Due to the convergence of celestial spheres, Ron is unsure when the barrier between worlds will disappear. To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, it's best to recover from these injuries as quickly as possible.

Thinking to himself, Ron also took out a delicate, elegant bell that emitted a hazy holy light, appearing precise, light, and sacred—the Hymn Bell.

As mentioned before, this is a special hunting tool made by the "Chant" of the Medical Church's high-ranking members. Its prototype is a ritual object originating from a superior being, whose sound can transcend dimensions and communicate with unknown beings.

Although the original hymn bell cannot penetrate dimensions after being replicated, within the range of its sound, the hunters' life potential will be fully stimulated and replenished by the sound.

Sure enough, as the bell rang softly, Ron soon felt an itch on his left arm. Then, wisps of granulation tissue began to grow from the cut surface of his shoulder wound at a visible speed, intertwining with each other.

These intertwined buds grew slowly and steadily. Although they caused a slight discomfort, for any hunter, this level of discomfort was like a gentle breeze.

In fact, Ron has an even faster way to recover, such as when his arm was deformed, he could simply free his body and let it heal itself.

But this is similar to why Ron still chooses to fight as a hunter... Even if Ron can use these techniques without mastering their principles, the uncertainty in the process will greatly reduce their power.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. At least, an enemy of Ericin's caliber is not enough to make Ron ignore the unknown costs and choose to fight to the death.

The effect of the bell was also localized. As Ron's arm slowly and steadily grew stronger, on the other side, lying in the ice that had melted more than halfway, Steve Rogers, whose eyes had been tightly closed, twitched a few times upon hearing the sound of the bell in Ron's hand.

A moment later, accompanied by the belated Kegel exercise from the Eternal God, Steve gasped sharply and then nimbly climbed off the operating table.

He looked up at Ron, clutching his backside, his eyes filled with terror.

Feeling the fear mixed with anger in Steve's eyes, Ron's expression darkened, and he clenched his fists involuntarily—what does that look mean? Do you think I did something wrong?!

Noticing the unfriendly look in Ron's eyes and confirming that he was still wearing the combat suit he remembered, Steve quickly realized that he had been overthinking things.

Thinking it over, Steve coughed awkwardly and said, "Excuse me, I... I just woke up. Where am I? I remember, I crashed my plane?"

Although decades have passed since the crash, Steve's memory remains stuck on the moment before the crash.

The long sleep did not make Steve feel uncomfortable. In fact, thanks to the hymn, Steve felt in very good condition and did not feel the fatigue that should come with a long sleep.

Did you save me?

"Pretty much, but even without me, someone else will come to rescue you soon. However, we can't be so sure, since anything can happen in this trash can universe."

As he spoke, Ron put away the hymn bell:

"But you don't need to thank me. Speaking of which, I'm also very curious about your constitution."

Ron said:

"Generally speaking, water is heavier than ice for the same volume because water molecules are arranged randomly and have a compact structure. However, the structure becomes loose after freezing, causing the ice to expand in volume. The same principle applies to the cellular fluid in the human body. Once frozen, the cellular fluid expands and becomes harder. Even without external force, the frozen cellular fluid will puncture the cell membrane the moment it freezes. This is why it is unrealistic to extend human life through freezing. Because the moment freezing is complete, all the cells inside the human body have already been damaged by the frozen cellular fluid, and even if thawed, all that would be left is a pile of rotten flesh."

"Even with super soldier enhancements, the enhancements should only affect physiological abilities, not the laws of physics. To prevent any unforeseen errors and to ensure you can function healthily, would you be interested in having a vial of blood drawn?"

"sure."

Steve Rogers nodded. This also piqued Ron's curiosity:

"Aren't you worried that I might use your blood to create a new super-soldier serum?"

"No, if the super soldier serum could be detected through blood analysis, the Allied victory wouldn't have been so difficult," Steve said. "However, neither blood nor any other bodily fluids can produce the effects of the super soldier serum."

After a pause, Steve said, "Judging from your appearance, it seems I've been unconscious for a long time?"

"It takes a while."

"How's the war going? Did the Allies win while I was unconscious? And Hydra? They must be eradicated, or the threat won't disappear!"

"That's a good suggestion, but more than seventy years have passed since the end of World War II. Your memories of the past are outdated compared to the present day. Instead of looking back, why don't we look to the future?"

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Steve's face showed disbelief. He instinctively stood up, and realizing his lapse, a look of apology appeared on his face. He then returned to his seat somewhat hesitantly, and after a moment of silence, looked at Ron with a bitter expression and said:

"This... I might need some time to accept all of this."

"Of course, in fact, I've already contacted your future boss, and they'll be picking you up tomorrow."

As he spoke, Ron picked up an empty blood collection bottle and came to Steve's side. Steve raised his arm in response, and Ron then inserted the needle into Steve's thigh.

Caught off guard, Steve let out a soft hum, but he wasn't angry. Instead, he said, "Drawing blood from the thigh is indeed faster."

As for Ron's future boss... he must be a government researcher, right? After all, Stephen often dealt with them during World War II.

Watching Ron finish collecting the blood, Steve stretched and then asked curiously, "I've been asleep for so many years, can you talk to me for a bit?"

"What would you like to talk about?"

"This world," Stephen said softly, gazing expectantly at Ron before him.

"Counting from when I fell into a coma, so many years have passed. Judging from your tone, it seems that the Nazis and Hydra have disappeared into history. Has the world become a better place since the war ended? How is the Soviet Union doing? They made huge sacrifices in the war, as did Britain and the United States... Yes, how is the United States now? People must be living in a free and happy society, right? Everyone can learn what they want to learn according to their own interests and hobbies, and can spend more time enjoying the enrichment brought by literature and art."

"It's quite a感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of mixed emotions, often including nostalgia or reflection)," Steve couldn't help but chuckle.

"Back then, we were still fighting for freedom; now you should be living in a world of freedom and peace. You've beautifully developed our blue planet, explored the moon, landed on Mars, and continue to venture into space..."

Upon hearing Steve's words, Ron opened his mouth, then shrugged helplessly.

"No, Captain, I just came here to have some fun, there's no need for this."

I came here looking for fun, and you stabbed me in the back...

"...What's wrong? Is something the problem?" Seeing Ron's expression, Steve asked疑惑地, "Just tell me, I can handle it. With the Nazis and Hydra as examples, even if things were worse, the world should be much better than before, right?"

"Then I can only say that humanity has failed to learn any lessons from history."

Ron shook his head. He wanted to let Steve go outside and see what Hell's Kitchen looked like, so he could witness the world firsthand. However, considering that New York was currently experiencing an unprecedented cold wave due to the Wild Hunt, Ron had to abandon the idea.

"The bookshelves outside have modern history books, including information about the world's development after World War II. We'll talk about the rest tomorrow morning."

(End of this chapter)