"Major Atrocity in Gotham—Dozens Dead or Injured!"
"Third Robin Breaks Mugger's Arm—Crook Plans to Sue Batman!"
"Superboy Saves Family of Six in Explosion!"
The instant Fang Yuan arrived in the DC Universe, a quick glance at the headlines told him everything still smelled the same.
"Looks like nothing big's happened," Fang Yuan muttered, nodding.
What?
A few dozen casualties in Gotham?
Fang Yuan couldn't care less. After all, he'd started out running a newspaper; he knew exactly how the media played the game.
"Casualties" is just a headcount—no one said anyone actually died.
One dead, twenty-nine hurt? Still "dozens of casualties."
Besides, even if a few dozen really did die, so what? It's Gotham—people dropping dead is practically sport.
Which made Fang Yuan wonder—
"Batman, what exactly have you been protecting?"
Then again, this was a multiverse-blend Batman who'd probably razed Gotham plenty of times himself. That he still went out every night to bust crooks? The citizens should count their blessings.
Privately, Fang Yuan suspected Batman now treated Gotham as one giant training ground—a boot camp for baby Robins and other junior capes.
With Thomas as proof, if Bruce truly wanted permanent peace, he could just kill every crook in sight.
Assuming Earth held only Gotham's criminals.
Sadly, it doesn't.
Next to alien invasions, cosmic threats, and World-ending crises, Gotham's crime rate is a rounding error. Using the city as a Superhero newbie camp is downright cost-effective.
If Fang Yuan were calling the shots, he'd do the same.
Maybe worse.
He'd train the villains too.
So against that backdrop, third-gen Robin Arthur snapping a mugger's arm is trivia.
Much ado about nothing.
Sue Batman?
Aren't you afraid he'll break your legs as a bonus?
Over in Metropolis, the mood was clearly brighter.
Superboy Clark had become the city's rising star; every rescue was tipped to reporters, sparking public awe—nothing like Gotham's perpetual Batman-bashing.
Much of that came down to Clark and Bruce's polar-opposite styles.
Clark was a sunshine-and-smiles kind of guy—genuinely, not as a meme.
He'd never killed a civilian and rarely even bruised one; at worst he totaled a few cars and buildings.
Sure, sometimes Superboy might smash a half-paid-off house with a newly bought car, but losing property beats losing lives.
Plus, Kryptonian specs meant no mask, just a big grin every save—who could hate a handsome lifesaver who smiles at you?
Batman, though—he ghosts in, breaks bones, scares crooks and civilians equally stiff.
Picture being rescued by a living shadow. Grateful? Sure. Traumatized? Also yes.
Crime stats in Gotham dwarf those of laid-back, prosperous Metropolis.
No wonder public opinion treats Batman so unfairly.
Thus the paradox: dozens hurt in Gotham, and third Robin gets sued for roughing up a crook, while Superboy saves one family and lands front-page praise.
"Batman brings it on himself," Fang Yuan said, zero pity for Bruce.
Sometimes he wondered if Batman wasn't a bit of a masochist—half his headaches could be avoided.
But don't ask; it's "character-building" for the Robins.
Better to check what sweet unlocks adorable Clark has delivered this month.
Over the past four weeks Clark's soaring rep in Metropolis had triggered Tier-Two rewards.
[Name: Clark Kent]
[Rank: S]
[Reputation: 59 (Far-Famed)]
[Reward Earned: Tier-Two (Claimable)]
[Tier-Two Reward: Justice Aura (A-Rank) acquired!]
[Justice Aura (A-Rank): When leading a righteous organization, leadership skyrockets and members have a chance to enter a burst state.]
"Hey, I know this thing."
Fang Yuan spotted it at once—an inverted Black Emperor Aura.
So now, as long as he's the boss, he gets a leadership buff?
"Perfect!" He beamed; the occasional disobedient hero bug was finally patched.
Compared with Black Emperor Aura, Justice Aura even added a random burst-mode for teammates.
Heroes gotta power-up at clutch moments, right?
Totally logical.
"From today forward, I'm the JUSTICE Black King!" he proclaimed, shameless as ever.
Fang Yuan teleported to Wayne Manor; sure enough, Thomas and Alfred greeted him.
"Where's Bruce?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Master Bruce went out and hasn't returned," Alfred replied.
Thomas lifted his teacup and gave Fang Yuan a quick nod.
"Back already?"
"I'm all packed—ready to head out," Thomas said, barely able to sit still.
Fang Yuan blinked. "Huh? Don't you want to spend a little more time with your son?"
Thomas's forehead darkened. "Patrol every single night—am I raising a son or babysitting crooks?"
"Bruce spends less time with me than those three kids do. Who knows what mysterious errands he's always running?"
"Oh~"
Fang Yuan understood at once. Thomas had hit the classic parental cycle: after a long separation you dote on the kid, then you start nit-picking, and finally—after too much togetherness—you can't stand the sight of them. The child has entered the universally despised phase.
Looks like even Batman isn't immune to parental exasperation.
What Thomas clearly didn't know was that Bruce was so busy because he was literally bottle-feeding babies. If Thomas found out he already had grandkids, he'd give up patrol in a heartbeat and gladly spend nights chasing criminals and days chasing toddlers.
"Huh? Lord Sea-King!"
Arthur, still rubbing sleep from his eyes, spotted Fang Yuan in the garden and joyfully rushed over.
Fang Yuan caught him in a full-body hug, then measured him—Arthur's head now reached his chin.
He squeezed the boy's arm; the muscle was rock-solid.
"Strong lad," Fang Yuan approved. Clearly the Wayne kitchen was doing its job.
After greeting Fang Yuan, Arthur snuggled Thomas, then made the rounds to hug Alfred as well, leaving the two old gentlemen beaming. A born social butterfly.
In this World, Arthur's personality was miles sunnier than in the original storyline.
With Bruce nowhere in sight, Fang Yuan couldn't be bothered to hunt him down. After lingering at Wayne Manor a while, he teleported straight into downtown Gotham.
And now the righteous Lord Black-Emperor was about to summon the wicked Satan.
A top-tier hero chatting with a top-tier villain—nothing unusual.
Fang Yuan produced the ram-shaped badge Satan had left him on his last visit—essentially a "calling card."
"This thing shouldn't need charging, right?"
After a quick inspection he figured someone of Satan's caliber wouldn't bother with something so tedious, so he lifted the badge to his lips.
"Yoo-hoo, is that you, my dear ol' Satan-baby?"
In the next instant the bustling street froze, and a white-suited figure appeared in front of Fang Yuan.
"Hey, you've been gone long enough!"
Lucifer greeted him.
"It's only been a month," Fang Yuan retorted.
Lucifer shot back, "Isn't it nine years?"
"Huh?"
Fang Yuan froze. "How did you know?"
"Time leaves fingerprints on people," Lucifer said smugly, clearly proud of his insight.
Fang Yuan had never heard that one before—this old fox really had a few tricks up his sleeve.
But Fang Yuan had something up his sleeve too.
"Ahem!"
He whipped out the Premium Invitation (S-Rank), nose tilted skyward.
"Now you can come out and play with me!"
Satan's eyes lit up; he threw an arm around Fang Yuan's shoulder.
"Good buddy!" Satan beamed. "You work fast."
"I'm bored stiff with Mammon—ten giant theme parks, over and over, zero fun!"
Fang Yuan's eyelid twitched. Ten parks, many rounds—he silently pitied Mammon for a few seconds.
If even Satan's own son ended up that miserable, no wonder Constantine refused to "hang out" with the Devil in Hell.
Lucifer took the gold-edged invitation, eyes darting upward to check whether someone might object.
"Hey, no lightning bolts!"
Overjoyed, Lucifer signed his name at once.
This time nothing stopped him.
[Congratulations, Host! SS-Rank employee Lucifer Morningstar has been contracted!]
SS-Rank?
Fang Yuan's eyes bulged. He'd assumed S was the ceiling—who knew Satan would be an SS!
His mind raced: if he could sign God, wouldn't that be SSS?
He opened Satan's character card.
He braced himself before tapping the icon.
The Ancient One, for example, had started with a mere 6 Fame. Though she was the mighty Sorcerer Supreme, the company's algorithm marched to its own drum.
He figured Satan might share the same fate: World-famous in life, yet rated a no-name by the system if it based the score on Lucifer's personal reputation.
But when the template finally loaded, Fang Yuan turned to stone.
[Name: Lucifer Morningstar]
[Rank: SS]
[Fame: 200 (Timeless Legend)]
[Unlocked Rewards: Initial (Claimable), Tier-1 (Claimable), Tier-2 (Claimable), Tier-3 (Claimable), Tier-4 (Claimable), Tier-5 (Claimable)!]
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
patreon.com /AZofficial