章 1: Chapter 1: Having a Fast Friend Isn't Necessarily a Good Thing
Chapter 1: Having a Fast Friend Isn't Necessarily a Good Thing
In the central city, at a crossroads far from the downtown area, a well-dressed young man crouched by the side of the road, constantly moving his head left and right.
Don't get the wrong idea, he wasn't on drugs; he was just observing the traffic, looking for people who might need help crossing the road. This behavior seemed strange to others, and people would intentionally keep their distance when passing by him.
Quinn didn't care about the odd looks from others. If someone found him annoying and asked him to leave, he would gladly cooperate. Of course, he preferred a sharp exchange of words or a direct kick instead of just leaving. He had good reasons to fight back.
"I've been staking out here for two hours, and not a single elderly person has crossed the road. Aren't there many nursing homes nearby?"
The young man's name was Quinn. He was a time traveler. His father was of Chinese descent and owned a restaurant in Chinatown, which was doing quite well. Quinn had a fairly affluent childhood, but he wasn't satisfied with that.
Because he was in a city called Central City, and there was a superhero known as The Flash in this city. Various signs indicated that he had arrived in the DC Universe, and the danger level of the DC Universe went without saying. For an ordinary person to survive in this dark world was nothing short of a luxury.
Thinking of The Flash, Quinn felt a surge of hatred. "Damn Flash, if it weren't for him, I would have accumulated enough points for a draw a month ago."
Quinn wanted to do good deeds, but compared to The Flash, the conscience of the Justice League, he was simply too slow! Whether it was a large-scale fire, a bank robbery, or simply rescuing a kitten or helping an old lady cross the road, no matter where Quinn went, he would always see that red figure flash by, resolving all crises.
As the sun rose higher, the temperature gradually exceeded Quinn's tolerance limit. After waiting for three hours, he couldn't bear it any longer and was about to get up and leave. But when he looked up, he saw a trembling old man walking towards him from the opposite side of the road.
Quinn's spirits lifted. Finally, some action. However, before he could even blink, not even a moment to close his eyes, a red figure flashed by, and the old man appeared next to him.
The old man calmly adjusted his reading glasses and wasn't surprised by his sudden displacement. It seemed that he had encountered this kind of thing before. He poked Quinn with his cane and muttered curses against him, "Kid, get out of my way, you're blocking my path."
The old man politely asked Quinn to move, so Quinn had no choice but to get up and walk towards his car.
In the bustling Chinese restaurant, the waitress Su Xi brought a steaming bowl of chicken soup to the owner's son and then walked away, wiggling her hips.
"Quinn."
Barry Allen hurriedly walked in from the entrance and sat down after finding Quinn. He looked around at the crowded scene and sighed, "Your family's dishes must be really authentic. Every time I come here, there are so many customers. It's a good thing Su Xi reserved a table for us."
Quinn sighed and put down his chopsticks. "Authentic doesn't necessarily mean delicious, and delicious doesn't mean authentic. Let me tell you, if these dishes were served in China, they would be heavily criticized."
Grabbing a fortune cookie on the table, Quinn glanced at the slip of paper inside and crumpled it up into a ball before throwing it away.
"Keep going, moving towards a better tomorrow. Huh, this kind of soulful chicken soup is less effective than a simple 'thank you for your patronage.' At least that tells you clearly that you've been fooled."
Just like fortune cookies, a fusion of American and Asian cuisine, the dishes in Quinn's family restaurant had been modified to suit the local taste. Survival of the fittest. The truly authentic restaurants had been eliminated, and those that survived had all made decisions that went against their ancestors.
"Is that so?" Barry wasn't familiar with the details, but he was there to enjoy the free food and drinks.
Barry and Quinn graduated from the same school. After graduation, Barry became an excellent forensic scientist and had a hidden identity known to everyone in Central City as The Flash.
Barry's super-speed gave him abilities far beyond those of ordinary people, but using this power consumed a lot of energy. He needed to eat more food to replenish that energy. Barry's salary as a forensic scientist was not low, but it wasn't exactly generous either. Quinn took advantage of this and frequently treated Barry to meals, quickly strengthening their friendship.
After all, if you want to win a man's heart, you have to start with his stomach.
Quinn wanted to build a good relationship with Barry so that he could feel at ease when facing life-threatening situations with a superhero friend by his side.
But now, Quinn just wanted to beat his past self.
When he was eighteen, Quinn's belated "golden finger" finally awakened—the good deed system. He could earn points by doing good deeds, and those points could be used to draw items and abilities.
However, as a friend of Barry's, Quinn was under "special attention." Wherever he went, he would always encounter people in need of help, and The Flash would always be there first.
Everything has two sides, the good and the bad. Having a superhero friend like The Flash could turn bad luck into good luck, but it also made Quinn feel helpless in certain aspects.
While Barry was busy enjoying his meal, Quinn opened the system menu and checked his character data.
Name: Quinn Sullivan (Qin Su in raw)
Title: None
Points: 98
Abilities: None.
The system menu was quite simple. The only use for points was to draw cards. It cost 100 points for a single draw from the pool, 1,000 points for ten draws, and so on.
According to the system's description, the prize pool contained all the abilities and items used by the heroes of various worlds. As long as Quinn did enough good deeds, theoretically, he could become infinitely stronger.
Quinn's goal was to become the number one do-gooder in the DC Universe, and he was about to take a crucial first step.
[Help the superhero Flash replenish energy and earn one point.]
As Quinn's points reached 99, he became even more restless.
"Barry, it's time to feed the stray cats. I'll go ahead, and you can enjoy your meal."
Quinn spoke and left the table, heading towards the kitchen where he had left some leftovers for the homeless. Feeding them would be frowned upon, but feeding cats and dogs was perfectly fine.
Quinn walked out of the restaurant's back door. Before he could even place the bowl of food on the ground, a group of waiting cats pounced on him.
"Don't be so eager, there's enough for everyone. Tom, let go quickly! Those are my new jeans, don't scratch them!"
Quinn was covered in cats, and among the waiting visitors were not only cats but also dogs. Dogs had learned to keep their distance from kind-hearted humans after witnessing dogs injuring people and being put down.
After serving the four bowls of leftovers one after another, Quinn finally got rid of his overly lively guests. After they were full, these little creatures would come back and lick his palm, as if it was their way of expressing gratitude.
Quinn helplessly shook his head. "I have good intentions, and everyone takes what they need."
[Feeding stray animals, earning one point.]
According to the system's judgment, the points earned by Barry for eating and feeding stray animals were equivalent... Every time Quinn thought about it, he would chuckle.
But this time, Quinn wasn't in the mood to laugh because the highlight was about to begin—his first lottery.
"Jade Emperor, Buddha, I've been praying to you on ordinary days. Please make sure I get something good. I'm not greedy, just give me something like Saiyan lineage or something like that, as long as it's something befitting a protagonist!"
Quinn prayed frantically, then rushed into the restroom to wash his face, taking deep breaths in front of the mirror.
He couldn't help but feel nervous. Quinn had been busy for a long time to accumulate those one hundred points.
Confirming the selection with his mind, the one hundred points instantly cleared, and Quinn's consciousness entered a white space. In front of him was a pool about 3x3 square meters in size.
"So, this is the prize pool. It really is a pool. Now, what should I..." Quinn lowered his head and discovered that he was holding a fishing rod that he didn't know when it appeared in his hands.
Quinn was speechless for a moment. "Um, okay, it shouldn't be for aerial combat."
Shrugging his shoulders, Quinn looked at the water's surface. Besides a shimmering golden light in the center, he couldn't see anything below. Tentatively, he cast the line, and the golden fishing line automatically extended, landing perfectly on the edge of the pool.
"I hope I didn't use too much force. Hopefully, it won't have any effect. But when should I start pulling... huh?"
Before five seconds had passed since the hook went down, Quinn felt a pulling sensation coming from the fishing rod. He instinctively pulled it up, and a long object flew out of the water.
Wait, it wasn't a fish that he caught?
Catching the flying object, Quinn felt somewhat disappointed. What he needed now was abilities, not props.
[Name: A Curry-stained Wooden Sword]
[Type: Weapon]
[Quality: ★☆]
[Attack Power: Weak]
[Attributes: None]
[Special Effect: Samurai Soul]
[Description: This is a discarded wooden sword, said to be taken from the "Diamond Tree," a tree that has grown for ten thousand years on the border. It is extremely durable, and the hilt bears two already blurred words but is not a limited edition.
PS: As a police officer, it is advised not to use this sword.]
Quinn twitched his mouth. "Damn it, isn't this the famous Lake Toya? They made it sound so mystical, why didn't they say it was ordered from a TV shopping advertisement? Even the unique 'Lake Toya' logo on the hilt that sets it apart from other wooden swords is gone. It has become a common item."
After a roar in the realm of consciousness, Quinn returned to reality, and the wooden sword was automatically sent to the warehouse. Opening the warehouse menu, he could still see a "" icon.
Letting go of the wooden sword, Quinn realized that his excitement had diminished. "So, the Samurai Soul is just a mockery..."
Quinn's first attempt ended up like this. Although he had drawn an item of the "protagonist's weapon" level, it was undoubtedly a burst of his luck. However, just like a chicken rib that he picked out, it was tasteless to consume but a pity to discard.
This is the United States of DC, the birthplace of Superman and where everyone possesses abundant martial virtue. In the face of high-powered firearms, what use is a wooden sword? Silver can travel from Kabukicho to Yoshiwara, and even to Yato Star, all because of his exceptional martial arts skills, which had little to do with his weapons.
When Quinn returned to the table, Barry had already finished all the dishes and sat on the chair looking like an obedient child.
"You still eat so much, Barry. Sometimes I really suspect that you belong to the Yato Tribe."
Barry scratched his head awkwardly. "What's the Yato? I've never heard of it."
Quinn used chopsticks to pick up a chicken rib and put it in his mouth, eating it carefully. "They are a powerful extraterrestrial race with a similar appearance to humans on Earth. They like eating, and their appetite is as deep as their boss's integrity."
Barry couldn't understand what Quinn was talking about at all, but after knowing him for two and a half years, he knew it was best not to respond in moments like these.
"Oh, by the way, Quinn, your internship will end in two days. After becoming a regular, should we have a party to celebrate?"
Both of them graduated from the same school. Barry became a forensic examiner, while Quinn became an intern police officer at the Central City Police Department.
Quinn's original plan was to become a police officer because it would be more convenient to do good deeds and accumulate merit. However, after reporting to the police station, he discovered that the Central City Police Department was basically non-functional. By the time they received reports of serious crimes, the Flash had already taken care of them. Quinn's main job as a police officer was to clean up after the Flash.
Upon hearing this, Quinn took out a transfer order from his pocket. "Barry, there's something I need to tell you. I'm being transferred to another city."
Barry's smile faded, and he took the document and read it, furrowing his brow. "Damn it, Quinn, did you offend someone? They're transferring you to Gotham."
Quinn didn't care at all. "Don't get worked up. I volunteered for the transfer."
"What?!"
Barry became even more agitated, grabbing Quinn by the collar. "Are you crazy, Quinn? Gotham is the city with the highest crime rate in all of America. It's the complete opposite of Central City. The police there, except for Commissioner Gordon's subordinates, are all in cahoots with the gangs. If you go there, you'll be swallowed whole!"
Describing Gotham as hell would be an understatement; it was even more terrifying than hell itself. Arkham had a wealth of talent, and there were countless high-intelligence villains. No one dared to say hello without a doctorate title. The only reason Gotham hadn't turned into the city of crime overnight was Batman's presence.
Barry had been to Gotham a few times and had the privilege of witnessing the battles between Batman and his arch-nemesis, the Joker. The Joker's madness left an indelible shadow on him, and it was then that he realized how adorable the rogues' gallery could be.
Moreover, Gotham had another problem. Batman didn't allow outside heroes to interfere in his city, which meant that if something happened to Quinn, even Barry would find it difficult to save him.
Quinn repeated his statement. "Barry, don't get worked up. You know my personality. The public safety in Central City is too good, and it's too peaceful. I would have to wait for an eternity to get promoted. Although Gotham is dangerous, there is more room for development."
Barry wanted to say that even if you go to Gotham, whether you can survive until an eternity is a question, but in the end, he let go of Quinn's collar and shook off the transfer order in his hand.
"The ship has sailed, and there's no point arguing now. I can't persuade you anymore. I can only wish you good luck."
Quinn had a strange obsession with doing good deeds, and it was because of this that he became friends with Barry.
"But at a time like this, you bring up being transferred to me. Didn't you talk to Uncle Qin?" Barry suddenly realized why Quinn invited him to this meal.
Quinn clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to Barry. "Barry, I leave the old man to you!"
When Quinn applied to the police academy without his father's consent, he received a torrent of criticism. If his father found out about this transfer without permission, he might break Quinn's legs.
...
Two days later, Quinn stood at the bow of a ship, looking at the dim city lights in the distance.
"Gotham, here I come."
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