Chapter 7: Abnormal Coordinates
Batman, a demon spirit, and a mysterious figure had basically taken over the headlines of every media outlet, big and small, in Gotham. As a result, the news about a "good samaritan rescuing a kidnapped child" was squeezed into a small, unnoticed corner.
Orin Vale had taken down the demon spirit with a blast the previous night, harvesting a wave of experience. At the same time, his eyes had recorded a unique energy fluctuation from it.
Following that similar, eerie fluctuation, he quickly found a warehouse in the abandoned Gotham Harbor. Tearing open the door, he found the children who had gone missing over the past few days.
Honestly, Orin Vale was a little shocked when he went in. The poor children were listless, their heads drooping dejectedly. They had been tied to crooked crosses, their faces smeared with bizarre patterns in blood. The scene was shocking to behold.
Fortunately, it only looked frightening; the children were not seriously harmed. From their descriptions, it was clear the demon spirit was responsible for the kidnapping. It had no interaction with the hostages whatsoever, simply locking them in here and ignoring them. However, the scene looked like it was related to some kind of cult ritual.
The next evening, two enthusiastic guests arrived at the shop.
They were a mother and daughter. The mother was in her thirties. Although the pressures of life had left her looking a bit weary, she had maintained an excellent figure and still possessed a mature charm. If Chancellor Cao were here, he would likely have cried out, "Marvelous!"
The daughter looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. Though not yet fully mature, she had already inherited much of her mother's beauty, with a delicate, oval face, fair and supple skin, and eyes of azure blue filled with gratitude.
"I really don't know how to express my gratitude," the woman said, overcome with emotion. "Ever since we heard the leader of the Iron Mask Gang was hospitalized, they haven't come to bother us again."
"I truly don't know what to say. Johnny passed away a long time ago, and for many years, there hasn't been a man to teach us how to protect ourselves, especially in a place like Gotham."
"That old house is all we have left. If we were driven out..."
Orin Vale remembered them. The woman's name was Tess, and her daughter was Kathy. The Johnny she mentioned was her deceased husband, who had apparently been killed by a gang.
The Iron Mask Gang wanted to buy the apartment building they lived in for some reason. Some residents refused to move out, leading to unpleasant conflicts.
Orin Vale quickly interrupted, "Please, don't. I'm very happy that things worked out for you, but that unlucky fellow from the Iron Mask Gang broke his leg in a skiing accident. It has nothing to do with me. That's what he told everyone himself."
The young girl, Kathy, let out a chuckle.
Tess warmly invited Orin Vale, "If it's possible, I hope you can find the time to join us for dinner at our home."
As she spoke, she winked. Her expression and gaze suggested she had more than just dinner on her mind.
Orin Vale was startled. He thought to himself, *Even if I've heard the local customs are liberal, isn't this a bit too outrageous? Your daughter is right here watching, madam. This isn't very appropriate, is it?*
Then he glanced over and saw that the young girl also had a look of anticipation, staring at him eagerly.
Orin Vale suddenly felt that perhaps he still didn't fully understand Gotham.
Many things that would be considered outrageous in civilized society were probably commonplace to the people here.
He nonchalantly took two steps to avoid the enthusiastic Tess, politely declining her persistent invitation.
The lady looked very disappointed, and her daughter looked even more so.
After finally seeing Tess out the door, Kathy lingered in the shop, reluctant to leave, looking back every few steps.
Her mother, who had been waiting at the shop's entrance, said half-jokingly, "If you don't leave now, I'll give you to him as a daughter, and you don't have to come back."
Kathy's eyes widened, a glint of light flashing within them.
It was as if she were thinking, *Huh? There's such a good deal?*
But in the end, Orin Vale still escorted her out.
A young man sitting near the door showed an expression of envy, jealousy, and hate, shaking his head repeatedly. "What a reckless waste of a heavenly gift. Boss Orin truly doesn't know how to appreciate things..."
His name was Tom, a regular at the shop. He was a young man who had just graduated from college and, unable to find a job, idled his days away, fantasizing about being a writer.
He would hole up in his grimy rented apartment, typing away at things no one would read, yet he always maintained a high opinion of himself.
Sometimes he would come to the shop, order a cup of coffee, and sit for the entire day, calling it "gathering material."
Orin Vale glanced at him. "Heard your new book flopped again?"
Tom's face instantly turned beet red.
"Who... who said that? I'm still gathering material. The book hasn't even started, so how can you say it 'flopped again'?"
"Your pen name has been exposed. What was it... 'I'll Do a Handstand on a Plane If I Drop This One'?"
Tom's face grew even redder. "When it comes to writing a book... can you even call it 'dropping' it? You've played games, right? You know about making a sacrificial offering for better luck? This book was just a sacrifice! It doesn't count as being dropped!"
Orin Vale looked at him with a faint smile.
The young man finally retreated under the silent offensive of his gaze, running out with a red face without looking back, yelling, "Just you wait, my next book is going to take off!"
The shop was suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
However, Orin Vale couldn't help but fall into deep self-reflection as he touched his cheek in the mirror.
Perhaps he'd overdone it when fine-tuning his human host form's handsomeness?
After transmigrating, his true form was now an Ultraman, not a human. However, his race's innate talent, along with some courses from school, allowed him to transform into any human form.
He had still chosen his original appearance from before he transmigrated. He felt he had only made minor adjustments, but he didn't expect his 'charm value' to be so much higher than he'd anticipated.
After last night, the energy in his bracelet had increased slightly again. Theoretically, this should have also enhanced Orin Vale's own strength, but the increase was so small and lacked a progress bar that he couldn't feel it.
Perhaps he would only be able to perceive it directly after accumulating enough for a qualitative change.
In fact, this affected not only the strength of his Ultraman form but also the physical prowess of his human host form.
Yes, his human host form also possessed superhuman powers. Just like the super strength and non-human motor skills displayed by Zero Bunny in his human host form, and even the near-instantaneous super speed that their Technology Bureau's Director Hikari showed in his human host form during his early TV appearances.
Even more exaggerated was someone like Orb's Human Host, Brother Kai. In his normal human form, he possessed heaven-defying strength and super speed, and could even physically tank beam attacks from a gigantified monster or alien. This led audiences to believe for a time that Orb in his Ultraman form was nothing more than a gigantified Brother Kai stuffed into a suit, and possibly even weaker for it.
Like Brother Kai, Orin Vale's true form was also non-human. At the very least, he possessed an impervious body, super speed invisible to the naked eye, and basic super strength.
As long as he wasn't facing an opponent with a particularly high threat level, Orin Vale could handle it without even needing to transform.
The DC Universe was dangerous, true, but the one thing it didn't lack was opportunities to grind for experience.
For example, the presence of a Bat Demon Spirit on Maroni last night was quite bizarre. Logically, there shouldn't have been such mystical things in Batman's early stories. The Gotham of this period should only have normal criminals, or at most, mentally unstable but otherwise normal criminals.
But the thing that appeared last night was clearly out of line. It felt like finding a calculus problem in an elementary school math exam, clearly intended to mess with the Old Master's head.
"Ding."
The energy crystal on his bracelet suddenly flickered, reacting for some unknown reason.
Orin Vale's eyes lit up.
Could another function have been activated?
He quickly checked, but immediately realized that wasn't it. This wasn't the bracelet activating; its built-in space-time compass had been triggered by some unknown spatial activity.
In other words, the bracelet had detected some abnormal spatial fluctuations in the vicinity.
Could there be another visitor from an otherworld besides himself?
Who could it be? Were they also from his world?
With a thought, Orin Vale activated the bracelet's function. It immediately projected a map of Gotham City out of thin air, with a conspicuous red dot marking a spot among the intricate network of streets.
That was the specific coordinate where the anomaly was occurring.
New author, new book, continuing to ask for consistent readership!
(end of chapter)