The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics

“Huff!”

Yang Le woke up from a nightmare once again in the early morning. He couldn't remember how many times this had happened; in short, Yang Le had barely slept soundly in the past few months.

“Damn it.” Yang Le glanced at the time and cursed as he threw off the covers. He picked up the clothes he had carelessly tossed on the floor yesterday. Even though he was tormented by nightmares, he still had to go to work.

He took out two cold slices of bread from the refrigerator, put on his coat, opened the door, and walked out of his rented room.

As soon as he left, Yang Le ran into an acquaintance, who greeted him warmly.

“You need to pay your rent, kid.” Unfortunately, it wasn't a pleasant greeting. The already terrible morning had just gotten worse.

Yang Le swallowed the bread in his mouth and said, “I know, I know. I've already prepared the rent, just waiting for you to come and get it.”

“Then why don't you just give it to me today? Save me another trip.”

“Dream on. My rent is due in three days. Who knows if I'll need that money for something in the meantime.”

Yang Le refused the landlord's request and tried to squeeze past him. The landlord, who also had an Asian face, frowned.

“Ah Le, listen to your uncle's advice. Don't say such unlucky things. If you're always preparing for misfortune, it will definitely find you.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Yang Le replied perfunctorily, only thinking about getting to work as soon as possible.

Watching Yang Le's back as he squeezed past, the landlord just sighed and didn't say anything more.

“Old Huang,” the door next door opened, and a tenant poked half his body out. “If you ask me, that kid is heartless. You know you were the one who took him in and even gave him your nephew's identity. Who would have thought he'd treat you so敷衍敷衍 now.”

“You talk too much.” Old Huang frowned and glared at the tenant, then sighed again and said, “Those who live in my building are all pitiful people. I'll help them if I can. Besides, I don't know where my nephew went a long time ago. I don't even know if he's dead or alive. Giving him the identity allows me to earn some money. Why not?”

“That's why you can buy a building in Central City,” the tenant complimented. “I remember your nephew went to Gotham, right? That's a place that eats people without spitting out bones. I really don't understand why he wouldn't rely on his own family and had to start his own business.”

“Can't figure it out, huh? That's why you can only live in my dilapidated building.” Old Huang laughed, and the tenant scratched his head and laughed along.

But none of this had anything to do with Yang Le. In the cold weather, he could only tighten his coat. The damn weather was getting cold too quickly. His life had just started, and the money he earned was only enough for daily expenses and rent. Not to mention, he had more important things he urgently needed money for, so he had no spare money to buy a better coat.

Yang Le sighed. It would be better once he got to work. There was heating and a uniform there. He could even use his position to get himself a hot drink.

Looking at the shop not far away, Yang Le quickened his pace. This was where he worked, a commoner shop opened by a dreamy rich man.

As for how rich he was, it was just so-so, but he was definitely richer than Yang Le now. However, his dream of opening his own chain supermarket and establishing his own brand in the land of freedom across the ocean made Yang Le scoff.

This place didn't welcome certain skin colors, not to mention the boss made it special by only employing people of non-white races. Although this business model could please some people, those targeted white people were very unhappy.

At least several of his colleagues on the same shift had been blocked after work. The other party was smart and wouldn't do it in crowded places. At first, they thought it was just that colleague's bad luck, but after a long time, as more and more people were injured, even a fool would know they were being targeted.

But the boss couldn't do anything. This kind of behavior was almost impossible to stop because the police who often patrolled this area were also white. The rest was self-explanatory.

But even so, no one quit because life forced them. In this country, it wasn't easy to find such a good job.

Yang Le was lucky. He had only encountered one tailing since he started working, but he escaped with his good footwork. After that, Yang Le had always been careful, even taking detours to walk on the main road.

Work was boring. Yang Le, who only had a half-day shift today, took off his employee uniform and reluctantly left the warm shop. He wasn't planning to go home early today. He had an appointment with a psychologist.

This was what he had mentioned earlier as a place he urgently needed money for. He had also asked about the specific fees in advance, which made him click his tongue. He had originally planned to give up, but he was about to be driven crazy by that dream.

Life, life, both words are the opposite of death, so Yang Le could only obediently hand over his hard-earned money to those upper-class professionals who drank coffee in offices.

“Mr. Yang Le.” The handsome blond-haired, blue-eyed psychologist called Yang Le, who was lost in thought, back to reality.

“Yes, I'm here.” Yang Le was a little flustered, but he quickly calmed down.

'Looks like my money wasn't wasted. At least this white guy pronounces my name correctly,' Yang Le comforted himself in his heart.

“I've read your description.” The psychologist placed the notebook where he could see it at any time. “You said you've been having the same dream lately? What kind of dream is it?”

“I seem to be chasing something.” Yang Le pondered for a moment and said, “It's very fast. No matter how hard I run, I can't catch up. I can only see a blurry shadow.”

“Is that shadow red and yellow?” The doctor closed the notebook, as if he had lost the desire to continue reading.

Yang Le thought for a moment and said, “I think so. How do you know?”

“This is Central City.” The doctor spread his hands and pointed to the red and yellow doll on the table. “We have the fastest hero in the world here. It's not hard to imagine.”

“To be frank, Mr. Yang Le,” the doctor straightened his back and said. “Since the Flash appeared, there have indeed been many people like you. They are all like this because they admire that guy too much, so I suggest you can look at other heroes.”

As he spoke, the doctor took out a blue and red doll from his cabinet and handed it to Yang Le. Yang Le took the doll and saw the iconic smile at first glance.

“Superman, although not as good as our Central City's pride, is also a great guy.” The doctor introduced. “My nephew, who studies in Metropolis, likes him very much. If you ask me, he's just been bewitched by Metropolis. How can there be a hero in this world better than the Flash?”

“Of course, I also have other heroes here.” The doctor said, taking out many more dolls. “Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg.”

The number of dolls kept increasing. Yang Le didn't speak, just silently watching the doctor introduce them to him. He always felt that if he wanted to remember what he had forgotten, these heroes were the key.

Seeing that some people want to see DC, I also want to write it a bit, so let's do a DC side story that has nothing to do with Marvel. If everyone wants to see it, I'll continue writing.