Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4475 - 559: Research on Cats and Dogs (70)

"Thank you, James." Ron stood at the door of an apartment in the East District and nodded to Gordon as he spoke.

"You're welcome. The landlord of this place is an old friend of mine. He's happy to rent to a reliable police officer like you." Gordon smiled as he replied.

"Oh, by the way," he seemed to have remembered something, "this is Lady Mao's phone number. The school bus stops downstairs at the apartment building at 8:30 every morning. You just need to send Betty on the bus. School ends at 3:30 in the afternoon, but there is a two-hour after-school program. If you sign up for it, she will be home by 5:30, and you need to go downstairs to pick her up."

Gordon pulled out a primary school schedule from his pocket and handed it to Ron, saying, "There's a craft assignment every week that needs to be submitted. Parent-teacher meetings are held approximately once every two months, and attendance is mandatory..."

As Gordon spoke, Ron nodded earnestly, trying to remember everything. Then Gordon handed him another phone number and said, "This is the contact number of the social worker for this area. He will check on Betty soon and introduce you to the community. Make sure to read the community resident manual he gives you."

After Gordon left, Ron started cleaning his new home. After a series of mental health checks, Betty seemed fine but still needed long-term observation.

Sometimes, a child's stress response doesn't manifest immediately but after a delay, commonly known as "frozen with fear."

So even though the doctor confirmed that Betty was okay for now, she should have been hospitalized for observation. But Ron decided against it—not because he couldn't afford the treatment, but because Betty was unwilling. When Ron tried to leave her in the hospital room, she cried and fussed. Ron couldn't bear to insist.

After discussing with the doctor, he decided to take her home for observation, with regular check-ups.

Thus, Ron decided to stay in Gotham. He found a job posting for the Gotham Police Department online, scheduled an interview, and was hired successfully. Chief Gordon even helped him find a place to live.

Although the East District is quite far from the North District, there are many children and schools here, making it easier to find a suitable school for Betty. Ron decided to involve Betty in social life rather than keeping her at home as a patient. Betty didn't mind going to school as long as she wasn't kept in a hospital.

Ron rented a simple two-bedroom apartment. One of the rooms had previously been a child's room, decorated in dreamy pink with interlocking foam mats on the floor, making it feel cozy. Betty loved this room.

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Besides that, the living room, kitchen, and bathroom were fully equipped. More importantly, the apartment had a good north-south orientation: the window facing south overlooked the sea, while the window facing north overlooked the courtyard of the building, showcasing a small garden below. The rent was also affordable, clearly a special arrangement by Gordon for his subordinate.

As Ron was cleaning, there was a knock on the door. He peered through the peephole and saw a young man standing outside, holding a few manuals.

"Hello, I am Toro Ambis, the social worker for this community. They call me Little Sly." The young man smiled at Ron and said, "Welcome to the community. Here is my card with my phone number; this is the community resident manual with the locations of major supermarkets, small shops, hardware stores, and grocery stores marked out..."

Ron took a look. When he fully opened the manual, it was as long as his forearm, with marked locations of all the amenities in the community.

Entering the apartment had made Ron a bit hesitant. The buildings in the East District were connected like a maze, hard to navigate, and he had no idea where the shops were. Exploring on his own might have taken him a year.

Ron even considered using mind sensing to find answers from a neighbor, but the detailed map provided the solution. It clearly indicated where each shop was located, which landmarks to start from, and the exact paths to follow.

Ron was pleasantly surprised to find an outdoor swimming pool on the rooftop of the adjacent building. Betty, looking somewhat frail, needed more exercise, and swimming would be a great start. Additionally, there was a supermarket right below the building, which also had a children's playground, making it a perfect place to take her.

Soon, Lady Mao, whom Gordon mentioned, arrived. She was the school bus driver for Betty's primary school. Ron shook hands with her and then took Betty to the school for a trial class.

Passing the trial class was necessary to enter primary school; if not, she would have to attend a preparatory class. But it wasn't an exam; as long as the child could sit quietly for a while, it would be fine.

Betty was a very quiet girl. Let alone sitting quietly for a while, she could sit through a high school class without any problem. The trial class went smoothly.

While waiting outside, Ron met some other parents. A tall, thin man with glasses shook his hand and said, "Victor Fries, a cryophysicist and professor at Gotham University. This is my wife, who is also my colleague."

The intellectual-looking woman beside him adjusted her glasses and smiled at Ron.

"Is your child here for the trial class too?"

Victor nodded and said, "Yes. Based on his age, he should be in second grade, but he has no foundational knowledge, so he has to start from first grade."

They chatted for a while and discovered they were both adoptive families, deciding to have a small gathering that weekend to help the children adapt to collective life.

After completing the enrollment procedures, Ron took Betty home. He went shopping at the supermarket downstairs, buying her a backpack and school supplies, and hired a community caregiver.

Since he had joined the Justice League and they were busy lately, Ron might have to frequently travel between Gotham and Metropolis. He couldn't leave Betty alone at home when he was away, so he needed a nanny to look after her.

However, Ron could fly, so traveling between the two cities didn't take long. He could still come home after work, so there was no need for a full-time nanny. Hiring a caregiver from the community to look after her for a period was sufficient.

After settling down, Ron decided to go to Metropolis to see if the Justice League had any work for him. After all, it wasn't great to join on the first day and not show up at all.

After coordinating with the caregiver, Ron flew out directly from the balcony. He wasn't sure if he had startled the neighbors, but it seemed like Gothamites didn't mind if their neighbors could fly. That said, this city was indeed very suitable for alien life.

When Ron arrived at Luthor Manor, he realized he was overthinking it—no one cared if he showed up on his first day at work because the others didn't show up either.

Metropolis had already begun to gradually lift the emergency state. Citizens had returned from underground, resuming normal life processes, almost mocking the invading aliens: "Come at us!"

After circling around Metropolis and not finding anyone, Ron chose to call Oliver.

"Oh, you're here now? I thought you would be settling in for a few days. We're underground at Luther Group; I'll send someone to fetch you."

Ron waited for a while, then saw a figure emerging on the horizon. Diana landed gently, then said, "This way, follow me."

Diana led Ron to the underground highway and then into the underground area of Luther Group.

As the door opened, Ron was shocked—what stood before him was a spaceship, clearly not Earth technology.

"Where did you get this from?"

"Don't you find it strange?" Diana said, "Why didn't the aliens invade Earth using their ships for massive destruction?"

Ron was about to ask why when he realized: "Oh, so you guys seized their spaceship."

"What do you mean seized?" Diana shook her head, "We found a deserted spaceship in the caves of Metropolis. To ensure the safety of the residents, we had to take it in."

"But... spaceships shouldn't be deserted, right?"

"Anyway, when we found this spaceship, there was no one around. If they don't keep an eye on it, who can they blame for losing it?"

Ron decided to keep a close watch on his spaceship in the future.

In truth, he felt Diana made sense—ships that land on Earth should belong to Earth. If it wasn't Earth's spaceship, why are you here anyway?

What? You're here to invade? Then it's not theft or seizure; it's a rightful capture by justice.

Ron walked over to take a look at the spaceship, which was far grander than those of Mars. However, it appeared somewhat damaged at the bottom, as though there was a blackened hole.

Surrounding the spaceship were members of the Justice League and a bunch of people speaking Russian. Ron wasn't particularly interested in who they were, but the topic was unavoidable. As he walked over, Lex said, "Let's check with NASA first. If they can't solve it, then we'll try the Soviet Space Agency. If needed, both sides can collaborate to get the ship running."

As Lex spoke, he noticed Ron standing beside him. He walked over, shook Ron's hand, and said, "Mr. Rongzi, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"Go ahead." Ron already had an idea about what he wanted to ask.

"I deeply regret the destruction of Mars civilization. But I've heard that a virus caused your entire population to perish. So, presumably, the cities and technology you built weren't destroyed, correct?"

Ron sighed gently and said, "Yes, Mars City is still there, but..."

"What?"

"Mars people and human concepts of technology are completely different. We excel at mind sensing, which is akin to our limbs, entirely controlled by us. Therefore, most of our technology is built on this. Humans lack such abilities, so their technology has taken a different path. Our technology may not be usable for you."

"Moreover," Ron shook his head slightly, "many Mars technologies require brainwave connections from Mars people. The machines emit brainwave connection signals, which are perfectly normal for Mars people but would be a fatal mental shock for humans. Your minds are too fragile."

"So if ordinary people like you entered Mars City, you might immediately suffer from mental attacks, leading to disorder and death. That place is too dangerous for humans; I don't recommend exploring it."

Lex stroked his chin and said, "So, if we could become immune to mental shock, we could explore a capital of an advanced civilization that's been preserved intact?"

Ron felt somewhat speechless—you could interpret anything backwards. Humans certainly are dangerous beings in the cosmos.