Chapter 58 Making Friends [VIP]

749.

Finally, no one knows (except Tim) who Dick's favorite brother is.

After all, rankings are such a destructive force to family harmony. The moment they reveal their true colors, there will surely be a tragic scene of flying sand and rocks, and rivers of blood.

In order to maintain the happiness and well-being of our family, we sealed this evil Pandora's box in the computer of the ghost and the black-hearted duck.

I hope this duck can keep this secret, Amitabha, Namo Guanyin Bodhisattva.

750.

Barbara also returned the Thousand Days Drunk to me. After all, it was also a terrible devil.

I also made a deal with Hehuan Palace, hoping that they would control their own specialties and most importantly, not sell them to my family. I even sacrificed my own sword for this.

My sword is called Wait.

We sword cultivators are roughly divided into two camps in our pursuit of sword refinement. One group treats the sword like a companion. They invest every possible material in their sword, even if it means eating dirt themselves, to treat it with the finest care oil. Their ultimate hope is for their sword to develop intelligence and possess a sword spirit.

The other faction advocates that the sword is just the sword, prioritizing the refinement of their skills. They find it difficult to accept the sudden appearance of an outsider within their once intimate relationship with the sword, and they avoid it, viewing it as merely an extension of their will.

Having said that, most people are in the center of these two factions.

I'm the same way. I'm a person with a strong desire for control. I can't accept the idea of ​​a being emerging from the sword I wield so effortlessly that it could wrest control from me. So, even though I've imbued my sword with countless precious materials, I've always carefully controlled it to prevent it from developing any intelligence.

Thankfully, it has remained a sharp but silent sword.

751.

I'm getting off topic. Anyway, my master has a good relationship with the Palace Master of Hehuan Palace. Although I avoid those people in Hehuan Palace who are greedy for me, I have a very familiar relationship with the current Saint Weng Rui, so this small request can still be fulfilled.

Weng Sui's only request was that I lend her the sword for three days.

I whimpered, pretending to wipe away tears. "Wait a minute, be good at your aunt's house. Mom, I'll come pick you up in three days... If you miss me, just touch your scabbard."

Weng Sui's eyes seemed to be smiling, "If you cry again, you'll be pretending too much. You're not the kind of person who can't leave the sword."

I wiped my tears halfway and said, "I can be."

She chuckled and stuffed another bottle of Thousand Days Drunk into my hand. "This is the most I can give you. There's nothing more."

I immediately retracted my crying expression, took the Thousand Days Drunk, and turned to leave, "—Goodbye!"

752.

When I got home, I met Damian who looked a little depressed.

The little boy asked me how to make friends.

Ah…is there something wrong with my friendship with Xiao Qiao?

"No, I train Kryptonian babies every day," Damian retorted.

Although I felt that it might be a different story from Xiao Qiao's perspective, I wisely did not speak.

Xiao Qiao, sister, I will make it up to you for your broken heart! Don't hate Damian!

753.

The little boy blushed and gave his reasons in a self-deprecating manner.

Tim was just bonding with his ordinary college friends when Damian passed by and poked Tim in the mouth. So the foolish Derek asked him if he dared to bet that Damian could make an ordinary friend within a week.

A completely ordinary person without any special identity or special abilities.

“Is this difficult?”

Damian and I walked into the living room, and Dick, the heartthrob since childhood, asked in confusion after hearing what we said.

"It's not difficult. Tim is definitely going to lose!" I shrugged.

"Don't listen to these two people's nonsense." Jason walked over and rolled his eyes.

"Don't friends tend to gather around you?" Leona, the child king, the center of the crowd, the focus of attention, asked doubtfully.

Jason sneered, "Of course not. You guys who make friends as naturally as breathing will never understand how much effort it takes for ordinary people to make friends."

"Todd is right." Damian nodded solemnly. "I can't just fall down in a convenience store like Grayson and get to know five people."

Dick blinked, as if wondering if there was any exaggeration in that statement.

"Wait, really?" Stephanie poked her head in. "Dick, how did you do that?"

"Uh... I just accidentally slipped while shopping and ended up falling into the arms of a group of college students who happened to be waiting in line."

"Then what?"

"Then they thought I was a nice person and asked me out for a drink."

754.

Jason was speechless: "Do you have some kind of '100% guarantee of making new friends' buff?"

"Oh, he does." Tim clicked on his database. "Statistics show that Dick accidentally meets at least seventeen new friends every month."

Everyone was shocked.

"Seventeen?!"

"Yes." Tim glanced at Damian and gave him a very malicious smile. "But don't worry, Damian. Our bet only requires you to gain a friend. And Dick's way of making friends is nothing for others to learn from. You need another way."

Damis?"

"Then let me kindly remind you that you can approach someone with a clear goal in mind, rather than waiting for them to approach you," Tim said calmly. "You can find people in places that share your interests, like—"

He paused, his smile widening: "Painting Club."

I thought of Damien's sketchbook, where he had drawn portraits of each of us, with great precision.

Tim is drawn as a human.

In retaliation, Tim changed Damian's profile picture on all of his social media accounts to Tim's scribbled, abstract drawings of a cockroach holding a knife.

Three full days.

The atmosphere between them during those three days was like a whirlwind of chaos. They could get some information from each other, then fly into a rage, and finally it escalated into a fight.

Even though Tim had a black eye on his right eye and Damian had a black eye on his left eye, they didn't back down.

Or maybe Damian finally gave Barbara some benefit that made her help him change his profile picture. Hello, Barbara.

755.

After a brief moment of reflection, Jason found the suggestion quite amusing. "I think so."

"Wait, this..." Dick frowned, "You don't mean-"

Tim Shanyu propped up his face and said meaningfully, "Yes, it's the 'John Society' in your school."

Damian frowned.

756.

The next second, Stephanie and Jason started laughing among themselves, and even Cassandra had a noticeable smile on her face.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" Stephanie laughed so hard that she slammed the table. "It's over! Damian, your nightmare is coming!"

"John's Club!" Jason laughed so hard that tears almost came out. "Hahahaha! If that guy found out you joined this club, what do you think he would think?"

Dick covered his face, trying to look like a mature older brother, but the twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed everything: "Uh...Damian, do you think you are mentally prepared for this?"

Damian's expression gradually changed from confusion to impatience: "What do you mean, are you sick?"

Tim took a sip of coffee gracefully, his eyes innocent: "I have to tell you, this is definitely the simplest and most effective method for you."

"What do you think?" Jason patted Damian's shoulder and said jokingly, "Go to the animal shelter and make friends with the kittens and puppies?"

Damian's eyes snapped towards him, and he seemed to actually consider the suggestion.

"No," Tim interrupted him. "It has to be 'perfectly ordinary, everyman.'"

Damian took a deep breath, as if he had made a difficult decision. "...John Society, right?"

Tim smiled, "Exactly."

Damian sneered, "Just wait to lose, stupid Drake."

Everyone gave a deafening cheer.

757.

"Wait!" Stephanie's eyes lit up. "Should we go and watch it?"

"Oh, I'm definitely going," Tim said happily. "I want to see this historic moment."

"Okay, I'll go too." Jason leaned lazily on the sofa, "Let's see how this little devil gets killed."

"I'm going too!" Stephanie excitedly pumped her fist. "We're going to cheer Damian on!"

Damian's expression turned even uglier. "...Is there something wrong with your brain? Don't you have your own things to do?"

758.

"Then I'll go too," I said, and at the same time asked Tim in secret, "But what the hell is the John Society?"

"You really want to know?" Tim looked at me meaningfully.

"Nonsense." I punched Tim on the head. "Don't act mysterious in front of me."

Tim pouted and moved his beloved computer to the side.

Jason gave a dangerous smile. "Are you sure you can handle the truth?"

I narrowed my eyes, feeling the urge to raise my fist. "...Get to the point."

Stephanie avoided Damian and handed Yu Ji over: "Look for yourself."

I looked down.

On the screen was a club poster filled with pencil sketches, with a face in the center that couldn't be more familiar—John Constantine, the wizard who had given everyone in the Batman family countless headaches. He was wearing a windbreaker, smoking a cigarette, his eyes a mixture of world-weariness and sarcasm.

——And his twenty-seven portraits from different angles and styles.

759.

I was silent for five seconds.

Then he slowly raised his head and asked Dick quietly, "Is there really a 'John Constantine Fan Art Club' at your school?"

"That's right." Dick nodded with a complicated expression.

"And it's called 'John Society'?"

"Yeah." Jason was trying hard to hold back his laughter.

"Wait." I frowned and asked with my mouth pursed. "Does Constantine know about this?"

"Oh, of course he knew." Tim shrugged and leaned over to my ear and said, "In the beginning, he sent familiars, puppets, homeless people, and even used divination to find out if there was any behind-the-scenes manipulation of this society."

"Then?"

"Then he discovered—no, nothing." Tim shrugged. "The kids just admired him because he was 'the most independent magician.' So he just occasionally let the kids hang up sketches complaining about their drawing skills, and gave them a copy of 'The Complete Guide to Hellish Creatures' with the note 'Draw something useful, like remember to run away if you see these things.' to scare them."

I thought for a moment: "Those kids will just get more excited."

Tim nodded heavily.

Why? Because this is Gotham!

760.

Damian's expression was so dark it looked like ink could drip out of it.

"Drake." His voice was low and dangerous. "Are you trying to trick me?"

Although the little boy couldn't hear our secret conversation, he could keenly see from our unnatural expressions that there was a big trap.

"No." Tim remained calm. "Look, they're ordinary people, and they meet the rules of the bet. Besides, are you really not considering joining? After all, you draw magical girls every day--"

"Shut up!" Damian was furious and rushed towards Tim.

Tim dodged back nimbly and put Yu Ji back into his pocket. He said calmly, "It's no use regretting it now. See you tomorrow."

"I won't go!" Damian gritted his teeth. "Don't even think about asking me to go!"

"What a shame." I sighed regretfully. "I was thinking of going to see if you'd be hailed as the new generation of artistic genius in the club."

"Yeah." Dick fanned the flames. "If you're willing, maybe you can even become their guest lecturer."

Damian's brows twitched violently, and the murderous intent in his eyes dissipated a little.

Jason added leisurely, "Besides, this is really the best option, right? Don't you want to see Tim apologize to you tearfully later?"

The air fell into deathly silence again.

761.

Damian's expression went from anger, to struggle, to finally thoughtful acceptance.

"...Damn it." He muttered through gritted teeth, "Then I'll go once."

Tim gave a devilish smile.