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From Lily's vantage point, the pitch-black night couldn't obscure her view. Thanks to the mask's night vision capabilities and zoom functions, she could see everything clearly. Arthur had temporarily disabled the anti-theft mode, allowing her to access many basic features.
She tried to zoom in. In the alley, she saw Arthur facing off against several burly men with "Bad Person" etched on their foreheads, and she swallowed nervously.
No matter how much she believed in Arthur's superhero abilities, these guys looked intimidating, and Arthur's height didn't seem like much of an advantage against multiple opponents.
"Will something go wrong?" She thought, anxiety creeping in. Deep down, she trusted Arthur to handle the situation, but watching it unfold made her worry.
Caught in this dilemma, just as she hesitated, the closest thug suddenly threw a punch, aiming straight for Arthur's face!
"Ah!" Lily gasped, not because of the punch itself, but because Arthur didn't dodge!
The punch landed with a muffled thud, not the sound of flesh meeting flesh, but more like a fist hitting a tree trunk.
Despite the impact, Arthur didn't budge an inch. Instead, the thug who threw the punch stumbled backward, shaking his fist in pain.
After Lily's gasp, she watched in astonishment as the thug retreated. "Who's hitting him?" she wondered.
It turned out to be Arthur!
In the next moment, Arthur moved forward, grabbed the thug by the neck with one hand, lifted him effortlessly, and slammed him against the wall.
With a thud, the thug stuck to the wall for a few seconds before sliding down slowly.
Arthur rubbed his face, turned his head, and a low voice came through the mask's sound modulator: "Come again."
He then extended a finger, beckoning lightly.
"That guy…" Lily blinked in disbelief.
The thugs instantly grew furious. Their numerical advantage made them overlook individual differences; they were convinced that even a superhero would be overwhelmed by their numbers.
But reality proved them wrong!
Honestly, Arthur found the situation tricky. Beating up thugs was one thing, but how exactly should he do it? He wasn't even sure how to fight them effectively! None of these guys, even if they grouped together tightly, could withstand his quick punches and kicks.
Scenes like this were perfect for someone like Spider-Man, who had natural crowd control skills. But Arthur… whether shooting or punching, his hits were too heavy. Accidentally killing someone wouldn't bother him, but he didn't want Lily to witness such brutality.
So at first, he hesitated, unsure how to handle the situation.
Only after the other side took action and threw that punch did he get a rough gauge of their limits, at least, he knew he wouldn't kill anyone.
The whole encounter lasted less than five seconds.
The thugs were armed with weapons, daggers and knuckle knives, small and easy to conceal, but quite sneaky.
Of course, it was all for nothing. Five seconds later, their weapons lay scattered across the ground.
The thugs were sprawled out, groaning and wailing. Thanks to Arthur's control, there was basically no bloodshed; they were either genuinely hurt or pretending to be victims.
Arthur glanced up and saw Lily still craning her neck to watch. He smiled slightly, just about to leave, when the woman who had been pinned to the wall suddenly charged forward and stomped on one thug's foot, right around the middle-lower front of his body.
The groans immediately turned into sharp cries of "Ah!!!!!"
Hearing such lively screams, Arthur figured she wasn't going to die after all.
He shook his head, and before the woman could turn to speak, he vanished from the rooftop in a flash, reappearing beside Lily.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, spread his wings, and with a whoosh, they disappeared from the rooftop.
With the howling wind, it only took a moment before Arthur stopped moving. Lily realized they were still standing atop a tall building.
The two stood at the edge, looking down, the vehicles below looked as tiny as grains of rice.
"So high, so high!" Lily exclaimed, patting her chest and taking two steps back. "Is this the view you see every day?"
"Probably even more magnificent than this," Arthur replied.
He pulled Lily into his arms and reached up to remove the mask from her face. "I have to leave early tomorrow morning."
"So… we still have one night now?" Lily asked, resting in Arthur's embrace and looking up at his face.
The night sky stretched overhead, stars twinkling. The man beside her exuded an aura of mystery. His black coat felt cool, yet it inexplicably brought a sense of comfort and security.
She tightened her arms, snuggling closer into Arthur's chest. They embraced silently, both enjoying the feeling of having each other right beside them.
After a while, Lily suddenly looked up. "Why didn't you talk to that girl just now?"
"Hm?" Arthur was caught off guard.
"Are you always this cold to others?" Lily pressed.
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Probably not? Many people have told me I'm quite humorous."
"Are you sure it's 'humorous' and not just 'goofy'?"
"Bringing that up now… don't you think it ruins the mood?" Arthur's expression drooped, and so did his shoulders.
"Alright then…"
Lily took a deep breath and rubbed her face. "Let me hold back my laughter first."
Arthur's mouth twitched. He was clearly the one making himself look foolish…
After a moment, Lily calmed down, then squinted mischievously and awkwardly reached out both hands to cup Arthur's face. "You did well fulfilling your boyfriend duties today. So… how are you going to use your rights?"
Although her words and actions were clumsy and shy, for some reason, Arthur suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable fiery passion.
He scooped Lily up in his arms. "You asked for it!"