Kaitou Kid sounded so confident, even Superman wasn't sure what to do with him. Arresting him wouldn't help, because Kid's real identity was too sensitive.
Superman actually wanted to see mutants fully accepted by society, and Liu A'dou was really pushing that forward. Plus, Superman knew about all of Kid's actions and was sure that besides some flashy magic thefts, he'd also done a lot of good—definitely not a bad person.
"If you ever decide to turn over a new leaf, I'd help you," Superman said.
"Superman, don't be so old-fashioned. Sure, I've stolen a bunch of stuff, but it hasn't really hurt anyone," Liu A'dou replied. "I'm a good guy."
"You are a good guy—just a thick-skinned one," Superman said right on target, leaving Liu A'dou speechless.
Diana said, "I didn't expect you really were a thief."
"Miss, I told you the truth. The Justice League really was Batman's idea," Kid thought, 'If my Kaitou identity wrecks the Justice League, I'll be the worst criminal of all.' "If you don't trust me, you should at least trust Batman's reputation."
"A guy who runs with thieves, talking about reputation?" Diana shot back.
'Sorry, Batman. I've totally ruined your good name because of me…' Kid was dying inside.
"Justice League?" Superman asked for the first time. "What's that?"
Diana repeated what Kid had told her. After hearing it, Superman was silent. It sounded good, but he didn't feel like he needed to team up with anyone—at least not yet.
"Superman, everyone has their strengths. And you're not invincible. I actually know two of your weaknesses," Liu A'dou said. Superman's weak spots were famous—if you ran into one, it could mean certain death.
'?' Krypton exploded in 1985, and Superman landed in Texas in the summer of the next year. Right behind his ship was a Kryptonite meteor, and even a small dose of that green Kryptonite was his deadliest enemy. Superman knew this very well. But Kryptonite was super rare on Earth, and few enemies ever got their hands on it.
Superman raised an eyebrow. Kryptonite really was his first weakness, but he didn't know what his second was.
"First is Kryptonite," Liu A'dou said. "Just a piece of Kryptonite, and you turn into an ordinary guy."
Superman nodded.
"And second, red sunlight," Liu A'dou added. Actually, he forgot to mention a third—magic. Magic was also a pain for Superman.
Krypton's sun was red. Superman nodded again. If someone really used red sunlight as a weapon, he'd lose his powers. He hadn't actually faced an enemy who used red sunlight, so he'd never really thought about it before. But how did this thief even know his second weakness?
Kid knew this would be suspicious. "Don't look at me like that. I visited the future once. I saw a lot of heroes thirty years from now, so I know a bunch of things."
"I see," Superman said. "So, I'm a Justice League member in the future?"
"Of course. Not just you, but Diana, too. And me." Liu A'dou actually didn't know if he'd ever join the Justice League, but if his statue stood between the Avengers and Justice League ones in the future, even if he wasn't a member, he'd definitely have some connection: "In the future, we're all friends."
"Don't get chummy," Diana said. She still didn't like this thief thing.
Superman knew Liu A'dou wasn't lying. If that was the future, then he'd just go with the flow.
Superman wasn't gullible—he had super intelligence, and he was no pushover. He just refused to judge people with suspicion. He really believed people were good at heart. Plus, Liu A'dou hadn't lied—if the future said so, there was probably a reason.
"In that case, I'll join the Justice League. But you'd better give back the crystal you stole from me," Superman said.
"Don't be stingy, I already used the crystal," Liu A'dou replied. "You have so many here, losing a few won't matter."
Superman shook his head, but from now on, he'd definitely keep an eye on Liu A'dou.
"Superman's in. How about you, Wonder Woman?"
Diana remembered she'd said if Superman joined, she would too. But a thief… was this really okay? She looked at Superman.
Superman said, "Kaitou Kid might be a thief, but he's not an ordinary thief. Besides stealing, he's done a lot of good things. The most important thing is he's never hurt any innocent people."
A true soulmate—Liu A'dou looked at Superman with sparkling eyes, almost wanting to hug his leg.
With Superman speaking up for him, Wonder Woman finally agreed for Superman's sake. But she said that if she ever caught Kid doing something bad, she'd be the first to strike him down.
Liu A'dou nodded right away. There's no benefit to doing bad things anyway, and he wasn't interested. This Kaitou is only fun when there's peace in the world.
"Well, I should go back and discuss building the base with Batman. I'll contact you both soon." There was still Green Arrow to find, but no rush—Green Arrow was the only one in the Justice League who'd actually killed someone, which made him special. That could wait. As for Green Lantern, he wasn't even on Earth. Also to be discussed later. And Shazam was just a kid—again, for later.
Wonder Woman didn't want to return with Kaitou, so Kid went first. But before he left, Superman told him that from now on, he'd swap out the key outside the door for a white dwarf star key, a hundred thousand times heavier. He wouldn't let Kid break in so easily again. Just look at Superman's powers—except for magic, he was even stronger than the gods. He was going to forge a key with the same method as Thor's hammer. Seriously, a hundred thousand times heavier—five million tons. Who could possibly lift such a key on Earth? Probably only Superman.
Kid just said, "Fine, you win."
Then he went straight to Gotham City. Next, he had to recruit three more. In less than three days, Liu A'dou was already moving fast. He never would have thought that what started as just a bit of fun would make him the first Justice League member to run into a real challenge.
Far away, at a port in the East, a group of people were loading things—big and small wooden crates—onto a ship.
Leopard Head Lin Long, who'd only met Liu A'dou once before, was staring wide-eyed at the boxes. All of them were filled with antiques. She and Twin-Spear General Dong Peng were in charge of smuggling these artifacts to America. Zhiduoxing had already found a buyer.
Dong Peng was a bit over thirty, with pistols at his sides, waist, back, and both legs—a total of eight Black Star handguns. He was a dead shot, firing both hands at once, so people called him the Twin-Spear General. Of course, he only carried guns when fighting; usually they were hidden.
"Wait." Lin Long suddenly noticed a box that looked out of place. All the crates came from international shipping companies and were made of rough wood. They'd be inspected, swapped out inside, and swapped again at the destination for another inspection. But this one was a fancy sandalwood chest with gold and silver inlay, totally out of place. "What's this?"
The worker looked awkward. The thing inside was no ordinary item. The boss had ordered them to be extra careful and not let anyone see.
Luckily, Dong Peng walked over. "Don't make it hard for the guys. That's a gift from the boss for the VIP."
"How come I didn't know about it?" asked Leopard Head.
"Boss's business. I only heard about it by accident from the strategist," said Dong Peng. On Liangshan, everyone ranked by strength. Leopard Head was younger and smaller but stronger than Dong Peng, so he had to show some respect.
The strategist slipped up? Leopard Head didn't buy it. If they didn't want her to know, she'd insist. "Open it."
The worker looked at Dong Peng. He was in charge of this deal, so they couldn't let some girl mess it up.
"If Miss Lin Long wants to see, open it," said Dong Peng.
The worker obeyed, slowly lifting the lid of the sandalwood box. A green light shot out—a coiling dragon and phoenix seemed to rise, twisting through the air, clouds swirling and colored light flowing.
"What a Dragon and Phoenix Jade! This jade must be priceless," Lin Long said. She didn't expect the boss to pull out something this valuable. Liangshan had a rule—no hoarding, share the spoils, share the wine and meat. So something like this should belong to everyone, kept in the public treasury. She hadn't expected the boss to stash such a treasure away in secret. That broke the rules.
It was the first time she'd seen such a finely carved dragon and phoenix statue.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Leopard Head. This was passed down to the big boss from his father. It's not part of the treasury, so he's not breaking any rules," Dong Peng said, closing the lid and signaling the worker to load it quickly.
Lin Long listened but couldn't shake her suspicion.