I Become Deathstroke

Chapter 780: Chapter 738: Arrested

After saying goodbye to the two of them, Su Ming stood in front of his own wreck of a car that was still smoking, watching their car gradually drive off. He could vaguely see Clark and Louise still bickering in the car, and felt a little envious.

Too bad that as a bottom-of-the-barrel paparazzo, it was impossible for him to have a partner. If one day he really did dig up some huge scoop and squeezed a fortune out of some rich victim, would he really have to split it with a partner?

As for entertainment news, he didn’t know how other people wrote it, but for Su Ming it was "only one photo, everything else is made up." Taking pictures was something he could handle alone, and he didn’t need to interview anyone involved. The whole report was just talking based on the image.

Whatever "authenticity" and "journalistic ethics" there were, he’d swallowed them in his second year as a paparazzo.

This society is like that: no matter how noble your character is, if you don’t have money, nobody will look up to you. That’s the truth.

"If only there really were Superheroes..."

Letting out a sigh, Su Ming turned and walked into the dilapidated apartment building. It was already a bit past midnight, five hours after normal quitting time.

In the dark, damp stairwell there was always some strange stench hanging in the air, and the lights in the stairwell were broken, so he could only feel his way up along the wall.

"Shit, who stole the lightbulb again."

He cursed, but that’s just how the neighborhood was. Forget ownerless lightbulbs getting stolen—muggings and even murders weren’t unheard of.

After climbing a few flights, he finally reached his own door. Su Ming first checked his clothes, then felt his own face.

Luckily, aside from smelling a bit like smoked bacon, there was no sign of a car fire mess on him. He didn’t want her to worry.

But the car was scrapped in the end anyway. Whatever. He’d figure something out.

Su Ming took out his Key and opened the door, walking into the room.

The apartment he rented was an old-style building, the kind built out of red brick, and the space was really small. Besides the kitchen and bathroom, there was only a tiny room that could barely fit a double bed, a short sofa, a coffee table, and a TV stand.

And of course, his dead computer was still in one corner. He usually had to sit on the bed to use it.

"Mm... mm!"

As soon as he walked in, he heard a woman’s voice, like she was trying hard to push something.

He smiled, shut the door, and turned on the light.

"Xiaodai, why aren’t you using the light?"

Diana, wearing only shorts and a tank top, saw him come back and weakly draped herself over the sofa armrest. "One of the sofa legs broke when I was watching TV tonight. I tried to lift the sofa, but I couldn’t move it."

Her long hair was tied into a ponytail, and her pretty face was beaded with sweat as she spoke between gasps.

Su Ming walked over and took a look. Sure enough, that was it. The sofa was second-hand; when he’d bought it, one leg had already been wobbly, so he’d hammered a few nails into it as reinforcement.

Looked like it had finally given out today.

"Let me do it. You go sit on the bed." Su Ming put his camera on the floor and tossed his jacket onto the bed. "Were you jumping on the sofa while watching TV again?"

Diana stepped aside but didn’t go to the bed. Instead she slipped on her slippers and went into the kitchen. "I wasn’t, it wasn’t me, don’t talk nonsense."

Her voice drifted out, sounding a bit guilty, and then came the sound of the stove clicking on.

Su Ming flipped the sofa over, pulled the toolbox out from under the bed, took out a perforated steel plate and some screws, and started fixing the sofa leg.

It wasn’t a big problem. At least they could make do with it for a while longer.

Just as he finished fixing the sofa, turned it over, and tried sitting on it, Diana came back holding two plates. She shoved one into his hands; inside was instant pasta mixed with ketchup. That was their dinner.

Diana was about the same age as him. They’d been classmates in college, both art majors, and had hooked up back when they were in school.

After graduation, Su Ming switched over to become a paparazzo, while Diana kept stubbornly pursuing her painting skills.

Her health wasn’t very good. According to her, she’d been seriously ill as a child, and as an adult her body never had much strength. Other than staying home to write and paint, she couldn’t do any other kind of work; even going out was dangerous for her.

But that was okay. Life was a bit rough, but the two of them were happy.

Taking the plate, Su Ming wiped the sweat off her face and kissed her small cheek. "If something like this happens again, wait for me to come back and deal with it. Don’t do any heavy lifting."

Diana smiled and kissed him back, a trace of disappointment flashing in her eyes. "It’s okay, I just wanted to give it a try. I won’t do it again."

"Then let’s eat. It’s too late already." Su Ming picked up his fork and twirled some noodles, but the ketchup was too watery—more like tomato juice. Nothing to be done; this was the life of poor people. Even ketchup had to be the cheap kind.

Diana slurped her noodles and steered the conversation elsewhere. Her big eyes kept resting on Su Ming’s face.

The two of them talked about what they’d done that day. Mostly it was Su Ming talking while she listened. Diana’s work was obvious enough: a half-finished painting on the easel by the window.

It was a strange painting. It looked like several Pillars stuck into a dome-like shape, and the colors were incredibly complex, layered on top of each other in a chaotic way.

"What’s this? Slurp..." Su Ming glanced up; on the TV beside the easel a Superhero drama was playing.

Diana tucked the hair at her forehead behind her ear, and the ketchup at the corner of her mouth she licked back with the tip of her tongue. "I don’t know either. It appeared in my Dream last night. It should be some kind of building, but I just couldn’t get inside, like something was keeping me out."

"A building like this... a Mongolian yurt?"

Su Ming tilted his head, studying it. Aside from in history textbooks, he’d never seen a structure like that.

Diana chewed her noodles slowly and spoke in a soft voice. "I heard that in some places the graves are shaped like this. Maybe it’s a tomb."

Su Ming bumped her lightly with his head, putting on an unhappy face. "Stop overthinking it. Your illness was cured a long time ago."

"I hope so, but I still always feel so weak..." Diana sighed. Her portion of food had been very small, and now her plate was already empty.

"It’s fine. As long as you slowly work out from now on, you’ll recover sooner or later. Didn’t you say you were in a wheelchair as a kid? Now you move around just fine."

Su Ming comforted her. He knew this was probably already the best recovery someone poor could hope for, but he still had to give Diana more hope.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

Diana smiled, put the plate on the coffee table, and rested her head on Su Ming’s shoulder. She felt very happy. Even though she’d been frail since birth, meeting the right person was still a gift from heaven.

Su Ming set down his empty plate too, planted a kiss on her forehead, and left a red circle there. "It’s what I should do."

"Ugh... gross, all sticky." She gave him a light slap and quickly walked off to the bathroom.

.....................

Early the next morning, blinding sunlight shone on Su Ming’s face. It was a new day.

Half asleep, half awake, he felt an itch on his nose. When he opened his eyes, he saw Diana grinning mischievously, scratching him with her long hair.

She was propping up her head with one hand, her upper body completely bare outside the blanket, two full, soft mounds half-covered, half-spilling onto the mattress.

Squinting, Su Ming caught her hand and brought it to his mouth, giving it a gentle bite. "Is it time already?"

"Still early..." Diana rolled over and rested her head on his chest. "But you didn’t really get your fill last night. I’ve recovered now—can we keep going?"

"Your condition isn’t suitable for having a baby. We went over this last night." The joy on Su Ming’s face faded. This wasn’t about intimacy at all—Xiaodai was trying to kill herself.

With her body, forget giving birth, the pregnancy symptoms alone might be enough to take her life.

Diana shifted her head, then raised it and looked up at him with big pleading eyes. "But I don’t know how much longer I can stay with you. I could die any time. I want a child..."

"Enough. You’re going to be fine. That’s that." Su Ming moved her aside, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to shower on his own.

Diana lay limp on the pillow. She’d failed again. Slade clearly didn’t want to talk about this. It was all because her body was so weak, dragging the two of them down.

Su Ming lathered himself with soap, then rinsed the foam off with water that was barely warm.

Starting a few days ago, Xiaodai had started acting like she didn’t have long to live. She kept clinging to him about wanting a child—he had no idea what had happened.

Whenever he asked, she wouldn’t say, only pressing her lips together and looking at him pleadingly.

But this wasn’t up for discussion. Even if they never had kids, it wasn’t her place to gamble with her life.

When he finished his shower and came out, Su Ming found Diana still lying in bed with the blanket over her face, playing dead. He chuckled and shook his head, then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the two of them, ate his portion, and brought the other plate over to the bed.

"Come on, get up and eat?"

"Don’t wanna..." Diana pouted and turned her head away.

"Honestly... I’ll come back early this afternoon. We’ll go to the hospital and hear what the doctor says after an examination. If the professional says you can, we’ll have a baby, okay?"

"Okay, but you’re not allowed to go back on your word." Diana happily sat up, her snow-white skin dazzling in the sunlight.

"I won’t." Su Ming kissed her on her little mouth. "Eat up. I’ve got to get to work. Without a car, the bus takes longer."

"Mm. Come back early. Love you." Diana rubbed her cheek against his, smiling weakly.

Su Ming said goodbye to her with a smile, slung his camera on his back, and walked out of their home, heading down the stairs that reeked of rot once again.

But to his surprise, he hadn’t gone down more than a few flights when he ran into a squad of fully armed police officers blocking the entire stairwell.

"Huh?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Seeing the submachine guns and riot shields in their hands, Su Ming felt a twinge of panic. Did someone in his building have ties to terrorists? This was way over the top.

He took a few steps back, pressing himself against the wall and even turning his face sideways to give them more room to pass. In this neighborhood, it was best not to meddle, and not to gawk at trouble. He still had to earn money to support his family.

But the officers had no intention of letting anyone through. On the contrary, it was like they’d just spotted something.

"Don’t move! Hands up!"

Su Ming looked left and right. No one else was around. He pointed at his own face. "Me?"

"Don’t move! We’re talking to you! Hands on your head and turn around!" Several submachine guns were pointed straight at him, safeties flicking off in a chorus, like they could gun him down on the spot at any moment.

"I... Officer, this has to be a misunderstanding, I..." Su Ming raised both hands and put them behind his head, his mind a complete mess. freёwebnovel.com

These cops were here for him, but he hadn’t done anything.

He didn’t get any more time to explain. Several officers, each bigger than Clark, rushed him, yanked out handcuffs, and pulled his arms behind his back, cuffing his wrists together.

"Slade Wilson, you are under arrest for the murder of Daily Planet editor-in-chief Feisher and his family of seven. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say can and will be used as evidence in court."

The officer read him his rights, then a black hood was pulled down over his head, and a group of people hauled him away from the scene.