Cat's Reckless Stunt

In the theater in the Gotham Manor City, Schiller took a glass of champagne from the waiter's tray, clinked glasses with Mrs. Leto, Schiller sighed, "There aren't many balls like this anymore, so lively yet dignified. The balls in the city are just too noisy; the sound systems give me a headache."

Mrs. Leto stroked the white hair at her temples and said, "That's how it was in our time. Young men and young man were usually very shy, and no one dared to hold hands at a ball like this. But you know, these young people nowadays are so wild. Once I went to the Golden Cup Mansion in the city center, and I was simply stunned. What they were wearing was more like curtains than clothes..."

Schiller laughed and said, "After all, things are developing too fast now, but that's a good thing. The economy seems to be doing quite well lately."

Mrs. Leto agreed, saying, "That's true. The rent for my two apartments on Fourth Avenue has increased by more than half. I don't know how those gangsters make money. I'm still talking to that bull on Elizabeth Street about buying another apartment building..."

"Madam, you are wise." A deep voice came from the side, and a man with Little Mustache walked over. He gently touched Schiller and Mrs. Leto's glasses with his wine glass, and then said, "Hello, this is my business card."

Schiller took it and looked at it. He said, "Golden Cup Company manager? You're a real estate agent for the Falcone family?"

"Yes, I work for the Godfather, but of course, our Golden Cup Company is also a legitimate company independent of the Falcone family, with real estate operations throughout the East Coast."

"As you know, we've recently been working with Chicago, and land there is about to be speculated on. I've come to this gathering specifically to introduce real estate in various eastern cities to you wealthy gentlemen and ladies."

Mrs. Leto was quite interested. She said, "I've heard that Chicago has better scenery than Gotham. What do you think about me buying a villa there?"

"You must be Mrs. Leto? You've come to the right person. Chicago is indeed nice, but if you're looking for a retirement home, I'd recommend Imperial City. The scenery there is absolutely stunning, unique on the entire East Coast. And, as you know, it's much safer there than Gotham or Chicago."

"Although I really like the tropical atmosphere of the Imperial City, there are too many casinos and too many tourists. I always feel that I would never have peace and quiet if I stayed there," Mrs. Leto said, frowning.

"Then I would recommend Miami to you. This city is really nice. Compared to the order of Imperial City, it has a wilder beauty. Of course, the gangs there are nothing compared to Gotham's. With your husband's abilities, buying a manor there should be a good idea."

Mrs. Leto fanned herself with her fan and said, "I was just about to discuss this with him. Although we've lived in Gotham for generations, the weather here is just awful. It would be nice to go there for a month or two of vacation, after all, we're getting old, and the air in Gotham is really bad for longevity..."

Schiller said, "I've heard that the mayor intends to work with Wayne Enterprises to develop an urban air purification system and roll it out nationwide, which could regulate the climate in local areas, but that could certainly take some time."

The manager of the Golden Cup said, "That would be wonderful. Actually, I don't understand it either. Gotham's location is so good, so why are there so many rainy days? If there were three or four months of sunny days a year, the beaches here would drive tourists all over the East crazy."

The manager is right. Gotham Beach is of very high quality because it has hardly been developed. After all, no one would be reckless enough to come here for a vacation. Apart from locals using it occasionally, it is arguably the best-preserved urban beach in the entire eastern city.

The waiter came over with a tray again and circled around. The group took some cookies, drank and ate, and chatted about the future of Gotham. During the conversation, Schiller noticed a dark figure flash outside the theater door, as if someone was watching him.

The theater was brightly lit because of the ball, but the manor was pitch black. This old-fashioned manor community was not large and had few residents. When a ball was held, almost everyone would be there, leaving their houses empty.

Unlike Bruce, who is busy with his internship, Catwoman has been having a tough time lately.

She was a thief, and her main source of income was stealing. Of course, she was a high-end thief, not a street pickpocket. Catwoman mainly stole expensive jewelry from jewelry stores, or stamps and art books from collectors.

However, due to Gotham's reforms, the city's nights became increasingly lively. Jewelry stores, gold and silver shops, and watch repair shops on the main streets began to open at night, and the staff and security guards started working in three shifts.

Catwoman steals things through stealth and skill, not like some beat-up heroes who kill everyone and no one will notice their infiltration. Catwoman's petite size and strength don't support her taking that route.

The three-shift system of shop assistants and security guards also gave her a lot of headaches. Even if she could find a way to distract one or two of them, the noisy streets and bustling alleys made her thefts very easy to be discovered.

Logically speaking, with all her skills, Catwoman could have done something else and wouldn't have starved to death. However, she was raised to be a thief from a young age, so she neither knew how nor had ever thought of doing anything else.

What if she couldn't steal? She had no choice but to bite the bullet and steal anyway. Although she could occasionally succeed, it was too easy to be discovered, which made her many enemies.

As the saying goes, if you walk the dark road too often, you'll eventually encounter a ghost. One day, Catwoman's theft failed once again.

However, this time, she messed with someone she shouldn't have. The place she stole from was called the Golden Cup Jewelry Store, which was owned by Falcone.

The Falcone family is not like those other small fry. Their security guards are professionally trained and well-staffed, leaving no blind spots in the store. The moment Catwoman made a move, she was discovered.

Unlike other jewelry stores, Falcone 'Falcone men have the guts and the ability to hunt down anyone in Gotham. The Godfather's authority cannot be tarnished. Catwoman was not only nearly captured, but was also put on the wanted list.

All Twelve Families sent people to chase her. On this day, the Catwoman was being chased so hard that she had no choice but to run towards the edge of the city.

The Assassin behind her were clearly professionally trained and were giving her a tight chase. Catwoman had no choice but to steal a car and drive out of the East End towards the West End. Thanks to Gotham's traffic control, there were no traffic jams or Car Accidents, and she successfully reached the vicinity of the manor area.

Upon entering the manor area, Catwoman felt a little apprehensive, because the English manor here appeared extremely eerie and terrifying under the cover of night. This was why, even though there were many wealthy people here, she rarely came here.

But there was nothing she could do; her enemies were right behind her. Catwoman cautiously advanced through the manor area. The deeper she went, the more uncertain she felt, because somehow, it seemed like everyone had disappeared.

Catwoman mustered her courage and continued running forward, and then she discovered a faint light shining from a window in one of the manor houses.

The Catwoman, almost frightened to the point of having her fur standing on end by the terrifying atmosphere, didn't think too much and headed straight for the light.

Once inside, she noticed signs that people lived there, which put her at ease.

Feeling as if she had shaken off her pursuers, Catwoman grew bolder. She tiptoed to the base of the building, then extended her grappling hook to grab the rooftop. With a few light leaps, she landed on the windowsill where the light shone.

She pressed herself against the wall and peered inside, only to find no one there; it seemed the owner had forgotten to turn off the lights before leaving.

Next to the balcony was a solid wood desk covered with a jumble of documents, including many thick volumes that would give any Catwoman a headache at first glance. The owner of the manor seemed to be a scholar.

However, something soon caught the Catwoman's attention: a bottle placed in the corner of the desk.

The bottle wasn't big, and it seemed to contain some black, dirty water, but the material of the bottle itself made Catwoman's heart race instantly.

Those are diamonds! The whole thing is diamonds!

The entire bottle is made of diamonds!!!

Catwoman knew she couldn't be mistaken; after so many years as a thief, she had seen thousands upon thousands of jewels.

The dazzling light under the lamp almost blinded Catwoman, captivating her instantly.

Even though she had seen all kinds of beautiful jewelry, she had never seen such a pure diamond.

Then she began to grit her teeth. What was the owner of this estate thinking? Why hollow out such a beautiful diamond and turn it into a bottle? Wouldn't it have been so much better if it were solid?

But regardless, Catwoman's heart, which belonged to the jewel thief, was already stirring.

The window was locked, and it seemed to be locked with a lock that Catwoman couldn't understand or pick, but this notorious jewel thief who had dominated Gotham for years was no pushover either.

Seeing that the window was locked, she climbed down the balcony and tried every window. She then discovered that the owner of the manor was ridiculously cautious; all the windows were locked with strange locks, including the small windows in the attic.

But hard work pays off. Old-style English manors have a special structure. In medieval English manors, there would be a hidden door at the drain of the toilet, which was used by servants to clean up the accumulated filth.

Although this manor, built here, no longer needed this function in its time, as it uses a modern drainage system, this medieval sewage channel was preserved, perhaps out of the architect's sentiment.

Catwoman was petite, just the right size to crawl through the hidden door into the bathroom. She thought to herself, thank goodness no one had ever used this passage before, otherwise she would never have crawled in through it.

Catwoman's acrobatic skills were superb and she was very agile. When she crawled out of the bathroom, she landed without making a sound. What made her even more frightened was that the bathroom door was locked!

Just how afraid is this person of being robbed!

Fortunately, the owner of the manor probably also found those strange locks troublesome, as they might not be able to open them if needed in a hurry. So the lock on the bathroom door was just a very ordinary iron padlock.

Catwoman could pick this lock; she did it in no time and then tiptoed to the table.

She excitedly picked up the diamond bottle and examined it closely under the light. Now she was certain that it was indeed a diamond.

What puzzled her was that she had never seen such a pure diamond before. Its color and clarity were almost impeccable, and it looked nearly perfect.

What puzzled Catwoman even more was that such a beautiful bottle contained a pool of black, dirty water—or perhaps "dirty water" wasn't quite accurate; it was more like a sticky, gooey black Slime.

Whether it was Catwoman's imagination or not, she felt the Slime move slightly, but she was already dazzled by the diamond bottle and couldn't wait to put such a beautiful diamond into her collection cabinet.

So she didn't pay attention to what was in the bottle and simply stuffed it into the small bag at her waist.

With the windows and doors locked, Catwoman worried that she wouldn't be able to escape when the manor owner returned. Besides, she had already gotten enough of the beautiful diamonds for tonight.

Catwoman left along the route she had come from, and before leaving, she even used a special method to hang the padlock on the outside of the bathroom door and lock it back up.

Back at home, the Catwoman took out the bottle and looked at it from left to right. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it. But the more she looked at it, the more annoyed she became by the clump of black sludge inside. What kind of madman would use such a beautiful bottle to hold a puddle of sticky black Slime?

Catwoman wanted to empty the contents of the bottle, but the bottle's seal was very unusual. Its stopper wasn't a typical wooden stopper; it had a series of complex latches and what appeared to be a tiny lock.

The tech-savvy Catwoman had never seen this thing before, and she didn't understand it, but she knew one thing: diamonds are the hardest gemstones in the world, so she could simply use force to break the stopper without damaging the beautiful bottle.

So she took Crowbar, a file, and pliers, and started hammering and banging on the mechanism. After working on it for a long time, the stopper remained firmly in place, except for one of the clips which was slightly loose.

The Catwoman was panting heavily from exhaustion. In a fit of anger, she didn't care anymore and threw the bottle on the bedside table before going to sleep. She planned to wait a few days until things calmed down before going out to find a professional to help her pry it open.