On the streets of Seaside City, Hal strode ahead while Lucifer and Schiller followed behind. Hal suddenly stopped, planted his feet, turned around, spread his hands, and said to the two behind him:
"I seriously cannot stand you two! How could there be people this picky in the world—and two of them?!"
"How can you be so vicious with your words?"
Hal pointed to the side and said, "Weren't the shops on the next street good enough? They were spacious, newly renovated, reasonably priced, and the rent was negotiable. But you said the layout was bad and the circulation path was too long, insisting it looked like a fully renovated intestine!"
"Fine, so I found one with less depth. That shop on 30th Street had a great layout, didn't it? But then you complained that the windows faced the wrong way and the lighting was bad. It was only a little dark! Did you really have to call it affordable housing for vampires?"
"I'm begging you! Can you stop torturing me?!" Hal roared. "You, go back to Los Angeles and spend the rest of your life guarding that lousy bar of yours. And you, hurry back to Gotham and teach, torment your students instead. Stop coming after me!"
After saying that, Hal turned to leave. Lucifer immediately strode up and grabbed Hal, explaining, "The two of us drank a little last night, so our heads were kind of foggy. Especially him—hasn't Schiller always talked like that? Don't take it too personally."
"You've got the nerve to say that?!" Hal flung Lucifer's hand away. Seeing Schiller strolling over from behind without a care in the world only made his anger flare up further. He said:
"Seaside City isn't Gotham. The citizens here are all good people. You can't treat them with