Good Luck

On the other hand, in a café in Smallville, on the outskirts of Metropolis.

General Lane stared at the phone his daughter had just hung up, his face a mask of bewilderment.

Facing her father's confused expression, Lois swallowed hard and handed over the phone that had already gone dead.

"The call just now... it should have been from Miss Heino Lawrence, the one Downton kidnapped last night.

She seems... to have developed... Stockholm Syndrome?"

"To hell with Stockholm! You don't need to make excuses for her!

It's not like I don't understand Stockholm Syndrome; that requires a significant amount of interaction to take root, and Heino was kidnapped less than an hour ago!

In a mere hour, what could they have possibly exchanged? This Heino either has no brain at all, or she's completely lost her mind!"

General Lane interrupted Lois with a grunt of annoyance, then rubbed his beard in frustration.

"However, Heino's mother is indeed a force to be reckoned with. Michelle Lawrence wields immense influence within the Department of Defense.

The position of Deputy Secretary of Defense is the limit for a woman; the United States has yet to see a female Secretary of Defense.

But if any woman has the best shot at becoming the first female Secretary of Defense in U.S. history, Heino's mother, Michelle, is likely the one."

At this, General Lane's expression darkened slightly.

Noticing her father's mood, Lois frowned and asked softly.

"Can Heino's opinions influence her mother? Can she cause trouble for you, Father?"

"Of course she can't, and I'm not afraid of a brat like Heino. Even Michelle can't do much to me.

It's just that Michelle holds the purse strings for the Department of the Army's budget for the next two years, which puts me in a very passive position."

General Lane exhaled a frustrated breath and summoned a guard from nearby.

"Continue to monitor the entry and exit points of Smallville. Focus on vehicles that might be carrying Heino Lawrence.

Once Heino Lawrence appears, use tranquilizer rounds on her immediately. Those things aren't just meant for Downton!

I don't intend to provoke the Lawrence family, but they have no reason to provoke me either. By securing Heino, I'll have effectively solved a problem for Deputy Secretary Michelle!"

As his voice trailed off, the soldiers brought by General Lane moved quickly, slowly dispersing throughout the town.

Just as the soldiers began their operation, Lois's phone suddenly rang again!

Noticing the vibration, General Lane's expression shifted, and he hurriedly returned the phone to Lois.

Meanwhile, in Gotham City, on the Robert H. Kane Memorial Bridge.

Downton's phone rang.

Answering it casually, Downton asked with a smile.

"Liv, what's up? If you're looking to cheer me up, you'll have to take your clothes off and video call me!"

"Downton~"

On the other end of the line, Liv drawled, her voice dripping with silk.

"I have my people around Zsasz, and they told me you finished off Yuri, so I tracked your location data.

Forgive me, you were the one who asked for the tracker to be installed, and I simply couldn't resist checking on you over and over again.

Anyway, you're planning to go to Metropolis, right? I see you've already reached the Kane Memorial Bridge.

If so, I must warn you: the reporter you're meeting, Lois, has a father who is a high-ranking general in the Army.

The point is, that general mobilized the Department of the Army's latest sonic weapons and a significant amount of high-potency tranquilizer rounds last night. He even brought along several viral weapons classified as top secret by the Department of Defense.

Care to guess who these little toys are for? If I were you, I'd be saying 'thank you' right about now, darling!"

"Thank you, darling~"

Downton whistled in amusement, then asked Liv.

"Your intelligence is truly sharp. Did Falcone help you set up your network?"

Hearing Downton's question, Liv, sitting in the Iceberg Lounge, took a sip from her glass and shook her head unconsciously.

At the same time, she replied to Downton over the phone.

"I have been working with Lord Falcone for eight full years. In those eight years, Falcone has given me nothing but his full trust.

The facts have proven that I am a very capable woman. When I have the backing of Gotham City and its thirty million people, I can achieve many incredible things through nothing but wit and leverage."

"Impressive, Liv. I admire you more and more."

Listening to Liv's self-praise, Downton played along and provided the emotional validation she sought.

At these words, Liv giggled with satisfaction and added one final note to the call.

"I'm glad to have your admiration, but there is one more thing I should warn you about. The man whose legs you just broke was voted an honorary police officer in Gotham last year.

This will make the Gotham police force feel a sense of shared hatred toward you. You might not find them as harmonious as you have in the past when you run into them again."

"Haha!"

Liv's words made Downton burst into laughter, and as he laughed, he said.

"A racist can be an honorary police officer? I bet this prick earned his badge by snapping the necks of people of color."

"As for the police, when have I ever been on good terms with them? I wish they'd grow a spine and try to kill me a few more times; I'd even thank them for it."

"That's enough. I'm almost across the bridge. Can you recommend a good barbershop in Metropolis? I need to get my hair done."

"I'll send you the location. Stay safe, my dear boss Wraith~"

With that, Liv hung up the phone and sent a barbershop location to Downton.

After showing the location to Bartel for a moment, Downton finally placed a call to the reporter, Lois Lane.

A moment later.

"Hello, this is Lois!"

"Not bad, Lois. You kept your promise and didn't hand the phone over to anyone else."

"Yes, I..."

"No need to say more. Send me your location. I'll be there to see you once I've changed my clothes and gotten my hair done."

Downton cut Lois off, which only made her more nervous.

She paused for a moment before continuing in a low voice.

"I understand. I'll send you the location, but I'm not in Metropolis. I have a temporary interview assignment that..."

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Downton interrupted Lois, and the two fell into a heavy silence.

On the other end of the line, Lois's brows furrowed in distress as she looked toward her father for guidance.

General Lane was just about to give an instruction when, unexpectedly, Downton spoke again!

"Even if you're hiding in a military base, I will arrive exactly as promised."

"So, there's no need to emphasize why you're outside of Metropolis. Some things don't exist as lies as long as they remain unsaid."

"As for the rest, we'll talk when we meet."

With that, Downton hung up and sent a text message to Lois.

The content was very simple, consisting of only one word.

"Location!"

After receiving the text, Lois swallowed hard. She felt once again that there was something truly extraordinary about Downton.

Taking a deep breath, she silently replied to him.

"Smallville Town, Philharmonic Cafe. Good luck!"

"Heh~"

Looking at the text, Downton chuckled and said to Bartel, "This girl is truly naive. She actually thought 'good luck' was a way to warn me."

As he spoke, Downton tucked his phone back into his pocket and continued to watch the scenery of Metropolis through the car window.

These two great cities were simply too close. Just how close were they?

Let's put it this way: when Batman lit the Bat-Signal over Gotham at night, the citizens of Metropolis could see it too!