"Dr. Hugo, don't be afraid. You're about to join me." Li Wei approached with the glowing orb in hand. "This is evolution. Starting today, you'll gain unparalleled power and understand more of this world's truth..."
Dr. Hugo's eyes grew increasingly terrified.
Li Wei's words made his skin crawl—and sound more and more familiar.
Wasn't this exactly what he sounded like when conducting human experiments?!
If he could, he would rather refuse this kind of power!
Unfortunately, Dr. Hugo had no choice.
Under his horrified gaze, the dark green orb was pressed against his body.
The orb seemed to melt as it fused into Dr. Hugo's body, without leaving the slightest sensation.
But just as Dr. Hugo let out a small sigh of relief.
The next second.
A dark green curtain of light instantly swept across his entire body!
"Ah..."
A heart-wrenching scream tore from the depths of his throat. The intense pain made every muscle in Dr. Hugo's body tighten as he trembled violently in the wheelchair.
Then, his body began to change!
Dr. Hugo's originally somewhat thin muscles swelled at a visible rate, and the ropes binding him to the wheelchair snapped one by one under the explosive expansion.
This was a transformation originating from deep within his body!
"Creak..."
The metal wheelchair groaned under the unbearable strain before quickly collapsing into a pile of parts.
Li Wei was in no hurry. He simply watched Dr. Hugo's transformation in silence.
By the time Dr. Hugo calmed down again, his appearance had completed its transformation.
He was practically a replica of Singed!
A powerful, muscular body; tattered strips of cloth around him; a massive dark green tank on his back; and a heavy shield in his hand.
The only things unchanged were his bald head and face.
"Dr. Hugo?" Li Wei said with a smile.
"Director Li Wei, you were right. This is evolution. This is transformation!" Dr. Hugo finally raised his head, his expression impossibly complicated as he muttered, "Is this knowledge the truth you spoke of...?"
Although he still retained his consciousness and memories, his position had fundamentally changed.
He no longer regarded Li Wei as an enemy. Instead, he had completely become Li Wei's ally.
Yet he could clearly sense that change within himself, so it was no wonder his emotions were so complicated.
The knowledge that had just been implanted into his mind captivated him uncontrollably. This was the true essence of human enhancement!
Hextech, the fusion of humans, beasts, and machinery—the perfect creation...
"Ahem, Dr. Hugo." Li Wei coughed twice, interrupting his thoughts. "You can study that knowledge slowly later. For now, let's talk about the Court of Owls..."
The Court of Owls
"The Court of Owls..."
Dr. Hugo scratched his head and slowly began explaining his connection to the Court of Owls.
The Court of Owls.
It was merely a name, not some court located in Gotham City.
In essence, it was an organization hidden in the darkness.
It was formed by some of Gotham's wealthy people and families. Since the colonial era, they had secretly controlled Gotham from the shadows, shaping it into the city they wanted.
Using their wealth, influence, and their secretly cultivated assassin organization—the Talons—they eliminated dissidents.
And they had indeed succeeded.
Before Li Wei arrived, Dr. Hugo had been invited to join the Court of Owls because of Indian Hill Hospital's human enhancement project.
Of course, Dr. Hugo was merely a research specialist. The powerful figures within the Court of Owls only valued the human enhancement project in his hands, which could be used to create even more ferocious Talon death warriors.
Thus, Dr. Hugo was only a somewhat special ordinary member within the Court of Owls. He was still far from entering its decision-making ranks.
The reason Arkham Asylum had been able to survive without ever turning a profit was the funding provided by the Court of Owls.
To those wealthy men, money was nothing more than a number.
The Court of Owls had an agreement with Dr. Hugo: they would meet at regular intervals. Dr. Hugo would report on the progress of his experiments, while the Court would provide the funding needed for the next stage.
As it happened, tomorrow was the day Dr. Hugo was scheduled to meet with the Court of Owls...
Dr. Hugo's account did not differ much from what Li Wei had learned in his previous life.
"Dr. Hugo, can you return this appearance to that of a normal person?" After thinking for a moment, Li Wei asked Dr. Hugo seriously. "This is important."
"Yes." Dr. Hugo nodded.
Then Dr. Hugo's body twisted for a moment. The tattered cloth around him, the tank on his back, and the heavy shield in his hand gradually turned translucent.
Dr. Hugo gradually returned to his previous appearance.
He wore a suit, with a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.
The only difference from before was that he was much more heavily built. However, it was not obvious beneath his shirt, so it was not a major problem.
"Good. Dr. Hugo, next, I need you to meet the Court of Owls on the usual appointed day..."
Li Wei explained his plan to Dr. Hugo in exhaustive detail, including his two massacres of the Romanian gang.
Now that Dr. Hugo was one of his own, Li Wei naturally had nothing to hide from him.
His plan was to let Dr. Hugo continue acting as the one truly in control while he continued being the "puppet director."
Of course, that was from the Court of Owls' perspective.
This way, Dr. Hugo could use the need for a large amount of experimental material as an excuse and have the Court of Owls help reopen Arkham Asylum!
Everyone at Scott Asylum, which had monopolized the criminal psychiatric treatment business, had already been killed by Li Wei. Reopening Arkham was simply going with the flow!
At the same time, they could infiltrate the Court of Owls. Aside from the city hall subsidies, they could also regularly receive batches of "research funding."
Spending other people's money just felt better!
As for research results? Wouldn't that be up to Dr. Hugo, the professional, to decide?
Research experiments did not produce results just because someone slapped their forehead and wished for them!
Dr. Hugo's expression remained serious throughout.
Only after hearing Li Wei's entire plan did Dr. Hugo reach up to stroke his chin.
"Director Li Wei, your plan has no problems, but I have another question..."
"Go ahead."
"With our current abilities, we can completely destroy the Maroni Family and the Court of Owls. If there's no rush, I could do it myself without you even needing to act. Is there any need to make this so troublesome?"
Dr. Hugo was not being overly confident. He was simply stating the truth.
Only by personally experiencing the power of a Hero Template could one understand just how formidable it was!
Li Wei looked at Dr. Hugo as though he were looking at a lunatic.
"You're right. We can indeed destroy them, but what benefit would that bring me?" He spread his hands. "I told you, what I need is a Gotham City where chaos and order coexist!"
Whether black or white, once any kind of order reached its peak, it would develop its own code of conduct that everyone had to follow. That would mean far fewer killings in the city, and Li Wei's Soul Essence would decrease as well.
It would also mean that Li Wei might not have enough strength to face enemies beyond Earth, leading to the destruction of the world.
Of course, Li Wei could keep acting as a homicidal maniac, even an anti-human terrorist, creating massacres everywhere.
But once everyone in Gotham had been killed, no one else would even come here. That would be no different from draining the pond to catch the fish.
Compared to draining the pond to catch the fish, Li Wei preferred sustainable development.
Not only would gangs and villains from other places come to Gotham to further their studies, even the United States Congress would continuously send criminals here in secret.
—Though no one said it aloud, this was Gotham's universally acknowledged reality.
This was the City of Sin!
Therefore, to maintain the balance between chaos and order, not only did the Court of Owls, gangs, police, and other forces need to exist, but when necessary, Li Wei did not mind creating some heroes and villains to balance both sides!
Only then would Soul Essence keep flowing in endlessly!
Naturally, Li Wei did not explain so much to Dr. Hugo. Explaining it would be far too troublesome.
Dr. Hugo did not ask again. Whatever Li Wei said, he would do.
After all, he was merely a researcher. Experiments and research were what mattered.
Especially now that he had received all of Singed's knowledge and experience regarding human enhancement projects, along with an entirely new technological system known as Hextech. In his memories, this technological system was called alchemy!
Dr. Hugo could hardly wait to head down to the laboratory and put it into practice!
As equally fanatical scientists who disregarded ethics and morality, Singed's knowledge was no less tempting to Dr. Hugo than immortality was to a ruler!
"Alright. Tomorrow, I'll do as you say." Dr. Hugo nodded. "I'm going downstairs to conduct experiments now. Do you want to come with me?"
Dr. Hugo knew Li Wei had inherited the same knowledge and invited him along.
Li Wei: ...
"You go ahead. I won't." Li Wei hid his embarrassment behind a smile. "I still have some other things to handle."
Could he admit outright that he could not understand any of it?
But Dr. Hugo had no intention of letting Li Wei off. He glanced at Li Wei with a suspicious look.
"Don't tell me you can't understand that knowledge?"
Li Wei's smile froze on his face.
At that moment, he suddenly remembered something Camille had said—lies did not hurt people; the truth was the sharp blade.
Li Wei suddenly felt that loading the Singed Template onto Dr. Hugo was not as pleasant as it had seemed.
At the very least, before receiving the Hero Template, Dr. Hugo would never have dared speak to him like that!
Just as Li Wei was so embarrassed that he was preparing to forcibly throw Dr. Hugo out of the office, the roar of a car engine suddenly came from outside the window.
A black car stopped in front of the asylum.
The doors opened, and two people stepped out of the back seat, a man and a woman.
Arkham Asylum had finally welcomed its first batch of "guests."
When Li Wei saw their faces, his expression turned serious, and he waved at Dr. Hugo.
"Dr. Hugo, go take care of your experiments first. We have guests..."
The Falcone Family Comes Calling
His grand performance had thrown all of Gotham City into an uproar, so Li Wei had not failed to consider that someone might trace the clues back to him.
But he had not expected it to happen so quickly!
Not even one night had passed since he wiped out the Maroni Family's bar. In merely a few hours, they had already come knocking!
Of course, Li Wei was not afraid. At worst, he could kill them all.
As long as everyone who knew was dead, then no one knew.
Still, it was better to see what they wanted first before making a decision.
Before you continue