After sending Dr. Hugo back to the laboratory, Li Wei personally went downstairs to greet the "guests" at the front gate.
It couldn't be helped. Aside from him, Dr. Hugo was the only staff member left in the asylum. With that man's emotional intelligence, even people without a grudge might end up becoming enemies.
Standing before the gate, Li Wei watched the two people approaching and plastered a polite fake smile across his face.
"Welcome to Arkham Asylum. Is there anything I can help you with?"
One man and one woman had arrived, and Li Wei "knew" them both.
The woman was named Fish Mooney, while the man was Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. Perhaps his other name was more widely known.
Penguin!
However, Penguin was still just an umbrella-carrying lackey at this point. Dressed in an ill-fitting black suit, he limped along behind Fish.
"You know me?" Fish's very first words caught Li Wei slightly off guard.
As expected of Fish. She possessed an almost superhuman ability to see through people's hearts!
The smile on Li Wei's face remained unchanged.
"Of course. Who in all of Gotham City doesn't know Boss Fish of the Falcone Family? I wonder what brings Boss Fish to my asylum this time?"
Fish did not think any more highly of him because of his flattery.
Her almost superhuman sixth sense told her that this asylum director was far less respectful than he appeared.
Behind his smile lay disdain, indifference, and perfunctory politeness...
That was very abnormal!
Normal people would instinctively be filled with fear when they encountered gangsters.
Let alone a gang boss.
Fish wanted to find out what gave Director Li Wei such confidence, but unfortunately, now was not the time.
Because she had come with a mission.
"Director Li Wei, Boss Falcone wants to see you. Come with me." Fish got straight to the point.
The moment she said that, the smile on Li Wei's face slowly stiffened before disappearing entirely.
"Sorry, the asylum is busy, and I can't leave. If your boss wants to see me, then sorry for the trouble, but he can come here himself."
Cobblepot, who had been silently standing behind Fish, widened his eyes in shock, his face full of disbelief.
Had he heard that right?
He wanted Boss Falcone to come here personally to see him?
Wasn't that a provocation?
That was practically lighting a lantern in the bathroom—looking for death!
But what happened next was even more beyond Cobblepot's expectations.
His boss, Fish, did not fly into a rage and attack. Instead, she nodded as if it were only natural.
"Sure enough, we must have found the right person." Fish paused, took a sheet of paper from her coat, and handed it to Li Wei. "Director Li Wei, this is a gift from Mr. Falcone."
Cobblepot:!!!
Since when were gangsters so easy to talk to?
Not only did they not retaliate in the face of provocation, they even offered a gift!
And it was personally sent by Boss Falcone, the underground kingpin, through Fish!
Li Wei took the paper, unfolded it, and studied it carefully.
Gradually, his expression became more and more relaxed.
The document was a contract.
An exclusive contract between City Hall and Arkham Asylum for criminal psychiatric treatment!
"Director Li Wei, all you need to do now is sign it. Mr. Falcone has already taken care of everything else for you," Fish said with a smile.
The smile returned to Li Wei's face.
"Oh, this is too kind. If your boss wanted to see me, he could have just called. Why trouble yourselves with making the trip? Honestly!"
This time, Fish's sixth sense could clearly tell that the smile on Li Wei's face was no longer perfunctory or disdainful. It was filled with enthusiasm.
Fish:...
Cobblepot:...
What a fast change of face! He really only cared about money!
Fish shot Li Wei a contemptuous glance. "Let's go. Ride with us."
Li Wei nodded. Without changing clothes, he simply wore his white lab coat and followed the two of them out of the asylum gates and into the car parked outside.
No one spoke during the ride. Only Cobblepot occasionally glanced at Li Wei through the rearview mirror.
Penguin's small head was filled with enormous confusion. He could not understand who Li Wei was to make his boss treat him so politely.
Li Wei noticed his gaze, but his eyes remained fixed on the scenery outside the car.
The Falcone Family had found him so quickly.
From the "gift" Fish had brought, it was clear that they had probably already set their sights on him.
The gang's intelligence network truly was formidable.
He just did not know whether they merely suspected him or had already confirmed that he was Khada Jhin.
Unless absolutely necessary, Li Wei did not want to admit that he was Khada Jhin. It would bring endless trouble with no benefits at all.
However, since the Falcone Family had helped him monopolize City Hall's criminal psychiatric treatment business, Dr. Hugo could save himself a great deal of trouble when he met with the Court of Owls tomorrow.
The rest of the journey passed in silence, and the car drove all the way to a nightclub.
The nightclub was incredibly noisy, packed with people. Even before entering, one could feel its luxurious and decadent atmosphere.
A row of security guards stood at the entrance, constantly reminding everyone that this was Gotham City, where darkness still lurked beneath prosperity.
After the car stopped, Li Wei got out under Fish's lead.
They passed through the bustling crowd in the nightclub. Deep inside, Fish and Cobblepot opened the door to a private room.
"Please, Director Li Wei."
Once inside, separated by only a single door, it was like entering an entirely different world.
All the nightclub's noise was blocked outside.
The room was large, even somewhat spacious.
Compared to the environment outside, which reeked of extravagance everywhere, this place was clearly more elegant without being plain.
A white man sat on a sofa in the room.
He wore a suit styled like that of a British gentleman, held a cane in one hand, and had his sparse white hair meticulously groomed. Behind him stood an expressionless bald bodyguard.
He was none other than the head of the Falcone Family—Carmine Falcone.
After entering the room, Cobblepot stopped and remained by the door.
From this point onward, it was no longer his place to proceed.
Fish, meanwhile, walked over and stood beside the bald bodyguard.
Li Wei walked to the sofa, sat down without ceremony, and looked at the old white man across from him.
"Mr. Falcone, what did you want to see me about?"
Li Wei's actions made the bald bodyguard frown in displeasure as he reached for the gun at his waist.
"It's fine, Victor," Falcone said, stopping him.
Only then did the bald bodyguard, Victor, desist, though he continued to watch Li Wei with wary eyes.
Seeing that Li Wei showed no fear whatsoever, Falcone stared into his eyes and said,
"Director Li Wei, I have some bad news for you. The head of the Maroni Family, Sal Marroni, is still alive, and he is looking for you..."
Law-Abiding Good Citizen
"Huh? Why is he looking for me?" Li Wei looked utterly confused, without the slightest flaw in his expression.
Falcone's smile froze when he heard Li Wei's answer.
Li Wei had inherited Khada Jhin's Hero Template. His acting skills were convincing enough to pass for the real thing.
But Fish, that "cheat device," was there.
Falcone turned to look at Fish. Only after she lightly shook her head did the smile return to his face.
"All right, Director Li Wei. Since you say it has nothing to do with you, then let's say it has nothing to do with you." Falcone clapped his hands. "I invited you here today because I wanted you to watch a performance."
"Oh? What kind of performance?" Li Wei was not nervous in the slightest. He was even rather interested.
He wanted to see what kind of trick Falcone could pull!
As long as there was no direct evidence, he would never admit that he was Khada Jhin.
If he really admitted it, given Bruce Wayne's personality, after he made that hellish joke about his parents, wouldn't Bruce pester him for the rest of his life?
Whether Bruce could hurt him was another matter. He would be annoyed to death even if nothing else happened!
As for Khada Jhin's "true" identity, Li Wei had long since chosen someone to take the blame. He merely needed to wait a little longer.
That scapegoat also happened to be Bruce Wayne's lifelong enemy.
After all, when you already had so many debts, one more made no difference. When you already had so many lice, one more bite did not matter!
Following Falcone's clap, the door to the inner compartment of the private room opened.
A staff member pushed in a luggage cart covered tightly with red cloth.
Victor, Falcone's bodyguard, stepped forward and took hold of the cart. After dismissing the staff member, he pushed it in front of Li Wei.
Li Wei remained unmoving on the sofa, watching everything coldly.
"Director Li Wei, the performance is about to begin." Viktor's smile was somewhat deranged.
Li Wei's expression was cold.
"Whoosh!"
The next moment, Victor yanked off the red cloth covering the cart!
Inside was someone Li Wei found extremely familiar, tightly bound hand and foot.
It was the mayor's secretary who had once tried to squeeze Li Wei for money!
At that moment, he was completely naked, bruised and battered, his eyes filled with terror.
He was entirely different from the arrogant man he had been outside the mayor's office!
Next, Victor showed Li Wei what a perfect answer in human anatomy looked like.
Amid the mayor's secretary's screams, he was turned alive into anatomy teaching material.
Blood covered the floor, and even the air was thick with the scent of blood.
Li Wei remained indifferent.
Only after Victor called over nightclub staff to clean up the mess did Li Wei stare at Falcone and ask,
"Mr. Falcone, what exactly do you mean by this? Am I supposed to take this as a threat?"
Although Li Wei did not want any one force in Gotham City to gain an absolute advantage, if Falcone became too troublesome, Li Wei would not mind eliminating that trouble completely.
"No, no, no!" Falcone's smile was brilliant. "Director Li Wei, this is not a threat. This is the second gift I have prepared for you! When you went to the mayor's office, this blind fool was the one causing trouble behind the scenes."
Li Wei shrugged.
Before you continue