"Thank you for your kindness, but I must reiterate, Mr. Falcone, that I am a law-abiding, upstanding citizen of Gotham. I wouldn't dare accept such a gift."
Falcone smiled but said nothing, clearly neither confirming nor denying Li Wei's words.
Were there any citizens in Gotham who completely obeyed the law?
"But in that case, Mr. Falcone, aren't you afraid the mayor will cause trouble for you?" Li Wei asked curiously.
After all, the mayor's secretary represented the mayor himself. Killing the mayor's secretary was equivalent to slapping the mayor in the face. He was curious how Gotham's gangs handled such matters.
"The mayor? The mayor works for me." Falcone's smile widened. "Come in, Mr. Mayor. Meet our guest."
As Falcone's words fell, Gotham City's mayor actually pushed open the door and entered, bowing to Falcone.
"Boss."
Only then did he turn to Li Wei. "Hello, Director Li Wei. I'm very sorry that my former secretary caused you trouble."
Li Wei: ...
As expected of Gotham!
Seeing that the atmosphere had gone a little cold, Falcone waved the mayor away.
"Go get back to work, Mr. Mayor."
"Yes, Boss."
He really came when summoned and left when dismissed!
Li Wei: You shouldn't be called Falcone. You should be called an outlaw!
After sending the mayor away, Falcone turned to explain to Li Wei.
"Although the mayor works for me, the mayor's secretary did not. And the reason the Maroni Family was able to monopolize the prison's psychiatric treatment business was due to a necessary exchange of interests. The Falcone Family is not a friend of the Maroni Family."
"Mr. Falcone, what exactly do you mean by telling me this?" Li Wei spread his hands. "I'm not interested in your gang affairs, nor do I have the ability to interfere."
"Nothing much. I simply don't want the Maroni Family to affect the friendship between us." Falcone wore a broad smile, without the slightest air of an underground overlord.
"We're not friends, Mr. Falcone," Li Wei said helplessly.
He now roughly understood why Falcone had brought him here.
Clearly, this was no ordinary trouble.
"But I think we can become friends." As Falcone spoke, he took out a check from his jacket and placed it on the coffee table between them. "This is my third welcome gift. Five million dollars is my support for Arkham Asylum's medical work, and this is merely my first charitable donation."
Li Wei: !!!
"Mr. Falcone, we're friends now!"
Li Wei's face broke into a wide smile. He stood up and offered Falcone his hand.
Who could refuse a friend who knew how to raise the price?
"It is an honor to become your friend, Director Li Wei." Falcone also rose from the sofa and shook Li Wei's hand.
After the money changed hands, Falcone did not take the opportunity to make any request.
That surprised Li Wei. Based on Falcone's earlier behavior, Li Wei had thought he would ask him to help kill the head of the Maroni Family...
Seeing that things had more or less reached their conclusion, Li Wei saw no benefit in continuing to trade empty courtesies with Falcone and immediately announced his intention to leave.
Falcone did not insist on keeping Li Wei. He even offered to have Fish take him back, but Li Wei declined.
With no other choice, Falcone personally escorted Li Wei to the entrance of the nightclub, drawing countless curious looks from the guests.
Li Wei hailed a taxi. Before getting in, he paused and glanced at Cobblepot, who had barely made his presence known the entire time.
He leaned close to the other man's ear and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Cobblepot, I think highly of you. I think you have the talent to be a boss. If you ever need help, you can come find me at Arkham Asylum."
With that, leaving Cobblepot dumbstruck, he got into the taxi without looking back.
Compared to the madness of Gotham's many villains, Cobblepot was the only one seriously building a career. He was practically the most pragmatic gang boss around!
And compared to the other gang bosses, Penguin was even fairly loyal and honorable.
As always, it was all thanks to his peers making him look good.
Under the watchful eyes of a crowd of gang members and bosses, the driver started the car tremblingly. He did not even dare press too hard on the accelerator.
It was as if pressing down even slightly harder would get him riddled with bullets by the gangsters.
And so, outside the bar, Falcone and his men watched until the taxi carrying Li Wei vanished completely from sight.
At the very moment they each disappeared from the other's view.
Two people silently gave the most impartial assessment in their hearts.
"Old fox!"
"Young fox!"
I, Li Wei, Am Pure at Heart
Li Wei was absolutely not exaggerating when he called Falcone an old fox.
From the moment Falcone had Fish bring Cobblepot to the asylum, his open scheme had already begun.
The moment they met, Falcone produced a welcome gift Li Wei could not refuse and invited him to the nightclub.
After arriving at the nightclub, the second welcome gift was delivered at once.
He let Li Wei personally watch Victor turn the mayor's secretary who had made things difficult for him into dissection material.
He had both done Li Wei a favor and conveniently cleared himself of any connection.
At the same time, he had shown Li Wei the Falcone Family's intelligence capabilities.
As for the final welcome gift.
Five million dollars, merely to make a friend.
Even Teacher Luo, who had been famous in his previous life for "making friends," probably did not have that much audacity.
Three welcome gifts, yet not a single request.
As the saying went, one could not strike a smiling face. It left people with no idea how to refuse him.
A nakedly open scheme.
But anyone who truly believed Falcone was a good person or was doing charity would be a complete fool!
Li Wei was pure at heart, not stupid.
As an old-established underground overlord of Gotham, Falcone was certainly no simple man. Every one of his actions carried deeper meaning.
From the very beginning, when he told Li Wei that the head of the Maroni Family—Sal Marroni—was not dead, Falcone might well have intended to use a borrowed knife to kill. It was only because Li Wei had not taken the bait that he changed methods.
As for personally escorting Li Wei out of the nightclub with his men in the end, it was not merely an expression of how highly he regarded Li Wei. Falcone had deliberately allowed the passing guests to witness it.
Li Wei believed that there was no need to wait until tomorrow. Perhaps before dawn, this scene would spread throughout Gotham's underground world.
Everyone would know that Li Wei, director of Arkham Asylum, had close personal ties with Falcone.
It might cause some trouble.
And most importantly, no one should think that the five million dollars in "friendship fees" came easily. The day Falcone could prove that Li Wei had nothing to do with Khada Jhin, Li Wei would have to spit back everything he had taken today, doubled!
However, Li Wei did not need to worry about that.
He was Khada Jhin. There was simply no evidence, and he would never admit it himself.
As far as Li Wei was concerned, whatever Falcone was planning, anyone who refused free benefits was an idiot. As for asking him to do something after taking the benefits?
Sorry, his abilities were limited.
As for Penguin Cobblepot, Li Wei had other plans for him.
While Li Wei hurried back to the asylum, Falcone also returned to the nightclub's private room with his men.
"Your name is Cobblepot, right?" Falcone personally poured two glasses of whiskey and placed them on the coffee table. Looking at Cobblepot kindly, he said, "Young man, what did Li Wei say to you just now?"
Cobblepot's heart stirred. He quickly put on an overwhelmed expression and stepped forward to respectfully pick up a glass.
Only after drinking the whiskey did Cobblepot speak.
"Li Wei only said that he didn't like Mommy Fish very much..."
Mommy Fish was Fish's nickname in the underground world.
Cobblepot had originally intended to tell the truth. He could not understand Li Wei at all and inexplicably found him extremely dangerous. Yet when the words reached his lips, they came out differently.
Fish did not suspect her umbrella-holding underling. Her face carried a mocking smile. "He dislikes me? Plenty of people dislike me, and aren't I still alive and well..."
Falcone waved at Fish, and only then did she stop speaking.
"Enough, Fish. You can all go back first. I need to rest for a while. Victor, stay."
With a single sentence, he brought today's events to an end.
As Cobblepot looked at Falcone, who radiated the authority of a superior, his eyes flickered for an instant that no one noticed. But moments later, they returned to their fearful, humble state.
Yet the words Li Wei had said before leaving continued to echo beside his ears like Demonic Whispers.
"I think highly of you. I think you have the talent to be a boss..."
After Fish left the private room with Cobblepot, only Victor and Falcone remained.
After a moment of silence, Falcone leaned back against the sofa, both hands continuously massaging his temples.
"Victor, what do you think about what happened today?"
Victor stood behind the sofa, his expression still blank.
"Boss, I have no opinion, but I can sense that Li Wei is a dangerous man."
Falcone did not mind Victor's meaningless answer. What he needed was not an answer, but simply someone to listen.
"Victor, you're the only person I can trust. Li Wei is difficult to deal with. Even if he has nothing to do with Khada Jhin, he himself is still difficult to handle..."
"Didn't Fish say Li Wei might have some special connection to Khada Jhin?" Viktor asked in confusion. "Can't we confirm his identity now?"
"That is only an eighty percent chance. We can't afford to gamble." Falcone sighed softly. "The Maroni Family is the lesson before us. I'm old now. I can't keep fighting. I don't want to exhaust myself too much."
Victor neither confirmed nor denied Falcone's earlier words, but he strongly agreed with the latter half.
Falcone truly had grown old, and his fighting spirit was gradually fading.
If Falcone had been younger, when facing the provocations of the Maroni Family back when it was merely a small gang, they would never have lived to see the next day's sun.
How could the Maroni Family have been allowed to grow to the point where it could now stand toe-to-toe with Falcone in Gotham's underground world?
"Boss, not only did you help Li Wei settle the prison's psychiatric treatment contract, you also gave him five million dollars..." Victor asked doubtfully. "As long as we don't provoke him, he has no grudge against us. Khada Jhin probably won't come looking for trouble. There was no need to pay such a huge price."
Although everyone had different opinions of Khada Jhin, at least one point was universally acknowledged.
Khada Jhin's combat strength was absolutely not something ordinary people could withstand!
Even Victor, Falcone's bodyguard and foremost killer, had to admit that.
"Victor, as you said, it's only possible..." Falcone sounded somewhat helpless.
Victor was good in every way: powerful in combat, loyal, and young...
But his way of thinking had never suited someone in power. He always seemed a little slow-witted. Otherwise, Falcone truly would have wanted Victor as his heir.
"Helping him secure the psychiatric treatment contract and giving him five million dollars in sponsorship was also buying a possibility. What if he really has an extraordinary relationship with Khada Jhin?"
"Would Li Wei have Khada Jhin help us strike the Maroni Family?" Victor scratched his head.
He felt all these twists and turns were far too complicated and impossible to understand. It was much more satisfying to simply shoot someone.
Yet Mr. Falcone always loved discussing these things with him!
Before you continue