Li Wei had appeared here and, of all people, run into him. Logically speaking, to protect the plan he had made with Mr. Falcone, he should have silenced Li Wei.
He could not let any acquaintance see him now. The plan had to remain secret.
But kill Li Wei?
The moment that thought surfaced in his mind, Cobblepot crushed it.
The current Cobblepot did not dare gamble on the unanswered question of whether Li Wei had any connection to Khada Jhin.
Besides, he had always felt that Li Wei was mysterious, that what he had shown was far from all he had. It was an inexplicable sixth sense.
Just like how he had kept secret what Li Wei had whispered in his ear back then.
"Me? Of course I was just taking a walk and happened to run into you." Li Wei spread his hands. "Cobblepot, you look like you're in pretty bad shape. Need help?"
Cobblepot swallowed with difficulty. Even with a knife in his hand, he could not feel even the slightest sense of security.
"Why?"
"I told you, I think very highly of you." Li Wei smiled. Words he had once spoken rang in Cobblepot's ears like Demonic Whispers. "I think you have a real talent for becoming Gotham's underground kingpin. You lack nothing compared to anyone else..."
Cobblepot froze as though struck by lightning.
His secret plan with Falcone had been a desperate attempt to survive. He could not help recalling what Fish had said before she had tried to kill him.
Falcone is old. He's useless now. Someone has to replace him, so why not me...
If Fish could do it, why couldn't he?
Wasn't war about to begin? This was the best possible opportunity!
At last, a faint smile appeared on Cobblepot's face.
"Oh, my friend!" Cobblepot looked at Li Wei. "I trust you. You definitely won't tell anyone that you saw me here today, right?"
"Of course." Li Wei smiled as well. He knew Cobblepot had figured it out. "If you need help, you can come find me at Arkham Asylum."
"Of course I will, if I truly need it." Cobblepot smiled as he climbed ashore. "I'm leaving now, my friend."
For Cobblepot, although Li Wei's words had made him understand what he needed to do, he still felt it was best not to have anything to do with Li Wei. He could not see through him.
He would even pretend he had never seen Li Wei today...
Unfortunately, not everything in the world would always unfold as people wished...
Cobblepot walked step by step toward the rising sun.
His gait was limping and awkward, making him look comical, like a penguin.
But his shadow stretched longer and longer, like a mountain steadily rising.
Li Wei watched Cobblepot vanish from his sight with complete satisfaction.
He had achieved his goal.
As for what Cobblepot thought of him?
That was not important.
No matter how Cobblepot viewed him, it would not affect Li Wei's interests, just as Cobblepot would never become a good person.
Gotham City was moving toward the form Li Wei wanted it to take.
Thinking of this, Li Wei suddenly gave a self-mocking laugh. What was the difference between him and the Court of Owls?
Perhaps the only difference was that he had the ability to control his own fate, while the powerful figures of the Court of Owls did not...
This was Gotham City. Here, the weak were meant to be trampled by the strong.
Over the next few days.
Li Wei finally bid farewell to that creaky old bed.
And honestly, a hundred-thousand-dollar bed really was comfortable. Li Wei slept until late morning every day before getting up.
Nothing happened at Arkham Asylum. It was so peaceful that it seemed more like a nursing home.
Gordon and Harvey did not come. The gangs did not come. Not even patients came.
Since they had only just signed a medical services contract with City Hall, no patients had been sent over for the time being.
If not for the steadily dwindling test subjects in the asylum wards and Dr. Hugo's constant experimental failures, everything would have seemed tranquil and idyllic.
Dr. Hugo had gradually changed his approach to the experiment.
He had added a new primary ingredient to the experimental materials: the mysterious green liquid from the tank on Singed's back.
Unfortunately, it was as if some crucial ingredient was still missing. The final stage of the experiment kept failing.
Dr. Hugo did not care about these test subjects, and neither did Li Wei.
They were drug addicts, petty thieves, or gang members who had crossed Dr. Hugo, all snatched off the streets by him before...
They did not even qualify as villains. At best, they could be called lackeys.
Naturally, they were not qualified to serve as vessels for Hero Templates.
Outside Gotham, however, the atmosphere was completely different from the one inside Arkham Asylum.
Crime rates were soaring. Every day, Gotham TV reported all kinds of crimes that had occurred in the city.
From street robberies, to gang shootouts, to murder cases.
Even Li Wei, a law-abiding good citizen, could sense the coming storm hanging over Gotham.
Perhaps because Khada Jhin had set such a high bar, the murder cases reported in the news were somewhat unusual as well.
The murderer had been dubbed Balloon Man by the media and Gotham's citizens. He killed by tying his targets to balloons and sending them into the sky to freeze to death. Only once the balloons deflated and could no longer support the corpses' weight would the bodies fall from above and be discovered.
Unlike other murderers, Balloon Man had received widespread support and advocacy from Gotham's lower-class citizens...
Because those who had died by his hand included businessmen who had amassed wealth through Ponzi schemes, corrupt police officers who flaunted their power, and fraudulent priests who enjoyed sadistic abuse...
This forced Gotham police to repeatedly issue statements declaring that taking the law into one's own hands and carrying out vigilante justice was illegal and would inevitably be punished by the law.
Unfortunately, everyone knew those statements were useless. With The Caster Khada Jhin and Balloon Man setting the precedent, once the floodgates of the law had been opened, they would burst like a breached dam and could never be closed again.
Moreover, the Gotham Police Department's long-standing terrible reputation was not something Gordon could reverse in a short time.
It was worth mentioning that in recent media reports, the partnership of Gordon and Harvey had shone brilliantly. They had uncovered the clues for every major case, including the Balloon Man murders.
The media called them Gotham's legendary detectives.
On television, Gordon also announced to the media that their next step would be to crack down on gang forces and stop even more criminal activity.
"The police are becoming a little too powerful. That'll upset the balance of power..." Li Wei muttered as he watched the television. "Cobblepot still needs time to develop..."
An idea formed in Li Wei's mind.
When the orderly camp became too powerful, then strengthen the chaotic camp.
Support—or rather, create—a new villain.
One who could replace the Falcone Family and Maroni Family, currently fighting each other, and counterbalance the increasingly famous Gordon-Harvey duo.
A Gotham where black and white forces maintained relative balance best served his interests.
If either side gained an absolute advantage, Li Wei's Soul Essence income would decrease.
Over the past few days, his "passive income" of Soul Essence had already begun trending downward. After nearly half a month, his total Soul Essence earnings had only barely pushed his "savings" past 1,300.
Soul Essence balance: 1358 points.
There were actually quite a few Hero Templates available at this price range, but Li Wei was worried about which hero he should choose.
He currently had no particularly suitable vessel on hand. Insufficient compatibility would also affect the strength of a Hero Template.
Just then, Dr. Hugo, who had not shown his face for several days, suddenly pushed open the door and interrupted Li Wei's thoughts.
His face was filled with barely concealed excitement and fervor, and he held a green glass vial in his hand.
"Director, I found the material that can synthesize a Rage Potion..."
"A new material? What material?"
Li Wei's interest was piqued as well.
Although he could not offer much help with Dr. Hugo's research, he had always kept an eye on it.
Dr. Hugo was his research support staff.
The werewolf experiment could even directly provide a vessel for Zaun's Fury Warwick's Hero Template!
Li Wei knew that Dr. Hugo had recently tried many different materials—nearly every material he could think of—yet he had kept failing.
So how had he suddenly found the right answer today?
"This!" Dr. Hugo shook the green glass vial in his hand. "This potion can synthesize a Rage Potion."
Li Wei took the test tube from Dr. Hugo. The green liquid inside was slightly viscous, gently sloshing with his movements.
Although the liquid in the test tube was similar in color to the liquid in the tank on Singed's back, Li Wei still noticed subtle differences after examining it closely.
The green liquid Dr. Hugo had brought out seemed more easily vaporized, and its color was slightly darker, approaching dark green.
"Where did this stuff come from?" Li Wei held the glass test tube cautiously and did not open it.
Although his Hero Template was enough to handle most dangers.
This was Gotham City, the most dangerous city in the DC Universe. Who knew what strange things the talented people here might come up with!
The chances of Li Wei being killed by poison were low, but they were absolutely not zero.
"I collected it from Gotham's black market. Right now, someone is continuously distributing this superhuman drug for free throughout Gotham's underground world..."
Li Wei precisely caught the key information in Dr. Hugo's words.
"You mean... a superhuman drug?" Li Wei frowned slightly.
There were indeed plenty of extraordinary powers in the DC Universe—Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash... But there was no reason for them to appear in Gotham.
"Yes. This drug is called Viper Potion. It is being handed out to addicts and homeless people as free drugs. Everyone who takes Viper Potion becomes immensely strong and develops intense urges to attack and destroy. I've already verified it."
Li Wei naturally had no reason to doubt Dr. Hugo's findings.
But Li Wei knew that power gained so easily would inevitably come with a corresponding price.
"What are the side effects?"
"An endless hunger, like a beast's! If they cannot replenish the drug and nutrients in time, users die horribly."
As he spoke, Dr. Hugo looked both excitedly fervent and somewhat shaken.
Even he found it horrifying after witnessing firsthand the changes in living people after they took Viper Potion.
A tiny vial of potion could turn a living person into a pure beast.
His goal was to combine human and animal modifications into biological weapons while preserving their humanity and consciousness.
But after taking Viper Potion, they lost not only their consciousness, but even their most basic humanity!
They became beasts wearing nothing but human skin, with only the instincts to feed and hunt remaining!
Li Wei was surprised by the effects of Viper Potion, but after remembering that this was Gotham, he was no longer too surprised...
This was Gotham. Nothing that happened here was strange.
He was more concerned with Dr. Hugo's progress on the Rage Potion and the werewolf experiment.
Perhaps he could decide who the next hero to appear would be!
"Since this stuff can synthesize a Rage Potion, why did you come to me?" Li Wei shrugged. "What do you need me to do?"
Dr. Hugo nodded.
"That's right, Director. Although Viper Potion can synthesize a Rage Potion, it can only do so after being highly concentrated. What I have isn't enough. I need more Viper Potion."
Before you continue