The Perfect Plan

As the charity gala drew closer, Bruce Wayne went around speaking with the members of Wayne Enterprises one by one.

Although these mid- and high-level managers held no power on the board of directors, winning their support would greatly help him regain control of Wayne Enterprises.

But for some reason, while these Wayne Enterprises employees were all very polite to him, addressing him as Young Master Wayne at every turn, Bruce always felt that they did not truly welcome his return to power. Their words were always tinged with an almost imperceptible sense of distance.

But before Bruce Wayne could figure out why—

The lights in the hotel lobby suddenly dimmed, and the hotel's giant screen lit up...

Just as everyone thought the charity gala was officially beginning, the screen did not display a promotional video for Wayne Enterprises. Instead, it showed a man's face.

It was Stan's face!

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a public declaration made on behalf of all Gotham City residents..."

Stan's face was grave, and his righteous voice echoed throughout the entire hotel.

The people who had been chatting casually at the charity gala all gathered near the big screen, watching Stan on it with curiosity.

Bruce was no exception.

"Have you heard of a drug called Viper Potion? My name is Stan Topolsky, and I made it! I made it for Weizhan Pharmaceuticals!..."

The moment Stan said this, the hotel lobby erupted in an uproar!

Viper Potion had become infamous throughout Gotham over the past two days!

The news had shown countless criminals committing feats beyond human limits after taking Viper Potion, causing immeasurable destruction across Gotham!

But no one had expected it to have been developed by Weizhan Pharmaceuticals!

Although everyone present worked under Wayne Enterprises, the companies under Wayne Enterprises did not share much information with one another. This was the first time everyone present, aside from the people from Weizhan Pharmaceuticals, had learned of this!

Bruce Wayne was no different.

He had only suspected that certain people under Wayne Enterprises were secretly collaborating with criminals or gangs. He had never expected Weizhan Pharmaceuticals to be directly involved in criminal activity!

Now they did not even need evidence. They had been caught red-handed!

The hearts of the Weizhan Pharmaceuticals employees sank at once. They knew very well about the connection between Stan and Viper Potion, and they also knew how much Stan hated Weizhan Pharmaceuticals.

To prepare for the worst, they immediately began moving toward the hotel entrance without drawing attention. They had to get this news out and begin preparing their public relations response as soon as possible!

Among everyone present, only the butler Alfred sensed a faint hint of danger.

He saw relief and madness written clearly across Stan's face.

Back on the battlefield, only soldiers preparing to make a desperate last stand wore such expressions.

Alfred silently raised his guard. No matter what happened to Gotham, he had to protect Bruce.

No matter what the people at the charity gala thought, it would not change Stan's plan.

Once the arrow left the bow, there was no turning back.

On the giant screen, Stan revealed the full story behind Viper Potion.

From Weizhan Pharmaceuticals secretly developing pharmaceutical weapons to conducting illegal human drug experiments...

He practically stripped Weizhan Pharmaceuticals bare!

Everyone at the charity gala understood one thing: Weizhan Pharmaceuticals was finished. For a long time to come, it would likely be trapped in a public relations crisis, with its stock price plummeting.

Of course, that was all.

Illegal operations and illicit human experimentation alone were not enough to bring down Weizhan Pharmaceuticals. In Gotham, which major corporation did not have some illegal dealings?

But Stan had anticipated that.

"I distributed Viper Potion throughout Gotham, and I don't know how many people died. I originally thought using Gotham's homeless and addicts would be enough to get your attention..."

"But now, it seems..."

"Since the deaths of ordinary people cannot get your attention, then I'll get it by making important people suffer misfortune!"

As Stan finished his final word, every ventilation outlet in the hotel began to hiss like snakes flicking their tongues.

Streams of green gas poured continuously from the air-conditioning vents and spread through the hotel lobby at an alarming speed!

Although the people present had never experienced the effects of Viper Potion firsthand, they could tell just by looking that the green gas was nothing good.

Viper Potion!

It had finally come for them!

After one scream came countless more.

These refined and courteous wealthy people finally revealed their true faces.

Amid the chaos, everyone sprinted toward the hotel exits.

At the very front of the crowd was Alfred, the butler, charging forward in great strides!

Bruce Wayne's head had been covered by Alfred, and he was now slung over Alfred's shoulder.

Because he had been alert from the start, Alfred made the right choice the instant Viper Potion began spreading through the air-conditioning vents.

Combined with physical abilities that did not match his appearance at all—

This allowed him to become the first person to carry Bruce Wayne out of the hotel before the poisonous gas filled the entire building.

As for everyone else...

Aside from a few lucky people near the entrance who escaped, no one else was spared!

They all inhaled Viper Potion!

Li Wei sat across from the hotel building, silently took out his camera, and silently recorded the scene.

Oh, just imagine it—once Bruce Wayne became Batman in the future, would a photo of Batman being carried around count as blackmail material?

But after Li Wei put away his camera, he spotted two other familiar figures sprinting toward the hotel from not far away.

They were Gordon and Harvey.

"I wonder how those two will handle this case..." Li Wei muttered, his gaze gradually shifting toward Stan on the hotel rooftop...

Chapter 31: The Perfect Plan

"Police! You're surrounded! Give up resisting and surrender immediately!"

Gordon and Harvey quickly spotted Stan standing at the edge of the rooftop. The two decisively drew their pistols, aimed them at Stan, and shouted.

Stan naturally noticed them as well.

But he merely smiled casually before retreating back within the rooftop terrace.

As long as he did not expose himself from the terrace, there was no way the pistols from the hotel lobby below could hit him.

Could the police downstairs rush up?

Stan was not worried about that at all—at least, not until he had completely released the Viper Potion.

If they wanted to come up, they would first have to deal with the wealthy people in the hotel who had inhaled Viper Potion!

They had all turned into violent thugs now!

And Viper Potion was still everywhere in the hotel, buying him more than enough time!

Mr. Khada Jhin's plan truly was perfect!

Gordon and Harvey downstairs were equally helpless.

They had not come here while investigating Stan. Before Stan appeared, they had not even traced the case back to him!

They had followed the Weizhan Pharmaceuticals employees here, hoping to find clues about Viper Potion.

But they had never expected to encounter something like this.

They had not prepared for it at all, and the only equipment they had with them was their service weapons.

They had no protective gear such as gas masks, either.

With green gas filling the hotel, forcing their way in was definitely not a good idea!

"Partner, contact the precinct and call for backup. Tell them to bring gas masks. We need to evacuate the surrounding crowd!" Gordon made a swift decision, speaking to Harvey while rapidly evacuating the people nearby.

As Gotham City's leading corporation in advanced pharmaceutical and chemical experimentation, Weizhan Pharmaceuticals had been listed as the primary suspect by evidence consultant Edward as soon as the analysis results for Viper Potion came out.

Such a sophisticated drug could only be synthesized in an extremely advanced laboratory!

Unfortunately, Gordon and Harvey could not obtain evidence against a corporate giant like this.

Without substantial evidence, they could not apply for a search warrant. Without a search warrant, they could not find evidence...

It was a vicious cycle.

In fact, this situation was common in Gotham. Whenever an investigation involved a corporate giant, if there was no substantial evidence, it usually ended without results.

Even Gordon and Harvey could only resort to following them, hoping to find a weakness in Weizhan Pharmaceuticals.

But plans could not keep up with changes.

They had already witnessed the effects of Viper Potion with their own eyes. They had to stop it from spreading. Otherwise, if the surrounding onlookers inhaled it—

Gotham City would suffer a mass-casualty disaster! It could even be more horrifying than the casualties Khada Jhin had caused not long ago!

While Gordon and Harvey waited for reinforcements, they successfully evacuated the crowd, especially after the two revealed their identities.

Gotham City might have a rough-and-tumble culture, but it had clearly not reached the point where ordinary citizens dared to disregard the police.

Gordon naturally spotted the still-shaken Bruce Wayne in the crowd, along with the furious-looking butler Alfred.

The two sides were acquaintances, but this was clearly not the time for pleasantries. Maintaining order alone consumed all of Gordon and Harvey's attention, so they merely nodded to each other in greeting.

Bruce Wayne wanted to say something, but Alfred tugged at him and stopped the words before he could speak them.

For Alfred—

Although Young Master Wayne had gradually emerged from the shadow of his parents' deaths and was now growing up and trying to take over Wayne Enterprises, Alfred would rather he had remained that child.

At least then, he would not have to worry about him encountering danger like this!

He knew what Bruce wanted to say. He merely wanted Gordon to do everything possible to save more Wayne Enterprises employees.

Alfred had served as the Wayne family's butler for so many years. Though he was not involved in Wayne Enterprises affairs, he could still vaguely sense that Wayne Enterprises was not clean internally.

Today had directly proven that people within Wayne Enterprises were involved in crime!

Not only was the mutation caused by inhaling Viper Potion irreversible, meaning those people were completely beyond saving, but even if they could be saved, Alfred thought those bastards deserved to die ten thousand times over for causing trouble that put Young Master Wayne in danger!

He wanted Bruce Wayne to stay far away from all this trouble and danger, but when he lowered his head and saw the determination in Bruce Wayne's eyes—

All his thoughts became a soft sigh.

Young Master Wayne was, after all, the Wayne family's sole heir...

Ironically, Gotham's media arrived faster than police reinforcements.

After receiving a call from a certain anonymous and helpful citizen, Li Wei, they immediately rushed to the scene with cameras and equipment.

The Gotham Daily's prospective editor-in-chief, who had covered Khada Jhin's "performance" last time, was nowhere to be seen now.

That unlucky fellow had been kicked out by the Gotham Daily's manager as a scapegoat. After all, as a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises, reporting the dark joke of the parent group's owner demanded an explanation.

Gordon and Harvey were equally troubled by the media. They had no legitimate reason to prevent the coverage and could only let them do as they pleased.

Fortunately, the reporters valued their lives and did not enter the poisonous gas zone on their own, which relieved the two men.

Soon after the media arrived, police reinforcements came as well.

A large number of police cars arrived, along with several riot-control vehicles and a large force of officers. Even Gotham Police Department's Police Commissioner personally came to the scene!