Opening Ceremony

But now, everything belonged to Li Wei, including its dire financial situation.

In biological research and human modification, Dr. Hugo might have been a genius, but when it came to business, he was unquestionably a complete idiot!

Setting aside the asylum's land value and fixed assets such as its equipment.

The asylum's available cash was practically zero!

God knew how Dr. Hugo had managed to run this famous asylum into such a state!

At this rate, it could perhaps hold on for another half month at most. If no new funds came in, Arkham Asylum would face bankruptcy.

Although Gotham City was known for its simple folkways and was filled with corruption, violence, and destruction, it at least kept up appearances.

City Hall would take over poorly managed medical institutions to maintain Gotham citizens' healthcare needs.

In fact, much of Indian Hill Hospital's equipment consisted of exceedingly rare high-end experimental devices. Selling any one of them on the black market would solve Li Wei's problem, with plenty left over.

But Li Wei had no intention of doing that.

He had other plans for Indian Hill Hospital, just as he did for Dr. Hugo.

As for the Court of Owls, Dr. Hugo's true masters, Li Wei had no intention of falling out with them for now. In his plans, they still had considerable value to offer.

Li Wei had never trusted Dr. Hugo's loyalty.

The original plot had already proved that he was a traitor and an opportunist.

What Li Wei wanted was absolute loyalty.

But killing him outright would be too wasteful. Dr. Hugo was known as Gotham's villain resurrection point, and his biological modification techniques were exceptional.

It would be better to turn him into a vessel for a Hero Template!

Alchemist Singed!

That would ensure Dr. Hugo's absolute loyalty, allow him to make use of his abilities, and maximize Indian Hill Hospital's value at the same time!

Simply perfect!

The only problem was that Li Wei's current Soul Essence reserves were insufficient. He had checked: the Alchemist's template required 1,350 points of Soul Essence.

So far, Li Wei's Soul Essence reserves had only just passed 500 points.

Those five hundred-plus points of Soul Essence had not come solely from the sea of flesh and blood flowers at Indian Hill Hospital. They had also come from the people who had died in Gotham City during this time.

The collection range for Soul Essence covered not only targets killed by Hero Templates, but the entirety of Gotham City!

Paused Khada Jhin Trial Card

Remaining Time: 23:30

After walking all the way back to the director's office on the top floor, Li Wei's plan gradually took shape, aided by the memories of his previous life.

If Li Wei truly needed money, he had plenty of options.

For example, robbing banks. With Khada Jhin's trial card, he had no need to worry about being caught by the police.

But that did not align with his goal of maximizing profits.

In the end, Li Wei chose the plan to "Restart Arkham."

Arkham Asylum had originally been built to detain and treat criminals suffering from mental illness.

But due to later upheavals and conflicts of interest, City Hall had abandoned it and chosen another hospital in Gotham City instead.

If he could restart Arkham Asylum and monopolize this business, City Hall would issue enormous annual subsidies.

What Gotham City lacked least were lunatics and criminals.

Arkham Asylum would become the final destination for every Gotham villain.

For Li Wei, aside from gaining a money tree, he would also acquire countless vessels for Hero Templates.

He was eager to see what kind of sparks Hero Templates would create when paired with characters from the DC Universe.

The Joker and The Demon Jester, Scarecrow and Fiddlesticks...

Most importantly, compared to robbing banks, this approach was far more sustainable.

It was simply killing multiple birds with one stone!

The plan was perfect, but Li Wei had to confront another problem.

How could he reclaim this business from the psychiatric hospital currently holding it?

After all, Gotham City's subsidy had always been a huge piece of the pie, and plenty of people had their eyes on it.

And he had no connection whatsoever with Gotham City Hall or the mayor.

After careful consideration, Li Wei ultimately decided that he would visit City Hall first thing tomorrow morning and have a proper talk with the mayor.

If the other party agreed, then everyone would be happy.

If the other party refused, Li Wei would make him agree by his own methods.

As Gotham City's five-star model citizen, shouldn't he make his due contribution to Gotham's better tomorrow?

If Li Wei remembered correctly, the current psychiatric institution should have ties to certain gangs.

Perfect. Khada Jhin's trial card mission had not been completed yet...

Opening Act

After spending a night in his shabby office, Li Wei became even more determined to restart Arkham.

Who would have thought that the break room in the director's office had neither a beautiful secretary in professional attire nor comfortable chairs, but only a battered little bed!

Not only did it leave Li Wei's entire body stiff after sleeping on it, but it would creak nonstop whenever he shifted even slightly.

That night had been pure torture!

Li Wei swore that once he received City Hall's subsidy, the first thing he would do was replace it with a soft, king-sized mattress!

Li Wei put on his only suit, left the asylum, and headed straight for Gotham City Hall.

A long line had already formed outside City Hall, filled with Gotham citizens there to handle all kinds of business.

Their polished, elegant clothes formed a stark contrast with the disheveled homeless people huddled in the corners of the alley across the street.

They were separated by only one road, yet one side was full of song and dance, everyone smiling; the other was miserable, every face yellow and gaunt.

Standing among the crowd, Li Wei watched the intensely theatrical scene before him. He smiled and nodded to those around him while taking a deep breath of the air faintly tinged with blood.

This was Gotham!

A place where the weak were prey to the strong!

This was also where his rise would begin!

He liked it here!

The most fundamental reason people hated the privileged class was simply because they were not part of that class themselves.

Although Li Wei was not yet among the privileged, he soon would be...

City Hall opened on schedule, and people entered one by one according to their place in line.

It was so orderly that it barely seemed like Gotham.

Li Wei, meanwhile, headed directly for the mayor's office.

A middle-aged man with a bald crown blocked his path.

"Name? What do you want?"

"Li Wei, director of Arkham Asylum. I have an important matter to discuss with the mayor."

Upon hearing Li Wei's answer, the middle-aged man returned to his lazy demeanor.

"Mm. I'm the mayor's secretary. You need an appointment to see the mayor. Do you have one?"

"No." Li Wei shook his head and repeated, "I want to restart Arkham's psychiatric treatment services for criminal patients. This is important."

"Then..." The secretary smiled at Li Wei while discreetly rubbing his fingertips together.

Li Wei: ...

Naturally, Li Wei understood what the secretary meant. He wanted to see his "sincerity."

But the problem was, if he had any "sincerity" to offer, why would he need to come see some damn mayor?

Li Wei could only spread his hands to indicate that he had no money.

The secretary looked Li Wei over from head to toe, then openly revealed a disdainful smile.

"Fine, no problem. I'll pass your appointment request on to the mayor. But I'm sorry, the mayor has no time today. If he becomes available, I'll call and notify you."

The middle-aged man had seen plenty of people like this. No money, yet they still wanted to see the mayor?

Basically, everyone who came to curry favor used the same line, claiming that their matter was important. But could anything be more important than making money?

And if it were truly an important matter, or if he were truly an important person, the mayor would have come out to greet him personally. After carefully thinking through Gotham's influential elites worthy of the mayor's attention, the secretary was certain the man before him was not among them.

As for Arkham Asylum and psychiatric treatment for criminals?

That was Maroni Family business. This man actually wanted to snatch it from the Maroni Family?

He was practically courting death!

Li Wei said nothing more. He merely gave the secretary a long look before turning and leaving City Hall.

The mayor's secretary's sneer faintly drifted from behind him. "Heh, a nobody wants to see the mayor..."

Every world had people who used the tiniest bit of authority to make life as difficult as possible for others.

Since that was the case, he would have to achieve his goal his own way!

Li Wei stepped out of City Hall. The sunlight briefly drove away the clouds overhead, and the intense brightness made him narrow his eyes.

Then, in the next instant, another, larger cloud drifted over and blocked the glaring light.

Li Wei had long been mentally prepared for this.

If everything had gone smoothly, then this would not be Gotham. It would be Themyscira.

According to the memories Li Wei had inherited, the institution currently monopolizing City Hall's psychiatric medical services for criminals belonged to the Maroni Family.

The Maroni Family was one of Gotham's top criminal families, having risen to prominence only in recent years.

Following their rapid expansion, they had become evenly matched with the long-established Falcone Family.

The two criminal families had divided Gotham's entire underworld between them. Every gang in Gotham was under their control, and their influence had seeped deeply into both political and business circles.

Since a "nobody" like him could not attract attention, then he would use a grand performance to announce to Gotham that Arkham Asylum had returned!

The Maroni Family would become a perfect stage!

Khada Jhin would present Gotham with a breathtaking, one-of-a-kind performance!

Although the Maroni Family's location was no secret in Gotham, Li Wei did not charge directly to their doorstep.

A grand performance needed buildup.

Let the Maroni Family's psychiatric hospital serve as the opening act for this performance!

After leaving City Hall, Li Wei casually hailed a taxi by the roadside.

"To Scott Asylum."

Scott Asylum was a medical institution under the Maroni Family.

Upon hearing the destination, the taxi driver looked nervous and was about to refuse. But when he looked at Li Wei in the back seat through the rearview mirror, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

He had no choice. In his eyes, Li Wei, dressed in a suit, was no different from those important figures.

Although everyone in Gotham was wicked, before night fell, they still put on a thin veneer of decency. Most people active on the streets were still ordinary citizens.