Gordon's Justice

He found that he had gradually adapted to life in Gotham and even thought this place was pretty nice.

After the slaughter at Scott Asylum, he had gained quite a bit of Soul Essence.

By now, he had accumulated 998 Soul Essence, putting him very close to buying Alchemist Singed for 1,350.

"Squeak, creak..."

After rolling around on the old wooden bed and doing the math, Li Wei's mood improved even further.

If he went and stirred up trouble for the Maroni Family again tomorrow, he should be able to buy Singed's Hero Template.

That way, he could put his plan into motion sooner.

"I really am a master planner!"

Tomorrow would be another day full of seventy thousand... hope!

Although Li Wei had gone to sleep, the uproar he had caused in Gotham had not subsided and was still spreading.

As expected of the media industry in the City of Crime, both Gotham TV and the Gotham Daily knew exactly how to seize the audience's attention.

Not only had they rushed to Scott Asylum for on-site coverage at the first opportunity, but they had further "refined" the content in their follow-up reports.

The reporters seized upon the most explosive elements of the story and gave them a certain degree of "artistic processing"—Death Notice, names left behind, riddles...

"Oh my God, Tommy, you're a genius! If I hadn't been to the scene myself, I might really have thought this was some Zorro-like vigilante rather than a crazed killer!"

At the Gotham Daily headquarters, a fat white man looked at the manuscript in his hands and excitedly patted the shoulder of a scrawny man beside him.

"Tommy, this might be the best story we've had in a year! The public will buy our papers like crazy! The editor-in-chief position just happens to be vacant, and I think you've got talent..."

Excitement filled Tommy's eyes as he hurriedly made his position clear.

"Don't worry, Manager. I'll work even harder!"

He had had his eye on the editor-in-chief position for a long time. If he could become editor-in-chief, not only would his income rise dramatically, but he could also force that new intern into some "friendly" exchanges with him...

That new female intern named Vicki Vale seemed to have a really great body...

"Oh, right. Tomorrow, the paper will be holding a joint live broadcast with Gotham TV at the Maroni Family's bar. If Khada Jhin shows up, report it live. You'll be the host. The more explosive the coverage, the better—it'll draw more attention!"

The fat manager's words snapped Tommy out of his fantasy. Tommy hurriedly swallowed and nodded in agreement.

Hype-driven reporting like this was nothing unusual in the media industry, and Tommy had long since grown used to it, but...

"Manager, isn't Gotham TV our competitor? Is it really okay for us to cooperate with them...?"

Who would have thought that the manager, who usually acted as if he and Gotham TV were irreconcilable enemies, would now put on an entirely different face, looking utterly righteous.

"Hey! What are you saying? We're all part of Wayne Enterprises. Naturally, we must put Wayne Enterprises' overall interests first."

Tommy did not believe the fat manager's words in the slightest. Rumor had spread among the employees that the manager earned quite a lot of extra income every year. Who knew what shady agreement he had reached with Gotham TV?

Still, none of that mattered. What mattered was that as long as he did well in tomorrow's live broadcast, he would soon have a chance at a promotion!

But Tommy still had one question: would that man named Khada Jhin really dare to go after the Maroni Family tomorrow?

That was the Maroni Family, after all!

Even people from the police department had to be polite when dealing with them!

Tommy was far from the only person who thought so.

After the major media outlets spread the news, the name Khada Jhin had traveled through every street and alley of Gotham City in just a few hours.

Especially since it involved one of the underworld's overlords, the Maroni Family.

A Zorro-like figure fighting an underworld kingpin—exactly the kind of spectacle the popcorn crowd loved!

Some had even become rabid fans, making costumes similar to Khada Jhin's and preparing to go to the Maroni Family tomorrow to cheer him on in person.

It had to be said that Gotham's citizens had madness rooted in their bones.

It seemed that most people had selectively forgotten that not a single person had survived the slaughter at Scott Asylum!

But Gordon and Harvey, the pair of partners at the Gotham Police Department, were exceptions.

"Gordon, how did it go?" Harvey yawned and took another sip of liquor to drive away his drowsiness. "Did the coroner's report find anything?"

After returning from examining the scene at Scott Asylum, the other officers had all gone home, but Harvey had stayed at the station with Gordon to continue analyzing the case.

"Nothing useful. But there was one bizarre finding in the coroner's report: all the bullets in the remains disappeared." Gordon frowned.

Harvey's heart skipped a beat.

Gotham had never lacked murder cases, but one this bizarre and strange was unprecedented.

And he had a very strong feeling.

They might very well... never solve this case!

"Buddy, what do you want to do now? The clues we have are completely useless." Harvey looked at Gordon.

Although he hoped Gordon would uphold justice, he would not force him to do so. Harvey understood Gotham too well. Too many people had bowed to reality.

"What do we do? Keep investigating, of course!" Gordon raised his brows, completely undaunted by the setback before him. "It doesn't matter if we can't find any relevant leads. I've already asked Edward for help. He has the highest IQ in the department!"

"Edward?" Harvey frowned and pressed, "Edward from the evidence department?"

That guy might have a high IQ, but his emotional intelligence was low. Not only was he practically invisible at the station, but he was also constantly ostracized.

"Of course. I think he might be the only one who can solve that damned riddle."

Gordon did not care about that. Black cat or white cat, any cat that caught mice was a good cat.

Harvey could not say much more after hearing that. There was no other option now, so they might as well treat a dead horse as if it were alive.

"Still, Harvey, I need you to come with me to the Maroni Family now and see if we can get any clues from them. After all, Khada Jhin is coming for them."

"Yeah, all right. No problem."

Everyone knew that overnight, the name of this suddenly emerged Caster, Khada Jhin, would shake both Gotham's underworld and legitimate society...

Gordon's Justice

The Maroni Family's location was no secret in Gotham City.

Gordon and Harvey quickly arrived at their destination.

A lavishly decorated bar.

Before Gordon could knock on the bar's front door, it opened from the inside.

"Closed today!"

The man who opened the door was a burly brute with an unfriendly expression, driving the two of them away.

Because neither Gordon nor Harvey wore police uniforms, the brute did not recognize them.

Gordon could only pull out his identification and reveal their identities to the man.

"We're from the Gotham Police Department. I need to ask your boss, Sal Marroni, a few questions."

The brute grew slightly more serious. Only after carefully checking their IDs did he say coldly,

"Wait here. I'll inform the boss!"

Not everyone in the Maroni Family was named Maroni. They were called the Maroni Family only because their boss was Sal Marroni.

Although the gangsters gave them no friendly reception, Gordon and Harvey could only endure it.

Because applying for a search warrant against the Maroni Family was impossible. Even though everyone knew they were gangsters and knew they had committed crimes, the warrant would never be approved.

There was no particular reason.

This was Gotham!

Bang!

The front door shut, leaving Gordon and Harvey outside. The two exchanged a glance and understood each other's thoughts from their eyes.

Tonight might go more smoothly after all.

Khada Jhin's massacre should have had quite an impact on the Maroni Family. Otherwise, there was no way to explain why the Maroni Family's bar was closed tonight!

Ever since it opened, this bar had been one of Gotham's famous money pits. Its daily profits were enough to make even Harvey, a police officer, jealous!

"Come in. Boss Sal says he'll see you."

The brute opened the door again and spoke to the two of them.

After a series of body searches, Gordon and Harvey finally met their target—Sal Marroni.

A burly white man in an expensive suit sat on a sofa, with two underlings standing behind him.

"Sheriff Gordon?" Sal Marroni spread his hands. "What brings you to my bar? We're closed today, but if you come tomorrow, I might give you a discount."

Watching Maroni act so arrogantly, Gordon could only grit his teeth and endure it.

Without an arrest warrant or evidence, he could not touch the man at all.

"Mr. Maroni, we came to ask whether you have any leads regarding a man named Khada Jhin," the more seasoned Harvey hurriedly said, trying to smooth things over.

At the mention of Khada Jhin's name, Maroni's expression instantly turned cold.

"Sheriff Gordon, Sheriff Harvey, instead of coming here to question me, why don't you take this chance to arrest that homicidal maniac called Khada Jhin?"

Maroni gritted his teeth as he spoke.

In fact, they had received intelligence soon after the officers arrived at Scott Asylum.

They had learned of it even earlier than Gordon!

While Gordon had still been waiting for the coroner's report, Maroni had already mobilized his people to search all of Gotham for Khada Jhin.

But they had never even heard the name Khada Jhin before. It was as though he had appeared in Gotham out of thin air!

By now, half the underworld was in motion, yet they still had not found the slightest clue.

Maroni's words left Gordon speechless.

If they had leads and concrete evidence, why would they need to come here and put up with Maroni's attitude? They would have gone to arrest him already.

Gordon could only say stubbornly, "Mr. Maroni, he's coming for you. He even issued a Death Notice. If you can't solve the riddle, he'll come here for you tomorrow."

"He'd better dare to come!" Sal Marroni's face darkened like stormwater. "Never mind that I don't know that guy at all—even if I did, the Maroni Family would never cooperate with the police. We'll restore our honor our own way!"

Khada Jhin's actions were no different from stomping the Maroni Family's reputation into the dirt in front of all Gotham, then spitting a wad of phlegm on it.

The Maroni Family had to strike back head-on with the cruelest methods possible. Otherwise, their authority in the underworld would vanish completely!

The result would be that every other underworld gang would swarm them like hyenas and devour them piece by piece.

Gordon had run into a wall and still wanted to say something, but Harvey saw that they would get no leads and hurriedly tugged at him.

"When that guy comes for you tomorrow, don't call the police and ask me to save you!"

In the end, Gordon could only angrily throw out that harsh remark before Harvey dragged him from the bar.

Before the bar's door closed, Gordon and Harvey heard uncontrollable laughter erupt from inside.

"Buddy, gangsters calling the police for help really is a funny joke." Harvey gave a bitter smile as he pulled Gordon back into the police car. "What do you plan to do next?"

Gordon looked through the car window at the entrance to Maroney Bar. Only after a long silence did he speak.

"Come on, Harvey. Let's go back to the station and ask for reinforcements. Tomorrow, we'll focus on protecting this place."

Harvey's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Huh? What did you say? Go back to the station for reinforcements and protect these bastards? Have you lost your mind? They're gangsters!"

Gordon turned his head and looked seriously at Harvey.

"I know they're gangsters. If gangsters break the law, the law will punish them—not Khada Jhin. On the contrary, Khada Jhin is trampling on the law and justice!"

Harvey: ...

In the end, Harvey could not withstand Gordon's serious gaze and helplessly rubbed his forehead.

He swore that he had originally only wanted to retire peacefully, but he truly had no way to watch Gordon take risks alone.

"All right, all right, my God, you're right about everything. Then let's go find the Police Commissioner now..."