Seeds of Madness

The Maroni Family and the police department had both sprung into action because of Khada Jhin.

At the same time, the Falcone Family, which controlled the other half of Gotham's underworld, had not been idle either.

They had likewise sent people out to search for clues about Khada Jhin.

But unlike the police, who wanted to arrest him, and the Maroni Family, who wanted to kill him,

the head of the Falcone Family—Carmine Falcone—wanted to befriend Khada Jhin.

Though he did not know why Khada Jhin was causing trouble for the Maroni Family, the enemy of his enemy was a friend. That much was always true.

Besides, the man was highly capable. It was not impossible that he could be made to work for him.

They had to find Khada Jhin before anyone else did!

Even if it meant going to war with the Maroni Family!

Tonight, Gotham was destined to remain sleepless!

While Gotham was being shaken by the name Khada Jhin, Li Wei slept soundly until dawn.

"Creak, creak..."

Amid the groaning of the bedframe, Li Wei climbed out of bed.

As usual, after washing up, he was even in the mood to cook breakfast for himself and Dr. Hugo.

It could not be helped. Aside from the bizarre patients in the wards, they were the only two living people in all of Arkham Asylum now.

Only then did Li Wei put on an exquisite suit and walk out through the gates of Arkham Asylum.

Dressed to the nines, the audience had already taken their seats, and the performance was about to begin...

Seeds of Madness

Li Wei, dressed in a classic gentleman's outfit, left the asylum and hailed a taxi.

"Driver, take me to Maroney Bar."

The driver was a chatty Black man. He glanced at Li Wei through the rearview mirror, finding him rather familiar, then grinned broadly, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Sir, are you going there to see Khada Jhin too?"

"Oh? How do you know Khada Jhin will definitely go there today?"

Li Wei had not intended to make small talk. Inspiration for art needed time to brew, but the Black driver's words had successfully piqued his interest.

He did not mind "interacting" with the audience before the show.

"Sir! I can tell your information is outdated." The Black driver looked smug. "It's not just me who knows now. I'm afraid everyone in Gotham knows! The Maroni Family put out word that Maroney Bar will operate as usual today. They're waiting for Khada Jhin there."

Li Wei was speechless. Was the Maroni Family really that brave? It seemed they still did not understand the terror represented by the name Khada Jhin.

But it did not matter. After today, everyone would understand what the name Khada Jhin meant!

The Black driver was very talkative—one could even say he was a chatterbox.

Still, Li Wei listened with great interest along the way. Through the driver's words, he gained another perspective on how others viewed the upcoming grand performance, as well as learned a few things he had not known.

What left Li Wei torn between laughter and tears was that most ordinary citizens actually saw Khada Jhin as Gotham's Zorro. Only a small fraction could see the truth: Khada Jhin was a murderous monster.

No matter how one looked at it, Khada Jhin was no good person.

And the Gotham police department had actually deployed most of its officers around Maroney Bar, waiting to arrest Khada Jhin as soon as he appeared!

The police were using a gang to catch someone...

What could he say? It was Gotham, after all. Truly absurd!

Of course, none of that mattered to Li Wei. Another piece of news made him increasingly excited.

Besides the Maroni Family, the Gotham police department, and the gawking public, even Gotham's other underground overlord—the Falcone Family—had arrived at the scene today.

The television stations would also be broadcasting live coverage of the Maroni Family tonight.

The scale of this performance would be unprecedented!

Its influence could cover all of Gotham City!

It was even grander than Li Wei had imagined!

It was absolutely in line with Khada Jhin's mission requirements.

Khada Jhin's obsession: to put on a grand performance and make the name Khada Jhin resound throughout Gotham.

If this still could not complete the mission, Li Wei felt that perhaps only livestreaming the assassination of the president in the White House would do.

"Sir, sorry, I can only take you this far. The road ahead is completely blocked."

The Black driver pointed helplessly at the street ahead.

Maroney Bar was located near a plaza, with six small roads leading to the plaza from the surrounding area.

The street ahead had already been packed solid with countless vehicles. Most people had gotten out and were walking inward.

Seeing this, Li Wei did not make things difficult for the driver. He paid the fare and gave him an extra fifty dollars as a tip.

"Sir, you're such a good man!"

The Black driver leaned his head out the window and shouted after him.

Li Wei secretly laughed at that.

A good man?

If the driver knew he and Khada Jhin were the same person, would he still think so?

The fare had also come from the office at Scott Asylum, where he had searched it out after slaughtering everyone there as Khada Jhin yesterday.

Good people did not live long, while scourges lasted a thousand years. In Gotham, that saying was even more true.

Li Wei would rather be a scourge.

As Li Wei made his way from the taxi, it felt as though he had been transported back to the Spring Festival travel rush from his previous life.

It was as if all of Gotham had come. Moving even an inch was difficult; he had to force his way in!

Of course, pickpockets, that specialty of crowded places, were indispensable as well. In just this short while, Li Wei had spotted no fewer than ten.

Faced with the threatening looks cast his way by those pickpockets, Li Wei merely smiled and pretended not to see them.

There were even quite a few people in the crowd wearing costumes similar to Jhin's. Though their imitations were especially crude and the costumes were clearly cheaply made, Li Wei still marveled at Gotham's mental state.

Sure enough, opening an asylum in Gotham was the proper business.

Following the packed crowd, he finally arrived at the Maroni Family's bar.

The Maroni Family's bar was packed with people. Perhaps to demonstrate their strength and confidence, the Maroni Family had not only opened for business during the day but also allowed people to look around freely.

Exactly what Li Wei wanted.

Under the watchful eyes of the bar's security guards, Li Wei, like the other Gotham citizens, casually took a lap around the bar before leaving.

Beneath those seemingly unremarkable actions, Li Wei had already planted Mass Infatuation's Invisible Flowers across every window in the bar.

Once the performance began that evening, all it would take was for some unlucky fool to step on one, and it would trigger a chain reaction.

It would surely be a breathtaking opening!

Time flew by, and night fell.

Soon, the sky darkened.

The enormous flow of people near Maroney Bar attracted many vendors. Most sold food and small trinkets, forming a rather unusual night market.

However, Li Wei spotted a familiar sign among them.

Wayne Enterprises!

The goods displayed at the stall were not food or trinkets, but firearms and weapons!

It appeared to be one of Wayne Enterprises' military contractors.

A weapons stall appearing here at a time like this could very likely cause even greater casualties!

Gordon and Harvey, who had been stationed at the scene, had come to inspect it as well. But Wayne Enterprises had all its paperwork in order, everything entirely legal. Gordon and Harvey could do nothing about it and could not even find any reason to drive them away.

In the end, the two could only return with the police officers to the area around Maroney Bar. That was where tonight's defense would be focused.

But as Li Wei wandered around, he noticed someone other than Gordon and Harvey.

Edward Nygma!

The future Riddler, currently a technical consultant in the Gotham police department's evidence division.

He stood in the crowd, gazing thoughtfully at the Wayne Enterprises weapons stall for a long time.

No one knew what he was thinking.

The time of Khada Jhin's death notice was drawing closer and closer.

Most ordinary Gotham citizens were still in the mindset of curious onlookers, but the "die-hard fans" wearing imitation Jhin costumes had spontaneously gathered and begun an organized march through the plaza.

The atmosphere grew increasingly fevered.

The "die-hard fans" had flushed faces and excited expressions.

They likely needed only a single spark. The moment Khada Jhin appeared, the entire scene would explode.

But on the other side, both the Maroni Family and the police were staring intently at the watches in their hands.

Gordon wanted to catch Jhin before he caused greater chaos and destruction. This request for additional police support had only been approved because he had repeatedly pleaded until the Police Commissioner could no longer endure his persistent pestering.

If he failed this time, then for the foreseeable future, the only people he could deploy would be himself and his partner, Harvey.

Inside Maroney Bar, although the Maroni Family had refused to let the police enter, the gang members had fully armed themselves and made their preparations. They were merely waiting for Khada Jhin to show himself so they could make him pay.

Not only were they carrying all sorts of light and heavy weapons, they had also put on bulletproof vests and helmets.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock..."

The sound of the second hand moving was clearly audible in the bar, viciously clutching at the gang members' hearts.

The countdown...

Five seconds...

Four seconds...

Three seconds...

The death notice's appointed time was about to pass, yet nothing had happened in the bar. All the gang members let out sighs of relief.

The Maroni Family's second-in-command stood up laughing, walked to the entrance of the bar, and arrogantly shouted at the police and crowd outside.

"Khada Jhin, what fucking riddle? What fucking death notice? Hahahaha, we waited here for you, and you still didn't show up..."

Before he could finish, a barely perceptible streak of purple light suddenly shot through the night sky from afar.

Bang!

With a faint muffled sound, a large hole appeared in his chest. The second-in-command collapsed, then burst beneath countless watchful eyes into a flower of flesh and blood!

At that moment, the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand had just overlapped!

The sight instantly silenced the entire plaza. A pin could have dropped, and all that could be heard was the sound of countless people swallowing.

The next second, countless voices erupted from the plaza!

"Woohoo! Khada Jhin! Khada Jhin!" The die-hard fans cheered.

"Alert! Alert! Snipers, find his position!" Gordon roared.