Audisburg District

The battered bus rumbled along, weaving through traffic and the chilling mist of Gotham's East End, traveling from the east side of the upper city to the west.

"Thank God, at least there wasn't a second shootout, and Old Jack wasn't hurt."

Drake and Ma Zhaodi sat on the drafty bus, making their way through the streets of Audisburg. Ma Zhaodi overheard Drake's muttering and couldn't help but glance at him.

"There was a second one?"

"It depends. Usually not, but that's the East End, you know? Sometimes a second group gets on halfway. This place can get pretty intense, so it's normal for one bus not to be enough."

Completely not normal, Ma Zhaodi thought to himself.

"What about the bodies and blood left on the street?"

"They'll disappear in fifteen minutes. Gotham's gang cleanup crews are professionals."

"And what if the driver dies? What happens to the bus?"

"Drivers usually don't die. They're part of the atmosphere, you know? It's like playing badminton or tennis; someone has to serve the first ball. As for why – there are plenty of people who can shoot, but not many willing to drive this kind of bus. So now, the driver's shootout is just for show. Only when they're really unlucky do they get hit by stray bullets or ricochets."

Ma Zhaodi's eyes lit up, and he suddenly felt tempted. "How's the pay for a bus driver? Are they still hiring?"

Drake chuckled at him. "Old Jack's bus went through three drivers last year. One got his neck pierced by shrapnel from a grenade, another was blinded by a ricochet, and the last one tried to raise his price when selling guns and got his balls shot off. This position changes hands frequently; if you want it, you have a chance."

Ma Zhaodi's gaze immediately became crystal clear, devoid of any distractions.

"Old Jack is actually the name of the bus? The drivers are just tools? Wait, wait, someone had grenades?"

"Generally, no one carries them, nor would they use them here because it's too expensive and not worth it. But you know, this is the East End. There are more lunatics here than normal people."

After saying this, Drake sighed subconsciously, perhaps thinking about his own past experiences living in the East End.

While they were talking, the bus had already entered Audisburg District. Seeing this, Drake quickly pulled Ma Zhaodi off the bus.

"Follow me. My workplace isn't far from the bus stop." Drake glanced at his watch. "We're lucky. It's only 8:20, so at least you won't be late on your first day."

"You're right," Ma Zhaodi muttered, flipping through the System Mall, looking for something to eat. "But I almost had my head blown off on my first day commuting to work, so my head might have a slight issue with the word 'lucky'."

Compared to the chaotic, dirty, and dilapidated East End, Audisburg District looked much better.

Before them, a cluster of buildings stood tall, with gleaming corporate towers. In the distance, there were areas with tall factories, long chimneys spewing thick black smoke. Even the seemingly older residential areas were at least clean and bright, feeling merely messy rather than dirty and impoverished.

"Don't look over there. There's nothing good," Drake's tone was somewhat mocking. "A once top-tier pharmaceutical company, now a second-rate business that's all show and no substance after an accident. I don't know how long that building can last in Gotham."

Ma Zhaodi immediately caught his implication. "Is that company Wayne Pharmaceuticals?"

"Wayne? No, of course not. Why do you ask?" Drake looked at him, puzzled. "Although young Master Wayne is a playboy and a prodigal son, he at least has some conscience."

"This company, the one that collaborated with Dr. Victor, that pharmaceutical enterprise. We're friends now, so I don't mind telling you."

"I found something out during this time. Mr. Victor's disappearance wasn't a simple experimental accident. It was because this company deliberately cut off his experimental project, which was his wife's life support system, that caused the accident."

Ma Zhaodi nodded in understanding. He didn't have a very clear understanding of Victor, or Mr. Freeze's, origin. In his memory, it was Wayne Pharmaceuticals that should have assisted Mr. Freeze. However, he might have misremembered, or this world was simply in a multiverse he wasn't aware of.

Anyway, with DC's multiverse and rebooted universe settings constantly changing, let alone himself, even the editors don't know what's in the unillustrated universes. It wasn't impossible for a Mr. Freeze with a slightly strange origin to exist.

As a person, do as much as you can, he comforted himself. What's the use of worrying about these things? You can't even use a gun yourself and would get stabbed by a thug.

He walked with Drake through the streets of Audisburg. The sky was already bright, but the sunlight couldn't penetrate the thick clouds above Gotham. The sky was overcast, and there wasn't much warmth. Living in Gotham City, it always felt like it could rain at any moment.

Ma Zhaodi casually identified the buildings in his sight: Stagg Industries, the Ace Chemical Plant in the distance, the Monarch Playing Card Venue, and some colorful clubs.

If only he remembered the significance of these places, he would have exclaimed, "So many legendary figures!" on the spot.

Of course, when he saw a towering Ferris wheel peeking out from behind a building, some memories were awakened.

"Oh, The Killing Joke."

"What?"

"Nothing. Is that an amusement park over there?"

Drake, in a hurry, followed his gaze and saw the Ferris wheel, sighing.

"Yes. But it's been abandoned. According to them, the murder of the Wayne couple led to the theater being abandoned. Afterward, the security got worse and worse, and no one dared to bring their children here to play, so the amusement park fell into disuse."

Abandoned is good, Ma Zhaodi thought. When that amusement park is reactivated later, someone is likely to have bad luck.

Poor Commissioner Gordon, who poured his heart and soul into Gotham, only for his son to become a villain, his daughter to be kidnapped by a psychopath and turned into a leather-clad freak, and then have her spine shot out by a madman who then took nude photos of her.

If there was any possibility, Ma Zhaodi truly didn't want him to be tied to the Ferris wheel, looking at Barbara's photos.

As Ma Zhaodi was lost in thought, Drake stopped.

"Stop looking. We're here."