Unpeaceful Times

"Age?"

"24, I'm a waiter at a restaurant."

"Gender?"

"Male."

"Name?"

"Ma Zhaodi."

Under the stark, blinding light of the interrogation room, Ma Zhaodi couldn't help but squint.

"I was just driving by, officer, was it really necessary to bring me in for questioning?"

"You don't look like a good person."

Hearing such a simple, straightforward answer, Ma Zhaodi was speechless for a few seconds.

"Please wait a moment, where did my glasses go? Ah, here they are."

He put on his gold-rimmed glasses, instantly giving off a faint air of refined scoundrel.

"What do you mean?"

"You can go after the statement is recorded. Remember to take your personal belongings."

That's surprisingly considerate.

"You might be here for the first time, so you're a bit unaccustomed, but don't worry. In Gotham, you'll always see me dealing with people from any gang. We have plenty of opportunities to interact."

Oh, that statement has a bit of a hostile undertone.

"But I'm not part of any Gotham City gang," Ma Zhaodi shook his head. "I just help out at the restaurant."

The blonde veteran detective opposite him had deep-set eyes, scrutinizing his expression as if judging whether he was lying.

"But you know the background of this restaurant, right?"

"I do, but only a little bit." He shrugged. "Anyway, I try not to get involved in their business. I just work there—I'm an honest civilian, officer."

"Interesting." The detective examined Ma Zhaodi's hands and wrists, his neck. Indeed, there were no calluses from prolonged use of a firearm, nor were there any tattoos from the Falcone family.

"Given your age, I'll give you a piece of advice: stop working at that restaurant."

"But they pay well."

Ma Zhaodi answered the question subconsciously. Looking at the detective's blonde hair and mustache, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity and instinctively asked, "Excuse me, what's your name?"

"You don't recognize me?" He chuckled. "That's not a bad thing. At least it means you haven't committed any crimes in Gotham."

"My name is Gordon, Jim Gordon."

After leaving the Gotham Police Department, Ma Zhaodi drove home.

Sigh, this is incredible. I've made an impression on Jim Gordon now.

Counting Harvey Dent, who I met before, if Batman targets me next, Gotham's 'Trinity' will be complete.

Ma Zhaodi could only be an honest citizen and pray that he wouldn't attract Batman's attention.

However...

"The president of Gotham Bank resigned and was murdered?" He mused subconsciously. "Is this a precursor to some event? I have no memory of anything like this."

He opened his door and returned home. The outside was pitch black. The clock on the distant grand clock tower pointed to two o'clock. At this hour, he hadn't encountered any muggers or thieves nearby. He wondered if it was because of the formidable reputation of his beloved car.

Sigh, only a workaholic like Gordon would drag someone to the police station for a statement at this hour.

He sighed and opened the Gotham News homepage on his phone, typing "Gotham Bank" into the search bar and hitting enter.

News articles appeared in chronological order. One headline, "Gotham Bank and Falcone Company to Reach Cooperation," caught Ma Zhaodi's attention, so he clicked on it.

"Since June, the cooperation proposal between Falcone Import Company and Gotham Bank has been in intense preparation. After months of negotiations, the bank's president, Richard Daniel, stated that as president, he was willing to facilitate this cooperation, considering that it would provide Gotham Bank with millions in available funds."

"Damn, who has the guts to mess with Falcone's business? Wait, he's Gotham's Black Gang Godfather, why is he getting into the import business?"

"Money laundering?"

He thought about it carefully and clicked on the most recent news article. The time stamp indicated it was this morning.

"Today, Gotham Bank President Richard Daniel officially announced his resignation, but he refused to disclose the specific reasons, only stating that he was unable to continue serving as president of Gotham Bank."

Ma Zhaodi suddenly began to understand. Daniel had likely made an agreement with the Roman. He was supposed to facilitate the cooperation between Gotham Bank and Falcone Import Company, but clearly, he had stood Falcone up.

His sudden resignation before the cooperation was finalized left the nearly successful project lacking a key operator. The Roman's business had fallen through.

He then recalled the faint words he'd overheard from a man dying on the road.

"...leave Gotham, find a place in Paris."

"No wonder he wanted to leave Gotham City for Paris, France. And no wonder he resigned this morning and was shot tonight. It's not easy to stand up the Roman. Revenge never waits until the next day, is this Falcone's style?"

There was a follow-up report linked below this news article.

"Following Richard Daniel's resignation announcement, the identity of the next president of Gotham Bank has also been revealed to be the heir of the Wayne Group, Bruce Wayne. The famous playboy personally stated that he has no interest in the so-called import company and that Falcone Import Company would be better off seeking cooperation with another bank."

This news made Ma Zhaodi raise an eyebrow.

"This one is truly someone who won't budge, no matter what. Bribery is impossible, and threats aren't suitable either. If Falcone wants to make money or launder it, he probably can't use his usual methods to deal with Bruce Wayne."

But then again, why would an ordinary bank president dare to stand up the Roman? Is he really not afraid of death?

And how did Bruce Wayne manage to seamlessly become bank president? Did he buy Gotham Bank?

He continued to search for corporate news about Gotham Bank. To his surprise, this bank had always been a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises.

In other words, Bruce Wayne's attitude clearly opposed Gotham Bank's cooperation with Falcone Import Company, yet Gotham Bank had almost reached a cooperation agreement with the company before. It was just that this matter was ultimately interrupted by Daniel's resignation.

As the heir to the Wayne Group, this playboy Bruce seemed unable to decide the decisions of his subsidiary companies.

"Let me guess, it's the same old cliché from the movies: the board thinks money is money, and anyone who doesn't take it is a bastard. Bruce thinks the mob's money is unacceptable."

He closed his phone, tossed it onto the table, and slumped onto the sofa.

Sigh, judging by the Godfather's 'never give up until the goal is reached' approach, Gotham is probably going to be quite restless in the coming days.

Much more restless than usual.