The Essence of Humanity Is

Gotham City had been somewhat on edge lately.

Everyone knew that Gotham's underworld boss, Carmine Falcone, was furious. First, Catwoman and Batman had broken into his home during his nephew's wedding and stolen something; then the Falcone Import Company he had founded was suddenly rejected by every bank in Gotham City; and on Halloween night, someone had assassinated his young nephew and burned twenty million dollars.

They had even left behind an unbelievably ugly Pumpkin Head as a taunt.

You see, Gotham City's points of interest were just that strange. Amid all the major incidents, people always managed to remember the strangest, craziest, most eccentric detail.

Falcone was different. He cared more about his own reputation and that of the Falcone family, so he offered a huge bounty. Unfortunately, after investigating back and forth, all they had found was one clue: "A mysterious person wearing an ugly Pumpkin Head mask was seen in the Diamond District."

There was no way to follow that clue further, because the Pumpkin Head had only appeared for ten minutes before vanishing. The only reason anyone remembered him at all was because the pumpkin on his head was so distinctive.

But Falcone was not satisfied with this result. He offered a huge bounty for the man's pumpkin head, yet an entire week passed without the slightest result. His prestige was being damaged by the day, while Carla, his younger sister and fellow leader of the Falcone family, screamed at him angrily every day.

"My Johnny, my son is dead! Carmine, if you can't think of a way to catch that damn Pumpkin Head, I'll solve this problem my own way!"

"Carla, we're the Falcone family, not street thugs. We don't slaughter innocents, nor can we vent our anger through indiscriminate revenge."

"Slaughter innocents? Don't you think that prosecutor Harvey Dent deserves to die anyway? How many of the family's affairs has he ruined already?"

"You're not doing this for the family, Carla. We all know that. You're suspicious of him because he showed up in Johnny's banquet parking lot—but given his style, he'd only think about how to bring the mob to justice. He wouldn't pick up a gun, put on a Pumpkin Head, break into someone else's home, and kill them."

"Oh, really? Was it truly such a coincidence that Harvey Dent happened to act together with Gordon on Halloween night? That a sheriff just happened to be able to provide him with an alibi? That the ledger you lost just happened to be in his hands? Ask every family member outside the factory that night. Every one of them saw him flipping through your ledger in the warehouse with his own hands."

"Enough!"

Falcone silenced his sister's hysteria and willful nonsense. His accumulated authority as the Godfather revealed itself in that instant, and his overwhelming presence forced Carla to clamp her mouth shut.

"We can't determine whether Harvey Dent killed Johnny, but he definitely has our ledger. Unless there's a high-ranking traitor in the family, he's the only one who could trace those twenty million dollars."

"And Gordon! And Batman!"

"Carla, I said enough. I don't want to repeat myself a third time."

The plump woman in black, decked out in gold and silver, was furious, but she still obeyed the Godfather's order and sat to one side, fuming silently.

"Whether he was responsible for Johnny's death or not, he took our things, so he has to pay the price. I'll handle this matter."

--

Nearly a week passed, and Ma Zhaodi felt somewhat relieved.

At least Roman had not actually suspected him because of one ugly pumpkin. That was a good thing—but thinking about it carefully, it was unlikely that people would connect a newcomer who had come to work at a restaurant run by the local mob with an elusive, cold-blooded, deranged killer.

He had neither the motive nor the ability to do such a thing. Besides, no one could be sure whether the killer had been hired by Falcone himself.

After all, his own nephew, Johnny Vitti, had planned before the wedding to tell the jury everything he knew about Roman—extortion, bribery, murder, and so on. At the time, everyone believed Falcone would be desperate to make his nephew shut up forever.

Yet afterward, Roman had personally paid for Johnny Vitti's lavish wedding. On that day, Johnny Vitti had also failed to appear in court to testify as promised. The two of them had seemed perfectly happy together, like a loving family.

A contradiction? What contradiction?

But then again, could someone who had once threatened the Godfather really survive at his hands? Who could see through Roman's thoughts?

To be safe, however, he still urged Drake to leave Gotham City with Mrs. Camilla, and even lent him thirty thousand dollars.

He was genuinely afraid that one day Drake's enemies would come looking for revenge. That bastard Gordon was far too good at attracting hatred. There was nothing strange about someone showing up with a gun to seek revenge, but Ma Zhaodi, who lived in the same house, did not want to suffer from someone else's misfortune.

In any case, he had no urgent need for money. The most common massive loans Americans took out—car loans, mortgages, student loans, and credit-card debt—had nothing to do with him.

He had not attended university locally, so he did not need to spend decades repaying student loans. He did not buy expensive items, nor had he ever carried a credit-card balance. He rented a house in the East End, which seemed pretty good for now, and planned to renew the lease once Drake left. As for a car, he already had one, and one with a soul ring was quite cheap.

By that calculation, Ma Zhaodi had even managed to save some money aside from the fifty thousand dollars. At least he had not needed to pay this month's rent himself.

Drake had been reduced to utter poverty while treating his wife. Following the principle that earning something was better than earning nothing, Ma Zhaodi had loaned him thirty thousand dollars at high interest. If he managed to earn enough money and leave Gotham alive, Drake would have to pay him back.

"Damn, what was the interest rate again?"

Ma Zhaodi stared blankly as he recalled the scene. It seemed they really had not settled on an interest rate at the time.

"Damn it! I got screwed!"

"Ding. You have a new odd job available. Please check it."

"Oh, get lost. Two of the three jobs last time nearly killed me afterward, and the third nearly killed me on the spot. If I ever take another odd job from you, I'll be a dog!"

Task reward: Advanced Culinary Mastery

"I swear, you're really fixated on cooking."

Ma Zhaodi said that, but his body was honest. He opened the shop and checked the price of Advanced Culinary Mastery.

Advanced Culinary Mastery

Price: Twenty Thousand Dollars

Note: Don't get the wrong idea. The culinary mastery that makes food glow costs extra.

"Thank you, System Daddy. System Daddy is the best. Come here and give me a kiss—mua!"