The Essence of Humanity

Gotham City has been a bit on edge recently.

Everyone knows that Gotham's mob boss, Carmine Falcone, is in a foul mood. First, Catwoman and Batman broke into his nephew's wedding, and he lost some things. Then, the Falcone Import Company he founded was suddenly refused cooperation by all banks in Gotham City. And on Halloween night, his nephew was assassinated, and twenty million dollars were burned.

A ridiculously ugly pumpkin was left behind as a mockery.

You see, that's how Gotham City's focus works. Amidst a series of major incidents, they always remember the strangest, craziest, and most unconventional observation point.

Falcone, however, cared more about his and the Falcone family's reputation. So, he offered a hefty reward. But unfortunately, after much investigation, the only clue was that "a mysterious person wearing an ugly pumpkin mask had appeared in the Diamond District."

They couldn't follow up on it because the pumpkin man only appeared for ten minutes before disappearing. The only reason people remembered him was because of the distinctive pumpkin head.

But Falcone was not satisfied with this result. He offered a large reward for the guy's head, but after a full week, there was still nothing. His authority was being undermined daily, and his sister Carla, also a leader in the Falcone family, would yell at him furiously every day.

"My Johnny, my son is dead! Carmine, if you can't find a way to catch that damn pumpkin man! I'll solve this problem my own way!"

"Carla, we are the Falcone family, not street thugs. We don't kill innocent people, nor do we vent our anger through indiscriminate revenge."

"Killing innocents? Don't you think that prosecutor Harvey Dent deserved to die? How much trouble has he already caused the family?"

"You're not doing this for the family, Carla. We all know you suspect him because he appeared in the parking lot at Johnny's party. But given his methods, he'd only be focused on bringing gangsters to justice, not picking up a gun, wearing a pumpkin mask, and breaking into someone's house to kill."

"Oh, really? Is it just a coincidence? That Harvey Dent and Gordon were on a mission on Halloween night? That a police captain just happens to be his alibi? That the ledger you lost is in his hands? Ask all the family members outside the factory at the time; every one of them could see him personally flipping through your ledger in the warehouse."

"Enough!"

Falcone silenced his sister's hysterics and nonsensical accusations. His usual authority as the Godfather was evident at this moment, his powerful aura forcing Carla to stop speaking.

"Whether Harvey Dent killed Johnny, we can't be sure. But he does have our ledger. If there isn't a high-level mole within the family, then only he could know the whereabouts of those twenty million dollars."

"And that Gordon! And that Batman!"

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

The plump woman in black, adorned with gold and silver, was furious but still obeyed the Godfather's words. She sat aside, sulking.

"Whether or not Johnny's death was his doing, whoever took our property will pay the price. I will handle this matter."

Nearly a week had passed, and Ma Zhaodi felt a slight sense of relief.

At least the Roman hadn't suspected him because of an ugly pumpkin. That was a good thing. But then again, no matter what, people were unlikely to connect a down-on-his-luck newcomer working in a local mob-run restaurant with a cold, elusive serial killer.

He had neither the motive nor the ability to do it. Moreover, no one could be sure if this killer wasn't hired by Falcone himself.

After all, his own nephew, Johnny, had planned to tell the jury everything he knew about the Roman before the wedding, including blackmail, bribery, and murder. At that time, everyone thought Falcone would be desperate to silence his own nephew permanently.

But later, the Roman personally paid for Johnny Vitti's lavish wedding. And on that day, Johnny Vitti did not appear in court to testify as promised. The two seemed to be getting along famously, like a loving family.

Contradiction? What contradiction?

But then again, could someone who had threatened the Godfather truly survive his wrath? Who could guess the Roman's thoughts?

However, just in case, he advised Drake to move out of Gotham City with Mrs. Camilla, and even lent him thirty thousand dollars.

He was genuinely afraid that Drake's enemies might come looking for revenge one day. That guy had an incredible ability to attract trouble. It was one thing to face an enemy with a gun, but Ma Zhaodi, living in the house, didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

He didn't urgently need money anyway. He didn't have any of the common large loans Americans took out: car loans, mortgages, student loans, or credit card debt.

He didn't attend a local university, so he didn't have decades of student loan debt to repay. He didn't buy expensive items, so he never had credit card debt. He rented an apartment in the East End, which he found quite satisfactory for now. He would extend the lease after Drake left. And he already had a car, a Soul Ring-equipped one, which was quite cheap.

All things considered, besides the fifty thousand dollars, Ma Zhaodi had even saved some money. At least, he wasn't paying this month's rent himself.

Drake had spent all his money to treat his wife, leaving his family penniless. Ma Zhaodi, on the principle of earning whatever he could, lent him thirty thousand dollars at a high interest rate. If he could earn enough money and survive leaving Gotham, he would have to repay him then.

"Damn it, what was the interest rate again?"

Ma Zhaodi stared blankly, recalling the scene. It seemed they hadn't actually agreed on the interest rate.

"Shit! I lost out!"

"Beep, you have a new part-time job available. Please check it."

"Screw you! Two of the last three jobs almost got me killed afterward, and the third one almost killed me on the spot. If I take another part-time job from your system, I'm a dog!"

"Mission reward: Advanced Culinary Mastery."

"What the hell, you're stuck on culinary skills again."

Ma Zhaodi said this, but his body was honest as he clicked on the mall to check the price of Advanced Culinary Mastery.

"Advanced Culinary Mastery

Price: $20,000

Note: Don't get any ideas. The skill that makes food glow costs extra."

"Thank you, System Dad, System Dad is so good, mwah!"