save

Generally speaking, Ma Zhaodi believed that no one was born evil. Perhaps that principle did encounter some exceptions in this world, but Victor Fries was not one of them.

He had originally been a genius cryogenics scientist and could be called soulmates with his wife. But as Drake had said earlier, his wife had also contracted a terminal illness, for which there was likewise no effective treatment anywhere in the world.

He was an unyielding genius, as well as a husband who deeply loved his wife. Rather than being driven to despair by the situation, he began studying his wife's illness, hoping to find a way to cure her.

But his wife was already terminally ill, with little time left. Thus, he used his talents and knowledge to build a high-tech cryogenic device for her. This freezing technology could suspend her vital functions, buying him time for his research.

Yet, just like Gotham City's dark tone, no matter how beautiful a story was, it would slide toward a terrible ending here. One day, the company funding Victor's research wanted to terminate the experiment for profit-related reasons, and a violent conflict erupted between them and Victor.

The conflict caused the gas in the room's cryogenic equipment to leak, resulting in a major accident. Victor survived the accident as if by a miracle, but it also altered his cellular structure. His entire body became cold-blooded, and his temperature had to be kept below zero at all times for him to survive. The moment he came into contact with normal room temperature, he would die.

He specially built himself a suit of Cryo-Armor, along with various freezing weapons, and began killing everyone connected to the accident in revenge. From then on, Gotham City gained another tragic supervillain and lost a well-educated genius cryogenics scientist.

He continued keeping his wife frozen while researching a way to cure her, obtaining the funds needed to maintain her treatment through robberies and other means. He had continued living in Gotham until now. Even so, he was still considered one of the less dangerous villains in Gotham City.

******

Back to the scene.

Ma Zhaodi sighed. "Do you have some grudge against the doctor who gave you that suggestion?"

".No. Why do you ask?"

Ma Zhaodi was certain that Drake had genuinely given serious thought just now to his relationship with that doctor.

"Then do you know what Victor Fries's current situation is?"

"I heard that after a laboratory accident, he and his wife disappeared together."

Fortunately, he had not come into contact with Mr. Freeze yet. Otherwise, Ma Zhaodi really would have started preparing to run.

"Then what are you planning to do?"

"I don't know. It took me so long to finally settle down here with my wife, but now I've lost all hope again."

Drake covered his head and muttered, practically on the verge of collapse, "I don't know. I don't know. I just wanted to rob some money today so I could pay next month's medical bills."

He sat dejectedly on the rooftop, then suddenly began cursing aloud through streaming tears and snot. "And then I fucking ran into you! I fucking believed you could help me and even brought you home! I'm a fucking idiot. I can't save her. I'm a useless fucking idiot. Sob, sob."

Ma Zhaodi did not stop him. He had been suppressing his emotions for far too long under despair and immense pressure. Venting them through crying would help restore his mental state.

He dragged over another metal chair and casually brushed away the water on it. Then he sat down just like Drake had. The bone-chilling cold seeped through his skin and reached deep into his body, bringing a faint stinging sensation.

Looking at the blurry city lights in the distance, Ma Zhaodi let out a quiet sigh in the darkness.

The hemp rope always snapped at its weakest point; misfortune always sought out the most unfortunate.

******

"Click."

The sound of a key turning the lock rang out. The rust-covered iron door was pushed open, producing a dry, creaking scrape.

"Drake?"

Slow footsteps sounded. The person walking seemed to have little strength and moved slowly.

"Camilla, I'm back."

Ma Zhaodi entered the house with Drake and saw a skinny, bald woman walking out of one of the rooms. She seemed extremely weak and needed to hold onto the walls as she walked. Her spirits also appeared listless. When she saw Ma Zhaodi, she looked rather surprised. Only after Drake finished introducing him did she give Ma Zhaodi a kind smile.

Her smile was gentle. Even though her body had grown so thin she was nearly skin and bones, and her face was so pale that it held little color, one could still faintly see from her expression that she had once been a sunny young woman.

Judging by her appearance, Ma Zhaodi estimated that she had no more than three months left, perhaps even less. Of course, he had never studied medicine, but anyone who saw her could tell that she did not have long to live.

The room was not as filthy and disorderly as Ma Zhaodi had expected. Drake had kept it very clean. Although the furniture and decorations left behind by the previous tenant were all old, they were still usable. The Drake couple seemed accustomed to living in the place and showed no dislike for the rental house, either verbally or through their body language.

As Ma Zhaodi looked around, he saw Mrs. Camilla slowly draw a handgun from behind her and then place it back in a drawer in her room.

Obviously, if the person who had opened the door just now had not been Drake, they would most likely have had a gun barrel pressed against their head first.

Ma Zhaodi felt relieved a few seconds after seeing the gun. After all, this was Gotham City, and this was a rental house in the slums. Not carrying a gun when going out was the truly abnormal thing.

Come to think of it, was the gun in Drake's possession real?

The thought suddenly surfaced in Ma Zhaodi's mind. Then he saw Drake walk into his bedroom, draw the handgun he had used during the robbery, combine it with the pistol magazine in his pocket, and put them both into the drawer.

Not bad. The gun was real, but at least when he had a gun pointed at his head, there had not been a magazine inside it.

No. On second thought, it was still infuriating.

Ma Zhaodi looked at his shop. The Newbie Save Point he had purchased was still unused. If he took a bullet in this state, his otherworldly Starting from Scratch System legend would come to a complete end.

After considering it a little more, he immediately used the Save Point on the cottage.

Successfully used Save Point. This Save Point has twenty reloads, with no time limit. When you are about to enter a near-death state, you may choose to load this Save Point or give up loading this Save Point.

Please note: A maximum of five Save Points may exist simultaneously. They may be canceled at any time.

Please note: You may use funds to move the Save Point's space-time coordinates or reclaim it.