Gang Expansion (Please Follow, Please Vote!)

"My dear friend, I don't think my creation is any worse than those monsters, so you needn't worry that I'll go around you and cooperate with Victor."

Two-Face was clearly stunned when he saw Black Gold.

"How about... I invest in you too, and you make a hundred of these robots for me?"

Harvey Dent suddenly found Black Gold far more appealing than Titan.

He understood that Shimizu was using Black Gold to demonstrate his strength to him.

"I'm sorry, but Penguin said the same thing to me. In truth, I'm the only one in this world who possesses the ability to control this big guy."

Shimizu looked at the Two-Face Gang thugs outside, whose attention had been drawn to Black Gold and who had raised their guns again.

"I understand. Like Pamela, this is a talent unique to your kind."

Pamela was Poison Ivy's name.

Noticing the commotion outside, Two-Face opened the car door and waved for his men to lower their weapons.

"Victor is currently living in the central warehouse of Burnley District. I bought a cold storage facility there as his research base. Go to the nearby Swo Street, and one of my men will lead you there. As for what you intend to accomplish with Victor, I don't know. But I can tell you this: Victor is different from criminals like us, who seek wealth and power. Other than reviving his wife, there is almost nothing in this world that can move him."

Harvey Dent said this to Shimizu as he stepped out of the car.

"Thanks for the warning. I'll keep it in mind, but can you tell me what illness Victor's wife actually has?"

The treatments in this world could not cure Mr. Freeze's wife's terminal illness, but perhaps Medical Ninjutsu from the Naruto World could be worth trying.

"A rare chronic neurodegenerative disease. I don't know the specifics very well either."

Harvey Dent continued:

"Alright, my forces will withdraw from those territories today. Arrange for your own people to take over. The one million dollars in cash, along with those weapons and vehicles, will be delivered before tomorrow night. I hope we can exchange payment and goods at the same time. Let's set the location at Victor's cold storage facility. How does that sound?"

"Deal."

The Two-Face Gang members quickly got into their cars and left, leaving behind Keman Cole, his hand clutched and his mouth stuffed with a rag.

"Boss, what should we do with this guy?"

Aman escorted Keman over to Shimizu and asked.

"Stuff him in a sack, fill it with cement, and throw him under Gotham Bridge to sink."

Shimizu's gaze was cold. Without even looking at Keman Cole, he merely nodded at Aman before finding the accountant again.

"This afternoon, take some men and take over Rosanya Street, Shock Street, and Aylesbury Community. The Two-Face Gang will send weapons and vehicles over tomorrow. Handle the handover when they arrive."

The accountant was dumbfounded.

"Boss, how did you do it? Not only did you make them hand Keman Cole over to us, they even gave us territory and weapons. Don't tell me you..."

"It was just a deal. Don't look at me with that disgusting expression. A legitimate deal. As for Keman Cole, Two-Face is using our hands to clean house with justification."

Shimizu flicked the accountant on the head, then returned to the abandoned factory and continued modifying Black Gold.

This time, he installed biomimetic muscles on Black Gold, using composite rubber to form multiple inner bladders and outer braided fibers to replace the comparatively primitive cylinders it had originally used.

This could both increase the power and output of the pneumatic device and give the body a certain degree of flexibility, allowing him to control the puppet more efficiently.

However, this material was manufactured by Wayne Enterprises and was scarcely available on the market.

That was because the material was supplied exclusively to the military.

Only Penguin had the connections to buy leftover material from personnel managing military logistics.

But that guy charged a steep price and told Shimizu that without Wayne Enterprises' channels, the stock in his hands was one of a kind.

Processing composite rubber was delicate work.

Even with all kinds of tools assisting him, it still took Shimizu a great deal of time.

It was not until dusk that Shimizu finally stopped working.

The modifications were complete, with some scraps left over.

"They could be used to make some new components for Black Gold, or saved for the next puppet."

Shimizu snapped his fingers and sat in his swivel chair, studying the masterpiece before him with satisfaction.

Puppet Name: Black Gold

Overall Parameters:

Height: 2.04 meters

Weight: 201.2 kilograms

Materials: Industrial alloy, ceramic composite fibers, synthetic rubber, silver, copper...

Energy: None

Control Method: Chakra Thread

Puppet Rating: B (B+)

Overall Evaluation: An armored combat puppet, the product of combining Puppet Technique with modern engineering and materials science. It has excellent performance, formidable close-combat destructive power, and a certain degree of ranged attack capability. When merged with the Puppeteer, its combat strength can be further enhanced.

Although its materials were not as compatible with Puppet Technique as Fatty's, thanks to the abundance of high-tech industrial products in the DC World, Black Gold's overall combat ability might already be no weaker than Fatty's.

What excited Shimizu was not only Black Gold's increased strength, but also the rise in his fortune bar.

Previously, when his main body became a Chunin, the fortune bar had jumped sharply, and it had continued to grow slowly afterward.

By the time he met with Two-Face, the fortune bar had reached 49.7 percent. Now, Hogg United had swallowed two streets and one community in a single move, expanding its territory by more than double.

Perhaps because the accountant, Aman, and the others had already led people to take over the territory, the fortune bar had now surged to 54.6 percent.

"Very good. Next, I'll wait for Two-Face's goods to arrive. With money, guns, and territory, it's time to expand our ranks."

This would be simple enough.

Poor communities, bars, Nightclubs, and similar places were all excellent sources of fresh blood for gangs.

Such places were full of unemployed people, delinquent youths, and immigrants from outside.

However, Shimizu still hoped to recruit more capable members. After all, Hogg United now occupied four streets and one community. Judging by territory alone, it could already be considered a medium-to-large gang in Gotham's slums.

And if he wanted people with real ability, their compensation certainly could not be lower than everyone else's.

So Shimizu was desperately short of money right now.

If the one million dollars Harvey Dent had given him went through Penguin's channels for laundering, that guy would probably skim more than half of it.

Fortunately, Hogg United now had some money-laundering capability of its own.

For that, they had the Sparletta Family's generous legacy to thank.

Businesses such as bars, Nightclubs, and freight companies were all excellent places to launder large amounts of money.