Taking Hold of His Weakness

"Godfather, did you lose your job?"

Kara asked as she ate a steamed bun and watched the news on TV.

The news was still reporting on the Iceberg Lounge. Kara knew he worked there.

"No, I'm just taking a few days off."

Li Ang replied, eating a fried dough stick.

"Godfather, I heard the Iceberg Lounge is the Penguin's lair, and the Penguin..."

The Penguin was famous enough that even Kara had heard of him.

She'd learned about him earlier through Super Hearing.

So she was a little worried about her godfather.

Li Ang sat beside Kara. "There are gangs all over Gotham. Even Chinatown, where we often go, is under someone's control."

Kara fell silent for a moment.

Then, looking a little confused, she asked, "Doesn't Gotham have Batman? Why is it still like this?"

"Because he's a beneficiary of the status quo, too."

Li Ang gave a derisive laugh.

Unfortunately, Kara didn't understand that yet.

But she didn't think too much about it. As long as Li Ang was safe, that was all that mattered.

On Earth, there were only two people she cared about.

One was Li Ang, and the other was her cousin.

She had come to Earth in pursuit of her cousin Kal-El's spaceship.

She'd made it here safely, but she didn't know how her cousin was doing.

During the few days off, Li Ang stayed in for the first two.

Then, on Friday, Kara went to school, and he went out in the afternoon to meet up with the French girl.

She had also come to work in Gotham, and she was employed at a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises.

She had slightly wavy hair, big, bright eyes, and sweet features.

"Hello!"

When she saw Li Ang, she greeted him in Chinese.

But after coming to America, she'd gotten a little rusty.

"Lianlian, was it hard to get into Wayne Enterprises?"

Li Ang glanced behind her. The Wayne Pharmaceuticals sign stood out.

"Mm, I wanted to join the parent company, but I didn't expect them to assign me to a subsidiary."

Lianlian replied. Still, her expression showed how proud she was.

Wayne Enterprises had a presence in every industry in Gotham. Working there made someone one of Gotham's elite.

"What about you? What do you do in Gotham?"

Li Ang had been through this many times before, so he answered with a smile, "I'm a manager now."

"Oh? Where?"

Seeing her press him for details, Li Ang could only answer, "The Iceberg Lounge."

"..."

Lianlian thought of the recent news.

She was silent for a moment before saying, "Maybe... I could stop by sometime."

"You're welcome."

Li Ang soon noticed that Lianlian had suddenly grown a little distant.

So instead of suggesting dinner, he invited her for coffee.

Lianlian started talking about topics Li Ang didn't understand.

It seemed she was trying to show that they had nothing in common.

In that case, Li Ang checked the time and said, "It's getting late."

"I'm a little tired. I'd like to go back and rest."

Lianlian seemed worried that Li Ang would try to keep spending time together. After all, it was already dinnertime, so she beat him to the punch.

Li Ang smiled. "Me too. My daughter's out of school now."

"Uh..."

Lianlian's expression changed again.

She hadn't expected Li Ang to already have a daughter, and she grew even more distant.

But Li Ang didn't care what she thought. He simply said goodbye and left.

For this pointless business, he'd even come all the way to Gotham's Financial District, which lay in the far south of Gotham, near Blackgate Island.

Thinking that Kara hadn't eaten, he called home and told her he'd bring back some food.

After that, he didn't walk. He took a car instead.

Getting back to the apartment in the Diamond District meant crossing two districts, the Civic District and Gotham's Old Town. Taking a car was obviously faster.

About half an hour later, Li Ang returned to the apartment in the Diamond District with dinner in hand.

But something seemed strange.

Why was it so quiet?

"Kara!"

Li Ang opened the door and called into the apartment.

But the person inside took him by surprise.

The woman sitting on the sofa wasn't Kara. It was someone else.

He'd only seen her a few days ago.

Sophia Falcone.

Though he knew Kara was unlikely to be in any danger, Li Ang was still furious. "You have no business being here. Where's Kara?"

What he hated most was this kind of thing.

People coming to disrupt their peaceful lives.

Seeing how worried Li Ang was, Sophia smiled.

Everyone had someone they cared about. She loved using that to control people.

Still, Li Ang's fury gave even her a start.

"Don't worry. I just had a chat with her."

Sophia said with a smile, clapping her hands. "Come out, darling."

Kara's bedroom door opened, and she came out with her hands behind her back, looking obedient. Her big eyes were fixed on Li Ang.

"Godfather."

Seeing that Kara was unharmed, Li Ang finally relaxed. He looked at Sophia. "I have nothing to do with you. What do you want?"

Sophia stood up from the sofa. It was terribly uncomfortable to sit there.

"I saw what happened that day..."

She began, speaking with interest.

As she'd been leaving that day, she'd glanced back and hadn't expected Li Ang to actually stop Batman.

That was what had made her so interested in Li Ang.

Otherwise, he was just a bartender. Sophia wouldn't have given him a second thought.

Li Ang stared at her, his gaze hard.

Sophia felt a sudden chill, as if she were being watched by a beast rather than a person.

So she didn't finish what she'd been saying. Instead, she said, "Relax. I didn't bring anyone else, so you can rest easy."

Hearing that, Kara immediately glanced at the next room and gave Li Ang a look.

In her eyes, the walls couldn't block her vision. She could see a whole group of people at a glance.

So she looked at her godfather, eager to get going, as if to say: Let me handle this. I can beat them all!

Li Ang gave her a slight shake of his head.

Kara looked disappointed, but obediently stayed where she was.

"What do you want?"

"It's simple. Work for me."

Sophia smiled, her beauty alluring. "The Penguin doesn't know how to pick people. Whatever he can offer you, I'll give you ten times as much."

"If you don't want to do that kind of work, you can just protect me. I'll provide you with a nice house instead of making you squeeze into this rundown apartment building."

"And Kara—I like her a lot. I'm sure you like me too, don't you, darling?"

Kara looked at her and immediately pursed her lips.

Sophia didn't mind. Her big eyes turned to Li Ang. "I'll arrange for Kara to attend Lois Memorial School. When she's older, I'll support her no matter what university she goes to or whether she wants to study abroad."

Her offer had struck right at a father's weak spot.

Hearing all this, Li Ang was tempted. This was exactly what he wanted to give Kara.

A good home and a better education.