I Like Dutiful Kids

When Li Ang first arrived in Gotham, he actually went to Chinatown.

In America, almost every sizable city had a Chinatown, and Gotham was no exception.

Since Li Ang no longer dared use his real identity, his employer considered him an undocumented immigrant and assigned him to wash dishes for an incredibly low wage.

To make it in Gotham, Li Ang accepted.

As it turned out, three months of washing dishes in America wasn't enough to buy a mansion.

That was until his employer found out he was looking after Kara, a girl in her teens...

He nearly had the Gotham Police Department lock him up.

The restaurant owner, who was also Chinese, called the police without hesitation, claiming Li Ang was a "pedophile."

His reasoning was that Kara was a blue-eyed blonde, and Li Ang couldn't possibly be related to her.

In the twisted country that was America, the less of something they had, the more they insisted they did.

They made such a point of protecting children because children were being extensively abused. Whenever something like that happened, it was treated with the utmost seriousness.

After that, Li Ang never trusted anyone just because they were supposedly one of his own.

After leaving Chinatown, Li Ang brought Kara to the Diamond District. Instead, he managed to get by at the Iceberg Lounge.

After changing into a waiter's uniform, Li Ang was immediately approached by the head bartender.

"Li Ang, Mr. Victor was just here. He asked someone to bring him a drink."

The head bartender put it that way, and Li Ang knew what to do.

"I'll take it."

"Sounds good. I know you make great cocktails."

Li Ang was only an average bartender. What mattered was that he knew a lot of "recipes."

That alone was enough to earn him special treatment at the Iceberg Lounge.

After searching the liquor cabinet for a while, he found a bottle of Bordeaux from France and made a special cocktail with it.

Then he mixed a few other drinks before quickly picking up the tray and heading down the Iceberg Lounge's corridor.

The bar and casino out front were just a cover for the place inside.

Li Ang carried the tray to the end of the corridor, where two men in suits stood outside a door.

Penguin considered himself a "gentleman," so his underlings were gentleman criminals too.

"I'm bringing drinks to Mr. Cobblepot."

Li Ang told the two men.

They both knew him and immediately opened the door.

As soon as it opened, the conversation inside stopped.

A long table stood in the room, with several people seated around it.

Li Ang glanced over and immediately spotted a board covered with pictures and information, but he only took a quick look.

It had nothing to do with him.

He hurried to the head of the table first.

The man seated there looked middle-aged. He was short and incredibly fat, with a nose as long as Pinocchio's.

Even so, he wore a well-tailored black tuxedo and smoked a cigar at ease. A sleek black umbrella rested beside him.

This was Penguin, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot.

"Mr. Cobblepot, I made you a fresh drink."

Li Ang set down his drink first, using a better wineglass to make it stand out.

Penguin picked it up and smelled it. A satisfied expression crossed his face. "My favorite, Bordeaux. Li Ang, you're Chinese, aren't you?"

"Yes, Mr. Cobblepot."

Li Ang nodded. Even though he was facing one of Gotham's supervillains, he didn't panic.

"I like how thoughtful you Chinese are. You, for instance, never call me Mr. Penguin."

Penguin Cobblepot smiled "kindly."

"Because you hate being called that, and I don't think it's a respectful way to address you."

Li Ang answered him directly.

Anyone brazen enough to call Cobblepot "Penguin" to his face probably didn't know how to spell "dead."

"Exactly. Respect!"

Penguin clapped his hands. "Even you know how to respect me. But some people don't."

He suddenly turned to a young man in a black suit. "Tommy, what did that idiot son of Falcone offer you to make you betray me?"

A bald man in a sharp suit had somehow appeared behind Tommy. Grabbing him by the hair, he slammed his head into the table.

Bang!

The young Tommy's front teeth flew out, and his mouth instantly filled with blood.

The bald man wore a wicked grin. If he had hair, he would surely have been a handsome white man.

He was Penguin Cobblepot's most trusted underling, Victor Zsasz.

He was a maniac who, rumor had it, kept count on his own body after every kill.

"Boss Cobblepot!"

Tommy was terrified. His missing teeth made him lisp as he stammered, "It wasn't me. It wasn't me."

His excuses wore Penguin Cobblepot's patience thin.

Penguin elegantly took a sip of the delicious Bordeaux, then dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin. "Tommy, the people I hate most are those who do something but won't admit it. I hear you've always been a dutiful kid..."

"Please don't do this, Boss Cobblepot. He threatened me with my mother. I didn't want to do it."

Tommy was crying and drooling. "My mother can't lose me. She's already paralyzed on one side. Please forgive me..."

At that, Penguin seemed to grow angry. "You betrayed me over one old woman!"

Tommy only wept. He didn't dare say a word about Penguin's double standard.

"Don't worry. I promise your mother will be safe and sound."

Penguin spoke, and Victor, who still had Tommy by the head, understood at once. He dragged him away.

Poor Tommy kept begging for mercy.

A bang sounded from behind them, and then all was quiet.

Li Ang kept his head bowed. Working at the Iceberg Lounge had shown him how dark Gotham could be.

Still, he rarely saw anything like this.

Everyone said Penguin was cruel, cunning, and selfish, but he treated his underlings well.

Especially those who worked alongside him at the Iceberg Lounge—they'd all benefited quite a bit.

"Do you know what the most detestable thing in the world is?"

"Betrayal."

"It's like a cup of poison, slowly seeping into your bright red heart until it withers."

After finishing his speech, Penguin Cobblepot waved Li Ang over.

Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly set the other drinks down in front of everyone.

Just as he was about to leave, Penguin thought of him again and asked, "Li Ang, I hear you have a daughter?"

Li Ang sighed inwardly, stopped, and replied, "She's my goddaughter, Mr. Cobblepot."

"What happened to her parents?"

"They're in Heaven."

"What a poor child. Is she dutiful?"

Li Ang looked at Penguin Cobblepot. "I think so. She's very dutiful."

Penguin laughed happily.

"See? I like dutiful kids."