Metropolis

Metropolis.

This is a true Metropolis, a place of vibrant flowers, towering Lin Li, bustling streets, and throngs of people flowing like a surging tide.

The lively atmosphere of the crowd warmed up the entire Metropolis.

This is what a real city should be like: bustling, vibrant, and a top-tier international metropolis.

Even begging here is better than in the Suicide Slum. Of course, there are no beggars here, only violins, guitars, or saxophones set up by the roadside with empty instrument cases in front of them, adding a scenic touch to the city like street performers.

This is a city with a rich artistic and technological atmosphere.

The people here are civilized, polite, and good-looking; they are all talented.

Speaks with confidence and a pleasant tone.

I absolutely love this place.

Standing by the window, looking down at the crowds in the Metropolis, Ba Di suddenly thought to himself with amusement, finding it somewhat amusing.

This place is different from Gotham City, which is dark and gloomy, Metropolis Gotham bright and glorious—almost two extremes.

It seems that the whole world is struggling between justice and evil, light and darkness, order and chaos.

Ba Di squinted slightly, gazing at the blue sky in the distance.

Behind him, Lex Luthor was discussing the purchase of Nuo Yi Biological Research Company with a plump man with a ruddy complexion, who looked both wealthy and somewhat bloated from lust.

Yesterday, Ba Di had already brought Lex Luthor to the Central City of Metropolis. This place was quite a distance from the Suicide Slum, far removed from that filthy and chaotic place. Everywhere here was clean, exuding an atmosphere of civilization, order, and art. The vibrant and energetic atmosphere made Lex Luthor very excited.

A thirteen-year-old boy suddenly saw a new world, escaping that Hell, which made him feel deeply excited, thrilled and fascinated.

They stayed at a five-star hotel called "Galaxy," towering high and the most magnificent building in the vicinity. From their vantage point, the two looked down upon the entire city. Lex Luthor trembled with excitement as he gazed at the mesmerizing rainbow of the night sky, the endless stream of car headlights, and the converging river of starlight. Ambition gleamed in his eyes; this was the place where people should live.

Ba Di watched the whole thing from the sidelines, watching Lex Luthor's excited face, suppressing his own trembling body, his eyes shining with boundless pride.

It's the glimmer of ambition, and that's good.

A smile curved at the corners of Ba Di's mouth.

Lex Luthor stared intently at Nuo Yi fat man across from him, the steak dinner in front of him holding no appeal whatsoever; in fact, he had never eaten such an expensive meal before.

This was a task assigned to him by Ba Di: to conduct a business negotiation. Ba Di had given him some available information since last night and asked him to make a decision.

He dared not delay and spent the whole night studying the materials. Although he was exhausted, the adrenaline still kept him excited and clear-headed.

He cannot fail, he cannot go back to the Suicide Slum, and he will not allow himself to fail.

This business negotiation will affect his future in Ba Di's eyes, and he will do his best to obtain the best future.

Nuo Yi's oily face showed considerable dissatisfaction. He cut a piece of steak and put it in his mouth, chewing silently. He looked impatiently at Lex Luthor in front of him. This kid was crazy; his stare was giving him the creeps. He turned to Ba Di, who was standing by the window, and said, "Mr. Ba Di, it seems you have no sincerity in acquiring Nuo Yi Biotech. How can a little kid negotiate?"

Ba Di remained standing by the window, the sunlight casting a long shadow over him. He closed his eyes, tilted his head back to enjoy the view, and said, "The child before you represents my will. Whether he buys him for a price higher than I'm willing to pay or lower than I'm willing to pay, it's fine."

Nuo Yi's eyes immediately lit up with greed; he was very pleased with what Ba Di had said.

"A little brat? He's easy to handle." He lightly dabbed his lips with a white napkin, forced a smile, and looked at Lex Luthor with a greedy gaze. Lex Luthor was still staring at him.

"If that's the case, then let's stick to the original agreement... twelve million... cough cough... fifteen million US dollars! This price is already very cheap, after all, Nuo Yi Biotechnology Company is a leading biotechnology company."

Nuo Yi forced a smile and said in a friendly manner.

"It was a top-notch biotechnology company, but that was fifteen years ago. Now it's on the verge of bankruptcy, a company that can't even pay salaries," Lex Luthor said.

Nuo Yi's kind smile froze. This kid was so naughty, saying such obvious truths.

"How could that be? Although the company's profits are a little less than before, they are still not crippling," Nuo Yi said, his face already somewhat unnatural. In fact, it was more than just a little less; the company had already lost money to the point of negative equity.

"Eight million US dollars!" Lex Luthor's gaze remained unwavering as he gave a price. He had secretly visited Nuo Yi Biotech during the day and collected Nuo Yi's personal information. Fortunately, Nuo Yi was a flamboyant guy, which allowed him to gather a lot of key information from newspapers and magazines, deducing that the guy was on the verge of despair.

It's abnormal for someone who loves reading news and magazines, someone who's flamboyant, not to wear any jewelry or a watch.

It's estimated that he's already sold some things, meaning he's in a difficult situation now.

Lex Luthor pondered why Ba Di needed the company, but couldn't quite figure it out. However, that didn't stop him from doing everything he could to drive down the price and secure his future.

"How can a child negotiate like this?" Nuo Yi was getting impatient; the price had been halved, which was simply unacceptable.

"Your company still owes banks and employee salaries, totaling seven million dollars. Taking over this company means paying for your debts from the outset." Lex Luthor's gaze was already aggressive as he continued, "As long as Mr. Nuo Yi fills the hole in the company, we don't mind acquiring Nuo Yi Biotechnology for fifteen million."

Nuo Yi's lips trembled as he tried to smile; he had no money left.

"The equipment there is valuable..."

Before Nuo Yi could finish speaking, Lex Luthor interrupted him.

"You've already sold the most valuable genome sequencers, biosafety cabinets, and transgenic electrophoresis equipment to pay off your debts," Lex Luthor said.

Nuo Yi stared wide-eyed in surprise. "How did you know!"

"It was just speculation before, but now it's confirmed," Lex Luthor said.

Nuo Yi's face was extremely grim. He was an incompetent good-for-nothing who had squandered his father's fortune over the past decade. Recently, he had also gotten into gambling and was forced to sell the company to pay off his gambling debts.

Lex Luthor's every word struck a chord with him, and after a standoff, under Lex Luthor's domineering influence, Nuo Yi was led by the nose. With Lex Luthor's "good intentions," "reluctance," and "persuasion," the deal was struck for $9.5 million.

Nuo Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief; his debts were finally settled.

After the conversation, Nuo Yi had a very good impression of Lex Luthor and said he wanted to be friends with Lex Luthor.

Ba Di looked out the window, smiled faintly, and took a sip of vodka.

Lex Luthor is indeed a smart guy, not bad at all.

The Organization One Hundred's headquarters was a luxurious nightclub. In this era, gangs often used nightclubs as their headquarters. However, nightclubs were also high-end venues, catering to the wealthy and nobles who frequented them, providing them with unexpected pleasures.

Doug Hui Er, the head of the Hui Er Family, received an invitation today from 'Ba Miu Luo Di' of the Suicide Slum, inviting him to dinner at the Galaxy Grand Hotel tomorrow evening at seven o'clock to discuss the allocation of this Metropolis.

His son was standing beside him; he was a Black man, enormous in stature, with arms and legs the size of two or three people, as big and heavy as a mountain. His face was rugged, but his skin was white, so pale it was terrifying, like a huge corpse, a dead fish.

It's not about cuckoldry; rather, Tobias Whale is a black man with albinism, born different from ordinary people, and even possessing greater strength than ordinary people.

To ordinary people, he would be a superhuman with immense power.

"Father, shall we go? I've heard that the leader of the Ba Miu Luo Di possesses an invulnerable body and immense strength, capable of leaping over forty meters and kicking a helicopter to pieces with a single kick," Tobias Whale said, his eyes flashing with a terrifying glint.

"It's just creating a god," Doug Hui Er said dismissively. "But he destroyed our territory in the Suicide Slum, so he can't be let off the hook. He has no right to steal food from the Metropolis."

"Aren't you going, Father?" Tobias Whale's face darkened.

"Ignore it." Doug Hui Er threw the invitation directly into the trash can.

Tobias Whale's breath hitched, and his pale hand suddenly reached up to his father's neck. In his father's horrified eyes, he forcefully snapped Doug Hui Er's neck.

"Father, you're out of touch. You don't know what power represents. It's a pity, I've seen it." Tobias Whale's eyes burned as he picked the invitation out of the trash can.

Inside a villa.

Mosesman Heim, the leader of the International Gang, squinted at the invitation that Ba Di had sent over. He had sent assassins to kill Ba Di several times, but all of them had gone unanswered.

This Ba Miu Luo Di is strange; I've heard he possesses immense strength, so much so that bullets can't penetrate his body.

Ultimately... he decided to send his son to the banquet.

'Family' meeting.

A long, rectangular, dark red table was occupied by wealthy nobles, upper-class individuals, and tycoons. Anyone with less than a hundred million US dollars in assets was simply not qualified to enter.

If a reporter were to enter this place, they would be surprised to find that everyone here has been featured in Metropolis magazine, representing an elite, or even a leader, in their industry.

There's a lot of discussion here.

"Has the Suicide Slum not yet returned to order?"

"My antiques still need to be shipped over."

"Smuggled goods need a contact point."

"We need to clean that area."

"There can be no order in Suicide Slum."

"Put pressure on the police and the government to send in the military to deal with these criminals."

"The assassin organization has refunded the money. They lost five elite assassins and were not capable of killing the leader of Ba Miu Luo Di."

"What a useless person. He dares to call himself an assassin?"

The man sitting at the head of the table, a Black man named Yada Edge, was the head of the banking group and also the person in charge here. He tapped the table lightly, and the room fell silent instantly.

"We're not a gang, that's just our place of fun, don't worry about it."

"Since our attention is so focused on that area, we should avoid taking any overly conspicuous actions, lest we suffer losses there."

"These worms are not worth our time."

"I will ask the League of Assassins to kill that gang leader, just to give the worms a warning and let the place slowly return to chaos."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They decided to be patient, since they were all upper-class people and it wasn't worth arguing with lowly insects.