Mexican Restaurant

Mexican Restaurant.

It was right below the apartment building where Miao Mu and the others lived. The restaurant was huge, a family business owned by the Carmen family.

The current owner, Pemola Carmen, was over fifty. He and his wife had six sons and three daughters, and the whole family ran the place together.

The moment one entered, they could see an enormous bar counter. Behind it were the kitchen, fried chicken station, bar, bakery, cold drinks stand, and sushi station.

All kinds of food were laid out like a buffet. There were over thirty small round tables in the restaurant, each seating four people.

At night, it also served as a bar for drunks looking to drown their sorrows. But there were far fewer customers today.

The main reason was that a group of uniformed officers were eating here. Their presence worked faster than disinfectant powder.

The restaurant owner, Pemola, was already past fifty, his hair gray-white. Wearing an apron, he was frying steaks beside the stove.

His sons and daughters-in-law were preparing other food. More than a dozen officers had come in, all with different tastes, so the entire family was busy.

Over by the bar, Jerry held a huge mug of beer and vividly described what had happened that day to the owner's twin daughters.

That bizarre and terrifying case made the two women tremble, nearly crying out in fear.

Since there were not many customers in the restaurant, the officers sat wherever they pleased. Miao Mu and Nygma shared a table.

Captain Bullock sat alone at another table, holding a glass of whiskey. A cigarette butt already lay in the ashtray on his table.

"All right, the steaks are here."

Pemola Carmen carried out two steaks from behind the bar, set the plates on the table, then stood beside them with a smile, waiting for their verdict.

Earlier, Miao Mu had Jerry warn him that if the steaks were not good, he would smash up his restaurant.

Nygma cut into the steak with his knife and fork, took a bite, and nodded. "The taste is decent. If the heat had been steadier, it would have tasted better. The meat itself is slightly lacking. Sixty-three points."

"Huh?"

Pemola looked confused, not knowing what that meant.

Miao Mu waved a hand. "Bring me a good bottle of wine. I remember you have a Wayne Estate fiftieth anniversary red wine here. I'll buy it."

"Ah!"

The confusion on Pemola's face instantly turned to shock. That was the treasure of his establishment, a special red wine issued by the Wayne Family's wine estate for its fiftieth anniversary.

Its starting price had been ten thousand dollars. Now, it was even more...

Miao Mu gave him a look. Pemola seemed troubled, while Nygma was even more surprised. This treatment was a little excessive.

"Um, ordinary red wine will do."

But Miao Mu stared at Pemola and said in a low voice, "I'll pay you triple the price. On top of that, you'll have a favor from me."

"...Fine!" Pemola gritted his teeth and agreed.

The main thing was that Miao Mu had promised him a favor. Money aside, he had invited all these officers here. If Pemola did not give him face, his restaurant would truly be finished.

Pemola hurried behind the bar, and Nygma said somewhat awkwardly, "You really don't have to..."

Miao Mu raised a hand to interrupt him. "Edward, I'll call you that. If I'm treating you to a meal, I won't skimp on anything. Otherwise, that would be disrespectful. I like people with outstanding talent, but you're different. You're a genius!"

"This..." Nygma smiled. Everyone liked hearing praise, especially someone as proud as he was, yet so rarely recognized.

"If you consider me a friend, don't refuse. You're extraordinary, aren't you?" Miao Mu smiled.

Nygma smiled as well. Miao Mu suddenly looked much more agreeable to him. Yes, he was extraordinary.

At last, someone had seen it and acknowledged him.

"This is the Wayne Estate fiftieth anniversary."

Pemola approached carrying a bottle wrapped in thick yellow paper, along with a decanter and red wine glasses.

The officers around them curiously craned their necks to look, wanting to see what Wayne Estate's fiftieth anniversary wine was like.

Feeling their gazes, Nygma proudly puffed out his chest and adjusted his posture to sit more elegantly.

Perhaps this was the first time in his life that he had received such attention and importance.

Pemola opened the bottle with a corkscrew. The rich red wine, dark as blood and carrying a faint fragrance, was poured into the decanter.

Miao Mu looked at the wine, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He was not drinking wine—he was drinking money! Real money!

But... it was worth it!

If he was going to do something, he would do what others could not. Damn it, Miao Mu did not believe anyone else could be as willing to spend as he was!

Money was only a worldly possession. Spend it, then earn it back. Earn more!

Miao Mu comforted himself inwardly.

Holding his wineglass, Nygma looked at the red liquid within, like a cup of thick blood, and said with some emotion:

"The less one possesses, the more precious it becomes—"

Nygma raised his glass toward Miao Mu. Their glasses clinked. "—to friends!"

"To friends!" Miao Mu said with a smile.

He had originally intended to drain the glass in one gulp, but when he remembered it was worth a year's salary, his movement immediately became elegant.

Captain Bullock, who had watched from beginning to end, swirled his glass and fixed his gaze on Miao Mu.

He remembered something. During the Red Hood Heist, an Arkham District police car had pursued them. Bullock had happened to be on leave at the time and had only just returned.

He had seen that police car. It had more than thirty bullet holes, and one of its doors was missing. That was enough to show how intense things had been. It was absolutely not something those spineless useless fools could have done.

As for Flass from the Special Action Team...

Bullock curled his lip in disdain. Still, he regarded Miao Mu a little more highly now, and his expectations rose slightly as well.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food.

That glass of wine had brought Nygma and Miao Mu closer together, turning them into friends who could talk about anything.

"Edward, what kind of person do you think this Dollmaker we're investigating really is?"

Miao Mu chewed steak and asked with a fork in hand. He genuinely did not know much about this. After all, Pig-Faced Professor was the most famous for stitching human bodies together. So what was this Dollmaker supposed to be?

He only vaguely knew that such a villain existed, but he could not say anything specific.

"A doctor! A surgeon, and a skilled one at that!" Nygma slowly swirled his wineglass. His glasses had already been removed, and there was a trace of drunkenness on his face, but his voice remained clear.

"Tell me. Your deduction is definitely right on the mark!" Miao Mu gave him a thumbs-up, making Nygma laugh.

"Do you remember that corpse? The stitched scars on it were sewn with metal wire, but they were definitely done by a doctor. They were too neat. You couldn't achieve that without years of practice."

As Nygma spoke, he traced patterns on the table with his finger. "Those useless fools at the police station! They only noticed the deformation of the bodies, but they failed to see that every one of them was improving, each more complete than the last. Like... like..."

Miao Mu picked up the thread. "Like he was leveling up. That Dollmaker was practicing, practicing to make something better!"

Nygma clapped and laughed. "You're a hundred times better than those useless fools at the station. You're just... just a little worse than me!"

"No, no. You're a genius I can never catch up to."

"Hahaha." Nygma laughed.

But the expressions of the surrounding officers grew worse and worse. Useless fools this, useless fools that—it was really damn irritating.

"That guy wants to make something, something incredible, and he's almost finished. That corpse was drowned alive. Its spine was broken, and it fell into the water and drowned."

"And!" Nygma's expression suddenly turned serious. "That corpse's spine was smashed apart by someone with brute force!"