Wayne Ring

"He's awake!"

"Ah, you're awake. Can you hear me? Hey!"

[Ding! Treasure Encounter—discoverable item found!]

Miao Mu slowly opened his eyes and saw several lamps shining down on him. The glaring light made him uncomfortable, and he couldn't help raising a hand to shield his eyes.

His mind rapidly replayed what had happened today. Dollmaker... Court of Owls... Batman...

Miao Mu suddenly sat up and hurriedly asked, "Where are Jerry and the others? Where are they? And Batman?"

As he spoke, Miao Mu turned to look around. He was still beside the sewer wall, surrounded by a group of police officers. Seeing the familiar uniforms and metal badges on their chests, he let out another sigh of relief.

"Jerry? Your partner? We've already sent people to look for him. When we found you, you were lying right here."

Miao Mu looked over at the voice. His eyes had gradually adjusted to the light, allowing him to see the man clearly. He wore a brown trench coat, black-rimmed glasses, and a mustache over his lips.

James Gordon! The current head of the Gotham Police Department's Major Crimes Unit.

"How are you feeling? We'll get you to the hospital as soon as possible."

Gordon said seriously, "Bullock called us over the moment he received the report. You've worked hard."

Miao Mu smiled. The pain in his body had eased considerably, and only then did he remember something. "How long was I unconscious?"

Gordon shook his head. "I don't know. We had only just found you when you woke up. Your injuries..."

Miao Mu realized what he meant and looked down at his left hand, which had been pierced through by a dagger. It was already wrapped in a special bandage and had received emergency treatment. It was much better than before.

"Heh... that guy's pretty handy with his hands..."

Miao Mu waved a hand with a faint smile.

"Who?" Gordon asked in surprise.

"Batman. That big black bat."

"Batman..." Gordon thoughtfully turned to look at the marks drawn on the wall.

"Thank you, Captain Gordon. My companions are still pursuing Dollmaker. Please send support quickly!" Miao Mu hurriedly said.

"Don't worry. We've already deployed search teams and checked every sewer exit in the Triangle Cape District. We'll know their situation soon enough."

Gordon nodded. He was currently the captain of the fire brigade, needed everywhere, but at least he could finally get something done.

"Oh, right. Maroni was in that warehouse too. We arrested him on the spot..."

Gordon paused, then said apologetically, "About the Red Hood Heist before... I'm very sorry!"

As he spoke, Gordon stood and raised his hand in salute to Miao Mu. The surrounding officers also raised their hands in salute.

If he had gotten there earlier that night, he never would have let that shameless Flass steal the credit.

When the Arkham District police car had been pulled from the Gotham Canal, Gordon had only felt heartache at the bullet holes riddling it. They had truly risked their lives to chase those Red Hood robbers.

How long had it been since Gotham had seen police officers like this...

"There's no need. Last time, we also... sigh, never mind. Let's introduce ourselves again. Arkham Police Department, Officer Miao Mu!"

Miao Mu sat on the ground and raised a hand in salute.

"Gotham Police Department, Major Crimes Unit Chief, James Gordon!"

Miao Mu sat on the ground and waited for a while before using the wall to help himself stand. Captain Gordon had taken his men down the path to search for Jerry and the others.

Miao Mu wasn't worried about Jerry. With Otis around, the sewers here couldn't stop them.

But another matter concerned him.

There was something here!

He could feel it. It was around the corner on the other side of the sewage channel.

Miao Mu looked toward the pitch-black corner. Three officers remained around him. They had originally intended to carry him away, but he had refused, saying that he wanted to wait here a little longer.

However, getting over there meant crossing the more-than-five-meter-wide sewage channel in front of him. Crossing it himself was no problem, but there was a good chance someone would fish him back out halfway through.

Besides, he didn't want anyone to know that he had found something here. It would be awkward if they treated it as evidence.

After thinking for a moment, Miao Mu suddenly came up with an idea. His expression shifted into one of terror as he shouted:

"What's that over there?!"

"What?"

The three officers hurriedly looked over, their flashlight beams sweeping across the area.

"There's a shadow! It doesn't look like a rat. Could it be Dollmaker? Let's go take a look!"

After saying that, Miao Mu immediately jumped into the sewage channel and headed over. The three officers blinked, then hurriedly followed him.

What a joke. Even an injured man was this fierce. How could they possibly stay where they were? How would they ever hold their heads up at the station afterward?

"You guys go check it out. Be careful!"

Miao Mu climbed onto the embankment on the other side of the channel, pointed toward the corner, and spoke quietly.

Two officers drew their guns, while the third held up his flashlight and aimed it toward the corner. The three advanced while covering one another, and Miao Mu followed at the rear.

Around the bend were three lower passageways. Water flowed through them with a roar like a waterfall, crashing loudly.

The three officers slowly moved forward. Behind them, Miao Mu reached out to feel along the wall. The feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger. It was inside a crack in the wall around the corner.

Miao Mu scraped at the gap between the bricks with his fingernail. Batman had reset the fingers of his fractured right hand and wrapped them in protective plastic bandages. He almost didn't even need to go to the hospital.

That wasn't a lie. Batman, Bruce Wayne's father, had been an exceptionally skilled doctor. He had even saved the current godfather of Gotham's underworld, the Roman Carmine Falcone.

Miao Mu's finger hooked something inside the gap. It wasn't cement or adhesive, but a crumpled ball of paper stuffed inside. Because it had been there for so long, it had practically fused with the wall.

After prying it out and holding it in his hand, he felt something hard inside. Miao Mu cautiously glanced toward the corner.

The three officers were still searching over there and wouldn't be back anytime soon. Only then did Miao Mu relax and carefully unfold the ball of paper.

Inside was a ring. The moment it landed in his hand, Miao Mu's expression changed several times. This thing was a little too incredible.

[Wayne Ring: Wish-granting item. A relic of Alan Wayne, founder of Gotham City. The holder of this ring may have the Wayne Family fulfill one wish.]

For a moment, Miao Mu didn't know what to say. The Wayne Family would fulfill one wish for him. The Wayne Family...

This ability was too powerful. It could no longer be described as mere money power. It was like a weakened version of the Dragon Balls.

But what interested Miao Mu even more was the title of Gotham City's founder: Alan Wayne.

If he remembered correctly, this man should have been the sixth head of the Wayne Family, Batman Bruce Wayne's... great-grandfather.

Because he had refused to join the Court of Owls, he had been captured and imprisoned by them in his later years. After suffering endless torture in the sewers, he had remained imprisoned until his death.

This had also sparked the Court of Owls' curse against the Wayne Family. In every generation of the Wayne Family, someone would die an unnatural death.

Miao Mu frowned and wiped the ring with the corner of his clothes. Even though it had been discarded here for more than a hundred years, its face remained as smooth and pristine as new. On it was the W from the Wayne Family crest.

In the outskirts of Gotham City, beneath the Wayne Family's mansion that had been passed down for generations, was the Batcave. It did not yet have much of a technological feel.

Instead, it looked ancient and primitive. A black Batmobile resembling an armored vehicle was parked in the only open space. Several large tables stood nearby, holding computers and workbenches.

Batman, Bruce Wayne, had also removed his armor. He was holding an ice pack against an injured area while sitting before a computer and reviewing some information.

"Master, if you truly have the time, you should visit the company. Otherwise, all you'll have left is this mansion."

The loyal butler Alfred approached carrying a tray. On it was a cup of refreshing mint water, along with bandages and medicine that would be needed.

"Hey, good thing I handed everything over to you before I left. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have a place to stay." Bruce Wayne laughed softly.

When he had left Gotham City to travel the world, he had entrusted everything belonging to the Wayne Family to Alfred, including Wayne Enterprises' enormous shares of incalculable value.

Of course, during the years he had been away from Gotham, the president of Wayne Enterprises had clearly treated him as dead. There was nothing he could do about that...

"Looks like someone gave you a very enthusiastic embrace. I hope it was a woman, so the Wayne Family can continue."

Alfred spoke with a teasing tone as he applied medicine to Bruce's injured back, though his voice carried the urging of an elder pressing him to marry.

Bruce pretended not to hear him and continued studying the information on the computer. He casually opened a police surveillance video.

In the video, a police car was pursuing a bus. From the driver's-side window of the police car, someone leaned out and fired at the bus.

The video paused. Bruce Wayne reached out to adjust the image, gradually enlarging and sharpening it. The person leaning out of the window without regard for danger was the police officer he had met today.

"Miao Mu..." Bruce murmured softly.

Alfred looked up at the screen, then lowered his head and said, "There are still serious police officers in Gotham, and Gotham needs officers like that. Perhaps... you could consider retiring."

He didn't want Bruce to become Batman at all, facing bullets and gunfire, scum and criminals every day, only to drag his battered body home in the end.

"Oh..." Bruce shook his head, rolled his shoulder, and raised his hand to inspect the scraped skin on the back of it.

"I need equipment for fighting large creatures. Preferably something that can knock them straight over." Bruce clenched his fist and threw a punch.

"So what excuse will you use this time to get equipment from Lucius? Rock climbing, gliding, or boxing with gorillas?"

Alfred listed Bruce Wayne's excuses one by one.

"That's a good excuse." Bruce nodded solemnly.

"All right. Lucius will understand."

Alfred smiled helplessly and straightened the Batsuit laid out on the workbench for Bruce.

When he picked up the Batsuit and saw a feather-shaped dagger, his expression suddenly changed. He quietly glanced at Bruce, then placed the dagger into a box beside him.

As if nothing had happened.