The Final Decision

In the slums of Arkham District, Otis the Ratcatcher, wrapped in a heavy coat, was leaving. Tonight, he had distributed the last of the money stolen from Chief Wei Fei's home to those who needed it.

He had also had the rats bite a drunken bastard who beat his child. Bastian quietly slipped twenty dollars into the child's pocket, hoping he would be all right.

As he stepped out of the crowded, dilapidated slums, Otis took a deep breath. The day had not been entirely bad; some people had left this place with the help the rats had given them.

Otis recalled that guy in work clothes, grinning foolishly as he brought bread to Bastian. Everything about him was fine, except his jokes were so terrible that no one could laugh at them.

Yet he still wanted to chase his dream of becoming a comedian with his pregnant wife. Otis could only shake his head. That guy would return to this despairing slum someday.

Just as he reached the sewage treatment plant, Otis spotted a young man holding a club and a large box, anxiously waiting by the sewer entrance.

Behind him was a bicycle with a flashlight tied to it, its white beam shining against the wall.

Otis reached for his waist, gripped his pistol, and walked over. It was not as if no one had targeted him these past few days.

Several rats carrying money had been beaten to death. Having been through that before, Otis never dared let his guard down.

When the young man saw Otis, he hurriedly asked, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Flanigan?"

Otis cautiously asked back, "You know me?"

"No. Your friend ordered food from our restaurant and asked us to deliver it. I'm Parker Carmen from the Mexican restaurant. These are dishes Mr. Miao Mu sent you. He said they were... celebratory drinks!"

In the Gotham Police Department evidence room, Nygma the Riddler sat at his desk sorting through several clippings, carefully pasting them onto the back of an old poster.

Today was the Gotham Police Department's celebration banquet, but no one had invited him. He could not be bothered to play along with those self-proclaimed clever idiots anyway. It was better for everyone to mind their own business.

Once the clippings were attached, Batman's photograph was on top. Nygma found a white marker in a drawer and drew a white question mark over Batman's face.

"Who are you? That really is a fine riddle."

Nygma leaned back in his chair. Behind his black-rimmed glasses, his eyes gleamed with anticipation. He was interested in every riddle. As for other interests, he had little opportunity for those.

The evidence room's doorknob turned. Nygma immediately looked over and grabbed a cane beside the desk.

The door opened. Miao Mu, who should have been the star of the celebration banquet, poked his head in while whistling and looked around.

"Miao Mu? Why are you here?"

Nygma asked in surprise.

"Hehe... I came to hang out with you."

Miao Mu gave a sly grin and pushed the door open. His detective jacket was stuffed so full that it looked as though he were pregnant.

"What happened to you?" Nygma stood up, finding Miao Mu's appearance strange.

"Look at this, the banquet was really lavish!" Miao Mu pulled open his jacket, took out two bottles of champagne, and clinked them together.

"Golden Rose! I've never even seen this kind of wine!"

Miao Mu clicked his tongue and shook his head as he kept pulling things from inside his jacket. He had stuffed three bottles of champagne, a bottle of red wine, and a bright red Boston lobster into it.

Finally, he took two wineglasses from his belt, leaving Nygma dumbfounded.

Miao Mu set out the glasses, poured the champagne, and handed one to Nygma.

"When I saw you weren't there, I knew you definitely hadn't been invited. But you have to drink a glass of celebration wine today. Without your help, I never would have found that bastard."

As he spoke, Miao Mu took out the notebook Nygma had given him. At the hospital, Miao Mu had read it over seriously several times, becoming even more certain that he should bring Nygma aboard.

"I..."

Nygma smiled. Before he could say anything, Miao Mu raised his glass, clinked it against his, and drained it in one gulp.

"Don't say anything. I don't even know if I'll have another chance to drink celebration wine. Cheers!"

Miao Mu laughed heartily, picked up the bottle, and poured himself another glass. Nygma also raised his glass and drank it all.

"To... heroes..." Nygma said with an awkward smile.

Though he was only an unnoticed nobody in the Gotham Police Department, he understood its rules perfectly well.

Once Miao Mu was placed upon the pedestal of heroism, his eventual fall would surely shatter him to pieces.

But after looking into Miao Mu's background, Nygma also knew how difficult it was for someone from the slums to get this far.

"Hero? A hero among dung beetles? Hah. The Gotham Police Department may be headquarters, but to me, it is not even as good as Arkham District."

Miao Mu swirled his glass and poured another drink down his throat. How could he not know what kind of dump the Gotham Police Department was?

Gordon had walked ahead of him. Had anyone welcomed him? No, because he had said the wrong things, because he had supported Batman.

Miao Mu did not need to predict it. Gordon's hard times were still ahead of him.

Hearing Miao Mu say that, Nygma decided not to beat around the bush. Few people caught his attention, and Miao Mu was an exceptionally unique one.

"You cannot stay in the Gotham Police Department. Like you said, go back to Arkham! With your current abilities, you could absolutely take over as the next Arkham chief.

"Arkham District may be a terrible place, but you can build connections and move into other districts, somewhere prosperous like the Diamond District."

As Nygma spoke, he became more animated. Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps he simply wanted someone to talk to.

"Right now, Chief Loeb has the Gotham Police Department completely under his thumb, and those precinct captains are all useless drunkards, except Gordon! But that guy will be in trouble soon enough. If you seize the opportunity and solve a few more major cases, you can stand against headquarters as an equal."

"Good grief, a few major cases? How could that be easy? You have to risk your life for every one of them. Look at this!" Miao Mu raised his hand, showing his pierced left hand. The needle marks on it had not even been removed.

"There is an opportunity. Him!" Nygma picked up the poster from the desk and pointed at Batman. "Find out who this guy really is! It will definitely raise your reputation again."

Looking at the question mark on Batman's body in the poster, Miao Mu fell silent. At last, he shook his head. "You're very interested in him?"

"I'm only interested in riddles..."

Nygma put down the poster, lifted his glass, and took a gulp. Tilting his head back, he let out a breath. "Miao Mu, am I a failure?"

Miao Mu took out a cigarette case from his jacket and was just about to light one.

"No smoking in the evidence room. You can go to the bathroom."

"..."

Miao Mu stuffed the cigarette back into his mouth. "Edward, you're a smart man, smarter than me. Your talent should not be buried in this place! This tiny room that isn't even twenty square meters."

"Come with me. Arkham may be small, but there are not so many restrictions. We can build something of our own!"

"Edward Nygma! I need you. I need a strategist to help me fill the gaps, an indispensable smart man!"

"And that man is you! I, Miao Mu, a little punk who came out of the Upper East Side slums, have made it this far and can sit here drinking with you. Isn't that enough?"

"I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of dying without anyone knowing my name. I don't deserve the word hero. I'm just an ordinary man who wants a little more. We're the same!"

"We don't have superpowers that make us invulnerable or let us fly through the sky and burrow through the earth. We're both men who will die from a bullet to the head!"

"Edward, come help me!"

Miao Mu extended his hand and looked at Nygma with complete seriousness.

Nygma did not speak of riddles again, nor did he bring up any more cryptic nonsense. Instead, he studied Miao Mu intently, as if making the most important decision of his life at a crossroads.

"Don't regret this. I'm very picky!"

Nygma reached out and clasped Miao Mu's hand. They smiled at each other, and everything was understood without words.