A New Stage: Target-Batman!

Gotham City, Financial District.

Wayne Tower rose like a black sword, piercing the lead-gray sky and overlooking a city where crime and prosperity intertwined.

A discreet but luxurious black armored sedan pulled smoothly to a stop outside the tower.

The door opened, and Link stepped out first.

He wore a perfectly tailored dark gray suit without a tie. Two buttons at his collar hung casually undone, giving him an easy air and the confidence of a man in control.

Behind him came Harley Quinn in a black women's suit, her long blond hair tied in a high ponytail. She chewed gum as she studied Gotham City's landmark with curiosity, as though inspecting her future playground.

Iron Spike and several other company executives followed.

They wore borrowed designer suits and crooked ties, their faces mixing awe, nerves, and a touch of ill-timed menace. On the gleaming marble floor, they looked so uncomfortable they didn't know what to do with their hands. They stood out sharply from the financial professionals hurrying past.

"Boss... my legs are cramping up," Iron Spike whispered, edging closer to Link. "These people are looking at us like we're a bunch of gorillas."

"Then stand tall," Link said without turning around. "They'll soon learn who rules this jungle."

A smartly dressed female representative approached with a professional smile.

"Hello. Are you Mr. Link from Chaos Direction? Mr. Fox is waiting for you in the top-floor conference room."

Her gaze swept over Harley, Iron Spike, and the others. A flicker of surprise and wariness crossed her eyes, but she was professional enough not to ask questions.

"Thank you," Link said with a nod.

They entered a quiet, fast private elevator, and the numbers on its display climbed rapidly.

Through the glass, Gotham spread out below them: the bustling commercial districts, the crumbling East End, and, in the distance, Arkham, isolated like an island.

Iron Spike and the others nearly pressed their faces against the glass, exclaiming in amazement.

Harley stretched and gave a bored yawn.

Only Link watched the view in silence.

His gaze seemed to pierce the clouds and trace every dark vein running through the city.

Ding—

The elevator doors opened. They had reached the top floor.

The design was spare and high-tech, with enormous floor-to-ceiling windows that filled the space with light.

The conference room doors slid open automatically. An older Black man with graying hair, glasses, and a refined manner rose to his feet and offered Link his hand.

"Mr. Link, welcome to Wayne Enterprises. I'm Lucius Fox."

His voice was steady and firm, his gaze sharp enough to see straight through someone.

"Mr. Fox. I've heard a great deal about you." Link smiled as they shook hands, perfectly at ease.

Several technical directors from the Wayne Enterprises Applied Sciences Division sat with Lucius. They studied Link and his "bodyguards" with suspicion.

"Please, sit," Lucius said. "Mr. Link, your Gotham Tomorrow proposal is very... bold. Inventive, too. I'm curious how a newly founded investment company came to understand urban security—and criminal psychology in particular—so deeply."

He had gone straight to the heart of the matter.

Link leaned back in his chair and folded his hands on the table.

"Because we're not analysts sitting in an office, Mr. Fox. We came from the streets. We... understand Gotham's darkness better."

He spoke softly, yet the temperature in the conference room seemed to drop.

Meanwhile, deep beneath Wayne Tower, in the Batcave.

Bruce Wayne sat before the massive Batcomputer. A live feed from the top-floor conference room filled its screen.

He magnified every subtle shift in Link's expression as he spoke and analyzed the tone of every word.

"Alfred, pull up his file," Bruce said, his voice low and grave.

"Already done, Master Bruce." Alfred, his loyal butler, set down a cup of coffee. "Link, twenty-five. An orphan. He appeared out of nowhere at Arkham three months ago. His file classified him as D-level, with no violent tendencies. Then... he and Miss Quinn planned that unprecedented breakout."

"His record is as clean as a blank sheet of paper. And a blank sheet can hold the most terrifying things."

Bruce said nothing. He kept his eyes fixed on the screen.

Under Lucius's questioning, Link showed no nerves at all. If anything, he was quietly taking control of the conversation.

The man was too calm.

Not like a young man making his first move, but like a chess player who had weathered countless storms.

In the conference room.

"Then how does Mr. Link intend to implement the Nonlethal Community Deterrence Network and High-Risk Individual Psychological Intervention outlined in the proposal?" A technical director pushed up his glasses, his skeptical tone edged with arrogance. "They sound almost like sociology experiments."

Link smiled but did not answer directly.

Instead, he looked at Lucius Fox and said slowly:

"Mr. Fox, you—or rather, Wayne Enterprises—have always tried to bring light to Gotham with technology and money. But you've overlooked one thing."

"Gotham's sickness isn't darkness. It's the lack of an order everyone fears."

"You want to be saviors. I only want to be a night watchman. One who makes everything hiding in the shadows too afraid to move."

The moment he finished, Lucius Fox's pupils contracted sharply.

In the Batcave, Bruce Wayne shot to his feet!

Night watchman...

Those were words from the deepest part of his heart. He had never spoken them to anyone!

How could Link know?

At that instant, a cold system alert thundered through Link's mind.

[Host has completed the first-stage core mission: establish an initial foothold in Gotham City and make contact with key individuals.]

[Volume One: Source of Chaos, complete.]

[Unlocking Volume Two: Gotham Chess Player...]

[New sign-in missions issued!]

[Main sign-in mission: sign in inside the Batcave.]

[Stage sign-in mission: sign in with Bruce Wayne himself in the founder's office at Wayne Enterprises.]

[Sign-in rewards: S-rank ability—Money Power (Complete Version); S-rank technology—Bat Armor Blueprints (Partial)...]

In the conference room, Link's smile deepened.

Ignoring everyone's stunned stares, he turned his head slightly. His gaze seemed to pass through the wall and every layer of the building, settling precisely on the tiny camera disguised as a smoke detector in the corner of the conference room.

He looked into the lens as though he were looking straight at Bruce Wayne on the other end.

Silently, he mouthed two words.

"Hello, Bruce."

In the Batcave, Bruce Wayne's expression darkened at once.

He had been discovered.

On his own turf, right under his nose, an enemy had found him exactly where he was.