"No. Seriously, no. Not even if you pay extra. This is way beyond what I can do."
Tempting as the extra money was, Zuo Ci still reined in his greed and firmly refused.
Zuo Ci genuinely wasn't lying. Batman's request really was beyond his abilities.
Never mind the Joker. The Court of Owls alone had Barbatos, an evil god of the multiverse, backing them.
Digging deeper into the Court of Owls and the Joker would inevitably bring him up against Barbatos. Right now, Zuo Ci simply wasn't capable of investigating anything like that.
If he actually uncovered something, Barbatos wouldn't even need to show up himself. He could just toss The Batman Who Laughs or someone like him their way. How were they supposed to survive that?
He had absolutely no desire to get himself killed.
And this wasn't needless worrying, either. Hadn't even the Crystal Ball, which could provide accurate divinations, only shown them that one scene? That already said plenty, didn't it?
Seeing how firmly Zuo Ci refused, Batman stopped pressing him. At least they had information about the Court of Owls now, giving him a lead for his next investigation.
"Honestly, I think you could get to the bottom of this even without magic. You are Batman, after all.
"By the way, do you want this Crystal Ball? I could give you... huh? Where'd he go?"
Climbing off the ground, Zuo Ci had intended to see whether he could squeeze another payment out of his walking moneybags. But when he turned around, he discovered that Batman had already vanished from the rooftop. The Joker and the Joker Gas Bombs were gone with him, without a single trace left behind.
"This isn't the first time I've seen it, but I still have to say it. Batman, how do you even qualify as human?"
With a disappearing act like that, who the hell would believe Batman when he claimed he was an ordinary man without superpowers?
All he could say was that the bar for an "ordinary person" in American comics was ridiculously high.
"You'll get used to it. That's just how Batman operates. Though I didn't expect you to still be here."
Gordon looked at Zuo Ci with mild surprise. He had assumed that this magician hanging around Batman would vanish with a whoosh just like Batman did. Instead, he was still standing right where he'd been.
"I'm not Batman. Disappearing without warning is rude."
"How are you planning to leave, then? Will you fly away on your wand?"
As it turned out, no matter their age or position, men possessed a strange sense of curiosity.
Take Harvey. Even though he was already a prosecutor, his eyes were full of anticipation.
Gordon was no different.
"Down the stairs, obviously. What were you expecting? Do you think flying is free?"
Zuo Ci pointed at the stairwell off to the side. He had come up that way, so naturally, he would go back down the same way.
Seriously, flying skills were expensive.
"What a boring exit."
Harvey was speechless. A magician making such a lame exit really shattered his expectations.
"Boring is fine. At least it saves money. Prosecutor Harvey, I'm not a high earner like you. I'm just a poor, penniless merchant."
Stretching, Zuo Ci strolled over to the stairwell. But just as he was about to head downstairs, he suddenly whipped around.
"Say, would you two like a little ride through the sky?"
As it turned out, men didn't just possess a strange sense of curiosity. When faced with something that interested them, they could also spring into action with remarkable speed.
Even when taking action cost quite a bit of money.
"Today's a lovely day to visit a grave~"
After taking Gordon and Harvey on separate three-minute flights and tearfully pocketing six thousand dollars, Zuo Ci quietly returned to the street. Humming a tune, he ambled over to a storefront.
"Not bad, not bad. The system has a decent eye. It didn't fob me off with some shabby little shop in the middle of nowhere."
He pushed open the door, surveyed the tasteful interior, and nodded in satisfaction.
Since he had squeezed over three hundred thousand dollars out of Batman that day, Zuo Ci had simply spent a little money to have the system acquire a small shop for him, complete with a high-quality renovation.
Knowing the system's usual habits, he had expected it to at least rip him off somehow, if not stick him out in the back of beyond. He hadn't expected it to actually be this reliable.
[This system is not an unscrupulous franchise operator and will not trigger "Hello, Yongge" mode. Please use it with confidence.]
Two words of praise and you're already getting full of yourself. What exactly do you watch all day, anyway? You're not going to suddenly start spouting Hajimi at me someday, are you?
That would be seriously hard to handle.
Turning his attention back to the shop, Zuo Ci checked that there were no problems with the renovations. Then, following the layout he had planned on the way over, he waved a hand and set out everything he had bought in advance.
[Product name: self-restocking shelf Price: $300 each Effect: automatically purchases products to replenish stock after the close of business each day, requiring no manual labor. Note: shelves that generate products out of thin air without purchasing them do exist, but this type offers the best value for money.]
Seeing the once-empty general store filled with neatly arranged shelves, all packed with assorted goods, gave Zuo Ci a strange sense of fulfillment.
So he kept waving his hand, setting out the other items, including the [self-restocking drinks machine], the [self-restocking ice cream machine], and everything else.
Before long, the general store looked quite respectable.
"Excellent. From now on, I've got a little business of my own. Having your own shop really does make you feel secure."
Zuo Ci filled a cone with ice cream, leaned against the counter, and leisurely ate it.
His future development would definitely require a great deal of money, but he couldn't rely solely on Batman-or rather, Wayne Enterprises. That would make him far too easy to control. Whatever happened, he needed a business of his own.
That was why Zuo Ci had decided to open this shop. He would sell little everyday items normally, and when Batman or some other superhero or supervillain came by, he would sell them special supplies. He could just enjoy a quiet little life.
He didn't have the lofty ambitions of other transmigrators. Whatever happened to Gotham had little to do with him. He just wanted to live in peace.
As for whether he might lose money, Zuo Ci wasn't worried. The system had acquired the shop, so there was no rent or utility bill to pay. That alone saved him a substantial sum.
His goods were generally twenty percent cheaper than those in local shops, but they were all purchased wholesale from China at cost, leaving an enormous profit margin.
Take that bottle of iced black tea on the shelf. It cost thirty fen and sold for two dollars, making the profit nearly fifty times the cost. It would be a miracle if he managed to lose money.
Even if he hired an assistant later, that wouldn't cost much either. No matter how he looked at it, this was a business guaranteed to turn a profit.
If he really had to consider bankruptcy, though, it wasn't entirely impossible. After all, if the shop got blown up, he would have to pay for repairs.
"All right, everything's ready."
After putting everything in order, Zuo Ci went to the entrance and ceremoniously hung up the sign reading "Old Dad's General Store." Then, thoroughly satisfied, he opened the shop for business.
"Hello, is this a shop?"
Huh? A customer already?
Before you continue