Instantly, the high-ranking Gangsters who had originally maintained a high-and-mighty sense of dignity descended into chaotic disorder like a boiling pot, scrambling to hide every which way like a bunch of... well, people meeting a plantation owner.
However, the expected explosion never came; those grenades merely spewed massive amounts of black pepper from their nozzles, sending everyone into a fit of continuous coughing.
"Good evening, Mr. Falcone."
Perched upon the window sill littered with broken glass, Zuo Ci stood there uninvited, looking mockingly at this group of mafia bosses who should have died long ago.
"I hope you all like my welcoming gift. It's getting late, so I won't intrude much longer, but please don't forget that three days from now is the final deadline.
If I don't see the money, the next gift might not be quite so cute."
With that, Zuo Ci leaped forward and vanished into the darkness just like Batman.
Meanwhile, inside Old Dad's General Store.
"It looks like that old bastard Falcone's blood pressure isn't dropping below two hundred eighty tonight."
Watching the footage transmitted back by Mysterio's Drone, Zuo Ci couldn't help laughing out loud.
An old saying goes: strike a blow to avoid a hundred blows. Since he had already provoked Falcone, rather than hoping the other party would show mercy and let him off, it was better to see things through to the end; knocking the opposition flat in one go was always better than being harassed endlessly afterwards.
"Why just scare them? You should be able to truly deal with them."
Amidst the darkness, Batman's raspy voice suddenly emerged. Yet Zuo Ci replied offhandedly, as if completely unsurprised.
"Yeah, I could deal with them, but there's no need. I'm not some sort of serial killer.
Besides, if I really get them killed, who's going to pay me protection money?"
Actually, Zuo Ci didn't mind killing these people at all-after all, every single one of them was a heinous bastard.
But if he really killed them, it wouldn't be easy to deal with Batman on this end. Murderers were criminals too, after all, and Batman wouldn't hold back just because of a good relationship.
Their relationship wasn't necessarily even good to begin with.
Coupled with Gotham's current lack of grassroots functions, the Gangsters were a necessary presence for maintaining order. Although the Gangsters' order wasn't much to speak of, at least it was better than no order at all.
And the most important point: Zuo Ci wasn't lying at all. If he really killed Falcone, who would he extort?
"You know they won't admit defeat so easily."
Within the shadows, Batman's figure was indistinct and hard to make out, but his voice was extremely clear.
"Admitting defeat would be best; it saves me some effort. But if they really refuse to admit defeat and think about retaliating against me, then I'll just have to exercise my dear unlimited right to armed self-defense."
At this, Zuo Ci chuckled, a sinister smile creeping onto the corners of his mouth.
Zuo Ci wouldn't proactively murder people, but that didn't mean he wouldn't kill. If Falcone actually dared to come and retaliate, then he would have a legitimate reason to strike from the shadows.
Hehe, I'm going to violently self-defense the hell out of this!
"You're smart."
Batman's gaze shifted slightly; Zuo Ci certainly had ideas. If it truly constituted self-defense, he would occupy the active position both legally and reasonably.
Furthermore, if it really came to that point, probably no one would dare to meddle behind the scenes.
Perhaps by then, he really would turn a blind eye.
Better yet, just be prepared at all times.
"When it comes down to it, I'm just a plain and simple little merchant. It's best not to throw hands if possible; harmony brings wealth, right?
Of course, if you're really worried I might go too far, you can totally handle them in my place. Next time they have a meeting, you can go beat all of them into high-level paraplegia and toss them in prison-wouldn't everything be hunky-dory then?"
"You're trying to goad me."
Zuo Ci's provocation was quite mediocre. Upon hearing it, Batman's tone remained utterly calm.
He had actually done that once a long time ago, sending some high-ranking Gangsters to prison, but it had yielded no effect.
Unlike those low-level punks, these so-called big shots had spent a long time in the past whitewashing themselves; on the surface, they possessed absolutely no criminal evidence.
Under such circumstances, he could indeed go beat them up and toss them into prison, but it wouldn't solve any problems-it wouldn't be long before they strolled right back out.
Without a way to face trial, without fundamentally destroying the soil on which the Gangsters survived, new Gangsters would quickly emerge and nothing would change.
Therefore, Batman was currently beating people up on one hand while gathering criminal evidence to hand over to Harvey and the others; it was simply that the time wasn't right yet.
"There you go. If you won't do it, then I can only do it myself.
Rest assured, I definitely won't cause you any trouble. After all, you're my big client."
Putting away the returning Mysterio's Drone, Zuo Ci stretched lazily and flopped down onto his small bed.
"Though I thought you'd interrogate me about collecting protection money from the Gangsters first."
When he threw that cultured scumbag out, Zuo Ci had anticipated that Batman would come, but he thought Batman would ask about the protection money first; he hadn't expected him not to bring it up at all.
"That wasn't protection money; it was your emotional distress fee."
Batman's tone remained flat, but the content was inexplicably a bit absurd.
"Good excuse. Truly worthy of Batman-your brain really works well."
In reality, many people held misunderstandings about Batman, feeling that he was an extremely serious and rigid person, but that wasn't the case-at least when it came to his bottom line, he was remarkably flexible.
Against bad guys, he naturally threw heavy punches, but towards someone like Zuo Ci who operated in the gray zone, he was far more lenient. After all, he was also quite happy to watch his enemies get humiliated.
Besides, if Batman were really such a rigid person, how could he possibly have gotten so hopelessly entangled with so many women for so many years? Am I right, Catwoman?
"Alrighty, is there anything els-holy cow, he leaves fast."
Just as he wanted to ask if there was anything else, Zuo Ci turned his head only to find that Batman had already vanished from the spot without leaving a single trace.
"Actually, if you'd come in person, I'd be quite happy to treat you to a cup of coffee. Provided you use the door, of course, otherwise I'll have to set out mousetraps."
Confirming that Batman was truly gone, Zuo Ci yawned and quickly drifted off into a sweet dream.
"Master Bruce, I think trying to deceive him with his own goods is indeed a bit unrealistic."
In the Batcave, Alfred was watering the Pumpkin Shield while chatting with Batman, who was severely beating criminals several blocks away.
"I know, Alfred."
Quickly clearing out criminals at a rate of eight punches per second, Batman chatted idly with Alfred.
The one who went to see Zuo Ci just now wasn't him in person, but rather the drone purchased from Zuo Ci, operated by Alfred.
This machine had already been modified by Batman; while boasting superior performance, the holographic projections it released could even simulate breathing, heartbeats, and to a certain extent, body heat.
Originally, he had wanted to use this to test Zuo Ci one more time, but he hadn't expected to be found out on the very first try.
Still, it wasn't a total loss; at least he had obtained a very important piece of intelligence, which was that Zuo Ci's insight was extremely sharp, requiring precautions against this point.
However, if Batman knew that Zuo Ci could directly see the cargo information floating above the projection's head reading [Mysterio's Drone (Batman Modified)], he probably wouldn't think that way.
"Master Bruce, actually, I feel you perhaps ought to try giving your friend a bit more trust. Probing back and forth like this is still rather impolite."
As Bruce's only remaining family, Alfred couldn't remember how many times he had advised his young master.
Ever since the master and mistress passed away in that accident, young master Bruce's mental state hadn't been very good; he truly hoped the young master could sincerely find a friend or a partner.
"Trust isn't such a simple thing, Alfred."
Hanging up the small thugs beaten down to the ground one by one and casually calling the police, Batman immediately and relentlessly headed toward the next location.
Probing, investigating, planning... under years of accumulated training, these things had become second nature to Batman. He was simply incapable of trusting someone casually, not even Alfred.
"Very well, then, Master Bruce, how do you view this Mr. Zuo Ci?"
With his persuasion failing, Alfred simply changed the subject. He was quite curious about this newly emerged magician in Gotham, and also curious about how his young master viewed him.
"I don't know, Alfred."
Saying this might sound strange, but the feeling Zuo Ci gave Batman was unprecedented; he had never experienced it with anyone else.
His personality was eccentric, somewhat money-grubbing, often uttering dangerous remarks and performing seemingly outlandish deeds. He didn't really abide by current laws, holding them in contempt or even disdain.
Yet at the same time, he was quite kind-hearted, lacking in daring spirit yet willing to risk danger to save people. Despite having ability, he still maintained restraint; he loved money but wouldn't dream of getting something for nothing.
He was neither white nor black, but an elusive gray-at least for now, Batman had no way to categorize him further.
"My understanding of him is still far too meager. It's necessary to step up the intensity of intelligence gathering."
Behind the earpiece, Alfred sighed helplessly. It seemed the young master's state wasn't going to change anytime soon.
Before you continue