Batman: Hello

"Damn broke-ass, not a single cent on you, ptui."

Looking at the empty wallet in his hands, Zuo Ci spit into it with dissatisfaction, then tossed it casually into a nearby trash can.

Waiting in place for five minutes and confirming that the device had run out of power, with the system's help Zuo Ci stripped Jack completely clean from top to bottom.

He had thought that being a robber, even if they were not super rich, they at least had to have some money. As a result, Zuo Ci found that this guy was just like him, without even a single coin on him-truly pitifully poor.

If the system hadn't recycled the clothes off his back and given him twelve dollars, this run really would have been a massive loss for Zuo Ci.

"System, you wouldn't recycle small odds and ends like a wallet, so why won't you take hair either? That dude's afro, even if it wasn't all-natural, had a lot of artistic flair, you know."

[This system does not recycle trash of no value, thank you.]

Seeing that his protest failed, Zuo Ci didn't say anything more, only looking up at the increasingly dark night sky and letting out a helpless sigh.

Right now, his biggest headache wasn't the problem of making money, but where to stay.

It was currently around 2:20 Gotham time, which belonged to the time when basically nobody wandered about, so hotels and the like were even less likely to be open.

Besides, even if they were open, this little bit of money he had was completely not enough to use.

You couldn't really expect him to go sleep on the street and cos a homeless person.

Zuo Ci didn't exactly discriminate against the homeless; it was mainly that this place was different from back home, and people's homeless populations also had territories. If he really went around sleeping wherever he pleased, there was a good chance he would get beaten up by the rustic and hospitable Beggar's Sect.

"System, look at how everyone else has newbie welfare packages and stuff, can't you help out a bit?"

Having truly run out of options, Zuo Ci could only look toward his system once more. Although through their brief time together he already understood that this fellow was purely money-grubbing, deep down he still held a shred of fantasy.

Just in case, right?

[Sorry, the system you have inquired about is out of the service area, please ask again later.]

Damn pure profiteer, sooner or later I'm going to put you to work generating electricity.

Seeing that the trash system truly couldn't help, Zuo Ci could only pat his pockets and fish out his only two possessions.

One was a confiscated, system-authenticated semi-old Glock 17, with six rounds of ammunition included.

The system actually did recycle this gun and could even give one hundred dollars for it, but considering Gotham's overly excellent local customs and practices, Zuo Ci kept it just in case.

Even though he couldn't use it at all, that is.

The other was his own self-made little electric rat. It wasn't damaged, but unfortunately it was out of power; relying solely on pinching fingers probably wouldn't be very useful.

If only there were a place to charge it, then he could even try some law enforcement by entrapment.

Wait a minute, charging?

"System, can you charge it?"

[One dollar per try, no bargaining.]

"Instead of calling yourself some small merchandise system, you might as well directly rename yourself the Profiteer System. Why don't you just make it ten bucks a try?"

[Thanks for the suggestion, the price has now been adjusted.]

"Don't! I was kidding!"

"This is the sixth one tonight, and how long has it even been? You can only say that Gotham truly doesn't lack upstanding citizens."

In another alleyway, Zuo Ci leaned against the wall, watching unhurriedly as the older brother in front of him did a breakdance.

Apart from Batman, the most common nocturnal creatures in Gotham were gangs and street thugs, so when Zuo Ci appeared on the main street, they all clearly realized that this was a rare, fat sheep.

Then they got flipped over by the sheep.

"Hoping this one drops something good. I really don't get how this bunch of robbers can be this poor."

Originally, Zuo Ci thought the first older brother who robbed him should have been an exception, but who would have thought that the subsequent robbers were also flat broke.

Stripping five people clean from top to bottom, he'd only made less than a thousand bucks, averaging two hundred per person-truly pitifully poor.

Zuo Ci, who was concentrating on tallying his earnings, didn't notice that right directly above him, a large black brute was silently observing him.

'Law enforcement by entrapment, a certain degree of hands-on ability, plus a habit of talking to himself...'

Actually, right from the very start when Zuo Ci encountered this robber, Batman had already tracked him down.

Seeing him get robbed, Batman had originally prepared to step in directly, but thinking of the series of bizarre events before, he decided to temporarily hold off and observe first.

Then he watched the entire process minus the stripping of clothes.

To be honest, Batman really didn't quite know how to evaluate Zuo Ci.

You could say Zuo Ci was a bad guy, but he didn't do anything, only playing the trick of law enforcement by entrapment, which at best could only be considered self-defense.

Yet if you said he was a good guy, looking at the scene below that resembled a breakdancing hall, he really couldn't bring himself to say that.

So, let's just observe a bit longer.

"Though come to think of it, they aren't super-criminals like the Joker. If they really had money, I suppose they wouldn't have sunk to the level of robbing people."

Looking at his truly meager earnings, Zuo Ci couldn't help but make a snarky remark, but it was precisely because of this casual sentence that Batman on the wall lost his composure.

"You know the Joker."

"Holy shit!"

Just as Zuo Ci was talking to himself to pass the time, a chilling and hoarse voice rang out above his head without warning, followed instantly by a pitch-black figure appearing right in front of him.

"Who are you, why are you here, why do you know the Joker."

Judging solely by the choice of words, this was just ordinary questioning, but paired with Batman's hoarse tone and extremely oppressive figure, it was completely an interrogation.

While asking questions, Batman also observed the strange Asian person across from him. Merely from this very moment of meeting, he could determine that this person in front of him definitely had problems.

First was his state: accelerated heartbeat, quickened breathing, tense muscles-clearly signs of being startled, which at first glance fit a person's first reaction upon seeing him.

Yet the bizarre thing was that he actually slowly relaxed.

Normally, ordinary people basically only had two states of nervousness and greater nervousness after truly seeing him. The only ones who could still relax facing him were currently his butler Alfred and Gordon, who had cooperated with him many times already.

Based on this alone, Batman could be certain this individual was definitely not an ordinary person.

And what made Batman even more vigilant was that this fellow in front of him seemed to know the Joker.

Batman didn't know where the Joker originated from, but he knew that right now the Joker, much like himself, mostly still appeared within Gotham City in the image of an urban legend, with not many people feeling that they truly existed.

Yet judging from his words, he was very clear on the Joker's existence, which was a very abnormal matter.

Having completely gathered his thoughts in a mere few seconds, Zuo Ci's level of danger in Batman's heart instantly rose by several gears.

"I finally understand why the rumors about you are so outrageous; this is truly too terrifying."

Zuo Ci patted his chest with lingering fear. Even though he had prepared himself for Batman to come find him early on, this guy's spooky way of making an entrance was still far too terrifying.

However, as someone with a fair understanding of American comics, he knew Batman's character well, so he wasn't worried about him taking action against himself.

After all, when it came down to it, he was merely defending himself against a counterattack while incidentally collecting a bit of mental damage compensation, and he hadn't done anything overly excessive.

"Answer the question."

Without paying heed to Zuo Ci's words, Batman simply and silently closed in by a few steps, heavily giving off the feeling that if he didn't answer, he would resort to violence.

"Don't rush, don't rush, one by one.

First off, I'm someone newly arrived in Gotham... uh, how should I put it, a mysterious merchant.

Right, I'm a mysterious merchant newly arrived in Gotham."