Wasn't something off here?

Hrrrrr~

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hrrrrr...

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hrrrr...

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hrrrr... fuck.

"Who the hell is that? Making all that noise first thing in the morning! Can't a guy get some sleep?"

At seven in the morning, Zuo Ci, who had been counting money in a wonderful dream, was woken by a deafening drone.

Ruffling his messy hair, he got dressed with a sour expression and headed outside to see what inconsiderate bastard was disturbing the neighborhood so early.

"Huh? Someone's here to fix the road? Hang on, that logo looks really familiar..."

Once he discovered that a construction crew was responsible for the noise, much of Zuo Ci's anger subsided.

This was Gotham, after all, not his hometown. Seeing a normal construction crew early in the morning instead of gangs engaged in a bloody battle was still something to be happy about.

But as he watched this well-equipped, skilled, disciplined crew, Zuo Ci couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Only after watching closely for a while did he finally figure it out.

"Oh, they're from Wayne Enterprises. That explains it. I was just thinking they were almost as efficient as the construction crews back home."

Looking at the Wayne Enterprises logo on the vehicles, Zuo Ci nodded.

As the leading local corporation, Wayne Enterprises had a hand in practically every aspect of Gotham life, from food, clothing, housing, and transportation to defense and healthcare. Having a department dedicated to municipal repairs was perfectly normal.

"Gotta hand it to Wayne Enterprises. It's only been a few days, and they've already started work. That's seriously fast."

That wasn't sarcasm. Zuo Ci meant every word.

Back home, waiting several days to start repairing such widespread road damage would probably have earned them a storm of abuse and online proclamations that the country was doomed.

But let's not forget, this was their lovely America. Getting to work after just a few days of squabbling was practically unimaginable.

All he could say was, thank goodness for Wayne Enterprises. If they had to rely on Gotham's government, they were screwed.

The government's municipal department was still pouring all its efforts into repairing a strip of tactile paving downtown that measured roughly seven and a half meters long and fifty centimeters wide, had cost thirty million dollars, and had been under construction for thirteen years.

Heh.

"Forget it. If they're fixing the road, I'll let it slide. From the look of things, I probably won't get many customers today."

After all that, Zuo Ci's anger had fizzled out. He tidied up a little, then hung a closed sign right on the door.

The commotion from his fight with Deathstroke a while back had left him with pitifully few customers over the past several days. With roadwork added to the mix today, there would probably be even fewer.

He might as well take the opportunity to rest for a day. At least he could call it a day off.

After preparing his instant noodles, Zuo Ci rubbed his hands together and sat behind the counter.

"Too bad the system's still updating, so I can't use it right now. Otherwise, I'd definitely upgrade the shop's soundproofing. This racket is seriously annoying.

Oh well, whatever. Time to eat. The noodles are ready now. Surely no one's going to interrupt me again.

Hehehe, my darling little noodles, here I come~"

Ding~

"Oh, come on! Who is it? Didn't you see the sign on the door? We're closed today!"

Zuo Ci had just lifted the lid off his noodles, and his face went blank with exasperation. Seriously, what was going on? Why did people keep showing up right when he was about to eat? Couldn't they see the sign hanging on the door?

"N-no, I'm not here to buy anything. Um, I'm here to apply for a job."

Hearing Zuo Ci's unfriendly tone, the newcomer hurriedly explained herself, looking thoroughly flustered. When he heard she was applying for a job, his eyebrows rose.

The visitor was a young woman dressed quite presentably. Her women's suit looked a little old, but it was neat, and her face and hands were clean. She had the sort of looks that grew on you.

Most importantly, she seemed to have a remarkably generous chest.

"A job, huh? All right, go do those questions."

Since she was here to apply, Zuo Ci couldn't really complain. He simply pointed to the math problems on the sheet as usual.

Then he watched the young woman take a deep breath, pick up a pen, and rapidly get to work. She actually radiated an air of unstoppable determination.

Before long, she had solved every problem listed on the sheet.

Uh, they're just sixth-grade math problems. Do you really need to get this fired up? This isn't some trashy Japanese light novel world.

After that little inward jab, Zuo Ci took the sheet and was mildly surprised.

She had actually answered all dozen or so questions correctly!

Amazing. Who would have thought this unremarkable young woman had already reached the realm of sixth grade? Truly terrifying.

After enduring the immense torment inflicted by the zero-IQ elites churned out by feel-good schooling, Zuo Ci's standard for "impressive" had fallen this low. It really made you sigh.

"All right, looks good. When can you start?"

Her appearance passed muster, as did her intelligence. She seemed a little shy, but that wasn't a big issue, so Zuo Ci decided not to be picky.

"Anytime, boss! I can start this afternoon!"

Realizing she had passed the interview, the young woman grew visibly excited, completely oblivious to the immense strain on the buttons across her chest.

"All right, all right, settle down. Introduce yourself first. What's your name?"

"Emily, boss. My name is Emily."

"Oh, Emily. Nice name."

Hearing that name, Zuo Ci nodded, looking quite satisfied.

But then, holding his cup of instant noodles, he slowly strolled around behind Emily and gently patted her shoulder.

"So, Emily, just how much did those big shots offer you to make you risk coming to work here?"

"Ah! How did you find out?"

"Holy shit, you actually are!"

Zuo Ci stared at Emily with wide eyes. Honestly, his mind was a little blank right then.

He hadn't actually noticed a thing. He'd only asked Emily that question because he was bored and wanted to make a joke.

Who would have thought he'd actually bluff the truth out of her? What the hell kind of luck was this?

"Damn it. Since you've found me out..."

Hearing Zuo Ci's reaction, Emily realized she had simply made a fool of herself.

But there was no point worrying about that now. She dropped her shy facade and immediately drew the handgun concealed at her waist.

The next instant, however, Zuo Ci had the gun clamped firmly in his hand.

"Easy there. It's not nice for a young lady to keep waving knives and guns around. Let's play something a little more civilized.

How about this? I'll bet a thousand dollars that there aren't any bullets in your gun. What do you say?"

Zuo Ci set his noodle cup on the counter with one hand while keeping an iron grip on Emily's gun with the other. A smile slowly spread across his face.

At the sight of that predatory smile, Emily couldn't help growing nervous.