"Are they going to stay like this forever?"
Just as Gordon was losing the will to live, that familiar gravelly voice emerged from the shadows again.
No need to ask. A certain big bat guy had obviously arrived.
As before, Zuo Ci had invited Gordon, Batman, and Harvey today, but only Gordon had arrived on time.
Batman had been busy investigating the disappearances lately. His schedule was so tight that he had even started showing up openly during the day, which was why he had arrived late.
As for Harvey, he had a case to argue in court today and couldn't make it.
But Zuo Ci figured that was just an excuse. Harvey must have stayed away because he couldn't take it anymore. After all, he'd had the strongest reaction last time. Coming back for another round might do incalculable damage to his mental health.
As for why Gordon had arrived on time, that was obviously because the screening was being held right in the police station's evidence room. He couldn't escape even if he wanted to.
"Of course not. This stuff only lasts twenty-four hours. Once that time is up, they'll go back to normal.
"That's exactly why I'm dying to see what they're like after they recover. It's going to be one hell of a show. Hehehe~"
At the thought, Zuo Ci couldn't help laughing again. His laugh was so wicked that the two men opposite him almost couldn't resist hitting him.
"Well, that's a relief. I really don't want to see any more eye-searing scenes when I have to deal with them in the future."
As sinister as Zuo Ci made it sound, this was the first thing Gordon had heard so far that let him relax a little.
It wasn't that he had anything against gay people. It was just that, compared with people of conventional orientations, that crowd tended to get much wilder, and the sights were exceptionally hard on the eyes.
Thank goodness they wouldn't stay like this forever. Otherwise, just imagining the unspeakable scenes he might encounter while leading future arrests made Gordon lose the will to live all over again.
"Why do you bear them so much ill will? Compared with Falcone, they don't seem to have done much, have they?"
With his extraordinarily strong nerves, Batman wasn't particularly bothered by the tape. He was more interested in why Zuo Ci bore such a grudge against the Maroni Family.
Although all his methods were hard to take seriously, it wasn't difficult to see that Zuo Ci clearly harbored greater malice toward the Maroni Family. There had been the sexual orientation reversal, those unmentionable implements, and even chili and mustard smeared on them.
Maroni had only sent people to test him, while Falcone had genuinely wanted him dead. Why did he have a bigger problem with Maroni instead?
"That's what you don't understand. Falcone did want to kill me, but at least his people spent a fortune putting a bounty on my head. They even brought in a top-tier expert like Deathstroke. At the very least, they showed me enough respect.
"But Maroni actually took me for an idiot and tried to insult my intelligence with that moronic plan. Some things are just beyond tolerating, okay?"
Watching Zuo Ci spread his hands, Batman quietly added a note to his little notebook: strong sense of pride.
[Ding. System upgrade complete. Please check the results.]
Just then, Zuo Ci's system finally finished upgrading.
Upgrading the system cost not only money but time as well. He hadn't been able to use it for the past few days, and all the items he'd used had been redeemed in advance.
Otherwise, why would he have been so gentle with Maroni?
"All right, I've handed the tapes over to you. How you get the most out of them is up to you now. I've got something to do. Bye~"
Everything he needed to say had already been said, so there was no reason to linger. He turned and left the evidence room.
"Um, Batman, we've known each other for so long. Could you do me a favor?"
After seeing Zuo Ci leave, Batman had been about to resume his investigation, but Gordon's words made him stop.
He was also rather curious about what Gordon needed his help with. As far as he remembered, Gordon wasn't the type to ask others for favors.
"It's just, um... could you knock me out and then take all these tapes away? I really... I really..."
Looking at those indescribably evil tapes, Gordon didn't even want to hold them. But his professional duty forced him to keep them, and he would even have to study the details carefully later.
Honestly, he wanted to die.
Batman: "..."
Meanwhile, at Old Dad's General Store.
"Be good, little system. Let your dear Uncle Zuo see whether you've been developing properly~"
[Please conduct yourself with dignity, host. If you keep acting like this, I won't be able to stop myself from calling the police. (눈_눈)]
"Oh, don't be so shy. We're practically family~"
[I've already recorded you, my dear host. You wouldn't want the entire multiverse to see footage of you harassing your system, would you~?]
"Ahem. Just kidding. Just kidding."
With a dry cough, Zuo Ci stopped joking around and dutifully checked the system's updates.
The assorted minor updates weren't worth mentioning. There were basically three major updates he needed to pay attention to.
First, the discount section Zuo Ci had been longing for was finally open. Unlike the earlier discounts, which only covered little odds and ends, this new discount shop offered a wide range of goods at varying markdowns.
There would also be special sale-season perks every winter and summer, with even deeper discounts and even free products.
It looked as though it had taken at least some inspiration from a certain blue gaming platform.
Second was the update to the quest tab.
Although Zuo Ci had only completed one quest so far, he had already recognized the importance of points. The updated quest tab offered far more quests than before.
Most importantly, the quests weren't restricted to Gotham-or even to this world. There were also major quests that required traveling to other worlds to complete.
However, no quests in other worlds had appeared yet, so he couldn't try them out for now.
The third was the recruitment feature.
This was a new feature introduced by the update, and its primary function was to let him recruit people from other worlds to work for him.
However, recruitment didn't just require money. Each potential recruit had their own wishes, and Zuo Ci had to be able to fulfill those wishes before he could recruit them.
Although it came with some restrictions, it was still an excellent feature.
"Ooh, this is good. This feature is really nice. I've been worrying about not being able to find decent employees."
The local Zero-Wit Masters had put Zuo Ci through plenty of misery lately, but with this feature, that damned problem could now be easily solved.
After all, people recruited from other worlds were unlikely to come up with the miraculous answer of six for three times three. They would also be in the same boat as him, so he wouldn't have to worry about them leaking information.
Most importantly, the vast majority of them would have all kinds of powers. Even if they couldn't thrive in a hellhole like Gotham, they should at least be able to protect themselves, and they could double as security guards.
"Great. Now, let's see who I can recruit~"
Before you continue