Why help them?

"It's almost dawn..."

Still wearing his mage robes, Zuo Ci lay on the bench behind the counter, bored out of his mind.

Jack had already gone back to his rented place, leaving him alone in the shop.

With nothing else to do, he could only quietly watch the gray sky outside, lit by the reflection off the snow.

Actually, if it weren't for all the monsters and freaks, Gotham would have been a pretty good place for sightseeing. It wasn't just the buildings with their varied styles, but also its four distinct seasons and the scenery they brought.

Like now. Tonight's snow had wrapped Gotham up like an ice cream dusted with powdered sugar. It was undeniably beautiful.

Unfortunately, even this beautiful snow could kill.

"What did you want me for?"

As Zuo Ci stared blankly at the scenery outside, a familiar, gravelly voice sounded once again from the shadows inside the shop.

Braving the heavy snow, Batman had finally arrived.

He had been investigating the disappearances tonight while fighting crime along the way. After days of work, he had finally found a few leads, only for this sudden snowstorm to disrupt his plans.

On top of that, he had discovered that Zuo Ci, who normally preferred sleeping at night, had suddenly started roaming all over Gotham and approaching homeless people for some unknown reason.

Then, in the early hours of the morning, he had actually started calling for him to come to his shop.

The timing of these two events was suspiciously close. Batman didn't put much faith in coincidences. He suspected Zuo Ci feared being exposed and wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of him.

But once he actually arrived at the shop, he realized he might have been mistaken. Zuo Ci still showed no hostility toward him.

"Here's the thing. I'd like to ask you for a favor."

This time, Zuo Ci didn't crack any jokes. Instead, he got straight to the point and explained what he wanted. Batman wasn't quite used to this serious attitude.

"Earlier tonight, I went out to take care of some personal business, and I came across some people who needed help.

I'm not asking for anything else. There's only so much I can do alone, so I was hoping you could help them with me."

At that, Zuo Ci couldn't help sighing again.

Only after saving that child had Zuo Ci realized that the most fundamental differences between Gotham and his hometown weren't just the monsters and freaks or the sky-high crime rate.

There were also these pitiful people, desperately in need of help, teetering on the edge of life and death.

Since he had already saved one person, there was no reason to leave the others to fend for themselves. So Zuo Ci had simply spent the entire night roaming the streets, searching for anyone who needed help.

Whenever he encountered homeless people who still had warm clothes and were in relatively good shape, Zuo Ci gave each of them a windproof tent, some food, and hot water.

That windproof tent was nothing to scoff at. It came from the system and could function even at the top of the Himalayas. Its protection against the cold was as good as it got.

And whenever he met people like that child, the homeless among the homeless, those at the very bottom, Zuo Ci did his best to heal their life-threatening illnesses and injuries before taking them to the temporary shelter he had found.

At first, Zuo Ci had actually intended to bring them straight back to his shop, but he soon gave up on that idea. There was no other reason-there were simply too many people.

Far too many of them truly wouldn't survive the night.

Thankfully, this hellhole called Gotham was littered with abandoned factories. Zuo Ci found one that was still fairly intact, made some basic repairs, and settled them inside. He also added a few stoves to keep them warm.

That night, he worked flat out without stopping, covering as much of Gotham as he could and doing everything in his power not to miss a single person.

And it was only that night that Zuo Ci discovered just how frighteningly large Gotham's homeless population was.

They were like flies, clinging to the garbage. They were also like maggots, only able to inch along, never drawing anyone's attention.

Zuo Ci had beaten up thugs, robbed gangs, and even faced lunatics like Joker. But he was certain that tonight was the most painful night he had ever experienced.

Unfortunately, no matter how painful it was, Zuo Ci wasn't Batman. His energy was limited, and he couldn't save everyone.

So he decided to ask Batman for help.

"These are the first batch of supplies I've prepared. It's all food and clean drinking water, plus some medicine. I'd like you to contact that idiot young heir at Wayne Enterprises and have him get these things into the hands of the homeless."

At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But when Zuo Ci mentioned Wayne Enterprises, Batman felt as though someone had suddenly squeezed his heart, and his gaze involuntarily sharpened for an instant.

That tiny slip was enough for Zuo Ci to notice.

"Could you stop looking at me like that? You ought to have at least some self-awareness.

Take a good look at all that gear you're wearing. Which piece isn't worth a fortune? And think about when you buy things here. When have you ever not paid without batting an eye? You don't even haggle.

With the kind of money you throw around, someone must be backing you. And if you look at everyone in Gotham, the only person with both the means and the inclination is that young master Bruce, who's still a kid at heart.

So, putting it all together, he must be funding you. After all, it's not like you're actually Bruce. That would be way too ridiculous. Saying you're having an affair with him would be more believable.

Wait a second. If I remember right, that young master Bruce gets pretty wild in private. Don't tell me..."

"I'll help you. Give me the supplies."

To stop Zuo Ci's thoughts from wandering any further into dangerous territory, Batman had no choice but to interrupt him. That also made Zuo Ci chuckle inwardly.

As someone who had traveled to this world, he naturally knew that Batman was Bruce Wayne. But Bruce didn't think all that highly of him yet, so bluntly exposing his identity wouldn't be appropriate. He might as well play dumb.

"Here. The supplies are inside this. It's easy to use, too. Just press the mechanism on top, then toss it into an open space."

[Product name: Universal Capsule

Price: US$100,000 each

Effect: A capsule created using spatial technology, capable of storing a large quantity of objects inside.

Warning: Do not use on people. The consequences will be unfortunate.]

As he took the capsule, Batman's face remained cold and impassive, but inwardly, he was honestly stunned.

Such a tiny capsule could actually do something this astonishing?

"This is just the first batch of supplies. I'll keep donating more, so sorry for the trouble I'll be putting you through later, too.

Consider this capsule your payment. You can keep it once you're done. There are two more, and I'll hand them over once I've finished packing them.

But you'll have to give those two back. These things are damn expensive."

To save these people, Zuo Ci had actually spent a fortune redeeming an entire box of Universal Capsules in one go. But the night's work had left him so exhausted that he had only managed to pack one capsule's worth of supplies.

After putting the capsule away, Batman didn't hurry to leave. Instead, he stood in the shop, silently looking at Zuo Ci.

"Why? Why do you want to help them? You won't get anything out of it, will you?"