Chirp chirp

The newcomer was powerfully built, wearing a black tactical vest with a red bat emblazoned across his chest beneath a cropped dark brown leather jacket that exposed a sliver of his lean waist. Black tactical pants and matching ankle boots completed the outfit.

Compared with his relatively understated clothes, the bright red metal helmet on his head was strikingly eye-catching.

Swinging one long leg over, he dismounted the heavy motorcycle and slid the large-caliber pistol, still trailing smoke, back into the holster strapped to his thigh. A deep, noticeably altered male voice came from beneath that bright red metal helmet-

"I'm only here for Penguin. Anyone else who doesn't want to get involved, leave."

"%￥@#, why is it him!"

Damian couldn't hold back a muttered curse.

When the commotion had broken out, Damian had reacted instantly, grabbing the Little Merfolk, who still only had eyes for the little cakes, and ducking behind the sofa. They had already been sitting in a corner, and thanks to his quick reflexes, neither of them had been caught in the chaos.

Seeing that Damian seemed to know the man, Miaomiao swallowed the mouthful of sweet-and-tart pineapple jam. She savored the lingering taste for a few seconds before asking, "Damian, who's that guy with the bright red head?"

"Him?" Damian's mouth twisted. "A ghost returned from the dead, a madman whose heart is filled with rage and fury... someone toyed with by fate..." A poor soul.

The second Robin.

Jason Todd.

Or, as he should probably be called now, Red Hood.

Once Red Hood made his purpose clear, the Gothamites, who knew how to read a room, immediately grabbed their companions and hurried out without a word. They could almost have been called "well-trained."

The Iceberg Lounge's staff naturally wouldn't-and couldn't-stop their customers from looking out for themselves. Red Hood's willingness to leave the guests out of this was more than they could have asked for, but as everyone left the lounge, their expressions grew increasingly grim.

After all, once the bystanders were gone, what followed would be far less peaceful.

The squad leader still tried to talk things out. "Red Hood, our Penguin gang has always stayed out of your business, and you've stayed out of ours. Storming in like this, smashing up our place, and scaring off our customers-isn't that breaking the rules?"

"Heh. Rules?" Red Hood sounded as though he'd heard something hilarious. "Sorry, have you misunderstood something? This is Gotham. The biggest rule here is that there are no rules."

Red Hood clearly didn't think much of the Iceberg Lounge's armed guards. Not only had he put away the gun he'd used to intimidate the customers, but he was even leaning casually against his motorcycle, arms folded across his chest, as though he were an ordinary young man waiting for his friends to join him on an outing.

The squad leader felt humiliated. The squad leader wanted to explode. But the squad leader didn't dare.

Just because this guy was young and had only recently made his debut didn't mean he was some hotheaded rookie they could easily brush off. This was the ruthless bastard who had taken on Black Mask's entire gang alone with two guns and pinned their boss, Penguin, against a wall to beat the hell out of him!

Then there was the self-proclaimed genius Riddler, Two-Face, who loved flipping a coin to make his decisions, Killer Croc, whose strength and durability far surpassed those of ordinary people, Clayface, who could assume anyone's appearance, and Joker, whom Batman had only thrown back into Arkham last night...

If this guy hadn't beaten you senseless, you'd be embarrassed to call yourself a big-name Gotham gangster!

Seemingly noticing his hesitation, Red Hood gave a scoff from beneath his helmet, just loud enough to be heard. "You can also drop your weapons and leave right now. I won't beat you up."

What an outrageous humiliation!

No one could stand being mocked right to their face like that! Especially not mercenaries like them, who made their living amid bullets and gunfire every day!

If they threw down their guns and surrendered today without even putting up a fight, they might as well quit the business. Never mind their peers-even some random office worker would laugh at them!

After all, this was Gotham, a city of such simple, wholesome folk!

Since a fight was now unavoidable, they weren't going to surrender without a struggle.

The squad leader sneered and raised the gun in his hand. "Red Hood, I'll admit you're strong, but this is the Iceberg Lounge. Our turf. You're one man with two guns, while we..."

The guards and mercenaries behind him tightened their grips on their weapons, a chorus of clicks sounding as they disengaged their safeties.

"Done talking?"

Red Hood remained as unhurried as ever. Rather than drawing a gun, he pulled a crowbar from behind his waist. Just an ordinary crowbar, the kind commonly used when repairing cars.

"I don't need guns to deal with small fry like you."

Before he had finished speaking, Red Hood lunged forward. Gunshots and screams erupted one after another.

Miaomiao had never really seen the weapons and ammunition humans used on land, and she found them fascinating. The bangs and cracks around her sounded like the firecrackers the Elders said humans set off during festivals, leaving her desperately curious. Several times, she tried to crane her neck for a look, only for Damian to yank her firmly back down by her sleeve and keep her pinned in the corner.

The already frightened penguins and seals panicked even more under the continuous gunfire, scattering in every direction. Their squawks mingled with the shots, forming a distinctive "symphony" of everyday Gotham life.

One young penguin, perhaps separated from its parents, was so terrified that it screamed and blindly scrambled about, too panicked to choose a path.

It was tiny, and the scene was so chaotic that neither side had any attention to spare for the little creature at their feet, scarcely bigger than a palm. It nearly got stepped on by a human's large foot, then had to change course when a falling object crashed down in front of it. Tumbling and scrambling along, the penguin was so frightened that its down stood on end, making it look just like a fluffy little gray ball.

Somehow, the little creature finally rushed toward the quiet corner where Miaomiao and Damian were hiding, chirping shrilly, and plunged between Miaomiao's feet, trembling.

Little penguin: ⊂︎(ʘ̥∧ʘ̥)つ

Miaomiao: (ૢ˃ꌂ˂⁎)

Damian: (ー_ー)!!

Miaomiao tentatively poked the little ball of fluff by her feet with a finger. It shuddered violently but didn't run away. Instead, it tried even harder to bury its head between her feet, as though not being able to see the danger would keep it safe.

So soft!

The sensation beneath her fingertip startled Miaomiao. Most of the Merfolk lived deep in the southern seas. Although they didn't fear the bitter cold, they didn't like it either and rarely swam to the polar regions for fun. This was the first time Miaomiao had ever touched a penguin chick.

So tiny! So soft!

A completely different kind of fluffy from Titus!

Titus was a dog who could go on night patrol with Batman: clever, brave, tolerant, and strong. This little penguin, however, was young and fragile, an endearing little thing that needed protection.

Miaomiao couldn't resist reaching out to stroke it again, earning a trembling, babyish chirp from the little penguin.

꒰^ↀωↀ^꒱❤❤

✧(◍˃̶ᗜ˂̶◍)✩!

Miaomiao's eyes lit up!