Catwoman

At those words, Qin Wei's blood ran cold.

He was about to find an excuse to slip away when Oswald grabbed him and pressed him against the door.

"Did you hear that? A cabinet just opened... there's rustling, like someone's taking their clothes off!"

Oswald lowered his voice and listened intently, quietly resting his hand on the doorknob.

He gestured to Qin Wei that they would charge in together on the count of three.

Qin Wei nodded, secretly delighted.

The Biomen possessed immense strength and had no reason to sneak up to the second floor. Clearly, a thief had entered the room. If he could use the intruder to lure Oswald away from the casino, that would be perfect.

After a count of three, the two burst through the door.

But instead of catching a thief red-handed as they had expected, they were greeted by a pair of long, smooth legs.

A beautiful blonde stood there wearing only underwear. The instant she noticed the intruders, she let out an ear-splitting scream.

Qin Wei recognized her as the waitress from downstairs. She was pretty enough that he had stolen a couple of extra glances at her.

"Didn't Mr. Maroni tell you this room was off-limits?"

The girl crouched down and hugged her knees, her pretty face flushed crimson with either embarrassment or anger.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Oswald wasn't taken in by her one-sided account. He pulled a set of brass knuckles from his pocket and advanced on her. Clearly, if her answer failed to satisfy him, this beauty was in for a brutal beating.

"You think I want to be here? That bastard Maroni forced me..." The girl bit her lip, looking so pitiful that it hardly seemed like an act.

"Don't insult Mr. Maroni!"

"Fine... Mr. Maroni told me to come. I can call him if you don't believe me!"

Covering her chest, she walked over to the desk, picked up the receiver, and dialed a string of numbers.

Whether she had done it deliberately or not, Qin Wei noticed that the distance between her and Oswald, originally just a few steps, had widened.

"Yes, didn't you tell your men? They're suspecting me now!"

After a few complaints, she pointed at the receiver, signaling for Oswald to take the call. Then she left the desk and pulled a leather outfit from the little bag she had brought.

"I don't know why Mr. Maroni is so obsessed with leather. Does he really like role-playing that much?"

In the space of those few sentences, the girl had slipped into the leather outfit and was wriggling her hips as she struggled to pull up the zipper.

An ordinary person might have been utterly dazzled by that seductive sight. Unfortunately for her, she had encountered Qin Wei. The instant he saw that sexy leather outfit, her identity was exposed.

To confirm his suspicion, Qin Wei tried calling her name.

"Hey, Selina!"

Catwoman was still immersed in her role, complaining nonstop, when that unexpected call yanked her offstage. Hearing her own name come from a stranger's mouth made her tremble.

It really was Catwoman! Selina Kyle!

"Oh, shit! Don't touch the phone!"

The warning came a little too late. Oswald had already touched the receiver. Whatever Catwoman had done to it, a powerful current instantly shocked him so hard that his eyes rolled back.

Qin Wei immediately went for a mighty kick.

One flying kick sent Oswald toppling stiffly to the floor like a log rolling off a truck.

Uh... the plan had taken an unexpected turn, but it was going smoothly. Now I just need to get him out of here.

"All right, handsome. Now that the nuisance is out of the way, can you answer a question for me?"

Selina slowly advanced on Qin Wei with a runway model's strut.

As far as she was concerned, the threat had been eliminated.

Removing the extravagant wavy blonde wig, Selina revealed a sleek silver-gray crop.

She closed in on Qin Wei and pinned him against the wall.

Not with her hand, but with her foot-the leather-clad Catwoman held a full split, her long, shapely leg pressing Qin Wei in place.

She really knew how to work it!

"Where did you hear that name? Or let's put it more plainly: how do you know me?"

Qin Wei could barely withstand this assault and almost succumbed to her charms. Luckily, he hadn't forgotten what mattered. With a tenth of a second to spare before losing himself, he moved Catwoman's foot aside.

"Help me lower him out the window."

Her usually infallible powers of seduction had failed. Catwoman was taken aback. Frowning and pouting, she seriously questioned her own charm for the first time.

"What are you standing there for? Give me a hand!" Qin Wei urged impatiently.

"Oh... fine."

They tied a rope around Oswald. Catwoman lowered him from the window while Qin Wei caught him below, finally getting him down safely despite a few scares.

Catwoman leaped from the second floor with a stylish backflip, landing without a sound.

"Damn, those knees must be made of iron!"

Qin Wei couldn't help marveling.

"Now can you answer my question? Don't try to dodge it again..."

Catwoman muttered, looking ready to try the same trick again, but Qin Wei deftly slipped aside with a shift of his shoulder.

The cold night wind dispersed the hormones stirring in his blood. He understood that no matter how passionate and lovely his fantasies about Catwoman had once been, he couldn't equate a work of fiction with a living person.

Beneath that exquisite exterior lurked a dangerous, tempting poison.

Selina also realized that the man before her was immune to her tricks.

Her exceptional beauty had opened many doors for Selina since childhood, and it had also led her to take it for granted that every man should fall at her feet.

Moving through the cracks between Gotham's light and darkness, she was both an enchanting socialite and a mesmerizing cat-eyed burglar. Whether stealing valuables or hearts, she never failed.

Her fierce pride and need for control wouldn't allow Qin Wei to become an exception, even if she had to resort to violence.

Catwoman said nothing more and bared the sharp claws concealed beneath her leather gloves.

But just as the tension reached its breaking point, the crash of splintering wood suddenly tore through the quiet night.

A scream loud enough to nearly shatter glass raised the curtain on the spectacle. The pivotal event foretold in the comic had finally arrived.

Dr. Hugo had come with his Bioman!

"It's dangerous here! Come with me!"

Hoisting Oswald onto his back, Qin Wei grabbed Selina's hand and dragged the stunned girl into the shadows of an alley.

Qin Wei had reason to be grateful he had left early, because the massacre was even more brutal and bloody than the comic had depicted.

The multiple locks originally intended to keep Gotham's police out now formed an insurmountable barrier across the gamblers' escape route.

Countless gamblers were trapped behind the door, pounding its panels frantically and futilely. The dark figures drawing closer behind them utterly shattered their resolve.

The dark figures advanced, step by step.

Richie Panton sank to his knees in despair, his head tilted upward. His unfocused pupils resembled the crop-field totems drawn by humanity's earliest ancestors as they awaited an answer from the gods.

An enormous palm descended in judgment.

No one in the casino survived, including every member of the Roman Empire Gang apart from the two who had escaped.

When Gotham's police arrived and cut through the casino doors with a torch, thick blood mixed with entrails and filth flowed out. The pungent stench of blood made even a veteran officer like Gordon cover his nose and frown.

"Goddammit, I'm going to have nightmares tonight!"