novelnext Chapter 23 is simple, unadorned, and dry.
Chapter 23 is simple, unadorned, and dry.
After this incident, Jung Eun gave up the idea of using the bamboo dragonfly to go back.
Gotham City hasn't experienced the Arkham Invasion yet. Gangsters, thugs, thieves, the mentally ill, the homeless... their mental resilience is too low. They're like rabbits, easily startled by the slightest disturbance, and they might pull out a gun from who-knows-where and fire a couple of shots.
He's still just a mortal, unlike some reckless guys who can debut as superheroes or supervillains right away.
Let's just play it safe for now.
Zheng En found a secluded spot without any surveillance cameras, took off his black robe, and walked out of the alley. It wouldn't have taken more than ten minutes to walk to the main road, but on that short stretch of road, he was robbed again.
"Ah, life in Gotham is just that simple, unpretentious, and boring."
Zheng En calmly snatched it back, only to find that the man's pockets were even cleaner than his face.
"No way, they don't even have a gun, and they're trying to rob someone with just a tree branch they picked up from who-knows-where?"
Zheng Endu laughed at this guy. He looked like a grown man, but he didn't have as much wealth as the curly-haired guy he had met earlier.
At least Curly Hair could afford a real gun, while he could only pick up a tree branch and pretend it was a gun.
The other person was so ashamed by what he said that even when he was pinned to the ground, he turned his head away and refused to look at him. As for his face, even if you tried to look at it clearly, you couldn't see it clearly because it was covered by his hair and beard, with only his eyes showing.
Zheng En squatted down and carefully examined the man. "You have no money, no gun, and no home, right?"
That's why they didn't do any preparation and just randomly picked someone who looked easy to bully to rob.
Upon hearing his words, the other person's limbs, which had been struggling, completely stopped moving.
Fearing he might suddenly die, Zheng En poked his waist with a tree branch, saying, "Say something!"
"What's there to say... I just have nothing..."
The homeless man seemed to have been touched on a sore spot; even his sobs were weak and feeble. "You think... I wanted to do this kind of thing? Ah, I used to... live a very decent life..."
"I used to...work at Kane Building..."
Zheng En wanted to hear his story, but he spoke so slowly, breaking each sentence into three parts, and spending about 80% of the time taking a breath.
By the time he was about to say the next sentence, Jung Eun had almost forgotten what the previous sentence was.
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Zheng En thought she would no longer be hypnotized after graduation, but she never expected that her former math teacher would meet his match here.
Upon hearing his words, the other person's breathing quickened slightly. "There isn't even anyone who's willing to listen to me..."
Help! I have a feeling that if I don't do something soon, a supervillain is about to be born here.
"I see you still have the energy to talk, why don't you get up and buy some bread?"
Zheng En stuffed two bills into his pocket, stood up, and said, "I've heard the beginning of this story. We can talk about the rest another time when we meet."
"No matter what happened in the past or what will happen in the future, this damn life will always hit people hard, leaving them bruised and battered."
Jung Eun stretched out her hand to the person on the ground, "Have you ever watched a boxing match? The kind in comics where you risk your life and death. After you fall, you have a few minutes to recover, and then you either get up and throw a punch, or you die in the ring."
The homeless man propped himself up on his hands and sat up. His first instinct was to reach for the money in his pocket. He looked at Zheng En's outstretched hand, his fingers twitched, and then he put them down.
Jung Eun didn't mind. "Anyway, let's go buy some bread first."
He walked towards the brightly lit street, exited the alley, and soon arrived at a crowded place.
Zheng En randomly flagged down a car and gave the address of the East District. When he noticed the other driver looking at him in the rearview mirror, he just smiled and didn't say anything, waving a gun in his hand.
After a safe and smooth journey back to her rented apartment, Jung Eun felt a blast of cold air hit her as soon as she opened the door.
It's cool and refreshing, very comfortable.
Stepping into the room, I felt that the temperature was a bit lower than outside. If this were in the summer, it would probably save a lot on air conditioning costs.
On his first day in the apartment, Jung Eun woke up in the middle of the night as usual, but when he woke up he felt heavy and he just closed his eyes naturally.
It feels like something is pressing down on it...
My eyelids feel so heavy...
Glug glug...
He snored and slept soundly until midday. Even with the sun shining, it was still cool and comfortable around him when he woke up, making him want to take another nap.
But not today; I have important business to attend to today.
Zheng En quickly washed up and made herself a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.
He was eating while scrolling through his phone when he noticed several messages popping up in the window.
"Shocking! Strange occurrences of bizarre events in Gotham at night; police officers and gangsters fall victim to these attacks."
"Batman raids gangs at Harbor, GCPD arrests numerous criminals"
"Multiple attacks in the old city: Was it the work of an evil spirit or Batman?"
Tsk.
Zheng En clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, "Why do you Gotham people only care about Batman?"
He thought he did a pretty good job pretending to be a ghost, but when he scrolled through the news, most of it was about Batman, ghosts, and demons, and nobody paid any attention to him.
Although he doesn't plan to debut so soon, his presence is just too weak.
After hastily finishing her breakfast, Jung Eun took a car to the GCPD.
He didn't tell the driver he wanted to go to the police station directly. Instead, he went to the Upper East Side first, and then took a ride from there to a shop near the police station. After getting out of the car, he waited until the driver had driven far away before taking off his glasses and walking towards the police station.
The gates of the GCPD are always open, and you can see the prisoners locked in large iron cages as you pass by.
Police officers would arrest people and take them inside, both to facilitate interrogation and to put psychological pressure on the prisoners.
For gangsters who value their reputation, being locked in an iron cage like monkeys in a zoo and watched by others is a great humiliation.
Jung Eun immediately saw through the police station's internal setup, but it had nothing to do with him.
He paused at the door for a moment, and when someone came over to ask him something, he asked directly if he was looking for Harvey Block.
The man turned and looked inside, then looked up and shouted towards the second floor.
"Brock, someone's looking for you."
Upon hearing this, Brock, who was staring at Gordon with wide eyes, seemed to see a savior and hurried down the stairs.
"Okay, coming right away."
As one's position changes, the further down one goes, the more doors Brock can see in his field of vision.
He had only seen a pair of legs outside the door at first, but as he went down the stairs, the figure gradually became complete, and the face was exposed to the bright sunlight.
With black hair and black eyes, and a fair complexion, the newcomer wore a cheerful and natural smile, as if he were seeing a long-lost friend.
"Hey, Brock, long time no see."
Hearing this and looking at the man, Harvey Block stared wide-eyed in disbelief. He instinctively opened his mouth to ask a question, but he had too many questions and concerns in his mind, so he opened his mouth again and again.
A jumble of profanities and questions got stuck in his throat, making his head spin and his vision blurry.