Perhaps all of Gotham’s buildings are like this, old and gloomy, yet because they are historically significant structures, they are repeatedly repaired after each demolition.

The was true of City Hall, and for the Blackgate Prison—are people not considering that maybe Gotham itself doesn’t favor this style of architecture? After all, it’s the 21st century now.

Walking inside Blackgate Prison, even with the lights fully on, Vivi felt like she was a rat scurrying through the sewers.

Upon opening her map, she discovered the [Assassin] was escaping, which annoyed her even more.

Vivi had paid the price of a house, yet failed to eliminate the assassin who had infiltrated her home. This person’s vitality was incredibly stubborn.

Moreover, it was odd that the presence of Talon had also disappeared.

—From the map.

Vivi recalled the system explaining that identities on the map actually represented the NPCs’ self-awareness of their own identities. Unless Talon truly believed he was not Talon, how could he just disappear… Perhaps he didn’t survive the explosion?

She could only tentatively accept this possibility.

She sent Shelk to Sheila to retrieve the body, then went to the cemetery to bury her body at the spot, not near the corpse. The teleport point was the location of death, not near the corpse. If she teleported now, she would appear in the ruins of her own house.

…Luckily, she didn’t have to “pay Bella Bettywen”, after all, someone placing the bomb wasn’t Bella Bettywen, the warden’s fault.

“Now Bella can’t appear in public,” Vivi thought, “I originally planned to straighten out Blackgate Prison first. There are quite a few crooks in the prison who engage in corruption and bribery, and leaving them be is really an eyesore.”

But she would likely be an eyesore at Black Mask’s place too, and the assassin seemed unlikely to give up. What if a fight broke out in the prison and the inmates took advantage of the chaos?

Black Mask and Penguin are not the same. He was once caught and imprisoned under conclusive criminal charges. Vivi just needed to figure out a way to subdue him and send him to prison—

After Joseph was arrested, those in Blackgate who worked for Black Mask were spit out by him.

Vivi continued to interrogate this prison guard, asking him what THE5 does.

“It’s a new type of drug, it has virtually no side effects, only making people feel incredibly strong and energetic,” he explained. “If you’re interested, you might want to try it yourself.”

“Forget it,” Vivi said, “I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a drug without side effects.”

“Because it’s a drug, it naturally has the effect of addiction… all drugs do, right? And when not used, people can clearly feel their strength fading, which makes them dependent on it, that’s how it is.”

“Is that so?”

Several districts away, Nightwing hung a man upside down and then struck him hard in the abdomen: “I don’t believe it.”

In his hand was a small gang leader who worked for Black Mask, with people lying scattered around him. Black Mask actually didn’t lack money, but as an old rival, Nightwing knew what his real aim was—he wanted to take over Gotham and become the true king of Gotham.

So when he learned that this drug being sold from Gotham to Bludhaven came from Black Mask, the Bat Family’s Bluebird became alert.

Fortunately, his interrogation skills also came from Batman’s training.

The gang leader, terrified, said: “I’ve told everything, I’ve said everything… But, I heard that Black Mask’s people also use the drug, just a stronger version of THE5.”

Coincidentally, the guy in front of Vivi also told the truth.

He mentioned a better version, however, it was not for sale, only Black Mask’s insiders could use it.

She decided to go there herself, curious to see what THE5 really was.

【You’ve received a side quest: Black Mask and THE5】

【Black Mask seems to be brewing a conspiracy, so he is lying low for now, the information you gather will affect the direction of future events.】

【Quest rewards: 0~50 diamonds, 0~100,000 gold coins】

But she couldn’t go in her current identity since the assassin was still in the city, and Black Mask had clearly added Bella to the blacklist.

Luckily, Vivi could change her identity, as Black Mask’s people had never seen her true self.

—Because she was an unnamed person.

Anyway, since it’s just game, Vivi always did what she thought of.

She first left Blackgate as Bella, making sure her face was captured, then rode a motorcycle into the most chaotic district, teleported to the ruins, and changed her identity just in case, swapping her clothes, using a beret to cover her hair, and a scarf to cover her face.

Luckily, it had gotten dark. When she happily hopped towards the entrance of the community, she brushed past Sheila who was walking downstairs to walk her rat.

Sheila turned her head after walking ten meters, staring at the slightly familiar figure: “?”

Vivi didn’t pay much attention to these details. On her map, Black Mask was staying at the Cianis Steel Factory. She took a cab to the destination, and at the nearby hotel, she perched on the top floor—here she criticized the hotel staff for letting her in without checking her identity, which was really unsafe, right?

Arriving at the top floor, Vivi started assembling the manual for the gun in her hand. This large caliber gun could be loaded with a special type of gas anesthetic grenade, which would explode near the target and spread gas to knock down everyone within a 10-meter radius.

She had weapons, why bother fighting up close?

However, from afar, she kept an eye on Black Mask’s car, just in case he came out and got into the car. She continued assembling a manacle gun, mainly for use against vehicles with special tires, like bulletproof cars. The bullets of this gun could act on the tires, melting the hard rubber shell.

After she finished assembling, Vivi scanned the map that was covered with a dense mass of red, though she didn’t mind.

Black Mask stared at the person in front of him, without knowing that Nightwing was lying on top of the ventilation duct watching him.

He thought, “No one knows, THE5 drug is just a failed product of serum THE1.”

What he intended to do was not merely sell drugs, but to create an army of super-strong undead soldiers using serum THE1!

THE1 was a serum Black Mask had researched for many years. After injection, people would lose their ability to feel pain and mistakenly believe they were incredibly strong. After multiple injections, they would become fearless soldiers, obedient to commands, immune to most drugs, with slower blood flow, and even wounds wouldn’t affect their actions.

If Vivi were here, she would realize that Black Mask had inadvertently created a low-grade version of the Talon assassins—because these soldier legions couldn’t resurrect, they still had weaknesses.”

However, from afar, she kept an eye on Black Mask’s car, just in case he came out and got into the car. She continued assembling a manacle gun, mainly for use against vehicles with special tires, like bulletproof cars. The bullets of this gun could act on the tires, melting the hard rubber shell.

After she finished assembling, Vivi scanned the map that was covered with a dense mass of red, though she didn’t mind.

Black Mask stared at the person in front of him, without know that Nightwing was lying on top of the ventilation duct watching him.

He thought, “No one knows, THE5 drug is just a failed product of serum THE1.”

What he intended to do was not merely sell drugs, but to create an army of super-strong undead soldiers using serum THE1!

THE1 was a serum Black Mask had researched for many years. After injection, people would lose their ability to feel pain and mistakenly believe they were incredibly strong. After multiple injections, they would become fearless soldiers, obedient to commands, immune to most drugs, with slower blood flow, and even wounds wouldn’t affect their actions.

If Vivi were here, she would realize that Black Mask had inadvertently created a low-grade version of the Talon assassins—because these soldier legions couldn’t resurrect, they still had weaknesses.”

In the shadowy depths of Black Mask’s operation, those he selected from the steel factory workers had been utterly transformed into soldiers, expendable after multiple injections and requiring frequent replacements. But such logistical nightmares were no issue for Black Mask; after all, he had plenty of workers to exploit.

And these undead-like beings proved to be the perfect foil for the sort of vigilantes who only incapacitated or broke bones, never killing their foes.

Hidden within the vent, Dick Grayson overheard their conversation—or rather, Black Mask’s monologue to his underlings, as the others stood silently, unmoving.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Nightwing relayed the information back to the Batcave: “I’m going to retrieve a sample of THE1. If we have the original, can we develop an antidote?”

“It wouldn’t be difficult with the original sample,” came the response.

After the others had departed, Nightwing discreetly disguised his face, knocked out a steel factory worker, donned the worker’s uniform, and stealthily followed Black Mask’s men. At the corner, he blended in unnoticed; his presence unrecognized among the undead soldiers.

These soldiers, reduced to unwitting pawns, failed to perceive the enemy among them unless Black Mask issued direct commands.

From her vantage point on the hotel rooftop, Vivi noted Black Mask’s cautious approach to the exit, vehicles strategically closing in from three angles to block the door. Known for his paranoia, he obviously wouldn’t expose himself to potential sniper fire; he had survived too many assassination attempts already.

With a click of her tongue, Vivi realized shooting now would alert the men inside the vehicles, likely driving Black Mask back into the steel factory. She briskly descended from the rooftop, the hotel receptionist observing silently as she passed, the unmistakable realness of her weapon compelling him to duck and pretend to see nothing.

Minutes later, as he peeked over the counter, relieved to see her gone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Calling GCPD was futile; by the time the police would arrive, the scene would have cleared—Gotham’s police were notoriously ineffective.

Vivi changed her approach. Armed with her map, she faced no constraints in visibility, climbed a banyan tree opposite the steel factory, and pulled out an RPG. As a cluster of red dots escorted Black Mask out of the factory, she targeted the vehicle closest to him. The RPG’s force flipped the car, and the recoil knocked her from the tree. Switching to anesthetic rounds, she raised her gun slightly, the oval-shaped potent anesthetic grenade arcing down behind the car, landing amidst Black Mask’s group, enveloping the area in white smoke.

After securing the perimeter with a few more shots to prevent any escape by car if Black Mask wasn’t incapacitated, she switched to dual pistols and moved in closer.

Using emotional bubbles above the heads on her map to determine unconsciousness, she noticed only one bubble persistently active. Zooming in on the map—

[Steel Factory Worker (Nightwing in disguise)]

Vivi cursed under her breath. She seemed to have interfered with Nightwing’s plan. Unfortunately, only Nightwing appeared active, surrounded by red dots that seemed to be attacking him without any emotional response above their heads marked as [Steel Factory Worker (Under Black Mask’s control)].

Counting 17 individuals, eight remained standing despite the potent anesthetic—clearly, Penguin had sold her subpar munitions. She couldn’t let Nightwing face them alone; quickly picking her targets, she took cover behind another vehicle, spotting Black Mask unconscious.

Leaping over, she grabbed Black Mask by the neck, gun to his forehead: “Stand down, or I shoot!”

However, none of the operatives ceased their assault; the workers, fearless in death, and Nightwing, stuck in defense.

Clearly, only Nightwing wanted to stand down. He noticed Vivi’s arrival and tried to speak, but then realized: “Remove his mask!”

Swiftly, Vivi stripped the mask from Black Mask’s face, revealing a stranger underneath.

Nightwing cleared the area, finally free to shout, “He’s not Black Mask! Black Mask is watching from a distance, you need to get out—”

But the map had clearly marked him as Black Mask… unless this person had been brainwashed into believing he truly was Black Mask.

Nightwing understood more than she did; these undead were attempting to kill him, clearly manipulated—by Black Mask himself, who was indeed observing the scene!

Damn, both he and Vivi were in danger!

---

In Blackgate Prison.

In the narrow cell to Penguin’s left, Deadshot idly swatted at mosquitoes, while on the right, Killer Croc, the half-crocodile man, turned his gaze upon Penguin with a deep voice: “Escape together?”

Deadshot paused, glancing at Killer Croc.

Penguin: “…”

At that moment, if not for “Mr. C’s” orders, he genuinely wanted to agree.

But he could only, with tears, report them.

An hour later, new locks were installed on their cells, further reinforced.

Killer Croc and Deadshot both turned their backs to the middle where Penguin sat.