For Penguin, it was a very bad day.

An unfortunate aura enveloped him, causing him to be unlucky from morning to night.

First, in the morning, half of his members who had infiltrated the City Hall security team were either dead or sent to prison hospitals. After surgery, they would be serving their sentences, a seamless transition.

Within the various departments of the city government, those he planned to bribe were still hesitant. After this incident, they immediately cut off cooperation with him—

The new mayor seemed not to be someone to be trifled with. This display of killing the chicken to scare the monkey signified that if one resisted her, the only outcomes were either prison or hell.

After this incident, the cooperation between Penguin and Black Mask was temporarily severed. Of course, it was only “temporary” as people like them don’t have permanent enemies… except for Batman.

However, our dear Mr. Cobblepot had other troubles, namely the pressure from the Court of Owls. Due to some businesses with Black Mask likely going south, a batch of goods was stuck with him. Meanwhile, the Court of Owls demanded a large amount of cash from him.

These disgusting parasites, are perhaps more deserving of hell than a “businessman” like him.

Cobblepot sneered coldly.

But his business had to go on; he still needed to continue his veiled dealings with the Court of Owls—they were a part of Gotham’s darkness, or perhaps the darkness itself. Most members of the Court of Owls were the real power brokers of Gotham, facilitating Cobblepot’s business without obstacles.

Compared to them, Mayor Anna Alek was just a foolish, reckless idiot. He believed that once he figured her out, this mayor would disappear silently like her predecessors, becoming just another corpse.

Thus, Cobblepot needed cash, and the court members who didn’t want to be exposed didn’t accept virtual transfers.

In the short term, he couldn’t obtain a large amount of cash; his capital turnover was problematic, not to mention mercury transactions and dealing with Robin. Compared to his financial issues, those were just minor interludes.

This left Penguin irritable all day, until this moment—

【“Hello?”】

He received an “investment”, or perhaps an “overture” from a mysterious person.

【“You can call me Mr. C.”】

The voice on the phone was obviously synthesized, genderless. Most of Cobblepot’s clients were like this, showing their faces while hiding their identities. The mysterious person brought a cooperative deal.

“Mr. C” resolved his capital turnover issue, but…

【“I’m addicted to all kinds of gambling, I like to take a gamble at any time—15 days, return the invested amount in full after 15 days, regardless of profit or loss, just give me back the same amount, how about it?”】

If “Mr. C” really was a gambler, then he certainly wasn’t good at it.

“What’s the price?” Penguin was still cautious. This suddenly appearing Mr. C was very suspicious.

【“I like the thrill,” the other side laughed, “If you can’t return it, you must give me everything you have.”】

—If this guy really liked gambling, he must often go “all-in.”

“That’s not fair,” Penguin cunningly said, “unless you also put everything on the table.”

【“So it’s decided.” The voice on the other end was light, and then there was only silence on the phone.】

Cobblepot: “……”

The next second, a huge sum of money was transferred to his account, the exact amount they had agreed upon.

The light shone on his half-shadowed face, and Penguin gnashed his teeth, but he didn’t think anything was wrong. Would he not be able to repay in half a month? How could that be? But he might not intend to repay anyway.

So, was this really just a gesture of goodwill?

Staring at the figures in his account, he casually threw the brandy beside him onto the forehead of his subordinate in front of him. The liquid splashed, blood slowly trickled down, and the subordinate dared not move.

—They had just been defeated by Robin, and even their goods were taken away.

A bunch of useless people.

At the same time, the call interface on Vivi’s screen disappeared.

In slowly burning special effects, a contract with a black background and red letters appeared along with the flames, like a devil’s pact.

【Contract Requirement: Penguin to return an investment of 500,000 gold coins by April 18th】

【If Penguin successfully returns it, everything owned by the investor “Mr. C” will belong to Penguin】

【If Penguin fails to return, then everything Penguin owns will belong to the investor “Mr. C”】

【Everything from both parties is now on the scale】

【Contract in effect】

The most magical part was that the contract had signatures from both Vivi and Penguin.

They were “Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot” and the fictitious “C” made up by Vivi.

Compared to Cobblepot, who put his full name on the line, Vivi’s signature seemed quite perfunctory.

What exactly does Mr. C own… Vivi pondered, probably just “his” name.

But she didn’t consider what would happen if she really failed, after all, it’s just a game.

Currently, the balance on the public account was less than 800,000 gold coins, Vivi’s personal account was still ample, but according to her plan, it probably wouldn’t last until fifteen days later.

In this situation, she hesitated to spend money even when opening the gold coin shop—

【Colorful Time Street Trees, Price: 300 gold coins】

【Can only be planted in open spaces within the city. They light up in different colors when sensing strong emotions from nearby humans, perhaps useful for creating a festive atmosphere】

【Can be purchased repeatedly, limit 0/10】

【Speed Limit Warning Sign, Price: 400 gold coins】

【A circular sign marked with “60”. Various accidents always happen in the city, perhaps it’s time to make them aware of the dangers of speeding】

【Enforces speed limit. Recommended placement at accident-prone areas.】

【Second-hand AI, Price: 88,888 gold coins (discounted)】

【A second-hand product that can only appear on computers, already replaced by its previous owner, but incredibly powerful, capable of holding some panel data, completing some necessary deductions.】

【Used only for one-way transmission, cannot directly appear on the player’s system panel. As it is second-hand, it’s already discounted】

Whenever it came to such times, Vivi always felt money was never enough… She glanced at her balance and felt a wave of sadness.

The street trees and signs were one thing, but the second-hand AI, which Vivi urgently needed but couldn’t afford, was another. From the description, she understood that it was supposed to export the “map” or “files” from her system panel to the computer, undoubtedly useful for later completing the main mission of underground construction.

Sometimes she bought items from the gold coin shop that she didn’t use immediately, like a hammer, but the shop had a limited purchase system, refreshing daily. Some items, if not bought, might never reappear—she wondered if the trash can from the first day would come back.

Facing the words “limited quantity, limited time,” even the most cunning player couldn’t outplay the evil developers, damn it!

Since she couldn’t afford the most expensive item, Vivi simply didn’t buy any.

Considering the mistake about Robin’s existence last night, she simply pulled out her computer, and while the NPCs were resting, she caught up with the news reports one by one.

The night was dark, most of the lights were extinguished, and in the city hall, only the faint reflection from the computer screen glowed.

The following days passed uneventfully.

She handed the task of exploring underground and the two rings to Sheila, who controlled the rats more efficiently than Vivi; Sheila gradually got along with Millie, it seemed their roommate situation was quite okay; Shelk quickly adapted to his new position as a factory manager, perhaps a true corporate slave has no limits.

Black Mask made no moves, possibly still observing her? It could also be that his storyline was temporarily complete, waiting to trigger the next plot point. Vivi could focus on dealing with Penguin—but the gold coin shop didn’t refresh with any special items, mostly general decorations like the street trees. Notably, the AI was listed again, but Vivi still couldn’t afford it and could only sigh in longing at the screen.

During these days, a special event was triggered, one involving Sheila:

“I encountered strange people underground, some I had seen before, some I hadn’t, and some didn’t look human, more like some kind of reptile.”

“I avoided them and walked away.”

It seemed this would trigger a new side mission, but it required Vivi to accompany Sheila.

Another was Shelk:

“People from Black Mask tried to contact me… But I avoided them subtly under the guise of work. What do you think I should do, Ms. Alek?”

This seemed to be triggering a follow-up mission from Black Mask. Vivi told Shelk to “stay alert and ignore for now.”

She could delay this mission.

Apart from gathering information, she didn’t forget to check her corpse every day, selecting the “C” option. Her orders with Penguin were now scheduled for the next month—Vivi had previously discovered what seemed like a system loophole. The transaction of three liters of mercury was mandatory; as soon as an order was placed, both parties had to complete the transaction. However, she never triggered the “chance to encounter Cobblepot.”

The interesting “C” option—who would have thought that whether it was the investor or the mysterious buyer, they were both codenamed “C”?

Time quickly approached the second delivery day—

It was still at night, but the location was changed from “Diamond District” to “Crime Alley.”

She took off her glasses, armed herself with a hammer, and with a gun on her waist, she expertly entered the sewer.

—Current 【Main Mission·Underground Map】 completion rate is 43%.

*

Tim hit the Enter key.

“Next to the house at 17 Crime Alley, directly below the manhole cover in the sewer…” The blue-green light of the screen fell on his face, and he commented, “Why have they started liking underground deals?”

Even though being a vigilante is a job without a salary, he still hoped his work environment could be better.

However, this time, the person responsible for stopping Penguin wasn’t him, but the person on the other end of the communication line—

“Maybe they finally realized their true nature as sewer rats, right, bat?”

“Stay alert,” came a hoarse, deep male voice from the other end, “Support me, Robin.”

Tim shrugged.

He certainly wasn’t being overly relaxed or arrogant, he was just… that’s Batman, isn’t it?

With Batman, a master of stealth, who knew Gotham’s sewers better than him, Tim didn’t think the same situation as last time would happen again. Who could understand Gotham’s sewers better than Batman himself?

*

Vivi tossed the hammer back and forth, avoiding the swarms of rats and cockroaches running by, so she had no choice but to avoid these little creatures.

She stared at the unfamiliar dots on the map and slowly said: “…Batman?”

Could she just freeload this batch of goods again?