With her previous experience and the information gathered over the last three days, Vivi was naturally well-prepared for what was to come.

She was carrying a red plastic bucket, one of the items from the gold coin shop—

【Portable Trash Can, Price: 700 Gold Coins】

【People always carry trash with them wherever they go: waste paper, used snack bags, empty milk cartons, stuffed into pockets and then forgotten… It’s time to put trash where it belongs. Reach into the can, and you can randomly find any portable trash within 20 meters (all discardable personal items could be categorized as trash)】

【For a clean and tidy modern city, waste sorting is a big deal】

When Vivi saw this can in the gold coin shop, she thought it might come in handy—

The first time she reached into it, she pulled out Shelk’s wrinkled old tie.

Vivi: “……”

She stuffed it back, but for some reason, the tie ended up in Millie’s coat pocket, and what reappeared in her hand was Millie’s half-used lipstick.

It seemed that not only was the retrieval random, but the return was random too.

Now, the brown-haired girl, carrying the cheap plastic bucket, concealed a gun under her coat (which would probably be awkward to draw when needed, but seemed cooler this way), and held a hammer in her other hand. She hopped lightly over a drainage ditch in front of her, a few drops of dirty water splashing onto her shoes, but it didn’t dampen her mood.

I wonder if wallets count as portable trash?

The last time Robin and Penguin’s men clashed, she simply left, and later felt like she missed out on a fortune—since Penguin’s faction was already hostile, theoretically, defeating his minions could earn her gold coins. However, last time it was at City Hall, her territory, and since everyone was downed, she could directly settle the score. But Robin’s clash wasn’t at City Hall—now thinking back, Vivi felt she should have personally “looted the bodies.”

So, this time she brought a handy tool for looting.

Yay!

Vivi stopped about 200 meters from her destination, repeatedly checking the map to for the target location.

The game screen in front of her flickered with a pale blue light, the “merchandise” she needed marked on the map by a large green diamond icon, and not far away were Penguin’s men and Batman.

However, Penguin’s men didn’t move much, just around the “merchandise”, while Batman remained motionless—

Vivi guessed Batman was lying in wait, so they hadn’t started fighting yet.

She quickly figured out the difference between this time and when Robin appeared last time, and the reason for this difference.

Robin acted directly, which allowed her to steal the box from their hidden spot. So, this time Batman was probably waiting for Vivi to appear for the trade before taking action, planning to catch both groups in one swoop.

This situation seemed a bit tricky…

The sound of bats flapping their wings echoed from the depths of the tunnel, along with the sound of water further away. In such an underground setting, if it’s relatively quiet, even a slight increase in noise can travel far.

Vivi wondered if just running would allow Batman to track her down. Surfing the net had enriched her character profile card quite a bit—occasionally, gossip magazines also provided new clues, but players had to read through these reports word by word, which were mixed with lots of false information.

【Batman】

【An urban legend, a “ghost”, and a vigilante who uses high-tech to fight criminals】

【Side missions “Eavesdropping” and “Location Tracking” have been merged】

【You have received a new mission: The Vigilante’s Alertness】

【The locator from Robin and the eavesdropping devices in City Hall seem to be of the same technology. Perhaps you have already guessed who the behind-the-scenes eavesdropper is】

【The mayor has attracted the vigilantes’ alertness. When did it start?】

So why does she need to be wary of green names?

If Vivi just walked out and said, “Batman, let’s scam them together, you take three, I take seven, and you just handle the fighting,” she would probably end up lying on the ground alongside Penguin’s men. I wonder if Batman would refrain from hitting her face, considering her sweet and cute appearance?

So, is Batman really a green name?

Vivi squatted down with the bucket, feeling that she needed to think of a plan—starting by instigating them to start fighting.

*

Mercury is a metal with many uses, difficult to store, toxic, and even a small dose can have a significant impact. Therefore, the right to purchase this metal is held in the hands of a few, mostly needing government approval, and what Penguin does is business with those who can’t get the approval.

For instance, Joker’s bombs, Scarecrow’s gas… Arkham Asylum is one of Penguin’s major clients. Those who escape from there always need his help, and as long as there is business to do, Penguin won’t easily fall.

Batman has tried many times; he has repeatedly attempted to save Gotham.

Sending criminals to prison, breaking their bones, destroying their business in Wayne’s way, but these scoundrels always find a way to stand up again, like today, disrupting Penguin’s underground business. He has done this more than once, but in the end, Penguin always finds a way.

But this time, Batman was still lurking—

He suspected that a new force had appeared in Gotham, and his intuition told him that the recent anomalies might be related to this new force.

…Who would need to buy so much mercury in one go? Almost depleting Penguin’s stock.

Since they’ve gone the way of a smuggler, it definitely wouldn’t be for anything good. He gripped the bar above the mercury box, his expression becoming increasingly unsettled.

Just then, right below him, a leader-like guy took out his phone.

“Hey you—”

【“Turn on the speaker.”】

The voice was hoarse and gender-neutral, causing the guy who answered the phone to shudder and instinctively follow the guidance.

And then—

【“Look up, idiots.”】

The voice echoed through the underground space. The man was startled, and those around him instinctively looked up. At the same time, they all saw a black shadow descending from above.

…With a force almost overwhelming everyone.

The phone fell to the ground but continued to work. Listening to the sounds of fighting from the other side, Vivi immediately took this opportunity to approach them—their voices echoed louder and louder, perfectly masking her footsteps.

Vivi was more than happy to be the scavenger on this battlefield, of course, it would be best to avoid Batman.

She stood about fifty meters away from them, against the wall, continuing to watch the map and reporting Batman’s position. However, she didn’t know why Penguin’s men were not many this time. Batman was too fast, and in no time, most of the red dots above their heads lost their emotional symbols, probably because they were knocked out.

The phone was still working. Vivi heard some noises as if someone picked it up. At this moment, it could only be—

“Who-are-you——”

Vivi fell silent for a moment. Her quick mind was spinning rapidly, and she said:

【“That’s not important, Batman. You haven’t won, because you don’t know where the bomb is located, and soon, everything will go up in smoke…”】

Batman had been close to the mercury box the whole time. She had to devise a way to draw him away, so she simply fabricated a non-existent bomb.

“What? How do you know——”

The voice of the initial leader came through the phone, sounding as if he realized he had spoken too much. He immediately quieted down and began to struggle.

Vivi: “……”

Amid Batman’s questioning and the other party’s painful groans, Vivi figured out what was going on.

This move… this move probably had all the villains involved.

Vivi wanted to play both sides, and so did Penguin. No wonder there weren’t many people—it was a trap, a plot to blow up both Batman and the mysterious guest with an explosion.

—As long as the guest dies, the transaction failure ceases to exist, and it won’t affect Penguin’s business reputation.

“Batman… no, wait, I’m saying… damn it, ahh——There are only seven minutes left. We have planted three bombs in advance, in three directions. If one is deactivated, the other two will immediately explode. The shockwave from the bombs will surely head here, and the mercury box will also be triggered to explode. Even if you don’t die in the explosion, this place will collapse and bury you underneath. Damn it, I’ve said everything, let me go, ahh——”

After a short “ahh,” the other party grunted and then there was no sound, they were probably thrown to the ground.

For some reason, when Vivi heard about the “ground” collapsing, a malicious thought flashed in her mind—

This was Crime Alley, where the population density was much higher than the Diamond District. If it were near the Iceberg Lounge in the Diamond District, Vivi didn’t think Penguin would do this. But in Crime Alley, although more innocent people would die, their lives seemed less valuable.

Whether they were homeless or rich, in Vivi’s eyes, their lives were all priced the same, a mere 0.001% of the population density, belonging to the mayor’s citizens. Even if they were trash, they were the mayor’s trash. What right did Penguin have to kill her people?

Penguin’s head should be stuffed into a trash can and forced to learn waste sorting!

【You have received a side mission: The Annoying Explosion】

【Three locations, within seven minutes, considering the population loss and the repair costs you will face, you must stop all of this. Of course, you’re not the only one who wants to stop it.】

【Note: The person in charge did not lie, but he also does not know the truth. Among those knocked down by Batman, one person carries a remote sensor. After obtaining the remote, you can deactivate the interlinked explosion of the three bombs.】

【Cooperate with Batman to dismantle them and let Penguin know he is bound to fail.】

The map immediately marked the locations of the bombs. They were not truly arranged in a triangle; one was directly below the mercury box, and the other two formed an equilateral triangle with Vivi’s location.

She must find the remote control—

Batman’s marker moved; he headed towards one of the bombs. Vivi didn’t bother with him anymore and quickly ran towards her target, simultaneously reaching into the red bucket—

Chocolate foil? No, that’s not it. Energy bar… not this one! Adult toy, wait, is this game actually rated 18? Wallet? Take the money and stuff the wallet back! Half-eaten banana, damn it, what are these guys carrying around?

Finally

, after nearly two minutes of searching, a small remote control appeared in Vivi’s hand.

Penguin’s men lay unconscious around her. She picked up the mercury box with one hand and stuffed it into her package, double-checked, and found Batman’s position frozen at one of the bomb locations—he must have discovered the interlinked problem!

Following the instructions, Vivi pressed the button on the remote, and with a “beep——”

【Explosion linkage deactivated】

She took out the bomb from underground and stuffed it into her system package. Then, she quickly searched the red bucket, transforming any wallets into gold coins and stuffing everything else back haphazardly. Watching Batman’s position slowly approaching and time running out—

【“You owe me a favour, Batman.”】

After uttering this cool phrase, Vivi hung up the phone, her figure flashing, disappearing into the winding sewers.

Batman, who dismantled two bombs and rushed over, only saw a fleeting shadow about thirty meters away.

Even knowing he might not be able to stop her, he instinctively pulled out a Batarang—

But the feel in his hand seemed off!

Bruce paused for half a second and looked at his hand:

Instead of a Batarang, he was holding a half-eaten banana.

“Did you get it on camera?” “Only a blurry figure. I need to do some processing, but it won’t take long,” Tim, trying to suppress his laughter on the other end of the communicator, said. “But are you sure you want to keep holding that banana, B?”