Gotham is a beautiful city.

Some say it’s like a scarred woman, bustling when viewed from the sky, yet beneath the bustle lies dark wounds. Walls pierced with countless nails bear their holes, and some try to mend these scars, to reshape Gotham into an ideal vision.

But if Vivi knew this, she’d probably swing a hammer, shattering the wall—

And then rebuild upon the ruins.

She broke the wall before her, clambering out of the hole as the spotlight from a plane overhead swept past. Vivi squinted, noticing a tiny figure known as “Batman” rapidly approaching, while Robin was already clashing with the Penguin’s men. The sounds of combat and the thud of clubs echoed in the distance.

Eh?

The Batplane indeed isn’t subject to “speed limits,” but you guys ignoring the no-fly order isn’t good either!

…And the worst part is never paying the fines for breaking the rules.

Leaving the tracker in the warehouse, she moved stealthily in the shadows, finding her way back to the car where Sheila was dozing off in a blanket, unconcerned about her cheap teammate’s fate, while Millie sighed in relief upon seeing her and immediately started the car.

Firelight shone in the distance, uncertain if Batman and Robin would battle Penguin’s men till dawn.

On the map, the symbols of Robin and Batman were moving deeper into the warehouse.

“Good luck,” she said.

She genuinely wished them well; Gotham having vigilantes was truly great!

The sound of sirens filled the night sky, Penguin’s men lay twisted and writhing on the ground, those still conscious groaning in pain.

But the warehouse was empty.

No, not entirely. At the far end, there lay a large sealed box.

Tim crouched down, removing a paper from the box, marked with the tracker, pinned down by a batarang.

The printed words on it were shown to Batman—

[“14 liters of mercury, a gift for you, dear Batman. I am not an enemy, I hope we can be friends.”]

He stood up, surveying the empty shelves around him and the explosives, weapons, and expensive precision instruments taken along with the box, shrugging and looking at Batman: “Friends?”

Batman was silent for a moment.

“How did they remove these without alerting anyone?”

“Maybe the same way they took the mercury and left you a banana in place of your batarang,” Tim shrugged. “I’ll try to recover the surveillance footage, but I can’t guarantee anything valuable.”

…When Penguin finally arrived, all he found was an empty warehouse.

“Bat bat, bat, man—”

Penguin swore, his rivalry with Batman was irreconcilable!

It was destined to be an uneasy night. South Hinkley’s local police station was indeed formidable. Until the next afternoon, when the supervisor affiliated with Penguin woke up, his men were finally released—though he wanted to shoot that sound-asleep idiot, considering the losses, Penguin restrained his anger.

He had indeed lost a lot, more than in any previous clash with Batman—

Had Batman learned magic? How did he manage to move all the goods from four warehouses overnight?

After calming down, Penguin grew paranoid:

“Maybe my men are in cahoots with Batman? Or is there a traitor who’s been secretly moving things, only to reveal it today?”

The loss wasn’t huge; his most important assets were in his mind.

“As long as I have my smuggling routes and connections with the upper echelons, he can’t defeat me completely.”

But…

Penguin stroked his umbrella, deeply pained. Yet, upon calming down, he felt something was off.

“Did I forget something?”

…

Penguin had forgotten the contract he signed.

Or rather, from the beginning, he never intended to return the 500,000 gold coins.

However, the system is fair and just, automatically deducting at the set time: the transaction fee for the mercury was paid in this manner. No one can cheat the players’ money.

—No one!

According to the contract, at 00:00:00 on April 17, if Penguin’s account lacked 500,000 gold coins in liquid funds to pay Vivi, everything he owned would belong to “Mr. C.”

And now, there were only ten minutes left until the appointed time.

[Invested in the Iceberg Lounge, investment amount 500,000 gold coins (Settlement time April 17, 00:00:00)]

[View current financial status of the Iceberg Lounge]

• [Fixed Assets Settlement: 1,150,000 gold]
• [Liquid Funds Settlement: 89,000 gold coins]

It seems Vivi’s actions didn’t bankrupt Penguin. If he had been aware of his debt on the 17th, he might have been able to sell fixed assets like real estate to fulfill the contract.

But he didn’t.

00:00:00

…

00:00:15

…

“Beep—”

“Hello?” Vivi answered the phone. “What is it, my friend?”

“…” After a long silence, Penguin’s trembling voice finally came through. “What have you done?”

[Investment amount return failed]

[Everything of Penguin now belongs to you, including himself.]

The contract image slowly disappeared with a burning effect. Vivi’s employee panel displayed a new character, still marked as an enemy in red. Besides communication, she could now directly control him through the panel.

At the moment of losing the bet, Penguin lost his autonomy, his money, everything… So why be a gangster? There’s no security at all!

Vivi: “How do you feel now?”

“Not good,” the other side seemed to stabilize, “What have you done? Are you a magician? Someone with superpower? You’ve manipulated me? I can’t resist your demands and instinctively must answer your questions… What do you want, Mr. C?”

“Hmm…” Vivi tapped the desk, glancing at the curtain-covered wall, the shattered windows of the restroom, the bookshelf stuffed with bodies, stretching lazily, “I don’t want much—”

“I admit I’ve fallen,” Penguin took a deep breath, his latter words gritted, as if wanting to kill, “You can take everything I have, make me work for you…”

“Ah,” Vivi sounded delighted, “I thought of something only you can do!”

Her voice, still a gender-neutral synthesized sound, slightly relaxed Penguin upon hearing it.

“I want you to—”

Penguin couldn’t understand how all this happened. He just defaulted on a debt, but as soon as midnight passed, he felt part of his soul taken away.

“Go to the police—”

His consciousness told him that this mysterious investor “C” would be his master, unable to resist any demand.

“Voluntarily surrender and confess your crimes in court—”

Whatever C asked of him, he had to do…

“Then go to prison.”

He…

Penguin: “Have you gone mad?”

He leaped from his chair: “Are you insane? Don’t you understand economics? Surrender? I can make a lot of money for you, I know how to do business, I can bring you vast wealth, much more than making me go to jail…”

“Maybe you’re right,” the voice on the other side seemed casual, “I indeed don’t understand economics.”

“But you don’t understand the game,” C said.

“I really want to make money,” Vivi murmured to herself after hanging up, “But my real goal is to elevate Gotham’s city level.”

[You eliminated an opposing force: Penguin]

[Congratulations on your first complete elimination of an opposing force]

[Take over Penguin’s forces, or they will be divided by other forces within 30 days]

[Completed side mission “Penguin’s Fury”]

[Reward: 10,000 gold coins, 20 diamonds]

[Diamond’s less than 100, diamond pool cannot be opened]

[You acquired Penguin’s funds]

[Current Personal Funds: 1,329,700 gold coins]

[Current Fixed Assets: 1.6 million gold coins]

[Current Government Funds: 5,000 gold coins (Employee wages and fixed expenses due at month-end, 1.5 million gold coin bank debt due at month-end)]

[Take over Penguin’s remaining fixed assets, or they will be divided within 30 days]

[Activated follow-up mission: Penguin’s Surrender]

[Complete the mission for rewards in gold coins, diamonds, etc., value to be determined]

[Your actions caused changes in [City Security] [City Reputation]]

[Please continue to strive]

Colourful fireworks began popping on the panel. Vivi, crossing her arms, waited for the fireworks to end, then happily opened her inventory, counting her gold coins and weapons—

There’s a big windfall coming soon!

She’s super happy!

Her investment in the Iceberg Lounge paid off big time.

—Who says she doesn’t understand economics?

*

April 17th, another ordinary day for the people of Gotham.

The law and order situation was as bad as ever, traffic was deadlocked, and countless people flocked to Gotham to seek their fortunes. Gotham, however, did not welcome them.

Some turned on their TV, others were busy with their phones, and some tuned their car radios to local channels, and then—

“Hello, people of Gotham, my name is Oswald Cobblepot, but you might be more familiar with another name, Penguin. I am the Penguin.”

Jim, who was driving, was startled and quickly pulled over to the side of the road: What’s happening, have the gangs taken over the TV station?

What’s next? Terrorist attacks? Taking hostages to threaten the public? Or forcing the TV station to broadcast that terrible movie that’s been playing for seven years?

“Actually, I’m not at the TV station. I’m currently at the Gotham Police Department. What I’m about to say will be broadcast live—”

“I am a criminal,” he said, “You all know it, it’s obvious.”

Jim suddenly fell silent. He gripped the steering wheel and decided to keep listening.

“I’ve hired hitmen, smuggled arms, sold dangerous items to those scoundrel peers causing numerous explosions, traded in intelligence, bribed high-ranking officials to protect my business… Starting from a common gangster to where I am now, the things I’ve done, in other cities, even being shot a thousand times wouldn’t be enough. Countless families have been shattered because of me, but I can’t remember the name of any one of them because I’m a bad person.”

Jim clenched his jaw, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“I’m a bad person, even now, I don’t think I’m wrong, I just got caught,” the Penguin continued speaking, “My case will go to court in three days, and I will confess all the crimes I have committed.”

“I love Gotham,” he said finally, “…I’m a Gothamite, I love her.”

Jim sat stunned in his car, and after a moment, he startled into action, searching on his phone for the official website of the Gotham court, which would update the times for each trial—normally, it wouldn’t be so fast from a confession to a trial, but clearly, as many people who want the Penguin to be released, there are just as many who want him immediately jailed, better yet dead in prison—that’s why the trial was set for three days later.

Jim’s fingertips trembled as he filled out the application to attend the hearing. After successfully sending it, his hand slipped, and the phone fell from his grasp, landing on the carpet.

—He leaned on the steering wheel, sobbing uncontrollably.

Penguin, Penguin, Penguin, Penguin…

No matter who was behind all this, whether or not this was an internal struggle within the gangs… He, they, had been waiting for this day for too long.

He touched the necklace on his chest, his wife’s keepsake, who had been a math teacher at a Gotham elementary school.

Waiting for a day, it was just too long.

Bruce put down his dinner knife, staring at the image on the TV.

Unlike the car radio that only played audio, the Penguin’s confession was being broadcast on the TV screen, with his face naturally appearing—probably because the news was too sensational, most of the local Gotham TV stations were broadcasting this scene live.

His foster son Tim, who almost face-planted into his coffee cup, also straightened up upon hearing the Penguin’s voice.

It was a rare sunny day.

After playing the segment once, the TV replayed it three more times, but no one cared about what seemed like a staff error. Tim and Bruce exchanged a glance, touching their foreheads, “Maybe I’m not fully awake yet, I should go back to sleep.”

The most reliable butler in the family stood by: “Perhaps switching coffee for milk might help you sleep better, Master Tim. It’s not a good habit to drink coffee so early in the morning.”

“I just had a lot of work last night,” the boy pleaded with the man who was like a grandfather to him, “But, Bruce…”

He said, “It looks like there’s indeed a strange force targeting the Penguin.”

Was it a magician or a psychic? Clearly, that side possessed special powers, just like the Penguin said, he just got caught, not meaning he thought he was actually guilty—but under that pressure, he had to confess.

“If that person really has special powers, why didn’t they control the Penguin to confess right from the start, and then hand over all his assets, instead of doing so much more,” Bruce pondered, “And if he doesn’t have such powers, why would the Penguin appear there?”

He looked at the still image on the screen, his old rival, handcuffed (which meant nothing to him), surrounded by GCPD officers, yet he sat there with a presence stronger than all the officers, as if he were the master of the place.

This scene comically seemed like an April Fool’s joke, but April Fool’s had passed over half a month ago, and it wasn’t funny at all.

Bruce’s emotions were complex, but he quickly reined in his outward expressions.

“I think we can check the Penguin’s financial flow, see who is the ultimate beneficiary, and who is the most suspicious…”

Alfred coughed.

Bruce: “Hmm… But I think you should go back to sleep first, how long has it been since you’ve been to school?”

Tim raised an eyebrow: “I finished my exams early, so I can study next semester’s material at home.”

Otherwise, how could he find the time to be a vigilante while managing Wayne Enterprises?

The so-called “surrender” could be a trap set by the Penguin, they had to prepare for the trial in three days, and no one knew what would happen then—both vigilantes had thought of this.

Compared to vigilantes who worried like a mayor but didn’t hold the office, Vivi herself had fallen into the joy of “I’m so rich, how can I be this rich”—

After the Penguin’s surrender, GCPD followed procedure and seized his assets, such as the Iceberg Lounge in the Diamond District, and the assets he voluntarily disclosed. He had other warehouses, and even the emptied warehouses were valuable real estate.

However, the handling of these fixed assets would take some time, and Vivi was pondering… What to do with these illegally smuggled items?

Most were dangerous weapons not to be circulated in the market, and the Mayor of Gotham can’t become an arms dealer, right?

Besides, the materials Vivi had tricked the Penguin into buying at a high price from Shelk definitely couldn’t be sold at their original price, they could only be discounted, and after paying salaries at the end of the month, she would probably have only about 400,000 left. Although the fixed assets were nearly three million, they couldn’t be liquidated in the short term.

According to the procedure, Penguin’s assets, including the real estate in the Diamond District, could only be auctioned after he was sentenced.

——But how should the loan from First Bank be repaid?

With only thirteen days left, Vivi needs to come up with a plan.

[Main Quest: Underground Map]

[Current Progress: 97%]

“I haven’t explored every place,” Sheila looked somewhat disappointed, “There’s a place where rats told me that very dangerous creatures live, so I avoided it.”

She placed two rings on the table, looking at the blonde woman in front of her.

Ever since the glass turned into high walls, the lights in the mayor’s office have always been on, and the lady mayor showed no emotion, only shifting her gaze to the rings.

“I remember you didn’t finish school.” She suddenly brought up another topic.

Sheila was startled: “Yes, I didn’t have money…”

If it weren’t for going to Blackgate Prison, she couldn’t even think of a way to survive, so the prison was like another home to her.

“Go to school, Sheila,” Vivi said, “You are paid for your work, you can use your salary to go to school, I hope you can learn something in school and then take on more complex work.”

“Go to school…” Sheila lowered her head, then suddenly looked up and asked, “Which school would you like me to attend?”

This indeed stumped Vivi, but she quickly gave an answer: “Gotham Academy, you’re at the right age, and…”

“Although located on the Isle of Arkham, the college has a relatively low annual rate of explosions and shootings.”

——It should be relatively safe!

Having assigned Sheila’s schooling to Millie, both Vivi and Sheila were satisfied.

The girl thought it was “Vivi” who relayed her questions to the “Mayor,” so the mayor sending her to school meant she was being valued — at this moment, she completely forgot that she was prepaying her tuition with her own salary.

While Vivi felt she had found a good way to improve the NPC’s stats, wondering if schooling could raise Sheila’s attributes a bit and make her another Shelk in the future?

Wishing her a happy and enjoyable study life at Gotham Academy.

“Alright…” She put on the two sonar rings, “Now it’s time to handle this main quest.”

There indeed was a semi-circular black area on the underground map, clearly the 3% unexplored area—

The unexplored area was located to the east of Gotham, not far from the Isle of Arkham. Vivi directly called the head of the city hall security department, asking him to come to her for equipment, and then go with the people from GCPD, armed, to the target location she mentioned.

Half an hour later——

“Madam Mayor, we found the lurking ‘Killer Croc’ underground, seven officers were injured, but fortunately, no one died, the injured have been sent to the hospital… I’m sorry, the Killer Croc still escaped.”

“You’ve done well already, issue a notice to alert the citizens, and then hand over the task to GCPD.”

The captain of the guards was tearful: “Thank you, kind lady.”

The bloodstains in the mayor’s office hadn’t been cleaned up yet, he was somewhat fearful when he took the strange ring from her.

Now he wouldn’t be disposed of by the Madam for incompetence, right?

[Side Quest “Claw Prints in the Sewer” Completed]

[Claw prints from Killer Croc, you have activated a new character card]

[You have received a side quest: Pursue Killer Croc]

[Population is a precious asset, don’t let this guy cause trouble, Tip: Killer Croc has many habits similar to crocodiles]

This task will be left to the officials for now, as the arrest warrant for Killer Croc has been hanging for a long time.

Vivi didn’t know that inside the city hall, her reputation was very… terrifying.

Legend has it that she could make the proud former Secretary General obey her overnight, could fire hundreds at once, making those former nepotism hires work the hardest jobs for her for the lowest wages, and since her tenure, the enthusiasm of the employees increased, so they left work earlier, but the mayor herself would never leave the city hall after everyone else—

She might be using some magic in the city hall, or summoning her real subordinates at night to plot something.

In reality, it was just Vivi thinking that leaving work early could save a bit of water and electricity bills: ?

She rubbed her nose, after half a month of effort, finally, there was progress in the main quest.

[You have completed the main quest · Underground Map (Part One)]

[You have obtained [New Gotham Sewer Construction Plan] x1, [Mystery Gift Box] x1]

Vivi first looked at the construction plan.

She discovered that the aging problem of Gotham’s sewers was severe, and as Gotham is a coastal city composed of large and small islands, the city centre is just a larger island, the construction progress of the sewers was uneven, and the construction plan didn’t cover the suburbs… It seems that the wealthy Wayne’s home is in the suburbs? It looks like this sewer renovation led by the city hall won’t be able to cover his place.

Wayne seems a bit disadvantaged?

[You have activated the main quest · Gotham Underground (Part Two)]

[You have discovered three main issues underground:

1. Uneven terrain: during the flood season places like Gotham’s East District are often flooded, the stagnant water is filthy and carries bacteria, and the poor citizens living in the East District can’t afford the high medical expenses.

2. Serious drainage problems: due to constant explosions, shootings, and changes in rulers year-round, the underground drainage problems are not resolved, some areas have been repaired multiple times and are on the verge of collapse.

3. The homeless issue: many homeless, criminals, and even ordinary citizens, use the underground as their temporary residence at necessary times, if they are directly driven away, they will have nowhere to go.]

[Please choose how to solve the problems you face and successfully complete the [Construction Plan] to transform Gotham’s underground]

[Reward: 0~1.5 million gold coins, 500 diamonds]

“To put it simply, I need to catch the criminals hiding below, settle those unemployed vagrants, and relocate the residents of the East District while renovating the underground… and the system gives me nothing but a blueprint…” Vivi sighed, “Gotham is really a difficult city.”

Difficult enough to be interesting, she opened the gold coin store, today she’s quite lucky, [Second-hand AI] refreshed again.

Today’s three items in the gold coin mall are [Second-hand AI], [Falling Leaves Trash Can], and [Effective Hair Conditioner x a box].

The first two are repeat items, and the hair conditioner can speed up hair growth.

…It can only make it longer, not prevent baldness.

“If it could prevent baldness, maybe I could dilute it and sell it for money…” Vivi unconsciously thought in the direction of making money, “I’m turning completely into a gold coin mayor.”

She thought of something!

Vivi took out her [Haircut Blade].

The haircut blade, also from the gold coin mall, seems to be used with the shampoo, the longer the hair, the more apathetic people become after using this blade for a haircut.

Vivi, of course, doesn’t need such apathetic tools, but for certain groups, less desire seems to be easier to manage.

She’s now wealthy enough to buy all three.

The computer screen showed a loading bar, the virtual AI began to load, and then, a ball rolled out from the corner of the computer.

[Hello.]

A text bubble popped up above the ball’s head.

“Hello,” this AI should be a complement to the system’s guide function, but it actually requires the player to pay for it, probably appearing in the gold coin mall to trick players into buying gift packs… The developer is shameless, she didn’t need to talk much with the AI, quickly getting into work mode, “Alright, let’s start working.”

After the AI was installed, every interface of the system showed a [Transmission] symbol.

——She transferred the map, construction plan, character card, and package information to the computer.

[I have received all the information, planning the construction method and route for you, integrating character card information, estimating material prices…]

Vivi was stunned.

This AI was quite smart; she thought it would be as dumb as human artificial intelligence, but it seemed more reliable than Shelk, actively completing the work.

And Shelk needs to eat, drink, and sleep (so why do NPCs have to be so realistic?), but AI can work tirelessly.

——This sounds too good.

“What else can you do?” she asked.

[In fact, I can’t do much.]

[This computer only has information about Gotham City, all information cannot be transmitted to other cities.]

[This computer cannot connect to other electronic devices, I cannot do information transfer and backup, the camera hardware is broken, I cannot open the camera, I can only move by manual transfer.]

“Huh, can you control all mechanical devices?”

[Yes, lady, that’s basic.]

Vivi: “Then if you’re installed in a cleaning robot, can you take care of the office’s cleanliness?”

“If you could help me fix a wall, that would be even better, but isn’t that too much to ask of a cleaning robot?”

“By the way, it’s free, right?”

Although the AI was suspiciously silent for a while, it agreed, but unfortunately, Vivi couldn’t find a cleaning robot, so she decided to have Millie buy one after she finished her current tasks.

There was still an unopened mysterious gift pack, which she prepared to open.

【Mysterious Gift Pack】

【Upon opening the pack, you will receive what you need the most at this moment】

Vivi stared at the gift pack on the screen, muttering in her mind: “something useful, something useful, something useful…”

【Gift Pack Opened】

【You have obtained [Royal Blue Mermaid Evening Gown Set] x1, 100,000 gold coins】

【Congratulations, player. This gown is usually available only from the diamond pool and has a slim chance of being obtained from a mysterious gift pack】

Vivi: “?”

Can I put it back?

“Madam Mayor, excuse the interruption,” said a somewhat unfamiliar assistant at the door. Shelk had formed an assistant team after taking over the job. Vivi hadn’t paid much attention to who was in it — as long as it didn’t raise their salaries. The assistant was holding an invitation, “It’s a dinner invitation from Mr. Wayne, for tomorrow night at eight. Would you like to attend? How should I reply?”

【Royal Blue Mermaid Evening Gown Set】

【Expensive and luxurious fabric, a design that fits perfectly. Clothing is also a card of social interaction】

【When wearing this outfit, your [Social] skills will significantly increase, making your trade requests appear more credible and possibly attracting more investment?】

【Note: All appearances provided by the system can be switched with a single click】

Vivi: “No need to put it back…”

Assistant: “Ah?”

Vivi: “I mean, I’ll attend. You don’t need to prepare a dress for me. Anything else?”

“Dean Sharp wants to visit you. He’s currently in the waiting room.”

Sharp, Quincy Sharp, the current dean of Arkham Asylum.

He once proposed to establish “Arkham City,” locking all criminals inside and letting them fend for themselves — a not entirely hopeless proposal, but why build this Arkham City in the city centre?

The economy of Gotham would collapse along with it!

And locking all criminals together, isn’t that just breeding trouble?

Because of this proposal, Vivi’s initial impression of Sharp wasn’t favourable. She thought the man seemed a bit out of his mind.

Maybe it’s because he’s been with the mentally ill for too long.

“So, what do you want from me? Do you have a side quest? To build Arkham Asylum?”

Dean Sharp was not tall but very thin, with sunken eyes and a look of chronic sleep deprivation.

As he approached the office, he glanced around, his gaze lingering on the curtains on the wall and the steel plate behind Vivi before turning to the room’s owner.

However, Anna Alek didn’t play by the rules. He didn’t get a chair or a coffee, nor did he see the anger in a woman scorned.

The mayor didn’t even look up while speaking, tapping away at her computer as if she didn’t care about Sharp’s visit.

Sharp deliberately coughed.

The woman peeked out from behind the computer, her lead-grey eyes sweeping over him: “No task? I’m not interested in meeting to improve affection, this isn’t an Otome game.”

Sharp took a deep breath, “Ms. Alek, have you considered my proposal?”

“Arkham City?” The woman shook her head, “I rejected it. Your suggestion is quite absurd.”

“If I can secure funding from another source, Madam,” Sharp lifted his chin slightly, “you just need to approve the ordinance. Then, Gotham will no longer suffer from these annoying criminals; they’ll all be locked inside the city within a city.”

The mayor who had been neglecting him finally got up from behind her desk, and as she stood up, Sharp’s face stiffened —

The mayor, in her high heels, was half a head taller than him.

“I’ll reluctantly improve your favourability if you tell me about that ‘funding source.’ No need to build the city,” she said lazily, “I won’t allow anyone to build in the city centre. Gotham is my city.”

“So we’re done talking,” Sharp said stiffly, trying to leave, but Vivi’s stride was longer, and she easily grabbed his shoulder.

“Wait,” Vivi forcibly dragged him back to the desk, “Managing Arkham Asylum, dealing with so many criminals every day must be tough, right?”

Sharp: “?” He struggled, but in vain. Was this mayor extraordinarily strong?

“I’d like to donate some supplies on behalf of the city hall…” The mayor released him, leaning over the desk to search for something underneath.

Sharp straightened his tie, regaining composure: Was this an olive branch?

He decided to see what the mayor would offer: Antiques, gems, or a bank card? It seemed like something big.

…Vivi pulled out a cardboard box, thought for a moment, took half of the [Effective Conditioner] out, and pushed the remaining half towards Sharp with encouraging eyes.

“These are for the mentally ill criminals, don’t be shy, please make sure they use them.”

Sharp examined the beauty for a moment, suspecting that their young mayor might also be mentally ill.

Half a box of conditioner? You donate just half a box? And what about the other half, too precious?

He was about to refuse when the mayor, with one hand, forcefully stuffed the box into his arms and said, “Oh, let’s take a photo together. I haven’t posted on Twitter today.”

Sharp couldn’t escape, ending up in a photo, looking stiff with the cardboard box, like a recently fired city hall employee.

He wanted to explode, but this female mayor was strangely strong, seemingly able to crush him with one hand. He held back for now — he could just discard the box outside.

After tweeting, Vivi started tidying her desk.

It wasn’t that she was reluctant to give the rest of the conditioner; she thought Blackgate Prison could use some, too.

She pulled out another box, emptied its contents, and filled it with conditioner, planning to have her assistant deliver it to Blackgate Prison… but when she looked up, Sharp was still there.

Vivi: “Dean Sharp?”

Sharp eyed the mechanical bomb casually placed on the desk — Vivi had taken it out to empty the box — then turned to Vivi, nodding stiffly.

He left with the box.

Behind him, the mayor shouted, “Remember to give the conditioner to the most troublesome criminals, don’t forget!”

Sharp: “…”

Fine, he’d give a bottle to the Joker tonight!

As for whether this no-brand green bottle of conditioner was poisonous or addictive, that wasn’t his concern.

This new mayor, Anna Alek — she was a madwoman, Sharp thought. He had to appease her for now, then immediately contact the Court of Owls, who funded him.

Gotham must not fall into her hands.