Since we’ve found a clue, let’s confirm it.

Martin Joseph is a public figure after all. He had attended a public meeting at the city hall as a prison warden. Vivi found his photo online and asked Dick to follow Riti to excavate the body, while she herself went to a street corner shop to print out the photo.

It’s a front-facing photo. In the picture, Joseph looks spirited and a few years younger. Compared to those around him, his height is indeed notable.

When Vivi returned to Dick, they had already dug up a body that was half burned—

Vivi’s olfactory system is usually shut down, but evidently, the smell isn’t great. The chunks of the body in front of her were pixelated, indicating that the condition of the body parts was much worse than that of a clawed corpse.

【A young girl’s body】

【Incomplete, about the length of an arm, with burn marks and mixed with a bit of soil. It’s discernible that it’s indeed a girl, deceased for about ten days or so】

Dick’s expression isn’t good. They tried to pack the body in a cardboard box as much as possible, but according to the system prompt, there’s no information on this body, nothing that could tie Joseph to the crime.

“At least it proves that a girl really died here…” Dick said, “Now I can go and ask if there are any other witnesses.”

While they were digging up the body, people peeked out from their homes in the low-rise slums, but no one asked questions or made any noise.

The map clearly shows many people around, but it’s eerily quiet, except for the elongated cries of stray cats.

“Wait,” Vivi pulled him aside, gesturing for Riti to come over and look at the photo in her hand, “See if it’s this person?”

Riti squinted at the somewhat blurry photo. She seemed very surprised and somewhat incredulous: “It seems… it seems so, he is indeed that tall, but I’m not sure about the face?”

Seeing Dick’s surprise at how quickly she identified a suspect, Vivi explained, “I asked a friend at the city hall to look into the public officials. This man has a prosthetic left eye, his name is Martin, and it’s very likely him.”

“Your friend works fast,” Dick also leaned over to look at the photo, memorizing the face, “By the way, which department does he work in?”

Vivi fell silent suspiciously.

“Martin Joseph,” she said, “My immediate superior, the warden of Blackgate Prison.”

At least for now.

Dick: “…Him!?”

Vivi: “Eh, have you met him?” Isn’t the young policeman Dick from Bludhaven?

Dick coughed lightly: “I’ve interacted with him due to work, I didn’t think of him right away.”

But it wasn’t police work, it was from when he used to be Robin.

The two exchanged glances. Vivi suggested, “Let’s have Riti see him in person, seeing him with her own eyes will surely confirm it.”

“…”, Dick proposed, “The victim’s mother must have seen the suspect too. I’ll find a clearer photo, and we can take it to her for identification.”

Vivi of course wanted a more direct approach, but as a police officer who had only been on duty for three days and had never handled a murder case, focusing solely on catching fugitives and leveling up her skills—it seemed not bad to follow Dick’s lead and learn the procedure.

At the hospital, the victim’s mother, Kuri, identified the killer, very emotional. After calming her down to sleep, Riti, who was also hungry after all the running around, joined the two in finding a hamburger restaurant near the hospital.

“We now have a witness who identified the killer, and a body. Should we get a warrant to arrest Joseph now and start investigating the case?” Vivi speculated according to what she thought was the procedure. Speaking of which, her interrogation skill is at level 10, and she wouldn’t mind using it on Joseph.

The burger restaurant was bustling. The aroma of food filled the air. Dick looked into the eyes of the warden of Bettywen Prison—

Talking about arresting her own boss, there wasn’t a hint of personal agenda in her eyes. At that moment, Dick believed that she wanted to arrest Joseph solely because he had committed a crime.

Knowing who the suspect was, Dick knew that getting him into prison through normal procedures was almost impossible. But looking at the officer in front of him, he showed a bright smile: “In theory, that’s how it should be, but it’s a bit difficult. Let’s analyze it.”

He pushed aside the wrapper of the hamburger in front of him—

“Before we have concrete evidence that the suspect is the criminal, we must assume his innocence in considering the case—it’s part of the professional ethics of a police officer. Of course, we can’t overlook any suspicious detail.”

Although she didn’t agree with what Dick said, Vivi nodded, knowing he was the professional, and didn’t interrupt.

“The first issue is the evidence. We don’t have proof that the person who appeared that day is Joseph. The current testimony can easily be refuted. We need to obtain the suspect’s movement trajectory to corroborate.”

“And even if the trajectories match, there’s no direct evidence that he killed the person, because the crime was reported ten days after the victim’s death. The exact time of death could be early morning or late at night. What if a criminal broke into the room and committed the crime after the suspect left?”

“The last issue is, assuming we found compelling evidence, or the suspect has a guilty conscience and believes himself guilty…” Dick paused here, thinking of the Penguin, and frowned, “I remember the victim wasn’t registered at birth, so she’s not technically a citizen. If the victim is determined to be an illegal immigrant, then he might be able to pay a certain bail and leave, even avoiding demotion.”
Riti: “But we’ve been living in Gotham all our lives, born and raised here!”

Dick’s words only half made sense to her. The girl was anxious—how could they suddenly not belong to the city they’ve lived in all their lives?

After being abandoned by her parents, would the city also abandon her?

“Just submit a registration,” Vivi patted her head.

Dick remained silent, tacitly avoiding the discussion of the complex process and costs involved in the procedure.

Meanwhile, Vivi was deep in thought. She had other methods at her disposal, but she didn’t mind employing Dick’s approach to solve the problem for the time being.

“So, what if this happens? I go back to Blackgate Prison, confront Martin Joseph, and he admits to the crime, and I have a recording of it—” Vivi said.

Dick leaned back in his chair, listening intently as Vivi continued her hypothetical scenario.

“Then I attempt to arrest him, and he becomes extremely angry. I admit, saying such things was too impulsive on my part,” Vivi said, tucking her hair behind her ear and noticing Dick nodding in agreement. She went on, “So, Joseph orders his subordinates to apprehend me. I find myself fighting alone against a group of people. The prison guards don’t listen to me, and to defend myself, I’m forced to take out a gun—”

Dick began to sense something amiss in her story.

Vivi calmly continued, “In the struggle, I defeat them all, but the gun accidentally fires, killing the unfortunate Joseph. After everything ends, I submit the evidence and the body to my superiors. What do you think?”

Dick choked on his saliva, startled by her narrative. His gaze was still clear, but he covered his forehead in frustration. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

As the eldest in a family, he had honed his skill in ‘tactful speech’. He delicately suggested, “I don’t think it’s wise for your career to end over such a scumbag.”

Vivi looked puzzled.

“A person who kills their superior in a melee doesn’t seem fit for the warden’s position. In that role, calmness and meticulousness are indispensable,” Dick noted. He was aware of Vivi’s connection with the current mayor, Anna Alek, and how Anna might push for Vivi’s promotion. However, if Vivi took such drastic action, it would be difficult for her to gain widespread acceptance.

“Besides, if such an incident occurred, you would certainly be detained for questioning. If Joseph has backers, they could maliciously prolong the interrogation, maybe even for half a year.”

Dick implied that even if Vivi followed procedures, her career could be jeopardized. Her character wouldn’t die, but her hidden reputation might change, possibly leading her towards a criminal path if she attempted to escape.

Recognizing that Plan B wasn’t feasible, Vivi shrugged it off: there was always Plan A.

However, she would need to adopt a different identity.

As the evening grew darker and the burger restaurant became more crowded, Vivi entrusted Dick with a task.

“Could you take Riti and the other orphans to the Evans Cathedral? The mayor’s people will take care of the children there,” she requested. “They’ll provide free accommodation and food, and teach them other skills to sustain themselves, as long as they’re willing to learn.”

Vivi initially set the age limit at 15, but many of these young women, older than 15, lacked education. She planned for them to work part-time and study part-time, engaging them in the cathedral’s renovation work. Vivi didn’t intend to support idle people.

“As for me,” she said, “I’ll make a trip back to Blackgate Prison.”

Dick’s cobalt blue eyes narrowed slightly. “You haven’t given up on that risky idea, have you?”

Vivi barely held back a laugh. “No, I’m just returning to work. I can’t be away for too long.”

As for her workplace, it wasn’t Blackgate Prison—after all, she had two jobs.

After they left, Vivi entered the restroom of the burger joint and teleported to the city hall.

As the game’s plot progressed, each of her identities had different tasks. Vivi was consciously trying to prevent her downfall—if people discovered that the Gotham Mayor and the rising star of the police were the same person, the game would lose its fun.

She switched to her Blackgate Prison employee profile, but her first action was to call Mrs. Rothschild, a contact from the Court of Owls.

Recently, Winston provided her with an incomplete list of Court of Owls members, but Vivi wanted to confirm it.

“Mrs. Rothschild,” Vivi spoke into the phone, “is Martin Joseph one of our Court members?”

The voice on the other end expressed displeasure: “You’re becoming increasingly impolite.”

But she answered Vivi’s question: “He’s not one of us. What, does such a man even deserve to be part of the Court? Child, what do you take our Court for?”

“So he’s not?” Vivi’s tone remained light. “Well, goodbye then, Mrs. Rothschild.”

Knowing that Joseph wasn’t backed by the formidable Court of Owls made things easier for Vivi. She calmly and softly hit the ‘dismiss’ button on the employee list.

If she disliked someone, did she need a reason to dismiss them as the mayor?

What if the investigation found Joseph innocent? But what did that matter… Vivi remembered her own visit to Blackgate Prison as Mayor, how Joseph had been uncooperative and tried to intimidate her. —Although it seemed she got her revenge on the spot.

“But who says a player can’t take revenge twice?”

What Bella couldn’t handle, the Mayor could easily resolve—Warden Bella was just waiting for a promotion.

But she had come back for more than just firing one person. Vivi, with her arms crossed, instructed the AI: “Send an email to Combe Rupert, Pulman Harris, Beck Laurie…”

She listed over thirty names in one breath.

“…asking them to wrap up their current tasks and report to my office within an hour.”

These thirty people included regular clerks, court recorders, accountants… spread across various departments like City Hall, usually not standing out.

But Vivi remembered their names.

After all, on their panels, the trait named [Good] shone brightly.