Three days later was the repayment day. Vivi opened her assets interface—

【Current Public Funds: 0 (2,150,000 Gold Coins)】

——[You have invested all funds (charity funds of 2,150,000) into East End construction and underground construction]

【Current Converted Public Fixed Assets: 2,250,000 Gold Coins (Unrecorded Assets: 4,120,000 Gold Coins)】

——[Iceberg Lounge, Penguin’s other shares and properties]

——[Unrecorded public fixed assets belong to City Hall but are not for auction, such as East End land]

【Current Personal Funds: 720,000 Gold Coins / 120 Diamonds】

——[You have invested personal assets into Iceberg Construction Company]

【Current Personal Fixed Assets: 7,110,000 Gold Coins】

——[All Penguin’s smuggled valuable goods, currently stored in your inventory]

【Estimated Amount to Repay Bank at Month’s End: 1,545,000 Gold Coins】

【Estimated Fixed Monthly Expenses: 800,000 Gold Coins】

This meant that Vivi owed over two million gold coins, while she only had seven hundred twenty thousand available.

In fact, she could repay the debt anytime by selling the items in her inventory on the black market, using Mr. C’s scapegoat identity. Violin would surely be happy to help as he was experienced in this trade.

But letting dangerous weapons flow into the black market would quickly spawn new gangs. Such short-sighted actions weren’t ideal.

Alternatively, she could sell the Iceberg Lounge, especially since she didn’t plan on running a restaurant.

However, she had already received reports that no one dared to take over this troublesome restaurant due to fear of Penguin.

There were also those not afraid of Penguin, but they were still watching and waiting.

Charity funds could be used in an emergency, but Vivi wouldn’t do that unless absolutely necessary. If it were discovered that the money meant for charity was diverted, even just a little, the mayor’s credibility would be destroyed.

She wouldn’t use her personal money either, as it was reserved for buying items from the Gold Coin Shop. The game developers were becoming increasingly greedy, with single-use items becoming more expensive. She worried she might run out of money in these three days.

“Wayne? No,” Vivi sat on the second-floor windowsill of the cathedral, watching the street trees glow in the distance. She looked away, “I can’t always rely on the good guy’s money.”

Bruce Wayne, philanthropist, playboy, extreme sports enthusiast—a man from whom she could easily get money under the pretext of “East End construction,” as the money would indeed be used for charity. But she couldn’t bring herself to deceive such a kind NPC—especially when there were so many scumbags who wouldn’t pay a cent.

She jumped down from the second floor, jogging into a dark alley, and vanished in the next second.

A black bat perched on the edge of a gargoyle, its red eyes reflecting her face, then it flew away, its joints glinting with metallic light.

In the Batcave, Dick watched the footage from the bat-shaped surveillance camera and said to Bruce, “I thought you would approach her.”

Using a disguised identity, or as Bruce Wayne himself?

“The spray that made the undead work had no magical reaction,” Bruce didn’t directly answer, “She didn’t consider returning after giving it to you, indicating it wasn’t rare to her.”

He glanced at Dick and then sprayed the wall. If not moved deliberately, the spray formed a fixed image.

A red, crooked smiley face.

“All its components are normal, but it indeed worked in the fight, just like those speed limit signs.”

“Ummm, so this is stronger magic?”

Bruce gave him a look, “Think about those nails. If she could use magic, she wouldn’t need to use such tactics to deal with Black Mask. The only extraordinary ability she has shown is [Teleportation].”

“Wait, Bruce,” Tim, who had been silent, raised his hand, “She can also resurrect. She’s immortal.”

Bruce operated the computer, his voice cold, as if fully in Batman mode, “Did you see it with your own eyes?”

“You saw a body, then the body was taken by a gargoyle, and next, you saw a living person, unharmed, in a new set of clothes.”

“Only believe what you see,” Bruce said, “Even your eyes can deceive you.”

Dick spread his hands and sighed, “You’re always so suspicious, you don’t even trust Alfred.”

Bruce had admitted to this, and Dick accepted his viewpoint because Bruce’s caution had saved them many times in dire situations. But it still exhausted Dick.

【“Do they still think they are steel mill employees and not Black Mask’s subordinates?”】

【“The undead still have low intelligence. Can they experience happiness?”】

These voices were captured when Dick spoke with Vivi, now replaying in the Batcave.

“‘Think’,” Batman said, “and ‘happiness’.”

“It seems this undetectable spray acts on the level of consciousness,” he said. “She mentioned that ‘willpower’ could overcome the spray’s effects. I think I’ll try it.”

Dick widened his eyes, and Tim came over, “Wait, Bruce, we could experiment on someone else first. You don’t have to do it yourself.”

“Yes,” Dick emphasized, “Although the spray didn’t harm the workers and only made them start working, what if Mr. C can remotely control it? What if it was brought back intentionally?”

“Then we’re already under his surveillance, and nothing matters anymore. Don’t worry, I have Plan B.”

Bruce took the spray and sprayed his foot. His expression suddenly turned strange.

“How do you feel?”

Bruce took a deep breath and said calmly, “I feel like I can go to the office and handle paperwork now.”

Dick and Tim exchanged a glance: Uh-oh, this spray paint is broken!

Bruce glanced at them, then turned and walked away, not leaving the Batcave, but heading towards his suit. He stared at the suit, his expression slightly changing: “This is indeed an item that alters consciousness.”

He said, “If I believe I am Batman, then I want to do Batman’s work. If I believe I am Bruce Wayne, then I want to return to the company.”

You think you’re Bruce… Wouldn’t you want to sign checks, compete with Stark for staff, and take cover models for a cruise on your new yacht? Dick thought to himself.

“If I do that…” Bruce said softly, “I will feel happiness.”

This was truly a terrifying item. In that moment, he was almost overwhelmed by the rare sensation of happiness. He could resist fear but nearly couldn’t resist this happiness. He thought about his time with his parents, about becoming a real father to Dick, and that lively child… He gazed at the crooked smiley face on the wall and said, “These sprays must be destroyed.”

Its happiness carried poison, more terrifying than any drug.

Only after making enough preparations would he approach that child. Maybe she was indeed kind but needed education to correct her views, but the person behind her might not be.

The child he thought of was not in her child form at the moment.

Vivi had switched to her mayoral identity, yawning as she sat in the VIP room of Gotham Central Bank.

The bank manager across from her couldn’t help but rub his eyes for the third time. It was very late, currently 3 AM on the 28th. The system would deduct the payment on the 31st, so technically, Vivi had less than three days left.

Can time really fly by so fast?

She felt like she hadn’t been playing the game for long!

They were waiting for the bank president to arrive because the amount Vivi wanted to borrow was too large.

This time, she was accompanied by a new secretary because her two secretaries were busy with other tasks. She had picked someone from the new council who seemed pleasing to the eye to hold the fort.

Half an hour later, Vivi left the bank and told the driver, “Go to the Goldfinch Bank.”

She had used Iceberg Lounge as collateral, and Central Bank was willing to provide 5 million gold coins, but Vivi suddenly remembered that besides this bank, there was another one that could offer her more money and… without the need to repay.

Goldfinch Bank was also an old bank in Gotham. Compared to the Central Bank, which had been blown up by Bane, and the Sionis Family Bank, blown up by the Joker, the bank named after Goldfinch had remained unscathed.

——This was what Vivi had learned while chatting with the manager during the wait.

Games often hide many Easter eggs in the details. For instance, Vivi would know which banks had been attacked by looking at the information, but no one would tell her which bank had never been attacked. If players were straightforward, they might overlook these details that could only be obtained through NPC conversations.

Its age might rival the Wayne family’s history, and it only catered to Gotham’s wealthy, the elite of the elite. It was said that if you didn’t have more than a hundred million dollars in Goldfinch Bank, you wouldn’t dare to boast at a banquet.

At this moment, her interface showed the asset flow of the Winston family. This member of the Court of Owls, who had pledged allegiance to her, had already confessed everything. His family was old but couldn’t compare to the wealth of the Waynes. It was said that generation after generation, they only handled their accounts with Goldfinch Bank.

Naturally, as he grew up, he did the same.

She had the AI search the computer and quickly discovered that among the Court of Owls members listed by the double agent Winston, almost everyone had dealings with this bank.

“I’m also a member of the Court of Owls,” she thought with a sly smile, “So I naturally have to be in sync with everyone, right?”

She left the secretary in the car and walked in alone.

At 4 AM, this bank was located in an ancient building, its lights dazzling. The open doors looked like the jaws of a beast ready to swallow gold coins.

Not long after, she was sitting in an even more luxurious VIP room, leisurely making a call: “Mrs. Roths?”

“…I hope you have a good reason for calling me at this hour, you rude brat!”

The voice on the other end was filled with the teeth-gritting irritation of being disturbed at 4 AM.

“I need your help, dear lady…”

Half an hour later, Vivi left the bank, smiling and waving to the president.

She had mortgaged the Iceberg Lounge and secured four times the gold coins.

Which meant, her account now held—

【Current Public Funds: 8,000,000 Gold Coins (2,150,000 Charity Funds)】

【Current Converted Public Fixed Assets: 2,500,000 Gold Coins (Unrecorded Assets: 4,120,000 Gold Coins)】

“Secretary,” Vivi tilted her head towards the girl beside her, “You mentioned you had savings in Central Bank. What happened later? I’m surprised it didn’t go bankrupt after such a terrible incident.”

The secretary, excited to be talking to Vivi, said a lot, “Yes, I remember. Everyone was very anxious, and after the incident, they went to withdraw money immediately—”

“But we couldn’t withdraw cash. Fortunately, three days later, the bank transferred cash from other cities, quelling the withdrawal frenzy. The bank couldn’t operate during this period, and we all worried it wouldn’t survive. It took more than a month after the chaos for the bank to function normally, including issuing loans…”

Vivi nodded repeatedly: Fortunately, Central Bank survived the terrible attack.

But she hoped that Goldfinch Bank, if ever bombed, wouldn’t be able to hold out.

She had said: This bank could provide more money.

And she wouldn’t have to repay it.